The next morning, everyone awoke and met at the canteen for breakfast.
"This'll be a cinch! With how well it went yesterday, we'll take this place back in no time!" Reyn said as he scarfed down his food.
"It's not over till it's over, Reyn." Dunban commented.
Melia nodded, "Right. The second floor of Alcamoth might not be as big, but we should be prepared for anything."
"Speaking of which, are you sure you're ready for this, Melia? With what happened yesterday…" Fiora hesitated, thinking of a way to put it gently.
"I'll be okay. I promise I won't let my emotions get the better of me this time. I appreciate your concern though, Fiora." Melia assured her.
"We won't prod the subject any further, but you weren't in the wrong for how you reacted, Melia. We just want to make sure you're okay." Dunban said.
Melia only gave a small nod and they went back to their food.
"Oh, I almost forgot! Reyn, I have something for you after we get the next briefing. Remind me when we're done with that." Shulk said.
They finished eating and left for the headquarters. The captain was already there and waiting for them, but he had this uneasy vibe about him as he went over the plan.
"This will sound like a much easier task than what I had you do yesterday. A small brigade will focus on the outer areas of the second floor while we move up to the palace. Once the main hall is cleared, we will be going in different directions. The soldiers and I will split into two groups and clear the wings, while the seven of you will stay in your own group and ascend to the upper levels of the palace."
"What did I tell you guys? This'll be a breeze!" Reyn said.
"And that's precisely why we're on edge. It sounds too easy and straightforward." Dunban pointed out.
"Yeah, the way you talked hinted at that too, captain. You also said it 'sounds like' not that it 'will be'." Shulk said.
"Good eye to detail, Shulk." The captain praised, "I worded it that way because even I have my doubts about this. The Telethia on the second floor have been acting very strange lately. Some of them would act completely docile and ignore our scouts, even if they were spotted or within range of them. Other times they would go into a frenzy when they weren't being provoked and attack anything in sight, even other Telethia. The scouts also mentioned that these strange circumstances got more frequent the closer they got to the palace, so I ordered them not to go inside. We don't have much intel on the inside of the palace because of this, but I didn't want to risk the lives of our scouts or soldiers."
"So, quite literally, anything could happen." Dunban concluded.
"Correct. They could act like the Telethia we consider 'normal' and attack us on sight, completely ignore us, or just start killing each other for any reason, if one at all. We have no way of knowing what will happen." The captain stated.
"If the opportunity presents itself, should we study their habits? Doing so might help us understand the reason for their strange behavior." Melia asked.
"Do so only if the opportunity is available or if you deem it necessary. However, clearing the palace of the Telethia should be given top priority." The captain replied.
The briefing ended shortly after and Reyn placed a hand on Shulk's shoulder as they left the headquarters.
"Yo, Shulk, you said to remind you afterwards that you had something for me?" Reyn asked.
"Oh, right. Meet me by the windmills in five minutes, I'll be right back with it." Shulk said.
Shulk hurried to catch up with Melia and asked for her to come with him when he gave the driver to Reyn. Melia agreed, and they ran to Shulk's room to grab the case before meeting up at the windmill.
"Alright, Shulk, what is it? Must be something big if you're running all over the place about it." Reyn said and crossed his arms.
Shulk looked over at Melia and smiled, she smiled back and held up the case.
Reyn looked confused and scratched his head, "I don't get it. You said there was a weapon design or something in that case that would help in the fight. What's that gotta do with me?"
"I did say that, but I never said who it would help. Open it up and see for yourself." Shulk replied.
Reyn looked interested now and opened the case. Inside was an orange and white lance with the Telethia Scales decorated around the shield, along with two more scales by the pointed edge, one on each side.
"Whoa… this thing looks awesome! You made this for me, Shulk?" Reyn went to touch the new lance and a faint blue light started pulsing from the scales, covering the shield in it's glow as well.
Reyn jumped back in surprise, "What the bloody hell was that?"
"Calm down, Reyn. It's just the scales you brought me." Shulk chuckled.
"We added them onto the weapon after you gave them to Shulk. They react to surrounding ether and enhance your shield with ether defensive capabilities." Melia explained.
Reyn picked up the driver and gave it a few practice swings.
"Easy where you swing that thing, Reyn. I don't want the first person you use it on to be me." Shulk joked.
"Oh, my bad. I'm just so hyped! You've really outdone yourself with this one, Shulk!" Reyn exclaimed as he continued to swing the driver around.
"Actually, Melia did most of the work. She helped build a good portion of it and using the scales to make an ether shield was her idea, all I did was put it together." Shulk said.
Reyn stopped swinging his new weapon and looked in astonishment at Melia, "You're the one who made this?"
"Not all of it. Shulk still helped and there were other parts he was solely responsible for." Melia said modestly.
Reyn threw an arm around both of their necks and pulled them under his shoulders, "Whichever one of you worked on what isn't a big deal. You both still made this, and I think it's awesome! Thanks, you guys, I love it!"
Reyn took another glance at his new weapon and beamed. He ran off to test it out on a combat dummy before they left.
Shulk put an arm over Melia and they watched him go.
"Looks like he's happy with it." Shulk chuckled.
"It seems so. I'm glad he likes it." Melia said.
"I am too. We make a great team, don't we?" Shulk commented.
"We do." Melia said back. She smiled and gave Shulk a hug.
Shulk cupped his hand under Melia's chin and lifted her head up. They shared a tender kiss, then went back to their barracks to prepare for the next assault.
With everything ready, they marched back in to Alcamoth in one giant formation and climbed to the second floor. At the top of the stairs, squads started to split from the formation to clear the outer areas while everyone else headed towards the palace.
Two Telethia were standing by the entrance to the palace, one on each side of the doorway, but they didn't do anything as the group moved closer.
"What's up with these two?" Reyn asked.
"They must be Telethia that have been acting abnormally. These two would have attacked us by now, but they're still standing there." The captain answered.
The captain found broken pieces of stone on the ground and threw it near the Telethia. They looked in the direction the stone landed, but the Telethia wouldn't leave their posts and looked back ahead.
"See? They still acknowledge everything around them, but they remain completely passive." The captain said.
Riki moved closer to the Telethia.
"Kyapow!" He yelled and threw a fake punch to see if they would flinch.
The Telethia still wouldn't move nor show any aggression towards Riki as he tried anything he could think of to make them attack.
Riki grinned and danced in front of the Telethia, "This fun! No matter what Riki do, Dinobeasts not do anything!"
"The Imperial Guards were trained to stand idle outside the palace, just like these Telethia are doing…" Melia said.
"These two may have been Imperial Guards before they transformed. But if they're acting like they normally would, does that mean they might have sentience?" Shulk asked.
"It's a possibility." Melia replied.
"What do you propose we do with them, empress? If they won't attack, we can easily strike them down or simply move past them." The captain asked.
"Let us leave them alone and walk past. I want to see if they react at all once we are inside the palace." Melia answered.
The captain nodded and they all slowly started to walk past the Telethia Guards. Everyone froze in their tracks as the Telethia turned their heads and stared them down, but they still wouldn't attack.
Everyone continued walking and the Telethia turned their attention back to the front as the group entered the main hall.
"This is really creeping me out." Reyn said.
"I agree, it's like they wanted us to come in here." Dunban added.
Inside the main hall, Telethia were stationed around the pillars and walked in groups through the halls leading to the other wings.
"More Telethia acting like Imperial Guards… even their patrol layout is identical." The captain muttered.
The captain looked over to the right side and seen more Telethia staring them down. They had a glare that was different from the two Telethia guarding the front door. The captain returned the look and slowly reached for his sword.
The Telethia seen his hand clenched around his sword and ran in to attack.
"Incoming, right side!" The captain yelled and everyone drew their weapons.
Reyn, Riki, and Dunban heard shrieking from behind them and turned around, seeing the two Telethia standing guard out front rushing in to the fight.
"Friends, behind us! Friendly Dinobeasts not friendly anymore!" Riki cried.
"Reyn, you take one and I'll handle the other!" Dunban ordered.
While Reyn and Dunban kept the other two away from the fight, the captain kept the other Telethia's attention on him while the rest of the group focused them down. After the first group of Telethia was dealt with, everyone hurried over to help Reyn and Dunban.
The Telethia dispersed into ether and everyone paused to catch their breath.
"They vanish like normal Telethia, but the way they were acting definitely wasn't normal!" Reyn said.
"They didn't attack until they seen me reach for my sword. They must have thought we posed a threat, but why did the two out front join in?" The captain asked.
"They are acting as if they still have some level of sentience. Perhaps they somehow knew each other and wanted to protect them after we attacked." Melia thought out loud.
The group continued moving forward and came to the fork between the wings. Standing in front of them, leading to the stairs to continue upwards, was a large group of Telethia with an Asara in the back.
The Asara turned around and began to drain ether from the fountain behind it's group. As it drained the ether, the scales on Reyn's new driver began to emit that faint blue pulse from earlier.
"Hey, guys, check this out." Reyn said and called them over to look.
Seconds after they gathered around, they jumped from hearing a loud shriek behind them. They turned around and seen the rest of the Telethia ganging up on the Asara. They knocked it out of the air and continued to attack while it was down.
"What the hell is wrong with these guys? Ain't they on the same team?" Reyn asked.
"I warned you about that, didn't I? We can worry about it later, we should deal with them for now." The captain said.
"Right, this could work in our favor with them distracted." Dunban said.
They all drew their weapons and charged. The Telethia were so fixated on the Asara that they didn't fight back as everyone attacked, making themselves easy targets. They were quickly eliminated and the group talked amongst themselves while the captain assigned soldiers to different groups.
"Telethia's very nature revolves around ether. They must have reacted to the Asara absorbing it from the fountain." Melia said.
"Now that you mention it, your weapon started to pulse and made a blue light during the absorption process, Reyn." Dunban added.
"Those scales did come from a Telethia, after all. Melia and I noticed it reacts to nearby ether as well." Shulk said.
"Maybe we can use that as an indicator for something ether-related is about to happen." Melia suggested.
Reyn stared blankly for a moment, then looked surprised as he came to a realization, "Are you telling me this thing can pretty much see the future like Shulk can?!"
Shulk chuckled, "It's a little different from my visions, Reyn. You don't actually see something before it happens like I do, it only pulses, and the pulse changes depending on the amount of ether being used. Think of it like a warning; Like if someone were to attack us with ether, your shield would pulse before it happens and you could use the scales to absorb it."
"Oh. Well either way, that's still awesome!" Reyn said, not sounding too phased from Shulk's comment.
The captain came over to them, "We're ready to move when you are."
Everyone nodded and the captain faced the soldiers, "Those with me will clear the left wing and the Imperial Villa, the rest of you will take the right wing!"
The three groups then split. Shulk, Melia, and their friends eliminated the few remaining Telethia up the flight of stairs and approached the transporter.
Melia was hesitating as they all passed through, Shulk noticed and stayed behind to check on her.
"Do you need to rest, Melia?" He asked.
"No, I am fine. I just have an ominous feeling about this." Melia answered.
Shulk took her hand and gave it a small squeeze, "Whether you decide to go or not, I'll be right there with you, Melia."
Melia squeezed his hand a little tighter, "I'm not leaving, Shulk. We've been through so much to get here, I can't just abandon that now! The High Entia may be smaller in number, but I'm still their empress. It's my duty to ensure their prosperity."
Shulk leaned closer and kissed her forehead, "That's my girl. You'll be one of the best rulers the High Entia ever had, I know it. I'll be right there next to you to see that happen when this is over."
Even with the uneasy feeling she had, something about being called his girl put a smile on Melia's face, "I know you will. We promised to see the rebuilding of Alcamoth together."
"I don't think you understood what I meant." Shulk said.
"What do you mean, Shulk?" She asked.
"I said I would be there to watch you lead the High Entia, not just for the reconstruction. Don't you remember what we talked about in Colony 6?"
"You're saying… you'll stay here in Alcamoth?" Melia's wings lifted up from surprise and started flapping.
That grin Shulk loved to use was written all over his face, "I told you that I'd be open to the idea after this was over, didn't I? Well, I made up my mind. If it's still okay with you, then yes, I'll stay here with you."
"Shulk…" Melia felt such a wave of joy running through her that she felt like she might cry. She threw her arms around Shulk and hugged him tightly, "Yes! Of course I would want you to stay!"
Melia pulled Shulk down to her level and they shared a deep, passionate kiss. Shulk broke the kiss and looked into her eyes as he caressed her cheek.
"I love you, Melia." He mused.
"I love you too, Shulk! I love you so much!" Melia cried.
Shulk smiled and put his hands in his coat pockets as he turned towards the transporter.
"Everyone's waiting on us, and so is that future we planned on having together. Are you ready?" Shulk asked. He looked over at Melia and took one hand out of his pocket, holding it out in front of her.
Melia took his hand, "I'm more than ready. Let's not keep either of them waiting any longer."