Author's Note: Credits goes to Ginta for this chapter. I took a secondary role here since she's the one who knows Xenoblade more than me. Spoilers for Xenoblade Chronicles
Tensions were high in the Smash Brothers Mansion now. The last few days had been chaotic to say the least. Poor Dark Pit was in a coma and Pit lost his sunny deposition now that his twin was out of commission. Palutena's overall demeanor had changed after her neglect caused her precious angels to end up like this in the first place. Byleth had been more concerned about his students being caught in the crossfire. Hubert was not a Golden Deer student and he would never be. Regardless, he hated the idea of someone like Palutena using her powers to harm someone who clearly didn't stand a chance. Ferdinand jumping in to protect someone he didn't even like should have been seen as heroic, but it was nothing but reckless and foolish. Had another God not intervene, Ferdinand and Hubert would have died.
The power Shulk demonstrated was far greater than Sothis would have imagined. She considered intervening simply because Palutena should not abuse her powers in such a way. Yet, Shulk who was apparently in Bionis, managed to speed over to the mansion in record time deflecting Palutena's attack and protecting the students. In Smash, Sothis rarely got to witness Shulk use his powers outside of a few tricks from the Monado. She only tasted a small portion of his power a few days ago and needed to know more. She insisted that Byleth and Beth get Shulk to have tea with them so she can figure out his secrets. The Homs had dodged tea time on multiple occasions due to not returning on time, but he couldn't escape now!
Beth was rather anxious about the tea party. Shulk was stated to be a rather mellow fellow, but his clash with Palutena proved otherwise. She took huge breaths trying to relax. Now would be a good time to be like her brother. However, Byleth wasn't even thinking about Shulk.
"Claude, why do you insist on doing this?!" Byleth yells.
Byleth wasn't in the mood for Claude and his pranks. It didn't matter if Byleth confessed his love for the Golden Deer leader, proposed to him and swore to protect him. Claude had been banned from pranking the Smashers in his presence. If he cared for his life, he needed to stop. Yet, despite Palutena nearly killing two Fodlan students, despite Shulk showing he could do the same thing at the drop of a hat, Claude still needed to break him.
"It's a harmless prank, Teach!" Claude hummed. "Shulk is smart right? He'll be able to notice that I swapped the sugar with salt."
Rob wasn't all that helpful when it came to asking Shulk about what he liked. Shulk was neutral on many things but was only adamant about his dislikes such as his hatred toward vegetables. His taste buds weren't like everyone else in the mansion. There was a chance tha Shulk might not even notice the prank and Claude was banking on it. Byleth did not want this to happen.
"It is rude to prank our guests," Byleth lectured. "He is also a God. We cannot expect him to be forgiving if he finds out you pranked him."
"He'll never know~" Claude said with a smile. "You'll protect me if I went too far."
"My status is not meant to be abused…"
Byleth looked over to Sothis hoping she would say something. Her mind was still on what occurred a few days ago. She wasn't going to be helping him any time soon.
"I'm going to replace it right now," Byleth says as he stands up from his chair. "Claude, if you do not give me the sugar back, I will make sure that you-"
"Oh, I got to go Teach!" Claude suddenly shouts. He noticed a red sword from afar. "Shulk's here. Have fun!"
As quick as a deer, Claude fled the scene of the crime leaving Byleth with the knowledge that the tea had salt poured into it and not sugar. The sugar was nowhere to be found.
"Dammit Claude," Byleth curses. "You really cannot expect me to just use a Divine Pulse to save you, right?"
There wasn't any time to turn back the clock and correct the mistake. Byleth expected that attempting to use Divine Pulse in the presence of a God wouldn't exactly work because they might notice something is amidst.
"I'm sorry I'm late!" Shulk apologized. "I was fixing something in my lab."
"When aren't you in that lab?" Beth casually asked as Shulk took a seat across from them. She smirked seeing Shulk having to stand up to adjust the seating mainly because of the Monado. "You could just remove your sword instead of trying to make it fit with you in the seat."
"O-Oh! I apologize. It's a force of habit." Shulk takes the Monado off of his back and places it beside his chair.
Byleth had his eyes fixated on the red sword. "Your sword is amazing. I've never seen anything like it. Please, tell us more about it."
Shulk smiles. "I'd be happy to!" He says with enthusiasm. "The Monado is a magnificent weapon. Grants the wielder the power of foresight. Which is how I am able to have visions of the future. It comes in handy whenever I'm fighting someone. There is also the Monado Arts, which grants me many different abilities. Buff in speed, strength, defense, supporting your allies. The Monado is capable of so much."
Beth shakes her head in bewilderment. "So your sword can do everything huh? Sounds like to me that no one is capable of beating you."
"I'm not invincible, but the Monado is very powerful. Which is why Master Hand restricted me from using a lot of my power during Smash battles. He didn't want me overpowering the competition. I understand the reasoning, but I don't think I'm that amazing by myself."
Shulk notices the tea on the table and picks it up to drink it. The twins waited for Shulk to notice the flaw of the tea that he just drank. If he could see the future, surely he would have noticed that the tea had salt in it instead of sugar. To their surprise (and horror), the Homs failed to notice a difference.
"Rob was right. You do make fine tea," Shulk hums as he drinks it without a care in the world.
"I can't even…" Sothis muttered in disbelief. She shakes her head, not wanting to dwell on the matter. "So, Shulk...what is your occupation?"
"Oh, I'm one of the mechanics here in Smash Mansion," the Homs answered. "When I'm not assigned to fight in a tournament, I'm usually keeping an eye on the machines in the mansion. I have to make sure the machines are always functioning in case a Smasher has to leave and do missions in their own world. But when I'm not taking care of the vehicles, I'm repairing the robots around the mansion. Megaman and R.O.B. come to me every now and then even if they have their own repair owners."
"Do you not leave your room often?" Byleth questions.
"Oh, I have a small workbench in my room to tinker with some of the equipment I have, but there's a garage in the mansion. If you need any help with machines or need me to repair something mechanical, I'm always there...but that's assuming Rob doesn't drag me out to go eat."
Beth leans to Byleth. "Sounds a bit like a certain fiance of yours. Just a lot more enthusiastic." She snarks. Byleth nodded in agreement.
"Hey! Do you mind if I have a look at your sword? I've been eyeing it for a bit." Shulk requests.
Byleth takes out his Creator Sword. "Be my guest." He hands Shulk his sword.
Excitement was surging in Shulk's body as he felt the Sword of the Creator in his hand. "Wow. It feels much more rugged than most swords I've observed. The material...I can't recognize it. But I feel such a powerful energy behind it. Does it have any special abilities?"
"It can be used as a whip for long range attacks." Byleth answers.
"I think he's sizing us up brother. Checking us out to see if we're capable of fighting him Smash battles." Beth states.
Shulk shakes his head. "N-No! That's not it! I just like observing other people's stuff. Trust me, I'm not sizing you up." The blond hands Byleth back his sword.
Sothis groans in annoyance. It was official. Shulk wasn't going to be upfront about his God status. Why else would he mention a normal job despite having a far more important one?
"Shulk, there is no need for you to sidestep on your God status," Sothis starts. Her green eyes glare at the Homs before her who only just noticed that she wasn't too pleased with him at the moment.
"There really isn't that much to talk about," Shulk answers calmly. "You have already spoken to Rosalina and Palutena, right? They're more experienced Goddesses compared to myself so I wouldn't be able to contribute to the conversation."
"That's for me to decide," Sothis states. "Palutena was rather distasteful and while Rosalina was pleasant, it feels like she's not entirely there all the time."
"That's probably because of her head injury…" Shulk found himself mumbling to himself.
"What is your God title and what do you do with it?" Sothis continued to interrogate. "Palutena is the Goddess of Light and she is supposed to protect the humans of her realm. Rosalina is the Goddess of Space that watches over the galaxy."
"I...don't really have a title," Shulk starts to argue, but Sothis wasn't having any of it.
"You have a title like the other Goddesses here. It's clear that the other Goddesses all share a similar view about their status in the mansion. If everyone is supposed to be equal, why does Master Hand give you, Palutena and Rosalina more leeway than anyone else?"
There was no denying Master Hand's blatant favoritism. Whether it was the deities or past partnerships with Ganondorf, Bowser, and Mewtwo. Shulk disappeared for weeks on end missing many scheduled matches to boot. Palutena's wrath harmed Hubert and almost killed him and Ferdinand had Shulk not intervene. She calmed down, but Master Hand said nothing to her about her abuse of powers.
"I don't believe in that mindset," Shulk insists. "Everyone here is equal as far as I am concerned. My title as a God should not dictate how everyone treats me. Before I became a God, I was just like everyone else...well...not exactly. The Homs race aren't humans to begin with, but we're close enough."
"I would like to know what a Homs is." Byleth says, trying to alleviate the tension caused by Sothis.
Shulk frowned. "According to Pit, the Homs race is just considered another alien species in the universe. We're not all that different. Sure we eat odd foods and have odd lifestyles but we're pretty much the same. I mean...we do need Ether in order to survive."
"Ether is what exactly?"
"Ether is the source of all life on Bionis. We Homs need it in order to survive. We naturally take the Ether around us and use it as energy."
"That sounds just like a plant." Beth exclaims.
Shulk acknowledges the comparison. "Our cell structure is different from humans. When we run out of Ether to fuel our body, we collapse and need a large amount of Ether in a concentrated area to be able to recover." The blond smiles sadly thinking about something. "The Homs are one with the Bionis. When we die, we need to be laid into the water so we can return to the Bionis. We won't be able to go to the afterlife if our bodies do not return to a body of water…"
The Homs suddenly fell silent. He hated thinking about how there were so many Homs that perished in battle but were never able to return to the Bionis. Even as a God, he was powerless to stop it. He could change the way the Bionis and Mechonis were with his powers, but the lives that have already been lost to time could not hope to traverse to the afterlife.
Sothis sighs in disappointment. It may not have been intentional, but Shulk just changed subjects to anything not pertaining to his Godhood. Byleth placed his hand on Sothis' shoulder.
"Sothis, at this point, I think we should ask Alvis." he tells the petite Goddess.
Shulk gasped. "You know Alvis?" He looks over to the Monado waiting for Alvis to appear. It didn't take long for Alvis to show himself to everyone.
"You forget, Rosalina took the Monado when you were having a "good time" with Rob." Alvis reminds Shulk.
The Homs cheeks flushed a deep red. "N-Not another word about that Alvis!"
Beth smirked. She wanted more juicy details about this sexy encounter. Surely, Alvis would have more to say than just answer Sothis' questions.
"Alvis, it is a pleasure to see you again," Sothis purred. "Shulk seems incapable of staying on topic about his God status. I was hoping you would fill the gap on this topic."
"A pleasure," Alvis says as he bows. "I do get tired when Shulk changes the subject often."
Shulk shook his head in annoyance. "I don't change the subject that much…"
"You have a bad habit of changing topics when they do not interest you," Alvis reminds him. "I wish you take your job as a God seriously."
"I do…" Shulk pouted. "Why do you think I hurried back when I saw my vision was close to happening?"
"If you had the choice, you would have stuck around to take care of Riki's children," Alvis reminded him. "However, we both know they can take care of themselves. Melia is with them."
"I know…"
Shulk reluctantly allowed Alvis to take over the conversation.
"So Alvis, what does Shulk's job as a God entail?" Sothis asked. She believed she would get the answer she wanted this time.
"Shulk has not been a God for long," Alvis answers. "In order to become a God, one must first dethrone God. In which case, the previous God Zanza needed to be killed." Shulk opened his mouth to argue about a fact, but Alvis held his hand up to Shulk's mouth. "Do not speak when I am talking."
Shulk whined like a kicked puppy as a response as he sank down into his seat. Byleth couldn't help but pity the God before him.
"Bionis and Mechonis were originally ruled by two Gods. Zanza, the God of Bionis and Meyneth, the Goddess of Mechonis. The two were always clashing with each other with no end in sight. Zanza was not a good person, so he often terrorized the people of Mechonis. Meyneth was a good person...she had no ill will toward the people of Bionis. This imbalance caused the Mechonis to retaliate."
"Egil…" Shulk muttered the name, but it wasn't going to be addressed.
"In order for the people of both Bionis and Mechonis to live in peace, the old Gods needed to be removed. Meyneth had given up her life for Shulk and his friends in order to take down Zanza. Once Shulk was successful in dethroning Zanza, Shulk became the God of Fate. He is allowed to decide the destinies of others."
Sothis was pleased with what information she was given. "So Shulk can rewrite reality?"
"If he so desires, yes," Alvis answers. "He is capable of reshaping something if he believes that it doesn't belong."
"That isn't necessary," Shulk interrupts. "I can wish for a lot of things, but reality doesn't bend to me."
"Oh, it doesn't happen in the Smash Realm. It mostly applies to Bionis," Alvis states. "If you were able to do that in the Smash Realm, you would not have to worry about losing to Mario in tournaments." He snarks.
Shulk grumbled at the mention of the Italian plumber. "Don't remind me."
"No matter how long it has been, you are still mad that you did not win the vacation."
"Now who's changing the subject?"
Alvis had so many stories about Shulk that could take up an entire tea time. Perhaps Sothis would ask Rosalina to snatch the Monado and allow her to speak with Alvis about these funny stories that had been shared between the divine beings in the mansion.
Shulk starts to speak. "I decided that the Bionis and Mechonis did not need any Gods. My powers were simply used to put the world back into place. Because of Zanza, the Bionis and Mechonis suffered heavy damage. I needed to return to Bionis to help Melia with restoring Alcamoth. Her nation was obliterated by Zanza...and I…"
"Because of Shulk's inexperience," Alvis interrupted, "he is unable to completely fix the damage done by Zanza. He can put the Bionis and Mechonis together again. He can fix sections of both the Bionis and Mechonis in order to allow colonies to be rebuilt on the body. However, Shulk cannot return the life of those who have been lost."
Byleth mused over Alvis' words. Thoughts of his own weakness came to mind. The inability to stop his father's death despite having the power of a Goddess as an ally hurt him in ways that he didn't believe could exist. It wasn't just him that was broken up about Jeralt's death. Beth was too despite her best efforts not to show how torn up she was about it.
I shouldn't be surprised that even Gods have limits. Byleth told himself. But...being told that there are things out of reach is just…
"Byleth?" Beth called out to her brother.
"Hmm?"
"You're in deep thought again." She says with a concerned look on her face.
Byleth shakes his head. "I'm sorry. Don't mind me."
"I hope this information is satisfactory," Alvis says while looking toward Sothis. "Unfortunately, I cannot say everything about Shulk and myself. Shulk still needs to learn the ins and outs of Godhood, so it is best to keep many things about the Monado a secret."
Sothis nodded her head. "Yes, this is good enough...for now."
The tiny Goddess accepted that she wasn't going to get what she wanted at the moment. The amount of time it took to even get Shulk to have tea time tired her out. This might be a situation where Shulk might have been more open to talk if he knew her and the twins better.
"I am thankful that you are not like Palutena," Sothis says. Her green eyes examined the Homs again from head to toe. "You have demonstrated how strong and humble you are as a person. You don't let your title get to your head. You do your best to help those in need. And you're remarkably handsome to boot."
Shulk apparently didn't take compliments well either when the other person was blunt. The tactician twins did joke about how oblivious the Homs was, so Sothis found it amusing how Shulk took the compliment to heart.
"I-I'm none of those things!" Shulk denied. Alvis slowly smiled seeing the God of Fate flustered and confused. "B-Besides! I'm already taken! Rob already told you I'm with him!"
Beth had the most devilish smirk that Shulk had seen in a while. He paled seeing the female professor rest her elbow on the table.
"Oh, but we barely got enough information about that," Beth teased. "I want to know what's going on with you two."
Byleth in comparison wasn't interested. "Beth, he doesn't have to tell us if he doesn't want to."
"I am interested too." Sothis hummed.
Sothis was going to milk Shulk's overreaction for all it was worth. The Homs became too flustered to speak.
Alvis had no problem intruding on Shulk's private life. "I assume that Rob must have spoken about the extremes he went to in order for Shulk to understand that someone desired all of him."
"Y-You don't have to word it like that Alvis!" Shulk yells.
Alvis shook his head. "I disagree when a child can understand the feelings from his sword. The fact that you cannot understand an adult telling you how it feels is disappointing and hard to watch."
"Do not drag Rex into this Alvis!"
The twins wanted to know who this Rex was. This kid was definitely not around during the ball.
"Then I will simply speak about Rob," Alvis said before flashing a grin. Shulk hated the position he was put in.
"But…" Shulk gave Alvis his best puppy dog eyes hoping that Alvis would show mercy. Alas, Alvis did not know what it meant to be merciful.
"As you know, Shulk is not good at reading the emotions of people," Alvis started to explain. "He will believe in something else entirely before admitting that someone cares about him."
"Like someone who is blushing just has a fever?" Beth asked with a smug look on her face.
"Oh, or believing that your partner is fine when he's not happy about you spending time with other girls?" Sothis added in delight.
"Fiora and Melia are my friends!" Shulk yelled. "I told Rob ahead of time I would be spending time with them."
"You spent more time with Melia after the dance," Alvis corrected.
"It was important! And no, it's her business on what she needed to get done on Bionis."
Shulk really didn't want to talk about his business on Bionis. Yet, this topic did concern Bionis a bit.
"It's not my fault that I can't pick up hints…" Shulk muttered. "That is also Zanza's fault…"
Oh, that explains a lot of things. Sothis thinks to herself. "The evil God?"
Shulk nodded his head slowly. "My memory of my childhood is a complete blur. I barely remember anything about my parents before I was taken into Colony 9. I've been told that I've been rather slow to pick up the feelings of others and it hasn't changed all that much." The Homs expression darkened the more he spoke. "I have lost more than just my memories of my parents. I know I lost my sense of taste and despite being a God, my taste buds haven't been restored."
The twins looked at each other wide-eyed. Suddenly, the prank Claude laid out was rather pointless. If Shulk couldn't even taste a change from the sugar and salt…
"Are you saying that you can't taste the tea or sweets we got you?" Beth asked while frowning.
"Sorry…" The Homs apologized. "I don't like bringing it up because that means I'll offend the person. I made Rob upset on multiple occasions because I failed to notice any inconsistencies in the food he makes for me. B-But just because I can't taste anything doesn't mean my receptors don't respond to stuff like spice…"
"Rob thought you were mocking him," Alvis adds. This was mainly to lighten the mood. The silver haired Homs knew that if Shulk kept talking, he might end up saying he would regret later about his past. "I recall how passive-aggressive he was toward you until you explained yourself."
"I-I was a fool!" Shulk exclaimed. "I admit that I messed up a lot, but right now, we have a good relationship!"
Beth really wanted more details about the relationship. It's not everyday she was allowed to tease someone about having a relationship. Byleth always nagged her about leaving the students alone when it came to their love lives. In Smash, she was allowed to continue pressing for details.
"How do you make it up to Rob? I noticed your trips to Bionis take a long time." Beth teased.
"I swear, I didn't mean to take so long…" Shulk grumbled. "And...I'm still deciding on how I'm going to make it up to Rob. I'm more concerned about my visions coming true again when I'm away from the mansion. I know Rob understands this."
"Do you get visions of what you'll do to Rob?" The female mercenary continued to press on.
Shulk's face turned entirely red. "N-N-N-N-No! That's not how my visions work! B-Besides, I've been getting a lot of visions about your students."
Now, this was interesting. Byleth perked up. "Like Hubert?"
The Homs nodded his head. "I admit, my vision showed Palutena taking her anger out on a student and I didn't know who it was or when it would happen. I'm just fortunate that I made it in time."
Hubert's head would have had his skull bashed into her staff. Byleth thought to himself.
"What other students have come to your vision?" Sothis questioned. "It would be easy for us to protect the students if you gave a description."
"That's the thing...besides one person, every other student is just a blur in a vision."
"Who knows, you probably saw Edelgard somewhere in those visions of yours." Beth jokes.
Beth was right on the mark. The moment Edelgard's name was brought up, Shulk's eye shined a bright blue. Again, the Homs was given a vision of events that have yet to come. Compared to the large quantity of visions he received weeks ago, Shulk was being given a detailed vision. Shulk was still puzzled by these images.
He was given four different scenes and they all seem to be in order now. First, he witnessed an image of a girl with purple hair cowering in fear at the figure she was staring at. The same armor that Shulk caught Edelgard wearing in the last vision was the same one here.
"I-It can't be…" the girl shrieks in horror. "D-Don't kill me!"
The second image showed Byleth again. The same psychotic expression he wore was given more context. Shulk could see farther ahead to see a girl dressed up as a jester grinning evilly at the professor. Behind her, there were so many men cloaked in black ready to attack when given the order. Byleth held the Sword of the Creator in his hand and slammed the whip portion onto the ground.
"Oh, you think you're going to give me a painful death? That's cute. I'll make you suffer like I did to your precious Daddy." The girl says.
It's almost like the taunting didn't end well given the next image. Shulk felt rather light-headed seeing the image of dead bodies outside of the mansion. If Shulk had to make a guess, he assumed that this was the point where a powerful deity stepped in to deal with them. The Homs' attention was turned to Byleth and how he ended the jester's life. Byleth made the sword wrap itself around her neck, choking the life out of her. Beth was there too with a devilish look on her face as she pierced through the girl's chest with her fist. An image flashed of the twin's faces covered in blood. Beth's face relishing in the bloodlust while Byleth's was seething with rage.
The final image again showed Edelgard surrounded by the blood of the people that were behind the jester. She still wore the crimson armor that was seen in the first image. The Black Eagle's leader was on her knees with bruises over the many cracks of her armor. Blood dripped down her face. The anguish expression she made was what broke Shulk's heart. What made things worse for Shulk was that he saw Byleth standing over Edelgard with his sword in hand.
"What are you waiting for?! Kill me! KILL ME!" Edelgard screamed. She still sounded deranged.
"Kill her." Beth says coldly to her brother. Byleth lifts his sword, preparing to do the killing blow.
Shulk's eyes returned to normal and with that the reality that not all of his visions have happened yet. With how things are going, Byleth was going to snap and Edelgard was going to be killed.
"Did you have another vision?" Sothis asks. Her eyes stared at him as she expected him to answer.
"I did have one...just now," Shulk answers reluctantly. He turns to the two professors with worry in his eyes. "Byleth, do you know what Edelgard likes?"
Byleth thought the question was odd. Did it have to do with his vision? "I do not."
Beth rolled her eyes. "She's not our student. We teach the Golden Deer. I feel bad that Manuela has to teach the Black Eagles with how insufferable she is."
Shulk looked at the female professor in disbelief. "Huh? Should a professor be saying that about a student?"
"Didn't she give you the cold shoulder at the party?" Beth responded with another question. "I can't imagine anyone would want to befriend her if that happened."
"I-I wasn't given the cold shoulder! It was because of Palutena that I…" Shulk sighed. Every problem he had always came back to the Goddess of Light. "Nevermind. I still want to make friends with her regardless. We got off on the wrong foot, but I don't believe she's a bad person."
"And yet, she had no problem leaving her servant for dead," Sothis says casually. "I thought better of her until that moment."
Shulk shook his head. "There is always a reason for someone's actions. If we talk it out, I'm sure everything will make sense." The Homs needed to tell himself that in order to prevent the next set of visions, he needed to befriend Edelgard. If he couldn't do that, then he really was dooming himself to not being able to stop major visions despite being a God. Alvis looked at him with an unamused look.
"While you can change the future, there are some things that are set in stone." Alvis says robotically.
"Not if I reach a hand out to her…" Shulk muttered. If he started right now, he could stop the vision. "But I feel like I overstayed my welcome."
Sothis was far from pleased. "Still being secretive?" She wanted to know more about the visions about Edelgard.
"N-No, not at all…" Shulk argued weakly. "I just know that I need to find Edelgard and talk things out with her. I'm not like Palutena."
"Perhaps if you told us what the vision was about, then maybe we can help."
"No. This is only something I can do."
Alvis wanted to disappear at that moment. Sometimes he wondered why Shulk was so bad at asking others to help break the vision. Reyn knocked it into his thick skull multiple times that the vision requires teamwork to destroy, but just because Shulk had become a God didn't mean that things would magically change.
"Thanks for the tea." Shulk bows.
The twins stare at Shulk in disbelief. The God of Fate takes the Monado with him as he leaves. Sothis shouted at him to get back, but he really wasn't returning anytime soon.
"Oh, I see how it is…" Sothis growled. "I just have to talk to him in my spare time."
"What could his visions have shown him to make him so worried about Edelgard? Could she be in trouble?" Byleth wondered.
"Or the one causing the trouble. I don't know about you Byleth, but that girl isn't to be trusted. And with her not bothering to save Hubert, she just looks even more suspicious." Beth sneers as she folds her arms. "Sneaky bitch." She muttered.
"Yuri mentioned the same thing about her being suspicious. I don't want to believe that Edelgard is doing something evil but...what if it is all connected to what Shulk is seeing in his visions?"
Sothis shakes her head in annoyance. "If only he would have just told us. We would've been able to take action. Shulk is a humble individual, but he is also a naive one. The denial of Godhood is also getting in the way of fulfilling his role. I hope that his feelings do not cost him the lives of people he had the power to save…"
Author's Note: Notes from Ginta:
1. Shulk is still bitter about losing to Mario in A Tactician's Tenacity. The context is that despite Shulk holding back and not caring so much about winning, he gets upset because the one time he wants to win, he puts himself into a corner for Mario to win. In Ultimate, Shulk now has the advantage over Mario.
2. I'm still holding out hope for Rex and Pyra in Smash. Some of the information about the Monado can be explained if they were in Smash too since Alvis is being selective with what information he's giving out.
3. I was debating whether Shulk would admit to having been killed twice as another reason why his body is more messed up than a normal Homs. I decided that it was a sore spot and unless he trusted the person, he wasn't going to say anything. Only Palutena, Rosalina and Rob know about him being killed twice and the second time by Dickson.
We're at the final stretch from here on. All that's left are the characters that are the most associated with my universe. So next tea time will be Cloud Strife.