Heh, this series is never gonna get finished if I keep this update rate up. Sadly, I just don't have the time to focus on everything I've set out for myself. Anyway, I think there's only one or two people who are reading this, so it's not like that matters too much. Oh, and in case you're under the impression that I've completely forgotten about Piers, worry not; he has a much larger role than is probably being expected.

Disclaimer: Refer to chapter one

Mysteries

Stars twinkled from every direction, and the ground was nowhere to be seen. Planets could be seen in the distance, but knowing if they were up, down, left, or right was impossible to determine.

Shulk had been here before, in similar dreams like this one now. But why was this happening? It made all the sense in the world, given that the Monado had returned, and yet that fact still made no sense at all. Of all the times to return, why would it come back now? Did those strangers have something to do with it? Then again, how could they have? Even though he was supposed to be the logical one, Shulk couldn't think of a single reason why this was happening.

"Ah, you are here," announced a voice from no particular direction. Shulk looked around, but could not find the source.

"I know that voice," he muttered, halting after figuring that he wouldn't be able to find the speaker. "Alvis, where are you?"

"Very clever, Shulk," said the voice, "but you know that I no longer exist in my hom form."

Shulk futilely glanced around again, frustration plaguing his mind. "None of this makes sense! If you aren't here, then why is the Monado in existence again? What purpose does it serve in a world without need of it?"

Alvis' voice chuckled, something Shulk had not heard before. "Is it truly so difficult to see the relation between its return and these otherworldly strangers? In fact, if you look hard enough, you might be able to see that they are not so different from yourselves."

"What does that mean?" Shulk shouted, but nothing came in response. His eyelids suddenly felt heavy, and Shulk allowed his consciousness, or rather lack thereof, to fade even deeper…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"Heh, honestly, boy, why does your heart continue to find its way to me?" the sinister man chuckled as Isaac sat up from the floor of the white room. "This is our second encounter, and yet the time has not yet come in which we truly meet face to face."

Isaac glared at the man, remembering that he would be unable to speak whilst in his current state. On this occasion, the man did not have a hood up, but he stood facing away from the Venus adept, revealing only the back of his bald head. He wore clothes different from the mysterious black robe of their first encounter, but it made no difference how this man was dressed, only that he still sought to cause some kind of harm to Isaac and his friends.

"You seem dissatisfied; is my abode not to your liking?" cackled the man, flexing his gloved hands behind his back. "Or is it that you've been cast into a strange new world? To be frank, your arrival in that world was a mistake on my part. Yes, I was careless in the unlocking of your world, and rather than arriving in my world, you ended up there. However, because your heart seems especially fond of making its way over to me, I've been able to track down this world of yours, and I must say that you have done me a greater favour than I could have hoped for."

Isaac felt his body tense as he prepared to pounce at the man. Elderly or not, anyone that exuded an aura of such malice and malevolence could not be allowed to roam free.

"Don't try it, you witless neophyte." With a twirl of his wrist, a sphere of darkness engulfed the man's hand, causing two identical spheres to appear at Isaac's feet, sealing them to the ground. "Awfully reckless of you to think that merely your heart could even hope to put a scratch on me. Trust me, boy, if I cannot cause you harm when you are not actually here, what drives you to believe that your heart can do anything but listen to me speak?"

Isaac bit his lip and cursed silently at the man before him. The man laughed, apparently knowing exactly what the adept had just done. Just who was this maniacal person? How could he know what Isaac did and thought without actually looking at him? Perhaps he was some kind of powerful mage of sorts.

"I understand that you've been looking for some friends of yours, hmm?" the man stated mischievously. "It seems you've found all but three of them at this point. I must commend you for your work, but it looks as though you'll only find two at your next destination. The other, you ask? Heh, you'll find out soon enough."

Before Isaac could even try to comprehend what that could mean, a dark chasm of that strange, black fire engulfed him, and then everything faded into darkness…

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"Oi, I think he's comin' to!" Reyn announced. "Shulk! You alright?"

"W-Where…where am I?" Shulk groaned as he slowly sat up from the table he appeared to be lying on. "What's going on?"

"Relax, Shulk," came a familiar voice from the stairs. "You are on Junks, and we are currently flying to Alcamoth."

From down below, Vanea ascended the steps and walked beside him. Waving her hand over a glowing panel, the medical equipment surrounding Shulk's body flickered off, allowing him to see all around from where he currently was.

Now that everything was visible, he could see Sharla and Fiora both standing slightly behind Reyn. The three of them all smiled, causing him to return the expression to them; however, his smile melted once he fully processed Vanea's words.

"Alcamoth?! Why are we going there? Urg, what happened to me?" He glanced around again before adding, "And where are all the others?"

"Take it easy, man," Reyn calmed him. "Everyone else is downstairs with Miqol and Isaac."

"Isaac?" Where had he heard that name? Was he one of the strangers? "Are those newcomers with us as well?"

"Yes," Sharla said from behind Reyn, "but for now we're keeping you and them in separate areas. I'll admit, you gave us all quite the scare when the Monado zapped you."

"So that did happen…" Shulk mumbled, lying himself back down. "Why do they have to be separated from me?"

The three of them gave each other odd glances before turning back to him. Shulk looked to Vanea, but she had not yet been filled in on the situation either, so she could provide him with none of the answers he sought. Glancing back at the others, he watched as Fiora let out a sigh and thought out the most sensible way of wording it.

"Shulk…when we were back in your lab… It's… As soon as that Isaac person walked in, the Monado you'd been hiding from us suddenly reacted and sent out bolts that knocked you both out."

"What?!" Shulk gasped in disbelief. "But…that's impossible, I wasn't controlling it!"

"Hey, no one expected you to know what was going on," Reyn reassured him. "We figured that you wouldn't even know why the Monado's back anyhow."

Shulk sighed and closed his eyes, trying to decipher all that Alvis had said to him in his dream. "You've got that right, Reyn. It actually reappeared about a month ago; I found it lying in the water like a common piece of scrap."

"No kidding," Reyn breathed out, having a tough time comprehending how no one else would have seen it just sitting there.

"I want to see the others," Shulk stated suddenly, earning gasps from his three homs companions. "I need to speak with them right away."

"Shulk, wait!" Fiora cried as he started to sit up again. "It's too risky; you might get knocked out again!"

Shulk ignored her, however, and got to his feet, lightly brushing past her. "No, I should be fine. You said it was the Monado that took both of us out, so as long as you didn't keep it with them I should be fine going to them. You didn't keep it with them, did you?"

"No," Vanea answered for them. "Dunban placed it in the storage hold to keep it away from you."

"Perfect, I'll be off then," he nodded and left before anyone could object.

Traversing his way through the small ship, Shulk looked around to see where the others might be at the present. There weren't many rooms within Junks, and he'd never really had any reason to explore them before; as such, he had no idea of knowing which ones led to what. Luckily he spotted Dunban and Felix exiting one of the rooms. The two of them instantly took notice of Shulk and stepped towards him.

"Ah, Shulk, you're feeling better I presume?" Dunban asked, earning a nod from the young engineer. "Excellent! Did you need anything from us?"

"Actually," he said slowly, shifting on his heels a bit, "I was hoping I might have a word with Felix and the others."

Dunban and Felix blinked and glanced at each other before turning back towards Shulk. "You wanted to speak with me?" Felix asked, clearly puzzled that Shulk would not being seeking answers from his own companions. "I mean, I don't mind, but I'm not sure how much help we'll be, and Isaac still hasn't woken up yet."

"That's fine," Shulk answered calmly. "There's just a couple things I need to discuss with the lot of you."

Shrugging, Felix and Dunban turned back towards the room they'd just come from and gestured for Shulk to follow after. Complying, he tailed behind them into a well-lit room that appeared to be for taking breaks. The adepts all sat around on chairs and such, chatting away while Isaac lay unconscious on a couch in the corner. Everyone looked up at the entry of the three men, curious as to why Felix and Dunban had come back in so soon and if Shulk was all right.

"Hello, everyone," Shulk greeted. "I was hoping you might have some time to spare so that we could discuss something."

The Weyardians glanced around at each other, to Isaac's unconscious body, and back to Shulk. "Not like there's a whole lot to do around here," Garet answered brusquely, shrugging as he did so. "What's up?"

"Thanks," Shulk breathed out, taking a seat. "I know you aren't really sure of the reasons you ended up in our world, so I won't bother asking about that. I'd simply like to know more about all of you."

Everyone in the room cast him a puzzled look, clearly not understanding the reasoning behind his quest for knowledge. In truth, Shulk wasn't completely sure what learning about them might reveal, but Alvis's words still rung clearly in his mind.

"They are not so different from yourselves…"

What learning about their lives would do, Shulk knew not, but it wouldn't exactly hinder him to know more about his companions in case the information proved irrelevant to solving the mysteries of the Monado. While he was most interested in finding out about Isaac, he would have to wait to hear a first-person account from the spiky-haired adventurer. For now, hearing about the others would suffice.

"Well," Jenna began after the elongated silence, "we were originally a group of eight, but we've since been separated from three of the others."

The adepts then went on to explain their entire adventure in detail, also speaking a bit about their lives before the ordeal. Dunban made a comment or two every now and then, but Shulk remained silent for the entire tale, his expression unchanging. When they finally managed to conclude their tale with being swept over the edge of their world, Shulk finally sat up straight and collected his thoughts.

"Well, Shulk, have you heard everything you wanted?" Dunban questioned to his hom companion. "If it's alright for me to ask, why did you need to hear about their adventure?"

Shulk said nothing for a moment, only taking a deep breath before finally opening his mouth to speak. "It was…in my dream…"

"Your dream?" asked Mia, stepping over towards Isaac.

"Yes. Dunban, while I was unconscious, I dreamt that I was floating in space again, and Alvis spoke to me."

"Alvis spoke to you? You told me about how that had happened a number of times after Zanza extracted himself from you, but what does that have to do with this?"

"I'm not completely sure," Shulk deadpanned, shaking his head slightly. "In the dream, Alvis told me that the Monado's return was somehow related to these two world being connected. Then he told me that if I looked hard enough, I'd see that all of you," he gestured to the adepts, "were not so different from us here on Bionis."

There was a pause, and the only sounds in the room were the whirring of the ships engines and the light breaths from each person. Eventually, though, Garet spoke up. "So…what exactly did you find out? Or did you not draw any conclusions?"

"Well…" Shulk began, though he was unsatisfied with his findings, "really the only thing I could figure out was that some of you do seem very alike to us, but on varying levels. I'm not sure that it tells me anything about the Monado, but it does seem odd how similar you and Reyn are, as well as Dunban and Felix, and from the sounds of it, your friend Sheba and Melia. In a lesser sense, I could also see some similarities between Isaac and I, Jenna and Fiora, and Sharla and Mia. The thing is, though, if we all have these oddly similar links to each other, why did the Monado choose only to shock Isaac and I?"

"Because of our hearts."

Everyone jumped in surprise at the groggy voice. Quickly turning their heads in the direction it came from, they watched as Isaac rubbed at his eyes and slowly sat up.

"Isaac!" a few of the adepts shouted. "Are you all right?!"

"I'm fine, guys," he answered, seemingly unhurt and simply tired, though he grunted as Mia quickly engulfed him in a worried hug. "I actually heard everything from when you were wrapping up our journey."

"What did you mean by that?" Shulk interjected before anyone could say anything else. "Our hearts…"

"I… To be honest, I'm not sure," he answered looking down at his open palms. "I fell into another strange dream, just like the one that got us wound up here in the first place. This suspicious guy keeps showing up and talking to me, but I can never say anything back to him. He says it's because only my heart ever reaches him, and without a body I guess a heart can't really do much more than spectate."

Shulk paused again, ignoring the chattering of his companions while he pondered away. How curious it was that both he and Isaac seemed to fall into mysterious dreamscapes in which characters with unknown motives would speak to them. It seemed much more than coincidental that this was occurring, and yet it still provided nothing in terms of answers. Shulk clenched his fists in frustration, hoping to find the answers by asking further.

"Isaac," he said, halting the conversation said person was having with Mia, "are you saying that the two of us are somehow connected?"

"I can't imagine why this Monado thing would have taken out both of us if we weren't," he answered flatly.

"True," Shulk sighed, "but what connection could we possibly have? We both embarked on incredibly dangerous missions, but they were completely different in the end. You were working to halt the destruction of your world, while we were working to destroy the one we knew for a better and brighter future."

Isaac shrugged; he honestly wasn't too concerned with that whole ordeal at the moment. The main problem right now was figuring out where the other Weyardians were and how they were supposed to get home. He had hoped it would be as simple as dropping off the edge of the world again, but apparently this world didn't have an edge.

"I'm going to examine the Monado some more," Shulk said sullenly, standing from his seat. No one expected what would happen next though.

"I'll go with you," Isaac said, earning gasps all around.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Dunban stated, seemingly the calmest (though clearly still shocked) of the group. "It isn't unlikely that the two of you could be knocked out again."

"I have some questions that need answering myself," Isaac retorted bluntly, shakily standing from the sofa. "I have to see this thing."

"But, Isaac, it's too risky!" Jenna pleaded. "The two of you were unconscious for hours!"

"It doesn't sound like a smart idea," Felix added.

"C'mon, man, think about what you're doing for a sec," Garet chimed in as well.

"Isaac…please be reasonable," Mia murmured quietly beside him.

It seemed as though no one was willing to allow both of them to examine the Monado together. He had never been one to give up in difficult situations, but at this point the Venus adept didn't know what else he could do. However, as he was about to take his seat, one more voice sounded out.

"I think he should come."

Once again, everyone gasped, but turned their gazes towards Shulk this time. The engineer ignored all the flabbergasted looks, focusing only on Isaac as the two of them stared at each other. Beckoning with only a single arm wave, Shulk turned and exited the room, Isaac following shortly after, as no one could comprehend the logic behind their leaders.

As they stepped towards the room across the hall, Isaac began to wonder why Shulk had agreed, especially since he seemed to be one of the more rational people. Figuring that he should say something before they entered the room, potentially to be knocked out again, Isaac spoke up.

"Shulk," he mumbled when they stood before the doorway, "thanks for that; but why did you agree? I thought you'd be the first to object."

Shulk let out a single breathy chuckle and turned his head towards Isaac. "Would you believe me if I said I was acting on impulse? This is probably one of the more illogical decisions I've made, but something about your resolve made me wonder if it wouldn't be a good idea to let you come along. Worst-case scenario, we get bolted again and end up with a few extra hours of sleep. That doesn't sound so bad, does it?"

Isaac chuckled at Shulk's morbidly positive outlook on the situation, and the two of them stepped through the threshold leading into the storage hold.

Considering its rarity and dangerous nature, it didn't appear as though Dunban had attempted to conceal the Monado with more than just the sheet. The glowing, neon blue blade rested atop a few boxes near the back of the area, and the two teens breathed out in relief at the fact that it hadn't reacted to their proximity. Still, it was always a good idea to be cautious, so the two stepped gingerly towards the ether-manipulating sword until they were literally looking down at it in front of their abdomens.

"Is it…safe to touch?" Isaac asked, hovering his hand overtop of the handle.

"Not for others," Shulk answered, but he brought a hand to his chin as he watched the blade quiver slightly. "However, if we're somehow connected…it might actually respond positively to you."

Isaac glanced nervously at Shulk and back down at the quivering blade. Truthfully, he'd been having the same idea as the Monado-wielder, but he was afraid of what might happen if he couldn't harness its power. He couldn't be sure, but he swore at some point he'd heard that Dunban had lost the use of his right arm because he couldn't control its sheer power.

"Should I attempt it?" Isaac asked, though it was more of a question to himself.

"You came in here seeking answers, didn't you?" Shulk coaxed. "I don't know what this might prove, but I, too, would like to see what happens."

Taking a deep breath and mustering his courage, Isaac tightly shut his eyes and lowered his hand to grip around the handle.

Almost instantly, the Monado whirred into action, and the sheet that once concealed it flew off as the blade shot upwards in Isaac's grip. Shulk jumped back a bit, but stared in amazement when a pure, golden light seemed to emanate from the blade's once-blue colouration. As if a windstorm was blowing through the storage hold, loose items whipped around the room at an unfathomable velocity. The lights flickered in response to the power of the activated blade, but Isaac stood strong in the centre of it all. A few bursting sounds that commonly went off when the blade expanded itself sounded, and Shulk's heart leapt in excitement as the symbol within the True Monado changed to one he had not seen before: 日.

Meanwhile, Isaac was trying his best not to panic, but the intense amount of power surging from the weapon into his body was something he'd never known before. It literally felt as though raw energy flowed freely from the weapon, running up his arms and into his body. He was brimming with power, yet that knowledge frightened him more than it empowered him. With all the might he could muster (which was quite a bit in his current state), Isaac released the blade, watching as it clattered to the ground and returned to its neon blue hue near-instantaneously. Panting heavily, the Venus adept fell to the ground, propping himself on his elbows as he stared at the mysterious weapon.

"Is everyone alright?!" Felix's voice barked from the doorway as he, Dunban, and a few others crowded inside.

Shulk and Isaac glanced at each other, respectively in awe and shock from what just happened before they slowly turned their heads back to the group. "Everything's fine," Shulk panted. "It looks like Fiora and I aren't the only ones who can wield Monados, though."

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

"I still can't believe you're here!" Sheba cried happily while squeezing Ivan.

"I'm just happy to see a familiar face," Ivan chuckled, returning the embrace, "though the fact that it's you, Sheba, only makes me happier."

She blushed evidently, but continued to smile, relieved to know that she had not imagined the two Jupiter adepts admitting their feelings before toppling over the edge of Gaia Falls.

Meanwhile, Riki was busy hopping around in front of Melia. "Melly!" he chanted. "Riki make new hom-hom friend in Makna Forest! Take him to Dunga to hear prophecy before coming here! Oh, Riki so happy to see Melly again!"

"I am glad to see you as well, Riki," Melia chuckled before stepping towards the wind users. "Sheba, is this one of the people of whom you were searching for?"

"Yes, this is my…erm, very good friend, Ivan," Sheba responded, separating herself from him. "Though it looks as though he's the only one here."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss…" said Ivan.

"Melia Antiqua, Empress of Alcamoth and the high entia," she stated proudly.

At the mention of her somewhat lengthy title, Ivan's eyes shot wide open, and he was down on one knee in an instant, his head bowed downwards. "F-Forgive me, your grace! Had I known you were royalty, I would not have presented myself in such an unkempt manner!"

Melia smiled down at him; whomever these people were, they certainly treated their royalty with the utmost respect. Glancing over at Sheba, Melia nodded slightly to indicate that she could stand her companion up. Giggling, Sheba knelt down to help Ivan to his feet.

"Heehee, no need to be so formal, Ivan," Sheba explained to her humbled companion. "Melia says it's alright to speak to her normally, and to treat her no differently than we would a friend. Apparently she's more accustomed to it anyway."

"Oh, uh, hehe," Ivan chuckled dumbly, scratching the back of his head and grinning. "I guess you haven't seen any of the others either, have you?"

"No, in fact, I was hoping to go search for them soon. I…I'm scared, Ivan… I have no idea what's going on, or where we are."

"Don't worry, we'll find them."

"Ahem, excuse my interruption," Melia coughed, regaining their attention, "but perhaps it would be best if we returned into the city. The two of you are free to roam about, and may enter the palace as you please. I will have a message sent out to all my ships abroad if they have heard word of strangers such as yourselves."

"Thank you," they both breathed out, bowing slightly despite Melia's wishes. Happily reunited, Melia, Riki, Ivan, and Sheba all entered the central transporter and teleported into the city.

Sheba and Ivan paced themselves around the amazingly technological city, taking in all the fantastic sights and wonders of which they could never have imagined in their own world. Even the people of Alcamoth left them in awe, with their futuristic clothing and the wings that protruded from their heads. Both of the young teens wanted to see everything they could in this futuristic wonderland, and yet they had to make sure they took in every sight to their fullest. Though their current situation may have been bleak, it was rare that such a moment like this would ever present itself in their lives again.

As the sun began to set on the horizon, they walked around the upper edge that circled the dome. Taking a seat in one of the small seating areas that faced Eryth Sea, they chatted on about all the things they had seen and experienced since coming to this strange world. Sheba seemed to have trouble understanding that beneath the glowing waters of the sea was a massive tree and an entire jungle, while Ivan was still trying to figure out how the islands around this area could float in midair.

The two adepts became so engrossed in their conversation and infatuation with one another that they hardly gave a passing glance to the large, mechon ship docking to let off a diverse group of Weyard-familiar and Bionis-familiar people.

(-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-|-/-|-\-)

Dripping water, a cold stone surface, and an unsettling chill in the air. A stagnant smell filled his nostrils, and he opened his golden eyes to see what he could see. Unfortunately, the room was much too dark, and he found that his head was throbbing in pain.

Piers wriggled in the spot, only to find that his hands were bound behind his back, and he was seated in what appeared to be some sort of dungeon. Suddenly, and without warning, the room's lights suddenly turned on, and the Lemurian squeezed his eyes back shut from the blindingly white walls surrounding him. Slowly allowing his eyes to adjust, he looked back around.

He had no idea where he was or if there was anyone else around. In truth, there wasn't much to see, as everything was white and he appeared to be seated on the only chair in the centre of the room. Despite this fact, the chair seemed much more uncomfortable than the ground appeared to be.

A quick sliding sound caught his attention, and he looked forward to see the shadowy silhouette of a person standing in the newly appeared doorway.

"Who's there?!" Piers croaked; it felt and sounded as though he hadn't used his voice in days.

The person laughed snidely, and Piers could see the set of white teeth from the stranger's sinister smile. "Why, if it isn't Piers the Lemurian. I must say I didn't expect to see you again."

Piers gasped when he heard the voice. Though he'd only heard it once or twice before, he recognized who the man before him was instantly. "What do you want with me?" he growled, struggling against his bonds.

"What I want? Absolutely nothing, friend," the man mocked, twirling his hand in a thespian manner. "Well, I suppose that's not entirely true. This me has no current need of you; however, another me feels it's necessary to, how shall I put it…unlock you. Actually, this appears to be more confusing than I thought it might be to explain. Really, there is no you or me, but only one him, split into two to create the two of us in a world that is not his own. We are him, and yet we've become us as well. It's a rather humourous situation, don't you think?"

"Stop playing games with me; what are you talking about?!"

"Heh, all in due time, dear boy," sneered a different, elderly voice. Piers watched as a hunched silhouette appeared in the doorway beside the other one. "You will learn the answers very soon, and when that happens you will be more than willing to perform your duty."

"Perform…my duty?" he muttered to himself.

"Yes, now, accept this from me, won't you?" the other man cackled.

Before Piers could even wonder what that meant, a ball of dark energy flew from the hunched man's gloved hand and straight into the Lemurian's chest. He gasped out as a suffocating feeling overtook his lungs, and suddenly everything faded away…

There, now you know that I didn't forget about Piers :P. Yay, the gang's gonna be together pretty soon, and now that I've actually started unraveling things, the plot should get a bit more interesting! I know I don't update this nearly as often as I should, but I'm excited for the upcoming events :)

Please review!

-GengaJupite