Fiora was falling. The only thing she could do was watch as the others became dots in the distance, falling as well. She saw Melia above her falling more slowly.
She clung to the Monado. If she somehow survived this fall, she didn't want it to be lost.
Melia had been trained, like all High Entia, on what to do in case of a fall into Eryth Sea. This was close enough. She spread out her limbs, slowing her fall and allowing her to aim her descent.
She could see Pearl plummeting down and a red spot that was probably Shulk near it. There were other black dots below, though she couldn't tell who they were. Right below her, however, was Fiora. She'd been injured and was likely unconscious. Melia could see that wherever they were falling to, there was land. If they landed on it- No, best not to think about that.
The least she could do was save Fiora. The endless ocean wasn't so far; she could aim their fall into it and then, swim to shore. She just hoped she'd be strong enough to drag Fiora along. She dove toward her.
Fiora was awake, so she was able to help a little. They clung to each other, refusing to let go.
They fell headfirst into the water.
0o0
Shulk's flight pack wasn't of much help, since the explosion had sent him flying and he couldn't get his bearings straight enough to activate it, so all he could do was fall. At least it looked like he'd land in water, which was a small mercy.
Pearl crashed in a shallow area. He cringed, hoping Kallian was alright in there.
He landed in a deeper area, not too far from there. He used his flight pack to boost himself to the surface. He swam to shore, and laid down on the beach to catch his breath.
0o0
Gadolt had clung to the person closest to him when the explosion went off. It turned out to be Dunban, but it was something. He couldn't see anyone else during the fall, and hoped that they were all alright.
He used his flight module to turn the deadly fall into an easily survivable one.
They landed on a beach.
"We have to find the others." Dunban said once they landed. "But what is this place?"
0o0
Reyn and Sharla were lucky enough to land in a deep pool of water. They stayed on the ground for a moment, catching their breath.
"You alright?" Reyn asked.
"Yeah, you?"
He gave her a thumbs up.
They looked around the area where they'd landed. They had no idea where they could possibly be. The only way to find out was to explore and try to find the others.
"I mean, they're probably fine, even without us..." Reyn sighed.
"Don't say that, we're all important to the team!" she told him.
"Well, you are; you're our healer. Meanwhile, I'm kinda useless." he shrugged.
Sharla said nothing, wanting to hear what he was going to say before replying.
"You know, the day Shulk died, I promised Fiora that he wouldn't get a scratch. Now both he and Fiora are stronger than me. They don't need me to protect them, not anymore."
"That's not true," she replied. "You've got our backs. Just earlier, you were the one guarding us and fighting back those Mechon when Fiora got hurt. When we head out, you're almost always near the back to make sure we don't get hurt if something comes from behind. Not to mention that Dunban tanks by dodging, but he can't dodge everything. You also make sure that if we are in a battle, the enemies are on you, not on us. How is that useless?"
She saw his expression change. There was a small smile there. "I'd never thought of it that way."
"Sometimes, you just need to take a step back and look at it another way." She told him.
"We should get going." Reyn said. "We're not getting any closer to finding out what this place is if we don't get moving."
"Is it even safe to be walking around when it's this dark out?" Sharla asked. "Maybe we should stick around here, at least until sunrise. If this place is anything like back home, the tougher monsters are out at night, and I'd rather not run into one while I'm soggy."
"Yeah, sounds good to me." He agreed. "Though a fire sounds like a bad idea. We'll just have to hope we dry out with time."
They installed themselves against a wall, getting comfortable for the rest of the night. Sharla slept first, then she took guard. She worked on getting her rifle dried out for most of her watch. When sky turned into hues of orange, they set off, hoping to find the others.
0o0
Melia and Fiora clung onto each other as they swam for the surface. They made it shore, laying down and catching their breath.
"Are you alright?" Fiora asked between two ragged breaths.
"I'm fine," Melia lied. "How are you?"
"I think my back's bleeding again." Fiora said.
Melia confirmed it. She summoned three water elementals, then helped Fiora out of the water.
She got rid of two elements, and replaced them with fire ones. She wanted to find something to make a fire, but she had to stop the bleeding first.
She took off her cape and ripped it into strands. She vaguely remembered her teacher telling her how to care for wounds in the field and was remembering it as best she could. She knew she had to disinfect it and get the sand out of the wounds.
She didn't have any antiseptic on her, so salt water would have to do. She dipped the strips into the water and laid them out on Fiora's back. Fiora hissed and tensed, but said nothing.
"I know it hurts, I'm sorry." Melia apologised.
"It's alright, I expected as much." Fiora replied. "Is my shirt in the way?"
"A little, but it's fine." Melia replied quickly.
"I'll take it off and put it out to dry, hang on," Fiora said. "We wouldn't want to catch a cold or get worse because we spent the night in wet clothes. You should do it too."
Melia froze.
Fiora laughed, but stopped herself. "It's fine, we're just girls here! No one will see."
Melia was glad Fiora couldn't see how flushed her cheeks were. "I"ll just go look for something to make a fire with first."
"Sounds good, but stay safe."
0o0
Shulk walked over to Pearl once he'd caught his breath. It was half submerged and looked totaled. He wasn't sure if would ever fly again. First though, he had to make sure Kallian was alive.
He forced the cockpit doors open with sheer force of will. Kallian was inside, no injuries from what Shulk could tell, but unconscious. He dragged Kallian out and laid him down on the beach. Placing his ear to his chest, he could hear a faint whirring of engines and he breathed a sigh of relief. Kallian was alive. Unconscious, but alive.
He wasn't breathing, though. That was bad. Shulk did the only thing he knew how to do.
He pinched Kallian's nose and leaned in.
0o0
Gadolt told Dunban all about the Fallen Arm.
"So this is where you've been this whole time..." Dunban mused.
Gadolt nodded. "The others should've landed on the arm as well. Shulk and Kallian will know to head for the village, but the others won't. Unless they're found by the guards, which is also a possibility."
"We should look for them." Dunban said.
"Of course, but shouldn't you get dry first?" Gadolt asked. "You'll catch a cold."
Without another word, Dunban stripped off his shirt, removed (and drained) his boots, and took off his pants.
"Did you practice that?" Gadolt asked, amazed at how quick that was.
"Yes, actually." Dunban replied.
"I'm not sure I want to hear the story behind that, but I'm going to assume it involves alcohol."
"Your assumption is correct."
0o0
Kallian's eyes snapped open. Shulk leaped back eyes wide. "You're alright!"
"I am alright." Kallian laughed. "I'm alright!"
Still laughing, he pulled Shulk into a tight hug. "Thank you for coming back for me."
"Of course I went back, I couldn't bear to leave you behind," Shulk replied. "Even Melia came along. We all did."
Kallian broke the hug and held Shulk at arm's length. "Is she alright?"
"I don't know." Shulk replied. "I lost sight of her and the others in the explosion."
Kallian took a deep breath. Melia, like every other High Entia, knew how to fall. She would've survived.
"Let's go find them." he declared.
0o0
Melia ignored the searing pain in her ankle and walked to where she'd seen trees. Some branches had fallen and she figured they were the closest thing to firewood she'd find. She brought them back to the beach, where Fiora had taken off both her shirt and pants. Thankfully, she'd kept a little modesty by leaving her underclothes on.
"Well, that was fast." she said. "I tied the bandages as best I could, though I think we'll, have to change them first."
"We might run out of clothing before the wound stops bleeding." Melia said as she put the firewood down and lit it.
"I'm sure your elementals will have me fixed up by morning." Fiora smiled.
"Hopefully." Melia replied.
The bleeding had almost stopped by now. Melia summoned another water elemental, who joined the other and swirled around Fiora.
After taking off her own clothes (keeping her underdress) and setting it by the fire, Melia sat next to Fiora.
Fiora scooted closer to Melia. Melia scooted closer to Fiora. The fire was warm, but there was still a chill in the air. They huddled closer for warmth. Neither of them could sleep, so they stared at the fire and talked for most of the night.
0o0
Dunban and Gadolt had stopped by the water.
"When my father died," Dunban started. "I promised myself I would protect Fiora at all costs. I'm going to keep doing that until the day I die, even if I know she can protect herself just fine."
"I told myself the same thing about Sharla and Juju." Gadolt said. "Otharon taught me everything I knew, you know. He took me in after my folks died. He signed the papers and everything. Legally, he's my father."
"That was the one in the Faced Mechon who attacked Colony 9, right?"
Gadolt nodded. "I know technically, now that we have Kallian we should be heading back to Alcamoth, but I'm going to keep going to the factory. He wasn't at the fortress, so he must be there. I have to save him. Repay him for everything he's done for me."
Dunban nodded. "I don't think I'm alone when I say we'll come with you."
Gadolt nodded. "Thank you. Who knows, maybe even Melia and Kallian will come along."
"Maybe." Dunban agreed. "Have any idea where the others might be?" He asked after a few moments of silence.
"I have no idea." Gadolt replied. "They could be anywhere. I think our best bet is making it to the village and looking from there."
"Then let's head to the village." Dunban said.
0o0
Shulk and Kallian made their way from Jifum Beach through the pipeworks. The local wildlife left them alone, but the Mechon sure didn't.
They eventually made their way out of the deeper pipeworks and just as they reached the surface, they heard a commotion.
They both froze and exchanged a look, listening. They heard rifle shots and something clanging against metal. Someone was fighting Mechon. They exchanged a look, and leaped into battle.
0o0
Sharla and Reyn headed off toward the only direction they could and they'd barely made it half a kilometer before they were attacked. Ambushed, actually.
They fought back to back against a type of Mechon they'd never seen before. Thankfully, their weapons were effective. Reyn had taken one of them down and moved on to the second when he heard a voice.
"Cannon drones, activate!"
Beams of ether cut down one Mechon while a red blur took down the other one. Within seconds, the Mechon were clanging to the ground.
"Glad to see you two made it alright!" Shulk said. "I was worried, considering how long the fall from the fortress was."
Reyn gave Shulk a surprise hug. "I'm glad you're alright too, buddy. Is that Kallian?"
Kallian waved. "Sorry about the whole attacking you thing, I didn't have much of a choice."
"It's fine." Sharla shrugged.
"I'm still sorry about it." Kallian replied. "It's nice to see you all again."
"We should keep moving," Shulk declared. "The village isn't too far from here."
"The village?" Sharla asked.
"It's where we've been living this whole time." Shulk explained. "Gadolt will know to go there, and we'll head out to look for others that haven't made it back and organise a search party. We'll have everyone together by sundown that way."
"Let's head to that village, then." Reyn declared.
0o0
Melia and Fiora headed out at the first sign of sun. They picked a random direction and headed that way.
They passed through a pipe and found themselves in a plain of grass and metal. They could see a wall in the distance.
"Is it just me," Fiora said, "or does that wall look kinda suspicious?"
"It does look like something might be beyond it," Melia added.
Wordlessly, they walked toward the wall. They ended up having to take many detours because of the layout of wherever they were. Melia's ankle was throbbing by now, and she'd slowed the pace considerably. Fiora's back wasn't any better either. They had to get a good med kit, and soon.
They leaned on each other as they walked, trying to get as close to the wall as they could.
0o0
Gadolt and Dunban reached the entrance of the village around noon. They were greeted by an overly excited Natalia, who gave Gadolt a tight hug. "I'm glad you're alright. You should head to Junks, I'm sure everyone else is worried too."
"Yeah, that's where I'm heading." He replied. "There's probably others that are going to be coming through here, so keep an eye for them too."
"Will do." she said as he headed off.
"There's Homs here?" Dunban muttered.
"There's three here," Gadolt explained. "they fell from the sword and were rescued by a villager."
Dunban nodded as they headed into the building called Junks.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what (who?) was in front of him.
A hearty laugh resounded in the room. "I always get a kick out of seeing people's faces." they said.
"Miqol." Gadolt sighed.
Miqol cleared his voice. "Welcome to our village. You are?"
"Dunban." He replied. "A friend of Shulk's."
Miqol nodded. "Did you manage to get Shulk and Kallian back?"
"Shulk? Yes. Kallian? I have no idea." Gadolt replied. "We fell from the fortress before we could. Egil forewent brainwashing and only controlled Pearl."
Miqol crossed his arms. "I'm going to assume you weren't alone. Where are they?"
"We were seperated when the fortress exploded, we don't know where they are or if they're alright." Dunban said.
Miqol nodded. "They're likely somewhere in the area. I'll organise a search party and have them found."
"I'll go ahead and do a fly over, see if I can spot anything." Gadolt declared. "Dunban, you should stay near the entrance in case they get back. I'd have you come with me, but this place is like a maze to those that aren't familiar with it. And you can't fly."
Dunban agreed and planted himself at the entrance while Gadolt flew over.
0o0
"We're almost there." Shulk declared. "It's right over this hill."
"Thank Bionis." Sharla sighed. "I think I would kill for a bed about now ."
"Me too." Reyn agreed.
"There's some pretty comfortable bed and couches." Kallian told them.
Shulk nodded. "Just don't take the couch in my house, it's the most uncomfortable thing I've ever had the misfortune to sit on."
"Your house?" Reyn asked.
"Yeah, the village is where we lived all this time, so we had our own houses." Shulk replied.
"Gadolt and I were roommates though." Kallian added. "So Shulk could have more space working."
"Well, can't wait." Reyn said.
Just as he said that, the walked over the hill and the village came in view. Well, the entrance to it, anyway.
"Hey, who is that?" Kallian asked.
"I don't know, it's not Karlos or Natalia…" Shulk looked ahead, then paused. "It's Dunban!"
At the sound of that, everyone broke into a run.
"I'm glad you're alright!" Dunban exclaimed when they reached the entrance. His brow furrowed. "Fiora and Melia aren't with you?"
"No, I was hoping they'd be with you." Sharla replied.
"We have to find them." Kallian declared. "This place is dangerous, they can't be left on their own."
Shulk nodded.
"You guys go ahead into the village," Kallian declared. "We'll fly over and see if we can find them anywhere."
"Shouldn't you have Linada take a look at you first?" Shulk asked.
Kallian shook his head. "I can't rest until I know Melia's safe."
"Understandable," Dunban agreed. "I hate having to stand here while Fiora is out there, but I know I'd just slow the search down."
Kallian nodded. "I'll get myself looked over once everyone is safe, not before. I feel fine, anyway."
Shulk nodded.
"Gadolt just headed out, you missed him." Dunban added. "He's flying over to look for you and the others."
Kallian nodded. "Let's head out."
Before Shulk could even reply, he'd revved up his flight pack and was off.
Shulk tried out his, and it seemed to be working fine. "Dunban, have you met Miqol?"
He nodded.
"Tell him Shulk and Kallian are fine, and that they're flying over to search."
Dunban nodded again. "Now go find them."
Shulk took off, his flight pack thankfully behaving. He scanned the ground below, looking for any sign of Fiora and Melia. He saw Kallian doing the same a little further ahead.
0o0
Melia and Fiora were getting frustrated. The wall was only getting farther as they had to take detour after detour to avoid the very aggressive Mechon in the area. At this rate, they'd have to stop for the night again.
Melia had summoned a water elemental that swirled around them both. Fiora's back had thankfully stopped bleeding, but Melia's ankle slowed their pace considerably.
Fiora found herself looking toward the sky when she saw something. There was something flying above. She couldn't tell its shape too well, but it was silver.
"Melia, do you see something up there, or am I seeing things?"
Melia looked up and sure enough, there was something up there. "It looks like it might be… a person?"
Fiora's eyes went wide. "Shulk made flight packs so they could fly outside of the Faces! It must be one of them!"
She spread out her arms and made motions with them. "Down here!" she shouted.
Melia did the same. "We're down here!"
The thing turned toward them and as it got closer, they were able to see who it was.
"Brother!" Melia shouted.
"Melia!" he shouted when he touched down. "Melia, I'm so glad you're alright!"
He gave her a hug, but a careful one. She hugged him back as tightly as she could.
"Are either of you hurt?" he asked.
"Melia sprained her ankle pretty bad." Fiora replied. "And my back went through the shredder."
He nodded. "We're about an hour's walk away from the village," he told them. "I'll call Shulk and Gadolt over so we can carry you."
Both Melia and Fiora nodded while Kallian spoke into the comm.
Shulk landed barely a minute later, saying that Gadolt was on his way.
"Is everyone else alright?" Fiora asked.
"Yeah." Shulk replied. "Dunban's worried about you."
"He's my brother, it's his job to worry about me."
"C'mon, hop on my back," Kallian told Melia. "I'll carry you, just like when you were little."
Melia smiled and hopped on. She could feel her ankle thanking her as she finally put her weight off it.
Shulk offered the same thing to Fiora. "I'm stronger than I look, I'll be fine." He assured her.
Gadolt joined them after they'd set off. He kept an eye for mechon and got rid of them while the others slipped past.
They were back in the village soon enough.
0o0
"I have unfortunate news to share with you all." Sorean declared.
Elinor and Anson shared a weary look, while Dickson and Chief Dunga listened.
"As you know, I have sent a small party to Galahad Fortress. Early this morning, I received a word from the observation team that the fortress has exploded."
Elinor went pale.
"Do we know if they're alright?" Anson asked.
"Unfortunately, the observation was from a long distance and we were not able to tell if the party we sent is alright. We have no way of communicating with them."
"Your Majesty," Dickson said. "If you would allow me, I would like to borrow a ship. If they're alive, there's only one place they could be."
"Permission granted."
"I'll come with you," Elinor said. "Those were my children on that fortress."
Sorean nodded. "Return with news of their safety, if they are.
"It is also a good time to launch an attack on Mechonis. The fortress is not completely destroyed, but their forces have been considerably weakened. If we want a chance to attack, it's now." Anson declared.
"I do agree." Sorean replied.
"We Nopon shall fight as well!" Chief Dunga declared.
"You already know the Homs are fighting. We just have to rally the troops." Anson added.
They called the meeting there, Anson wishing good luck to Elinor. If he could walk, he would be coming as well. She brought some food and a first aid kit, having a feeling they were probably hurt after the explosion.
Dickson took off with the same ship he'd arrived in, which made her wonder why he'd asked to borrow one in the first place.
He knew how to pilot it, and they headed toward the Mechonis.