Author's Note: About time I got around to uploading this, eh? Sorry for the delay, but I finally finished the longest chapter to this story. And while I did say that this would be the final chapter last time, well... I kinda decided that it is, but at the same time it also isn't. I'll explain more at the bottom of the page.
S Rank/ Pink Affinity:
"Robin, please… Stay with me!"
"S-Shulk, I…"
Shulk was beginning to panic. Robin was quickly losing blood, and there was no help coming for them in sight. He tried carrying her back to safety as quickly as he could, but after the battle that had just ensued, he was running out of breath. While Shulk's own healing art, Light Heal, were able to keep her conscious, it wasn't enough to stop the bleeding.
"No, we can make it through this… I won't let you die here!" Shulk tried reassured her, and himself for that matter. Unfortunately, Robin started to feel heavier and heavier in his arms.
That's when he felt her hand reach up and stroke the side of his face. He looked down at her and saw how much in pain she was in. He knew he had to keep running, but he felt himself stop in place. It was almost as if he already knew it was too late to save her…
Robin began to tear up, but he could see her begin to smile.
"Shulk… I'm… glad… the last thing… that ever saw… was… your face…" That's when Robin began to stop breathing.
"N-no… no no no… ROBIN! ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOBIIIIIIIIIIN!"
"NO!" Shulk woke up with a start, sweat pouring from his forehead. He took a look at his surroundings, and remembered what occurred the previous night. While he wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, he knew he shouldn't.
"Was that a dream, or… no. It had to have been a vision." Shulk proceeded to do what he normally did whenever he received a vision: Try to remember as many details as possible.
"Well, we were in a forest. It looked… suspiciously like Makna Forest… but that entire area was decimated along with the Bionis… then again, many of the different regions the Bionis had were reformed into different biomes not too far from our new colony. It must be relatively close… but if it was that forest… then why was Robin in my world?"
He remembered the promise he had made to her the night before, about letting her come with him back to his own world to help him in his search for Fiora. The question was how soon will that vision occur? The current session of Smash still had a few months left before it would be over, and they both agreed to not start their search until this session of Smash came to a proper conclusion.
And that's when Shulk very abruptly received his answer.
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
The personal intercom on Shulk's desk started ringing. Master Hand installed one of these devices in each Smasher's room in the event that an emergency arose and he needed their immediate attention. Shulk walked to the desk and pressed the button and received the call.
"I apologize for waking you up at this hour, Shulk, but a message awaits you in the communication terminal." If Shulk wasn't awake by then, surely Master Hand's booming voice would have done the job.
"It's quite alright. I was already awake anyway. Do you know who sent the message?"
"Unfortunately I didn't catch his name, but he insisted that speaking to you immediately was of utmost importance."
"Alright. I'll head to the terminal and see who it is." Shulk switched off the intercom and headed out of his room to the communication terminal. Luckily for him, the terminal was very close to his room in the mansion, which was great considering how groggy Shulk still felt. The thought still worried him, though. Was this message coming from someone back at the colony? Did something bad happen that he was somehow unaware of? He tried to think of the possibilities, but he couldn't find himself to think all that clearly, between how tired he was with that dream he just had.
Shulk entered the communication terminal and sat at one of the empty booths. A whirring sound flowed throughout the room as the machine came to life. He then pressed another button on the side to notify Master Hand that he was ready to receive the feed.
"Ok, the communication terminal is online. Feed me the message through please." Shulk asked Master Hand. The screen changed, and the call was made.
"Communicating with… resident of former Bionis…"
After a few brief seconds the feed stopped being fuzzy and a person on the other side came into view. The person in question, was someone that Shulk knew very well.
"Dunban!?"
"Shulk! I'd like to apologize; I realize it must be very late where you are right now, but we have an emergency on our hands!" Dunban looked very tired himself, but it was most likely for some other reason than sleep depravity.
"What's happening? Is something wrong at the colony?"
"They haven't arrived yet, but we received reports from our Nopon merchants out charting the land around our colony. Evidently, a horde of Telethia have resurfaced once again, just like they did a few months prior."
"No… you don't mean…"
"I'm afraid I do. Since Zanza is no longer controlling them, they seem to be simply destroying everything around them in a chaotic frenzy. It's quite pathetic really. Telethia were created for the sole purpose of destroying all forms of life, but without Zanza controlling them, they have no specific target in mind, causing them to lose all sense of reason. Just pure instinct. In the current path that they are taking, the will inevitably attack the colony again."
"Do you know where they are right now? How close are we talking?"
According to the Nopon report, their current location was in a forest a few miles south of the colony, the forest that looks oddly similar to the Makna Forest back on the Bionis.
"The… forest?" That's when Shulk remembered something. In the 'dream' he just had, not only was he in that forest, but Robin was there as well.
It all started to make sense. Shulk received a vision of Robin most likely being killed by a Telethia in his own world.
"Shulk… did you potentially have a vision related to this?" Dunban questioned him. If there was one thing he gathered from their journey, Dunban was pretty easily able to tell if something was bothering Shulk. Shulk, however, decided to feign ignorance and changed the subject.
"…Do we know how soon this potential attack will take place?" Shulk started to formulate a plan in his head, but he needed to know how soon the Telethia were going to make their move.
"We don't have any real idea what the Telethia are planning, sadly. If they are still in the forest, would you suggest we make a counterattack on a small group of them before they reach the colony?" Dunban suggested.
"Admittedly, the thought did cross my mind, but I feel like I would need to know how big this horde really is. To answer your question… I think I might have, but some particular details of the vision don't quite make sense… at least not yet." Shulk took a deep breath, and sat back in his chair.
"I'll have Master Hand teleport me there as soon as he can. I'll come to the colony so we can discuss a plan on what to do next. See you in a few hours, perhaps?"
"Sounds like a plan. Talk to you soon, Shulk."
The feed cut out, and the room once again was filled with nothing but silence. Shulk went back to his room to change clothes and grab everything he needed. On his way back to Master Hand's office, he passed by a door that looked surprisingly familiar. He couldn't quite tell at first, given how tired he still was, but within a few brief seconds he realized whose door this was.
He was standing in front of Robin's room.
"… I'm halfway tempted to tell her… but… no. She will be much safer if she just stays here until I get back. I'm sorry Robin, but I'm going to have to break our promise… for now. I'll see you soon." Shulk continued his way back to Master Hand's office. Upon arriving, the giant hand was floating behind his desk as usual. Even this late at night, Master Hand never understood the concept of sleep. Perhaps he never got drowsy, and sleeping wasn't a necessity for him.
"I assume you need to travel back to your world for now?" Master Hand asked Shulk.
"Yeah, for now emergency of sorts has arisen, and the people back at the colony need all the help they can get. Can you send me back there?"
"Already got that covered. I'll make sure to reschedule your matches for today." Master Hand snapped his fingers, and behind him a giant blue portal made up of what looked like ethereal energy opened up along the wall.
"I should warn you, though, that this portal is going to be a one-way trip for now. I have the power to send and bring anyone from one world to another, but I am unable to make those roundtrips. If you go there, I won't be able to pull you back to the mansion until tomorrow. Are you sure you have everything you need?"
"Yes, I'm ready. Sorry about all this. I realize having to reschedule a bunch of matches last minute might be a bit of a pain."
"Not to worry. It happens more often than I like to admit. Good luck out there, Shulk."
"Thank you. Now, time to go exterminate some Telethia!" Shulk walked through the portal, and within a few brief moments, he was no longer inside the Smash Mansion.
Robin woke up as usual that morning. She got out of bed, got dressed, and made her way to the mess hall for breakfast. Everything seemed to be in the same routine it had been for her the past few weeks. It wasn't until a certain voice spoke to her that her day would spiral into something that she certainly did not expect.
"Excuse me, Robin. Do you have a minute?" Robin turned around to see a face that she admittedly was not as familiar with: It was Ryu, one of the more recent arrivals to the Smash Mansion.
"Oh, hello Ryu. How can I help you?"
"I'm sorry to bother you, but have you seen Shulk? My first match that was scheduled today was against him, and I haven't seen him anywhere…"
Now that Ryu mentioned it, Robin HADN'T seen Shulk at all this morning. She initially thought he was probably just late getting out of bed, but then she looked at the time and noticed that the clock read 9:45. That couldn't have been right; Shulk was one of the few people here that she knew was a morning person. "Hm… Is he not in his room?" She asked Ryu.
"Admittedly, I already tried. The door was wide open, and there was no sign of him inside."
"…That's concerning news… I'll go ask Master Hand and see if he knows anything."
Master Hand was currently in his office, putting in the finishing touches to the new schedule for today's matches, given that Shulk would be absent for all of his today, when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in!" Said the giant hand. The double doors swung open, and in came a very perplexed looking Robin.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but have you seen Shulk?" Robin realized she just unintentionally echoed the exact same question that Ryu had asked her just a few minutes ago, but dismissed the thought and moved on.
"Ah. So you noticed that he's nowhere to be seen? I was just about to make an announcement about this to everyone in a few minutes, but I'll go ahead and tell you now."
"What do you mean? Do you know where he is?"
"An emergency of sorts seems to have arisen in his home world, and he asked me to temporarily send him back there until the situation was taken care of. Unfortunately, that means he won't be back until tomorrow at the earliest."
"…Oh. Well that explains why he just seemingly vanished. Did he leave during the middle of the night?"
"Correct. I apologize for the confusion you or any of the others may have had this morning. I didn't want to wake everyone up suddenly just to announce that he would be undergoing a temporary leave."
That's when Robin realized something. Master Hand never mentioned what this 'emergency' was. "If… you don't mind me asking, what exactly was it that made Shulk return to his home so quickly?"
"Well, I specifically didn't want to pry into something that was clearly not any of my business, but he mentioned it involved some creatures he called… Telethia, I think?"
"T…T-Telethia!?" Sirens were blaring in Robin's mind now. If she remembered Shulk's story correctly, the Telethia were the creatures that were created to exterminate all traces of life found on the Bionis, and were also responsible for Fiora's apparent death.
"So he told you of these creatures? What are they like, exactly?"
"Well… if what he told me was correct, then the Telethia exist only for one purpose: destroy any and all forms of life that reside on the Bionis, so that their master, Zanza, can absorb their life energy and revitalize himself."
"Hm… that does sound quite nasty. No wonder Shulk was in such a hurry to leave. This raises another question, though. I thought he eliminated Zanza, so why are the Telethia attacking now?"
"Apparently, even though Zanza was killed, a small group of Telethia managed to survive. Shulk told me a similar attack on his colony happened a few months before he came to this place… but without Zanza giving them orders, they are nothing more than mindless beasts."
"They might be… or are they perhaps evolving? With the way Shulk implied the situation before he left, it almost seemed like this was a calculated attack…"
That's when Robin came up with an idea. An idea that part of herself was vehemently trying to reject, but…
"…Can you send me there? To Shulk's world?"
Master hand was puzzled by this. "…Why would you want to do that?"
"Well, Shulk might need help! Plus… he's my friend. I wouldn't be able to bear the thought of never being able to see him again. Please, can you send me there?"
"I can send you there, but… there are a few things you need to keep in mind if I do. One, if I send you there, you won't be able to come back here until tomorrow. My teleportation skills may be powerful, but even I have my limits in situations like these. Two, if I do send you there, there's no guarantee you will know where you're going. It's an entirely different world than the one you are from. Are you certain you want to do this?"
Robin spoke without too much hesitation. "Yes. I'm certain about this."
"Very well. It will take me a few brief moments to open up the portal. I suggest you go to your room first and take with you anything that might prove useful."
Robin left the office and quickly headed to her room to grab her weapons of choice. The Levin sword and her tomes were a given, but one other weapon in her collection caught her eye as she was about to leave. She picked it up and dusted it off a little bit.
It was a rather heavy tome, and had a bright blue cover. The the symbol of Naga, which was also the Brand of the Exalt, was printed on the front.
'I haven't needed to use this during any of my matches yet… And although the Telethia may not actually count as dragons… I probably should take this with me just in case.'
She stuck the tome inside her coat, and headed back to Master Hand's office where the portal was waiting.
"Robin… all I will ask is that you don't do anything too reckless. Make sure you and Shulk come back safely. I wouldn't want to suddenly announce to the rest of the smashers that something happened to you two…"
"I promise. And thank you for this. Farewell for now."
Robin walked through the portal, and that's when everything around her began to change. The was a bright light that engulfed her vision, and within just a few brief moments, she found herself sniffing clean air, feeling a slight breeze, and hearing birds chirping. She opened her eyes and found herself in a lush, green forest.
"Alright… Let's think about our situation. I'm not sure if the invasion has started yet… so logically I ought to find out where the colony Shulk resides at is." She looked down and found a trail of sorts leading through a part of the forest. Chances are the trail was placed there by citizens of the colony, and hopefully led back to their home. She started to follow the trail, hoping that it would lead her in the direction she needed to go…
-About two hours prior: Colony 9-
Shulk was standing in front of a round table with a huge chart on it, mapping out all of the regions that the Colony 9 residents had mapped out of the restored world so far. Most of his comrades, along with a few other key figures were also around this table, currently planning what to do when it came to defending the colony. Otharon, one of the two lead commanders of the New Colony 9 defense force, spoke up.
"I believe we can rule out the Telethia assaulting us from the air. The anti-air batteries were more than capable enough of keeping them out of the Colony the last time they attacked."
Then it was Dunban's turn to speak up. "Which means that their logical course of action is to attack from the front gates. We will need to keep our most able troops near the front, keeping up morale."
"Sounds like a simple enough strategy. Who do you recommend to take that position?" Otharon asked.
"This strike team would consist of myself, Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Melia, Riki, and dare I say it… Vangarre."
Vangarre smirked a bit at that remark, while Otharon rolled his eyes. "Do any of the others mentioned have any objections to this?"
Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, Melia and Riki all shook their heads.
"Good. I say we go ahead and get ready, as the attack could begin any moment now. Meeting adjourned."
Everyone present at the table walked away, getting their weapons prepared for the oncoming attack. Shulk was somewhat lost in his own thoughts, until Dunban approached him.
"Shulk, now that I think about it… you mentioned that you had a vision before you came here. You mind telling me what you saw?"
Shulk sighed. That vision wasn't really one of the things he wanted to be thinking about right now, but he figured Dunban had the right to know.
"Well, from what pieces I've managed to put together, this vision takes place after the invasion is already over. In the letters that I sent to you guys while I was away… you remember me mentioning a girl named Robin?"
"I do recall the name, yes. Was she in this vision?"
"She was. What I don't understand yet is what exactly she was doing here in our world, as she has no real reason to come here, unless…" And that's when it hit him.
The only reason Robin would be in this world is if she found out why Shulk left the mansion in the first place, and the only real reason he didn't want her to be here was because of that vision, but he realized Robin would probably come anyway if she found out about the situation he was in.
'Ugh… I should have just woken her up and explained the situation.'
Then the alarms started blaring all across the colony.
"There's the signal! Come on you sissies, we got a bug hunt to attend!" Vangarre yelled at the top of his lungs, as he ran towards his post.
"And… there he goes. Try to make sure he doesn't get himself killed, ok?" Dunban stated to Shulk.
"I'll try, although persuading him to listen isn't his favorite thing ever…"
The two headed towards the front gate of the colony, ready for whatever Telethia may come their way…
The invasion had been going on for nearly an hour and a half, and to say that things were going well for the Colony 9 Defense Force would be an understatement. Unlike the previous invasion a few months back, the Telethia were mostly dropping like flies. While this could have been due to the Defense Force being well aware of how Telethia are capable of mind-reading and being well prepared to deal with it, Shulk wasn't sure. Despite how easy everything had seemed up to this point, he was beginning to get a little worried.
'This almost feels… TOO easy. Is this all apart of some sort of elaborate plan they have?' Shulk thought to himself. If there was one thing he was able to learn from Robin in the amount of time they have spent with each other, is that one should always make sure to never underestimate their opponent, no matter the situation. Perhaps this could have been Robin's tactician logic rubbing off on Shulk, but this thought process was weighing heavily in his mind right now.
After things seemed to have calmed down, the bulk of the defense force regrouped near the front gate. While discussing what to do next, a pair of Homs soldiers made their way into the colony from what looked like the forest not too far away. Upon arriving, they immediately saluted both Vangarre and Otharon.
"Scouting report! The bulk of invading Telethia have successfully been routed!" Said the first soldier.
"Good job boys! What else have ya got to report?" Colonel Vangarre proudly asked.
"It appears what's left of them have made a retreat back into the woods. Should we make chase, sir?" The second soldier asked.
"Is that even a question? OF COURSE we should make chase! We can finally eliminate these buggers once and for all!" Vangarre looked like he was ready to start running into the forest, until he was stopped by Shulk.
"Hold on, let's not be rash about this."
"What!? And why shouldn't we, exactly? Especially when we are this close to be ridding of these monsters for good!?
Reyn, one of Shulk's closest friends spoke up next. "Hold on a minute colonel. He might have a point… Shulk, did you get a vision or something?"
"Actually, no. It wasn't a vision, but… something about this doesn't seem right. Did you notice how easily we were keeping the Telethia out of the colony this time?"
"…Now that ya mention it, yeah. This was pretty easy. I just reckoned the Defense Force was actually getting better at their job for once."
"They may be… but this just sounds like a trap. If the Telethia are getting smarter like we think they are, this could be an elaborate ruse they conjured up."
Dunban was the one to speak next. "I agree with Shulk, but there's another thing that's bothering me about this. Why would they try to lure us out of the colony? In instances like this, most people would resort to setting a trap if they were had some kind of bait their enemies were after."
Reyn was a little confused by this. "…What exactly do you mean by that, Dunban?"
"Think of it like this, Reyn. The Telethia are using a fishing pole, and we are the fish. The question is, what kind of bait are they trying to use to lure us in? The thought of an easy victory, or is it something more?" Dunban explained to him.
Shulk pondered this. What could they have up their sleeve to pull a strategy like this?
And that's when he started to receive a vision.
He could see Robin fighting against a particularly large Telethia, and unfortunately not being able to do much in terms of damaging it. She pulled a blue tome Shulk had never seen before, and was preparing to cast a spell of some kind. Unfortunately, before she could properly cast it, the Telthia reached out with its huge claw and slashed across her chest.
The vision blurred a little, but Shulk could see bloodstains across the claw… in a very similar manner to…
The vision ended, and before any of the others could have realized what just happened, Shulk began a mad dash towards the forest's entrance.
"SHULK! What are you doing!?" Reyn yelled at him.
"We'll figure out later! Obviously he has a reason to go in there, the least we can do is back him up!" Dunban retorted. With no time to argue, the two gave chase.
Robin was struggling, to say the least.
While she was following the path that she presumed led to the colony, a very loud scream came from the distance. Before she could even realize what direction it came from, she found herself under attack by two bipedal creatures with small wings on their backs.
'What… What are these things?' She thought to herself. She began to charge up her signature tome, Thoron, and let loose on the creatures. They knew the attack was coming, however, and easily swept out of the way and started swinging directly at her. Her reflexes were quick enough to get out of the way of their attacks, but the way that they dodged her first attack made her come to a very quick conclusion.
'They knew what kind of attack I was going to use… that shouldn't be possible… unless… They read my mind and found out!' She cast an Arcfire in an attempt to wall herself off from the Telethia, but this was only able to buy her a few brief seconds of time. Her strategy was to distract them with the wall of fire and then swing with the Levin Sword, but the Telethia proved to be a few steps ahead of her, and evaded the swing.
Suddenly, Robin came up with an idea. She began to charge up Thoron, but this time she heavily concentrated on that thought. Once the two Telethia were ready to strike once more, she quickly swapped the tome out for Nosferatu. The two were in close enough range that she was able to suck the life out of them and rejuvenate her own. With the two being stunned long enough, she let loose Thoron, and blasted them both to pieces.
Robin took this moment to catch her breath, but quickly realized she needed to keep moving. If just two of them were able to tire her out this much, she shouldn't be sitting in one place for too long.
And that's when she heard an ear-piercing scream from the sky above.
A large crash shook the ground, and blurred her vision. The sounds were deafening, and as the dust began to drift away, she saw another Telethia, but this one was quadruple the size of the first two she encountered. Robin tried to run, but found herself blocked off by a hill and a number of tall trees. The only way out was through the Telethia.
'I really could go for a miracle right now…' Robin told herself, and reluctantly engaged the giant behemoth.
"Shulk! Wait up for a second, will ya?" Reyn yelled to his friend, but it fell on deaf ears. Shulk's senses were thrown into overdrive after that vision that just occurred. He recalled the fact that the giant Telethia seemingly had her cornered. Given his anxiety, he was struggling to remember where in the forest that exact spot was.
And that's when he heard an ear-piercing scream from the sky above.
He could hear it in the distance, looked in the direction. A giant crashing sound followed not too long afterwards, and the entire ground beneath him shook. He started to follow the direction he heard the noise, but found himself once again getting ambushed by a group of Telethia.
Luckily, Reyn and Dunban also appeared, and were able to block their attacks.
"We'll hold these off for now. Just keep moving, Shulk!" Reyn yelled to his friend.
"But… are you sure!?" Shulk asked back.
"If what you told me was true, then she needs your help Shulk! We'll take care of these ones and catch up! Now GO!" Dunban shouted.
"…Alright. Thanks guys." As soon as he found an opening, Shulk proceeded onward, leaving Reyn and Dunban to take care of the smaller ones.
'Just hold on, Robin… I won't let you die here!'
'Come on… I just need to hold on a little longer!'
Robin dodged from left to right, but she was running out of breath. At this rate, she figured she would run out of energy by the time this monstrosity was taken down.
'Well, then I have no choice… time to see if my trump card will actually have any affect here.'
She pulled out her Arcthunder tome and fired at the Telethia's legs. Managing to land a direct hit, the Telethia found itself stuck in place for a few seconds, the spell briefly paralyzing it. Robin used this to buy time to bring out the tome she specifically brought with her if the situation called for it.
Robin began to create the enchantment for the Book of Naga.
A spell circle surrounded her as she began to concentrate, but the magic binding the Telethia together was beginning to wear off. Before the enchantment could be completed, the Telethia managed to break free from its bonds, and began to swing at her, breaking her concentration. It was almost as if her life began to flash before her very eyes…
"MONADO PURGE!"
A green beam was suddenly fired at the Telethia, knocking it back about 15 feet. The sound it made when it came crashing into the ground after losing its balance was deafening. Once the sound cleared up, Robin turned her attention to the direction the beam was fired from…
Where she saw a very tired out looking Shulk looking back at her.
"SHULK!"
"That should stop it from being able to read your mind for a few minutes. Now let's finish this thing!"
"Shulk, I… Yeah. Let's do this." While she was ecstatic to see that he was alright, she knew she had to turn her attention back to the matter at hand. The Telethia was down, but certainly not out. She needed to come up with an effective strategy to beat this thing, and now with its mind reading being temporarily impaired, this gave her time to plan properly without an audience listening in on what she was thinking.
"Ok Shulk, first things first. I'm going to need you to aggro it while I buy us some time to use the Book of Naga. Rally Spectrum!"
Robin raised up her hand, and Shulk felt all of his senses gain a slight increase.
"Got it!" Shulk ran towards the Telethia and swung at its front legs, as they were already injured from Robin's Arcthunder. With the speed advantage, Shulk was able to get in a good amount of hits while simultaneously dodging all the attacks being sent back at it. Meanwhile, Robin was using her Levin Sword to strike lightning bolts at its back legs, causing shock damage and paralysis to its backside while Shulk distracted it from the front. While the Telethia was very powerful, it was taking too much damage from two different angles, and with its mind reading abilities disabled, it wasn't able to concentrate enough to figure out how to deal with them.
After a few minutes of circling the giant behemoth, Shulk was able to sense that Monado Purge was wearing off, which meant that it's mind reading abilities would be reactivated.
"Robin! We have to take him out now! Is that spell ready yet?"
"Almost! Use your purge ability again, but this time use it to keep him in place!"
Shulk activated Monado Purge once more, but this time pointed the sword directly at the Telethia, more specifically, at its wings. As the beam of light exhumed from the blade, the Telethia found itself completely unable to move, between the paralysis in its legs and the Monado keeping its wings in place.
"Alright Robin, now's our chance!"
Robin pulled out the Book of Naga once more and opened it. The spell circle surrounded her as she closed her eyes and began to concentrate, the magic becoming stronger and stronger. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and slammed the book shut.
Light itself gathered around the Telethia, nearly blinding Shulk and Robin. The light began to grow brighter and brighter, and then the Telethia was bathed in a fireball of holy magic, and let out another ear piercing scream, but this time it became more and more faint the longer it shouted. After the light began to dissipate, Robin and Shulk could see that the magic spell left almost no trace of the monster behind. The Telethia had been completely eradicated.
Robin let out a loud sigh of relief. As she turned to look at Shulk, she suddenly felt as if her entire body was being constrained. Shulk had run up to her and pulled her into a very tight hug.
"Shulk, I…"
"Robin… I know you were worried about me, but I need you to promise me something, right here and now." She could feel his entire body trembling as he held her in his arms, cluing her in to how frightened he must have been.
"Robin, please… Don't EVER scare me like that again. I saw a vision of you fighting that thing… and if I hadn't of stepped in like I did, you wouldn't have made it out of that alive."
"Shulk… I'm sorry. I probably should have just waited for you to come back to the mansion. This… this was all my fault, wasn't it?"
"No Robin, this wasn't your fault at all. I probably should have told you where I was going before I even left. It's just…"
"…Just what?"
"…I've… already lost Fiora… I… Can't even begin to imagine what I would do if I lost you too."
It was at that point Robin returned the hug. The two stayed together, not caring about how much time was passing. As long as they were with each other, they knew they were safe.
That evening, back at the colony…
After the people of Colony 9 found out the invasion was over, everything immediately returned to the way things were. People filled the streets, the shops opened back up, and commotion could be found at almost every corner. The threat had once more been dissipated, and while it was no guarantee that the Telethia were done for, it was a sign of hope.
Due to the fact that Robin and Shulk couldn't go back to the Smash Mansion until tomorrow morning, Shulk offered to let her spend the night at his residence. While his house wasn't that necessarily large, (only having 4 rooms in total; a living space, a kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom) he knew she didn't really have anywhere else to go until it was time for them to head back.
Robin was currently laying down in the bed that Shulk lent to her for the night, wondering what to do next. She had to admit, Shulk's hometown was a very nice place. Despite being populated by a number of different species, they all seemed to live in harmony and in peace; it was something she truly had admired during her brief time here.
She heard a knocking on the door. "Hey Robin, are you still awake?" Shulk called from the other side.
"Sure, come on in."
Shulk opened the door and sat on the bed, opposite side of where Robin was lying down.
"I… wanted to apologize about today. I didn't mean to get you caught up in this whole mess…"
His apology perplexed her. She sat up in the bed and looked at him in the eyes. "Wait, you're the one who's sorry? I should be the one apologizing to you though! I'm the one who followed you here…"
"I don't blame you for that. You were simply worried about me, is all. Realistically, I should have woken you up last night and explained the situation. Then there wouldn't have been so much confusion between us."
"Well… honestly this whole trip wasn't that bad for me. For one, I got to see where you grew up. This is such a peaceful town you live in. I'm quite envious, actually."
"Heh, thank you. I know you didn't really have a proper place to call home growing up, but what about Ylisse?"
"Ylisse is just about as peaceful, but there isn't the same amount of mixed heritage like there is here. Seeing this place makes me excited to see the rest that your world has to offer…"
"…About that…" Shulk looked somber after hearing Robin say that. She caught on to his lower tone.
"Shulk? What's wrong?"
"Robin… I need to talk to you about something. Remember how we promised each other we would venture off together after this season of smash was over?"
Robin nodded.
"…I hate to be the one to break a promise, but… I think this is something I really need to do myself."
"But… how come?"
"I'm… facing some very conflicting feelings right now when it comes to Fiora. I need to figure this out… but I think this is something I need to tackle alone."
"…Where did this thought come from, exactly? Can you tell me what's causing the conflict?"
Shulk sighed and rubbed his forehead. He wasn't sure how to word this without coming across as extremely awkward.
"Well… it's just that… As much as I believe that Fiora is still out there somewhere… part of me realizes that I might be kidding myself. I don't want to burden you with the task of finding someone who may not exist anymore. Especially as this is someone you have absolutely zero connection with."
"… I suppose you have a point." Robin quietly stated. 'I do have no connection to her at all… but if bringing her back is what it takes to make sure that you are happy… Then that is still something that I'm willing to believe is worth the trouble." Robin then realized the way she worded that statement. Shulk shot a questioning glance towards her.
"…You really would do this just to make sure I'M happy? That's… very kind of you to say, but… why do you put it that way?"
"Well… it's just that… Oh, who am I kidding!?" Robin covered her face with her hands. Shulk could feel her starting to tremble.
"Robin! What's wrong?"
"Oh, Shulk… I've been… keeping this to myself for a while now, but… I can't take it anymore. You need to know the truth." He could tell that she was starting to tear up a little. Why was she suddenly so upset? What caused this to happen? What was it that she's been keeping to herself?
"The truth is, Shulk… that… I'm… in love… with… you…"
Shulk said nothing. Robin was confused a little bit by his silence, but continued to pour her heart out to him.
"But I know, deep down, that your heart still does and always will belong to Fiora. And I can't bear to see you unhappy… So I know that this would never work out between us. Still, I feel like you deserved to know the truth."
"Robin…"
It was at this point Robin was actually beginning to cry. "I… I should just stay away from you. I've caused you nothing but pain, ever since that comment I made back in the library…"
Robin buried her face into her hands once more, but that wasn't stopping her from bawling her eyes out. Shulk knew he needed to do something to calm her down... but he was inwardly struggling to make a decision. Should he tell her the truth like she told him?
And then he made his decision.
He pulled Robin's hands away from her face, and put his right hand on her chin. He tilted her head up to look at him, and he could see not sadness in her eyes, but confusion. He managed to catch her off guard, and he decided to use this to his advantage.
So he leaned in and gently kissed her on the lips.
Robin was shocked by this sudden movement, but as a few seconds passed, she closed her eyes, and returned the kiss. As their lips parted, Shulk brought her in for a very tight hug.
"Don't think of it like that, Robin. While it is true, that my heart will always belong to Fiora… only now do I realize… It belongs to you too. I care about you just as much as I care about her. Did you not even remember what I told you after we defeated the Telethia earlier?"
Robin chuckled a little bit. "I guess not. It's just that… If you truly do love me, like I love you… I don't want you to think of me as nothing more than a replacement for Fiora."
"No, I don't think of you as a replacement, if that's what you were worried about. Robin, you mean so much to me. I don't want you to stay away from me, as that will only cause me even more harm. I feel like I need you in my life more than ever now. Not just as a friend… but as a true companion. Will you stay with me, Robin?"
Robin was so ecstatic to hear those words coming out of him. "Of course I will, Shulk. Nothing would make me happier."
They separated from their hug, and held each other's hands. "Although, there is something I feel needs to be addressed, if we are going to start this relationship."
"Ok, fire away, I'm listening."
"Just because the two of us are together doesn't mean we are going to abandon our crusade to bring back Fiora. The two of us are still going to go out there and find her. No matter how long it takes."
Shulk scratched the back of his head. "If you are still up for it, I'm game. I should warn you, my world has the potential to be a very scary place at times… especially considering how much of it we still haven't even fully charted yet."
"Well, we'll discuss our plans in greater detail once we get back to the mansion. Speaking of… when Master Hand brings us back… should we tell him and the others? About… us?"
"…Only if you want to. It's not like they are going to object to it or anything like that. The way I see it, we don't have to tell them, but we don't have to try and keep it a secret, either."
"Heh. I guess you have a point there. It's getting pretty late though, so we might want to get some shut eye."
"You got it."
Shulk got off the bed and started to take off his shoes. Robin made room for him in the bed, and by the time she looked back at her new boyfriend, he had already taken his shirt off. The sight caused her to blush a little, but that also couldn't stop her from smiling ear to ear. Shulk climbed into the bed and gave her one more kiss before starting to drift off to sleep. Before he did though, he said one last thing to her.
"Oh, and Robin, just in case I didn't make it clear earlier… I'm in love with you too."
Robin giggled and pulled him in close, and within minutes, the two drifted off to sleep in each other's arms, ready for whatever may come their way.
Robin and Shulk attained Support Level S!
Shulk [Pink Affinity] Robin
Together at Last
And that's it! Thanks everyone for putting up with the wait on this one. (Well, all 5 of you that reviewed, anyway...)
And while I did say that this would be the last chapter, well... the answer is yes and no. This is technically the end of this story, but I have decided that I will write a fifth "Bonus" chapter that will cover what happens between Robin and Shulk a little while after the events of this story. If you can't tell where I'm going with this, well... This "Bonus" chapter is going to be a Lemon. (And it will be my first time ever writing one! Oh boy...)
I'm aware that not everyone is into that sort of thing, though, so I will be publishing this bonus chapter as a separate story. And hopefully it won't take me as long to get that out as it did to get this chapter out. Now that the semester has ended for me, I should have a lot more free time on my hands to get this out of the gate.
If you are interested, be sure to check it out when it's ready. If you're not interested, then consider this chapter to be the end of the story.
Alright, that should just about cover it. Until next time, toodles.
