Chapter 24: Foundation

Shulk carefully lifted the tongs out of the trough, removing the wooden pole from the liquid light ether. It seemed intact visually, which was a good sign compared to his last attempt, which had weird spiral wrinkles all the way across and quickly fell apart into a mass of shavings like an over-sharpened pencil. Ether was weird sometimes.

He cautiously washed and dried the pole before inspecting it closer, both with the naked eye and with a magnifying glass. No irregularities were found, at least compared to the control pole taken from the same tree trunk.

"Looks good," he mumbled to himself. "So now..."

He held the pole upright and pushed it into the ground. The bottom shot up to meet the top, becoming short enough to fit in his fist. He almost dropped it from the recoil.

"Yes!" Shulk tossed the compressed pole around a few times. It was awkward for it to feel so much heavier than it looked. "Now that I got it once, I just have to practise, until I get it right every time."

Someone knocked at the lab's door. He put a lid on the light ether trough before removing his goggles and stepping over to open it.

"Hi Melia."

"Hello, Shulk." She could see the satisfaction on his face. "I sense glory in your vicinity. I take it you have accomplished something recently?"

"Uh-huh." Shulk held up the shrunk pole in his hand and shook it. It took a few tries to find the right jerk magnitude, but the pole then extended back to its natural length. "Finally made a telescopic thing that works and didn't fall apart."

Melia nodded. "Excellent work. I take it this is part of your learning to craft ether staves?"

"Yeah, but not just that." He used the pole to point out a rifle on a desk. "Imagine how much more convenient a rifle would be if you could shrink the barrel while you're carrying it. Could also shrink the scope, the stock, and a bunch of other parts individually."

"I would advise caution on that front. I have seen news stories of a telescopic gun barrel compressing mid-shot from the physical jolt. And I don't recall the imperial troops ever using such equipment; only standard fixed barrels. It stands to reason that applying the technique to firearms is risky."

"Hmmm." Shulk scratched his chin. "Hadn't thought of that. That'd definitely be a problem, can't have bits jumping around when you're shooting things. Wait, so how do you poke things with your staff without having it shrink on you?"

Melia extended her staff and showed him her grip. "As long as my hands are not in the same place, I have at least one on the telescopic section, and both hands have about the same velocity, it will not transition. The personal connection with the staff also helps avoid any such accidents."

"I see, that makes sense." He played with his pole a little bit before realising he was missing something. "Uh, so, what did you come here for?"

She answered instantly. "I am ready to have my basement finished."

Shulk nodded. It had been a week, so he was expecting this to come soon. "All right, I'll gather the guys and we'll get started."

"In addition, I desire some alterations to the floor plan." Melia held out a folded sheet of paper.

"Really? Well then, let's have a look."

Shulk took the paper and flattened it out on his desk. Melia had drawn a simple series of lines that suggested she wanted most of the basement to be one big room, with the furnace and such in a small room at the back, and another two small-ish rooms near the stairs. The rest, aside from "support pillars if necessary", was completely open.

"Wow, really? One big room in the basement?" He looked up at her. "You must have a clear plan for something."

Melia kept a straight face. "Yes, I do."

"And you're not going to tell me?"

"Not yet. But you will be the first to know."

Shulk made a show of squinting suspiciously at her for a moment, before dropping it and smirking. "I guess we'll have to set it up quickly, so I can find out as soon as possible."

"That's what I was hoping to hear." Melia thought about what she said for a moment and continued. "That is not to say that I am merely feinting a secret to get you to do this quickly. I do indeed have legitimate designs for this."

"Oh I never thought that you'd be lying about that. Finishing your basement would always be on the top of my list of things to do." He looked back at the new plan. "It'll probably take a lot less time than we expected now, since you cut out most of the walls. We'll just have to determine if we need the extra supports."

"When should I expect you to begin?"

"Tomorrow morning, assuming not too many of the guys are busy." He second-guessed himself. "Well I guess that's not necessarily true, it can still get started even if it's just me. So tomorrow morning it is."

"Very well." She was going to leave it there, but had a spontaneous idea. "I will serve muffins."

Shulk's eyebrows went up. This was the first he'd heard of Melia making something that wasn't strictly breakfast, lunch, or dinner. "Getting more into cooking, then?"

"Indeed. Now that I am growing accustomed to having my own kitchen, I wish to explore new avenues of my skill."

"Cool. What flavour?"

Melia was not ready for this sort of question; she hadn't exactly been planning this, so she hadn't looked at recipes or taken stock of relevant ingredients. She picked the first thing that came to mind. "Chocolate chip, of course. The simplest and most widely-accepted."

"Sounds great. I'll see you then."

"I will leave you to it." She nodded, turned, and left.

Shulk played with his telescopic pole a bit more, getting a feel for it. He wondered if it might feel a bit weird to go back to Melia's house and work on it, given it had now been lived in for some days. Maybe not, since she probably hadn't touched the basement yet.

He put down the pole, put on his safety goggles, and picked up a fresh pole. Time to practise further.

Since she was still working in Colony 6, Melia barely noticed the daily construction in her basement; it started after she left and finished before she returned. There was nothing unusual about allowing workers into her living quarters while she wasn't there - that was standard fare back in the Alcamoth palace. The only difference was that Shulk was the only one with a key, rather than any or all of the workers.

As Shulk suspected, it did not take long, and it was only a few days later that he led her downstairs to see the finished product. One very open hardwood-floor basement, broken up with only a few support pillars, with a furnace room and two smaller rooms by the stairs.

"How's it look?" he asked.

Melia looked across the large empty room, mentally placing furniture and objects around. The hard part now would be getting the bulky things into the basement by herself - lifting them would be no issue with earth elementals, but getting them down the stairs would likely be problematic. Perhaps she could borrow some portable short-range transporter pads, if any were available.

"It is as I hoped," she said.

"Great." Shulk turned towards her. "So what's it for, then?"

"You shall know once I have furnished. To tell now would spoil the moment."

"You're really building this up to be something big."

Melia looked at him pretending to be offended. "I have done nothing of the sort. You have invented this belief and may very well be setting yourself up for disappointment."

Shulk smirked. "I don't think I'll be disappointed by something you're keeping a secret this much."

"If you say so."

"Well, I guess I'm done here then. Have fun."

Shulk took one more look around and then disappeared upstairs.

Melia waited for his ether signature to leave the house and pass through the transporter to ensure he was gone.

Now, for my work to begin.

Shulk stepped out of Dunban's house after lunch to get back to the lab. Normally he'd take his lunch with him every day, but he knew in advance that what he'd be doing today would be especially smelly, so he didn't want to eat in the lab for once.

He was immediately ambushed by Melia, who was apparently waiting just out of sight next to the door.

"Good day, Shulk."

"Ahh!" He was startled and almost tripped sideways. "What was that for?"

"Whatever do you mean?" She put on her confused face, entirely aware of what he meant.

"You were waiting for me to leave the house just so you could scare me!"

"Ah, well, I suppose the former is true." She paused for effect. "But not for the purpose of scaring you. If I wished to do that, there are so many more effective means. For instance, I could stuff an array of green and brown socks-"

"Okay okay I get the idea." He didn't remember ever telling her about his fear of caterpillars, but at least now he was warned that she did indeed know of it.

Melia moved on. "I am here to tell you that the plans I had for my basement have been completed to my satisfaction. Should you wish to be the first to visit, now is the time." She turned away and started towards the transport hub.

Shulk eagerly followed, surprised. "Really? I thought it would be more like a month, not a week."

She looked at him, now walking side-by-side, and tilted her head. "Given my complete lack of hints, how did you come to this assumption?"

"I dunno, just..." He looked for a way to phrase it that didn't seem insulting. "You had a big room that you weren't going to be getting any help with, and you probably wouldn't be working on it all day every day. And you're...um, not much for, uh...for physical labour."

"I see. Well, that is a fair enough thought process. However, you neglected to consider one thing."

Melia summoned an earth elemental and hung it in front of Shulk.

"Oh, right. You can move heavy things by yourself with these." Shulk grabbed it and pushed it out of his way.

Wait.

The moment he realised something was wrong - that he could easily move the elemental by himself - it suddenly jolted a metre upward. He lost his grip and fell backwards.

"Ah, a pity." Melia had it swing back around and push Shulk back upright. "I was hoping you would end up dangling in the air. It had to be fast so you wouldn't react, but this was too much."

Shulk brushed off his rear. "You're being really mischievous today."

"I suppose you could put it that way."

Things calmed down as they continued to the transport centre, and not much more was said until they reached the front door of Melia's house.

Melia made to open the door but pulled back. "Give me your prediction."

"Uhhhh..." Shulk didn't have one, so he had to make one up on the spot. Big room, probably not an office or guest room. Hard floor, probably not a library. Exercise room? Music room? Restaurant? Ballroom? That one's not bad. "A ballroom."

"Oh?" She was expecting a significantly more outlandish guess, to be honest. "Incorrect, but I must admit the idea is interesting, to have a place where I could more easily host high-society parties for such survivors. Hm. Perhaps, once the library is complete, I should see if there is an appetite for such a building in Colony 6 while we await New Alcamoth."

"Yeah we don't really have much for the rich types right now. They'll probably appreciate something more advanced." He scratched his chin. "It'd probably create a lot of jobs too."

"Indeed. But that is for later." Melia opened the door and led Shulk inside. "You shall go downstairs first, and I will follow."

Shulk nodded and went ahead, excited. I have no idea what this room could be, but she seems to expect me to like it.

He got his first glimpse of the basement before he reached the bottom of the stairs, and promptly tripped and fell down the last three. He got up quickly and stared.

"...Wha...?"

The room was a fully-stocked workshop and laboratory. He saw multiple workbenches, piles of wood and metal, several cabinets and drawers, a large ether refiner and furnace, and some High Entia and Machina things he didn't recognise. And for tools, it had basically everything: drill press, table saw, shop vacuum, forge, miter saw, vice bench, ether furnace, a huge pegboard full of hand tools...

"...Why?"

He turned back to Melia and was stunned again. She was practically unrecognisable, and not just because her twin hair curls had been tied behind her head - she was wearing denim overalls over a plaid button-up shirt, had dozens of tools loaded into a vest and belt, and had a welding mask perched on her head.

"B-b-b...whuh...bwhuat how?!" Completely out of sorts, Shulk staggered a little and grabbed the banister. He had no idea what he was seeing anymore. Did he fall asleep at some point?

Melia chuckled and surreptitiously stashed the Visitor's Gem in a pocket. For now, she would simply ignore the question of how she seemed to change clothes so rapidly.

"I have been restless lately," she said. "Building things with paperwork and diplomacy is all well and good, and will serve us well in the future. But I find myself itching to build things with my hands, to have a more immediate and personal impact on the world. My foray into cooking and baking has done something for this, but it does not quite seem to be enough - perhaps because food is naturally temporary and inexact. And who better to teach me the ways of craftsmanship than you?"

Shulk took a moment to stand up more proper and clear his head. "You...You want me to teach you how to make things? And you got this...this big and expensive setup in here just for that?"

"Oh yes. I know it may seem overly extravagant to you, for a complete novice to splurge on such tools and supplies for a hobby that is not even guaranteed to hold interest for long. But I see no disadvantage to it. If I enjoy it, I will have learned with the best, from the best. And if I do not, I can simply convert this room into something else, and donate all its components to the needy." She paused for a moment. "Or simply give them to you, if I am feeling more avaricious at the time."

"But...why not just use the lab we have? It has all of this. Well, maybe not that," he pointed at one of the things he didn't recognise, "or this, or that over there, but you could've gotten them if we needed them."

This was the question Melia had spent the most time anticipating. "It was my perception that there was not all that much available space in your existing facilities, meaning I would have to intrude on your personal space. So, I instead created my own private workspace. As an additional benefit, no one else need know that I am undertaking such studies. It can be our secret."

Becoming acclimatised to the idea, Shulk tilted his head and nodded. "That's true. I don't have too much room for another person." He almost added something about having enough room for her, but he realised this wasn't true - some of the stuff he was working on was too secret for anyone to know about, and he couldn't risk exposing it.

"So, what do you say?" Attempting to look "cool" and "down-to-earth", Melia snatched a hammer from her belt and brandished it. "Will you take me as your apprentice?"

Shulk's first thought was an unconditional "yes", but he held it. This would probably cut into his time doing Other Important Things, and he needed to guess whether it would fit within the "unexpected delays" bucket of his planning. After considering it for a bit, he felt it would make some things a little tight for time, but there was a decent chance that having an assistant might pay future dividends.

Then he had an idea.

"On one condition."

Melia returned to a more neutral pose. "And that would be?" Her first guess was that he was about to lay down some safety rules, or state one thing he refused to teach.

"You pay me in food."

Oh. She couldn't stop herself giggling at the request. "You drive a hard bargain, Master Shulk, but I think that can be arranged. I shall see to it that every day you teach me is a day you do not have to make your own dinner."

"It's a deal."

Kind of as a joke, Shulk reached out to shake Melia's hand. She took it without delay.

"So," she asked, "when do we begin?"

"Not now." He pointed his thumb backwards. "I have to get back to the lab and finish what I was doing. It'll take...at least an hour. And you said you'd be making dinner, so it's probably the best idea to start right after that. We could do it before, but we don't know how long anything will take yet."

"Very well."

Shulk took another look around. It was pretty tempting to move some of his stuff in here so he could use the latest-and-greatest tools on it. But no, this was Melia's room, and he wasn't going to be taking any of the space away from her even if she herself had no use for it yet. Maybe one day in the future, after he'd taught her well enough to enlist her help.

"I guess I'll see you tonight then."

Melia nodded. "Indeed. Do not burn yourself out before then."

"I wouldn't let that happen."

He turned to go upstairs, and she followed him.

"Later!" Shulk waved and left the house.

Melia waved after him, excited for later. How about...some lasagna tonight, made the way Shulk likes it?

Shulk started planning as he headed for the transporter. So...what are we going to start with? Something small, with no moving parts. A simple shape, but not as boring as just a cube. Made with wood, that's easier and safer to learn. Hmmm...

There's an idea.

Shulk had learned his craft mostly from observation, so he didn't really know where to begin as a teacher aside from "I'll tell you what I'm doing and why, and you can watch and copy". Luckily, this worked rather well; Melia was observant and already had impeccable fine motor skills, so she had little trouble following along. As a result, they made more progress in the first session than either expected.

"...and now we just have to wait for the paint to dry and glue to set," he said. "Other than that, they're done."

Melia looked down proudly at the results. They had each carved two wooden ladybirds, painted some spots on, and stuck magnets to the underside, creating a quartet of fridge magnets. Hers were not quite as evenly-smoothed as Shulk's, but they were still very comparable in quality.

"I think they turned out pretty well." Shulk capped the glue and put it away.

"As do I." She imagined what they would look like on the refrigerator - probably lonely, to be honest, since she had nothing else to put there. Maybe she could come up with further magnet ideas, and form a sort of canvas for art.

Shulk went to wash his hands at the sink nearby. "I don't think you'd want to be doing something in here every day, and I won't have that many ideas to keep us busy. Maybe...once on the weekend, and same time next week?"

Melia nodded. "I was expecting you would suggest a longer wait, to be honest. Two lessons a week feels more than fair."

"Okay then." He dried his hands. "So...do I just leave now?"

A chuckle. "I suppose you could show yourself out, if you do not wish to stay for an evening snack."

"No I'm good. Maybe another day. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

Shulk went upstairs and left the house without further fanfare. Melia didn't follow, thinking about her own ideas of things to make.