"Juju, Otharon!" Sharla called out and waved. The group arrived at Colony 6 not too long ago.
"Sharla! Good to see you and the others!" Otharon greeted them while Juju ran over and hugged Sharla.
Sharla hugged him back, "Well, I missed you too! How's everything been around the colony?"
"Everything's been going great! We have a pretty steady amount of people coming to check out the colony or even to move here!" Juju answered.
"We didn't get to see the aftermath of the Telethia attack since we had to leave so suddenly, but it looks like there wasn't much damage." Dunban noticed as he was looking around.
"The defenses we had set up kept them from getting into the colony while we kept the rest at bay by the entrance." Juju said.
"I heard from Otharon that you did pretty well fighting them off. I guess being a crack shot is something that runs in the family." Sharla smiled.
"Yeah sure, but when are you going to pick up a real weapon? Give me a few weeks with him Sharla, and he'll be like a younger version of me." Reyn said and cracked his knuckles.
"Please, no! One Reyn more than enough!" Riki pleaded.
They all laughed and headed inside the reconstruction headquarters.
"Like I said, everything is going well, but I think we have room for more housing. Since we have more High Entia and Machina moving here, we could probably make something more suited for them." Juju said.
"Thank you, Juju, for taking my people in and for the hospitality you're showing them." Melia spoke up.
"It's no problem at all. It's wonderful seeing all these people from different backgrounds coming together." Juju assured.
"But we're missing some materials. We were able to get most of what we needed, but we still need Gogol Horns. Gogols can be tough to handle, so maybe you guys could help us and we wouldn't have to worry about some of the residents getting hurt." He added.
Shulk and Melia raised an eyebrow and looked at each other.
"Sure, we could do that for you." Shulk answered.
"You can? Awesome, thanks!" Juju said.
They stayed and talked at the headquarters for a while longer, then went for a walk around the colony before they left.
"Quite the coincidence, wasn't it?" Melia asked. Her and Shulk walked slightly behind the others so they wouldn't hear them since Shulk wanted the new weapon to be a surprise.
"Yeah, it was. We can get the Gogol Horns we needed while we're at it."
They were walking close to the Armu Farm and a Nopon there overheard them.
"Did friends say they were going to bash Gogols?" Nopo'rikh asked.
"Yeah, what's it matter?" Reyn asked and walked over.
"Nopo'rikh have job for friends, one that help make that scaredy Hom Hom Nic to be fearless warrior!"
"Nic moved here too?" Shulk and Reyn asked.
"Yes! Friends know Nic?"
"He's from Colony 9, like us." Shulk answered.
"Then friends know how Nic is. Nopo'rikh want to train Nic, so Nopo'rikh want friends to find big Gogol called Indomitable Daulton and give good bashing!"
"How will us doing that help Nic?" Shulk asked.
"Friends tell Nopo'rikh how fight go and if Nic should fight one big monster or many small ones. Want to start Nic off easy, not get him killed."
"We're pretty busy already, but I guess we can look into it since it's on the way." Reyn said and they all headed out.
"Looks like we got a long day ahead of us." Sharla said.
"Yeah, I'm already tired from just hearing it." Reyn groaned.
Shulk and Melia lagged back behind the group so they could talk in private.
"Another coincidence." Shulk said.
"Seems like it. I guess we spoke too soon." Melia added.
They arrived at the Soter Ruins in Satorl Marsh a couple of hours later. They collected all of the Gogol Horns they needed for the reconstruction and Shulk managed to get a few for himself.
"Aye, heads up! That must be the Gogol that Nopon was blabbing on about earlier!" Reyn said and pointed to a tall standing Gogol with two others beside him.
"It looks like it, but he has some friends with him. Shulk, how do you want to go about this?" Dunban asked.
"We'll take them down one at a time, focusing on the smaller ones first. Sharla, tranquilize one of them and we'll go for the other. I'll cover us with Monado Armor while we focus them down."
Shulk's plan was working well, the two smaller ones fell and Daulton was the last one left. Suddenly, the Gogol let out a deafening roar.
Another Gogol nearby roared back and joined in the fight. He charged straight for Melia and knocked her off her feet.
"Melia!" Shulk ran over to get the Gogol's attention and used Monado Speed.
"Come on, you wanted a fight? Well you got one!"
Reyn heard all the yelling and turned his head in Shulk's direction.
"What am I gonna do with you, Shulk? Dunban, keep this one busy!"
"Will do!"
Reyn took off the second he had the attention off him. Just as Shulk was about to take a hit, Reyn jumped in front and raised his shield.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Shulk? We can't help you if you don't tell us what's going on."
While he was occupied with scolding Shulk, the Gogol hit Reyn from the side and knocked him to the floor. The Gogol stood above him and got in his face, letting out another roar.
"Oh, shit!" Reyn put his shield back up and braced himself, expecting the Gogol to slam his fists down. But strangely nothing happened, there was a loud bang then everything went quiet. He lowered his weapon to peek from behind it and the Gogol's lifeless body was laying near him. Blood was pouring from it's temple and onto the grass.
"Still kicking…" He looked up to the sky and took a few deep breaths.
"Thanks to a certain someone." Sharla held out her hand and pulled Reyn up.
"Alright, I'm man enough to admit when I'm wrong. You really are a crack shot, Sharla. I'm sure Juju will be too." He said.
Sharla smiled and gave a look at Reyn like she was saying, "I told you so."
"I hate to break up your moment, but I could use some help over here!" Dunban yelled to them.
"Oh, right. Let's move!"
Shulk stayed behind and carried Melia away from the fight, resting her back against a wall. Daulton was fairly weak before the other Gogol interrupted so the fight didn't last much longer.
"Are you okay, Melia? Do you need Sharla to look at you?"
"I'm fine. I had two earth elementals active to protect me." Melia said, although she did wince a little in pain.
"I heard my name, is something wrong?" Sharla asked.
"It's nothing to worry about, I'm oka- ow!" Melia tried to stand up and winced again in pain.
"Doesn't seem like it. Let me see." Sharla insisted.
Shulk held onto Melia's hand while Sharla looked her over.
"Well, you're no more banged up than the rest of us, but you feel a little warm and your face is red. Do you feel feverish or anything?"
"N-no, I don't feel sick. It's just…" Melia stammered.
Sharla didn't see what happened and started to worry since she was stammering. She took another quick look at her and noticed that Shulk was holding her hand.
Oh, so that's what it's about.
"You'll be fine." Sharla smirked and helped Melia to her feet.
"Riki finished finding goodies!"
"Alright. If there's no one else that needs medical treatment, we can start heading back." Dunban said.
They all grabbed their stuff and started walking back. Shulk kept an eye on Melia to make sure she was okay.
"Hey, sorry if I overreacted a little back there."
"You did nothing wrong, Shulk. That's just the kind of person you are, always making sure everyone is okay. I still appreciate the gesture." Melia assured him.
They were nearly out of Satorl Marsh when the sun started to set.
"So tired." Reyn said and let out a long yawn.
Dunban turned around and seen the rest of the group looked half-asleep too.
"Maybe we should set up camp." Dunban suggested.
"Yeah, there's a rest area nearby that the Nopon use during their trade routes. That might be a good place to sleep." Shulk added.
The Nopon Merchant Camp was a short distance from where they were. As they approached they spotted two Nopon, one near a tent and the other standing on some rocks above the nearby lake, as if he was about to jump in.
"Rare to see Hom Homs around here!" The Nopon that was near the tent turned to them.
"We were looking to seek refuge. Would it be all right if we lodged here with you?" Melia asked.
"This one talk different from most Hom Hom." The Nopon looked closer and noticed her wings, "Oh, this one Bird Lady! Apologies, friends can stay here."
While they were setting up camp, Shulk looked back over at the Nopon and noticed they had bags of other goods with them. He walked over and got a closer look at the bags.
"Are you guys merchants?"
"Were friends looking to buy?" The Nopon answered and opened the bags.
Shulk looked through them and found several fishing poles, "I thought Nopon fished differently from others. Why do you guys have fishing poles?"
"Nopon dive in for fish, but we still use or sell. If water not safe for Nopon to jump, we use poles."
How many do we need? Dunban, Reyn, and I know how to fish, but what about the others?
"Okay, I'll take three of them." Shulk said and reached into his pocket.
"Maybe sell cheaper for Heropon?" Riki seen Shulk looking through their wares and came over.
"Heropon Riki is with friends? Sorry Riki, no give discount, but throw in extra lines and bait."
Riki helped Shulk carry everything and they walked back to their camp. He handed Dunban and Reyn a fishing pole and they found a spot on the other end of the lake to fish away from the Nopon.
Fiora fetched some wood and tinder to make a fire while Sharla was cleaning her rifle. They walked over to the lake to meet with the boys when they were done while Melia stayed inside the tent. She summoned a water elemental to heal what was left of her wounds then went to join the others.
Shulk seen her walking over, "Hey, Melia! How are you feeling?"
"A little better now. How's the fishing going?" She asked and sat down next to Shulk.
"Caught a few, but not enough to feed everyone yet."
"Riki have you now!" Riki dived in for his catch and made a big splash.
"Keep that on your end, fuzz ball! Scare the fish away and we'll cook you instead!" Reyn shouted.
Shulk looked back over at Melia, "Hey, do you know how to fish?"
"No, I was never taught how." She admitted.
"Well she is royalty, after all. Why learn to fish when you can have someone get it for you?" Reyn thought out loud.
"Way to make her sound spoiled and snobby, Reyn." Sharla said and punched his shoulder.
"That doesn't mean she can't learn. If you want, I could teach you." Shulk offered.
"Oh, no that's okay. I don't think I'll be good at it." Melia said a bit sheepishly.
"You won't know that unless you try. Here, let me show you."
Shulk showed her what to do and handed her the fishing rod. She took it but wasn't really expecting to catch anything. After a few minutes, a noise came from the reel and the rod slightly jerked in her hand.
"Looks like you got something!"
Shulk kept an eye on the line and let her know when she was good to start reeling in or pull back. After struggling back and forth, a fish almost twice the size of everyone else's catch emerged from the water.
"Ain't that a beauty!" Reyn applauded.
"Not bad for a beginner." Dunban praised.
Melia smiled, looking proud of herself on her catch. She looked over at Shulk and he was chuckling to himself.
"What is it, Shulk?"
"Oh, nothing. You just reminded me of my first-time fishing."
"How did yours go?"
"Reyn and I were like ten at the time. We were at Dunban's house and he came up to us like this." Shulk puffed out his chest and deepened his voice to match Dunban's, "Look at you two, you'll be grown men soon and what do you know about acting like it? Bah, I may as well teach you how to at least provide for yourselves."
"I did NOT sound like that!" Dunban protested.
"Oh yes you did, old man!" Reyn shot back.
Dunban scoffed and waved his hand dismissively at Reyn.
"Continue your story, Shulk." Dunban said and crossed his arms.
"Huh? Oh, okay. Where was I… oh yeah! So Dunban borrowed Dickson's boat and took us out on the water under Colony 9. We were out there for hours until I finally caught my first fish. It wasn't anything to brag about, but I was still so excited about it that I started jumping around the boat and almost fell in. I would have too if Reyn didn't catch me at the last second."
"Yeah, you're welcome, by the way. How about you fish me up some seconds and we'll call it even?"
The two laughed and Shulk put his arm over Melia and smiled, "You did good, Melia."
"Thank you." She said, blushing a little from his touch.
Riki swam back over a few minutes later with a fish in each hand. He shook off his fur and started bouncing up and down.
"Riki make yummy grill fish with this!"
"Actually, Riki, Fiora was in charge of cooking." Shulk pointed out.
"Oh." Riki stopped bouncing, seeming a little disappointed.
Fiora giggled, "You can help if you want to, Riki."
"Yes, Riki want to help!" He said and started bouncing again.
Fiora and Riki went to get the fire ready and clean the fish while the rest stayed by the lake.
"Smells like food's almost ready. Let's call it a night." Reyn said.
Shulk and Melia were still sitting while the others got up and were walking over to the tent. Sharla looked over at the two and smiled.
"What is it, Sharla?" Shulk asked, not getting what she was smiling about.
"Your arm." She pointed.
Shulk had completely forgotten that he still had his arm over Melia's shoulder. He moved his arm and looked away embarrassed.
Sharla giggled, "You know, now that I think about it, you two would look so cute together."
Now they were both bright red. They looked at each other and thought about what Sharla said, then looked away nervously again.
"We should get going." Shulk said, trying to change the subject.
"Right." Melia agreed and quickly stood up.
Sharla smiled and walked back to camp ahead of them.
Melia took another glance at Shulk and looked away before he noticed her. After everyone ate, they set their sleeping bags and called it a night.