Chapter 26: Shift

Shulk made it a point to start giving Melia at least one hug every time he visited her house for her crafting lessons, and would add a kiss every day she did particularly well. The latter was becoming more and more common; her progress was accelerating, the combination of fast learner and clever teacher an effective one. Her constructions had begun to have purpose rather than simply decoration, such as an ethergraph for measuring how her use of utilities was affecting the house's buried ether deposit (not much, but it was still fun to watch). She'd even started to pass knowledge back to him, with her experiments on ether clay.

However, his own projects were having complications. The Machina had offered to make improvements to the weapon development lab. This would put Shulk out of a workplace for a bit, but when he saw the plans he couldn't turn it down - it wasn't the immense improvement he was dreaming of, but the improved forge by itself would be worth it, and the rest was gravy.

As a result, he'd set up a makeshift workspace behind Dunban's house. He'd propped a tarp up on a bunch of poles as a ceiling, and hung a bunch of sheets along the outside for walls. It was far from perfect - it was hard to keep the windy September weather out, and he had to be more careful with his top-secret stuff - but at least it was something. Dunban was a bit concerned about having an active engineering zone right next to his house, but he knew Shulk was always careful.

Today, he was busy experimenting with ether staff cores, learning how different shapes affected how the core had to be aligned and installed. The logic was simple enough, but it was the sort of thing that needed hands-on practice.

"Hello, Shulk."

Shulk looked up. Vanea was standing just next to one of the tarp poles, holding something in her arms. She came to see him often, usually for a second opinion on some technical issue or other.

"Hi Vanea." He wiped his hands off and stepped over to her. Now closer, he could identify that she was carrying a small Mechon. It looked like a typical grunt-style Mechon - squat form, S-shaped legs, and forward head - but he'd never seen one this size before.

"That's a pretty small Mechon."

"Yes." Vanea rubbed its head like a pet, though it didn't seem to be active to respond. "Recall that the Mechon were once our tools and companions before Egil turned them against everyone. Now that the war is over, there is some interest in rekindling this relationship. But we cannot simply bring them back into our daily lives unchanged. No doubt, there are many Homs who would react poorly to seeing one again. So, we are trying a size small enough to be seen as much less of a threat."

"Ah I get it." Shulk himself had no problem with seeing Mechon again; he'd been working with their scrap for years, and spending so much time fighting them with the Monado had pretty much erased any fear of an active one. But he did understand that other people would not feel the same. "Maybe try making it a different colour? The ones that attacked our colonies were always black or something else dark."

Vanea thought about the idea for a moment. "Yes, it is true that the Mechon sent to Bionis were mostly outfitted in dark shades. Brightening them up may very well present a different tone."

"You could maybe tweak the shape a bit too. Give it two eyes, real feet. You know, make it look a bit more like an animal. Though I guess you wouldn't want to make it too weird for yourselves to look at."

"Yes, that's the challenge. To find a middle ground between what our races would like to see in a companion."

Shulk nodded and rubbed his chin. "Can I have a closer look at it? I've only been able to look at broken and smashed-up ones before."

"Of course." Vanea stepped into the makeshift workshop as Shulk went to clear a space to put it down.

Melia generally made all her own meals nowadays. But sometimes there was something to buying one, and today was one of those days.

"Lewie's" was a small pizza joint that had been doing steady business for ten years. It was where Melia had ordered her first pizza to share with Shulk not long ago, and it had become her preferred place to buy food in Colony 9. She had yet to settle on a favourite set of toppings, though she felt she was getting close.

The assistant chef, a Nopon called Ori, hopped onto the counter as Melia walked in. "Hellohello. What'll it be?"

Melia glanced down the menu to see something she hadn't noticed last time. "I'm sorry, is that an offering of pineapple?" Aside from olives, she'd never seen fruit as a pizza topping before.

"Yesyes. New idea. Ori think it a bit weird, but Lewie very confident in selling."

"Very well, I shall see if this has merit. One serving of pineapple, with standard sauce and cheese." She put the money on the counter.

"Wapow!" Ori leapt into the kitchen.

Melia sat and waited patiently. Traffic seemed to be light today; no other customers came in the entire time it took to make the pizza.

Ori came out holding the personal-sized pizza. "P-p-p, p-p, p-pizza!" He placed it on the table.

"Thank you." Melia looked at the offering. Pineapple was not one of her preferred fruits, but its bright sweetness might provide a powerful counter to the natural spice of pizza sauce. She pried a slice out of the pan, moved one of the pineapple chunks to the tip, and took a bite.

Well, it was definitely different. Whether it was good or bad would take some time to deduce.

The sweetness certainly counters the sauce, but perhaps by too much. The flavours of pizza mostly have an edge to them, but the pineapple is so sweet as to pull the tongue in a completely different direction. Hmmmmm. I shall have to think upon this.

Melia started to consider what other fruit might have a similar effect. Something sour was of course her preference, though it would take some trial and error to find something that matched the pizza rather than rival it. The types of cheese might have to be experimented with as well.

Of course, her thinking quickly turned back to her work - not the fun work in the lab, the actual work. With the planning for New Alcamoth complete enough to begin construction soon, she had a new task in front of her: abolish the monarchy. It only made sense to her - the High Entia had to simplify their political system now that they were so much smaller a people, now a minority amongst several other races.

The government of Alcamoth was already fairly democratic; each ministry would appoint a leader, and the public would vote for which should be the Prime Minister, who would have general authority for small matters and be the primary advisor to the emperor for large ones. So in theory, removing the emperor from the equation would be a simple and efficient change. But when she had first brought up the idea informally in passing, there was a surprisingly dramatic reaction against it. Apparently, a cult of personality had already developed around her, and many recoiled at the idea of a literal saviour of the universe stepping down from being their leader. So her official proposal would have to be careful, and likely done in stages over several years. As much as she would've liked to, she couldn't just drop everything and be free at once - if nothing else, she had to remain in power long enough to ensure the new system was working to her satisfaction.

With the pizza finished, Melia stepped back outside. But there was a very different air to the world than when she'd entered the pizzeria. The conversations about seemed more urgent, and unless she was mistaken, she smelled- yes, there was a plume of smoke in the distance to the west.

Melia started to hurry towards the source of the smoke. No matter what was going on, she would have some help to offer.

It didn't take long to see firefighters in the street, some holding back a gathered crowd. The good news was that based on their behaviour, whatever the problem was must've been contained already. But once she approached their position, the bad news became apparent, and it was an ugly sight.

Most of the lower front of Dunban's house had been destroyed, leaving the inside of the ground floor fully visible. Part of the upper floor was leaning outwards, though otherwise undamaged and not visibly moving any further. A few Nopon, lighter than Homs and so safer to send into the building, were investigating the upper floor. A couple of Homs Defence Force members were doing the same on the ground floor.

Melia quickly found Dunban, Shulk, and Vanea at the front of the crowd; they all seemed unhurt. "What has happened?"

"I was looking at a Mechon with Vanea," said Shulk. "We smelled smoke out front, so we came around, and the door was on fire. We couldn't get in for water or anything, so we had to start running around yelling for help."

"The fire crews arrived quickly," continued Vanea, "so much was saved. But the damage is still considerable."

"I can't imagine what it could have been," muttered Dunban. "I won't pretend my memory is perfect, but I know of nothing near the door that could have started a fire by itself. If only I'd been home to prevent it."

"Dunduuuuun! Shuuuuulk!" Riki's voice came out of the open upper window, quickly followed by his head. "Engineerpon say house is stable for moment. No fall down by itself now, but no guarantee for later."

"I hear you," called Dunban in response. He turned back to the others. "Well, this is hardly the first time I've had to rebuild, and it's been worse before." He looked back at the rubble and frowned. "Still, it'll be a big job this time around, and I'm not as able as I used to be. It'll take some time to simply shore the place up, let alone start work on the upper floor. It'll be a while before either of us can live here."

By the look on Shulk's face, he had expected this, but still didn't want to hear it out loud. "So...what do I do?"

"Well, the last time this happened and we couldn't live in the house for a while, we would simply camp outside. I'm sure you remember that eyesore of a yellow tent."

"Oh yeah, that thing." Shulk forced a few weak chuckles.

"And..." Dunban snuck a look at the makeshift lab Shulk had set up behind the house, the frown bigger. "I'm going to have to ask you to remove your engineering things from here. We'll need the space. I'm sorry."

"No, it's- I understand, it has to be done."

Melia did not need a superpower to sense Shulk's anxiety. He was already looking a bit tweaked from being unable to do things in the lab proper in the past few days, so being essentially thrown out of Dunban's house as well left him nowhere to do Shulk things. Well, aside from Dickson's house, but this did not feel like the best time to suggest he return there - it would feel forced and unlikely to help him feel better.

She didn't particularly want to do it, but it was too sensible an idea to ignore.

"Shulk, I invite you to stay at my house."

Shulk had to process the suggestion for a few moments. Once he got it, he looked surprised. "R...Really?"

"It is obvious you are anxious from being denied a living space with sufficient engineering and research accoutrements to satiate your hobbies and interests for a substantial length of time. I am willing to afford you a place to entertain yourself while this situation proceeds. I do have a full suite of tools in the basement, after all."

"...well, uh...I guess...yeah, okay." Shulk wasn't sure he was ready to live in the same house as Melia with no one else, even for a day, but it was probably the only option he had.

"Very well." Melia raised her voice so the Nopon in the house would hear. "Riki, we shall need your help retrieving Shulk's belongings."

"Riki hears Melly. We get on it."

An odd thought came to Shulk's mind. "You know, I've kind of always wanted to try sleeping on a couch. No one's allowed me to before."

Melia looked at him funny. "You desire to sleep like an unwanted castoff?"

"Well, uh..." It took Shulk a moment to figure himself out. "I mean, I was never allowed to, and now I have the chance, and it isn't hurting anybody. Kind of like a guilty pleasure, you know? And it's probably better than hauling a whole new bed to your house for just a couple weeks."

"...If you say so." Melia had been intending to offer him her sleeping bag, but if he was fine with the couch, that was probably acceptable. To be honest, she might prefer the idea compared to her expectation of him sleeping in the basement, as it would be easier to forget he was present until he appeared for food.

One of the Homs firefighters investigating the rubble on the ground gasped as he stood up with something in his hand. He then hurried over to Dunban.

"Look at what we found," he said.

In his hand was clearly the remains of a cigar lighter. Only the metal part at the top was intact, with just a thin ring of material around its base remaining of the cartridge. It wasn't one of Dickson's, he always kept it in his pocket.

Dunban's face hardened to an extent Shulk hadn't seen since the old world. "Arson."

Melia looked at what was left of the lighter. She could tell it was Homs in design, and that it probably used liquid ether for fuel rather than a crystal or gem, but nothing more.

"I'll be taking this as evidence," said the firefighter.

Dunban gave a curt nod. "Keep us informed."

Shulk shook his head. "Who would do this? Attack someone everyone sees as a hero?"

"Logic and reason are lost on them," Melia muttered. "Even months after the upheaval of the world, they refuse to accept it, and lash out at the nearest relevant target they can find. It may be years before the anger subsides."

"...mmmmeeEEHHhhh." Riki appeared in the middle of the group carrying two massive armloads of Shulk's stuff. "Part one of Shulk's things is here."

"Oh. Uhhh..." Shulk looked around. "I'll...go get some boxes."

Melia stayed out of the way while Shulk, Dunban, Riki, and the other Nopon gathered up and boxed Shulk's belongings. It was looking like it would be a long several weeks ahead.

With some help from the others, Shulk's cluster of boxes was now sitting in one of the two smaller rooms in Melia's basement. It was lucky that she hadn't quite figured out what to do with them aside from "storage", so he wouldn't be in the way of anything she needed.

Melia watched as Shulk nervously moved his things around the previously-empty room. He didn't seem too willing to unpack most of it, which told her that he hoped his stay was short.

"So I thought about it," he said, moving a box back to where he'd just taken it from. "I think I'll be changing in here and then going up to the couch to sleep. Then I'll wake up, come in here to change, and then have breakfast. And I'll only use the small bathroom. That way I'll stay out of your way as much as possible."

"I...appreciate it." Melia was uncertain whether to push Shulk to be less self-restricting at the expense of further inconveniencing herself. There wasn't really a right answer. "But if you only use the powder room, how will you shower?"

"...darn." Shulk pinched the bridge of his nose. "There's nowhere else for me to go, is there? I guess I'll have to use your bathroom once a week. How's Monday morning?"

Excuse me?! "You only shower once a week?!"

"Well, more if I have to because I spilled something. But I hate doing it. Just washing my hands all the time in the lab is good enough."

"That will not be acceptable." Melia snatched a blank sheet of paper and sketched out a simple calendar with Xs on increasingly frequent days. "I will ease you in. You will shower on these days at minimum. Failure to comply will result in having to forage for your own dinner." She began to make a second copy for her own recollection.

Shulk's immediate reaction was to just accept making his own dinner. But it felt like the wrong move to actively contest the person who was offering him a temporary place to live. And having to shower more was probably worth being able to sleep and lab in the same building (without being yelled at for sleeping in the lab).

He had one last hope. "Are you...sure you're okay with me passing through your bedroom that much?"

Melia hesitated. Truth be told, no she was not. It felt like she had just gotten used to having true privacy, and now she had chosen to give it away for at least a month, likely more. That bothered her. But what was she going to do, let Shulk get away with not showering for days on end in her house? Intolerable.

She erased the Xs from the weekends and handed him the result. "Perhaps not. But I trust you will respect my boundaries."

Shulk slowly took the paper with a mix of defeat and resignation. It could be worse.

An idea suddenly entered Melia's mind. Usually Shulk was the one to hug her. But for this situation, the opposite would be required. She had already approached to hand him the paper, which would help avoid overthinking it.

So she went in.

For a moment, it felt wrong, like her action was unwanted and repulsive. But only for a moment. Once Shulk's surprise ended and he realised what was going on, she could feel the tension release, the foreign stiffness turning into the usual softness as he reciprocated. It was certainly what he needed, a familiar feeling to at least mask today's anxiety.

"Thanks." It was weak, but no less real.

"You are most welcome. Now, more than ever."

They remained hugging for over a minute, the longest one they'd ever had.

Shulk eventually pulled away. "I, uh...I'll need to know your schedule. So I don't wake you up or get in your way."

Melia scoffed. "If you continue to wake as late as I know you prefer, that shall never be an issue."

"Hey, I can get up early if I need to." Pause. "Well, I don't need to, if I'm doing lab stuff right in the house."

"Predictable as usual."

"Predictable is good."

"Very much...so." Melia's face turned perplexed as she looked to the side. She almost thought she felt a ripple of strange ether from somewhere.

Shulk followed her gaze in confusion. "Something wrong, Melia?"

She shook her head. "You know how sometimes you see something move in the distance, only to realise it was a figment of your imagination? I just had one of those with my ethersense."

"That can happen? Well, the way you explained it, it makes sense."

"It was odd, however." She strained to recall the shape of the unexpected feeling. "Usually these feelings are of something familiar, but this one was not."

Shulk had a thought. "We can check the ethergraph. It can tell us whether it was real."

"A capital idea." Melia left the room and turned into the workshop. Shulk followed.

The ethergraph was a simple one - just one needle, drawing out the vibrations of the surrounding ether field, on a cylinder an hour in circumference but spiralled so it had a full day of space to record on.

"...That could be a blip." Shulk frowned as he leaned in. "I kinda see it from a distance, but you look closer and it could just be noise."

Melia nodded and agreed. "It being so minor would make sense. I only barely noticed it myself, if it was indeed real."

"Hmm. You said it wasn't familiar, right?"

"Indeed. Unfortunately I cannot be any more specific. It was simply gone too quickly to understand."

Shulk rubbed his chin for a moment and then shrugged. "Can't be that important then."

"I would hope so." Melia looked at the clock. "I am expected for a meeting about the library construction. I trust you do not require supervision to complete your unpacking?"

"What? Oh. Yeah, I'm fine." The sadness was back, but much weaker than before. "Fine" felt truthful.

"Very well. I shall return for dinner."

"See you later."

Shulk watched Melia go up the stairs and heard her exit the house. He walked back to the storage room with his stuff. Now that she was out, he could start trying to solve his most important problem.

I can't finish it for her birthday anymore. Not without cutting corners, and I'm not doing that. There's just no way to work on it here without being found out. I have to wait for the lab to be finished, and that's too many days lost.

So, two problems: what to do for birthday, and when's my next chance for this?

Birthday shouldn't be hard. I just have to find Alvis and ask for ideas, he's got to have at least one. The real problem is the next chance, I don't know if I can wait another whole year. It would give me more time to make it perfect, I guess, but...

Where even is Alvis most of the time? Does he live somewhere, or does he only exist when he feels like it? I could ask around, but somehow I don't think I'll get a lot of help with that. Maybe I can just kind of...intend for him to be somewhere.

Next chance... There really aren't any other good days, are there? You get gifts for your birthday, and there aren't any holidays for personal gifts, that's how both Homs and High Entia do it. They only other kind of day that makes sense would be...

Well.

Maybe, I guess. If it turns out that way. Not gonna force it.

So...

Shulk continued to consider the matter as he continued unpacking. Or at least, that had been the plan. Just as he was finishing up, he looked at one of his diagrams and noticed a mistake he hadn't before. He had to fix it before he forgot, but got an idea on how to proceed while doing so, and before he knew it he had completed two new flowcharts and was halfway through a third. Well, he made progress on something at least, that was better than he expected when the setback happened.

...Is that lasagna?

The smell of dinner had arrived in the basement. He hadn't noticed Melia returning, and it must have been some time ago if he was smelling the food now. So it made sense for him to assume that it would be ready soon, and therefore leave the basement for the kitchen.

Melia was in the midst of removing the lasagna from the oven when Shulk appeared. "Oh? I didn't expect you to appear of your own volition. I was preparing to fetch you out of whatever project you were engrossed in."

Shulk shrugged. "I guessed it'd be ready soon if I was smelling it now."

"Well, you can set the table then. I daresay you haven't forgotten where the cutlery resides."

With Melia remaining true to her promise of feeding Shulk for every night of tutoring, the two were used to dinner together by now. Tonight Melia talked about her meeting, which had been very productive. Construction of the Clara Apiar Public Library was well underway, but the people of Colony 6 were more excited about it than expected, to the point that there were new concerns of the existing plans being too small. Running the library directly out of the cargo ship had been successful, but everyone was itching to have a space for actually reading rather than simply borrowing. In the end, the meeting succeeded at adding floorspace and another storey to the designs without requiring much of the existing work to be undone.

Once the meal was done and the dishwasher was filled, Shulk found himself halfway to the front door before remembering that he wasn't going anywhere. That would definitely take a while to get used to. He paused, shook his head to make it clear what he was thinking, and turned back to the basement.

Melia held back a chuckle as she stepped into the living room and confirmed that a lamp was within reach of the couch. The first few days were going to be awkward all around.