Previously on the Monado Arc...
The Monado Trigger that Mirai inserted into Sharla's rifle has made her even more powerful. Meanwhile, Meyneth, the goddess of the Mechonis, has plans to meet Sharla and Shulk in Valak Mountain within Face Nemesis, but Metal Face is hot on her tail. During the night in Ose Tower, Sharla encounters Brigitte for the first time and learns a shocking truth about her, she's not just the Jewel of the Mechonis, but the one who created the Battle Gems and that hers and Shulk's gems were created for one reason, to end the Killing Titan War once and for all.
Monado Arc Chapter 9: Shattered Bonds
All of us walked out of Ose Tower the next day after having eaten a little something. I noticed Alvis was already there and that Murasaki was looking at me with a rageful look in her eyes, like she suddenly didn't trust me or something. Did I do something to piss her off? Or did she overhear my conversation with Brigitte last night? If only I knew what she was thinking.
"Good morning. Did we sleep well?" Alvis asked.
"I can't feel my face or feet, especially after what I heard last night." Murasaki admitted as she sweatdropped. "What do you think?"
Riki turned to face her in annoyance. "Mura-mura not tell truth! Mura-mura's snoring make Riki think of Orluga!"
"Hey! I don't snore!" The purple haired girl cried out in embarrassment.
The seer chuckled. "Sword Valley is just around the corner."
As we headed for the Great Glacier, Murasaki ran up to me in a rage and before I could react...
BAM!
"Murasaki?!" Was all I could hear Zellium shout as the purple haired girl seemed to hit me so hard to make me fall into the snow.
I got up and turned to face her. "Murasaki! What on Bionis was that for?!"
"You should know, you bitch!" The Jewel of the Bionis screamed, seething with rage. "I know what I heard last night!"
"What the hell are you saying?" Zellium asked.
"I've heard you talking with Brigitte last night! How the fuck are we supposed to be friends when you now know about why your Battle Gem was created in the first place?!"
"Shulk's Battle Gem was created for the same reason! Didn't you hear her say that?!" I asked in anger. "She made them so we could end the war between us and the Mechon!"
"She wasn't kidding when she said you had the heart and courage of a wolf, you know! She only told you that because she believes I've left her to die and I'm leaving you astray!"
"I've should've seen the signs of betrayal from you then!" I shouted. "If you left Brigitte for dead, then you should've told us that you did! She's supposed to be the light to your darkness, you two were friends until you entered your crystal slumber! She used some of the leftover ether from you and the ability to disrupt ether from the Monado to create the Battle Gems in the first place! Brigitte believes in what she thinks is right for this world, that's what makes her different from you!"
"How dare you!" Murasaki growled.
"Both of you, stop this!" Dunban yelled. "Murasaki, I understand that you're mad at Sharla for supposedly breaking your trust, but Brigitte must have spoken with her for a reason."
"Dundun right!" Riki exclaimed. "Mura-mura really scary when angry but Mura-mura had no right to hit Sharla!"
"I'm sure her reasoning's all very clever but..." The purple haired girl muttered before turning to face me. "Why did she trust you more than the rest of us, Sharla?"
"Well I just... I just told you why!" I shouted.
"That's not the point right now! Why did I ever trust someone like you in the first place?!" She continued.
"I..." I didn't know how to respond.
"If you're going to keep silent then maybe we should keep moving towards Sword Valley." The Jewel of the Bionis said before turning towards Alvis. "We have to be getting close by now, right Alvis?"
"We have just gotten to the Great Glacier." The seer responded. "Just further ahead is the Bionis' Wrist, we should be able to reach Sword Valley from there."
"Got it. Let's move on and keep going." Sae advised.
Everything after that was a blur to me, Face Nemesis came to see me and Shulk but Metal Face got in the way and revealed himself to be Dunban's former war buddy and the Ultimate Clawsman, Mumkhar Hagane. By the time everything stopped feeling like a blur to me, Brigitte had shown up with Egil Kinzoku inside Yaldabaoth and had taken Face Nemesis and challenged Shulk to come to Galahad Fortress if he wants Fiora back.
We never transformed despite the craziness of all of it, Alvis was looking for the quickest way to the Bionis' Wrist while the rest of us were talking about what just happened.
I was lost in my thoughts. Why does Murasaki think it's my fault that Brigitte came to me to reveal the truth to me? Why can't anyone who's after me forgive me?! Why does it feel like the entire world is against me?!
"Sharla? Are you feeling OK?"
I turned to see Zellium and Shulk approach me in concern as the heir to the Monado spoke up. "From the looks of it, it seemed that Murasaki's words have gotten to you."
"Sorry, was it that obvious?" I asked.
"She really snapped back there, didn't she?" Zellium snarked. "We've heard your conversation with Brigitte last night too. It looks like she's only antagonizing you for Egil's sake. If so, then a duel between the both of you is definitely inevitable."
"You think so?"
"Seeing how lustful she is to fight you back there, that's what I think this would all lead to." My Pokémon partner said.
"And if Brigitte's words mean anything, then you should always believe in yourself no matter what happens." Shulk added.
I nodded and we were about to set off until a familiar voice echoed in the air.
"We meet again, Girl that Defies her Destiny~! And this time, I've brought allies of my own with me."
All of us watched as Ruby Face flew over us along with three other Faced Mechon. All three of them had feminine appearances like Ruby Face's own appearance, mechanical eyes, and ranged weapons attached to their arms.
One was made of the same color of metal on Mumkhar's Mechon, had red eyes and red diamond on it's chest, and a coach gun for it's weapon attached to her right arm, another was a pearly white with golden eyes, a golden four-pointed star on it's chest, and a pair of pulse pistols on both of it's wrists, and the last one was a deep blue with teal eyes, a teal infinity symbol on it's chest, and a flash rifle attached to it's back.
In the center of it all was Ruby Face, who turned to face us as Shulk growled. "Ruby Face!"
"Not her again... Get them!" Murasaki yelled as we charged in with weapons at the ready.
"Woah, calm down now." A raspy female voice said from Pearl Face. "Don't wanna exhaust yourselves, do we?"
"Right, perhaps if you hold fire for a bit we can sort this out piece by piece." A soft female voice added from the same Faced Mechon. "By that I mean settle this on foot."
"What are you saying?" Dunban asked with a hint of anger in his voice. "Why should we trust you?"
"That's actually pretty funny coming from the Hero of the Homs." A calm female voice said from Lapis Face. "I guess even heroes like you can have a sense of humor."
"Anyway..." A raspy female voice with a country twang from Onyx Face got the conversation back to the previous topic. "Let us show you our motives for huntin' you here and then we'll settle it mano-a-mano, you understand?"
"OK, but only if you let us go after Egil and Brigitte afterwards!" Shulk reluctantly agreed.
"Now there's a good boy~" Ruby Face muttered. "Always the one to put others first over yourself don't you, Shulk?"
The cockpits of the Faced Mechon opened and five girls came out, landed onto the ground, and pulled out their weapons.
One by one, Murasaki revealed their names and their talents.
Rose Lavillant, the Ultimate Lucky Student and the pilot of Ruby Face. A girl with blonde hair in a pixie cut, periwinkle eyes, wearing a pink and white skin-tight bodysuit, and holding a thin silver sword in her left hand.
Pearl Himemaka, the Ultimate Rapper and the pilot of Pearl Face. A short girl with cream squid tentacles with pink highlights, gold eyes with four-pointed stars in them, wearing a pastel pink and pastel yellow hoodie, platform shoes, a golden chain necklace with a four-pointed star, and a golden crown on her head, and gripping a pair of white and gold pulse pistols in her hands.
Mei-Ling Zhou, the Ultimate Climatologist and the passenger of Pearl Face. A girl who seems to be 5'3" in terms of height, dark brown hair held in a messy bun by a silver pin with a red jewel and a silver snowflake on a chain attached to it, brown eyes, black glasses, wearing a white top, a black coat with fur cuffs and near the top, light blue gloves, a pale brown belt with a silver buckle with a snowflake on it, dark blue snow pants, and pale brown snow boots with light brown padding, black laces, black soles, and fur lining the tops, and gripping onto what seems like a ether gun of some kind in her hands.
Marina Ida, the Ultimate DJ and the pilot of Lapis Face. A tall girl with dark skin, seafoam eyes with pinkish red infinity symbols, plum brown octopus tentacles with teal highlights, wearing a white bandana that is wrapped around her head with light gray designs, a long, silver chain necklace with an 8 symbol pendant around her neck, a black wristwatch and black chain bracelet on her right arm, a white turtleneck crop top, seafoam colored capris, silver bowed, gray-white shoes, and a pair of headphones.
And finally, Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe, the Ultimate Gang Leader and the pilot of Onyx Face. A woman with snowflake white hair with one part reaching near her neck, red eyes, red lipstick-covered lips, wearing a black and white outfit with a wild west motif, and carrying a gold coach gun and a ether rifle in her arms.
After silence persisted between all of us for a moment, I spoke up. "So why are you and the rest of the pawns after me? It seemed like you were trying to stop us from getting to the Mechonis so we could confront Egil and Brigitte."
Ashe seemed to look annoyed even though I didn't do anything. "You have no idea how much workin' with 'em means to us. Brigitte made our Faced Mechon capable of handling pure organic life without the need for the pilots to go through anythin' drastic. If she trusts someone like you then she must wants to fight you as badly as she does."
"Rose told us everything she knows about you." Mei continued. "Since the brute was killed and taken by the Mechon, you and your allies might be more vulnerable even if it's by the tiniest bit."
Dunban wasn't taking the climatologist's words lightly. "You dare say that of us? Why do you devote yourselves to the Mechonis?"
"We all have our reasons." Pearl said. "But sometimes they get too rough to handle in the ring if you know what I mean."
"Pearlie's just saying that the bigger image in our motives to go after the Girl that Defies her Destiny would be hard for you to swallow if we told you now." Marina admitted.
"Brigitte told us that you have the potential to defy fate, we cannot allow you to live!" Rose exclaimed.
"That..." Zellium growled. "That's barbaric."
"We're doing this for her sake!" Mei cried out as tears ran down her face. "At the rate you're all going, you'll never forgive her for everything that happened! Every lie, every time she had to run! You'll never forgive her because the Jewel of the Bionis over there really did leave Brigitte to die in this cruel world!"
The purple haired girl gasped. "I... I had no intent to do so! It was the only way to keep her safe!"
"Argh! Fine then! Enough of this chitter-chatter!" Ashe shouted angerly as me and my friends pulled out our Battle Gems. "If that's your belief, then transform and fight us all head on with no remorse! Mano-a-mano! No holdin' back!"
Alvis, Zellium, and Sae stood back as the rest of us looked at each other and nodding in confirmation before preparing for what's about to happen next.
"Xenoblade Transformation!" The six of us shouted and the transformation began once more.
Clutching her Battle Gem to her chest, Sharla has her eyes closed as light begins to surround her. The light engulfs her upper chest and around her hips, bursting to reveal a black top that covers her breasts and exposes most of her upper back with gold details on her chest, black wing-like feathers on the top, and thick dark orange string creating details on the back, and a black skirt with white and gold trimming and white lace on one side, black and dark orange feathers on the other, and the back reaching her ankles made of black feathers and gold tendrils. Light went down her left leg and her other leg became engulfed in light when it reached her knees, fading to reveal a black legging with small crystal details imprinted on it and metallic black boots reaching near her knees with gold armor on them as well as gold plating, black lace in the middle that was exposed, and dark orange soles. She crossed her arms in an 'X' formation in the sky as black skin-tight gloves reaching her elbows with an black and gold encryption attached to them and dark orange armor around her fingers formed from water-like light. In a flash of light, a cute little black top hat with black lace, gold ribbon, and crystal details imprinted on it attached to a black headband with crystals on it formed. She opens her eyes and aims her rifle at the 'camera' in a jumping leap, creating her final pose.
Small bolts of dark purple lightning shine in Murasaki's eyes as she spins around with dark purple energy surrounding her. The energy takes the form of chains and surrounds her legs, breaking to reveal dark purple leggings covering most of her legs with black rims and a pair of black shoes. The rest of the dark purple energy covers her body, slowing revealing a long-sleeved black dress with dark grey trimmings that reaches her ankles. She throws her right arm outward and one of of her shurikens goes in that direction, creating her final pose.
Shulk's eyes glow blue before he closes them as his body is engulfed in red liquid-like light. It fades away from the feet up to reveal dark red and silver armor with several details encrypted onto it. A horned dark red headpiece formed on his head from the remaining light. Gripping onto the Monado, he slashes at the 'camera', creating his final pose.
Dunban is seen silhouetted as cherry blossom petals fall around him. Slowly but surely, the petals reveal him wearing dark green armor with gold details. There's a green crystal near his neck and his left eye is covered by a fanged strapless eyepatch with the center at his eye glowing green. He points his sword at the 'camera' in a battle stance, creating his final pose.
Holding her Battle Gem to the sky, Melia did some ballet moves as light resembling an aurora spun around her. Starting at her chest and to her hips, the aurora slowly revealed a black, purple and gold armored dress with most of her midriff exposed, a black choker around her neck attached to it, and white and gold talons on her upper back and either side of her skirt. The water she seems to dance on flows up her legs and forms white laced stockings reaching a little above her knees and a pair of black, purple, and gold knee-high boots with silver plating at her ankles and gold soles. As Melia finished her dance, the remaining aurora forms a mainly purple and gold headpiece on top of her head, black and gold cuffs around where her elbows are, and a pair of black and gold fingerless wrist-length gloves. Gripping her staff tightly, she spins it before holding it behind her back while she looks at the 'camera', creating her final pose.
Riki's Battle Gem glows in a blazing aura while he looks at it in confusion until it flies out of his wings in the form of a dragon, catching him off-guard in surprise. The dragon's dust-like breath engulfed him and when he opened his eyes to see what happened, he saw that the dragon's breath has materialized into black and silver armor on most of his body with a red demonic face with silver eyes and a tail like a dragon's, black crescent moon-like markings near his eyes, and a cute mini dragon on his back like a backpack. The dragon goes into him from behind and in what seems like a instant, forming black dragon-like wings over his wings and a helmet appearing like a dragon's head with grey and red hair, red eyes, and a red mouth. He pointed his biter at the 'camera' in a jumping charge, creating his final pose.
With all of us transformed, we charged into battle and complete havoc ensued. The chaos looks like it's making Ashe panic, as if she didn't expect me to be as strong as I am.
"I... I refuse to give in! For Brigitte! For Lord Zanza!" Mei screamed as she kept firing her ether gun at us despite the fight going against her and the other four. "FOR MY FRIENDS!"
Dunban charged ahead, dodging the climatologist's attacks while doing so.
"You're finished!" The swordsman moved quickly and before Mei could react...
He stabbed her through the chest, his sword going right through her body.
"NO!" Marina yelled.
"MEI!" Rose called out hopelessly as the climatologist dropped her weapon.
"You.. shouldn't have done that... Hero of the Homs..." Mei muttered. "You've... just... unleashed... Brigitte's... true... power..."
And when Dunban pulled his sword out of her body to take in her final words, she collapsed to the ground. Up until the end, none of us could look away from the climatologist's final moments.
I don't think anyone else noticed that Ashe ran as quickly as she could to Onyx Face, got into her Faced Mechon, and aimed it's coach gun at us.
When all of us looked up in horror, she fired. I couldn't see a thing through the ensuing explosion, but I felt a metal hand grab onto me. I let out a scream as Onyx Face picked me up.
"No! Put her down!" Shulk yelled.
"If you want her back, you're more than welcome on the Mechonis." Ashe teased as she flew off.
"Everyone! NO!" I screamed as I was carried off from Valak Mountain against my will.
I tried reaching out but it was no use. I let out a sound of dismay as I looked down. Ashe was quick enough to get to Sword Valley faster than her allies.
She noticed me struggling to get free and decided to mock me further. "Feisty, aren't we? Then I'll drop you here. If you wanna fight me and the others again, you'll have to fight your way through the Ether Storage Area and the Port Access Pathway in order to reach the Heavy Machine Depot. We'll be waitin' there."
"Huh?" I let out a sound of confusion before Onyx Face open it's hand holding me, causing me to scream as I plummeted towards Sword Valley.
"Good luck tryin' to reach us! If you survive that is!" The gang leader called out as she flew off.
I quickly used Monado Enchant to create a protective bubble around me before landing nearby the 3rd Gate on Sword Valley.
Dispelling the bubble, I looked around and saw an unexpected sight.
"Sharla, is that you?"
Reyn was there, turned into a Faced Mechon pilot from the look of it. So this is what happened to him after Callie killed him and his body was taken by the Mechon during the attack on Alcamoth. I thought this was the case.
"Good to see you again. Where's Shulk and the rest?" The soldier turned Machina pilot asked.
"We were attacked by four other Faced Mechon on Valak Mountain." I responded. "Onyx Face captured me and dropped me off to here."
"So Ashe brought you here." He muttered before his eyes flashed a soft canary yellow for a moment before he groaned in pain. "Not again... Egil... Brigitte... please don't do this..."
"Reyn?!" I cried out in concern. What are Egil and Brigitte doing to him?!
"Sorry... Sharla... I can't be my own person for as long as this... Or else I'd risk losing my free will... But know that I believe in you... So please, believe in yourself, OK..? It's... a promise."
They're erasing everything he's known about himself?! Brigitte, I understand why you chose me and Shulk but, damn. Reyn's eyes were now a soft canary yellow as what seemed to be a topaz Face Mechon landed behind him.
Do I have to fight a Mechon Reyn now with no backup?! I thought to myself as I watched him climb into Topaz Face and the cockpit close.
Sorry about sending him to attack you. Egil just wanted to see if you were as strong as I told him you were.
Brigitte? Did you help Egil in erasing his memories?
I... didn't really have a choice. I'm still trying to catch up with everything new that he put into the Mechon army. I'm not exactly a mind control person.
Topaz Face tried to attack me but I manage to get out of the way and land a few shots on him.
Well maybe Topaz Face wasn't the best idea for Egil to test my strength, any ideas on how to kill him now that he no longer has any free will?
Hmm... You've already got a few good hits on him. I'll make him vulnerable using Thunder Crash, you finish him off with Monado Buster, got it?
OK, let's do this!
On three, get ready. One... two... THREE!
As if on cue, Topaz Face was struck with lighting from Brigitte's Thunder Crash. He was breathing hard. "Must kill... all life... on Bionis... Can't die... here."
I took my chance and fired Monado Buster right at him. It pierced right through him and he fell backwards before going off in a huge explosion. I quickly healed myself so I would be prepared for what would come next and started to go through the Ether Storage Area.
Sorry you had to watch your friend die in front of you again. All of this mind control really digs deep into the Faced Mechon's minds that they can't remember who they were in their past lives because of it.
It's alright. Is there a way to undo it?
Me and Lady Meyneth are the only ones able to undo the effects and restore them. I'm only doing the mind control for Egil's sake, he can be a bit crazy but he still remains calm. The Machina tried to stop him once, but they just suffered massive casualties in the end. The remaining survivors fled to the Fallen Arm after they were displaced from Agniratha by Egil and were forced to keep their existence a secret.
I understand you both want what you think is best for this world and your people, but why go to such extreme lengths as these to achive these goals?
The Monado's god-like abilities along with Murasaki's wrath had left Egil vengeful because of what they did to his friend Arglas after his body became controlled by Zanza. He always says he's doing this for Lady Meyneth's sake but I think he's doing this to counter the Monado by any means, including the use of the Apocrypha. I beg of you to let me help you. I want to fight you in a duel just between the two of us.
OK. Murasaki doesn't trust me at all now after she heard me talking to you last night, so what do I got to lose?
Thank you, Sharla. Your courage to take the Mechon head on really is like that of a wolf's.
I managed to get through the Port Access Pathway mainly without any issues and make my way to the Heavy Machine Depot where Ashe, Pearl, Marina, Rose, and Mumkhar would be waiting for me to arrive.
"We've been waiting for you." The pilot of Metal Face said with a smug look on his face.
I growled as Pearl spoke up. "Don't ya look at us like that! We're about to have the time of our lives with ya! Ain't that the point of comin' here?"
"Ashe dared me to come here if I wanted to fight you again." I said. "If it's a fight you wanted, then you're all going to get one."
"It can't be helped, can it?" Rose snarked. "Took us a while to convince Mumkhar not to bring any Mass-Produced Faces, but we managed."
Suddenly, Marina shot at me from inside Lapis Face. I dodged as she spoke up. "Well then, Girl that Defies her Destiny. Prove yourself to us, prove to us that you have the strength to survive this war!"
The fight was extremely chaotic, fighting one Faced Mechon was one thing but fighting five of them was something completely different altogether and that's even with the warmer weather in Sword Valley.
Time to unleash the wolf within you!
Huh? What are you talking about, Brigitte?
I'm saying if you want to survive, you have to summon your guardian animal deep within you.
How am I supposed to do that?
Concentrate your mind and focus your energy onto your targets. Once you do, unleash your true power and show them all your rage!
Taking Brigitte's advise, I closed my eyes and concentrated deeply. The confusion the five Mechon pilots must be feeling would've stopped there, if I didn't feel myself being lifted a few feet from the ground and the canary yellow aura coming off my body.
That confusion quickly turned to fear as Ashe spoke up. "This is..! That aura..!"
"What?" Mumkhar muttered.
"What's wrong? You got cold feet or somethin'?" Pearl asked.
"No! It's just... this power that she has..." The gang leader responded slowly. "That of a guardian animal's summonin'... I've never thought I'd see the day I'd see it happen right before my eyes."
"A guardian animal's summoning?" Rose repeated. "What are you saying, Ashe?"
"She's saying that we're about to weakened even further, so her friends can finish us off when they get here." Marina explained. "The Girl that Defies her Destiny is gonna end up on the Fallen Arm in the aftermath, but we'll probably won't survive long enough to get back to Egil and Brigitte."
"But... that means..!" Pearl tried to speak up but couldn't find the words.
The DJ was completely justified in her words and the rapper's reaction was relatable, I am going to help my friends beat them so they can go after Egil and Brigitte to get Fiora back.
Reyn, this is for you!
I let out a battle cry as I unleashed all the energy I could muster in a burst of bright ether.
My eyes wers still closed but I could feel my guardian animal's presence, the wolf that's within me. It felt like it was protecting me, as if it wanted the same thing I do, to put an end to this war for good.
I could hear the pilots in their Faced Mechon screaming before a loud crash indicated that the wolf had broken something off. The sound of footsteps approching gave me a sign that my friends were on their way here.
I could still feel my guardian animal's presence even as I fell towards the Fallen Arm and the sounds of metal on metal as my friends fought the battle I gave them an opening for.
I felt my body hit the water before I was knocked out of my transformation and fell unconscious.
BANG!
BOOM!
I awoke with a start upon hearing a metal crash and a explosion. I wasn't sure where the metal crash or the explosion came from but I was sure someone must have died up there.
I looked around and saw that I was in the medical bay aboard Junks and was wearing my normal clothing again. Linada Kikainasu was next to me and she spoke up. "Good. You are alright."
I was on the metal bed and got up to get a good look at my surroundings. There was no doubt about it, I was in the Hidden Machina Village on the Fallen Arm.
"A... machine person?" I muttered.
"I am a Machina. A being born from the Mechonis." Linada said. "I am Linada Kikainasu, the Ultimate Doctor. It is a miracle that you are alive after falling from the height that you did."
"Well, my guardian animal is to thank for that." I responded. "The wolf within me protected me even as I landed here."
"I see." The Machina doctor muttered. "Regardless, a loud noise near the Digit 5 Beach seems to have some of us Machina disturbed as to what it was. Would you mind investigating?"
"Alright." I agreed before getting off the metal bed and exiting Junks.
As I was about to head out of the village to investigate the metal crash and explosion, smaller explosions from above indicated to me that most of Galahad Fortress had just collapsed. I will be reunited with my friends soon, maybe when I get back to the village.
It was when I got closer to the Digit 5 Beach that I saw a horrific sight. Three pawns of Zanza were there. Nessa Oyoguya, the Ultimate Fashionista, Allister Nikuiyasu, the Ultimate Occultist, and Melony Samuishiro, the Ultimate Predator were staring at the source of the noise that bothered the Machina along with their Pokémon partners, Drednaw, Gengar, and Lapras. All of them with shock and horror in their eyes. I took a look at what they were staring at in the Black Wreckage.
Well... I guess it would be more like the Bloodied Wreckage now.
Wait... is that Dunban impaled by the spiked piece of metal on top of Metal Face, Onyx Face, Pearl Face, Lapis Face, and Ruby Face?!
"That's not possible... Dunban!" I cried out as I ran over to the wreckage of Faced Mechon now splattered in crimson blood.
The others turned to face me with sorrow in their eyes along with fear and horror. I couldn't deny anything now.
Dunban Uzuki, the Ultimate Swordsman and Hero of the Homs... has died sacrificing himself to kill his former colleague and Zanza's maids. Impaled like the Mechon, knocked out of his transformation and his Battle Gem destroyed.
I could only stare in horror at the swordsman's impaled corpse.
"We're so sorry."
I turned to face Nessa, Allister, and Melony, who all have tears in their eyes. Their Pokémon let out sounds of sorrow and regret as they looked away.
"This wasn't supposed to happen either." Nessa muttered. "Mumkhar was destined to die but Dunban wasn't, this war caused this to happen."
"War can be such a cruel mistress sometimes." Allister admitted. "We just never thought it would be this cruel."
"With that realization, we now know that antagonizing you won't get us anywhere." Melony said. "So, we want to help your colony and get people who want to start a new life to move there."
My eyes widened in surprise. "Really? You want to help restore Colony 6?"
The occultist took off his mask, letting me get a closer look at his face. "Yeah. We have profiles for everyone who want to leave their current homes to start new lives and materials that would usually be hard to find, so we can help with the reconstruction project."
"Well, alright. I suppose that's only fair." I agreed. "It's getting late anyway, let's get some sleep before you set off for Colony 6."
When we got back to the Hidden Machina Village, I've reunited with my friends and told them what happened recently. I was also given a proper introduction to Fiora, who was the Ultimate Mech Pilot, which makes sense given as she was the pilot of Face Nemesis. I went to sleep for the night after helping Linada get Fiora's body running better and getting something to eat from the Machina.
Who knows what'll happen next with Fiora now a part in our crew? Only one way to find out tomorrow.
Next time on the Disciple Arc...
The Allied Force has been assembled and it's time to start planning for the battles ahead for Gonta and the rest of the disciples. While Dickson, Korekiyo, Miyadera, Murakumo, and Minori show Bea and Machamp how to keep their identities as disciples a secret, Ajia has other things in mind. More specifically, she believes that she might have fallen in love with Korekiyo and she doesn't know how to confess her feelings to him face-to-face. So Gonta, Tsumugi, and Gita have to help her become brave enough to confess to her crush before all of them set out to Sword Valley to begin the second war there against the Mechon.