A crowd of Indoline had gathered on the limestone platform at sea level. Thanorlis stood in the first row, and rather than his formal Praetor robes, he donned a more practical travel guise. He, like the rest of the Indoline, had his eyes on the two vessels docked at the edge of the platform. The Havre floated above the foam, while its counterpart, an actual boat constructed out of light metal in Indoline style, bobbed on the waves. The wind carried a pinch of boundless freedom that rustled through the spectator's robes and filled the lungs with anticipation.

Shulk let the sun warm his face. He could not have wished for a better morning.

"The first thing Nene is going to do is eat mountain of sweet wasabi. And then ship second mountain to hospital for sky-blue people to taste." She tried to flap her wings out of habit, but the heavy bandages strangled the attempt, and she winced.

"Careful, or you're going to mess up the plaster cast," Dunban said. But the softness in his voice and his eyes removed all force from the warning.

"Nene knows, Nene knows. Is not littlepon anymore."

Dunban stroked his chin as if that statement needed serious contemplation. "Well, compared to everyone else on this platform, you still qualify as a littlepon. So all your complaints are automatically invalid."

"Meh-meh." Nene gave a coughing laugh. "Mister Dundun worse than mamapon Oka during spring-clean."

"Ha! Then you know what you're getting into for the rest of the trip. Don't even think about rock-climbing or diving after fish, not as long as your wing hasn't healed. Otherwise, I'm going to tie you to the Havre."

"Nene promise to avoid all risk and all water in particular." Unbeknownst to Dunban, she crossed the fingers of her uninjured prehensile wing behind her back. Shulk struggled not to give her away with a laugh. "But as compensation, Nene demand regular and lengthy strokes of fur. And much cuddling!"

A smile tugged at Dunban's lips. "A fair trade."

"Deal? Then trade starting right now!" Nene jumped – in utter disregard of her broken wing – at Dunban's chest. He stumbled under the assault and struggled to hold her with only one good arm. But despite the obstacle, he followed his duty to run a hand through her fur with what Reyn would call an idiotic grin.

Shulk couldn't imagine a more perfect picture.

Nene snuggled into Dunban's shoulder. "Nene so used being big sis for Kino and other littlepon. Never realised how nice it would be to have big brother to cuddle with."

Dunban blinked away tears. With great care, as if afraid to break her, he hugged Nene all the more tightly.

After a long moment, Dunban straightened and gave Shulk a look. "Now, that should be enough adventuring, don't you think? You saved another city from certain doom – and despite my insistence to do the opposite. It seems you even taught me a thing or two along the way. Never would I have imagined to again use a Monado to do something of value. Something good."

Nene grinned. "Mister Dundun just like before. Once hero-hom, always hero-hom."

"Yes. Just like before…" Dunban seemed to choke on a "thank you". While not to the same degree as when they had shared the Monado, Shulk still found it easier to discern and share Dunban's emotions than ever before. How strange. And at the same time, how natural this feeling, as if it had always meant to be this way.

"It was nothing," Shulk said.

Dunban caught himself and nodded. "Well, I guess we then have to wait and see whether your friend Thanorlis continues the pleasant act once he sees the Bionis' Shoulder. But for the moment I'm just glad that you gained some sense and are returning home."

Shulk flinched. He had dreaded this part of the conversation. "Dunban… I'm not going back with you."

Dunban frowned. "What is that supposed to mean? I thought we were escorting Thanorlis to Colony 9 and the Shoulder so that he can make an official request for emergency rations there."

"You are. But I'm not coming with you."

"Stop being absurd! Of course you are coming with us."

"Nene have feeling that is reason for second ship." She pointed at the boat next to the Havre. "Because Mister Shulk still struck with faraway sickness."

"That is ridiculous!" Dunban shook his head as if the motion protected his ears against the truth he didn't want to hear. "You've had your adventure, you found the people inhabiting this world. What sort of faraway sickness still wants you to do more? The whole ordeal with dragging Thanorlis across half the ocean was your idea. You better stick around to see it through to the end."

"Dunban." Shulk struggled to stomach Dunban's glare. "Rations from Colony 9 aren't going to solve the problem. Even if we could ensure regular trade with the Indoline and the Shoulder, it would work as a temporary fix at best. The Shoulder won't exist in a few years."

"And? That's all the more reason for you to return and work to solve the issue there. Invent something. Put your head to use."

"I don't think that's going to be enough this time."

"Then think harder and figure something out!"

"Mister Dundun?" Nene shifted in Dunban's arm to look up to him. "This adventure very important to Mister Shulk. Doesn't need scolding but boost of confidence. Like littlepon need boost of confidence from dadapon when taking first flight."

Dunban fought with himself. The line between his brows deepened and twisted, and he forgot to stroke Nene's fur. The breeze tore at his cape. "Then I will go with you," he said. "You asked for my help, and I swore to bring you home in one piece. If it will take a little longer, so be it."

"You would be leaving Nene all alone with Thanorlis and the Havre," Shulk said.

"Nene watched carefully over Mister Shulk's shoulder. Nene can fly bird-people ship!"

"No, you cannot!" Dunban said. "Not with your broken wing at least. What if you encounter hostile monsters on one of the islands between here and the Fallen Arm? I would be a fool leaving you with Thanorlis as your last line of defence."

"Then you already know what you have to do," Shulk said.

Dunban's resolve fissured. He was running out of arguments, but he refused to admit defeat.

"But what about you?" he asked.

Shulk laid a hand on the Monado. "That's what our training was for, right?"

"I'm sure I could teach you a few more tricks. If you listened to reason just this one time and let me do my job as an adult… Give me at least the chance to punch some sense into you. I will only need one more training session to prove to you how ill-prepared you are and what a terrible idea you have gotten yourself into again."

"Dunban, go home." Shulk, in a rare moment of absolute clarity, put a hand on Dunban's shoulder to squeeze it. "Go back to Colony 9. There are people who have waited for your return for a long time. Reyn will probably punish you with silence for leaving without a word, but he won't commit to his threat for more than an hour. Sharla will want to tell you about her successful doctor training. And Gaby and Liza have heard so many stories about you, imagine their faces when you walk into their kitchen. You could see for yourself how Melia has rebuilt Alcamoth. Don't you think they all deserve to know that you're still alive?"

Dunban's resistance shattered. His shoulders slacked, and instead of battle-hardened he for once looked old. "Maybe…"

"Look after Nene while you're at it."

Nene wriggled herself out of Dunban's grasp and puffed her chest in her best older sister fashion. The bandages rendered her pose a little grotesque, but Shulk would be the last one to tell her. "Mister Shulk should expect opposite! Nene will take care of Mister Dundun before severe case of pessimism overtakes him."

Shulk chuckled. "Please do that. And Dunban…" He reached into his bag and pulled out the Collectopaedia. "When you visit Alcamoth, could you give this to Melia for me?"

Dunban's eyes widened and he stared at the book as if it held the power to summon ghosts – no, rather, the ghost already jumped out of the leather binding to haunt him. He recognised the golden letters carved into the cover. Furthermore, he knew who had planted the idea behind the Collectopaedia in Shulk's head; the makeshift adventure diary Fiora had kept shared the same binding.

"Don't you think it will find better use with you?" Dunban asked.

Shulk looked sideways. The skyline of the countless Indoline towers and chapels blinded him. "I've run out of pages."

"Then you should give it to Melia yourself when you come back."

"I haven't changed the future yet. The visions haven't disappeared with the Fogbeast, and through them I keep seeing what awaits me at the end. Different versions of it. Some more prevalent than others." Shulk forced himself to meet Dunban's gaze. "Just do me the favour."

Dunban visibly struggled. The book drew his focus with the merciless force of a magnet, but the act of reaching out and closing his hand around the haunted binding demanded all the strength he had, and his composure had taken too many hits today. With slow, mechanical movements, he grabbed the Collectopaedia and placed it in his own bag like a revered artifact. Then he embraced Shulk.

A gesture so simple, but Shulk could hardly comprehend the chain of events that had let him here. Dunban had been angry with him the entire time, a moment ago he had shouted and cursed Shulk's stupid stubbornness. And now this.

A feeling of security, a feeling of home radiated from the touch. Careless evenings in Dunban's kitchen came to his mind, sunrises glistering on the leaves of the parc, and sandwiches he only learned to love once they were gone. Shulk deepened the embrace. The feeling might only last for a moment, and soon their paths would separate. But… it was nice. Yes.

"I'm proud of you," Dunban said. He sounded hoarse. "No matter what else I might have said in the past days, I'm proud of you."

"Nene want to join cuddle session too!" For a lack of better alternatives, she clung to Shulk's legs and pressed her face into the fabric of his trousers. A hiccup shook her body. "Without broken wing, Nene would have followed Mister Shulk on adventure until edge of world. But Nene knows that Mister Shulk will do great without Nene's help. Is splendid hero-homs after all."

Shulk allowed himself to enjoy the warmth of hers and Dunban's touch for a moment longer than necessary. He almost lost sight of his goal. The loss of two people he didn't know retreated to the background for a moment, replaced by the closeness of two people he did know.

But the breeze carried the taste of faraway sickness and promised unknown wonders. It lured Shulk farther and farther, towards this mystical construction he hoped held answers to this world.

He broke away from the embrace and said his goodbyes. Under the expectant silence of the bystanders, Thanorlis stepped forward to join them for the last preparations. Shulk handed him the data crystal, and they shook hands.

"Don't forget that we will all be waiting for you once you have fixed the future," Dunban said.

Shulk paused at the waterfront, looked back. "I'll be right behind you."

Dunban took the helm of the Havre, and with Nene's instructions, he activated the engine. Accompanied by a soft humming, the vessel rose above the platform. Thanorlis paled and grabbed for the railing on reflex in desperate search for some solid ground to stand on until Nene directed his attention to the gleaming white façades of the Indoline capital, a sight he had never seen before from this perspective.

An awestruck smile conquered his face.

Shulk meanwhile climbed into the second boat. The simple mechanism that powered the vessel, an almost prehistoric internal combustion engine, allowed for neither flight nor even the simplest navigational systems, but Thanorlis needed the Havre's speed benefit more. His people depended on his quick return.

The Indoline records from the seer would guide Shulk a good portion on the way, even without coordinates. The rest depended on the ache in his chest and his visions of the tall construction.

Shulk kicked the boat from the dock, and it danced on the waves, bringing more and more space between itself and the island. Not since his childhood had Shulk ridden an actual boat. Afternoons wasted on the lake around Colony 9 came back to him, where Reyn had worked his fishing rod for hours because Fiora had promised to cook any fish he managed to bring home. Almost always, his attempts had ended in a capsized boat and a cold for all three of them.

Thinking back while looking forward, Shulk set course with a smile.

One last time he turned around to Dunban, Nene, and Thanorlis. Dunban held the Havre in position as if he expected Shulk would change his mind.

Shulk waved them. And he hoped his smile captured even a fraction of his gratitude for knowing them.

Then he pushed the engine to its limits, and both the Havre and the island faded from view until nothing but the vastness of sky and sea surrounded him. A world entirely painted in shades of blue, blues as pure as the ether blade of the true Monado. The world he had wished for.

The tall construction from the painting that connected sky and sea waited out there. And the future he could change did too. Just beyond the horizon.

08/08/22: A rather stupid decision on Shulk's part? Perhaps. A decision in keeping with the characterisation I have built for him here? I should hope so. I don't have much else to say, except that updates might slow down a little from here on out. Xenoblade 3 is eating all the free time I have, and I wouldn't want it any other way.