Soryy for the delay! The winter semester has been kicking my ass and while I was gonna write during spring break, breath of the wild happened, so no writing got done that week.

Enjoy!

As they made their way back through Makna forest, Sharla steeled herself. It was now official in her mind that Ruby and Shulk were one and the same. She repeated the words she planned to use over and over in her head. Before she knew it, they were back in Eryth Sea, where they immediately took a transport to the Bionis leg.

Fiora had asked if they could see Melia before leaving, but Alvis only shook his head, saying she was busy. Fiora then told him to thank her once again. As they boarded, he promised that he would.

There was a table in that transport that they all sat around. Reyn was already sprawled out as much as he could, planning on sleeping.

Sharla took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you." She could feel her heart beating between her ears.

"Go right ahead," Dunban said.

"I've suspected this for awhile, but now that we know that there's no Homs colony in Makna, I can say this without hesitation. Ruby comes from Colony 9."

The silence around the table encouraged her to keep talking.

"Let me remind you that Ruby had short blonde hair, blue eyes^, was around 18 years old

and was roughly 5'7." She saw realisation hit Fiora and Dunban, while it was starting to dawn on Reyn. "There is no one fitting that exact description in Colony 6, but there is someone in Colony 9 who does."

"Shulk is dead. I saw him die." Fiora was shaking, from anger or anxiety, Sharla couldn't tell.

"I know he is," Sharla replied, "and that's the only reason I hesitate. Shulk and Ruby look exactly the same. They could be twins."

A heavy, uncomfortable silence fell.

A voice echoed in Fiora's mind, sounding familiar. "We don't belong on Bionis, not anymore," It sounded like whoever was saying was either angry or about to cry. The worst part was that she could see the person saying it, but not their face, if that made sense. For half a second, the unclear face turned into Shulk's and it felt right. Her eyes watered at the sight of him being so distressed.

It was Dunban's worry that her brought her out of her head. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied. "I was just thinking. When I picked up the Monado, I saw flashes of things and I heard someone. It sounded a lot like Shulk. Looked like him too."

"Are ya sure it wasn't just a hallucination?" Reyn asked.

"It's something he's never said before in a tone I've only ever heard once," she continued. "There were other things I saw too that make me doubt I imagined it. It all felt too real, but it was a hazy kind of reality, like it hasn't happened yet."

"You think you saw the future?" Sharla concluded.

"I think I did, yes," Fiora was determined that she was right. "I'm sure I did."

"What did he say?" Dunban asked .

"We don't belong on Bionis, not anymore."

0o0

The transport dropped them off on Gaur plain, the pilot saying he didn't want to risk getting any closer. They thanked him and made their way back to Colony 9, despite the sun's quick waning. They arrived at Dunban's and Fiora's house around midnight, where they all stayed the night. They all stewed over what Sharla had said.

Shulk's body had been hauled off by Metal face. There had been a search for the body, but it hadn't been found. It was assumed that it had been tossed into the Great Sea or on Sword Valley. Could he have somehow survived the fall? Could he have somehow made his way back to the Bionis Leg? If so, why hadn't he come back to Colony 9? How had he survived being stabbed in the chest in the first place?

It didn't matter. He'd survived somehow, and made his way to the Bionis leg to save the refugees before disappearing into the wilderness.

He must've had a reason for it.

If he was still alive out there, why hadn't he come back?

Why hadn't he shown himself?

As Fiora awoke the next morning, the sun was starting to appear. She found herself wanting to take a walk. She quietly got out of bed, making sure not to wake Sharla, who was sleeping next to her in the bed. She went downstairs and slathered some butter and dance apple jelly on a toast, slipped on some shoes and walked outside.

The familiarity of the cool morning breeze hitting her face cleared her mind. She'd spent the night thinking about it, and she'd decided to consider Shulk being alive as being a possibility. Her feet led her to the residential district, then to Anson and Elinor's house. She didn't know if they were awake at this hour, but she knocked anyway.

The door was opened by Elinor. She looked like she'd just gotten out of bed, but still gave her a big smile. "Oh, Fiora! Did you just get back?"

"We got back around midnight. I just woke up."

"We were just about to make some breakfast, would you like to join us?"

Fiora thought of the toast she'd just had, which was a meager breakfast, even for her. "Gladly."

Anson was nearly done making the food, which consisted of hashed cool potatoes, dance apple slices, flamii eggs and bacon. He always made extra food, so her arrival didn't cause trouble.

Juju was the first one served. He scarfed down the food, asking Fiora where his sister was as he did so. When she told him that Sharla was back at her house, he quickly finished his food, excused himself, and left. All three present knew that he was likely sprinting back there.

Anson finished giving out the food and sat down.

"So how did it go?" he asked.

0o0

"Shulk might still be alive?" Elinor looked at her in shock.

"He might be yes, but I'm not betting on it," Fiora replied.

"I would rather not have to acknowledge the possibility until we know for sure," Anson mused.

"Now," Elinor declared, changing the subject, "you'll let me study the Monado, right?"

"Of course, it's at home right now. When you make your way to the lab you can stop by and get it."

"I'd actually like to see it in action, so could you bring it to me when you're free?"

"It won't be a problem! When are you going to the lab?"

"I was going to go in about two hours, but I'm too excited now and I'll probably go right after breakfast."

"I'll join you there," Fiora nodded.

0o0

For the rest of the morning and a good part of the afternoon, Elinor and Fiora worked on the Monado. The main discovery was that the glass in the middle was multi-layered and that it seemed to have the ability to make any weapon, even those that weren't anti-mechon, capable of damaging mechon. They decided to name that ability "enchant". Since the glass was multi-layered, they could only assume that the Monado had other hidden powers that they had no idea how to unlock. They would hopefully figure it out one day.

"Do you think this would affect faced mechon?" Fiora asked.

"I see no reason why it couldn't," Elinor replied. "We'll know for sure whenever you fight one."

"We hopefully won't have to."

As Fiora was about to leave the lab, a military big-wig came in. Fiora couldn't remember his name for the life of her, but she knew he was important.

"I see the Monado has successfully been retrieved." Both women nodded before he continued. "I would like for you to put it to the test. There have been reports of mechon from colony 6 making their way across the leg and toward our colony. Go eliminate them with the Monado. You may bring whoever you want with you."

"When does it need to be done?" Fiora asked.

"You have until tomorrow morning to eliminate them. The mechon cannot be allowed to reach Tephra Cave."

Fiora nodded. The man left without another word.

"Always to the point, that Eran," Elinor sighed.

"That's for sure," Fiora agreed, deflating. "We should get going," she declared, "I'll go tell the others."

"Do try to find out if you can get more abilities from the Monado," Elinor said as Fiora walked out.

"I will!" she replied from the hallway.

0o0

With a heavy sigh, Dunban, Reyn and Sharla agreed to go with Fiora. It would be faster if they had a smaller party, though they didn't all have the same amount of experience fighting mechon. They would still make it just fine. They had the Monado, after all.

The four of them set off that very afternoon, promising to be back by breakfast the next day.

The mechon were quite close to the colony, the group finding them in Gaur plain.

"We can't let them get passed us," Fiora declared as she activated he Monado. "We can't let them get to Colony 9!"

The mechon barely put up a fight. The group wasn't sure if it was because of the Monado or because the mechon were leaderless, but the fight seemed almost too easy. It left them with a feeling of unease, both during and after the fight.

"We should head back," Dunban said. "Our job here is done."

They all headed back, the uneasiness only growing bigger as they got closer to the colony. As they were about to head into Tephra cave, Sharla spotted something in the distance. She ran to the edge of the knee to see it better, the others following.

There was a black swarm quickly flying toward the colony. At the speed they were going, they would reach it within minutes.

Fiora had seen that black swarm before. She should've known. She should've warned someone.

Dunban strained his ears, but couldn't hear any sort of siren, meaning the swarm hadn't been noticed yet. "We have to hurry."

"They're back." Sharla muttered.

"Mechon," the Monado activated on its own in Fiora's hand.

"We have to get back and help!" Reyn shouted, already halfway to the entrance to the cave. "Let's go!"