A/N: Events in this chapter take place as if they happened post-game.
Hand in hand, Shulk and Melia walked through the transporter.
"Took you two long enough. We were about to turn back and see what the hold up was." Reyn said as they came over.
"Sorry about that. Everything's fine now." Shulk assured everyone. He walked to the front of the group and lead them further into the palace.
Melia was walking slower than the others and started to fall behind as they all headed to the Audience Chamber. She was blushing and couldn't help but smile as she stared off into space. Shulk agreeing to stay with her in Alcamoth was still fresh in her mind and she lost herself fantasizing what it would be like living together.
"Earth to Melia, can you hear us?"
Melia snapped out of her daydreaming and looked over. Fiora was walking beside her, matching her slow stride and trying to get her attention.
"Hm? Oh, sorry." Melia said.
"You don't have to apologize." Fiora laughed, "I just wanted to check up on you. You started falling behind and went quiet, but judging from the look on your face, I was worrying about nothing."
"I just had an unsettling feeling before we passed through the transporter, but Shulk stopped for me and helped set my mind at ease. Other than that one instance, I've felt okay… more than okay, actually." Melia said and started to smile.
Fiora returned the smile, "That's just the kind of person Shulk is. Even after everything that happened, it's nice to see that part of him hasn't changed."
Everything went quiet as they stayed behind the group, awkwardly quiet.
"I'm glad you two have each other." Fiora said softly and broke the silence.
Melia looked at her, slightly surprised, "You know about us?"
"Sharla told me about it back at Colony 9 when you guys weren't around. I probably would have figured that out sooner or later, you two have been pretty close since you left for Valak Mountain." Fiora replied.
"Shulk also told me how you felt about each other before your home was invaded by the Mechon. I was worried that you would have had a grudge towards me after we confessed our feelings for each other, and we didn't show much public affection because we didn't want you to feel uncomfortable. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for how things turned out for you, Fiora." Melia said. Her expression changed and she started to look upset.
Fiora put her arm over Melia's shoulder, "Don't be. You have nothing to feel bad about or apologize for. Shulk already told me that he doesn't feel that way anymore after he found me on the Fallen Arm."
"He did?" Melia gawked.
Fiora nodded, "Yes. Neither of us could have known that I would come back after the attack on Colony 9. It was only right that he would have moved on eventually, and I would have wanted him to."
"Fiora…" Melia put her arm around Fiora to try and comfort her.
Fiora smiled then, "He did say that he found someone else, but he wouldn't tell me who it was. I'm glad it was someone like you, Melia. It might be too late for Shulk and I to be together, but I know you'll be able to make him happy. I'm not mad at either of you, so don't worry about me."
Melia was left speechless. For Fiora to act this way despite everything she went through… it was admirable.
Melia wrapped her arms around Fiora and hugged her, "Thank you, Fiora. I promise I'll take care of him and make sure he's happy."
Fiora hugged her back, "That's all I could ask for. As long as Shulk's happy, then I'm happy. Come on, we don't want to fall behind."
Melia nodded and they walked faster to catch up with the others. As they approached the entrance to the Audience Chamber, a group of eight Telethia were standing guard. One of the Telethia stood in front of the approaching group and held up his arm, the other seven Telethia then formed a horizontal line behind him like they were making a wall.
"Looks like they won't let us pass." Dunban said and readied himself for a fight.
"Eliminate them." A female voice was heard echoing through the room.
They weren't given a chance to think about who's voice that was as the Telethia charged forward and attacked just seconds after. It was no easy task to take on eight at once, but they miraculously prevailed.
"Is everyone all right?" Shulk asked, he looked around at everyone as he caught his breath.
"Reyn and I have been better." Dunban admitted. He and Reyn were sitting next to each other and tended to their wounds.
"Heropon make ouchies better!" Riki said and bounced over.
Riki took a deep breath and exhaled, surrounding the two in a cool and soothing mist. Reyn and Dunban basked in the mist for a few moments before getting to their feet.
"Dundun and Reyn can thank Riki now!" Riki said.
"Fine. We are forever in your debt, Riki, the strongest of all Nopon." Dunban sarcastically thanked him.
"Did anyone recognize that voice from earlier? The one that told them to attack?" Fiora asked.
Melia looked like something was weighing heavily on her mind while the others thought it over.
"I know whose voice that was. It was Lorithia." Melia spoke up.
"Lorithia?" Shulk gawked.
"As in Zanza's old disciple?" Reyn asked.
"Yes, I'm sure of it." Melia answered.
"Of all the places she could have shown up. She's got some nerve." Sharla growled.
Everything around Melia went mute as she thought back to the things Lorithia did. While everyone was busy speculating if that voice was really her, Melia turned on her heel and headed towards the throne with a dangerous glare on her face.
Shulk stood in her way and held her so tight that she couldn't move.
"It's going to be okay, Melia." He whispered softly.
Melia didn't try to fight back against his grip. Her glare slowly faded away and she took a shaky breath as she hugged him back.
"But she's done so many horrible things, Shulk…" Melia quietly said back.
"I know. She's going to answer for that, but I don't want you to have another outburst and risk getting hurt. Please, try to calm down before we go any further." Shulk pleaded.
Melia closed her eyes and buried her face in Shulk's chest, taking a few deep breaths while he rubbed her back. After a few minutes, Melia lifted her head and looked back to the others.
"I'm sorry to make you all wait on me. I'm fine now." She said.
"We're not in any rush, Melia. You can take as much time as you need." Sharla said as everyone stood up.
"We need you for this, Melia. Are you absolutely sure you're ready?" Fiora asked.
"Yes, I'm sure." Melia answered.
"Alright, let's get princess back on the throne." Reyn said.
They moved onwards and found an empty throne. Footsteps were heard in the room nearby and sounded like they were getting louder. Everyone turned their heads in the direction the sound was coming from to see a female High Entia plodding towards the throne.
"Lorithia…" Melia growled and gripped her staff. She wanted to instantly lash out at Lorithia, but Melia remembered how worried she made everyone with her last outburst and she restrained herself.
Lorithia looked over at the group as she approached the throne. They all glared and looked ready for a fight, but Lorithia was focused more on Melia, noticing her expression was the most intense out of the others.
Lorithia returned Melia's stare with a smug grin, "Well well well, to what do I owe the honor of having royalty visiting my home?"
"This is my home, Lorithia, you're fully aware of that." Melia shot back.
"Was your home." Lorithia sharply cut her off and sat at the throne.
"Why would you even show your face here? What do you gain from any of this now that Zanza is gone?" Reyn demanded.
"Zanza's ideology and mine differ greatly, so there's no need to compare us." Lorithia said.
"Care to explain how?" Dunban asked.
"Zanza was obsessed with creating what he perceived to be a perfect world, however, he was bound to a continuous cycle of destruction and rebirth. As I'm sure you are all aware, Zanza needed the people of Bionis to sustain his own life. He began to fear that his creations would eventually leave him and he would not be able to regain their ether, so he was forced to repeatedly destroy and regenerate everything he made. It's quite sad, really, all that progress made just to be forced to start again, but those restrictions do not apply to me. The Bionis no longer exists, nor do I plan to become a god. What I'm aiming for is not destruction or creating a 'perfect' world like Zanza, but domination of this new world you all have built." Lorithia explained.
"And you think we would just sit idly by and let you? What makes you think you have any chances of achieving that?" Dunban asked.
"I have control over the most advanced civilization currently known on this new world, and an army of Telethia to act as my military might. I would say I'm doing quite well so far." Lorithia replied, sounding quite confident in her answer.
"Have you seen your so called 'army' lately? They don't exactly act like they're under your control." Reyn shot back.
"Ah, yes. It's common for High Entia to retain varying levels of sentience after their transformation. It's only temporary and fades over time, and when it finally does, they respond only to me. I know you all witnessed the incident with the Asara as well. As Telethia are exposed to more ether, they revert further back to their primitive state. This exposure can actually make their sentience decay faster, but Alcamoth has a high concentration of ether. Overexposure makes Telethia act like wild, unpredictable animals and it also becomes more difficult to keep them under control. If anything, I should be thanking you all for getting rid of them. The less rabid defects I have to deal with, the better." Lorithia said.
Melia lowered her head and gritted her teeth, "They're still people…" She muttered.
"What was that, your highness? You have to speak up." Lorithia taunted.
Melia threw her head back up and her dangerous glare returned, "They're. Still. People! The fact you look at them as just 'rabid defects' that you can throw away in the blink of an eye is disgusting and proves that you're not fit to rule, Lorithia!"
Lorithia simply smirked and stood up, readying for a fight. The others drew their weapons, but Shulk extended his arm in front of Melia and stepped in front of her.
"I don't want you getting hurt, Melia." Shulk said defensively.
"It seems Zanza's vessel developed a personality of its own, quite a chivalrous one at that." Lorithia commented.
"It doesn't matter what I am, I won't let you lay even a finger on her as long as I'm here!" Shulk growled and drew his weapon.
"Talk all you want, I still remain unconvinced. You couldn't even protect her father on Prison Island, what makes you think you can protect her now?" Lorithia shot back.
Shulk lowered his head, "She's right… I had a vision of Sorean's death before he went to Prison Island. I seen it happen, and I still couldn't stop it."
"Shulk, there's nothing you could have done. I don't blame you for what happened." Melia said.
Shulk lifted his head and looked back at Lorithia, "I may not have been able to save him, but there was still something I did right. Before Sorean left for Prison Island, he told me to watch over Melia, not just as some body guard, but to be there for her as a friend. I promised him that I would. Whenever she needed someone, I was there, and we became so much more as time went on."
Shulk kept his gaze fixated on Lorithia and pointed to Melia, "I made a promise to her as well. I promised I would protect her, and that I would be right at her side after all this was over. The thing I did right… was keeping my promise to Sorean, and just like I did back then, I'll keep that promise to her now!"
Lorithia broodingly laughed, "Look at you two, it's touching how close you are. Don't you think so too, Kallian?"
A Telethia then flew overhead and landed next to Lorithia. Kallian's upper body was seen sticking out of its chest, but he wasn't moving.
Melia's eyes grew wide in complete shock and horror. She moved Shulk's arm out of her way and stepped forward.
"Brother… brother! Can you hear me?" Melia cried.
"I told you earlier, child, the Telethia will only respond to me once their sentience is gone. He can't hear you, he probably doesn't even remember who you are." Lorithia said.
Lorithia moved closer to the Telethia and shot Melia a vexing glance, then leaned in and kissed Kallian as everyone watched in complete disgust.
"He's mine now." Lorithia sneered.
An ice elemental instantly appeared over Melia's head and took the shape of an icicle. She extended her hand forward and the icicle flew out like a bullet, grazing Lorithia's ear and taking a few inches off her hair before shattering against the wall.
"Leave my brother out of this, Lorithia, or the next one won't miss." Melia hissed.
Lorithia only grinned at Melia's threat, "Temper, temper, your highness. But I wonder, will you still make good on that threat if it meant hurting Kallian too?"
A green glow of ether covered Lorithia's side of the room, hiding everything inside of it like a fog. When it finally cleared, only the Telethia remained visible.
"Where did she go?!" Reyn asked.
Melia glanced back at the Telethia, noticing a change in both its appearance and ether pattern.
"She merged with the Telethia. That's what she meant, any harm that comes to her, Kallian will feel it too." Melia stated.
"Is there any low you won't sink to, Lorithia?" Sharla snarled.
"Melia, what do you want to do?" Shulk asked.
"I can't bear to see Kallian subjected to this… I can still fight." Melia answered.
"Okay then, let's go!" Shulk ordered.
As the group rushed forward, Lorithia summoned four different colored Nebulae that circled around her.
"After all that talk, this is what your strength amounts to?" Lorithia taunted, not even flinching from any of their attacks.
"We can't fight her assuming this will go like the other Telethia, something has to be different about this one." Dunban said.
Melia looked the Telethia over again, noticing the Nebulae around her.
"There! Aim for the Nebulae first!" Melia ordered.
Everyone quickly turned their attention to the Nebulae and focused on one at a time.
"Stay away from those!" Lorithia yelled and swung at them in an arc to push them away from the Nebulae.
Riki ran from behind the Telethia and sunk his teeth into her wing. Lorithia grunted slightly from the pain and spun herself around, knocking Riki off her.
Riki flipped himself right-side-up before he hit the ground and landed on his feet.
"You face heropon now!" Riki yelled.
"Is that supposed to be a threat? What can some miniscule pest like you hope to do?" Lorithia shot back.
Lorithia went to attack Riki and he started to run away. While she was distracted with chasing Riki, the others focused their attention back on the Nebulae.
One of the Nebulae burst and Lorithia looked back over from the noise.
"So that's your plan." Lorithia stopped chasing Riki and hurried over to defend the Nebulae.
Dunban stood in her way and tried to fight her off. This time, she was noticeably flinching and could feel his attacks now.
"It's working! She's weaker with the Nebulae gone!" Dunban shouted.
Dunban kept Lorithia at bay as best he could while the others continued to attack the Nebulae. However, just as the second one was about to burst, they all shook violently and sounded like they were humming.
"I will not be done in by the same mistakes that Zanza so brazenly ignored!" Lorithia yelled.
The three remaining Nebulae then exploded, knocking everyone in close range off their feet and blowing them back a short distance. Lorithia looked around the battlefield and noticed Shulk was among those knocked back from the explosion and laying on the ground.
"You! You were a big reason for Zanza's downfall, I won't let you roam freely and do the same to my plans!" Lorithia yelled and walked over to him.
Lorithia stood above Shulk and a bright light emerged from the Telethia's arm as she charged her Ether Laser, "I hope you enjoyed the time you had when you were brought back to life, vessel. You won't be coming back from this!"
Shulk felt like he couldn't move and desperately gasped as he stared into the light from the charged beam, it eventually grew to where the light was the only thing he could see.
Shulk closed his eyes and was filled with a strange sense of tranquility and warmth that covered him like a blanket. He started to feel like he was floating and everything around him went silent: There was no more noise from the battle and he couldn't feel any more pain from the explosion. There was nothing, the only way he could describe it was… peaceful.
Shulk's eyes opened and he sat up. He looked around but couldn't see anything familiar, just a white, open-area that seemed to stretch out forever.
"What's going on? Where am I?" Shulk quietly said to himself.
Shulk could hear a set of footsteps coming from behind him. He turned his head to see two figures walking towards him: A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, around the same height as Shulk, and a man who looked slightly taller with brown hair and brown eyes.
"Shulk… we finally get to see you after all this time." The woman said. There was a breaking in her voice, almost like she was about to cry.
"Who are you two?" Shulk stood up and took a few steps away from them.
"… He doesn't remember us." The woman quietly said and looked down.
"You can't blame him for that. It's been so long, after all." The man said and put his arm over her.
"Why are you talking like I'm supposed to know who you are? I've never met either of you." Shulk spoke up.
The woman lifted her head back up, "Shulk… how much of your childhood do you remember?"
Shulk raised an eyebrow, not expecting to hear that.
"Not much…" He said back and looked away, trying to talk as little as possible about the subject.
"Do you remember anything about a blizzard up in the mountains, or taking shelter inside a chapel?" The woman asked.
A small gasp escaped and Shulk looked back over at them, "You mean Harict Chapel… how do you know about that?"
"Because we're the ones who brought you there. Shulk… we're your mom and dad." The man said.
"My mom… and my dad?" Shulk had to look them over a second time, then he could picture the two perfectly in the few memories he had with them. Tears flooded his face and he ran over to them, hugging them both as tight as he could.
"Mom! Dad! It's really you!" Shulk cried.
Tears formed in the corners of his parents' eyes and they held Shulk close while he cried uncontrollably.
"I missed you both so much!" Shulk sobbed.
"My poor baby, we missed you too!" Shulk's mom cried and soothingly rubbed his back.
Shulk felt like time had slowed to a crawl in their embrace. He looked up at his parents once he stopped crying.
"Mom, dad, if you're here, does that mean… I'm…" Shulk asked.
"Well, not yet. Look behind you." His dad said and pointed.
Shulk turned around and seen a giant circle behind him several feet away, almost like a portal. On the other side of that portal was the Audience Chamber, he could see himself with Lorithia standing above him, all his friends, and Melia near the back.
"You still have a choice, Shulk. You can either come with us or go back to your friends." Shulk's mom said.
"Mom… you can't just expect me to make a choice like that! Especially having to do it on the spot like this, and-"
Shulk's mom gently clasped his hands between hers, "It's okay, Shulk. There is no right or wrong answer. We'll understand and support you entirely, regardless of what you decide to do."
Shulk looked up at his mom, then back to his dad, and finally to the portal. He took a long look at everything and everyone on the other end of the portal, then nodded his head. He looked back to his parents, a confident look on his face like he knew what he wanted to do.
"Mom, dad, I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to move on yet. They need me, and I still have promises that I need to keep." Shulk said.
"That's my boy." Shulk's dad said and grinned, it was that same grin that Shulk always used.
"We understand, sweetie. We love you, and we'll always be watching over you." His mom said.
"I love you too, I love you both so much!" Shulk said back.
Shulk's mom kissed his forehead and they both gave Shulk another big hug. They let him go and Shulk looked back at the portal, he took a deep breath and slowly walked closer to it.
"Shulk, wait!" His mom called out.
As soon as Shulk turned around, he was met with another hug from his mom.
"Before you go, tell Melia that we would have loved to meet her too." Shulk's mom said.
"You… you know about her? And what we said to each other at the chapel?" Shulk was left so stunned that he couldn't move or even hug her back.
"Your mom meant what she said about watching over you. We always have been, and we're both sure that Melia will be there to support you through anything and keep you in line. You better keep that girl happy, Shulk. Don't start thinking that because we're not physically there doesn't mean I can't beat your ass if I see you make her cry." His dad joked.
Shulk looked over at his dad and seen that grin again, which he happily returned.
"Tell Melia that we love her too, and that we think you two are perfect for each other." Shulk's mom said.
"I will." Shulk said back and hugged her.
Shulk's dad put his arm over his wife and they watched Shulk step closer to the portal.
Shulk turned back around before he passed through, "Goodbye, you guys. I love you both so much!"
"We love you too, sweetie." His mom said.
"You've grown so much since we last saw you. We're proud of you, Shulk. Now go on, your friends are waiting for you." His dad said.
Shulk waved goodbye to them, they waved back, and a set of blue lights suddenly appeared in front of him. Lines started to connect the lights together and they formed a hexagram. Everything behind the hexagram started to blur and Shulk felt something grab him and pull him away at lightning speed.
Everything went dark and Shulk heard someone cry out in pain, his eyes flew back open and he took another desperate gasp for air. He looked around and he was back in the Audience Chamber, Lorithia was the one who screamed and was pushed off him, and the hexagram was still in front of him.
"I know this pattern. It's Melia's Reflection spell." Shulk sat up and looked over to where Melia was, her staff was out and in one hand while her other arm was opened and extended.
"I won't let you hurt Shulk!" Melia yelled. She lowered her extended arm and the blue hexagram faded.
"You're really starting to test my patience, child!" Lorithia yelled back.
A teal glow emitted from Melia's eyes, "We both made that promise. Just like Shulk, I promised I wouldn't let any harm come to him and that we would see the rebuilding of Alcamoth together!"
"Even you should know not to make promises you can't keep, your highness." Lorithia hissed.
Melia glared dangerously and fired volleys of elementals at Lorithia as she came closer.
"Enough games, child!" Lorithia yelled and began to charge another Ether Laser.
As the charge grew, Reyn's shield started pulsing rapidly and a blue light flickered from the shield.
That's my cue!
Lorithia lifted her arm and aimed it at Melia. A concentrated beam of ether fired from her arm, but before Melia could cast another reflection spell, Reyn jumped in front of her and raised his shield. The force from the attack pushed him back slightly, but he dug his feet into the ground while the scales began to absorb the ether.
"Reyn!" Melia called.
Reyn kept his shield up and looked back at Melia, giving her a grin, "You guys were right! This thing really can warn me about the ether before it happens!"
"Thank you, Reyn." Melia said.
"Thank yourselves, I wouldn't have known that would happen fast enough without this driver you and Shulk built. Stay behind me and keep it up!" Reyn ordered.
Melia nodded and continued to fire volleys from behind Reyn's shield while it absorbed more ether from Lorithia's attacks. After several blocked attacks, the scales around Reyn's shield began to vibrate and make a soft humming noise, then the scales near the pointed edge of his weapon started to light up.
"What gives? The ones on that end never lit up before, just the ones around the shield." Reyn thought out loud.
The scales at the pointed edge started making a high-pitched ring and were so brightly lit that they looked white.
"Whatever it's doing, it doesn't look good. Get down!" Reyn ordered and aimed the end of his weapon away, pointing it towards Lorithia.
A highly charged blast of ether shot out from the tip of his weapon and hit Lorithia, toppling her over while she screamed in pain.
Reyn couldn't even register what just happened and he stared at his weapon, "Did… did I just do that?"
"Neither Shulk or I knew that was possible when we built the weapon. It seems the scales don't just absorb ether but can even fire it back." Melia said, looking just as stunned as Reyn.
Reyn started shuddering from the adrenaline and threw his arms out to the side, "Yeahhh! How'd ya like that? It's Reyn time now, baby! Shulk, did you see that?"
Shulk was still in shock from his near-death experience and sitting on the ground, not paying attention to anything going on around him.
"Oi, Shulk, what's wrong with you?" Reyn asked and lowered his weapon.
Lorithia jumped back up and instantly fired another Ether Laser at Reyn while he was distracted, knocking him off his feet.
"Reyn! Are you okay?" Sharla called and aimed her rifle at him.
"How did you like that?" Lorithia yelled back to try and taunt Reyn, "I can't tell which is more painful, that returned fire or listening to him talk!"
Lorithia picked up where she left off and started walking closer to Melia, "I'll admit, weaponizing the Telethia's scales was clever, but now there's nothing left to shield you, your highness!"
The glow in Melia's eyes left as Lorithia readied her next shot, but Fiora jumped onto the Telethia's back and climbed up. She aimlessly stabbed away, making Lorithia miss her shot.
"Stay away from her!" Fiora yelled.
The Telethia let out a roar and shook around, eventually flipping Fiora off her and sending her sliding across the floor.
"Fiora!" Dunban called and ran over to where she landed.
Fiora swayed, but stood up and glared at Lorithia, "Weren't you listening to what Melia said? Her and Shulk still have things to do, and I'm not going to let you get in the way of that!"
Lorithia growled, "I've had enough of this talk about your promises and pointless attempts at showing camaraderie! If you want to act like you're in unison, then you'll die like it too!"
Lorithia moved her hands closer to her chest and a ball of ether energy formed, growing bigger and more unstable as her hands moved further apart. The ball began to shake violently and hummed while the ground underneath everyone rumbled.
"What's happening? What's she doing now?" Dunban said.
The rumbling underneath Shulk snapped him out of his daze and he looked over at the others.
"The explosion from this should be more than enough to cover this room and kill you all in one swoop. Farewell, vermin!" Lorithia yelled.
"Melia!"
Melia looked over and Shulk was running up to her at full speed. Just like Melia's were before, Shulk's eyes were glowing. She looked into his blue glowing eyes, as if she understood what he was about to do. She nodded, then bent her knees and put her hands together. Shulk jumped into her clasped hands and she launched him high into the air above Lorithia.
"Today, I make good on my promise, just like I did with Sorean!" Shulk yelled.
A purple light covered the Monado and Shulk lifted it over his head. He swung it down as he came back to the ground, slicing clean through the Telethia.
Lorithia screamed in agony as she fell to the Earth, blood was pouring from her open wound and ether also escaped from it, rising into the air before dispersing.
Everyone watched in awe as realization set in, there was no way for Lorithia to continue fighting after a wound that severe. They all slowly sheathed their weapons and circled around her.
Lorithia knew deep down that she was beat but continued to shoot everyone defiant glares while the rest looked down at her with soft eyes.
"Lorithia, do you have any last words?" Shulk asked.
"You're not heroic, vessel, so quit trying to act like it. You were brought back to life to be Zanza's puppet, someone that did what he was told without question. He wanted you to kill, so go ahead, do what you were brought back to do." She sneered.
Shulk closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to ignore her taunting. If he was going to do this, it wasn't going to be out of spite. He slowly lifted the Monado over his head, but Melia grabbed his arm before he could deliver the killing blow.
"Wait, Shulk, I'll do it." Melia said.
Lorithia looked both enraged and disgusted as Melia stepped forward, but she was too weak to do anything to her. Strangely enough, it didn't seem like her Telethia counterpart would respond to her even if she had the strength to move.
"To meet my end at the hands of a half-breed like you… it's embarrassing." Lorithia growled.
Melia closed her eyes and put a hand to her chest. A small light appeared around her arm and she extended it out towards Lorithia, but suddenly, another light emerged from the Telethia and blinded everyone in the room.
"You've done enough, Melia. Leave her to me."
The light faded and everyone was left stunned, seeing Kallian's body stirring and moving slightly. He regained consciousness and slowly started to open his eyes.
"Kallian…" Melia felt tears forming in her eyes and she knelt down, hugging him as tight as she could.
Kallian held her close while she sobbed into his shoulder, "I'm glad I could see you one last time, Melia."
"No… Kallian, don't talk like that! There has to be-"
Kallian gently lifted Melia's head up and wiped the tears from her cheek, "I'll be okay, Melia. This was fate, and there was no escaping from it. The Telethia gene lies dormant within us all, and I wouldn't have wanted to remain this way and hurt those that I cared about. I'm grateful for what you did, both for me and for the rest of our people. The remaining High Entia can now return home, and you can lead them down any path you believe to be the right one. I'm proud of you, Melia, and I'll always be with you."
Melia nodded and gave him one last hug, "I love you, Kallian."
"I love you too, Melia." Kallian said and hugged her back.
The light re-emerged and covered the room in its blinding glow. Once it faded, Melia's arms were left empty, both Kallian and the Telethia were gone.
Melia felt like she had gone numb, a blank expression and a distant look were all that could be seen as she stood back up.
"Melia…" Shulk tried to put a hand on her shoulder, but she gently pushed him away.
"There's no need to worry, Shulk. I feel fine." Melia said and forced a smile.
Shulk could see clear through her, but he gave up for now and reluctantly nodded. Everyone followed behind Melia to the lower floors and outside the palace.
Melia looked over the ledge of the city's second floor to see the captain and all the soldiers behind him on the floor underneath. They all turned towards the ledge and looked up at Melia, anxiously waiting to hear what news their empress had.
"Alcamoth is once again ours!" Melia exclaimed and raised her staff high above her head.
The soldiers all raised their weapons as mixes of crying and cheering roared throughout the entire city, but while everyone else was celebrating down below and basking in their victory, everything felt somber for the seven of them still on the higher platform. Shulk especially kept an eye on Melia, while Dunban looked worried for the both of them. He placed a hand on Shulk's shoulder and they glanced at each other.
"I know what you're thinking, Shulk." Dunban said.
"She's not okay, Dunban. I don't care how many times she tries to tell me that, I know she's lying." Shulk muttered, the frustration he was feeling was apparent in his voice.
"We know, but this isn't the time or the place to bring that up again. She couldn't have addressed the soldiers like that, nor should they see her breaking down if you keep pushing her to talk about it. Give her some space for now, and only bring it up if she's willing to talk about it and you two are alone." Dunban advised.
Shulk let out a reluctant and irritated sigh. He knew Dunban was right, but he still felt angry that he couldn't do anything to try and help her.
Night time soon came around and everyone was back at their barracks while groups of soldiers stayed in Alcamoth. The Telethia were sure to have been cleared from the city, but they decided to keep soldiers there overnight to patrol the area and make sure it was safe before allowing the civilians back inside.
Shulk was laying on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, still feeling restless after everything that happened today. His thoughts would sometimes drift towards Melia and he would only feel worry on top of everything else.
How could someone claim to be okay after something like that?
Shulk got up and thought to go outside for a bit, hoping that getting some fresh air would help or maybe find something to do and keep his mind busy on something else. He walked down the hall and thought he could hear a faint noise as he passed by Melia's room.
What was that?
He went up to Melia's door and put his ear against it. He was sure he heard something now and it sounded much clearer, it was sniffling.
Shulk slowly turned the knob and cracked the door, "Melia? Are you still awake?"
Melia was laying on her bed with her face hidden inside a pillow. She jumped a little from hearing Shulk, but she didn't sit up, only turning in the direction of the door and trying to cover her breaking voice as best she could.
"I'm awake… did you need something, Shulk?" Melia asked.
Shulk didn't say anything back and came into her room, shutting the door behind him. He knelt at her bedside and put his hand up to her cheek, feeling a wetness against his hand. His eyes started to readjust to being back in the dark and he was left heartbroken at what he saw. Melia's face was drenched in tears and her eyes were red and puffy from how much she had been crying.
"Oh, Melia. I'm so sorry." Shulk whispered and gently held her in his arms.
There was no sense in hiding it anymore. Melia started shaking badly and she threw her arms around Shulk, her crying muffled in his shoulder.
"Easy, Angel, easy. I'm right here." Shulk tried to comfort her. He felt like he should say something more, but what could he have said? He couldn't just tell her that it would be okay or something along those lines, she lost the last of her family, and it didn't make it any better that she had to help in putting him down.
Shulk held her close and soothingly rubbed her back, staying silent and waiting for Melia to say something.
"Why did this have to happen, Shulk? I'm supposed to lead the High Entia, be the one they look to for guidance and see that they prosper, but what have I done to show that? My people were forced out of their homes, and those that didn't get the chance to flee either died or became Telethia that I had to help in exterminating. Everything I've done to try and help has only made things worse, so what's the point in any of it? I'm no leader, Shulk, I'm not fit to even lead a city of one." Melia sobbed.
"Look at me, Melia!" Shulk's frustration finally got the better of him and he raised his voice.
Shulk pried Melia off him and he held her by her shoulders, looking her right in her tear-stained eyes, "What happened to everyone was not your fault, and you did everything you could to try and fix that! You didn't do anything wrong, and not a single person would look down on you for what you did! None of them would have wanted to stay as Telethia and hurt the people they loved. The rest of the High Entia are probably looking at you like you're the perfect one to lead them right now, Melia. That's what I think, and it isn't just me; The rest of our friends think that way, your people and everyone that fought here thinks that way, and even your brother thinks that way! Weren't you listening to what Kallian said?!"
Even though this was something Melia needed to hear, the way Shulk went about it made her feel scared and like she didn't know what to do. Tears filled her eyes again and her lips quivered as soft whimpers escaped.
Shulk had a strong look of guilt on his face from seeing Melia cry, he felt so bad about it that he almost wanted to cry too. He took a shaky breath and tried to calm down.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was yelling at you. Come here, I'm not mad at you." Shulk said softly and pulled her in for a hug.
"I-its okay. I forgive you." Melia managed to get out through her sobbing.
Shulk held her close and did whatever he could to try and calm her down. Thankfully, Melia started to relax and stopped crying after a few minutes.
"Melia, I don't care if you get upset with me for this, but I'm not leaving you alone for the rest of the night." Shulk's tone was still firm but sounded much softer now.
Melia took a few shaky breaths before answering him, "I don't mind, but what if someone sees you here?"
"That's the least of my worries, I'm more concerned about you right now." Shulk said back.
Melia didn't have the energy to try and argue that with Shulk, and it seemed like his mind was made up regardless.
Melia only nodded and Shulk tried to stand up, but Melia wouldn't let go of him. She held onto him so tight that he could barely move.
"Shulk…" Melia whimpered.
Shulk couldn't see her face since she had it hidden in his shoulder, but he could feel her shaking. It was like she was terrified to be away from him.
"Melia, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere." Shulk leaned back down and gave her another hug.
Melia slowly released her grip and Shulk stood up. He hurried over to the other end of the bed and Melia latched back onto him after he laid down.
Shulk watched Melia closely while she rested her head on his chest. Her shaking had lessened, but she went quiet.
"Talk to me, Angel, feeling any better?" Shulk asked.
Melia was about to nod her head, but then she remembered what Shulk said after their battle with Yumea, about not hiding what she's feeling anymore.
"A little bit, but there's something still troubling me…" Melia started.
"What is it?" Shulk asked.
"It's just… I feel scared, Shulk." Melia whimpered, she moved closer and wrapped her arms around him.
"About what? Why would you feel scared?" Shulk asked and put his arm over her protectively.
"I've already lost my father, and now my brother. I don't know if I would be able to handle losing someone else I cared about. That goes for anybody; Sharla, Fiora, or even… even you." Melia tried as hard as possible not to cry again, Shulk was already worried about her and she didn't want to make it worse, but that last mention about losing him almost set her over the edge. She didn't cry, but her shaking worsened again and she held him tighter as small whimpers made it out.
"It's okay, Angel." Shulk kissed the top of her head and rubbed her back, "You don't have to be thinking that way. We've been around everyone long enough to know that they'll always look after each other. Even if something bad were to happen, I would have had a vision about it. None of us are going anywhere, especially me. I'll never leave your side, Melia."
"You promise?" Melia asked.
"I promise." Shulk said back.
Melia reached up to Shulk and gave him a small kiss. She laid back down next to him and soon went to sleep. Shulk stayed up for as long as he could, holding her in his arms and rubbing her back to keep her soothed while she slept.
Shulk's eyes started to grow heavy and he felt like he couldn't keep them open much longer. He kissed the top of Melia's head before he fell back onto his pillow and went to sleep.
The two slept soundly for a few hours, but Melia started to have vivid dreams. She could see herself back in the throne room, just her and Kallian.
Kallian took her hand, "You're free, Melia, you're free to live your own life. Whichever path you want to forge, whichever way you want to lead our people, you have the choice. That is the hope of the High Entia, and you can give our people that same hope through the legacy you leave behind."
Melia gripped his hand tighter, "But how am I supposed to do any of that alone?"
"That's where you're mistaken, Melia. I haven't left you, and you also have Shulk and the others with you. I'm certain that you and Shulk will guide our people down the right path, and I'll be watching you every step of the way." Kallian assured her.
Kallian let go of Melia's hand and began moving away from her. Melia tried to chase after him, but she couldn't move fast enough to keep up. She was only inches away from Kallian and she desperately reached her arm out to try and grab him.
"Brother, don't go!" Melia's eyes flew open and she jumped herself awake. She was sitting upright with her arm extended just like in her dream.
"Kallian…" Melia started to cry as reality sunk back in that her brother was gone. She covered her mouth to muffle her crying, not wanting Shulk to wake up and see her like this.
Melia wiped the tears from her eyes, "No more crying. Father and Kallian entrusted me with the fate of the High Entia, I owe it to them to be strong and see this through." She quietly said, trying to cheer herself up.
Melia looked to the other side of the bed to see if Shulk woke up. He was laying on his back, quietly snoring away.
Even though he was asleep, just having Shulk near her gave Melia reassurance.
You're right, brother, I'm not alone. Shulk… just like we promised, we'll be at each other's side through this and anything else that stands in our way.
Melia gently kissed Shulk's forehead and laid back down on her side of the bed. Shulk suddenly rolled over and put his arm over her. Melia turned her head, thinking he woke up but he still had his eyes closed.
Melia smiled and took his arm, placing it around her side and held his hand close to her heart.
"Good night, Shulk." Melia mused and kissed his hand. She calmly slept through the rest of the night, nested safely under Shulk's arm.