Chapter 56
I opened my eyes with a groan, muffled by the sand my face was currently in. As a result, I also inhaled some of the granular substance, and proceeded to hack up a lung in an effort to reject it from my body.
"Ugh..." I held my throbbing head, scooping up some salty water from the ocean beside me and washing my mouth a little. "Well..." I winced as pain jolted up my back. "Pleasant."
I sighed, looking upwards where Galahad Fortress had been.
Back there... I stopped time. I smiled slightly. That was amazing. If I could do that again... I forced myself to stand through gritted teeth, staggering to my feet. Though... I don't feel strong right now, heh. And... I frowned, cracking my hands. Usually when I'm conscious, I can feel the power of my Soul Trigger welling up inside me... but right now I only feel the original one I had, not the one of optimism I had up there. Hm. And even that feels weak.
"Well, guess I don't have it now or something." I cracked my neck, stretching. Not good... judging from the battle up there, I'm gonna need every last bit of power I can get. Virgil, and Zulf, and others are out there... geez, this whole thing's a mess.
Or maybe I took my powers to the limit too far and too many times...? I felt my eyes widen. If that's the case... I might just lose my powers.
"Tch," I growled. "Gonna have to limit my usage then, if I am right there..." I breathed out. Just great...
"Whatever," I muttered. "For now... oughta see if everyone else is..." Glancing around, I saw a slight tinge of pink along the pale yellow of the sand at the corner of my eye. "Huh...?" Walking over, I saw, blended partially in with the sand, a staff. "Melia...?" I dashed over and knelt beside the princess. I sensed steady breathing and a pulse, though she was in a state of unconsciousness.
"Phew," I spoke. "Looks like she's fine." With a grunt, I moved the princess so less sand engulfed her body. "There." Taking a seat on the beach, I closed my eyes and cast my senses outward. A twinge of pain shot through my skull, however. "Ugh." I opened my eyes with a sigh. Fine, then.
"...Huh." I cracked my neck. "Ain't this familiar." I'm not in Makna Forest, though, there's no Telethia, and neither is there... a dinosaur, I think, to protect Melia against? Several, even... Geez, kinda hard to remember, it's been a while...
"Whatever..." So for now... I yawned, lying on the beach, feeling my body cry for more rest. Guess all I can do is wait.
"Andrew." At the sound of my name, I opened my eyes, to see into Melia's face. "Ah, you've finally awoken."
"Oh, hey..." I groaned, sitting up. "You're awake too." Grunting, I rose to my feet. "Phew..."
"Yes... not for too long, however." Melia yawned, a quiet adorable sound that I chuckled at. "And just what is so amusing?"
"You," I responded, letting my smirk fade. "Alright... so, we should probably go out there and find everyone else." If memory serves... Fiora's running out of energy and Shulk's gonna get cornered by two Mechon-esque things. I think.
Oh shoot, and Reyn's dead, so Sharla's alone! I think? Wait... I looked around. "Have you seen Riki?"
"I have not," spoke Melia, twirling her staff slightly. "Is there something wrong?"
"Nah... just, we should reunite with everyone else as soon as possible," I spoke. "We're all somewhere foreign, so who knows what wildlife or whatever may even exist here." Well, I know the Machina are here, but...
"Mm... a valid point." Melia walked forward until she was beside me. "Ah, yes... I mus tthank you too, Andrew."
"What for?"
"When we were beginning to fall at the end there... I hit my head. But before I blacked out, I felt... strong arms grasp me. Considering Shulk was... preoccupied and Riki was too far away, I presume it was you," she spoke.
"Well, you're a detective princess, then," I replied. Man, that kinda seems like something for a cliche anime... like, the protagonist does stuff, and maybe, I dunno, runs into this girl, potentially literally just to touch bases with all them cliches while they're at it, and they stumble on a crime scene, and he finds out she's really good at logic or something, then her guards or whatever get her and he realizes she's a princess too! ...Oh boy, that'd be a mess. But a beautiful one, potentially, if well thought out.
Or maybe I'm just thinking of Persona with that detective royalty business. Makes me wonder what a female Goro Akechi would be like...
Gah! Stop thinking, me!
"Mm. Well, my deep thanks go out to you," she spoke, bowing.
"What're friends for?" I spoke. "Now please stop bowing, it makes it nervous."
"Is that so?" Amusement hinted within her voice as she straightened. "Well then, my apologies for your discomfort."
"Aw man, that's way too formal," I replied, shaking my head, smiling. "Now then, let's go. C'mon."
"Sure, fearless leader."
I rolled my eyes. "I ain't fearless nor am I a leader."
"Well, for now, you're the leader, without Shulk. And the way you're acting now seems to be without fear, in addition!" A laugh rose from her.
"Sure, whatever you say."
"Hah..." I breathed out as we exited a forest to what appeared to be ruins. "Interesting."
"Mm... the architecture is rather fascinating, yes," spoke Melia, staff shifting within her grasp as she observed our surroundings.
"Why're you keeping your weapon out?" I spoke.
"Never know when something may come out at us."
"Eh... fair." I walked forward, glancing around. Hm... hope Sharla and Riki are okay... I can't sense them... I frowned. Is it the Ether here being new or something...? I don't feel that strong right now... then again, we also had a pretty big fall, so that likely factors into it something...
"A penny for your thoughts?" At the sound of her voice, I was dragged from thinking, and turned to stare at Melia.
"What?"
"Well, it simply appears as though your thoughts lie elsewhere. If you desire to share..." She shrugged.
Well... "Just worried about everyone else," I replied.
The princess's eyes narrowed. "You know... I get the feeling you hide a lot from the rest of us," she spoke. "You sometimes go off on your own... and you're rather reserved, additionally."
"You say all that like it's a bad thing."
"Well... I simply worry that you may keep many of your woes to yourself instead of sharing with the rest of us," spoke Melia. "We are your companions and friends. And we desire to get to know you better, as well as share in any burdens you may carry."
"...Duly noted," I spoke. Yeah... guess they think of me as one of their own...
A mechanical whirling sounded before two machines I could only properly define as the two Portal robots on steroids came in front of me.
I sighed, drawing my sword. "Y'know... we're probably lucky we lasted this far unscathed," I spoke, leaping from a sword the orange glowing one projected. "Kh!" Great... why do I have my sword? Without tapping into the power of my Soul, it won't hurt these Mechon... I think. Are they Mechon? Eh, probably, we're on Mechonis- I dove to one side as a fireball burst from the blue one. "Melia!"
She nodded, and next she summoned a fireball that clashed with the Mechon's own, resulting in an explosion, several more clashes accompanying the initial match between the two.
I breathed out, using Defensive Reversal to deflect another sword strike. Though... maybe my sword is anti-Mechon...? I really should've asked Shulk if this sword was... I grunted a I concentrated an aura around the blade, striking outward in an Aura Slash.
The Mechon unit moved a hand out, stopping the attack.
My eyes widened. "Well, shit." I leapt back, shifting my blade to activate its chainsaws, before its blade entered through my back. "Guh!" I gasped, the blow forcing me to the ground. "Damnit...!" I coughed, dropping my sword as it tore its blade out my side and stepped on my back, raising the sword like an executioner.
I grunted, seeing, in my peripheral vision, Melia get thrown to the ground by a blast of lightning.
The slicing through the air as the Mechon started to slash downward. I raised both arms and willed my gauntlets to form, managing to negate the swipe. Then a quick elbow backward to a knee and the pressure on my body faltered.
Good.
Gritting my teeth through the agony I whirled around and delivered a punch, forcing the Mechon unit away. Groaning, I rose and withdrew my sword, seeing Melia's elementals once more clashing with the other Mechon unit's.
"Alright..." Breathing out, I assumed a pose, shifting forward. The Portal robot tilted its head slightly, before pointing its blade forward at me, its other hand rapidly curling towards itself. A challenge.
I smiled, greaves forming as I dashed forward. A punch met a slash, diverting it, and a kick sent the Mechon to the ground. It slid, gradually slowing until it stopped, before rushing forward.
"Hmph!" I drew my sword, cutting slightly into my left palm. Clenching my hand around the pain, a semblance of energy returning to me. Only a little... whatever. All I need's a second, anyway. "RARGH!" I screamed, using my Soul Trigger. "NGH...!" It hurts...?!
The Mechon moved forward, its sword coming forth in an overhead swing.
"GRAH!" Narrowing my eyes through the pain, I concentrated a shockwave around my blade and surged forward, my Stab Wave Art decimating the sword with the shockwave's release. Moving around it, I activated my sword's chainsaws and cut the machine in half with one last stroke, reverting. "Hah... ah, Mel-!"
"Yes?" The princess' tone was flat as she watched her opponent's movements die and whirling fade away.
I breathed out. "Hah... never mind," I spoke. "But... hah... lotta Mechon here still and stuff."
"Not terribly surprising, considering we are now on the Mechonis, Andrew," spoke Melia, withdrawing her staff. "So... where do you think we should go to next?"
"Hm..." My senses are returning to me... am I adjusting to the Ether, or...? Maybe using my Soul helped out, too... "Uh..." The Hidden Machina Village would be good, anyway. Let's see... I closed my eyes, releasing a slight sigh as I sent my senses forward. "Ah." How fortunate, it's not even that far away from where we are here.
"Hm? Do you have anything in mind?"
"Yeah... trust me?" I spoke, walking forward.
"Well... yes, I do," she spoke, following. "Do you know...?"
"I know where we probably ought to go," I spoke, focusing again for a second. Can't detect Shulk, Fiora, Sharla or Riki, though. Though I can't sense the contents and everything that's inside the village, either... maybe they're there?
"If you don't mind my asking..." Melia's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "How are you able to tell?"
"Oh." Yeah, guess I never did tell them... "Well... ya know how we fought Metal Face at Prison Island?"
At my words her expression darkened and Melia glanced away. "I do recall, yes."
"Well, there was one point where he was totally beating my ass," I spoke. " And everyone else too... uh, anyway. At that point, I got this weird ability to... sense stuff. Like, sense where stuff is, or if I'm in a fight, where weak points are, or what you'll do next."
"And with the latter most case, how are you capable of telling?"
"Uh..." I scratched my hair, ascending some stairs. "Like... hm... it's hard to explain, but... body language plays a part in it, for sure. Patterns, too. I've seen you twirl your staff so many times I just know at that point you're gonna pull out an elemental," I spoke. "But even for facing someone I've never fought before... their eyes, the slight twitch in their muscles, the way they shift slightly to one side or change their grip, or the sound that comes with any movements... all signals for me to know something's coming. So, I guess to that end, my ability to sense is more a guess than anything else." I smiled. "A pretty elaborate one, though." In hindsight, it's basically Observation Haki. Man, be pretty cool to see into the future.
"Mm... well, it seems to be saved your life several times by now," spoke Melia.
"Oh boy... you ain't wrong," I replied, shaking my head. Virgil would've ended me for sure without my ability to sense where his projected slashes were coming next. "But..." Grunting, I climbed up some vines, reaching behind me to assist the princess afterwards. "For now..." I cast my senses outward again with a breath. "Ah... Shulk and the others're already in the village."
"What village?" responded Melia, brow furrowing.
"You'll see," I replied, sensing some Machina just in front of the hill before us. A few moments later and they came forth. Melia tensed from beside me, hand twitching towards her weapon.
"Ah... are you Andrew and the princess Melia Antiqua?" spoke what seemed to be the leader. "I am Eleqa, and we are the Machina." She nodded to me, and I gave a small nod back.
"Andrew?" spoke Melia.
"Relax," I murmured. "Yeah... uh... you have met Shulk, yes?" I spoke towards Eleqa.
"Indeed," she nodded. "And as of now, I am sure you have many questions, but for now, I can see that you need rest and aid." She peered at Melia. "Miss Antiqua there seems to be rather injured."
"What?" I cast my senses towards Melia, eyes narrowing as I noted a long burn along her abdomen, along with a slight burn through her clothing. "Mel... you didn't tell me?" I sighed.
She turned her face away from me. "I did not desire to worry you in any capacity."
"Which just makes me worry more in the long run," I replied. "Yeah, rest would be good. And meeting up with everyone else would be great as well," I spoke.
"Alright, then please follow me," spoke Eleqa. "From here to the village is not far."
Melia released a breath, casting an elemental. "Mm..." The Ether from the summon wore at the burn, reducing its severity. "Well... Andrew, if it's a trap..."
"Shouldn't be," I replied. "Ya trust me, yeah?"
She sighed. "Yes, I do. However, you also have a knack to get into situations resulting in grievous injury, so do mind if I take your word with a grain of salt at times."
"Eh..." I shrugged, following after the Machina. "I'm still alive, so... works out."
Even without my senses I could feel the eye roll from the princess walking behind me.
As soon as the two of us entered after Eleqa and the other Machina I saw everybody else, who were currently communing with Linada.
"Ooh! Ah, Andrew and Melly are safe!" chirped the Heropon, turning to face us.
"What?" Shulk turned from Linada, his face lighting up. "Hey! Andrew, Melia!" he spoke, running over. "You guys are safe!" He threw his arms around us both in a big hug. "Phew... that's a relief."
"Yeah," I spoke, patting the blonde's back. "Good to see you too." I furrowed my brow at the slight sound of breath being sucked in. "Mel...?" I sensed that where Shulk's hand was on Melia's body, was the location she was suffering from her burn.
"Yes?" she spoke, voice remaining non-burdened.
I shook my head as we separated. "...Nothing. Anyway, so the rest of- huh?" I stared as Riki bounced into Melia's arms with a cheerful squeeze. "Uh..."
"Hey..." Turning backward toward the voice, I saw Sharla ready her rifle. "These wounds are still fresh... did you two get into a fight?" She shot a round into the air, the Ether wearing at my body.
I breathed out, nodding as the aches in my body began to ease. "Yeah, we had to fight off some Mechon." I glanced at Shulk. In-game... the Monado's back, but... "Hey, Shulk. Is the Monado still..."
He nodded, a slight movement. "Yeah, it's messed up..." His voice is low, before increasing in volume with cheer, not entirely forced. "But I managed to get Fiora back, too! Hey, Fiora!" He turned to look at her, with the female... pilot standing some ways back. "What're you so far back for?"
"Ah... well... I was... unsure..." Fiora walked forward, until she stood beside Shulk.
"'Bout what?" I spoke, tilting my head.
"Well... nothing." Fiora shook her head, and put her hand out to me. "It's good to see you again, Andrew."
"Mm," I spoke, shaking the outstretched hand. "Same to you, Fiora." This feeling... she...
"Ah, you've all reunited." Linada's voice caused us to turn around. "Please, though I'm sure you have many questions, take a look around our village first. And when you're ready to talk, meet me in front of Junks." She nodded to the nearby building. "Until then... please excuse me." She bowed before moving away.
I yawned, sitting on a ledge to a nearby fountain. "Ugh... tired," I mumbled.
"I as well," spoke Fiora, wincing as she moved, taking a seat beside me. "Ahn..."
"Fiora, are you alright?" spoke Shulk. "You-"
"Don't worry, I'm fine," she replied, smiling. "Well... how about you guys explore a bit, like Linada suggested? It'd do well to stretch."
"Ooh, Riki like that idea! Come, Melly!" spoke Riki, tugging on Melia's hand.
The princess giggled. "Alright, alright, no need to pull..." She glanced at me. "You're alright, Andrew?"
"Yeah," I nodded. "Go on. I might catch up with you guys later."
Melia nodded, and with Riki disappeared within the village.
"Well, I think I'm gonna look at some armour," spoke Shulk, settling into a musing position. "Things are only bound to get more difficult with each passing fight... hm, if we get some time, we should do some training... and maybe some errands for some of the Machina, we could get some useful gear that way too..." The blonde kept muttering as he walked away.
"I think I'll go with him..." Sharla stretched. "There's gotta be someone to rein him back in. See you guys later," the sniper spoke, smiling before running to catch up with the Monado wielder.
I breathed out. "So." I looked at Fiora. "You good?"
"Hm? Yeah," she replied. "Just..." She sighed, staring up at the sky, dyed a powerful light blue, augmented by the sun. "I..." She twiddled her fingers.
I cracked my neck, waiting.
"It..." Fiora looked at the ground. "I don't... feel like I belong anymore. I mean... I'm a Homs in a Mechon body... and you guys... you're all..." Another pause.
"What're we?" I spoke.
"You're all great friends, interwoven with each other," spoke Fiora. "I... don't belong with you all."
"Bullshit."
"Excuse me?" Her head snapped back to me, attention now solely on me, anger first flashing, though shock quickly overwhelmed it.
"You don't belong?" I stood. "Why do you say that? Huh? 'Cause you're a..." I breathed out. "Sorry, I'm gonna be rude for a second here... 'cause you're half-Homs, half-Mechon? Because you haven't forged bonds with us? Right now, I bet you feel like an outsider, that right?"
"I... yes...?"
"Listen." I faced her fully. "I can tell you right now... that kind of thinking's wrong. You don't belong? Well, at this point, our group's mixed with several races. Homs, Nopon, High Entian... adding Mechon to the list ain't no big deal!" I spoke. "And it ain't like you're that much different, either. You stand on two hind legs, talk, and wield weaponry. Enough for me."
"Well... that may be how you feel," spoke Fiora. "But how do you think the others feel about this?"
"Considering how we've enlisted so far, probably not too badly," I spoke. "'Sides... Shulk'd chase you down if you ever left. No matte what, he'd accept you."
Fiora rubbed her temple. "Yes... but-"
"About being half-Homs and half-Mechon... well... in all honesty it seems pretty sweet." I scratched my head. "Once again, I apologize for any offense. I mean, you get to utilize drones and have dual blades... though I suppose that second part ain't mutually exclusive... anyway!" I shook my head. "Is being different really that bad?"
She breathed out. "Alright... but... even if the others accept me... I..." Fiora smiled slightly. "Actually, no... thank you, Andrew."
I frowned. "For what?"
"For talking with me," she replied. "I... I've been feeling lost. I mean, I'm in this Mechon body now, I'm not normal, I-"
"Am Fiora," I interrupted. "And that's more then enough. Normalcy doesn't exist anyway."
She chuckled. "I suppose you're right." She rose. "If I'm ever feeling lost again, you'll come talk to me, won't you?"
"Of course."
"Thank you." Fiora nodded. "Mm... I think I'll browse the wares too. See you around, Andrew." She walked away, soon vanishing among the village's citizens.
Social Link Rank Up!
Bonus: Chance of follow-up if Andrew's attack does not inflict status ailment or down the enemy!
I shook my head at my own silliness. "Ah geez... welp..." I looked forward. "Guess I'll go shopping too." I looked at the blue jacket Linada had given me. "Hm... how about black this time..."
I smirked, moving forward.
I faltered, my expression falling with my thoughts.
Wait a... Fiora... she doesn't know Reyn and Dunban are dead, does she?