icypika chapter 2
I think this is a really interesting concept. I'd love to see it continue?
I'm still alive don't worry, it's just not my main story and immediately not intensively writing right now but in still continuing don't worry.
Really short this time as I don't want to lose my update rhythm, I will never post something shorter than 2000 words.
"... E-Egil ?" Shulk was afraid that he would disturb Egil during whatever he was doing ... but he was also very scared of the massive mechon which stood right in front of him.
"Hum ? ... you shouldn't walk alone like this ... the mechons still recognize you as an enemy ... a threat ... however I'm still surprised you manage to make your way back here without Vanea ... what do you want ?"
"W-well ... I-I made this and Vanea told me I could show it to y-you" Shulk hesitantly handed Egil his small creation.
It was truly amazing ... Egil had never though of such design ... how ? ... how did he make this ? Egil spent hundreds of years creating new sorts of mechons, he had envisaged every possible form but this ... no ... the boy ... he used something that he saw on the Bionis ... what was it called again ? An antol ? ... though the main body looks bigger.
"Impressing ... did Vanea help you ?"
"N-no, she was working on your ... uh ... mechon armor ... the one with a face, the others doesn't have a-I-I mean they doesn't have a true face"
"A face ? ... this is actually a good name ... you do not have to be so scared, I already said I would not kill you"
"... then why am I here ? ... you keep saying you won't kill me but ... I'm still useless for you, if you had left me die then- then it would have ave been the same result"
"I do not know yet ... but-" Egil looked again at Shulk's creation "hum ... fine ... I have in fact figured out something ... follow me"
Shulk nodded once ... Egil was- ... he had some sort of aura, as if he could get uncontrollable at any moment and destroy everything around him ... but he also had something completely different ... remorse ?
Egil led Shulk to a room similar to Vanea's workshop, in the middle of it stood a massive mechon ... his armor was really different, it looked less chaotic and it had ... it had a face just like Egil's mechon ...
"What do you think about this ?"
Shulk walked closer ... not too close though, even if it looked inactive he knew perfectly that these machines would try to kill him at any instant.
"It's ... another face ? ... can it be piloted ?"
"Yes it is" Egil touched what looked like to be the arm of the face and turned toward Shulk "it isn't working yet, I'm still trying to figure out how to make it stable ... in fact, I would like to know if you could help me"
"Me ? B-but ... I can't possibly pilot a mechon ... I can hardly use my body right now"
"And you are doing great so far ... beside I'm sure you are in fact very curious ... don't try to lie hahaha ... I know this kind of face"
... Egil was right ... Shulk had no reason to refuse ... well fear was a possible excuse but indeed he really wanted to know how a mechon looked from the inside.
"Fair point ... how do I-"
Egil walked away and as he did the mechon opened itself reveal a small space inside ... it looked like a seat, uncomfortable but still a seat.
"Get in but avoid moving until I give you my instructions"
"Y-yes"
Shulk climbed inside ... it wasn't cold or hot, in fact the temperature felt perfect ... he felt safe inside ... does Egil feel the same inside his face ?
"Are you installed ?"
"Yes-" Shulk was taken by surprised, his voice was different
"Hum ... I forgot about this, I thought I only put this on my own face"
"What is this ?"
"It's a function that allows you the right to control the mechons around you ... consider yourself an officer"
"... t-thanks ?" Answered Shulk feigning a chuckle
"There are no physical controls, you just have to think about moving around ... I'll be closing the torso now, alright ?"
"Go on"
Egil didn't even move and the torso of the machine closed, for a second the inside was completely dark and then a strange light appeared in front of Shulk ... he could see Egil ? How could the light take shape like this ?
"It is called an hologram, I will explain how it works later if you want to know ... try to take a few steps forward, be careful not to fall"
"Y-yes" moving without acutaly moving, the first step was the hardest but soon it became almost natural.
"You are doing great ... I'm impressed ... maybe it is due to your new body ... you can stop if you feel sick"
"I'm fine ... It's just hard to look around"
"Feel free to tell me anything wrong, I'm taking notes ..."
Shulk kept moving around, trying every possible movement, jumping, running ... rolling ...
"Egil ... are there other Machina ?"
"... yes"
"It this made for them ? Or for Vanea ?"
"No ... it isn't"
Shulk felt that something was off.
"... why are you the only Machinas here ? ... where are the others ?"
"They didn't chose to follow me"
"... w-why ?"
"They think that I am wrong ..."
"... then ... if it isn't for them ... why did you make another face ?"
"... you should get out now or else you might get exhausted"
Shulk knew that Egil was dodging his question ... but he had no reason to push him to answer, he simply thought about opening the torso and got out.
"... this mechon is made for the people of Bionis" said Egil as Shulk walked out of the face
"... I don't understand"
"... I expected you to be surprised ... here is a fact about the Monado, it can't arm living beings from the Bionis"
"... so ... it can't hurt that mechon ?"
"As long as their is a being from the Bionis inside ... I know what you think, that no one would ever willingly attack their people even if it was to save them"
...
"I do in fact ... you aren't ... evil ... you just want to save everyone ... if- ... if someone had to do it then ... I would"
"You ? ... you would kill your own people from your own will ?"
"... no ... but I would definitely help you, I wouldn't go as far as killing other Homs like me but I would warn them ... maybe we could just explain the situation ... right ?"
"... if only it was possible ... anyway ... this workshop is yours, there is a bed, food ... well food ... ether most likely ... and water too if you need some, you can live here and do whatever you want. See this as a payback for helping me"
"R-really ?"
"I just said it ... I have to go now, I'll also find a way to make sure that the mechons out there recognise you as an ally and not a threat"
Egil walked away without saying anything else
"... thank you" Shulk looked around him ... he felt the urge to explore his new home, he had so much question about the technology of Mechonis and first he definitely wanted to start with how the machinas could bend the light ... there was a few ... yes "consoles" that's how Vanea called them.
"Here goes nothing" Shulk tried to interact with it but suddenly as he touched the disk of light the room in which the face was standing changed, a bunch of metals circle appeared from nowhere and now they were floating around the face.
"Initiating repair ... analyse finished, integrity of Unit 63 : 100% no action required, end process"
It sounded like how Shulk was speaking with the face ...
"H-hello ?" ... no one answered ... was it ... was it somehow ... made ? Or ... it wasn't natural ... though it would seem logic since the Mechonis is one big machine with a lot of small machines inside ...
With this new body he never felt the need to sleep, he could ... in fact he only had to think about sleeping and he would fall asleep in the next second ... but at the same time he would be so aware.
He did not make any progress with the secrets of the Machina technology, however he made a lot of observations with the Face, he found out how it worked (mostly) and managed to command it using the command panel in the observation room.
He wasn't exactly sure about the time he had spent doing this ... Egil didn't come back, and so did Vanea ... something was wrong.
He left the workshop and as he was heading toward the elevator for the Capitalhe net a group of mechon ... they didn't attack him, they did notice him, at this moment Shulk was certain that he would die as he was alone but to his surprised the mechon simply looked at him for a second before continuing their patrol, Egil managed to do so that the mechon would recognise him as something else than a threat.
"Oh Shulk, there you are" called Vanea
"Hello Vanea"
"Egil told me he showed you the prototype, are you okay ?"
"Y-yes ... why ?"
"Oh ... it's nothing ... I just got scared for a moment when I noticed that Egil was alone"
"I was in this workshop, Egil gave it to me as a temporary hum ... house"
"Hum that's good, Egil is about to leave, you want to come with me ?"
"Yes"
Egil was in front of the massive statue of Meynetj and right behind him stood the Gold face, Yaldabaoth.
"It's massive ..."
"You didn't see it in the mountains"
"I ... did ... but only for a second, we were caught in a storm at the moment"
Egil was standing in front of a console, Shulk didn't not fully understand yet how it worked ... Eg had both of his arms raised toward the holograms and his eyes closed.
"What is he doing ?" Whispered Shulk
"Observing, since the Monado was taken by one of Zanza's disciple Egil has been monitoring the Bionis ... so far he didn't find anything"
"... I wonder how it feels ... to be connected to so many mechons"
"It's exhausting, but Egil is strong"
Egil opened his eyes, the holograms disappeared and he finally took his breath.
"I found it ... Colony 9 ... it's far ... too far" said Egil looking back at the statue.
"Colony ... 9 ... It is on the foot of the Bionis" added Shulk
"Correct ... we aren't strong enough to reach it yet ... if we do, we would be detected immediately"
"Have you ever tried to talk with-" Shulk was immediately cut by Egil
"It is not possible" he firmly said "... who would listen to a being from Mechonis ? Everyone thinks that the mechons attacked first but it is a lie ... they have all been manipulated by Zanza's disciple, just like puppets, if we try anything now Zanza will feel threatened and he will do anything to accelerate his regeneration"
"... then how do you want to act ?"
Egil looked back at Shulk ... he examines his body.
"... you ... you would not be detected, you aren't a machina or a mechon like us ... you could go and-"
"Egil !" Vanea intervened "you can't just force Shulk to take-"
"I will"
...
"Shulk you-"
"You told me what happened ... I have seen the horrors of the war at the capital, I- .. I did read some reports with the console in the workshop ... I think it's my responsibility somehow ... I want to help you ... I want peace, for both of our world"
"... peace ..." whispered Egil
"Comon Egil ! We are almost at the summit"
"I'm not as great as you ! You could slow down"
"Hahaha ... you won't regret it I swear ! It is almost the time"
"The falling stars right ? ... yes I remember, I saw some once, there aren't any on the Mechonis ... in wonder why"
"My people says that they are the tears of joy from ancients beings, even more ancient than us"
"I wonder how they looked like then"
"Probably like us ... generally ... I hope one day you will show me how the Mechonis looks like"
"... I shouldn't say this but ... the Mechonis really is different ... compared to the Bionis it's completely mechanical, there is life of course but ... it doesn't work the same way"
"That's why I want to see it ... I want to discover everything, after all ... i think this is the only way to actually achieve unity, to understand the other"
"Egil ?"
"... thank you Shulk ... we will discuss this again, for now I have important things to do. Vanea do not worry, I'll ensure Shulk's safety"
Egil somehow floated in the air and entered inside his face before flying away.
"... Shulk ... you ... you shouldn't get involved, you do not know what happened thousands of years ago"
"I do not yes ... but I don't want to know either ... if I do not help Egil it's not only Zanza who will die but most likely the whole Bionis if we can't find the Monado"
"So I won't be able to change your decision"
"... I'm sorry"
"Fine ... I will help you then, you said Egil asked you some help with a face right ? ... I guess you deserve a reward then"