Xenoblade Chronicles

Chapter 2 - Outlook Park

Dunban groaned slightly as he woke in his house. Unlike the other colony residents, he lived near the entrance to the Colony, which meant he was by the commerical district. The sounds coming from the stores and shops were always loud, but it wasn't the noise that had woken him. It was the delicious smell of soup, making it's way upstairs and into his bedroom. With a small groan of pain, Dunban lifted himself into a sitting position, ignoring the stabs of pain from his right arm. He examined it up and down, the scars from the battle quite obvious. "Dunban, are you awake yet?" Dunban looked up at the call of his younger sister, Fiora. He relaxed his arm on the headboard of his bed as she made her way upstairs with a tray of food. "Is it time to eat already?" Dunban asked. "You didn't have to bring it yourself. You could have just called me." Fiora set the tray down on Dunban's nightstand and knelt at his bedside, placing her arms on the bed and peering up at her older brother. "Don't be silly," She chided. "Do you want me to feed you?" Dunban clicked his tongue disapprovingly at her question. "Don't treat me like an invalid," He told her with a slight chuckle. "I'm better then I was a year ago." "Much better," Fiora agreed, turning around and sitting on the rug on the side of the bed, wrapping her arms around her knees, her tone turning sad. "I really thought I lost you back then." "Yes," Dunban nodded. "But now I'm almost well enough to handle the Monado again." "Dunban, don't say that!" Fiora stood up, pushing her face close to her brother's, her expression angry. "The Mechon have gone now! Why would you say that?!" Guilt washed over Dunban and he looked sadly at his sister. "I just mean I'm prepared," He said. "Sorry." "Okay…" She still sounded slightly suspicious, and pulled away from Dunban's face. "More importantly, eat up before it gets cold! I made something really special today." "Don't feel like you need to stay, Fiora," Dunban told her, smiling. "Go and make your next delivery." "Huh?" Fiora looked confused at his statement as Dunban gazed longingly out the window. "Well I'm sure you'd like Shulk to try some while it's still hot," He remarked knowingly. "That's okay," Fiora turned and resumed her earlier position on the floor. "Shulk's got no sense of taste. He'll say it's delicious even if it's stone cold." "In which case today he would actually mean it," Dunban said with a chuckle. "Maybe." "I'm fine Fiora," Dunban insisted. "Off you go." "Okay…" She reluctantly stood up and dusted herself off, before making her way downstairs. Dunban smiled after her, before crawling over to the side of the bed, and picked up the spoon with his bad hand, managing to swallow a spoonful of soup before it clattered out of his hand and on the floor. "I'm not finished yet," He assured himself, clutching his injured arm. "I have to be prepared to use the Monado again." Fiora gathered up the remainder of the soup she had made in a canteen, and brought some bread with her to give to Shulk. She made her way outside and nearly ran into Dickson on her way out. "Hey, Fiora!" Dickson said, recovering from the near-collision "Dickson!" Fiora was never particularly fond of Dickson, but still was excited to see him. Almost every time he came back to the colony, he brought new technology and tales of adventure he loved to tell Fiora and Dunban. In a way, Dickson was like a second older brother to her. "Looks like you're in a hurry!" Dickson said. "Where're you off to?" "I just thought I'd take Shulk some food," She replied. "I'm on my way to the lab." "Shulk's not there," Dickson replied. For a moment, Fiora was shocked. Shulk was always at the lab. Either that or playing around in the Mechon scrapyard. "Really?" She asked, not bothering to conceal her shock. Dickson laughed, shaking his head at her reaction. "I just sent him out to get a bit of fresh air," Dickson said. "You know where he'll have gone." "Outlook Park," Fiora said, knowing automatically where Shulk would have gone if Dickson sent him out. "That's the one." "Okay," Fiora said. "Thanks, Dickson." She watched as he headed off to the Commercial District, and felt slightly disappointed. She probably ran into him because he was eager to share new tales with her and Dunban, but both of the siblings were rather busy at the moment. Fiora shook off the disappointment, and walked out of the entrance of the Colony and went right, reaching a few flights of stairs that would lead to her destination. As she emerged at the top of the stairs, she saw him, his blonde hair almost white in the sunlight, and even from here she could hear him muttering to himself as she made her way over to him. "The Monado…" Shulk murmured. "It's the only sword that effective against the Mechon armour. They say that before time began, it was wielded by the Bionis. The same Bionis that we all live on. It must have a secret. That's how Dunban was able to destroy so many Mechon. And why he lost the use of his right arm. If I can just...unlock the secret of it's power…" "Shulk!" Fiora called out to him, and he instantly reacted, turning his head, and looking at her with wide eyes. She held up the canteen, and his face broke into a wide smile. "Fiora!" He moved over to allow her to sit next to him, and she placed the canteen between them. "I brought you some food," Fiora told him, as she opened the canteen and showed him the soup and bread she had brought. He gratefully took it, and took a bite of it. "Fiora, this is great!" He told her. "It tastes so good!" "Really?" Fiora looked at him, her heart seeming to lift out of her chest. "It's amazing," He declared, returning her gaze. "Oh, Shulk," She sighed, and leaned back in the bench. "You say that every day." "Not quite," Shulk shook his head as he took a bite of the bread. "It's always delicious, but today…" He trailed off and looked at her. "It's amazing." "Really?" Fiora smiled again. "Yeah!" "Thank goodness…" Fiora sighed out in relief, resting her chin in her palms. "I used some special herbs and spices today. So if you said it was just the same as usual I'd know for sure you have no sense of taste!" "What?" "Oh, nothing." Fiora leaned back in the bench and stole a glance at Shulk before casting her case out towards the Colony. Outlook Park was a small area the citizens had built that overlooked the entire colony. When Shulk and Fiora were children, the two would point out all the landmarks they had made to know where they were going, since it was easy to get lost in the Colony. She threw her head back as a gentle gust of wind blew into her face. "The breeze feels so good…" Fiora said softly. Shulk looked at her, before mimicking her actions and nodding. "Yeah...I'd forgotten what it feels like," He said softly. "I'd never thought it could be so quiet here." "You're spending too much time with Reyn," Fiora teased. "You're getting used to all the noise he makes." "Yeah, maybe," Shulk laughed and Fiora joined in. "It's so peaceful," She said, looking out towards the colony again. "You know Shulk? I hope everyday can be like this, always." Shulk didn't say anything, but he could feel his gaze on her back. An alarm suddenly went off, and the two looked up as the anti-air batteries suddenly swung around. "The debris siren," Shulk said. "Strange…" Fiora said, looking up at the two pieces falling from the sky. "There hasn't been much falling lately." The three anti-air batteries fired off at the pair of debris, destroying them instantly. Fiora packed up her things as Shulk stood up, stretching. "There might be more on the way," He said nervously. "The Anti-Air batteries can't protect us out here. Let's get back to the lab." Fiora stood up reluctantly and nodded. "Okay." The two walked from the park, and Fiora sighed. She knew that there would be other days like this, but she still didn't like leaving.