Hey guys ! Sorry for the long wait, I'm still working on my main story but I'k trying to update each time I can ! Sorry this chapter is a bit short but here we go !

Also shoutout to Waluigifan

"You want me to teach you about our technology ?"

"Yeah ! I want to know everything ! You are such a great inventor, I would like to be as good as you" Shulk hadn't dared to ask the question, he always thought that Egil would not be happy if he got to interested into mechons engineering but as the time passes he noticed that the leader was willing to "share" a secret or two, so why not ask Vanea directly ?

"... you know most of the models we are currently using were created by Egil, they are kind of weak compared to the face units but they are WAY more stable, compared to him I would just be a researcher, he is the real architect ... Perhaps you should go and ask him directly"

Should looked down for a moment "I- ... I guess I could but- ... I just don't want to disturb him, he is already working so hard, I never saw him sleeping as far as I can remember" Shulk had been on Mechonis for more than one month now, and indeed during the short periods of time he saw Egil he always looked tired but not to the point of collapsing in the ground, Vanea had her own room and compared to her brother Shulk had already seen her sleeping.

Shulk theorized that, as machines, the Machinas probably had the capacity to regulate their own bodies, obviously they are organic beings but compared to the Homs it is very plausible that they might have this sort of ability.

If it was the case then it would mean Egil is continually diminishing himself in order to stay awake ...

"Egil always has some time for the people of Mechonis"

"The people of Mechonis ? But- ...I-"

"You are half Hom half mechon, so technically this makes you a Machina right ? Hahaha, well I can still teach you a thing or two myself what do you want to know ?"

Shulk had already prepared at least three hours of questions for Vanea, hopefully she could make an effort and diminish herself to give the boy all the time needed to answer his questions right ?

"You got into troubles again"

"I never asked for anything you know" being grounded for a bunch of idiots who managed to get their ass kicked by something invisible, brilliant ... well Reyn wasn't concerned for now, so Fiora would be the only one actually punished.

"Fiora this is serious, I just picked up the monado, I'm an important figure, people are expecting a lot of me and-

"So what ? Just because you picked up your big red magic sword you have the right to be parading around the colony and make speeches about your important duties ?"

"Fiora that's not-"

"It would have been better if you didn't pick that sword" she stood up from her chair and left the kitchen, she was heading toward the entrance door of the house "In fact it would have been better if no one at all picked up this damn sword !"

"Fiora wait !" Dunban tried to reach his sister before she left the house but it was already too late, eventually she would come back, she would just say goodnight, not talk to him for a few days and then evrything will turn back to normal, or at least that's what he thought.

In truth she wasn't angry because Duban managed to wield the Monado, she was angry because it meant that now he would be even less present. Sometimes she wished he could see the truth without necessarily having to explain evrything to him. It would be so simple to simply tell him she needed her brother but ... what would be the point ? He would just slowly go back to his occupations.

Fiora didn't really plan what she would do next ... perhaps drop by Reyn's house ?

"So yes, most mechon relies on ether to works but we have found a lot of alternatives ! For example we are using oil-"

Egil didn't expect to find his sister and Shulk working together on a small mechon, they didn't notice him yet, apparently Vanea had finished the last face prototype, a mass produced one, he didn't like the overall design but it would work just fine.

The leader of Mechonis silently approached the duo, observing what they were currently looking at, an old mechon ... M29 Gather Unit, he hadn't seen this once since before Zanza launched his attack on Mechonis ... yes, he can still remember this model.

"We didn't use this one often" explained his sister to Shulk as she was removing the main frame to observe the interior of the machine "see this part ? It gets really hot quickly unless we find a way to evacuate all the pressure, usually we would use a cooling liquid but for some reason this one kept overheating"

Egil knew why of course, he had solved this problems eons ago, all they had to do was-

"The part supposed to contain the liquid is too small, it can't contain enough, if you make it bigger it might be ome more fragile and it will take too much space so ... perhaps you could make it longer, like a tube ?"

Egil could resist he applauded, making the young Hom jump in surprise and giving his sister a small heart attack.

"Perhaps you shoud take a look at the other models ... I have a mission for you, but if you aren't available at the moment it can wait"

"N-no it's fine, I-I can help whenever you want !"

Egil smiled and gestured for Shulk to follow him "Our new observations units aren't ready yet, I need eyes at the colony to see how the situation is evolving, I want you to travel to the colony at least once a day to watch over the man who managed to use the Monado, can you do this for me ?"

"Of course, should I leave now ?"

Well please do we aren't in a hurry but that's your choice , I also upgraded your face unit, now you should be able to fully cloak"

"Really ?" Shulk beamed with excitement, he barely interacted with any mechon, apparently he was safe with his new body but he still didn't trust any of the machines so each time he could use his face unit was the occasion to be directly in contact with those intriguing beings ... well even if the face units are REALLY different from the regular units.

Shulk directly headed to the hangar containing RUBY, Egil stayed behind to tall a bit with Vanea first "He is smart, I'm sure he would have become a wonderful engineer on Bionis" he commented.

"It took you three years to see where was the problem, he did in about five seconds, I was wondering if you were jealous"

"Not at all haha ... I'm not taking any risk, we might have to accelerate our plans, the mass produced units aren't ready but we could still use our M30, they are already working and we have about ten M60 ready to deploy in Sword Valley"

Vanea looked worried suddenly "... How are you going to explain to Shulk the next step of your plan ? I can understand that considering the current situation we do not have much choice but- ... there is no way Shulk would attack his own kind"

Egil thought about this for a moment, of course this had to happen one day or another, he would have to warn Shulk about this part of the plan "... I will not force him, Shulk made me realise that keeping the pilot's spirit has to be the best option"

"You never intended to-"

"Of course no, not on a child, I'm not that cruel ... I should go now, Shulk is waiting"

Shulk had already figured out how the cloak system worked, Egil had reprogrammed the interface fo make it more ergonomic, he had also switched the color, now it was red !

"Do you like it ? I guess I don't even have to explain the new features"

"It's great thank you ! B-but well technically it's not mine it's yours I'm just the pilot hehe ..."

"You can consider it yours and- ... before you go we need to talk" Egil sat on a bench outside of the hangar, not that he needed one, the factory had this type of furnitures placed everywhere yet no one was here to use them.

Shulk joined Egil "... Something is wrong ?"

"Yes, I didn't make sure you were fully willing to help us ... would you be able to kill another Hom to ensure the survival of all the others ? This is a war Shulk, you already know this but are you fully aware about what it means ?"

The young Hom shivered.

"I- ... I know, I know I said I would help you ... and I considered this eventuality. I remember you once said that every mechon in existence is under your direct control right ? Then- ... then if one day you need me to kill someone ... use me"

Egil stared at Shulk, he wasn't confused at this moment, but scared. The kid was ready to be used as a tool ... it wasn't loyalty, no it was far worse than he anticipated, it was devotion.

"... It was too early to tall about this, now go ... try to empty your mind, you shouldn't think to much about this" Egil swinged a finger I the air, after a second Shulk's face unit moved out of it's hangar.

Without hesitation Shulk climbed inside "I'll be back tomorrow then" he announced.

Egil turned around one last time and waved his hand as he saw RUBY leaving the Mechonis "... And she said brainwashing was an atrocity"

In about an hour Shulk had reached the colony, this time he took the long way around to reach the cavern once again, apparently the creatures inside decided to find another place to live. He wasn't done thanking Egil and Vanea for the face unit, he was about to activate the recharge mode and exit RUBY when he heard a voice.

"H-hey, you are back !"

Shulk looked all around him until he found the origin of the voice, the same girl he helped, he didn't see her when he entered the cave because she was hiding in a dead angle.

"S-so ... I knew you would come back-I-I mean, I supposed you would ... and I'm glad you did !"

Shulk had to do something, she was compromising his mission ! Perhaps escape ? No she woumd just tell what she saw to everyone ... he had to deal directly with the source of the problem ... so-

"I didn't really had to occasion to thank you, you weren't responding, I guess you were ... sleeping ? Even machines need to cool down from time to time right ? Hehehe"

... He had to- ... he had to ki-

"I didn't speak about you to anyone, I promise, you were hiding the other day and-and I must admit I'm still clueless when it comes to how you managed to become invisible and-and hehe, sorry I-I lost my train of thoughts here.m I haven't even told you my name, I'm Fiora"

Fiora ... he liked this name a lot.

Shulk considered his options for a few seconds, then he activated his voice transmission.

"Hello Fiora ... my name is- ... Ruby"