Chapter 3: Root

Shulk woke first. It was a gloomy day; it probably wasn't going to rain, but there wouldn't be any sun for a while.

What's that? He sniffed the air. It smells like someone's cooking fish. He opened his eyes and sat up.

"You're up then?" Sharla was sitting on his left side. Further out from the wall was Reyn, turning two fish over a fire.

"Sharla! Reyn! It's good to see you two."

"Back at ya, Shulk." Reyn waved. "Came 'round the bend ten minutes ago, perfect chance to make some grub."

"Great." Shulk looked around further. "No Dunban or Riki?"

Sharla shook her head. "Not yet. Hard to believe we won't find them today though. The Fallen Arm's not that big, and we can't have been pushed that far apart."

Reyn lowered his voice a bit. "So...so what about Fiora? Weren't you close to her on the way down here?"

"Yeah..." Shulk looked down into the sand, not quite ready to be reminded. "Sh...She didn't make it."

Reyn's face fell; he looked even more downed than when Fiora was originally killed. Sharla looked reasonably disappointed that she didn't get a chance to meet the childhood friend.

They remained silent for a few minutes.

Once the fish was ready, Reyn cut it up and passed it around. "Well...I guess that's how it goes. At least you got to put her down properly, then?"

"Yeah, I did." Shulk absently passed the fish into his mouth. "I dunno, it...it almost feels better this way. Like, people aren't supposed to be alive after they die, right?"

"I know what you mean, man. Don't mess with death, it'll just get upset and come for you."

Sharla looked towards Melia, who was still asleep, only her head poking out of her sleeping bag. "So what about Melia then? Something's not right if she's still asleep through us talking and eating."

Shulk wasn't sure whether to nod or shake his head, and subsequently just gave off a few confused vibrations. "Well...um...she's mostly fine, but...remember that triangular plate on Fiora's chest? It's somehow jumped onto Melia's body now. And it's got the Face Nemesis voice in it, she says."

Reyn's face immediately flared up in anger, but he managed to avoid shouting anything.

"The Face Nemesis voice?" considered Sharla, looking equal parts upset and disturbed. "You mean, whoever was running that Face has jumped ship and moved into Melia's body?"

"That's what she says." Anger passed over Shulk's face again. "I don't know who she is, but I won't be letting her take over another one of us."

"How's that work then though?" Reyn had already finished his portion of fish, and looked to be thinking about doing some stretches had the conversation not continued. "Melia's got no Mechon parts to work with."

Shulk's mood quickly shifted from upset to ponderous. "...That's a good point actually. Fiora's body was at least half-Mechon. But all Melia has is that chestplate, plus a wire connecting it to her neck. That voice might have a real hard time trying to control a fully organic body."

"And Melia won't take it lying down," added Sharla. "She'll fight the whole way if something goes wrong."

"I wonder if that's what's happening now." Shulk leaned towards Melia a bit, trying to see any hint of an expression on her face. "She does get pretty vivid dreams. Maybe there's an argument going on in there."

The red sun in the sky was much smaller this time; it was hard to see any of the blank metal ground beyond a metre or two.

Melia was sitting down, uninterested in the current situation. She remembered having some other dream before this one, so at least her sleep wasn't completely monopolised by the mystery voice, but she was already sick of it.

The voice didn't appear interested in communicating at the moment. Melia only heard it mumbling occasionally, its words faded and indistinct, presumably unaware that Melia could hear its inner monologue. Every now and then she recognised a full name - she'd heard "Shulk", "Egil", "Monado", "Zanza", "Fiora", and some others that were either strangers' names or words in another language. Hearing "Zanza" felt like the odd one out; she dimly recalled Face Nemesis' motionless standoff with Zanza's not-quite-dead-yet body at Prison Island, but that didn't explain the perceived frequency of its appearance in the voice's mumbling.

Melia picked a quiet spot and tried to ask what the voice was thinking about, but no sound came out. Instead, she had to simply wait until the scene slowly faded out.

"So the plums are fine, you say?" Sharla took a few off the nearest tree. "How about these mangoes?"

"We didn't try the mangoes," Shulk said. "Too many bugs around them. It tells me they're safe but I didn't want to try and eat around them."

"Fair enough." She tore one of the large fruits from its perch and tested its weight. "It smells kind of bitter, you might like it."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Reyn had finished cleaning up from the fire. "Right then, we're ready to go. Once Melia gets up that is. I don't suppose I can just carry her?"

Shulk tilted his head and considered. "We do kind of need to get moving, but I also feel like we shouldn't bother her. I dunno. Sharla?"

"If you're asking whether it's safe, I don't see why not."

"Here goes then." Reyn carefully slid his arms under the sleeping bag and lifted Melia off the ground. "Where to?"

"West, I think." Shulk visualised the Fallen Arm in his head. "That's where the centre of the hand is. It feels like the first place anyone who ends up here would go."

The others agreed and began moving westward. It wasn't a challenging path, but it was relatively linear, leaving not much opportunity to look around for Dunban and Riki.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, Melia's eyes flew open as she emitted a ragged gasp.

"Ah, there we are." Reyn stopped and put her down gently. "Good morning, you sleepy princess you."

Melia hurriedly scrambled out of her sleeping bag, mouth hanging open. "I...I am abso-...absolutely ravenous. I must eat something immediately." She had never felt a greater pain in her stomach; it felt about ready to eat itself.

"Here you are." Sharla held out some of the White Plums she had collected.

"Th-thank you." Melia grabbed the plums and stuffed herself with manic urgency. The hunger pains subsided a little bit, though she knew it would take a few minutes to go away completely.

Shulk looked pretty worried. "Are you okay, Melia? Maybe that chestplate made you really hungry?"

Melia clumsily swallowed. "That would make a degree of sense; the voice within said it must rest, and drawing energy from me would be one way to do so. I would hope this is a one-time event." She continued to eat, though no longer with extreme urgency.

Reyn rolled his arm. "Hope you don't mind us packing you up. Didn't exactly feel like waitin' around for you before continuing the search."

"I understand." Finished with the fruits, Melia started rolling up her sleeping bag. She hadn't considered that the chestplate could have such an effect on her, and deeply hoped it would never recur.

"So we're heading west," Shulk explained. "We figure the centre of the hand is a good spot to start with, if we don't find Dunban and Riki waiting there for us already."

Melia nodded. "Indeed. The people there should be of aid to us."

Everyone looked at Melia in confusion.

"...the people there?" Sharla was the first to reply. "Where did you get that from?"

Melia tried to answer but couldn't, her eyes darting back and forth in bewilderment. "I...I don't know. I have absolutely no idea where I acquired that piece of information. I simply know it to be the case."

"It's that chest thingy," Reyn said, pointing at it with suspicion. "It's givin' you ideas."

"Are you sure you want to keep it on?" asked Shulk. "It's done a lot of funny things to you already."

Melia bit her lip. They had a point - just today, she'd overslept, had extreme hunger, and now had a fact of questionable truth injected into her subconscious mind. Was it a side effect of the first day, or a pattern that would only get worse?

"If there are indeed people here, they would likely know a fair bit about Mechon technology. I would like them to investigate before I make a decision."

Shulk's tense mood immediately relaxed. "Now that's more like you, wanting to get more info before doing anything, instead of yesterday where you just gave an answer without much thought. Okay. Let's hope you're right and we can get help."

The group continued west. Eventually, they came to a sort of cliffside from where they could see the metal ring that formed the centre of the hand, though with just barely not enough height to see inside. The landscape around was an almost pleasing mix of ancient wreckage and long-standing greenery.

"Looks like we can get in through there." Reyn pointed to what could be an entrance on the left part of the otherwise unbroken ring.

"If we can get through the Mechon." Shulk looked over the few but distinctive groups of Mechon on the ground below. "They don't seem all that organised, but they'll still come after us. Are we all ready?"

Everyone assented and began climbing down the cliff. The terrain below was simple, and while the Mechon did indeed want to fight, they were little trouble against a functional Monado and its allies. It didn't take long at all to reach the theorised entrance.

Idly wandering around the area in front of the entrance appeared to be two people completely covered in oddly-shaped armour: one with blue accents and huge shoulders, the other with reddish accents and a more feminine design.

"So there are people here," Shulk mused. "That probably means there's no Mechon base or anything."

Melia nodded. "Indeed. I therefore consider it safe for me to summon my ship here. We should find Dunban and Riki within minutes, if they have not already made it here."

The two natives noticed the approaching travellers and began walking to meet them. As they approached, it became clear that they might not be wearing armour, but actually be entirely composed of metal. In fact, the blue one had a very strange-looking head that didn't seem to have a face.

The reddish female was first to speak. "Greetings, Homs. Why have you come to this land?" Her voice was full of suspicion.

Melia naturally assumed a diplomatic role. "Greetings. We have arrived here on the Fallen Arm by accident. We search for our fellows and for medical attention."

"Accident, you say?" The blue male looked upwards, seemingly unhappy. "Let me guess: You fell from the Mechon fortress up above, didn't you? No, you don't need to tell me. You're not the first to land here."

"Can you help us then?" asked Shulk.

"Well...Not us really, but I'm sure someone knows something." He tilted his head towards the entrance. "Go on in. Name's Eiz, by the way. I would say it's nice to meet you, but...well, I'm in a bad mood today. Don't take it personally."

The other one made a half-shrugging motion. "My name is Eleqa. We simply guard the entrance so the Mechon can't come inside. The others will be better suited to handle your concerns - if you're looking for a doctor, Linada is her name, but I'm not sure how well she could treat a Homs."

"Thank you, Eiz and Eleka." Melia wasn't sure whether shaking hands or perhaps a slight bow would be appropriate; she settled for a deep nod.

"It's Ele[q]a." A smile. "Don't worry, I get it all the time from Homs. Us Machina use a few sounds that don't exist in your language."

"...very well." Melia led the other three into the entrance, trying to recall whether she knew this foreign sound from her speech lessons.

"Machina..." Shulk's mind was busy. "Machine people...life from the Mechonis, not just the brainless battling of the Mechon. Fascinating."

"Why are they bein' friendly to us then?" Reyn looked back with hesitation. "If the Mechon want us dead, why wouldn't they?"

"Maybe the Mechon are wild animals," suggested Sharla, "and these are the actual people who have no control over them."

"What about Egil then? No way he's just some critter."

"I didn't say it was a perfect theory."

Melia felt the discussion was fruitless. "I'm sure there is an explanation to be had, and likely soon."

The group reached the inner edge of the entranceway. It was clear that the entire centre of the hand was a village, appearing not much different than any other village aside from its oddly-shaped buildings. Several Machina, of wildly varying shapes and sizes, wandered about.

Before anyone could truly take in the sights, there was a familiar noise.

"FRIENDS!" Riki, who was apparently already making his way to the entrance, started motoring in their direction. Dunban was following behind at a more reasonable pace.

"Riki! Dunban!" Shulk called out and waved, which he knew wasn't necessary but felt good to do.

Reyn chuckled. "Can't say I'm surprised."

Riki leapt into Melia's torso, forcing her to grab on. "Riki knew friends would survive long fall also! Heropon nev-ver wrong!"

Melia tried to enjoy the hug, but couldn't ignore the cold plate on her chest, like a slab of freezing steel on top of an otherwise comfortable mattress. Suddenly feeling inadequate, she placed Riki back on the ground.

Dunban caught up. It looked like he was about to say something, but caught eye of the chestplate on its new body, and instead looked from Melia to Shulk with a worried expression.

Shulk couldn't say anything; his eyes fell as he turned his head to the side.

Dunban closed his eyes for a moment as he made a slight nod with a tight-lipped straight face.

Riki missed the exchange. "Friends not happy to see each other?"

"Far from it," Dunban replied, seemingly grateful to have the unwanted moment interrupted. "Just...not as exuberantly as you are."

"So when did you get in then?" asked Sharla.

"Last night, actually." Dunban pointed to the northeast. "We landed in an inlet over that way. Just around sunset we came upon this village. The people took us in and pointed us to a house that's been abandoned for a long time, where we slept. Riki kept us fed with some fish, and now we were about to head out and look for you. I'm guessing you all had to sleep outside?"

"It weren't bad," Reyn shrugged. "Me 'n' Sharla only found Shulk and Melia this morning. Figured we'd start in the middle to look for you, and here we are."

Riki hopped up and down. "Melly has new trinket."

"...yes." Melia looked down at it. She hadn't really looked that hard at it since it latched onto her, surprisingly enough; it was even bigger than it felt. "The voice of Face Nemesis resides within it. She claims she wishes to aid us in defeating Egil, but all she has done so far is inconvenience me. I wish to-"

"Excuse me." A blue-coloured Machina woman with a pair of large spherical head decorations was walking by, and turned to face the group. "I couldn't help overhearing that you seek to defeat Egil?"

"We do," Shulk replied.

The woman smiled broadly. "This is great news. We have been waiting for someone to put an end to his madness. Come, I will take you to meet the chief. He will be delighted to hear of your quest."

"That's...very kind of you to offer," Melia said carefully, "but I have a more immediate need at the moment. I seek an expert in Mechonis technology who can evaluate this foreign object attached to me, or perhaps a doctor who can do the same."

"Then you shall come with me regardless, for I am a doctor. My name is Linada. Come with me to the building we call Junks. I will take a look at your condition there. You can meet the chief afterward."

"Thank you."

The party followed Linada through the village onto what looked like a large ship sitting in the water in the centre of the area. One of the upper floors of the interior housed a medical laboratory, though given the nature of the species, it looked more like the tech lab back in Colony 9.

"Please, sit down." Linada indicated a blank operating table.

Both anxious and reassured that the others were present, Melia clambered up onto the table. She never much liked visits to the doctor, though at least this one was likely to be a novel experience.

Linada gathered a few instruments and hovered them over the triangular chestplate, the golden collar, and the wire connecting them. They made a cacophony of seemingly-random beeping noises and flashing lights. Appearing confused, she continued to scan the object with every tool she had, becoming more and more boggled with each pass. Eventually, she lowered a large heavy-duty radioscope of some sort from the ceiling and pointed it at Melia's neck, bringing up the pictures of her interior on a screen nearby.

Sharla couldn't keep herself on the sidelines; once she saw the scanned images, she stepped forward to provide her insight. "Is that...a root system?"

"It certainly looks like one." Linada's brow was heavily furrowed. "As if the connecting wire were a seed planted in the posterior afferents, growing roots to link into almost every single tract."

"Yeah, I don't see any in the efferents." Sharla pointed out a few specific regions. "They're all clear, almost like they were avoided by choice."

"Ah, so that's the pattern, thank you. I'm not as experienced in organic medicine, of course. And look here, tiny microfilaments buried inside the afferents heading up into the head. They must...yes, they lead to all the major sensory regions of the brain, clearly avoiding all the other zones."

Melia had heard enough to ask a meaningful question. "So this device, while attached to all of my senses, is not attached to any of my automatic or motor functions?"

"Correct." Linada shook her head. "I must admit I am stumped. I've never seen anything like this device before, but it's certainly our race's technology. Its interior is far more complex than anything I've ever seen. How did you come upon it?"

"It was part of a Face Mechon. Once its pilot was destroyed, it attached itself to me." Melia didn't think it was a good idea to tell a stranger about the voice.

"Hmm. I've seen a few Homs that were used as Core Units, but they never had anything like this." She looked at the images and data once more. "Well, I think I have as much information as I can get. Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Yes." Melia hesitated for a moment, thinking about what had already been said, but continued. "If I wished to remove the device from my person, could it be done?"

Linada stared at the display again and frowned. "Removing the plate from your chest would be straightforward, it's simply an ethereal attachment that can be overcome with a correctly-tuned cancellation waveform. But the cord in your neck is connected to your circulatory system, and even more deeply connected into your nervous system. I believe that if the device wished to leave you behind, it could retract itself for minimal if any lasting injury. But to remove it ourselves...Cutting the cord is the easy part, though I have no doubt it would be an unimaginably painful and bloody experience. From there you would either live with a network of wires in your nerves, accepting the risks of having a foreign metallic network ingrained within your own, or attempt neck and brain surgery to remove it, which given what we know right now I would refuse to carry out on the grounds of its extremely high risk compared to a low chance of success."

"Then I have no choice but to continue as I am now, and hope that we discover some function to force its retreat." Melia was disappointed but not surprised at how ingrained the device was. Her expectation was that they would have to defeat Egil before it would leave her.

"If anything changes about your condition, I urge you to tell me immediately. I may not specialise in your species, but I'm fairly certain your own doctors would be quite ineffective at working with our technology." Linada turned off the display. "By the way, what are your names?"

The party went through their introductions as Linada cleaned up all the scanners.

"So you said we should meet the chief," said Dunban.

Linada nodded. "I did. He is just downstairs. Come."

Everyone descended back to the ground floor and turned into what appeared to be some sort of control centre, with several Machina paying attention to various displays and consoles. Sitting in the middle of it all was a very large man, who despite being easily described as "fat" did not look at all hampered by it.

"Woah!" Reyn jumped once he realised the round hunk of metal was a person. "He's massive..."

The man had a good laugh. "Every time. It never gets old. The name's Miqol. You could say I run the place."

Shulk couldn't hold his question in any longer. "If you run the place, then who is controlling the Mechon to attack our homes?"

Miqol's mood turned from friendly to disappointment. "We'll get to that in a moment. But first, I have to know: That's the Monado, isn't it?"

"It is." The thought entered Shulk's head that it was a bit strange for someone from Mechonis to be so unafraid of, and even unaware of, the Monado. In fact, unlike the Mechon which would either attack on sight or flee in terror, no one at all in the village even blinked at the unique weapon's appearance.

"And the destruction of the fortress on the sword. Was that your lot's doing?"

"Yes." Dunban looked up towards where the fortress was. "But Egil escaped."

Miqol's voice went even deeper. "So, you've met Egil, then?"

"We have." Shulk nodded, trying not to get too distracted by his thoughts but failing. "He claims to be the leader of Mechonis. But now that we see this village here, full of people from Mechonis who aren't trying to kill us...who is he really? Do you know him?"

"I do. In fact, he is my son. And for the safety of our people, both mine and yours...we need you to kill him."

There was a pause just long enough for the statement to sink in.

Dunban did not look very impressed. "You want us to kill your son? That is no small request."

Miqol let out a deep sigh. "There aren't many of us Machina left. The Bionis wiped most of us out, back when the two titans fought. I suppose the Bionis just didn't like the idea of life somewhere else. Lady Meyneth fought the Bionis for us, causing the two titans to wound each other and enter their current slumber."

"Who...who is Lady Meyneth?" The name triggered something in Melia's mind. It felt familiar somehow.

"The creator of Mechonis. You could say that she is the Mechonis itself."

Reyn couldn't hold himself from jumping into the conversation. "You talk like you saw all this a week ago. Ain't this whole business just an ancient myth?"

Miqol laughed again, though not as heartily as before. "Ancient to you, perhaps, but I'm quite a bit older than I look. I was there when it all happened."

"Naw, I don't believe that."

Shulk pushed things back on track. "But then why aren't you on Egil's side, trying to take revenge on us?"

"You ask why we would wish for the eradication of all innocent life on Bionis?"

"Well...I didn't think of it that way, I mean-"

"No, you don't have to explain yourself." Miqol stared into Shulk's eyes for a moment. "I can sense you know a fair bit about revenge, don't you?"

Shulk was a bit unnerved about the comment. Was it really that obvious? "...Yeah."

Miqol nodded. "We did consider it, ages ago. But we knew that no good would come of it, and buried our anger and sorrows. But Egil would not let go. He gathered up the Mechon, the tools we constructed to aid us in our daily lives, and turned them into an army against the Bionis. We tried to stop him ourselves, and many were killed. He is so blinded by his quest for revenge that not even Lady Meyneth could convince him to stop. I have long accepted the fact that only death will stop his mindless fury."

"So where is Egil now?" asked Dunban.

"He is probably in the Mechonis capital, Agniratha, trying to rebuild it all by himself. If he's not busy inventing new machines of war against you."

Shulk was now staring into the distance. "I feel sorry for him."

"You can't be like that, Shulk!" Reyn gave him a light push in the arm. "You forget what he did to us?!"

"Of course not! But hasn't he been suffering just like us?"

Dunban waved his hand to cut the developing argument and turned his attention back to Miqol. "You do know what the Monado is? Said to have once been the sword of the Bionis itself? And you still feel no fear about asking us to go after Egil?"

Miqol mumbled something to himself before answering. "Egil is strong, and the stuff he's been up to has made him even stronger. You're gonna need all of that sword's power to stand up to him. But enough talk. Take your time and think it over. I'll be here waiting."

"All right." Shulk turned to leave, a bunch of conflicting thoughts pinballing around his mind. The others followed him.

Sharla spoke as soon as they were outside. "If you don't mind me, I need to take a bit of a brain break. Gotta relax for a bit. I'll have a wander around the village."

Riki hopped about. "Sharla has good idea. Friends clear mind before big choice."

"Don't seem like a choice to me," Reyn shrugged, "but I do feel like having a rest from all this info dump. Still tryin' to figure out how much to believe. I'll see you around."

Dunban nodded. "Let's meet up again at lunchtime. By then we should have a fair idea of what to do next."

Everyone agreed and started to go their separate ways.

As soon as the others were out of earshot, Shulk turned back for Melia, who had not yet moved. "So just to make it certain: the scan Linada did showed that the voice can't control your body? It can only listen?"

Melia wasn't paying attention; it took a few moments to realise she was being spoken to. "...er, pardon? Oh, yes. That's correct. As long as nothing changes, you need not worry about any hijacking of my person."

Shulk tilted his head. "You were thinking about something else just now, weren't you?"

"...yes. Lady Meyneth. The name...has stirred something within me, as if I recognise it from long ago despite having never heard of it before." She didn't have an answer before, but now that she had described the question out loud, it came to her. "The voice must have known her in the past."

"That means...the voice has to be a Machina." Shulk's hand snapped to his chin. "I mean it's kind of obvious when you think about it, but...that would also explain why she wants to help stop Egil. She must have found a way to stick her brain into that chestplate so she could secretly get into a Face Mechon so she could have a good shot at fighting him. And it didn't work, but now that she's with us we can use her knowledge. Well, kind of. Hopefully she can figure out a way to speak to us without having to do anything funny to you."

Melia nodded slowly. "So far, any sharing of knowledge seems to be limited to interaction within dreams. Or flashes of subconscious insight, such as me knowing there were people here before we arrived. I concur with your hope that we can find a more efficient means of communicating without sacrificing myself."

"Or having to keep taking naps the whole day. Well, if you figure it out, let us know. Or if anything changes, really."

"I will."

Shulk leaned back and forth a few times, as if he didn't know whether the conversation was over or not. He had an almost worried look on his face.

It didn't take much effort for Melia to deduce that something was wrong. "You're worried that something will change, aren't you?"

"Yeah." He said it a little too fast, like he wanted to get it out before it was too late. "I...I can't stop feeling like as soon as none of us are with you, that thing will...I mean, it can't control your body now, but what's stopping it from doing it later? How...how do we know it hasn't already taken you over now that the scan's been done and we're all off-guard?" He was shaking a bit now, having accidentally terrified himself with the worst-case scenario.

Melia didn't have any reassurance ideas. He was right of course; if the voice wanted to, it could overtake all her motor functions and read her mind to form a flawless impersonation for as long as desired. And as much as she could feel the voice didn't want to do so, there was no reasonable avenue to convince anyone otherwise. The only way to prove that it was truly her would be...

"Come, Shulk, I have an idea." She moved back towards Junks.

Still a bit distraught but intrigued, Shulk followed her back into the medical lab. Linada was still present, reading some sort of document out of a folder.

"Oh, hello," she said as the two approached. "Is everything all right?"

Melia spoke with confidence. "Shulk is worried about my condition progressing to where the device can control my body to the point where it can freely impersonate me. I wish to use the scanner to prove that I am currently fine, in order for us to discuss matters with firmer trust."

"No problem." Linada moved the huge scanner into position as Melia got up onto the table. It didn't take long for the same images as earlier to appear on the screens.

Linada took a moment to look over the scans. "You look exactly the same as before. Nothing has changed."

"Thank you. I have one question for you, Linada: If the device did extend its reach into more of my systems, would I feel it?"

"I'm not sure. I would imagine that you would perceive movement of the device's roots in your nerves as either pain or spasms, depending on whether it is a sensory or motor nerve, but it's anyone's guess as to whether it would be strong enough for you to recognise. Do you remember what it was like when the device initially attached itself to you?"

Melia had to consider. "I do not. I immediately lost consciousness for a substantial amount of time."

Linada nodded slightly. "Then perhaps the pain was so extreme that your brain shut down."

"That...would actually be beneficial, I suppose. It would render it quite difficult for the device's movements to escape my notice."

Shulk had been standing around nervously the whole time, but this latest statement noticeably calmed his posture. "So there's no way anything's going to happen without you knowing about it?"

"It's just a theory at this point, but a fairly sound one." Melia looked Shulk in the eyes. "And so here is my statement to you, Shulk: Should I ever feel the device is further infringing on me, I will immediately strike myself in the head with a summoned bolt."

"What?!" Shulk instantly entered panic mode. "But- how do- isn't- won't that really hurt?"

"I would hope so." Melia took her staff and summoned a bolt, mentally moving the floating ball of lightning in front of her face. She could feel the ionisation prickling her hair and feathers; the scans on the display became distorted and fuzzy from the electrical interference, but still clearly showed that no one but her was currently in control of her body. "The device clearly cannot live without a host body. With the knowledge that I will turn on said body at the slightest hint of provocation, it should not dare to do anything untoward. And it will serve as a clear signal to you and the others, even if I am alone and you do not find me until long after the fact."

"You...you say that like it might kill you."

"I would be surprised if it did not. And mildly disappointed in myself, to be honest. Some quick mental math has concluded that I should not even need to score a critical hit for a single one of my bolts to kill me. Aiming at the head would turn it into a certainty."

Shulk shook his head violently. "No, Melia, you don't have to do that. Can't you attack the chestplate itself instead? Or maybe use a weaker elemental?"

"I have considered those options. The chestplate is too insubstantial to absorb much of an ether attack; the remaining power would pass through into my lungs and heart for a much messier death. And bolts are by far my fastest elemental to summon; I am not confident in being able to create and discharge any of the others under a possibly split-second deadline. Besides, the threat of outright death as opposed to simple injury will be far more effective at keeping the device honest. In fact, this can be used as an additional safeguard: should I ever claim that I no longer think this contingency is necessary, you shall know that I have been compromised and may take appropriate action."

"Melia..." Shulk's head dropped down.

Melia took a deep breath, trying to figure out how to make him feel better. "May I remind you that I have a fair bit of trust in the device as-is. This is a contingency of last resort that I have no expectation of invoking. I fully expect this ultimatum to reduce the chance of you losing me, not increase it."

It took Shulk a minute to regain composure and look back. "If that's how you want to do it, and you think that thing will listen, I can't stop you."

"Thank you, Shulk." Melia stepped down from the operating table and dispelled the bolt that she had summoned. "And thank you for your help, Linada."

"You're welcome." Linada didn't look very happy at being privy to the negative conversation that had just transpired.

Melia slowly walked out of the room, not waiting for Shulk to follow. Eventually he did, with the two exiting Junks at about the same time.

"I need to go talk to Dunban." Shulk looked around but didn't see any obvious hints of where he was. "I'm guessing you don't know where he went?"

"I do not. But I suspect he would be in a place of solitude rather than a place of commotion."

"Yeah probably. I'll find him. I'll...see you at lunch then." Shulk moved away rather jerkily, looking back repeatedly before finally disappearing.

Melia couldn't help but feel guilty that she had dropped a large amount of stress on Shulk. Sure, she was fairly certain she'd never have to worry about the voice taking over her body now that she'd delivered her threat, but Shulk probably placed a lot of blame on the device for what happened to Fiora and would be much leerier. He was probably going to Dunban, someone who may very well know something about friends discussing suicide if captured by enemy forces, to discuss what had just transpired.

I should do what I can to work on opening communications with the voice. She sat down at the edge of the deck and stared out into the open lake. Perhaps I should rest and clear my mind, to try and minimise all other sensations except for the voice trying to speak to me.

Lunch came surprisingly quickly. Dunban led the group to the abandoned house they had stayed in overnight, where Riki had collected a bunch of edible items he had scrounged up from various places. Afterward, Melia summoned her personal ship, the Illustrious Alighting, to ensure it could reach the Fallen Arm and allow them access to the Bionis once more. But to fly directly up through the Mechonis on a tiny unarmed vessel would be foolish - they would proceed on foot and hope to find convenient locations to serve as checkpoints, as they had done before. So for now, she simply sent it back to its hangar in Alcamoth.

Morale felt surprisingly good. The Machina were all friendly to them, and there was a real positive feeling spreading that an alliance between them would be just what was needed to stop Egil.

But when the party returned to Miqol, and he asked them what their decision was, Shulk surprised them all.

"We can't act now."

Miqol looked concerned. "Why's that?"

"Egil has a new trick. It's some sort of green fluid that can be put on any weapon."

"You're right, I'd almost forgotten." Dunban almost slapped his forehead. "Mumkhar was using it against us."

"He said it can decompose any being from Bionis," said Sharla. "It took a lot of doing to not see if he was right."

Melia felt a presence approaching. A deep, ominous, otherworldly aura had boarded Junks and was approaching the room. She turned to face the door, unsure of what to expect.

"We have to go back and warn the allied force that's forming on Bionis," Shulk said, "before it's too late and they attack."

"Well, you could always ask me to do it." Dickson's smarmy drawl was immediately recognisable as he walked in as if he owned the place.

Of course it's you. Melia couldn't believe she had already forgotten that Dickson carried the most dissonant ether signature she had ever seen. Even though they'd only met once before, it was a profoundly disturbing experience. Everything about him felt absolutely wrong.

"Dickson?!" Reyn was the first to get a word out. "How'd you find us here, you crazy coot?"

Dickson waved his hand dismissively. "It ain't rocket science. You fall from the fortress, you go straight down, and guess where this is? It helps that the bigwig 'n' I've had a few together."

Miqol chuckled. "A few? You've been back here more and more often lately. Not that I can complain about news from outside."

Dunban looked almost offended. "You've been here before, Dickson? You've known the Mechon and the Machina are not one and the same? Why keep that to yourself?"

"We can't have the machine-haters findin' this place, can we? Just because I know there's a difference between Mechon and Machina doesn't mean the bad Homs will care. Besides, bein' the one trader who comes here makes for a nice haul for the lab. Figured it was fine to get Shulk some extra tech."

"So that's how you made the anti-Mechon weapons," Shulk reasoned. "Using Machina technology."

Dickson nodded. "Bingo. Speaking of, what about this anti-Homs weapon then? What's it about?"

"It's some sort of green fluid. It disintegrates any living tissue from Bionis. That's about all we know."

"That's good enough for me. I'll keep ya posted, me 'n' them High Entia will figure something out, don't you worry. You lot go and take down that Egg-hill or whatever his name is. Might not even need the allied force if you can off him first. Actually, that's a decent segue. The prince wants you to know that when the allied force attacks Mechonis, don't you scramble to join the ranks. Use us as a distraction to do whatever you gotta do."

Shulk nodded. "If that's Prince Kallian's plan, we won't be ruining it."

"So what's it to be then?" Dickson crossed his arms. "He wanted me to let him know. You headin' up there?"

Shulk didn't hesitate. "We are. Not all in one go, of course, so we might need to tell him later when exactly we think we'll get there. But our destination is the Mechonis capital."

Dickson leaned in. "You're gonna take down Egil?"

This time, Shulk paused. "...I don't know. He's done terrible things that can't be forgiven, but...but there might be a better way."

"Pfeh." Dickson waved his arm and stepped away a bit. "Too soft, you are. I heard he stuffed the Monado. He's a self-proclaimed leader with no fear of killing. If you blink for one second you're a goner."

He made to step towards the exit, but something appeared to catch his eye, and he instead turned towards Melia.

"That's a nice piece you got there, princess. I didn't pin you for the trophy-collectin' type. Looks like a pretty rare item, never seen anything quite like it meself on any Mechon. What's your price?"

Melia had trouble conceiving of a more offensive and insensitive way for Dickson to speak to her for the first time. First of all, he called her "princess", as opposed to any of her more proper titles such as "Your Highness", "Lady Melia", or even just her given name. He insinuated she enjoyed taking parts from destroyed Mechon as trophies, and even then only to turn around and sell them. And he at least appeared to believe that the chestplate was being treated as jewelry, despite it being completely disproportional for such a role. It was quite difficult to concoct a reasonable and rational response.

"This item is not a trophy, and neither is it for sale."

"Ah c'mon." Dickson made a subtle "give it here" gesture. "That thing's way too big on a little bird like you. I'm sure a princess has got much better sparklers in store. Besides, it looks like it might have some interesting Mechon technology in it, and I'm pretty good at figuring that stuff out."

"You heard me."

"Eh, have it your way." He took a few more steps towards the exit. "Anyway that's all I'm here for. You lot get up there and give Egil the ol' what-for. Leave all the other stuff to me. Those Mechon ain't gettin' away with anything else."

Without waiting for another word, he left.

Melia took a deep breath now that the oppressive blanketing aura was gone. It was so strange to have a single Homs emit such a ridiculously unnatural feeling that she couldn't believe for a second that there wasn't something wrong with him, especially given how he had just treated her. Yet when she and Riki first voiced their concerns, the others brushed them off, citing years of kinship as evidence that he was of fair character. And if Kallian was willing to give him such freedom in the allied force, he must be trustworthy in some manner.

Miqol regained the party's attention. "When you do reach the capital, you might run into Vanea. My daughter, Egil's sister. She's been working with him just to keep an eye on him, but once you say my name she'll know it's finally time to join our side. She'll be a big help to you young 'uns."

The name "Vanea" felt just as familiar to Melia as Meyneth did earlier. She figured the voice must have known her as well.

"Thanks for your help, Miqol." Shulk seemed a fair bit more confident now that Dickson had brought news from away. "We'll do everything we can to stop Egil."

"I don't doubt that you will."

Linada entered the room. "Miqol, I have brought the Bulkhead Key as you requested."

Miqol made a gesture halfway between a thumbs-up and a fist pump. "Excellent. Let the Homs have it. They'll need it to start their climb up Mechonis."

"Here, Shulk." She handed Shulk a heavily-engraved metallic cylinder about as long as a pencil and twice as thick. "The road to Mechonis begins past the base of Digit 2. We have no need for this key to the Rotating Bulkhead that seals the path; use it as you will."

"Thank you." Shulk looked over the key with interest, already trying to guess at how it might function.

With nothing much more to say, the party exited Junks.

"I'm guessing we're not setting out right now?" Dunban asked.

Shulk shook his head. "No, not today. I think it'd be better for us to meet some more people here, maybe see if we can find some extra equipment or something. We can start climbing the Mechonis tomorrow, unless you want to check on Colony 6 first."

"I think they'll be fine for another few days," Sharla said. "We can head there the first time we see a good checkpoint."

"All right. And how are you doing, Melia?"

Melia felt like Shulk had been giving her a bit too much attention today, but she supposed that was to be expected given her condition. "I am fine. In fact, I feel quite at ease at the moment. The village seems oddly comforting to me...likely another memory being effused."

Reyn eyed the chestplate with distrust. "No luck tryin' to work with the voice lady then?"

"No, but I would hardly expect much change within a few hours."

"Well...keep working on it." Shulk looked a bit worried again as the group started to move.

Melia considered telling the others of her self-destructive contingency plan, but was conflicted - would it be better to share the stress across everyone's shoulders, or to limit the overblown worry to a single person? Everyone else seemed to be in a good mood, so at the very least now was not the time. The question was whether there would ever be a good time.