Xenoblade Chronicles

Chapter 32 - Peizoelectric Unit

Shulk held his map out in front of him, his eyes narrowed. It was hard to see in the gathering darkness, but he managed to see a small pointer showed he was getting closer to his destination, but it was still slightly confusing. They had crossed a bridge few minutes ago and the rushing of the ocean reached his ears. He had only gone a few paces when Reyn grabbed onto his collar. "What?" He asked. Wordlessly, Reyn pointed in front of him. Shulk turned his head and is jaw dropped out of shock at the wreckage before him. Metal Face was in terrible shape. Bits of his armour were scattered here and there and he was half-sunken in the soft dirt. It's eyes were dim, showing that this time, Mumkhar truly was dead. Reyn gave a look to Shulk, and he, Shulk, and Riki left Dunban and Melia alone by the wreckage. "Dunban..." Melia said at last. "I don't know how to ask this." "What is it?" Dunban asked. He wasn't meeting her eyes. He was looking at Metal Face's remains with an unreadable expression. "Er..." Melia shifted. "The man in the Metal-Faced Mechon...Mumkhar I think? Were you and he acquainted before he became that...thing?" "We were comrades in arms," Dunban said softly. "One year ago, he and I risked our lives fighting the Mechon. But when the battle turned, he chose to make a run for it." "So he was a cowardly man?" "He was always fairly unreliable," Dunban tried to a nonchalant shrug, but it came out more as a half-hearted one. "Deep down I knew that one day he'd fail us in a time of need. But in the battle a year ago, he still seemed to be on our side." "What do you mean, Dunban?" Asked Melia. "Are you saying he wasn't always the monster he became?" "Whatever his reasons..." Dunban trailed off and shook his head. "That day, he was fighting off those machines as hard as we were." "That is..." Melia looked down at the wreckage. "Difficult to believe." "I know the truth," Dunban said, a large sigh leaving his lips. "That's why I'm so full of regret. Maybe I could have stopped him." "You mustn't blame yourself," Melia insisted. "You could not have stopped this." "Perhaps," Dunban muttered. "But it's complicated. I can't deny that he was a bit of an... unreliable fellow. But he saved my life countless times. After I took up the Monado there was a definite change in him." "He was taken by it's power," Melia guessed. "I pity him." "I just wish he'd realized," Dunban said sadly. "I wasn't the true heir to the Monado, Shulk was! He never should have had a reason to hate either of us." "Dunban..." Mumkhar... Dunban thought sadly, staring at the remains of his old friend. I doubt I'll ever forgive you for what you did... But I'll never forget you and I hope you can find peace... He sighed and turned around, heading down the beach, the way Shulk, Riki, and Reyn had gone. He saw them rummaging in a Mechon. The sun was starting to set and Shulk was tugging on a piece of machinery that was giving off a faint red glow. "Let me take a crack at it," Reyn moved Shulk out of the way and yanked, hard. The Piezoelectric Unit came out with a slight snap of machinery. "Got it." Shulk took the unit from Reyn (Who looked very proud of himself) and they made their way back to the village. As they entered Junks, Shulk climbed the ramp while Melia, Riki, Dunban, and Reyn stayed below, talking to a Machina villager who quite liked them. Linada was back at the machine with the two floating handles. She kept glancing back at Fiora, who was still fast asleep on the bed. Linada sighed and turned, seeming quite surprised that Shulk was back so soon. "I think we found it," Shulk said, fishing the unit from his pocket and holding it out for Linada to see. "Is this the Piezoelectric Unit?" "Yes, that's it," The Machina doctor took it from Shulk. "Well done. Did the map I gave you help?" "Yes," Shulk said. "We would have gotten lost without it." He trailed off, glancing over at Fiora. "Linada, will Fiora be okay now?" "She'll be fine," Linada assured him. "It will just take me a little time to configure and install the unit. Leave it to me. You get some rest." "But-" "Shulk, do you want her to see you looking exhausted when she wakes up?" Linada asked, and the blonde sighed, shaking his head. "You're right," He said. "I'll try to get some rest. Thank you for everything you're doing." He turned to leave when Linada put a hand on his shoulder. "By the way..." "Yes?" "The chief says he wants to speak with you first thing tomorrow morning," Linada informed him. "I think it's about Egil." "I'll go and see him tomorrow," Shulk decided. "He wants Egil stopped, and so do we. But I need to sleep on it." "Good," Linada smiled. "You mustn't overburden yourself. We will help you in any way we can." "Thank you." * * * When Shulk exited Junks, first thing he saw was Sharla marching towards him. She wore an expression of impatience and stopped before Shulk, hand on hips. "So this is where you were," She said. "Honestly, I found everyone else and rounded them up into the room we're sleeping in for the night. Some nice Machina allowed us to use her home for the time being. I was about to start checking everyone for injuries until I realized you weren't there...Should have figured you went to see Fiora." Shulk began to protest, trying to explain about the Piezoelectric Unit, and how he had gone to give it to Linada, but Sharla had seized his wrist and was now marching him towards one of the homes. Sharla pushed him into the small hut and found it fairly small. There was window near the corner of the room with a bunk bed by it, a matching set on the other side of the room. The floor was covered in soft white carpeting, and a small doorway with no door led into the kitchen, where Riki, Dunban, Melia, and Reyn were gathered around a table, kneeling on cushions. Sharla propelled him into the dining room, a poorly made bed laying on the ground nearby. Shulk sat next to Reyn as Sharla went about, preparing her medical supplies. "Did you get the unit to Linada?" Asked Dunban. Shulk nodded. "Yeah," He said. "Fiora should be okay now." "Good," Reyn grinned. "Hopefully she'll be fine by tomorr-ow!" He yelped in pain as Sharla suddenly began to apply ether medicine to a nasty gash on his arm. "What was that for?" The medic's brow was furrowed in concentration. "I'm cleaning out the wound," Sharla replied at last. "Linada gave me some medical supplies that should last for a bit. Get ready you guys, no one's going to bed until I'm satisfied that you're alright!" * * * Shulk lay in bed that night, trying to sleep, but failing. Even though Reyn's irritated cursing (Sharla didn't let him leave until well after midnight) had faded into his soft snores above him. He could hardly sleep. He covered his face with the crook of his arm and released a heavy sigh no one could hear. Reyn's snoring had probably drowned it out. Rolling over, Shulk grimaced as another searing pain shot through his back. Sharla had told him it was some sort of medicine that helped wounds heal overnight, but it hadn't done much more then preventing him from sleeping. He sat up and stared out the window. He heard Riki mutter incomprehensibly across the room, and a thump as the Nopon fell out of bed. Shulk sighed and gazed out the window, ignoring the stabbing pains in his back. He could see Junks, outlined in the moonlight. A light was on at the top floor of the building, meaning Linada was still awake. She was possibly reconfiguring the Piezoelectric Unit for Fiora or implanting it in her. He sighed and fell backwards onto his pillows and closed his eyes. Please, He prayed. Let Fiora live...I don't want to lose her a second time... * * * Morning arrived all too slow for Shulk. He was awoken in the earlier hours of the morning by Linada entering their room and leaving a few minutes later with Sharla. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, realizing that his back didn't pain him anymore. Smiling slightly, he glanced around and saw that Dunban too was up and about. The former user of the Monado saw Shulk and motioned for him to be quiet, pointing up at Reyn and Riki, who were still asleep. Melia came out of the kitchen a few moments later, fully dressed with her staff strapped to her side. Two hours later, Reyn woke up and joined the trio in the kitchen, where they were sipping tea and talking in low voice. Ten minutes later, Reyn got tired of waiting for Riki to wake up and shook the Nopon vigorously until he awoke, screaming something about a 'Dinobeast.' "So," Melia gazed down at her tea. "Have you made your decision, Shulk?" "I..." The blonde visionary sighed. "I agree with Miqol. Egil must be stopped." "You do realize we'll have to kill him," Dunban leaned forwards. "Are you prepared for that?" "No," Shulk shook his head. "But...There might be another way. If we can persuade Egil to stop what he's doing to Bionis..." "He's too far gone, Shulk," Reyn said. "But I'm with you no matter what. If you think there's another way other then killing him, then I'm with you all the way." "Heropon Riki go with sidekick Shulk!" Riki said, his words slurring together out of exhaustion. "Together, Riki and Shulk beat bad Egil!" "Yeah," Shulk smiled. "Let's go tell Miqol. I'm sure Sharla feels the same." Shulk, Reyn, Riki, Melia, and Dunban made their way back down to Junks and met Sharla coming down the ramp. She informed them that the Piezoelectric Unit had been successfully installed and that Fiora was going to wake up in an hour or so. Then, they went to talk to Miqol. The Machina was wide awake and in good spirits when they arrived. He was grinning down at them and looking relaxed, like he had a good night's rest. "How are you?" He asked. "Sleep well?" "Yes," Shulk lied. "Very well. I wanted to uh...talk about your son." "Have you made up your mind?" "Yes," Shulk nodded. "We agree with you. Egil must be stopped. But we can't act now." "Hm?" Miqol raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?" "Before we came here, we heard of plans to form an allied force on Bionis," Shulk explained. "Any day now, their going to launch an attack on Mechonis. But it's too dangerous. Egil has made a weapon that could kill us all." "The weapon that Mumkhar was using?" Dunban asked. "The one that shoots green fluid?" "He said it could decompose any being from Bionis," Sharla remembered. "We have to go back and warn them," Shulk insisted, not sure at all how they were going to return to Bionis. "Before it's too late!" "Well, you could always ask me to do it." Shulk spun around at the sound of a familiar voice and saw Dickson standing behind them, a huge grin spread across his face. "Dickson!" Shulk said. "What are you doing here? I can't believe you found us!" Dickson chuckled and tousled Shulk's hair. "Why?" He asked. "This place is directly below the fortress. If you fell from there, I figured you must have ended up down here." He grinned before adding. "And Bob's your uncle!" Shulk rolled his eyes at his odd way of saying hello. "You're looking well, Dickson!" Said Miqol. "I see you're looking like you're usual old self," Dickson replied. Miqol laughed. "You know each other?' Dunban said, shocked. "Kinda," Dickson made a face while doing a so-so gesture. "I scratch his back, he scratches mine," Miqol shrugged. "He tells us about the outside world and he gives us technology and information." "Why did you keep that to yourself?" Demanded Dunban. "That information is vital to all who fight Mechonis." "Not all of us Homs are good people," Dickson pointed out. "What'd happen if the Mechonis-hating types found this place? These Machina cut themselves away from the world to get away from pointless fighting." "So they escaped to live in peace," Melia said knowingly. It was almost exactly what the High Entia had done. "Somewhere they wouldn't be seen. Makes sense." "Clever little crown princess, ain'tcha?" Dickson smirked at her. "So this is where you obtained all this stuff you brought back to Colony 9," Dunban looked as though a mystery had just been solved. "I wondered where you were getting it from." "I thought it was fine as long as it helped Shulk out at the lab," Dickson ruffled Shulk's hair again. "I guess the secret's out now." He turned to Shulk and continued. "So that weapon you were talking about. How dangerous are we talkin' about?" "I haven't figured out why, but it disintegrates whatever it touches," Shulk said, remembering his vision of Sharla's skin burning away as Metal Face's claws barely touched her. "But only if it's living tissue from Bionis." "Bet that would come in handy," Dickson muttered. "Dickson!" Dunban said sharply. "I'm only joking!" Dickson said hastily. "Anyway, for no just don't let any of it touch you. I'll come up with something to counter it. Leave it to me and I'll keep ya posted. You lot go and take care of that Eegiel or whatever his name is. If you take him down, the allied force might not even be needed." "Okay," Shulk nodded, smiling. It quickly faded as he remembered Fiora. "Let me think about it for a bit." He turned, not meeting any of the concerned gazes that followed him. He climbed the ramp that lead to Linada's laboratory, and found she wasn't there. Fiora was still asleep on the bed, like she had been ever since he had come to see her yesterday. He sat down on the side of her bed, and took her hand gently, watching stared at her for a long time, sitting waiting for her to wake up. * * * Shulk stood outside of Junks, staring at the water that surrounded the ether light. He sighed and closed his eyes until a hand on his shoulder startled him back into existence. "Ain't made your mind up yet?" Asked Dickson softly, a kind smile on his face. "Dickson, listen," Shulk said turning to face him. "Dunban told me all about it," Said Dickson. "The goal of your mission. So you wanted to avenge Fiora?" "Yes," Shulk nodded. "But you found her alive," Dickson said. "And you got her back. So you're all done now, ain't ya?" Shulk sighed and closed his eyes. "What are you fighting for, Dickson?" He finally asked. "Me?" Dickson looked slightly surprised as Shulk opened his eyes. "He just gets right under my skin, that Egil guy." "Because he's trying to exterminate the Homs?" "There's that," Dickson agreed, his expression darkening. "But that ain't everything. It's his hatred for the Bionis, or more like his aim to wipe out everything that lives on the Bionis." He tried for a smile, which nearly lit up his whole face. "I'll tell you one thing," He said. "That Bionis allied force is coming together quicker then I thought." "Really?" Shulk said. "Yep," Dickson said. "That High Entia Prince is really moving things along." "Will they launch an attack on Mechonis?" Asked Shulk curiously. "Of course," Dickson said. "But it looks like the prince's got another plan. He gave me a message for you. When the allied force attacks Mechonis, you don't need to join the fight. He wants you to take advantage of the chaos and do what it is you need to do." "Prince Kallian said that?" "I was pretty surprised too!" Dickson grinned at Shulk's bewildered expression. "He looks like a sissy, but he's got guts." "Yeah," Shulk agreed. "I think that's the type of man he is." "So what are you gonna do?" Dickson asked. "He wanted me to let him know." "We're going to the Mechonis capital," Shulk said firmly. "You're gonna take down Egil?" "I don't know," Shulk admitted. "I can't forgive the Mechon for what they've done. But after listening to Miqol, I think there might be another way." "You're too soft." Dickson's tone of voice surprised Shulk. He was looking away from the blonde, up at the towering Mechonis above. "Do you really think that?" He asked, slightly hurt. "Too right," Dickson said. "He's the self-proclaimed Leader of Mechonis! I heard what happened to the Monado. If you face him, it might get eaten up. But you have to throw everything at him. Even if there's only a slim chance of winning. Hesitate for one second, and you're a goner." "We won't let Shulk die! Not ever!" Shulk spun around to find Fiora approaching him, one hand on her hip. She looked a lot healthier now that Linada had worked her magic on her. "Fiora!" He gave her a smile. "Are you okay to be walking around like that?" "Yep!" She returned it. "I have to hand it to her," Sharla folded her arms. "That Linada's pretty good. And not just with machines. She's also quite familiar with organic physiology." "You went to get the thing she needed to cure me, right?" Fiora asked Shulk, looking guilty. "I'm sorry I've caused all this hassle..." Shulk shook his head and she locked her gaze with his. "But I'm fine now. I'll be by your side, fighting to protect you." She turned to Dickson who glanced down at her with a surprised expression. "No matter where we go, no matter how difficult it gets, Shulk will do the right thing," Fiora said confidently. "It doesn't matter how slim our chances. Shulk will always stick to the right path." "And don't forget," Dunban chimed in. "It's because of Shulk that we're all here, fighting together. I think that shows he has a strong character. Am I wrong, Dickson?" "Well, when I think of everything you lot have done, I can't deny that," Dickson shrugged. "Dickson, we're going to the Mechonis capital," Shulk said again. "About the allied force..." "Yeah, leave it to me," Dickson told him. "I ain't gonna let anything happen to the colony. Those Mechon won't get away with anything else." Shulk smiled and they got their things, preparing for the long journey ahead. Miqol joined them when they regrouped back in the center of town. "Are you going?" He asked. "Yes," Shulk nodded. "Thank you for all your help." "You might run into someone called Vanea in the capital," Miqol said, grinning at them. "Just mention my name and she'll lend a hand." "Vanea..." Fiora said thoughtfully, almost as if she knew the name. "Is she a Machina as well?" Asked Shulk. Miqol nodded. "She's my daughter," He explained. "She won't be far from Egil." "Hold on," Dunban said. "You mean she's Egil's sister?" "You've got it, lad." "And you say she'll help us?" Shulk questioned. "The girl doesn't want to hurt Egil, but she doesn't like what he's doing," Miqol said. "She should be a big help to you young 'uns." "I dunno why she'd help us, but.." Shulk trailed off, shrugging. "We'll try and find her when we get there." Miqol chuckled. "Good luck." Linada stepped forwards and surveyed Fiora with a concerned expression. "Fiora, don't forget, I've only made temporary repairs," Said Linada. "I think you should be able to fight, but don't overdo it. Come and see me the moment you experience any further system failure." "I will," Fiora promised. "Thank you." "In the meantime," Linada made a face. "I'm hoping I'll find a way to restore your former body." Fiora's eyes widened. "Is that possible?!" "Theoretically," Linada said slowly. 'It might be possible to use your genetic information to regenerate your missing organs." She sighed and shook her head. "I'm sorry. It's unfair for me to give you hope. To be honest, there's very little chance. But even if there's the slightest possibility I'll have to try." "Thank you, Linada!" Fiora said gratefully. "Fiora," Shulk glanced at her, his mouth twisting to one side. He was obviously concerned. "Don't make that face," Fiora chided. "Okay, let's go." They started towards the exit of the village while Dickson watched them from afar. "Off ya go, kid," He murmured. "I'm counting on you and the Monado. Don't let me down, Shulk." * * * Egil stood in front of a huge container, the same one Face Nemesis and dozens of other Faces had been created in. In front of him were two handles and a swirling circle of light surrounded his feet. He was surrounded by particles of light, which allowed him to see into his own, and his Faces', memories. "Why did that Face betray me?" Egil murmured, remembering Face Nemesis' betrayal, and how she had attacked him. "And that light. No. That is not possible." He scowled, refusing to believe what he thought. "It must have been memories from her former life that made me lose control." He frowned, diving into his own again. "Memories..." He spat scathingly. "They are what limited the potential of Metal Face as well. I now know that I must erase every last trace of what they once were." He frowned, and opened his eyes. "All my servants need...Is the instinct to fight. The panels in front of him began to glow, and he was suddenly thrown into his most recent Faces' memories. He frowned, and he found a memory of a Homs woman who used an ether rifle. "This Homs female," Egil muttered. "She was with the boy who wields the Monado. The light of her memory...shines strongly in this one." He turned to a nearby panel and spoke it it. "Bring me Face 20814!" There was a hum of machinery and a Jade-colored Mechon appeared in the cylinder before him. "So it is this male," Egil said, remembering the Heir to the Monado. "The boy, Shulk, remains a thorn in my side. I will enjoy watching my minion crush him." He raised his hands and the Mechon began writhing, it's mouth open in silent screams of pain. "Be still, my servant," Called Egil. "I see that your memories cause you much suffering." He smirked as it became still. And the last memory of Sharla, vanished from Jade Face.