Chapter 8

Touring the Big City

"-and then we got inside this big bubble of water that shot us right to the head of the titan!" King jumped onto the table to exaggerate his point, nearly stepping on his breakfast. "You should have been there."

"Wow. That's so cool." Luz said. She'd been listening intently to Amity and King as they recapped what they went through after she fell yesterday. Her own breakfast laid only half eaten before her, a Flamii omelet with no milk. It tasted fine enough, despite still not knowing what a Flamii is, but she was just far more invested in what she was hearing. "So Riki and Shulk and their friends are all on an epic adventure to save their titan?"

"According to Riki's wife they are." Amity said.

"That's awesome! They're like a real-life band of heroic warriors from all my fantasy novels come to life. You think they have a team name? Is there a Chosen One! I bet it's Shulk." Luz theorized.

"Why do you think Shulk?" Amity asked.

"I heard the guard yesterday call his sword The Monado." Luz said. Amity and King looked confused, clearly not following her train of thought. "All super important Chosen One weapons have 'The' in their names."

"If you say so." Amity shrugged though clearly unconvinced.

"What do you think Eda? Is Shulk some super important…" Luz trailed off as she saw Eda starting to nod off beside her. "EDA!"

"Wha- what was that! Is the attack finally here!" Eda jumped up and was on full alert, raising Owlbert over her head like a club as she scanned the room.

"Eda, please just go to sleep." Luz pleaded, seeing the clear look of exhaustion all over her face. "No one's going to attack us here."

"That's what they want you to think. Well I'm not falling for it. I won't sleep a wink until we're back home." Eda said. Luz as well as King and Amity all groaned in annoyance.

A knock came from their front door, grabbing everyone's attention, Eda's especially. Immediately she inched her way towards the door, once again readying Owlbert for battle.

"Eda! Don't hurt anyone." Luz got out of her seat to intervene.

"Luz wait. Let me help." Amity rushed over to her side, practically in a panic. She'd been looking after Luz all morning and making sure she was recovering well. Luz found it incredibly sweet but she was starting to think that Amity might be going a bit overboard.

"Amity, please." Luz held Amity's hands in between her own to try and calm her girlfriend down. "I appreciate everything you're doing for me. Pushing my wheelchair around, getting my breakfast for me… brushing my teeth…" Okay maybe Luz doesn't appreciate everything Amity's helping her with but that's besides the point. "But I'm fine now."

"Are you sure? It's no trouble at all. I know Dr. Saelin said you'd feel better today, but that doesn't mean there won't still be some lingering pain."

Luz reflexively stretched her leg. She admittedly did still feel sore and it could sometimes feel much worse if she strained too much. She'd been trying to hide it from everyone, but maybe it'd be best to let Amity know?

"Well-" From that one word, Amity's hands tightened around Luz's, and she could see the worry on Amity's face magnify alongside her concerned eyes. "Well! I'm perfectly well! Never better!" Luz strained a smile hoping to convince Amity.

"If you say so," Amity said though she was still clearly nervous. "But let me know the second anything changes."

"Okay." Luz nodded.

They both made their way to the front door just as Eda opened it up, standing beside the frame so whoever was behind the door wouldn't see her.

Their visitor ended up being Melia. "Good morning everyone," she greeted with a small bow.

"Oh, hi there future empress!" Luz waved. "Thanks for providing us these fancy clothes. They're super comfy." She rubbed her hand happily across the fabric of the long robe she was wearing. It was a primarily silver-colored ankle-length dress with purple accents on the edges. Intricate designs similar to the patterns seen on Melia's dress covered the outfit.

"Yes, thank you. None of us had any spare clothes on hand." Amity said, looking down at her own robes, a near mirror of Luz's outfit, but with pink accents instead of purple. "Except Eda for some reason." She looked over at Eda, who was wearing her backup dress that she apparently carried in her hair everywhere she went.

"It's no trouble at all." Melia said. "Where is Eda anywa-" Melia jumped back as Eda unexpectedly walked into her field of vision.

"'Sup princess. Need something?" Eda asked, thankfully not being so sleep deprived as to attack Melia.

Melia looked over Eda, clearly confused at why she seemed so exhausted and on edge. "Um… did you sleep well last night?"

"Huh?" Eda asked, before Melia's question finally registered. "Oh of course. Why wouldn't I? Hahaha."

"She's super paranoid and stayed up all night in-case someone came to attack us." King explained as he joined everyone else at the door.

"I see." Melia said. "I suppose I can't expect your skepticism to go away after just one night. I know this doesn't mean much coming from the crown princess, but I do give you my word that we have no intention of doing any harm to any of you. You do not need to lose sleep over that."

"Ah ha! And how do you know I didn't sleep, hmm? Got our room bugged perchance?" Eda leaned in, a smug smile plastered on her face.

"I just told her!" King shouted.

Eda stepped back in confusion. "You did?" She asked, trying to rack her brain for the memory of what had happened seconds ago.

"Indeed." Melia nodded. "I cannot stay here long. There are many preparations for my investiture ceremony this afternoon, but since this is your first day in Alcamoth, I setup a tour guide of sorts for you four." She looked back at Eda's tired face. "Unless you'd wish to get some sleep instead?"

"Nope! I'm all good!" Eda answered quickly.

"So who will be showing us around the city?" Amity asked.

"It's a group of people actually. Some of whom you're already familiar with. I stopped by Shulk's room before I came here and he and his friends agreed to be your guides for today."

"Shulk's going to show us around? That's great!" Luz was excited to see Shulk again and meet the rest of his hero friends. She had so many questions she could ask. "Eda that's okay right? No weird reservations about this?"

"This isn't some other attempt to keep tabs on us is it?" Eda asked. Luz had to resist the urge to facepalm.

"None of them are High Entia if that's what you're worried about. They're all from outside Alcamoth and do not report to me or my father." Melia said.

"Alright fine. Not like we have any other plans." Eda said eliciting a large cheer from Luz.

"Then if you're ready I can walk you to the room where Shulk is staying."

The four agreed and, after Amity retrieved Ghost from her nap, they all quickly exited their room, following Melia down the halls of the guest wing of the palace. They only walked for a few minutes before arriving at another door that Melia gave a quick knock on.

The door opened a few seconds later, Shulk stepping out of the room. "Good morning everyone. Good to see you again."

He had his crazy looking red sword strapped to his back as if he were heading to battle instead of spending a relaxing day in the city. Not that Luz was one to judge though. She also carries multiple copies of her glyphs everywhere she goes.

"Hi Shulk." Luz greeted. "You're going to show us around the city for today?"

"Oh right. Um, about that…" Shulk trailed off looking unsure of what to say. Before he could continue, a well-dressed man that Luz didn't recognized, presumably one of Shulk's friends, came up behind him.

"Why hello there. My name is Dunban. I presume you are our otherworldly visitors we've heard so much about?" The man said. He was taller than Shulk, with tan skin, long flowing hair, and a rugged beard. He had a sheathed katana hanging from his hip. Luz had to admit that he looked extremely handsome.

An equally attractive woman came out of the room next. "It's nice to meet you all. Shulk practically kept us up all night talking about you guys. I'm Sharla." She said.

She stood just below Shulk's height, her skin tanned and her hair long and straight, but it was her outfit that caught Luz most off guard. She wore a very low-cut crop top and hot pants, and Luz could feel her face starting to heat up. She turned away, hoping to hide her blush, and ended up making eye contact with Amity, only to notice her girlfriend's equally rose-colored cheeks.

Eda shook hands with the two newcomers. "I'm Eda. This here's King, and the two shy ones there are Luz and Amity."

"Eda!" Luz squeaked, her face blushing even harder, this time out of embarrassment.

Eda began to chuckle but was cut off half-way through by a poorly stifled yawn.

"Are you okay?" Sharla asked, noticing how exhausted Eda appeared.

"She's fine. Just ignore her." Luz added quickly, finally managing to speak properly. It was only then that she noticed what was strapped to Sharla's back. "You have a gun?!"

"Um, yes. Is there a problem?" Sharla asked confused.

"No. I'm just surprised." The people here were certainly advanced enough to have guns with how high-tech Alcamoth was, but it still seemed out of place when everyone else seemed to use swords, spears, and shields.

A small furry creature with a sad frown on his face walked out of the room. "Hello there friends," he greeted, trying to muster up a small smile. A small stick with a face and mouth was attached to his back, presumably his weapon of choice.

Luz only met the little creature, a Nopon from what she's been told, for a few minutes yesterday before they went their separate ways, and at the time she was far more focused on being reunited with Eda, King, and Amity. Now though?

"Aye que lindo!" Luz rushed over and picked him up in her arms, hugging him tightly. "How're you doing. It was Riki right?"

Riki's smile grew a bit more genuine at Luz's large show of affection. "Riki's name is Riki, yes. Thank you Luz."

"You remember me!" Luz gasped happily.

"And you clearly remember Riki too." The big guy from yesterday walked out of the room next, a joking smile on his face. "How you all doing?"

"Hi. Um… Reyn was it?" Luz asked. "And yes, I do remember him well. Yes I do." She cooed.

Amity came up next to Luz. "Are you okay to be carrying him like that? You don't want to overexert yourself."

"Amity, he's even lighter than King. I'm fine." Luz defended. "Like a giant marshmallow."

"Hmm. How come he's getting all of Luz's cuddles," King griped, his tone sounding jealous.

"Don't you always complain when Luz holds you like that?" Eda asked.

"Wheh- yes! I hate it. I'm glad Riki's getting all the attention now." King said, though he continued to look enviously at Luz and Riki.

Sharla chuckled at his behavior. "You remind me of my little brother. Always pretends to hate when I show him affection."

"I'm not pretending!" King shouted.

Eda smirked at King's fib. Turning to Sharla, she asked "So what exactly do you guys have planned for us today?"

"Well the Imperial Park is our usual hangout spot whenever we have some free-time here. It's on the ground floor and Melia's ceremony will be viewable from there." Sharla suggested.

"Ooh, a park sounds fun!" Luz said, finally letting Riki down on the ground.

Everyone else seemed to agree to the plan as well. Everyone except for Shulk, who gave an uneasy smile. "Unfortunately, I'll have to catch you guys there later. A guard just came by our room earlier. He said I'm needed at the palace as soon as possible."

"Really? I wasn't informed about this." Melia looked surprised. "Are you meeting with my father?"

"No, it's with Alvis. I'm guessing it's something to do with the Monado." Shulk reasoned. "I doubt he meant to keep this from you. He may have just not wanted to disturb you with your ceremony today."

"I suppose." Melia said.

"So this Monado… that's your sword right? Is it some legendary weapon? Does that have to do with the quest you're on? Who are you fighting against?" Luz rapid fired her questions in a single breath.

"Jeez, you're quite the curious one ain't you." Reyn teased.

"Sorry, sorry." Luz said, hoping not to sound too overeager. "I just love hearing backstories."

"We can talk all about that later. For now I'd rather not keep Alvis waiting." Shulk said.

"And I've already put off preparing for my ceremony long enough." Melia said.

"You're right. Real quick though, before I forget, I actually made you each a cheat-sheet of the glyphs I have. I know you were both interested in them." Luz reached into the pockets of her borrowed dress (she's still so happy that High Entia includes actual pockets in their girl clothes) and pulled out two pages. Each had drawings of all of her glyphs as well as quick descriptions on how to use them. She handed one to both Melia and Shulk. "Just be careful to not activate them all at once."

"It's not pretty. Trust me." Eda said. King nodded as well.

"Thank you Luz. I'll certainly look into these in more depth when I have the time." Melia said.

"Yes, thanks. I've been dying to learn more about these glyphs of yours." Shulk excitedly said as he looked over the page before putting it away. "Well, we should all head out then."

"Shulk, since we're both heading to the palace, might we walk there together then?" Melia suggested.

Luz looked curiously at Melia. She asked that somewhat uncertainly and Luz noticed the hopeful look she gave Shulk.

"Of course." Shulk agreed, and Luz gave an inaudible gasp as she saw Melia's normally stoic face light up with a smile.

The ten of them all headed towards the teleporters that took them outside into the city proper before Melia and Shulk broke off the group to head towards the palace. Luz had a large grin as she stared at the two walk off, Melia's smile remaining as they talked amongst themselves, before she joined the others towards to the park.

Alcamoth's Imperial Park was a massive place taking up the entire ground floor of the city. Luz had actually passed it the night before, as the teleporters that exit the city were on the far side of the park, but now that it was daytime and she wasn't in a rush to stop a huge fight, Luz was able to properly appreciate it.

The park was covered in finely cut grass. Two large fountains were on opposite sides of the park – the Fountains of Hope and Eternity, according to Sharla. The east and west edges of the park had teleporters that were bringing in wave after wave of High Entia. Melia's investiture ceremony would be streamed to the multiple display panels that were all over the park, which meant that the park was going to get crowded fast.

"It might be best to claim a bench for ourselves before they're all taken." Dunban suggested as they walked along the paved paths throughout the park.

"Good idea. I'm sure Eda would appreciate it." Luz said, looking up at her teacher's exhausted face.

Eda sharply shook her head nearly knocking King off her shoulder. "Nope, nope, nope. I'm staying standing the whole time!"

Luz sighed. "Well it was worth a shot."

The group had walked around for a few minutes, Dunban and Sharla pointing to different landmarks along the way, before they claimed an empty bench near the east side of the park. Luz once again offered Eda the seat in case she wanted to take a nap but again she refused and stubbornly stood behind the bench instead. Well if Eda wasn't going to take it then Luz decided to sit down herself, letting out a relieved sigh as she was able to rest her tired legs.

"Are you tired already? How are your injuries?" Amity asked, suddenly on Luz's side, causing her to jump back in surprise.

Amity's worried tone got Sharla's attention as well. "Shulk told us you were in a wheelchair yesterday. Are you good to be walking around already?"

Soon Dunban, Reyn, and Riki were looking at her with concern as well. "If you're hurt Sharla here's a great medic." Reyn suggested.

This was the exact opposite of what Luz wanted at the moment. Even King and Eda, who had seemed to have taken her at her word when she said she was fine, were now starting too look doubtful. She was now starting to regret accepting that wheelchair yesterday. She should have just powered through the pain. It may have helped avoid everyone worrying about her like this.

"I'm fine!" Luz said a bit too quickly. She jumped off the bench to try and appear more convincing. "See! I just had a sssmall accident in the woods yesterday, but I turned out okay."

Sharla was looking at her perplexed. "What kind of accident put you in a wheelchair for only a day?"

"Well… I kind of… fell off a cliff. From like really high up. Into a river." Luz admitted. They're wide-eyed look of shock told her that she hadn't helped her case at all.

"Wait, hold on. Are you talking about the cliffs overlooking the Makna Falls? How on Bionis did you survive that?" Reyn asked.

"Oh right. It's all thanks to this gem thingy." Luz pulled out of her pocket the magical stone that saved her life. "This big bug thing dropped it when I first got here. That's why I'm all fine already."

"A Fall Defense gem? I guess that makes sense." Reyn said, recognizing the stone on sight.

"That's what my doctor called it. Are these things common around here?" Luz asked excitedly.

"Of course. We got a whole bag of just Fall Defense gems back back in our room." Reyn said.

"We've actually been meaning to sell some of them off." Dunban added.

"Oh." That took the hype out of Luz's excitement somewhat. She was kind of hoping that she had stumbled across some rare Bionis artifact.

"Though, your Fall Defense gem does seem to be a much high caliber than any we have." Sharla said, looking at the gem more closely. "Still, I doubt that even this would be enough to absorb the full impact of the fall you took."

"It wasn't." Amity said, sounding grim. "Luz was unconscious when she hit the water. If Nene hadn't found her when she did…" Amity couldn't finish her sentence, her face growing paler at the thought.

Luz looked down, completely forgetting that even with that gem she found, she wouldn't have made it without help.

"Nene? What this about littlepon." Riki asked, surprised of his daughter's name coming up.

"Oh right. We didn't tell you about that." King said. "Nene said she found Luz floating down the river in the forest and got her help."

"Really? Nene do that for Luz?" Riki asked.

"That's what I heard. Your daughter saved my life. You should be proud." Luz said.

"Nene…" Riki gave a faint smile, the first she'd seen on the Nopon all day. It only looked genuine for a second, before quickly looking somber. "Riki sorry." He whispered before he slowly sulked away.

"Riki?" Luz said, but he continued walking away without giving a response.

"I'll go check on him this time." Reyn said before following him.

Luz looked worriedly at Riki wondering if she said something wrong. "Is he okay?" Luz asked Sharla and Dunban.

"Riki's still a bit down about the letter he got from his daughter. He may just need a bit of time." Sharla said.

"But why? I already explained that it wasn't his fault." King asked.

"It's a bit more complicated than that." Dunban said.

Luz felt bad for the little Nopon believing that he was being too hard on himself. She wanted to cheer him up somehow and started brainstorming different ways she could help, though she didn't have easy access to confetti and fireworks, so most of her plans were out the window. Maybe she could-

"Cian! Atael! Where are you?" An unknown voice was heard shouting nearby, interrupting Luz's thoughts.

Everyone turned to the source of the noise and saw a High Entia man running around the area, constantly shouting the same names as earlier. His eyes were frantically scanning the surroundings, like he was looking for something or someone. The man made eye-contact with their group and quickly rushed over to them.

"Excuse me. Sorry to be a bother, but have any of you seen a young boy and girl running around here?" The man asked nervously.

Everyone shook their heads. "Sorry, we weren't really paying attention to the people around us." Sharla said.

"Oh dear, where could they have run off too?" He quickly looked all around him, keeping his eyes peeled.

"Did you lose sight of your kids?" Sharla asked. Dunban came up to the man as well, the two of them looking ready to offer their assistance. Very heroic of them, Luz thought with a smile.

"Yes. My name is Vol'aren. I was here with my son, Atael, and my daughter, Cian. They were playing off to the side when I took my eyes off them for just a moment, and when I turned back around they were gone." The man's anxiety was visibly rising with every word he said.

Reyn and Riki returned to the bench then, likely curious about the stranger they were talking to, when Luz realized this would be the perfect opportunity to boost Riki's self-esteem. After all, what would be more validating of his fatherly skills than receiving praise by another father.

Rushing over to Riki she quickly picked him up to raise him towards the distraught father. "Don't worry sir. We'll help you find your kids, with the help of Riki here. He's an expert tracker of kids since he's a great father too! Right Riki?"

Riki gasped in shock. "Bird person lost sight of littlepons?"

"Yes. You're a father too? I wouldn't have guessed."

Riki nodded. "Riki's had to track down littlepon many times in past. Always getting selves lost in village. Riki understand why bird person would be worried. Heropon not rest 'till all are safe!" Riki jumped down from Luz's arms to face the rest of the group. "Friend's help too yes?"

"Yes." Everyone said, much to Vol'aren's relief.

"Oh thank you all so much," he said.

Riki gave a loud clap with his wing-arms to get everyone's attention. "Friends! This is important search rescue operation. Groups of two search all over park for littlepons! Reyn and Luz will search west side of park. Sharla you will search east with-"

"Wait." Amity cut in. "Can't Luz and I search together instead?"

"This isn't some ploy to go make out with your girlfriend behind some bush is it?" Reyn teased. Luz's face burned with a mix of embarrassment and maybe a bit of excitement there.

"What? No!" Amity vehemently shook her head, her own face blushing as well. "I'm just worried about Luz. She could still be hurt, and I want to be there to help her." Amity said. Luz was surprised and concerned at how scared Amity appeared.

"No, no! Ami and Luz not know area well. Park grow crowded fast. Could become lost littlepons themselves. Each should go with one of us instead." Riki said.

"Amity, I told you, I'm fine now." Luz said, hoping to reassure her and ease her nerves.

"But…" Amity was still worried, but seemed to not know what to say anymore.

"Hey, I'll look after her. We're just looking around the park. You got nothing to worry about." Reyn added.

"But-"

"Meh-meh! Friends not have time for this!" Riki jumped up and down angerly. "Reyn and Luz go west side of park. Sharla and Ami will search east side. Understood?"

"O-Okay." Amity looked resigned more than anything, her worried expression still on her face.

Riki then turned to Dunban. "Dundun, take Eda and search the-" Riki turned but stopped talking as he looked towards Eda, only to see the older witch fast asleep, while somehow staying completely upright. Her face was resting on top of her empty staff, Owlbert having flown off the tip to stroke his keeper's face while she slept. "On second thought, Dundun stays here with Eda. Should be informed about where we are when she wakes."

"Alright then." Dunban agreed.

"And what about me?" King asked.

"King is with Riki. Riki have plan to find littlepons faster. Will require King's help specifically." King seemed unsure about what kind of help Riki would need from him but he nodded in agreement regardless. "Good. Now all start search right away."

With that, everyone prepared to go their separate ways. Before she left, Luz held Amity's hand one more time. "I'll see you once we're back. Okay?"

Amity said nothing, only managing the smallest of nods in agreement. Hesitantly, Luz released Amity's hand, the couple sharing one last look before they turned away to their own searches.

Shulk set down his pen and took a look at the light symbol he'd finished drawing, comparing it with the sheet Luz had made him for accuracy. Satisfied with the recreation, he pressed his middle and index fingers onto the loose sheet of paper. His eyes widened in amazement when the page pulled in on itself and transformed into a ball of light.

Countless thoughts were racing through his head, the biggest of which was how simple this form of ether manipulation was. He'd spent months learning and practicing his basic Light Heal art and he still required a catalyst like the Monado to actually control the ether properly. Having ether arts available at what's essentially just a press of a button would be revolutionary back at Colony 9. He wondered how Luz managed to discover something like this anyway.

"Sir." The voice of a High Entia guard diverted his attention. "Seer Alvis is ready to meet with you. Right this way."

"Thank you," said Shulk.

He followed the guard as he led him to the audience chamber. Having visited that place multiple times before, Shulk had already memorized the path they took to get there. The familiarity he already has with Alcamoth was further reminder at how long he and the others had been stuck here. The emperor still hasn't given them an answer on whether he'd allow them passage to Prison Island and Shulk was growing impatient. He needed to unlock the power of the Monado. He needed his revenge, to make the mechon pay.

'Fiora! Get outta there! Get out!'

They arrived at the audience chamber doors a few minutes later, enough time for a bit of Shulk's anger to simmer down. The guard opened the door and ushered him into the long hallway. Alvis stood at the end of the audience chamber, at the foot of the steps leading to the throne. The emperor and his son were absent, likely with Melia at the moment.

"Shulk. I'm glad you could make it." Alvis greeted as he drew near.

"Hello there Alvis. Is there something you wanted to speak to me about? Does it have something to do with the Monado?" Shulk asked. Alvis clearly knew far more about the Monado than he let on, and Shulk figured that whatever it was he wanted to talk about would be related to that.

"In a way, but it also concerns the arrival of our new guests." Alvis said.

"The people from the Boiling Isles? What do they have to do with the Monado?"

Alvis said nothing at first, looking away from Shulk. "Last night, after you and the otherworlders left, I met with the emperor. He asked me to glimpse into the future of these strange visitors. To learn more of their intentions here. When I looked into the futures of Eda, King, and Amity, the visions were in flux. Constantly changing with no clear path. This has never happened before." Alvis finally turned to look at Shulk. "Tell me. Have you seen anything strange in your recent visions?"

"Yes! I did!" Shulk went wide eyed. With everything that had happened yesterday, he'd almost forgotten about that. "I saw a repeat of one of my old visions, but this time it was updated to include everyone from the Boiling Isles too."

"Everyone except one; the girl without ether. Am I correct?"

"Y-yes. You're right. I didn't see Luz there, but I assumed she's just not going to be there naturally." Though, thinking it over, Shulk couldn't fathom of a reason why Luz would be absent when all her friends and her girlfriend were accompanying them. But then, why couldn't he see her. "You only mentioned Eda, King, and Amity before. What about Luz? Did you look into her future as well?"

"I did."

"What did you see?"

"Nothing. No matter what I tried, I only saw black. I didn't understand it at first. I spent the night scouring my research for answers. It's not until after I arranged a meeting with former-Minister Lorithia that the answer was uncovered.

"Lorithia? The woman that tried to have Luz killed because her lack of ether?" Melia had informed him about how the entire conflict from yesterday had started because of that woman.

Alvis nodded. "Lorithia may have been out of line with her actions yesterday, but she's still one of Alcamoth's top scholars. And, after what we discovered yesterday I don't believe that her concerns with Luz was entirely without merit."

"How? What about Luz's lack of ether would affect our ability to see the future?"

"Ether is the foundation of our world. It comprises the building blocks of every living being. By observing the flow of ether in the world, it is possible to predict where the ether will be in the future. That is how our powers of foresight work. But what do you suppose happens when a being without ether is introduced into the equation."

Shulk thought hard about it. He pictured the flow of ether to that of a flowing river. With that analogy in mind, the lack of ether would be like a rock wall that can divert the current. "So… by having someone that exists without ether… they would cause disruptions in the flow? Does that mean Luz won't ever show up in my visions then?"

"It's far more than that. Luz's mere existence here is a ceaseless disruption of the ether around her. It means that any visions you have could instantly be changed by her presence. There's no longer any guarantee that any of our visions will come to pass as we see them."

Shulk was speechless, standing perfectly still for what seemed like minutes, as he thought of the implications of this news. Now chances were high that Luz would in-fact join them at Prison Island whenever that event comes to pass. Then again, with what he's learned, he can't be sure if anything he saw will play out exactly as was shown.

"Shulk. With everything you've learned here, do you think it's a good idea to trust these newcomers?" Alvis asked in the most serious tone that Shulk had heard from him.

"Why wouldn't I? It's not like Luz is doing this intentionally, right?"

"You're correct," said Alvis with a nod. "This is all just a byproduct of Luz's unique physiology. She'd have no control over it. Still, the point remains that while she is around, our visions cannot be trusted. We have no way of gauging what any of their intentions are while in our city."

"Alvis we're talking about a kid here. Three kids in fact. I don't want to assume that they have any bad intentions without proof first. I don't need to see someone's future before I can trust them."

"That is your decision to make of course, but I'd still advise that you be cautions when interacting with Luz or her friends."

Shulk was surprised at how untrusting Alvis was being here. Since he's had his powers for many years now, could he just not know how to trust someone without looking into their future ahead of time? "What about the emperor? Has he been informed about this? What's his opinion on all this?"

"You'll be happy to know that Emperor Antiquas shares the same view as you. He has taken my warnings into consideration, but he sees no reason to distrust these visitors for now. He has no intention on taking further action on this matter unless something else arises."

"I think that's for the best." Shulk was honestly relieved that the emperor wasn't going to do anything about this. The last thing they needed was Eda's fears about Alcamoth to be validated. "Thank you Alvis for your time."

"Of course Shulk. I'm glad I could be of assistance to you." Alvis gave a bow before the two of them exited the audience chamber.

Shulk planned to head to Imperial Park to meet up with the others, but as he walked, he began to think further about what he learned. While Shulk saw no reason to distrust Luz or the others, he couldn't help but worry about what would happen if she was by his side during battle. Since he first grabbed hold of the Monado, he'd relied more and more on his visions to guide him. The mind-reading powers of the Telethia had already thrown him for loop largely because they would react differently to how he saw them. For that to also extend to potentially any foe he faced made him uneasy.

Eventually though, Shulk decided to rid his head of these what ifs. The Boiling Isles group were only going to be here for a day, and would then go home. After today, he would have no reason to worry about his visions getting altered. With a clear head, Shulk resumed his walk back towards the park.

A/N: Finally all the current members Xenoblade crew have been properly introduced.

My longest chapter so far, and it's only half what I originally intended. Had to split up the full chapter as it was getting way too long. Hope you enjoy.