Chapter 5: Metal Face
Riki and Bowser had survived their encounter with Master Hand. The two of them had been severely punished though. Master Hand also had yelled at his brother. "If you can't control your pet, I'll get rid of it!" Master Hand snapped.
Shulk however was just hoping that Master Hand had calmed down since yesterday. He knocked on the doors to his office.
"Come in, Shulk." Master Hand said.
Shulk entered and looked around. "You're still not mad, are you?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm furious about that still." Master Hand replied. "However, that has nothing to do with you."
Shulk just nodded. "So, you said you wanted to see me about my stage?"
"Yes, I trust that Link, Ike and Marth had briefed you on how our fights work?" Master Hand asked.
"Yes." Shulk replied. "It seemed a bit confusing at first, but I got the hang of it after a few pratice battles with them."
"Good." Master Hand said. "Now then, I'd like to show you your stage, and get your opinion on any changes that may be necessary."
Master Hand just snapped his fingers, and they were suddenly both teleported into a black room. "They explained that this was a hologram room, right?" Master Hand asked.
"Yes." Shulk replied.
"Okay, good." Master Hand teleported out of the room, and suddenly his voice came over a speaker. "I'm going to send you to your stage, and then you can tell me your thoughts."
"Understood." Shulk said.
The first thing that appeared off in the distance was a giant titan, one that Shulk remembered all too well. The Mechonis. It's sword stretching out, his eyes instinctively followed it, seeing that it had pierced an area above him on the Bionis. He then looked around, noticing the hills. Everything on the vast land of the Bionis' was just as he had remembered it.
"This is your stage." Master Hand said. "Guar Plains. I hope we've recreated it to your liking."
"It's amazing." Shulk said. "It's just like I remember it being. Although, there doesn't seem to be any wildlife..."
"We'll possibly be adding that in later." Master Hand said. "It's still in development after all."
"Is there anything else you wanted to show me?" Shulk asked.
"Some stages also have bosses that appear on them, they will attack the fighters and interfere with the match, and yours is one of those stages." Master Hand said.
"That's great!" Shulk said. "Is it ready to be seen yet?"
Master Hand just remained silent for a few seconds. "Yes."
"Can I see it?" Shulk asked.
"I guess it's probably better if I do prepare you for this." Master Hand said. "Okay." There was several moments of silence. "I've activated the event flag for the boss to appear."
Shulk just smiled. He was curious as to what the boss would be. "Perhaps the Immovable Gonzalez?" He thought,
Suddenly a shadow covered where Shulk was standing. He just looked up, and stared at the object in the sky with both shock and horror. A large black robot with long metal claws.
"Fancy meeting you here, Monado Boy!" It said.
"Metal Face!?" Shulk shouted surprised.
"Yes, this is the boss on your stage." Master Hand said.
But Shulk didn't hear Master Hand. He was losing himself in a rush of emotions. Shock, fear, anger. All of a sudden everything that Metal Face had done to them came rushing back. He remembered his claws impaling Fiora during the battle of Colony 9. The time that they had been ambushed by him outside of the Ether Mines at Colony 6. Prison Island. The time in Valak Mountain, where he had ambushed them, and was willing to destroy Face Nemesis, and kill Fiora, in order for Shulk to hand over the Monado, he briefly complied. And Metal Face revealed who he really was. Mumkhar, one of Dunban's old friends.
"What are you willing to do? Would you even kill a Homs to beat us?" He remembered Mumkhar lifting him up by the neck, as he said those words.
And most of all he remembered their final battle in Sword Valley at the entrance of Galahad Fortress. Where Mumkhar fired one of Metal Face's cannons and it destroyed a part of Galahad Fortress. It impaled the robot, along with causing the platform that they were on to break.
Metal Face was pinned down as the platform fell. And then there were some explosions. They assumed him to be dead. They found the wreckage later on the fallen arm.
Shulk just clenched his fist. He grabbed the Monado and activated it. He rushed for Metal Face, and just jumped into the air slashing at the monster's chest. It opened revealing nothing inside. Just an empty compartment where a Homs would normally be.
Shulk just let out a loud primal scream and began to cut through Metal Face.
When it was done, he just collapsed on his knees. The room turned back to black, and Shulk had to remind himself that it wasn't real. "It wasn't real." He repeated to himself.
Master Hand teleported into the room, and Shulk just pointed the Monado at him.
"How do you recreate everything so perfectly?" Shulk asked. "Including his voice."
"They are based off of your memories, and the memories of your companions." Master Hand said. "Now you know what your stage includes you're dismissed."
Shulk noticed two other Smashers had been watching. Captain Falcon, and Samus. They just rushed over to him, and helped him up, and walked him outside of the hologram room.
They sat him down on a chair, and he just sat there shaking.
"It's all right to be afraid of someone." Captain Falcon said. "After all, Samus is afraid of Ridley."
However this just got Captain Falcon a stun gun right up into his face. "I'm not afraid of Ridley." She snapped.
"Right, whatever you say Sammy."
"Don't call me that." Samus hissed, digging the stun gun into his face.
Shulk just glanced up at the two. Their slapstick antics weren't exactly helping him cheer up. "It's not that." Shulk said. "The pilot's name was Mumkhar. He was truly a despicable person. He killed Homs without any reservations, he was perhaps the only face mechon that didn't have their memories erased. His whole reason for doing it was because it was Dunban's, one of my comrades, home. I hate him, and just seeing him there flooded my mind with everything he did at once, and I lost myself..."
"Well, now that you know that it's coming, it probably won't affect you as much." Samus said. "It was just the surprise this time that triggered it, right?"
"Maybe." Shulk replied.
"Well, it's not the real thing, just a hologram." Samus said.
Shulk just nodded. He tried to stand up, but it was quite clear he was shaky. They walked him into the kitchen and just sat him down at the table, and Samus began to make some hot chocolate for him.
"Shulk!" Riki said rushing up to him. "Are you okay? Riki heard you hurt!"
Shulk just looked at Riki in shock. "How did he..."
"News travels really fast in the Smash Mansion." Samus replied, handing over a cup of hot chocolate. "Get used to it."
"Okay." Shulk said a bit surprised.
"You saw Dundun's old friend?" Riki said.
"Yes, Metal Face." Shulk replied. "His appearance just surprised me, that's all."
"Will this be a common occurrence during your battles?" Samus asked.
"No. I'll be fine from now on." Shulk said. "He's not real, it's just a hologram, and besides, the real one is long dead. Even if they rebuilt the Mechon part, the Homs is long gone."
Samus had sat down at another chair and was now drinking some hot chocolate from a mug. The two of them just had small talk. At least until Wario came into the kitchen.
"Well, if it isn't the cry babies." he said.
"Shulk, Riki will bite him." Riki said holding the biter out.
"No Riki." Shulk said.
"Oh, trying to keep your guard rabbit back? You can't be that good." Wario laughed. "I heard you broke down like Samus breaks down in front of Ridley."
Samus was quick and swift. She bolted in front of him and just lifted Wario up off of the ground by his neck. "What was that, you fat tub of lard?" She said. Wario just began to gasp for air. "Did I hear you correctly?"
"Put me down!" Wario gasped.
"Gladly!" Samus complied by throwing him across the room and through the kitchen window out on to the front lawn. Shulk just looked in shock at Samus. She glanced over at Shulk. "I have a longstanding nemesis named Ridley. We've fought, oh... 8 times by my count, and allegedly I have broken down and cried when I saw him once. I would like to tell you that, that has never happened."
"Understood." Shulk said.
"Samus scary." Riki said.
After finishing his hot chocolate Shulk just stood up, "Thank you, Samus. I think I'm going to go swimming now."
Samus just smiled. "Okay."
So... yeah... I really, really, really, don't like Other M.
Fun fact: When writing Riki's lines, I say them out loud, in his voice. According to my cousin I have a good Riki impression...
I'm thinking I'm only going to have 2 more chapters of this... Part of it is because I don't know what else to do, another part is that from what I've seen of the leaks/streams and stuff, the only other Xenoblade references have been Shulk's alternate colors, where the colors are based off of the teammates' colors.