The next day, everyone else was at home while Reyn went to work, trying to decide what to do for the day.
"Roller skating?" Shulk asked.
"Yeah, that rec center Juju was telling us about is ahead of schedule, so they decided to open early. They have a roller rink there and it sounded kinda fun! I was going to ask you guys about it yesterday, but you were already asleep by the time Reyn and I got back." Sharla said.
What Shulk and Melia did last night popped into their heads and made them start to blush. Shulk looked over at Melia with a sly grin while she turned away shyly.
They weren't exactly being subtle about it and Sharla started to give them suspicious looks. She looked at Melia first, they were still wearing what they slept in and noticed she didn't have a bra on but didn't think anything of it since they were at home. What really made her suspicious was Shulk, seeing the hickeys and bite marks on the side of his neck.
"What happened to you?" Sharla pointed at his neck and glared, her big sister persona kicking in.
Melia nervously ran her hand through her hair while Shulk kept a straight face and pointed to his neck.
"Oh, this? Accident at work because of Reyn's negligent boss. He wanted me to build something and I kept telling him the parts he supplied me with weren't going to work. He wouldn't listen, and it literally blew up in my face, shrapnel from it ended up hitting me in the neck." Shulk explained.
"Uh huh… I guess that explains why Reyn went to work this time instead of having you fill in. Want me to look at it?" Sharla asked.
Shulk covered his neck marks with one hand and held up the other in a reassuring way, "Nah, I'm fine. I already got checked out at the medical bay. They said it was just some bruises and small cuts, they'll heal on their own."
Sharla's glare started to leave, "Okay, if you say so. Anyways, back to what we were saying about going out?"
"It's been a while since I last skated but sounds fun! What about you, Melia? Want to go?" Shulk asked.
"I don't exactly know how to." Melia sheepishly admitted.
"That's all right, I can teach you." Shulk offered.
"Okay, I'll come along." Melia said.
"Alright! I'll ask Reyn when he gets back then we'll all go!" Sharla said.
Shortly after, Shulk and Melia went back up to their room. Melia shut the door behind them and grinned, seeing that Shulk had his back turned. She tackled him onto the bed and nuzzled close to him.
"Do you think Sharla believed that?" Melia asked.
"Well she didn't try to attack me, so I think it worked. It was pretty good for something thought up right on the spot, huh?" Shulk joked.
"You thought of that right then and there?" Melia asked.
Shulk started to look shy, "Remember when we left for Valak Mountain and you wanted to know what I was like before we met? It was more than just having a bad attitude, I got into trouble every now and again too. After a while, I learned how to make up stories on the spot and it got me out of some jams a few times."
Melia grinned and pulled him closer, their lips only inches apart.
"I guess Dunban was right, you can still be bad when you want to be." She purred.
"Says the one who left marks all over my neck and back." Shulk teased.
He moved closer and kissed her. Melia returned the kiss but suddenly let out a yelp, feeling Shulk's hand going up her shirt.
She broke the kiss and nudged his arm away, "Not right now, Shulk."
"Sorry, they've got minds of their own." Shulk joked. He held up his hands and shook them like they were being possessed, then flicked Melia across her nose.
She flinched and gave him a small glare, "What did you do that for?"
"Again, minds of their own." He smirked.
"Hmph." Melia pouted and flicked her finger against his forehead.
"Ow!" Shulk grunted and covered his forehead.
"Sorry, minds of their own." Melia grinned.
"Okay, that's it!" Shulk tackled her down and they roughhoused on the bed.
Melia reached for a pillow and hit him across the head with it. While he flinched and had his eyes closed, she pushed him off her and sat above him, pinning him down by his wrists.
Shulk instantly started to blush, "That's cheating…"
"You're just making excuses because you lost." Melia teased.
She kept him pinned by his wrists and leaned down for a kiss, nibbling on his bottom lip as they broke apart.
"Ahem."
Shulk and Melia both jumped and looked behind them. Sharla was standing at the door with her arms crossed.
Melia turned slightly red and quickly got off Shulk, "Sharla, we weren't doing anything. I swear."
Sharla's serious look suddenly left and she laughed, "It's okay, I know. I'd be more concerned about Shulk trying something before you did."
"Thanks, Sharla. Really appreciate the trust you have in me." Shulk said sarcastically.
"I'm just saying, Melia doesn't seem like the kind of girl to do that. Either way, that ain't happening in this house, keep it in your pants until you're out of here, Shulk." Sharla warned and walked away.
"So protective." Melia giggled.
"If only she knew." Shulk rested his hands behind his head and put on a cocky grin.
Reyn came back later that evening with Riki. Sharla brought up the idea of roller skating to him, and even though he was hesitant at first, Reyn gave in and decided to go since everyone else wanted to.
The five of them went out to eat then went to the roller rink. The rec center itself was huge and had plenty of other rooms for stuff to do besides roller skating, but with all the other people there anticipating the early opening, it made it seem smaller than it actually was.
They all got their skates and sat down to put them on.
"And how exactly are you gonna use those with your stubby legs, fuzz ball?" Reyn smirked.
Riki made a pouty face at him. He put his arms in the skates and held himself up, then swung his body side to side to get himself moving.
"Dumbdumb Reyn have any more questions?" Riki sneered.
"Dumb, am I? C'mere, you! We'll take you next door and use you as a volleyball!" Reyn yelled.
"Have to catch Riki first!" Riki turned around and took off with Reyn chasing behind him.
"Hey, wait for me, you two!" Sharla stood up and followed behind them.
Shulk finished helping Melia get her skates on and held out his hand.
"Just be careful you don't-" Before Shulk could finish, Melia tried to stand up and fell.
"…Fall. Come on, Angel, grab on." Shulk said and helped her back to her feet.
Shulk and Melia stayed to the side so he could help her learn while the others skated around the rink. Melia sat down after a few tries and looked a little frustrated.
Shulk sat down next to her, "Hey, it's okay. I fell plenty of times before I learned how to do it."
"I'm aware that I wouldn't get it right away, I'm just having a hard time concentrating. It's been weeks and we still haven't heard anything from the captain." Melia answered.
"Oh, so that's what you're worried about?" Shulk asked.
Melia nodded and Shulk reached for her hand.
"I'm sure he knows what he's doing, we'll hear from him when the time is right. Until then, just try to relax and enjoy the time we have here together!" Shulk said.
Shulk took both her hands and helped her stand up. He gently pushed her along as he started to skate.
"Shulk!" Melia tightly gripped onto him, scared she might fall again.
"It's okay, I got you. Just watch my feet." He instructed.
After a little while, Melia was starting to get the hang of it and could skate without Shulk having to help her.
"Doing good, Melia. Think you're ready to hop onto the rink with the others?" Shulk asked.
Melia gave a hesitant nod and Shulk took her by the hand to help her into the rink. She took it slow while Shulk decided to show off a little. He went in circles around her, then took off ahead of her skating backwards. He went far enough ahead to be sure he wouldn't accidently bump into her before trying some moves he used to know, doing spins, grapevines, skating on his heels, and moonwalking.
"A little rusty from not skating for so long, but still not bad!" Shulk said to himself.
Sharla gave Shulk a disapproving look as she and Reyn skated by, "Yeah, that's great and all, Shulk, but aren't you forgetting someone?"
Shulk went back to Melia's side and held her hand, "Sorry, got a little carried away."
"How did you learn to skate that well?" Melia asked.
"Fiora taught me when we were younger. She probably did it to get me out of the lab more often." He replied.
"I see." Melia said nonchalantly.
"You picked up pretty quickly though, Melia. I'm sure I could teach you how to do a few of the easier moves." Shulk said.
Shulk walked her through what to do and leaned on his back wheels, "Just focus on keeping your balance."
He held tightly on to Melia's hand while she leaned on her back wheels, only letting go when he was sure she wouldn't fall.
"Now do a few short turns to keep your momentum going." Shulk instructed.
Melia wobbled a little bit but managed not to fall as she did what Shulk said to do. She set her wheels back on the floor to regain her balance before she fell again.
Shulk skated next to her and grinned, "Alright, want to try going backwards?"
"I don't know…" Melia said a bit sheepishly.
"Come on, it's not as hard as it sounds. Just gain some speed then spin yourself around. Here, watch me." He said.
Shulk took off ahead and looked over at Melia as he skated backwards, "Okay, your turn!"
Melia nervously hesitated for a second, then started to pick up speed.
"Alright, now spin yourself around!" Shulk told her.
She was still nervous and closed her eyes as she threw her arms over and turned around. She looked pretty surprised when she finally opened her eyes.
Hey… I did it! I didn't fall either!
"See? That wasn't so hard, was it?" Shulk called out to her.
Melia smiled and closed her eyes as she kept moving backwards, feeling relaxed and letting the small breeze fly through her hair. Her little moment was interrupted as she felt her back hitting something and a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She looked behind her and realized she bumped into Shulk.
"You still gotta watch where you're going, you know." Shulk chuckled.
Melia stayed wrapped in Shulk's arms and smiled at him. She placed her hand behind Shulk's ear and pulled him closer as they shared a soft, passionate kiss. They broke the kiss after a few seconds and Shulk gave her another hug from behind before he let her go. They skated a few more times around the rink and went to sit down, leaving the other three still in the rink.
"I'm glad you decided to come, Reyn." Sharla said.
"Yeah, me too. It's a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be!" Reyn said.
Reyn looked down at his skates and put on a weird smirk.
"What's up?" Sharla asked, noticing his expression.
"I think I just got an idea! I'll be right back!" Reyn exclaimed and hurried over to where Shulk and Melia were sitting.
"Yo, Shulk! Mind if I borrow your girlfriend for a minute?" Reyn asked.
"I'm not her keeper, Reyn. You can ask her yourself." Shulk replied.
"Melia!" Reyn quickly turned to her.
"That depends. I might want to hear what you need first, judging from that smirk on your face." Melia said.
"I wanted to try something out! How strong are your wind elementals? Strong enough to push a big guy like me?" Reyn asked.
"If you're asking for a sparring match, this isn't exactly the place for that." Melia protested.
"Nah, I'm good on that. I get enough of that training the rooks in the defense force. I wanted to see if they could make me move faster!" Reyn explained.
Shulk chuckled, "Think we should hear him out, Melia?"
"I suppose." She answered.
"Go ahead, Angel, I'll be right here." Shulk said.
Melia gave Shulk a quick kiss and followed Reyn back into the rink.
"Alright! Summon away, then follow behind me." Reyn instructed.
Melia focused and a wind elemental appeared over her head. She skated behind him once around the rink, only noticing a slight speed increase.
"It's a little bit faster, but we can do better than that! Summon three of them!" Reyn said eagerly.
"Are you sure that's a good idea, Reyn?" Melia asked hesitantly.
"Would I ever steer you wrong, Melia?" Reyn asked.
"Do you want my honest answer?" She smirked.
"Just do it already." Reyn playfully shot back.
Melia closed her eyes and two more wind elementals appeared.
"Alright, I'm gonna go a little ahead, then you shoot 'em all at once behind me!" Reyn instructed.
Reyn skated a few feet forward and Melia shot them like he asked. He almost fell as he took off at insane speed with the elementals still behind him.
Reyn regained his balance and looked behind him as he blazed around the rink, "Now that's more like it! You watching this, Sharla?"
"Forget about me, look in front of you!" Sharla yelled back and pointed.
Reyn looked back ahead and seen a group of people in front of him.
"Outta the way! Slow traffic to the side!" He yelled.
He barely missed them as they all jumped out of the way. They glared at Reyn as he flew past them, but he was already way ahead of them and laughing about it.
Reyn stopped laughing and opened his eyes, looking scared out of his mind seeing that he was about to hit a wall. He tried to steer out of the way but was going too fast and didn't have enough distance to dodge it.
"Man, this one's gonna tickle!" Reyn covered his face behind his arms and braced himself, slamming against the wall at top speed and hitting the floor with a loud thud.
Melia covered her mouth and was trying as hard as possible not to laugh, while Shulk was laughing so hard that he fell out of his seat and was in tears.
"Reyn! Are you okay?" Sharla hurried over and held out her hand.
Reyn didn't stand up right away, he moved his arms away from his face to show a giant grin, "Out of all the ideas I've had… That one. Has to be. The coolest one yet!"
Sharla let out a sigh and helped him up, "What am I going to do with you? You're lucky you're thick-headed."
"Well this thick-headed brute just had a genius idea! Just bear with me, Sharla! We'll get Melia to make more elementals and Shulk can build something to keep them on the back of people's skates. We could make a ton of these things and sell 'em, we'll be rich!" Reyn exclaimed.
"You must be delirious from that hard slam." Sharla giggled.
"I'm being serious here!" Reyn shot back.
"Okay, genius. We'll see." Sharla said.
Sharla made Reyn take a break to make sure he was okay. They met with the others and grabbed some food from the small café they had on the other end of the rink.
"I would've offered to pay for that, Melia. The defense force knows I'm working to stay at Reyn and Sharla's place, but they still pay me." Shulk said.
"It's okay, Shulk. You don't have to always spend your money on me, let me help too." Melia said stubbornly.
Reyn stopped scarfing down his food and looked up at Shulk, "Oh, I almost forgot. They really seem to like you there, Shulk. The boss wanted me to let you know that he'd hire you on the spot if you were looking for work."
"Really? Well, I'll keep his offer in mind, but…" Shulk reached for Melia's hand from under the table, "I might have other plans."
Melia beamed and looked over at Shulk with hearts in her eyes. After they finished eating, they turned in their skates and headed home.
Shulk and Melia changed and got ready for bed. Melia rolled over to Shulk's side and nuzzled against him.
"I had a lot of fun." Melia said.
"Yeah, me too." Shulk said.
"What you said earlier, about having other plans in mind, were you referring to what we talked about yesterday?" Melia asked.
"I was. I've been thinking about it a little more, but we can talk about that later on like we said we would, okay, Angel?" Shulk replied.
It wasn't exactly him saying yes to living together, but Melia still put on a smile from ear to ear. She nodded and threw her arms around Shulk.
"Okay. I love you, Boo." She mused.
"I love you too." Shulk blushed from hearing his pet name and hugged her back.
They kissed good night and went to sleep in each other's arms.
Three more days passed and everyone was woken up by loud noises coming from outside. Reyn and Sharla walked outside and looked around to see where it was coming from.
"Whatever woke us up better be important. You see anything, Sharla?" Reyn asked.
Sharla shook her head. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked up to the sky.
"Wait, up there! Is that… Shulk, Melia, get up! Your guys' ship is back!" Sharla yelled.
Shulk and Melia were still in their pajamas as they came outside. Melia hurried ahead while Shulk was yawning and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"What are you talking about?" Shulk asked, still half asleep.
"She's right, Shulk! Look up, that's the transport ship!" Melia said and pointed upward.
Shulk flinched and put his hand over his eyes to shield them from the bright light. He jumped himself awake seeing the ship preparing to land outside the colony gate.
"Wait… it is the ship! Come on, we need to hurry up and get ready!" Shulk exclaimed and rushed back into the house.
Everyone hurried back inside to change and pack up. There was a knock at the door shortly after and Melia ran downstairs to answer it.
"Empress! Sorry if we kept you waiting." The captain said and stood at attention.
"No, it's fine. I take it you're finished with your preparations?" Melia asked.
"Yes, we're here to take you to Eryth Sea." The captain replied.
Reyn walked up behind Melia, "Got enough room for a few more?"
"Yeah, we're coming too!" Sharla added and came to the front door.
"Are you sure about this? We couldn't ask for you to just drop everything because of Shulk and I." Melia asked.
"Are you crazy? We're not going to let you two run in there on your own." Sharla said back.
"Yeah, you thought we would just let you go off and have all the fun?" Reyn grinned.
"Riki will bash Dinobeast up good! Hiya! Crush-pow!" Riki exclaimed and punched the air.
"I see you have your minds made up. We have room for more and you're welcome to join if the empress is willing. We're docked just outside the colony gates, we'll wait for you all there." The captain said.
The rest of the guards followed behind the captain back to the ship. Shulk came downstairs a few minutes later and Melia filled him in that everyone else was ready and coming with them.
The five of them walked outside the colony and boarded the ship.
"This'll be just like old times!" Reyn said and leaned back in his seat.
Everyone went silent for a few moments, reminiscing on their long journey.
"Wait! Where Dundun and Fiora?" Riki suddenly realized.
"Are they already there, captain?" Shulk asked.
"I'm afraid not." He replied.
"We can't go without them!" Reyn protested.
"Agreed. Captain, may we take a short detour to Colony 9 before we depart for Eryth Sea?" Melia asked.
"Of course, empress." The captain replied.
Shortly after, the ship docked by the bridge into Colony 9. Everyone else hurried off while Shulk and Melia lagged behind.
"You guys go on ahead and get Dunban and Fiora. Melia and I are going to the lab." Shulk said.
They nodded and the group split up. Shulk and Melia walked towards the inside of the colony while the rest went to Dunban's house.
"Come on, let's get that driver." Shulk said and took her hand.
As they walked to the Military District, some people looked happy to see Shulk back and waved, a few others looked at the two with approving grins.
"They're staring at us, Shulk." Melia said.
"It's probably because of this." Shulk said and lifted up their held hands.
Melia blushed a little and lowered her head slightly, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone as they walked by.
"Since when do you act all shy? Wouldn't you be used to the attention since you're an empress?" Shulk asked.
"The attention isn't the problem, it's the reason for it." Melia said shyly.
Shulk smiled, "Let them stare. If they were in a relationship with someone like you I'm sure they'd be flaunting it around too. You might get all shy about it, but I'd gladly admit to anyone that you're my girlfriend."
Melia turned bright red and tried to hide her face.
Shulk couldn't help but laugh from how shy she was acting, "You can be so adorable sometimes. I love you, Melia."
"I love you too." Melia managed to squeak out.
Melia started to relax as they got to the bridge where less people were. She lifted her head back up and they stopped for a minute, leaning against the rails and checking out the changes made to the colony. The sun was reflecting off the lake, and all the new structures with improvements to older ones gave the colony a more modern look.
"It feels nice to be back home after so long." Shulk thought out loud.
He looked around the colony for a few more seconds then back to Melia. She went quiet and looked upset as her thoughts were traveling, thinking back to how Alcamoth used to be.
Damnit, you idiot!
"I'm sorry, Melia. I didn't mean for it to sound that way." He quickly apologized.
Melia held up her hands in a reassuring way, "It's fine, Shulk. I know you meant nothing by it."
"Are you sure?" Shulk asked.
Melia nodded, but Shulk could still see that look in her eyes.
"Don't lie to me, Angel. I can tell when you are." He said.
"How do you do that?" Melia asked, sounding a bit surprised.
"Because I know you." Shulk answered.
Melia let out a sigh, "I just wish I could go back to Alcamoth and be able to say the same as you."
Shulk wrapped his arms around her and held her close, "You can still do that. We'll be going to Alcamoth very soon. We'll retake it and rebuild, and we'll do it together."
"Together." Melia mused and hugged him back.
They broke apart after another minute and Melia gave him a small smile, "Thank you, Shulk. I'm feeling a little better now."
"You're welcome. We should get moving before they start wondering what's taking us so long." He said.
Shulk pulled out his keys and unlocked the door to the lab. Reyn's driver was being held in place by vice grips next to the desk.
"How are we going to transport this without Reyn noticing?" Melia asked.
"I've got a case that should be big enough to hold this. We'll put it in there." Shulk replied.
Shulk loosened the vice grips and put Reyn's driver in the case. They quickly locked the lab back up and made their way back to the ship.
Fiora was grabbing the last of her things and walked out of her house to see Shulk and Melia about to board the ship. Sharla had explained to her that they were dating while they went to the lab, but to see them together made Fiora's heart feel like it sunk. She tried to shake it off and boarded the ship. Shulk and Melia seen her walking on and came up to her.
"Good to see you again, Fiora!" Shulk said and hugged her.
"Thank you for coming with us, Fiora. It means so much to me." Melia said.
"I couldn't just sit around while you guys had all the fun! You been keeping Shulk out of trouble, Melia?" Fiora replied.
"He's been on his best behavior." Melia jokingly said back.
They all sat back down and waited for the ship to take off.
"Oi, Shulk, what's with the case?" Reyn asked, seeing it by Shulk's feet.
"Oh, this? It's something I've been working on that I think will help in the fight." Shulk answered.
The ship took off and they arrived at the Ether Plant. On the ground floor underneath the windmills was a small base camp, along with other structures including a headquarters and barracks with a canteen. Both soldiers and refugees were seen scattered around the entirety of the camp.
The captain, a few guards, and Shulk and his friends went into the headquarters to be briefed on the assault.
"Empress, are you sure that having you on the battlefield is the best course of action? We've already lost so much, losing our leader could be a fatal blow to the High Entia." The captain advised.
"I appreciate your concern, but it is not necessary. I am able to handle myself in combat and I also have my friends with me to ensure my protection." Melia assured him.
"That is true, but I had other plans for your friends." The captain said.
Mixed expressions of worry and confusion were on their faces, while Melia remained calm and level-headed.
"Very well. Let us hear your plan, then we can decide from there." Melia said.
A guard laid a map of Alcamoth on the table and the captain pointed to various areas on it.
"Instead of having an elite team of six guarding the empress, I propose we divide your friends among our squads to bolster our forces. With how big Alcamoth is, splitting them into our ranks will help us secure more ground faster. If we did that, we estimate that we'll take back Alcamoth within two days. On the first day, we will secure the first floor and nearby districts. On the second day, we will move up to the second floor and reclaim the palace." The captain explained.
"That's not a bad idea." Dunban said and put his hand to his chin, anxiously waiting to hear his plan now.
"Fine by me." Reyn said and crossed his arms.
"Heropon will go where needed!" Riki jumped in his seat.
The rest simply nodded in agreement.
The captain seen they were all on the same page now and continued discussing his plan, "Sharla, I want you close to the frontlines to provide emergency treatment, should it be needed."
"Okay." Sharla replied.
The captain pointed to the north side of Alcamoth, "There is a transporter on the north side of the first floor, this leads to what was once our commercial district. Reyn, Riki, I want you two there to clear the Telethia and secure it."
"I gotta fight with the fur ball?" Reyn pouted, "Hmph, fine. You better not slow me down."
"Reyn is the slow one, and in more ways than one." Riki shot back.
"What was that?" Reyn stood up and walked towards Riki.
"Cool it, you two." Sharla snapped.
Reyn sat back down and the captain went on. He pointed to the southeast side now.
"The transporter on the southeast leads to the residential districts. Given Dunban's previous military experience, I think he would be best suited for this. He will know what to do if say we find civilians hiding from the Telethia or if there was some other crisis. This is a big responsibility for one person to take on, so having someone else come with you is recommended, Dunban." The captain advised.
"I'll go." Fiora spoke up.
Dunban looked worried as he turned to face her, "Fiora, are you sure?"
"Yes, I want to help too. Just imagining if there was someone separated from their family, I couldn't stand to see that." Fiora said.
Her words made Dunban think back to what happened to their mother in Colony 9. He let out a sigh and leaned his arms on the table.
"I became a soldier to try and spare you that hardship. But if you're set on going, then I won't stop you." Dunban said, a hint of gloom in his voice.
The captain paused for a moment then pointed towards areas around the center, "There's one more thing. Telethia that have been acting abnormal or that are stronger than the others have been reported around the center of the first floor. It may sound hypocritical of me after trying to keep her out of harm's way, but the empress will be there to assist in taking down those targets. This is one of the most dangerous tasks, but I was personally responsible for the empress' combat training and can say for certain that she's a prodigy when it comes to ether-based combat. And, as a safety measure, another group of soldiers and Shulk will be with her. I know about Shulk's visions, he should be able to keep the empress safe with that. Also, if any of you finish your tasks and are looking to keep yourselves busy, then join the squad in the center."
Shulk and Melia looked at each other, he gave her a small smile then looked back at the captain and nodded in agreement.
"I'd expect no less from someone of your position. We'll proceed with your plan." Melia said.
The captain bowed, "Thank you, empress." He said and stood upright, "Alright, you all have your assignments and the soldiers outside know what squad they belong to. Get your gear ready, and take one of these with you."
The guard came back over and put a wooden box on the table full of flare guns and extra flares.
"When you've finished your assignments, fire a flare before you head back." The captain said.
Everyone took a flare gun and spare flares then left to prepare.
Shulk found Melia sitting close to the edge of the hovering reef looking out at the water.
He sat down next to her, "Nervous at all?"
"No, I feel fine, actually. The captain knows what he's doing. His plan was laid out so well that I don't have much to feel worried about. Besides, I'll have you with me." Melia felt some color reach her cheeks with that last comment she made.
Shulk held her hand, "I'll make sure nothing happens to you. It must be hard to do something like this knowing who the Telethia used to be. If you ever feel like you can't take it or if something is wrong, let me know, okay?"
"It may be hard, but they need to be put out of their misery. It's the least we could do for them. You don't need to worry so much about me, Shulk. I'll be okay." Melia assured him.
Shulk nodded, "Okay, I have to go finish getting ready. I love you."
"I love you too." Melia said back.
They shared a kiss before Shulk left. With everyone prepared, they stood outside the Center Gate transporter to take them into the city.
Melia stood in front and addressed the soldiers, "Those of you here that are not High Entia, words cannot begin to express our gratitude for your sacrifice. Having all of you here shows that even though we have vast differences between our races, there is nothing that can't be overcome if we work together! We may have different labels for ourselves: Nopon, Homs, High Entia, Machina, but before any of that, we are all people of this new world! No matter the enemy, no matter how small the chances are, this is our home and we will fight to protect it!"
The other races started to applaud and cheer, Melia had to raise her voice to speak over them.
"My fellow High Entia, we all thought this was our fate and that it would eventually come. However, my journey across both the Bionis and Mechonis has shown me something. It's shown me that the future is not set in stone! The future is ours to decide, and this battle will prove that to you all! This was once our home, we took so much pride in what we had achieved here, we will not let the Telethia take that from us!"
The High Entia soldiers joined in the cheering.
Melia raised her staff, "We will take back what is rightfully ours, and we will carve our own futures! Everyone, advance!"
Feeling like they were ready to take on anything, everyone raised their weapons and let out a battle cry as they rushed into the transporter. One after another, Telethia started to fall and the lower courtyard was cleared after a few hours.
"This area is secure! Those of you that have business in the districts beyond the transporters are clear to advance!" An officer shouted.
"That means us, fur ball! Let's move!" Reyn shouted to Riki.
"Aye Aye!" Riki said and bounced over to Reyn.
"Last chance if you want to change your mind, Fiora." Dunban warned.
"I have no plans to turn back after all this, let's go!" Fiora said.
They all passed through their respective transporters and began their missions. Shulk, Melia, and the rest of the soldiers that didn't go stayed behind to make a base camp near the center.
Reyn and Riki were the first to finish. They shot their flares and headed back to the camp. They both brought back a trophy from an abnormal Telethia they had to fight, it seemed to have some level of sentience and didn't fade into ether like they normally would.
"Riki make good armor out of this! Everyone will know Riki as the slayer of Dinobeast!" Riki said, sounding pretty enthusiastic about the scraps he picked up.
"Haha, do what you want, fur ball. I'll see if Shulk can make me a new weapon out of what I got." Reyn said, he had a few scales from the Telethia in his hand.
Dunban and Fiora shot their flares off shortly after Reyn and Riki made it back to camp. They had a group of civilians with them as they came out of their transporter.
"To find this many people hiding among all the Telethia, it's incredible!" Dunban said.
"I wasn't expecting there to be this many people. Hopefully now they can be reunited with their families." Fiora added.
Everyone met up at the base camp, grinning and looking pleased with the progress they already made in the recapture.
Suddenly, a loud roar was heard in the distance and a large shadow traced across the courtyard floor.
"Eyes forward! Gigas-type Telethia landing in the courtyard!" The captain yelled.
Everyone else but Melia stood with their weapons drawn as the Cerberus-like Telethia landed. Even compared to the other Telethia this one was monstrous, having three heads and two tails, and much bigger than most Telethia they've fought.
Melia was still hesitating as everyone prepared for a fight.
This Telethia's ether pattern… I know you… you're Yumea!
Melia suddenly snapped. She ran ahead of the others and attacked the Telethia on her own, shooting elementals as fast as she could summon them.
"You would have attacked me even if you weren't a Telethia, wouldn't you?" Melia snarled.
The others rushed into the fight but kept their distance from Melia to avoid cross-fire.
"Melia, calm down!" Sharla yelled and shot a Shield Bullet on her to protect her.
"You're gonna really piss this thing off if you don't quit it!" Reyn shouted and tried to get the Telethia's attention.
Shulk was doing what he could to help but listened carefully to what Melia was saying.
Melia wasn't slowing down her barrage of elementals, "Since you were Kallian and Tyrea's mother, I thought I could look to you to be a mother figure for me after my birth mother died. You were under no obligation to do that, but was acting like a decent human being too much to ask of you?! You've always had a high resentment towards me, even tried to kill me, and for what? Because you didn't agree with me ascending to the throne since I'm half-blooded? My heritage was that much of an issue to you? You believed so strongly in your ignorant and xenophobic ideology that you thought it was justified to kill someone? You're a disgrace, Yumea, to both the High Entia and as a mother!"
Light started to leave Melia's eyes as her last two elementals hung overhead, "Maybe you becoming a Telethia was a blessing in disguise, it certainly suits that twisted personality of yours better!" She yelled and shot her last two elementals.
The Telethia let out an injured cry and took a step back from the impact. Element Burst activated and surrounded Melia in a glow of ether, but she was forced to stop her attacks. She was already exhausted but would risk falling unconscious from ether deficiency if she kept going.
"She stopped, move in!" Dunban shouted.
They all rushed in to keep the attention off of Melia, her glare was still locked onto Yumea while she waited to recover.
Melia waited until she could summon three bolt elementals. She gritted her teeth and slowly walked closer to the fight.
"Your reckoning is at hand, Yumea!" She yelled and raised her staff.
Shulk's eyes started to glow and a vision played in front of him. He seen Melia using Burst End and the Telethia absorbing the huge discharge of ether from it and anywhere around to self-destruct.
This Telethia- No, Yumea, was willing to go this far to try and hurt her?
"Melia, look out!" Shulk yelled and ran to the Telethia's side.
He jumped up and a green light pulsed from the Monado, "I've almost lost someone once already, I won't let it happen again. Monado Purge!"
Shulk swung his sword and a green arc of light followed behind it. The blast of ether from Melia's Burst End and Shulk's Monado Purge hit Yumea at the same time, making the Telethia cry out and fall to the earth, too exhausted to even stand.
"Hit it with everything you've got, Melia!" Shulk yelled.
"Goodbye, Yumea… goodbye, and good riddance!" Melia yelled and shot all three of her elementals. They went in different directions, each of them hitting one of the Telethia's heads.
The Telethia let out one last defiant cry and dispersed into ether. Melia fell to her knees the second she seen the Telethia fading away. She was shaking badly and panting heavily, almost sounding like she was growling.
"Melia!" Shulk ran over to her, throwing the Monado to the ground and held her in a tight embrace.
Melia wasn't even paying attention to anything going on around her. Light started to return to her eyes and she slowly wrapped her arms around Shulk.
"Shulk… I'm sorry… I…" She couldn't bring herself to say any more. Her voice was breaking, and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
"Shh. It's okay, it's over now." Shulk lowered his voice and rubbed her back.
Everyone else gave the two some space.
"The poor girl, how could she keep something like that bottled up for so long?" Fiora asked.
"She's always been that way, always keeping quiet about her problems and putting others before herself. I just wish she would open up more." Sharla added.
"Melia, please, don't keep how you're feeling hidden from us. We don't ever want to see you like that again. I don't expect you to change that overnight, but please try and be more open with us. We're here for you, or you can always talk to me." Shulk pleaded.
"Okay… I'll try." Melia said.
Shulk kissed her forehead and they held each other close for another minute before helping Melia to her feet.
"You okay to move?" Shulk asked.
"I think so." Melia answered.
Physically she was feeling better, but mentally she was still feeling a little distraught. Any interaction she had with Yumea was playing over and over again in her head.
She was snapped out of it by something clinging to her leg.
"C-could you help me? I can't find my mom."
A child? He was with the group of people Dunban and Fiora brought back, wasn't he?
"I know you. You're Miriall's son, Teelan." Melia said.
"You seem to know everyone here." Shulk said.
"I do. They are my subjects, after all." Melia answered.
"Subjects? What do you mean?" Teelan asked.
Melia knelt down and gave him a warm smile, "This is your first time seeing me without that mask, isn't it? My name is Melia, I'm the empress."
Teelan's eyes grew wide and lit up, "Wow, you're the empress?! You're even prettier than everyone says you are!"
"A charmer, aren't you?" Melia laughed and picked him up, "I know where your mother is, I'll take you to her."
"Oh, Melia. We almost forgot the flare." Shulk spoke up.
"Oh, right. Cover your ears, Teelan." Melia said.
He did what he was told, and Melia shot a flare up into the sky.
Everyone else followed behind Melia to the Ether Plant. Her and Teelan were getting along pretty well the entire way there.
"I never knew you were so good with kids." Shulk commented.
"I've always been." Melia said back. She looked at Teelan, then smiled and stared off into space. Melia had always been patient with kids and thought back to times she had to watch them. With how well she remembered those times went, she started to wonder what it would be like if her and Shulk-
"I've seen that look on your face before, Melia. What's up?" Shulk interrupted her train of thought.
"Hm? Oh, nothing, Shulk." She said back.
Back at the Ether Plant, Miriall ran over to the group seeing Melia holding her son.
"Teelan, thank goodness you're safe!" Miriall cried.
Melia handed Teelan over to Miriall.
"What do you say to them?" Miriall told her son.
"Thank you, Melia! Thank you, Melia's boyfriend!" Teelan said innocently.
Shulk turned red and everyone else laughed.
"He's so adorable!" Sharla said and patted Teelan's head.
"Definitely not afraid to speak his mind either." Fiora added.
It was starting to get dark and they all went to their barracks. Melia heard a knock at her door and seen it was Shulk.
"What is it, Shulk?" She asked.
"I was planning to finish that driver tonight. They built a forge here that looks like it has all the tools my lab would've had. I just came by to see if you wanted to come with me." Shulk said.
Melia agreed and they went to Shulk's room to grab the case, then headed to the forge.
Shulk opened the case and started to work while Melia watched. She was learning a few things from going with Shulk before, so she was asking a bunch of questions and made suggestions at times.
"Oh, Melia. Reyn gave me these a while ago. I don't know much about the Telethia, so I'm not sure what they could do or how to work with them. Would you know if we can use these for anything?" Shulk asked and took the Telethia scales out of his pocket.
"Scales? Well, by their very nature, Telethia are drawn towards ether and can absorb it. With that being said, you could probably use these for ether absorption." Melia suggested.
"Hey, that's a pretty good idea! Reyn's a big guy so physical attacks aren't much of an issue, but ether is actually something he isn't strong against. An ether barrier would be just what he needs!" Shulk praised.
Shulk kissed Melia's forehead and went back to work while she instructed him on what to do and where to place the scales.
"I think that should do it!" Shulk said after a few hours of working on it.
"It looks great, Shulk! Reyn is going to love it!" Melia said.
"It's because of you too, Melia. This driver wouldn't have been anywhere near as good without your help." Shulk added.
"I just learned from watching you, that's all." She said modestly.
Shulk pulled her closer and gave her a soft, tender kiss.
"I still say that you had a big part in it. Either from just sitting with me or actually working on it yourself. So, thank you, Angel." Shulk praised.
Melia buried her face in his chest and hugged him, "You're welcome." She finally admitted.
They put the driver back in the case and walked back to their barracks.
"I'm so tired." Melia said and let out a yawn as they came up to her room.
Shulk took a few steps into her room then stopped, "Oh, right. Different rooms now." He said and walked back out.
"I know. Even with the decrease in numbers, High Entia still go by their more traditional values. One of them being that couples shouldn't sleep in the same bed until marriage, or in our case, a consort." Melia explained.
"Yeah, it's going to take a minute to adjust." Shulk said and gave a small laugh.
"I know, it will be the same for me as well. We've slept together since we were back in Valak Mountain, so I grew accustomed to it." Melia admitted.
Shulk suddenly put on a mischievous grin, "Well, if you want, I could stay here. No one is around to see."
Melia was seriously considering it and even bit her lip at the thought of having some time alone with him, but she shook her head, "No, that's okay, Shulk. I liked it better when I could have you next to me, but I'll be fine for a while. We shouldn't risk it in case anyone sees us."
Shulk nodded, "You're right. I'll see you tomorrow, then. Good night."
They kissed good night and went to their own rooms. It took slightly longer for them to go to bed since they weren't used to the change yet, but soon went to sleep.