"I want you to show me how Mechonis looks like ! I have never been out of the Colony ... I helped you, the least you could do is to give me some kind of reward, and that's what I am asking"
"It's- ... I will have to ask the permission to do that, I might actully get ki- dismantled if I bring a living being from Bionis on Mechonis" Egil would probably not kill Shulk, but he would definitely lost his trust and lose all his progress in the development of their relationship.
"Oh comonnnnn can't you make an exception ?" Fiora leaned on Shulk's shoulder, where did she learn to tempt people like this ? That was the most cruel thing she could do.
"... Fine, but please let me ask permission first, I promise I will find something else for you if I do no have the authorisation" Fiora seemed deceived, she was just a kid like him, but she wasn't the kind of person who would have a tantrum, as far as Shulk knew her.
"You will come back ... then, see you another day, Ruby"
"Brother, I was looking for you, while I was working on Shulk's replica I found something intere-" Vanea had followed her brother up to the core of Mechonis, this he were he locked up the Monado, his experiment room for the apocrypha generator. The Monado was locked up behind 5 different layers of glass shields and constantly being monitored by M87 units.
Vanea was worried, Egil wasn't even breathing, he just stared at the sword, with his eyes wide opened "Yes ? Vanea ?"
"Egil w- are you alright ?"
"I am, I was just- ... it's nothing, I thought about increasing the security with mass produced face units since we can use basic algorithms but- ... forget it, you said you discovered something ?"
Vanea knew that Egil rarely took any kind of break, he didn't really need any but seeing him obsessed by the Monado changed her mind, she wanted to beg him to finally breath after all this years.
"This-this is purely theoretical but ... I think I found a way to produce anti-ether, it doesn't destroy ether but it makes it very unstable, it works just like a powerful poison, it's powerful enough to affect any being hight sensible to ether change just by bringing it close from them"
"... you are thinking about the telethias, you are right, even of they can't read the movements of our weaker units they could actually be a threat for the face units ... and they have more fire power than we do"
"I'm making a prototype, a spear, but it will take some time to fully complete it ... also I picked up Ruby's signal ... I-I mean Shulk ah damn it, I really need to get use to this ... he will be back to the central factory in a few minutes, how about you come down here to get some fresh- I mean ... Brother, I'm worried about you, the war isn't over yet I know, but perhaps you are focusing too much on the Monado"
Egil turned back to look once again at the sword "It's driving me mad ... Let's see if Shulk achieved his plan" the way to the central factory was short thanks to the transportation system. Face Ruby headed directly to the maintenance bay, once it was fully stopped Shulk got out from his face unit, he was met by Vanea and Egil.
"The replica is in place ?" Immediately asked the leader of Mechonis.
"Yes it is, I put it back where I found it in the exact same position ... where is the true Monado now ?"
"Locked up and heavily watched, not even an army could get close from it, now I will be working a lot on the apocrypha, we need it working as soon as possible, the Monado isn't completely neutralised yet"
"Then ... what will we do about Argl- I-I mean Zanza"
Egil looked at Vanea for a brief instant "We are currently working on the problem, but for now we can rest ... perhaps you could help Vanea ?"
"Oh y-yes of course" Egil smiled and started walking away from the maintenance bay "...W-wait E-Egil !"
"Hum ?" The machina turned around "Is something wrong ?"
"I- ... I need to ask you something, you-you see this girl Fiora, she-she wants to see how the Mechonis looks like and- ... I think she deserves to know what we are fighting against, she helped us and she did not even now the truth, I-I know it's dangerous but-"
"Bring her here"
...
"W-Wait I can-"
"But there will be only one rule"
Fiora woke up early, Dunban came back home late the last night, he kept drinking with his friend, he would probably not even notice if she was gone, in fact she even left him a letter in which she explained she would be camping away from the Colony and that she needed some alone time.
She also tried to explain to Dunban that she wanted to spend more time with him again, and that since he managed to use the Monado he wasn't the same person ... but he would probably not even pay attention to this part of letter.
Spending a hald a day alone in a cavern wasn't entertaining, but necessary if Fiora wanted to avoid being seen with Ruby. Reyn would probably be looking for her however ... he could manage to be a few days alone, he was supposed to be the tougher guy she knew after all.
Around midday Fiora heard the familiar sound of Ruby's reactor, it felt weird to be able to hear him but not to see him, the sounded stopped and soon the mechon appeared.
"Hello Fiora, I am back as I promised"
"You can't believe how happy I am, so ... you are bringing me to Mechonis ?"
"I asked the authorisation, it was granted, we can go now if you wa-" Shulk noticed something next to Fiora, a large round shape "...You prepared a bag ?"
"I do not know for how long I will be gone so I came prepared"
Shulk sighed, at this rate she would probably even stay on Mechonis "Fine ... but I have a few things to tell you, first on Mechonis I am knows as First Face Ruby, you could say this is my rank, I'll be constantly following you during your stay on Mechonis, and our leader wants to meet you in person"
"Your leader ?"
"... You will meet him as soon as we reach Mechonis ... now, I was upgraded, my inner unit is slightly larger so you should be able to fit in, the thorax of Shulk's face opened "Y-you can get in ... just-just avoid interfering with the commands"
Fiora grabbed her backpack and climbed inside the mechon "I'm curious ... are you whole or are you just- ... I mean, what or where is your body exactly ?"
"Oh ... the whole unit is me, but I can detach myself into a smaller unit" Shulk wasn't feeling comfortable with Fiora so close from him, she was probably not feeling the same way as she still thought he was a machine "Are you installed ?"
"Yes, is it alright if I'm staying in this position ?" She was literally sitting on his legs so Shulk basically lost 90 % of his field of view but that may not be a problem if he could simply set a trajectory for his face unit.
""it's-it's fine ... remember, once we arrive on Mechonis you do not go running around without me, I shall remind you that the other mechons are programmed to hunt and kill any lifeforms of Bionis"
"I do not have the intention to die any time soon so do not worry about me"
Shulk closed the pilot hatch and programmed a trajectory for the face unit, the inside of the face suddenly light up, the interior vanished from Fior's point of view but in fact it was only covered by holograms displaying the environments outside the face as if it's body was transparent.
Fiora got scared at first, she screamed and held to Shulk as tightly as possible, she wasn't prepared for this kind of transport. The ground moved away so quickly, too quickly in fact, in a few seconds they were already higher than the park.
"We will cross Sword Valley directly ... are you feeling well ?"
"I-I just don't like heights but that alright ... as a machine do fear anything ? Like ... the dark for example ?"
"... I am programmed to think like a living being, survival instincts allow me to create and elaborate complex movements and schemes of attacks. But I have my individuality ... I fear the future, I fear what I can't handle by myself, I fear failure"
"Oh ... so there are others like you ? other "elaborate" mechons ?"
"I am not allowed to talk about them, you might not even meet any other mechon like me during your visit"
Face Ruby was reaching Sword Valley, Fiora discovered the large area for the first time, everyone could see Mechonis's sword from the Colony but it seemed so far away. The simple fact that this whole area was in fact a weapon gave her chills, but she was curious about strange green lights moving in the direction of Mechonis along the Valley.
"What is that ?" She asked pointing at the lights.
"It's ether, being pumped by the sword from Bionis injury"
"Isn't that dangerous for Bionis ?" She asked really worried about this discovery
"It has been in place for century, the Bionis isn't going to suddenly run out of ether ... sadly"
"Sadly ! What do you mean by that ? ... You are making the Bionis bleed on purpose ?" Shulk tried to ignore the worrying and accusating look the girl was giving him but after a few seconds she looked angry above all.
"You remember when I promised to explain everything ? Why I was looking for the Monado ? Why it was so important ? ... we aren't killing the beings of Bionis by pleasure I already told you that ... we are killing them because we have no choice, we are fighting against something way more powerful, something than can not simply be killed by conventional ways"
"It almost sounds like you are fighting against a ghost ..."
"I was ordered to not explain anything myself, our leader, Egil, will personally tell you the truth ... I should warn you, he doesn't trust anyone, but you need to understand that he has been living drowned in fear for a few centuries
"CENTURIES ? I- ... oh wait ... I forgot you are machines, you are immortal"
"Not- ... not really, Egil isn't a "mechon" if I may say but-but- ... Ah you will see ! P-please just try to enjoy the view I might actually make a mistake if I keep talking and I would really be in trouble and-"
Fiora giggled "it's funny ... you aren't really a machine either are you ?" Did she figure it out ? Shulk trembled a bit but then Fiora added "whoever built you must be funny, it's like giving a soul to a creation"
"C-certainly ... look I- ... I do not want to put you in danger because you helped me and- ... and I think we can admit we became friends despite being "enemies" from a general definition"
"You like me ?"
Shulk shivered, that one question asked on purpose to destabilise him "It-it depends what you mean by "like" be more precise please"
"Like ... like like ?"
"It's even more confusing ... you would like to have a machine as your friend ?"
"Why not if I like the machine hihihi"
Shulk thanked Lady Meyneth, he hadn't been "praying" Egil told him it was useless, that it didn't work that way, but since Zanza was actively trying to consume him Shulk might as well worship the one deity that doesn't try to eat the world, he knew that Lady Meyneth had no power over whether or not he was approaching quickly from the landing area of the capital but it became sole sort of tick. Now he wouldn't have to endure Fiora's disturbing questions and ... how was he even supposed to call it ? Sassines ?
Egil was here, waiting aboard Yaldabaoth, Shulk thought this wasn't necessary but Fiora would figure out soon enough that Egil is the pilot and not the machine.
"This-this one is gigantic !"
"That's Yaldabaoth, Egil's personal mechon, you should feel special, we rarely have any guest and Egil only uses Yaldabaoth when he needs to take care of something personally, we are landing, I will open the main frame so you can get out ... uh just- ... don't worry if Egil sounds cold it's just- ... he doesn't trust homs ... or anyone in general but he is kind"
Face Ruby landed a few meters away before Yaldabaoth, Shulk opened the main frame so Fiora could finally climb down from the faced mechon, and now the young girl stood in front a mechon which might be about thirty time her size.
"Welcome on Mechonis Fiora"
"Thank you Egil" Fiora spoke loudly as she thought the machine standing in front of her wouldn't be able to hear anything.
Yaldabaoth looked down at Fiora, but in fact Egil was watching Shulk, he expected that the boy would get out of his face unit but instead he remained inside and waited.
"I suppose you have many question, you chose to help us so I will more than gladly accept to answer all of them, but for your own security you will remain at all time near me or S- ... Ruby'
"I will" she answered without hesitation in his voice.
"Good" Yaldabaoth's frame opened and Egil floated down right in front of Fiora "I am Egil, Leader of Mechonis, and agent of lady Meyneth"
Fiora was surprised, terrified, and amazed by the tall being which stood in front of her, Egil looked so very much like a hom, she expected something completely different, much closer from a faceless mechon or something similar to Ruby.
"I am a machina, we are the race inhabiting Mechonis"
"Machinas ... but- ... how did we never know you existed ?"
"The war between the two giant is long gone, and the knowledge surrounding this event has been wiped out, you deserve to know the truth because you helped us, you deserve to know what happened thousands of years ago ... but not yet, I'm sure you would feel more comfortable if Ruby showed you the capital first, he is the one who invited you after all"
Egil gestured for Shulk to advance "I will be following you, if Fiora has any question I will more than gladly answer"
Shulk nodded "Thank you ... we should start by the central tower, from the top you will be able to see the whole capital, then we should head directly to lady Meyneth's shrine"
Fiora followed Shulk in his face unit, Egil kept walking next to her, his presence was overwhelming, she couldn't tell why but it felt like the machina was constantly glaring at her.
She noticed the strange bodies scattered around the city almost immediately "What are- ... I have never seen anything like this, not even on bionis"
"Telethias, this creatures were created by the incarnation of the Bionis, servant and slaves without freewill, only responding to their master and with only one purpose, to destroy, kill and collect"
"C-collect ?"
"Every being on Bionis is made with ether, the telethia can absorb the ether of any living being to the point of completely draining them of their life forces ... they were sent at the beginning of the war to exterminate my people, we had fo fled the capital and to hide away in the fallen arm of Mechonis"
Fiora was shivering, the mechons were almost indestructible, and yet if so many of those monsters managed to get here it means- ... the city was empty, lifeless, only some very large mechon that didn't look like any other where roaming around "... that's- ... is that why there is no else here ? Did- ... did everyone die ?"
"Not everyone, but most of us did, only about a hundred machinas remain nowadays ... we weren't expecting any attack, it was a butchery. We never attacked Bionis, we were the one to get attacked"
At this point Egil explained his past with Arglas and how Zanza ended up taking control of him, and as a result how he defended the capital and managed to repel Zanza.
"It was a long fight that lasted for entire days, perhaps weeks ... but I knew he wasn't dead, only weakened after this fight, Zanza is the Monado and the Monado is Zanza ... if I could neutralise the Monado then I could neutralise Zanza, but it was hidden away from me, I only found it recently but I was taken by surprise, one of Zanza's disciple, an immortal named Dickson managed to retrieve the Monado and brought it back to your Colony"
"You- ... you can't be talking about our Dickson ! He is one of the nicest people I ever met"
"And also one of the biggest traitor to ever be born, he doesn't care about anything but fighting, Zanza offered him exactly what he wanted, a war ... his power might be diminished however since Zanza is restrained at the moment"
"So ... all this wat between Bionis and Mechonis ... it hasn't ended yet ? Because the Monado- ... that's why you wanted to retrieve it, not only because it's the only weapon able to damage mechons"
"There are many weapons able to damage mechons, but the Monado is special, it manipulates the waves of ether to shape it's environment that's how it can melt the armor of our warriors ... but it is also the weakness we are exploiting ..."
Shulk had been listening silently to their exchange, Egil opened his heart to Fiora, just like he did with him ...
"We have to tell everyone, we have to explain-"
"We can't do that, Zanza had many subjects, Dickson is one of them but think about it, they are immortals, they had hundreds of years to infiltrate the population, who knows if one of them isn't the leader of a colony ? Or worse ... when the Monado will be destroyed it will be time to end the war"
"Why are you still attacking the Bionis then ?"
"To weaken Zanza, the Bionis is still his incarnation ... it's the only solution I could find to finish the fight if I couldn't get my hands on the Monado, I had to destroy the source of his power, his food, because do not make any mistake from his point of view this is exactly what you are, nothing more, nothing less"
"... but you have the Monado now ! You can stop-"
"The attacks have ceased ... you are just as concerned as I am for you people, i was alone when the war ended, they all thought I was enraged, that I wanted revenge, they chose to ignore the fact that it was going to happen again and this time Zanza would be unstoppable, only my sister Vanea supported me and- ..." Egil looked at the shrine above the capital "Ruby, prepare the way"
"Yes" Shulk flew toward the transport and activated it Egil and Fiora arrived exactly when it was powered up.
"Step in, do not worry, I can even go ahead"
"What is-" Fiora saw Egil disappear as he walked throught the strange device.
"It's a transport device, I can't explain exactly how it works but ... just imagind that your body is decomposed and recomposed at another place"
"... is it safe for homs ?"
"If it can help there has never been any incidents in one century and more"
"But no one uses it"
...
"Should I take you with me again ?"
Fiora was about to accept but then she thought that Egil might not appreciate her distrust, so she take one last breath and walked throught the device to immediately appear in front of the massive statue.
"You are courageous, I remember when we invented it, it took us a few years of testing to make sure it was absolutely safe, in the end we didn't use many of them" Egil invited Fiora to get close from the statue.
"It's- ... a woman ? She looks splendid"
"She is, this is lady Meyneth, the goddesses of Mechonis, and our creator ... she disappeared after the war, she was also drained by this terrible fight but unlike Zanza she didn't have any vessel to live in"
"This- ... this may sound like a stupid question but ... was she actually that tall ?"
"Hum ? Hahaha, no no, she was actually smaller than most of us, she was roughly the size of a hom ... without her guidance we had nothing but our own misery, she used to direct us, help us, she was part of our race ... she was like a mother for all of us"
"... I'm sorry"
"Do not be, no one is responsible, only Zanza is guilty ... I will keep mechon patrols active to prevent any attack on sword valley, but I might also send some patrols elsewhere on Bionis, I can't let our enemies figure out something is wrong"
Fiora looked up at Meyneth "... Can I- ... can I stay here ?"
"I beg your pardon ?" Egil was as confused as Shulk.
"Colony 9 makes me sick ... there isn't a lot of people I really like, and now that my brother "has" the Monado the other kids keep harassing me ... Please, let me stay here !"
"You ? Here ? ... you aren't a machina, you are a hom, an entity coming from Bionis, unless you are near me or Ruby or my sister Vanea you will always be considered as a threat and killed on sigh by the mechons"
"I beg you ... I need to get away from this place"
"I can't-"
"She could help Vanea" Shulk had never interrupted Egil, he didn't dare to do such a thing yet he thought that perhaps he could force the leader of Mechonis to change his mind.
Egil had this cold look back when he first met Shulk, he wasn't annoyed, in reality he simply had the very uncomfortable feeling to be forced to accept ...
"Fine, Ruby will escort you to Vanea and explain the situation, do not wander outside without him or Vanea near you, unless you want to die of course ... Ruby once you finish your task come back to me"
It worked, Egil had accepted.
"I will, Fiora please follow me, we are going to the central factory where Vanea's workshop is located"
"I can't tell if the factory is bigger than the capital"
"The capital is technically larger but smaller compared to the space it occupies ... you do understand that machina do not consume any kind of food ?"
"What do you- ... oh"
"... I will find a solution"
"Thank you ... it's funny, Egil referred to you as "him" and not "they", he identifies you as a man ? Hehehe ... you aren't a shy machina hidden inside that suite are you ?"
"W-what ? No of course no, I told you, I am a machine ... but I suppose my-my voice does let's him think of me as a man"
They reached the workshop rather quickly, Vanea was standing in front of a large maintenance bay, she was building a complex face unit which looked slightly similar to Ruby.
"Lady Vanea" Shulk called her, the machina wasn't expecting to be called this way.
"Lady Vanea ? You have no reason to call me this way Sh-" and as she stopped to focus on her work she noticed the young hom girl standing next to Ruby, Vanea understood the situation.
"Oh ... you are Fiora"
"Yes ! You look- ... a-a lot like Egil !"
"Hahaha, he is a but older than me though but if you say so ... I didn't think we would meet yet"
"Master Egil authorised Fiora to stay here, she might be able to help you in your tasks" explained Shulk still keeping the new titles.
"I see ... well Sh-Ruby, if you are done here I think you should go back and talk with my brother, I will make sure Fiora is comfortable" Vanea offered her hand to Fiora and led her further in her workshop.
Shulk came back to Meyneth shrine as quickly as he could, Egil was piloting Yaldabaoth once again.
"I have to admit ... I like her, she is really invested in everyone's well being ... I might send you to Colony 9 again to see how her brother reacts"
"I will ... for how long do we have to keep the true nature of the face units a secret ?" It was already unbearable to act constantly as a machine, Shulk even gave up the mask ... but now it sounded like Fiora was more than simply suspicious.
"For as long as necessary ... this gave me an idea, but I still have to think about the potential results ... in fact go back to Colony 9 immediately, if needed follow her brother, but make sure to stay away from Dickson, even if he is weakened we do not know how strong he really is"