Xenoblade Chronicles

Chapter 9 - Central Mine

Dust rained down from the ceiling of the base as Sharla looked up. What was going on up there? Juju stood next to her, holding ether cylinder transport cases close to his chest. She glanced up as she heard footsteps, and a man came running into the base, holding a rifle. "Gadolt," Sharla said, relieved. He handed his rifle to Sharla, and watched the entrance carefully. "It's only been a year since the Battle of Sword Valley," Gadolt growled. "How? How did their numbers grow so quickly?" Sharla spun the rifle in her hand, and tugged gently on a few parts, pulling them off and replacing them. She finished her maintenance off by loading a new cartridge into the gun. "Are their numbers too great even for you, Gadolt?" Another man walked into the room. He was old and balding, and was also holding a rifle. He was looking at Gadolt like a father would do when teasing his son. "Otharon," Sharla said. The man named Otharon took in a deep breath, and released it, turning to face her. "Medic Sharla, here are your new orders," He said sternly. "You and Juju are to ready the evac ships. You will be in charge of the evacuation." Sharla's eyes widened, and she exchanged a shocked glance with Juju, who had set his cases down beside him. "But-" "You must realize, the ships can only carry so many," Otharon cut across her, his hand raised in an indication for her to stop talking. "Gadolt, the Defense Force, and I must stay behind to protect those who remain in Colony 6." Sharla took a step closer to Gadolt, and looked up at him. He met her gaze and seemed to read her thoughts. "I'll be fine," Gadolt assured her. "I'll be able to keep my mind on the battle, knowing you're safe." Sharla turned away from him, and rested her head on his rifle, closing her eyes. Gadolt reached out towards her, but Sharla looked at him, her expression hard. "Promise me," She said. "Sharla..." "Promise that you'll meet us outside the colony," Sharla said forcefully. "I..." She held out the rifle to Gadolt. "Just make sure you get out of here alive!" Sharla and Gadolt had a silent staring contest, until Gadolt broke eye contact and took his rifle. "Yeah," He said. "I promise. Don't worry." He walked out of the room, followed by Otharon after Sharla had fixed his rifle. * * * Sharla was standing by an evac ship while Juju helped elderly and children with their things, and brought them onto the ship. Gadolt, She thought, watching for him. The smell of smoke was in the air, and a fire was obviously raging inside Colony 6. But still, Gadolt did not come. A promise is a promise. And until I see you again, I will protect everyone. She hung her head, imagining Gadolt waving as he walked straight into fire. "No!" A voice roared. "Let me protect everyone!" She was suddenly looking at the faced Mechon holding Juju. "Sharla!" Juju cried. "I'll keep 'em real safe!" The Mechon said. "Inside my belly!" "Sharla!" Juju screamed her name again as he wriggled his arm free from the faced Mechon's grasp and reached out towards her. "Juju!" Sharla shot upwards, her hand outstretched to grab Juju's. With a jolt, she realized that she was back in the Refugee Camp. She looked at her hand, still stretched to grab the impossible length to Juju's. "Where are you?" Sharla whispered, closing her eyes, and trembling slightly as she crossed her arms across her chest. After a while, Sharla got up, and unsteadily came out from the cave. She instinctively looked around for Juju's buggy, but then realized that it was still broken on Raguel Bridge. She swallowed, and spotted Shulk and Reyn, deep in conversation a few meters off. She joined them and Shulk gave her a warm smile. "Hey there," He said. "Are you alright?" "The sleeping princess awakes," Reyn said teasingly. "Had us worried there for a minute." Sharla looked at each of them, before sighing. "How long have I been out?" She asked. "Huh?" "How long have I been unconscious?" Sharla clarified for Reyn. "Four hours I'd say," Shulk counted on his fingers. "I've gotta get out of here!" Sharla cried, and ran towards the entrance to the refugee camp. Shulk and Reyn ran after her, Reyn, grabbing onto her shoulder. "Hold up!" He said. "Mind if we go with you?" Shulk asked. Sharla looked at him, slightly confused. Reyn rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "You're gonna bust into their base, right?" He asked. "We want a peice of them too." "Really...?" Sharla gasped. "Truth be told, we were gonna leave without you," Reyn admitted. "But the thing is...I get roughed up a lot and we don't know anyone else who can use ether." When Sharla looked at Shulk to see if this was true, he nodded as Reyn rolled his shoulder. "I..." Sharla was at a loss for words. "Thank you both." They started off away from the camp, before Sharla finally spoke. "It's been awhile," She admitted softly. "And it's just...I never imagined I would go back to Colony 6 like this." She shook her head and turned to face Shulk and Reyn. "I'm sorry," Sharla apologized. "Lost myself for a minute. We can get to Colony 6 from the valley where Juju was taken. It's this way." She led them back the way they came, but instead of going to Spiral Valley, Sharla took a sharp right, leading them across a bridge that led to a small island in the middle of a lake. A roaring waterfall fell into the lake, and it was surrounded by monsters. They carefully manuvered around them, and crossed another bridge. "Everyone calls this place Bask Cave Passage," Sharla explained. "It's the only way to get to the colony." "So there isn't really any other way to get to Colony 6 by foot?" Reyn asked. "Nope." They headed through the passage, and arrived at Colony 6. There was a huge metal door a little less then a mile away from them, and it was closed. That must have been the pathway to the colony. "This is Colony 6?" Shulk breathed. "It's like a fortress," Reyn commented, pointing to the colony, which could be seen from where they were standing. "Did people really live here?" "So much has changed," Sharla murmured. "And it's only been a month." "We'll find Juju," Reyn pounded his palm with his fist. "And smash some metal!" "Wait!" Shulk said. "We can't just rush in head first." "We could enter through the mine," Sharla suggested. "Mine?" "There's a massive ether deposit under the colony," Sharla explained. "The first settlers here built right on top of the mine. That's how we got our colony. The mine is like a network of tunnels. It's much more complicated then the colony streets. They can't have figured it all out in the space of a month." "So..." Reyn prompted. "She means it's the best route if we want to remain unseen," Shulk clarified for Reyn. "You're catching on," Sharla said appreciatively. "Great!" Reyn grinned. "So how do we get in?" "Through the drainage outlet," Sharla explained. "It's just up ahead." They headed towards an elevator that took them down to a place called 'Splintered Path.' They maneuvered around the small pathways, and headed up a flight of stairs into the drainage splashed through the water and headed up another flight of stairs and crossed a bridge into the control room of the mine. "I sometimes really hate water," Reyn grumbled, taking his shoe and emptying it out of water. "It brings back bad memories." "Of what?" Sharla looked at him. "Square-tache, our Colonel, once has us swim thirty laps around the entire colony," Reyn shivered at the memory. "Square-tache?" "You'll have to see him to understand it." Sharla shook her head, and they headed out of the base. They had barely walked ten paces, when Sharla dropped to one knee. "Guys! Kill the noise!" She ordered. Shulk and Reyn looked at her confused, before they spotted a Mechon a few meters away. The two dropped down beside Sharla as the Mechon looked around, and stomped off. "A Mechon," Shulk whispered. "I can't believe they've taken the mine too!" Sharla said. "That means the Defense Force and residents are...Oh no, Juju!" She cried, straightening up. "Keep it together, Sharla!" Reyn told her as he and Shulk also stood. "Don't start panicking now." "Reyn..." "You said yourself, they can't have seized the entire area, right?" Reyn said. "I bet you they're holed up somewhere safe. Juju is alive, and we're gonna find him." "That's why we're here," Shulk nodded in agreement. "You can count on us." "Yes," Sharla nodded. "It'll be fine. Reyn...Shulk...Thank you." They headed down the stairs, and maneuvered around a few Mechon. Sharla had explained that the best way to get around the mine was by following the glowmoss on the walls. They made small talk about almost anything under the sun. Mechon, their homes, but not once had it come up why Shulk and Reyn had left their home for revenge. Maybe Sharla was uninterested, or she didn't feel comfortable talking about it. Finally, it was when they were splashing through a small river they heard gunshots. "An ether rifle?" Sharla wondered, before her eyes widened. "Gadolt!" "Sharla, wait!" Reyn yelled after her as she took off. They chased after Sharla, who had taken up her rifle. She ran into some sort of base, and saw a swarm of Mechon. She fired off several shots at once, as a Mechon exploded. "Gadolt!" Sharla yelled over the noise, aiming her rifle again and firing. "I know that voice," Someone murmured. "Medic! Is that you?!" He ducked as one of the Mechon fired off an ether blast. "Otharon!" Sharla breathed as she descended the stairs, still shooting her rifle. "That's our cue, Reyn!" Shulk said, and he and Reyn ran down the steps, jumping in front of an old balding man and Sharla. Shulk activated the Monado, scanning the Mechon force in front of him. They ran forwards and destroyed the Mechon within minutes. Sharla slung her rifle over her shoulder when the battle had finished. "Medic," The man named Otharon said. "Why are you here?" "Sir," Sharla said, disregarding his question. "Isn't Gadolt with you?" Otharon turned away from her and folded his arms, hesitating, almost as if he didn't know what to say. "We have much to discuss," He said finally. "You'd better come with me." "Sir." They followed Otharon through some rubble, and into a bedroom-like place. A hastily made bed sat next to white drawers and humming machines. A control platform sat at the back of the room, and the rest of it was occupied by humming machines. Sharla had just finished explaining what had happened to them, and why they were in the mine. "So," Otharon said once she had finished. "Juju has been taken by the bronze-faced one." "Sir," Sharla said worriedly. "What about Gadolt?" Otharon turned to face Sharla, chewing his lower lip. "Gadolt is gone," He said. "Gone?" Sharla gasped. "What do you mean, gone?!" "Gadolt and I planned a surprise attack, to set everyone free," Otharon explained. "But we failed miserably. When I woke, Gadolt was nowhere to be seen." He turned to face the ether rifle, resting against the wall. "Only his rifle remained," Otharon said sadly. "But he is alive. I can feel it. We may not be joined by blood, but he's like a son to me. I'd know if he were dead." Sharla gasped and closed her eyes, trembling. "Some of the people in Colony 9 got eaten," Reyn said unhelpfully. "Reyn!" Shulk said. Reyn looked at the blonde, confused, before realizing what he said. "Sorry," He said quickly. "Forget I said that." "They don't kill Homs right away," Otharon said. "If that bronze-faced one took him, we still have some time left." "Are you sure?" Shulk asked, and Otharon nodded, spotting the Monado slung across Shulk's back. "Boy," He said sharply. "That blade was once Dunban's. I'm not sure why you have it, but we're going to need it's full power." "You can count on me!" Shulk assured him. "We're heading to the Central Pit," Otharon said. "It's where they take all the Homs they kidnap. If Juju's alive, that's where he'll be." He looked at them all, before picking up Gadolt's rifle. "Gather your things, we're moving out," He ordered. He started out of the mining base and across the corridor. That's when the vision hit Shulk. Otharon was standing atop some sort of machine, holding Gadolt's rifle tight in his hand. He was taking aim at something in the ether river swirling behind him. "Juju!" He yelled. "Gadolt! This is for you!" There was a flash of light, and Otharon was falling into the river. Shulk froze as he looked after the colonel's retreating back. "W-What?" He breathed. "You say something, Shulk?" Reyn looked at him. "N-No," Shulk hesitated. He couldn't make heads or tails of the vision, but wasn't sure he wanted Reyn or Sharla to know he had just witnessed Otharon's death. "It's nothing," Shulk said. "Forget it." And they followed Otharon from the room.