note to the person to reviewed: first of all, thank you! secondly, i...didn't actually notice the resemblance between araia and hylia until you mentioned it XD no, it's not intentional, araia's not really based on anything or anyone in a game/show/book/whatever.
"Has anyone seen Alvis?"
Shulk peeked into the tower, where everyone else looked towards him...everyone except a certain seer, that is.
Dunban shook his head. "No, not since we started setting up." Melia frowned. "Did you all not notice?" The group looked to the princess, who seemed concerned. "When we arrived here, he seemed...sad."
The princess then got up. "I shall help you search for him, Shulk." Riki looked up. "Riki go too? Riki concerned for Alvis!" Shulk nodded, and looked at the rest. "You guys can hold down the fort until we're back, right?" The rest nodded, and the three then left to search for Alvis.
"...Riki see him! Oh...Melly right...Alvis look sad in front of stone pile."
Shulk and Melia looked to where Riki pointed, and they felt like their hearts were going to break. Alvis was sitting in front of a pile of stones with some small decor...something that could only be a grave.
Shulk walked closer. "...Alvis?" The seer jumped and quickly looked towards them (which made the three now able to see that his eyes were a bit swollen). He then slightly smiled. "Ah, it's just you three. I apologize if I worried you."
Melia looked down at the stone pile. "Alvis...is this...?" The man frowned and looked over at it, his normally calm and somewhat-emotionless eyes now sad. "Yes...a very good friend of mine is here. Her name was Araia..." Riki looked up at Alvis. "Ari gone because Mechon?" He shook his head.
"Araia was...very sick."
Melia frowned. "I apologize, Alvis...for interrupting you during..." Alvis dryly chuckled. "No, it is fine. Araia wasn't the type of person...who would want me to mourn over her for the rest of my life..." Riki smiled. "Ari sound like very nice homhom!" Shulk nodded. "She does. It sounds like you two were close."
Alvis nodded and looked back at the grave. "Indeed. Ever since we were children, we knew each other." Melia smiled gently. "I'm sure she's happy, and watching over you." Alvis nodded before the four began to walk back to the tower.
"..."
The mysterious woman watched from the edge of a cliff above where the group was. It was morning now, and she sat and observed as they continued towards Sword Valley. A sad look entered her eyes as she saw Alvis. He still has no clue that I live...
"Milady?"
Araia blinked and looked behind her as a High Entian guard (with very fancy armor, suggesting he was someone very important) walked up to her. "Lady Araianria, is that group a threat to us? They seem to be heading towards the fortress." Araia shook her head. "No, Merak. They search for a friend...I believe she was turned into a Face unit..." Merak nodded and was about to walk away, but then Araia looked at Shulk and noticed something.
"That boy...he holds the Monado."
The guard gasped and looked to where she was. "He does indeed...so, the man you mentioned..." Araia nodded. "That boy is his..." Merak frowned. "So...it has begun, then."
"I suspect it began a while ago."
A female machina walked up to them, her body grey and a light purple. Araia nodded to the woman's claim. "Indeed, Mayano. It began near the Bionis' knee, in Colony 9." Mayano looked down towards Dunban. "The black haired man was the previous wielder, correct? But now it is the boy..." Merak frowned. "Just like Zanza intended..."
Araia then seemingly floated up onto the cliff, now standing. "Merak, Mayano. We must reach the fortress before them." The two nodded, and they began their own trek to Sword Valley.
The group was silent as they camped, mainly thinking about what they had witnessed. Fiora didn't remember them, but didn't fight them either...and the golden Face...
Melia, meanwhile, was staring at a sleeping Alvis, still thinking about what she had found out yesterday.
"Melia, is somethin' wrong?"
The princess looked over to see Reyn, and practically the whole group looking at her. Shulk frowned. "Is it about..." The girl nodded.
Reyn blinked. "Y'know, I don't think you ever told us about what happened." Shulk inhaled deeply before sighing and revealing everything.
By the time he was done, the group was silent again. Sharla frowned. "That's..." Dunban looked at the sleeping seer. "It does sound like they were close..." Riki frowned. "Alvis seem very sad when speak about Ari. Riki feel sorry for him..."
Dunban then lightly smiled. "But she does sound like she was a good person. I would have loved to meet her." Melia nodded. "Indeed."
...
Much later, everyone but Shulk was asleep. He was still thinking about Fiora, and what had happened that day.
Rustling and what seemed to be quiet steps then entered his ears. Holding one hand on the Monado, the boy wondered if some Mechon were still prowling around after the attack.
"Calm yourself, Heir to the Monado. That sword will not work on me."
A High Entian woman then stepped out from behind some rocks. She had long blonde hair in two braids, pale skin, and wore a white dress on her body and a white and golden mask on her face, which covered her face. She walked as if she was floating above the snow, for her footsteps made hardly a sound.
Shulk removed his hand from the sword, but still looked at the woman. "Who are you?"
"...I am...Lucerna. And you must be Shulk."
The boy's eyes widened. "How do you-" Lucerna (Shulk doubted that was her true name, since she hesitated before saying it) put a finger to where her mouth would be. "Shh. You would not want to wake your companions, would you?" Shulk clenched his fists, but she had a point. It wouldn't do well to wake them up.
"As for your question...who has not heard of you? Shulk, Heir to the Monado, protector of the civilizations all over Bionis. You are well known in both Alcamoth and in Frontier village."
The woman then looked at the sleeping people around them. "And your companions...even the crown princess is one of your group." Lucerna even turned to Alvis, though Shulk thought he noticed her tense up a bit when she looked at him. "You all seem very close, from what I have seen." Shulk blinked. "Seen? Are you...?"
Lucerna shook her head. "No. I have been watching over you ever since you first arrived in Alcamoth. I sensed a strong power from you...though I assume a good amount was from the Monado. And so I watched over you, whenever you arrived...using this."
She concentrated, then a white pearl with a multicolored flame inside it formed in her hands. "This is the Visio Pearl...something I have owned ever since I was young. I can use a person's ether level to see where they are at that point, from their point of view."
Shulk frowned. "So you were spying on us?" Lucerna shook her head. "I only watched when I knew I must. I stopped the pearl's power when you left to Prison Island." Shulk relaxed a bit, relieved that she wasn't abusing this power of hers.
Lucerna then concentrated again, and the pearl vanished in a lightless flame. "I now must go...but Shulk, I leave you with a phrase a friend once taught me." Shulk couldn't see her face under the mask, but he was sure if he could, he would see a smile.
"Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. Believe in all you know, both there and not, and you shall reach beyond your limits."
With that, Lucerna walked away, her steps as silent as a ghost's. Shulk frowned. What a strange woman... He then thought about the words she left him with. They confused him now, but perhaps eventually, he'd learn their meaning...
He sighed, deciding not to think about it now. He sat, leaning against a nearby rock wall, and slowly drifted to sleep.
