Untold Stories, Unsung Words

Series Summary: (A series of one-shots, some of them being connected, based on headcanons.) The story of the Bionis and Mechonis, the Heir to the Monado, and the creation of the new world has been revealed. But among that story are smaller stories that haven't been shown. To have it accepted to be as truth is an option, but the existence of them being a possibility is undeniable. These are stories untold, words unsung.

9. Dickson, Shulk - Teacher and Student

Summary: Pregame. Slight tie in with the oneshots Rebirth and Necklaces. Dickson was never good with dealing with kids. And now he has to raise one.

Pairings: None

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Dickson was scratching his head and sighing as he stood in front of the Military District's Research Lab door. He hated seeing kids around the district cause they would distract defense force soldiers or be in the range of coming into contact with weapons and whatnot.

But now, he has no choice in the matter.

"I know it doesn't look like it… but here's your new home! Made space for ya' by yours truly."

Dickson felt like an idiot as he introduced the lab to the young lad next to him standing to his right.

The boy stared at the large door, holding his hands in front of his chest and making a fist with both hands, shaking. This will be his first time living with someone he wasn't all too familiar with. And this was unavoidable. His memories were muggy, but one thing is for sure: his parents aren't with him anymore. Colony 1, where he originally was from, is destroyed and inhabited by Mechon. And now he'll be living with the old man working on machines, weapons, and new inventions hiding away at the Military District.

"I know it's going to be uncomfortable for you, Shulk. But you'll get used to it eventually. And if you need anything, just ask. I won't bite."

"…." He looked down at his black and red shoes to avoid eye contact with Dickson. The old man growled to himself. He didn't like this idea much, but he couldn't do anything about it, for more reasons than one.

The obvious idea would be that Dunban were to take him in. But Dunban was only 16 years old, and though he's awfully mature for his age, he had a handful taking care of himself, Fiora, and Reyn at times. Dickson often caught him exhausted from the mix of Defense Force training, running around scolding Reyn, and getting himself involved with Fiora's hobbies. Adding a shy 4 year old who is constantly hiding from him would not make things any easier for the teen, so Dickson told Dunban it would be better for him to watch over Shulk.

Though Dickson would have to doubt himself about his abilities of taking care of a kid. He's always too busy with his work that he would block out whatever was not relating to his work around him. This happened once when he was repairing several defense force weapons and didn't notice Reyn running around carrying a knife. Additionally, he believed he had a strange aura and ability to make children uncomfortable when he's around them. And he concluded it was due to his old man appearance. (Which he wasn't too proud of. He missed looking young.) The only exceptions were Reyn, Fiora, and Desiree, cause he's always around them.

But the last reason, which he never told a soul to, was cause of Zanza. No harm should come to his lord's vessel. And he wouldn't forgive himself if that were to happen. Zanza even dumped in more responsibility when he mentioned that he'd let his new vessel retain his sense of self. Cause of this, Zanza would not have direct control over his vessel's body. Whatever danger the vessel would get himself in, the god of Bionis would get tied up in it. Though Zanza is able to nullify any death related to ether deficiency for his vessel, his vessel could still die from external injuries. Dickson needed to avoid that at all costs.

In order to keep a close eye on the boy, Dickson had to insist that he would take him in. The old mechanic knows everyone in Colony 9, but didn't trust anyone enough to watch the timid kid.

Dickson looked down to his right to see Shulk still staring down at his own feet. The man scratched his head and frowned. He hasn't heard him say a word since he got better after the hybrid 4 elemental ether crystal he retrieved, crafted into a necklace, and gave to the four year old. (He dreaded doing this, as the crystal was a royal pain to get.) He only got a quiet 'Thank you so much, I feel better now.' Dickson felt bad for the boy since he was left alone case Reyn and Fiora had to go to school, and since Shulk wasn't officially enrolled yet, he couldn't join the two until next week. So for now, he'd had to stay with old Dickson from 9 AM to 2 PM every weekday.

"Such a shy boy…" Dickson muttered in his head. "Well!" He said aloud. "Time to show you your room."

Dickson slid the iron doors open by pushing the right side of the door to the right and vice versa with the left side. Shulk looked up to see a somewhat dim hallway leading downstairs, and within the room that is directly at the entrance of the facility were about 4 doors, two on each side. Dickson walked in and motioned his hand by having his fingers move towards him. "Come here kid."

Shulk, still holding his hands near his chest, walk slowly inside to stand next to Dickson. The old man pointed to his right where two doors stood next to each other. "My room is on the left. Yours will be on the right. The former tenant moved out, so it's empty now. You'll sleep in there. Understand?"

"Mmm…" The boy replied with his voice barely audible and nodding quietly.

"Look inside." Dickson told Shulk as he opened the door to the boy's room. Shulk walked towards Dickson and peeked in. It was somewhat small, having a single bed with a white pillow and sheets positioned horizontally towards the wall facing him at the left corner, with the head of the bed at the corner itself. To the right was a dresser with 3 metal drawers. On the right wall was a wide desk and a metal chair. At the left wall was a large gray cabinet. It appears that it held clothes in there. Other than those furniture, there was nothing else.

Dickson scratched his head at the somewhat empty room. "I know it definitely doesn't look like a room for a kid your age, but you can do what you want in terms of decorating. Put up a few crayon drawings or crafts up if you want. Just don't have food lying around there, got it?"

Shulk looked up at the Dickson and nodded quietly again. He lowered his arms to his side. Dickson assumed that by peeking in the boy's new bedroom, at least he would ease up and start talking, but he hasn't said anything, let alone ask a question. The two looked at each other in silently and with each passing second, it grew awkward. The boy was simply staring at him. Dickson quietly asked himself, "Geez, what else could this kid want?" Dickson was trying to think of a plethora of questions the boy could have. Food, any place that's forbidden within the building, more food, if he could talk to the other tenants, food again…

"Uh…" Dickson crossed his arms. "You may be thinking, where to eat? Well, sorry to disappoint ya, but you gotta get into town for that. I normally visit town or visit Dunban to use his kitchen. If I'm not around, just visit him, he'll make you something if I'm not awake or whatnot."

"…" Shulk said nothing, only nodding silently. The mechanic sighed. "As much as I love my own voice, I'm getting tired of only hearing that…" He said to himself. What other possible things does the boy need to know?

"Oh, also… Bathroom's through the door across from your's, then down hallway, second door to the left."

"…" The boy didn't even nod in acknowledgment. Rather, he furrowed his eyebrows upward, looking confused. Dickson groaned lowly, feeling more awkward than ever. He has to deal with this for the next fourteen years? This wasn't going to end well. Dickson muttered in his head, "I apologize in what you're seeing, Lord Zanza, if you're awake or whatever…"

Dickson looked down at his left wrist to glance at his silver watch. 12 PM. Reyn and Fiora would be out of school in two hours, which means Shulk would join them and he'd finally get some alone and relief time. Since he was interrupted by this kid's recovery, he was behind in his joint projects with Xord. Now he has to catch up a few days' worth of sweat and annoyance.

"Uh… I'll be working at my lab down the stairs. You can do whatever here, just don't get yourself in trouble."

Dickson turned to exit, waving his hand forward. Shulk watched the old man leave without saying word.

—

"Goodness, I forgot about this… Xord will have my head…" Dickson growled, trying to steady himself putting the small gear in place in an opened silver watch.

Xord told Dickson three days ago that he accidentally broke his watch, which was given to him by Desiree. She bought the watch from months of allowance, and Xord treasured that watch by always wearing it. He got carried away in his work and it was broken during his work. Desiree was so upset that her crying made Xord cry too. (He was a sensitive guy… a bit too sensitive.) Hence, he turned to Dickson to repair it so Desiree would be happy again.

In order to hold the gear in place, he needed a blue bead chain. He scanned his desktop to find a chain, but it was nowhere. "The hell I put it? I had it here a second ago!" Dickson slammed his left hand on the desk and groaned. "Where's that damn thi-" Before Dickson could slam his hand again, he felt a tap on his right arm. "Huh?"

Dickson turned to his right to see Shulk holding out something on his right palm. Dickson looked at the object, and it was the very thing he needed. A small chain of blue beads. "Oh, you found it, kid. Where was it?" He asked as he took the chain from his small palm. Shulk pointed behind him at the entrance to the lab, at the floor.

"It fell there? How the hell it get there?" Dickson asked. The boy didn't say anything and shrugged.

"Well… I appreciate it, kid. Now that you helped me find this part, I can fix this watch now. Now I can make Xord and his daughter happy and spare myself some yelling. I had enough high blood pressure this past week…" Dickson resumed his repairs, lowering his head down to get a better glimpse at the watch. "Me and my damn big hands… Being old stinks…"

Dickson continued to growl and moan at his work, but he didn't notice the little boy watching him intently from a distance, silently.

—

Shulk, now seventeen, wiped his forehead from the small amount of sweat that built up from hours of being holed up in the lab.

"Ugh… this is so frustrating…" He stared at his left to observe the large blueprint he drew. It was a pen and pencil sketch of a scrapdriver, a weapon that acted as both a shield and a large blade. This would be his biggest project yet because it would be the first weapon made customized for his best friend. Reyn had a large growth spurt, so the scrapdriver had to be adjusted for his height and arm length and width. But how to balance the weight of the weapon, as well as make do with the parts he had in hand? Because at the moment, they were lacking.

"What are you moaning about, kid?" A deep voice emerged from behind the boy. It was old man Dickson standing at the entrance of the lab.

"Oh, Dickson!" Shulk stood up from his chair and approached the traveling merchant.

"What are you busting your head over? It's 6 AM in the morning, what the hell are you doing up? Wait…" Dickson crossed his arms and frowned. "You didn't sleep again, did you?"

"I…"

"Go to sleep, you stupid kid!" Dickson lightly punched the boy's head. "Dunban and Fiora will yell at you again! We'll talk later after you sleep!"

"O-Ow!" Shulk groaned, rubbing his head in the same area Dickson punched him. "Okay, okay, I'll sleep…" The boy proceeded to leave the lab and head towards his room. It was the same routine over and over. Shulk tried to talk his way out of staying up many times, but were all shot down. It got to the point that he wouldn't even bother asking anymore.

As soon as Dickson no longer could her the boy's footsteps, Dickson proceeded to the desk and stared down at what the boy was working on. He scanned through the blueprint of the scrapdriver. It was alarmingly detailed. Lines were drawn from specific parts of the scrapdriver and next to them were neatly written notes. (Dickson felt bad seeing the boy's handwriting, as it made his own look like a kid's handwriting in comparison.) On the right of the blueprint were two separate pieces of paper that had a large list of materials, and underneath each material are smaller notes such as where to find the material, where it would be used, how it would be used, etc.

Dickson sat down on the chair and examined the list more carefully. While doing so, his lip curled upward. The more he read over the parts, the more plausible it became to make this weapon. The boy was onto something. There were some errors here and there, but they were overall feasible to make. Now it was just matter of fixing the specs and getting the materials. (Which Dickson would bring over from the Fallen Arm. He wouldn't disclose Shulk as to where he'd get them.)

Over the years, Shulk simply watched him build and fix things. But now, he's already building his own weapons. How time flies.

Dickson looked at the second paper beneath the list of materials. Revealed were some notes on the Monado. It must have been either mixed up with the scrapdriver project notes, or Shulk was working on it alongside the project. "Hah…"

He removed from his right pocket a cigarette and a lighter. After he lit the cigarette, he let out a puff and sighed.

"It sure is scary watching kids grow… That kid was always hiding behind his folks and he wouldn't say a word to me but now... "

The old man glanced at the Monado, which was kept at the center of the lab. It stood there silently, just as it was when he found it in Ose Tower 13 years ago. It was only a matter of time until his lord Zanza will return.

"Getting close to my level, huh kid? Not there yet, but you'll get there… maybe…"

Headcanons:

1. Dickson insisted to take in Shulk because he needed to keep a close eye on Zanza's new vessel. Since Shulk is the first vessel Zanza's given free will to, it would be unpredictable as to how he'd turn up.

2. Shulk was extremely shy around Dickson at the first day he took him in. He began to warm up to him after watching Dickson work with machinery and weaponry.

3. Shulk gets caught up with his work and hobbies far too much to the point where he can stay awake for over 24 hours. He got used to this over the years, which causes concern and annoyance to Dunban, Dickson, and Fiora.

A/N: I hate how fast summer is rolling, cause it means my creativity will truly be shut down. Boo. I don't really have much to say about this one. It all came from personal experience though, seeing my little cousin grow so quickly, it's truly frightening. So I was like, geez, wouldn't Dickson be a bit intimidated at Shulk growing up so quickly? So this came about.

I've finally gotten myself a tablet, so that means actual art for this fanfiction! I have drawn lineart rough drafts for the Necklaces and Archiving Memories oneshots. The images depict "chapter" cover images, in a way. Check them in my profile. In the future, I'll be working on comic panels based on what I wrote, as well as 1 page images like in light novels. Yay.

The following oneshots are in development/planning stages:

-Sharla, Gadolt - Target Practice / Summary: She was always watching him from a distance as he always hit his target...

-Reyn, Fiora, Shulk - Unbreakable Bond / Summary: Based on the oneshots Rebirth and Necklaces. Reyn and Fiora were close friends. And now a shy four year old moves into Colony 9 from Colony 1. From his scared and sorrowful eyes and the pain he endured, there was only one thing the two could do: to be by his side.

-Dunban, Fiora - All That Remains / Summary: Based on the heart-to-heart Revisiting the Past. It's a big brother's duty to make sure to not make his little sister sad, even at the cost of his own safety. But the payoff lasts a lifetime: strengthening the bond of siblings that can never break.

-Entire Party - Dress Up / Summary: After the events of Prison Island, the party is invited by Melia and Kallian to have the late feast for Melia's succession to the throne. Thing is, they have to dress up in High Entia attire. That won't sit well with some party members...

Again till then, I appreciate any reviews and criticism.