A/N: I swear I'm going to finish this story if it's the last thing I do on this planet. I've been busy, but to give you all an idea of what I've been up to other than working my full time job, and taking care of my toddler son; I have been working on an original work since I last updated, so I am very sorry I left you all hanging with this. On a more positive note I am up to 65,000 words with my original work, which is such an accomplishment with the lack of free time I actually do have. I need a break from it though. I really, really appreciate all of the wonderful reviews, favorites, and follows for this story. It really means a lot to me, and I hope I continue to provide a pleasing reading experience for you all. I feel it's important to not let my fans down, and if I can't finish this amazing idea I have for this story, then what does that say about me as a writer? So here is the next installment. Maybe I will finish this before GRRM finishes The Winds of Winter! (Heheheh). This chapter may seem a little different in writing style. With the experience I gained with working on my original story ,I feel I have improved on the way I write. We'll see. At some point I'll make the rest of it look prettier. Just bare with me. We'll get through this together. Enjoy!

Fiora

She heard the front door close downstairs as she sat on her bed in the upstairs bedroom. A picture of her and Shulk filled her hand. The arm holding the picture hung defeated beside her. This picture represented a time where she was still human, a time she could envision a future with Shulk, an intimate relationship, a life where she would have opportunities to fulfill her role as a female Hom. Not that she couldn't envision that now, but her reality, their reality, would have to be much different from that. Her eyes moved across the room to the open window that overlooked The Salty Sea. She found herself getting up to look at Shulk walk away from their home in the residential district, and through the streets of New Colony 9. Hot tears slowly began to roll down her face as she bit her lip in effort to ease her emotional pain. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Shulk, but how could she tell him about what she learned from Linada the previous day? Her mind went back and forth between her appointment with Linada, and the present. She was blacking in and out of present day reality. Did she really want to live in this reality though? Everything was in a haze, and she couldn't think straight. Fiora wiped the tears from her eyes quickly, and folded her arms as she lost sight of Shulk. Noticing she still had the picture in her hand, she held it at eye level, blocking the view of the beautiful, cloudless daytime sky outside. Tears began to block her view of the picture as she thought about her time at the clinic the day before.

Fiora opened her eyes to a bright flash of light and found herself jolting up, gasping for a full breath of air, and pulling at the wiring that was attached to her. Her vision focused back to the room in the clinic, and she saw Linada trying to calm her. Rapidly breathing, she refocused all of her thoughts on calming down, and used some meditation techniques she learned from Linada and Vanea. The Machina had been around for thousands of years, and they always knew the best ways to calm down from stress and anxiety attacks. She had learned a lot from them in the time that she spent with them both during her journey to engage Zanza in battle, and in her recovery in this new world. She often told them they should start a meditation class with the Homs, as they could benefit greatly from relaxation techniques. Vanea would laugh at the suggestion, but you could tell she was considering it. She had her fair share of impulsivity and anger from the Homs. Fiora held her breath for a few moments as she felt Linada gently take the wires that were connected to her away.

"Meyneth." Fiora breathed.

There was a short silence, and the only thing that could be heard was the hum of the machine she had been hooked to prior to waking up. Fiora looked at the machine suddenly having thoughts on whether or not it was a fellow mechon, and quickly dismissed the thought. She regained her composure, licked her lips, and looked at Linada who now resembled a statue rather than a hybrid being.

"Meyneth?" Linada responded almost in an echoic way, "What did you see?"

Fiora thought very hard about this. It was as if she had awoken from a nightmare, but at first she didn't necessarily recall why she had awoken in such terror. Was it terror? As she collected her thoughts, the scene she remembered was not a terrible scene, but it felt so real, and she had felt so much emotion with it. Was this something that Meyneth had experienced? Was she experiencing the fear that Meyneth once felt before the war between the Mechonis and Bionis? But it was just a dream. How could she be seeing something like that?

"It was as if I was her, talking with Vanea and Egil. It felt like it was long before my time." Fiora paused, "Was that real? Did I see something that Meyneth saw?"

Linada looked troubled, and quickly looked away from Fiora. The humming of the machine faded as Linada pushed some buttons, and it was clear it had shut down completely.

"I think, I need to look at these pictures I took of your brain activity." Linada answered.

"Don't change the subject." Fiora demanded, "No, what did I see Linada? Did you see what I saw?"

Linada continued to look away, and she played with the wires in her hand, appearing very nervous in her movements, "Look I can't go into too much detail my dear," she paused, and let out a heavy sigh, "was that the first time you had a 'dream' like that?"

Now that she mentioned it, she had several dreams like that, but she hadn't put much thought into the fact she was having those type of dreams. She always thought it had to do with Meyneth's soulstone being attached to her body for so long.

"They were never... That realistic..." Fiora said, wondering silently to herself if she was telling the truth or not.

"Can you recall when you started having these 'dreams?" Linada put a lot of emphasis on the word 'dream.'

Fiora furrowed her eyebrows, "I guess it started happening a couple weeks ago?"

Fiora began to wonder herself if these dreams actually started during her recovery phase. Did she have them when she wore the soulstone? She always felt connected to Meyneth in a way she couldn't necessarily describe in words. It was an invisible force that Fiora knew, and unconditionally loved. It was the power a god had over her mind and body that forced her to feel a certain way. As invasive as this would appear, Fiora knew in her heart that Meyneth was a loving spirit in the end, and she was just doing this to protect everyone. They both shared a body together for the better part of a year. She had these feelings, and visions when she shared her body with Meyneth before their final fight with Zanza. She assumed she had them while she wore her soulstone during the time where she transitioned back to her Hom body, but regrettably, she couldn't recall whether this was the same experience or not.

"Fiora, I think our session is up for now. I have to talk with Vanea before I can continue to do these tests on you." Linada said softly, now looking at Fiora again, her gaze looking as troubled as Fiora had felt.

"You're hiding something." Fiora breathed, her eyes narrowing on Linada, "but you're not going to tell me what that something is."

Linada shook her head, and gave a regrettable look back at Fiora, "I'm sorry." She finished genuinely, and began to walk out of the room.

"Wait, can we talk about something that is perhaps unrelated to my brain scans?" Fiora found herself physically reaching out to Linada from the bed, and she let her arm fall slowly as she saw Linada head back toward her. "It's about me being a Hom again."

"Yes your transformation," Linada began to glow again, "this whole process has been very difficult for you, I am sure, but you are taking this with full strides, and the medical breakthroughs we have made with helping you get here have been nothing short of astounding for both Machina and Homs alike." Linada smiled ear to ear.

"I cannot wait to tell Shulk that. That will make him so happy." Fiora felt her face get hot, and warm tears build up on her bottom eyelids, "Will I be able to function, a hundred percent as a Hom?" She gave Linada a knowing look.

Linada stood as still as a statue again. Her eyes wide with surprise, looking as though she wasn't quite sure how to answer, or that she didn't know exactly what Fiora was asking her.

"If we can go back to the topic of those pictures I saw before." Fiora continued, "When you saw my reaction to a picture of Shulk...I have been in a relationship with Shulk, and we are getting serious," She swallowed dryly and looked from the floor back to Linada, who was now, again, giving her a trouble look.

"Yes, you want to talk about your feelings for him?" Linada said in a robotic way.

"No, thats not it, well I mean, I'm afraid to be intimate with him, but I'm sure that will come in time right?" Fiora put her cool hand on her neck and felt the heat that was emanating from her face and neck. "Anyway when that time comes, if me and Shulk get to that point," Fiora licked her lips, which provided little relief knowing how dry her tongue was with this conversation. She didn't meet Linada's eyes this time. This was so hard to ask her, but she needed to know the answer, "If me and Shulk end up together, will we... Will I be able to..." She almost couldn't say it out loud, but found herself looking directly into Linada's purple eyes, her face getting hotter than ever "bare children?" Fiora finished slowly.

Linada and Fiora looked at each other silently for what seemed like the amount of time the Bonis and Mechonis existed before Linada responded, "Oh dear. Fiora, the Hom reproductive system is a very complicated matter." She looked away nervously, and then met Fiora's eyes again, "I feared the day this question would be brought to my attention." Linada took in a deep breath, "You have the parts, but I cannot tell you that they are functional."

Fiora looked at her in shock. She wasn't expecting a response like this. At the very worst she thought Linada would say they are working on a solution, anything positive or uplifting. She honestly thought the answer would have been more positive than flat out telling her no.

"Will they ever be?" Fiora said slowly.

Linada shook her head and looked away from Fiora, "It's a very complicated matter, but we will let you know if we find any kind of breakthrough." Linada took Fiora's hand, and Fiora found herself recoiling back quickly.

"Oh, well... It really isn't that big of a deal..." Fiora held her breath after speaking " Really, I was just curious. I guess keep me updated Then." Fiora slowly got up from the seat, letting out a forced laugh as she got up.

"Once again, I am so sorry." Linada apologized.

"No need to apologize, it's really not that important. I'm so young anyway, I shouldn't be thinking that way yet." Fiora said with her voice cracking as she finished. "You're right, I should get going."

There was no point having this kind of conversation with someone who was half machine, and wouldn't be able to fully understand what a Hom would feel hearing something like that. If she could even call herself a Hom anymore.

"Fiora..." She heard Linada call out, but Fiora made her way out the door without looking back.

The sound of a metal frame hitting the wood under her feet brought her back to the present, and she found more hot tears running down her face. The hand that dropped the picture was tightly coiled into a fist. This time she let the tears fall from her eyes, run down her face, and follow the picture's lead of hitting the wooden floor of the room. She didn't think there was any way she could feel less real. The body she was in wasn't even hers. She had no choice in what her body would do anymore. How could she possibly be a partner to Shulk if she couldn't give him something so basic as a Hom family? What would he say to that? Did he love her enough to continue to be with her? Angry, negative thoughts replaced her despair. She started believing Melia would be a better fit for him. Why would he want to deal with her like this? It had never occurred to her that starting her own family would be so important to her until she was told that she wouldn't have a choice in the matter.

She knelt down to pick up the picture, and brought it to the night stand next to her bed. The picture looked perfect at that particular spot, and it was the perfect angle for Fiora to fall asleep lookign at it. Oh how she loved being with Shulk every day. She couldn't stand the thought of losing him, but she couldn't also put him through a relationship their extension to the Hom's existence would be fruitless. She felt the heat of The light shining bright through the curtains, and Fiora looked out the window longingly. It was such a beautiful day today, and it would have been a shame if she didn't go outside to at least try to enjoy it. The new Observatory Hill would surely be a beautiful sight to see with the cloudless sky, and the sun shimmering against the waters of The Salty Sea. The beauty could be something to enjoy, and also help her get break free of this thought of starting a family; she was only 19 years old after all. They might have a breakthrough by the time she gets there mentally. Linada didn't say they wouldn't try. On top of that, she had yet to be intimate with Shulk to begin with, and this wasn't exactly something she wanted to think about right now either. She felt the ache in her chest fade as she made her way downstairs and out the front door. Yes, she could handle this life. She had to handle this life; she couldn't let Shulk feel the despair of losing her again.

To her surprise, she was not alone in thinking that Observatory Hill would be a good place to sit and relax. Upon arriving to the hill of bright green grass, she saw a figure in a purple, long sleeved dress looking out at The Salty Sea. Not doubting at all it was Melia, she walked quicker to get a closer look to make sure it was in fact her. Fiora noticed, upon geting closer, that Melia looked distracted, possibly even sad. Her chin laid on top of her knees, arms wrapped around her upper legs tightly, and she appeared to look off distantly into the sea. Fiora packed herself a sandwich to eat, but she was not all that hungry. She decided she wouldn't mind splitting it with someone if the opportunity presented itself, which this appeared to be that opportunity she was hoping for when she made her meal. She walked slowly over to Melia, not making any noise,, and stopped inches away from her. Melia didn't appear to notice her.

"Hello there," Fiora said cheerfully, the tone in her voice not showing any sadness to her own relief. The wind blew gently making the grass under them shift every so slightly.

Melia's head jolted up, and she caught herself putting her arm behind her. "Fiora," she responded, "What are you doing up here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Fiora answered, "Aren't you helping Riki with his restaurant?"

This brought a smile to Melia's face, "Riki gave me the day off," She laughed, but this wasn't a genuine laugh. Something was terribly wrong with Melia. Her face went from a forced laugh back to sadness within seconds.

"Well since you are up here, do you mind joining me for lunch?" She held up her little basket with her sandwich and drink inside, and another smile formed on Melia's face. Fiora couldn't help but notice how forced this smile was.

"I thank you, but I am not all that hungry right now," Melia responded in a weak tone.

"Nonsense!" Fiora sat down next to her, opened her basket, and cut her sandwich in half, "Well I can't finish this all my self, and it would be a shame for it to go to waste." Fiora found herself giggling, as if she were talking with Shulk. The thought of Shulk began to make her sad as well.

Melia gave a blank look at the sandwich half, and took it slowly from Fiora. "Are you sure?" Melia's eyebrows furrowed as she caught her gaze. Fiora responded to her with a cheerful nod.

Both of them ate the food in silence. There was the occasional request from Melia for a cup of water, which Fiora obliged, and poured her a cup from the thermos she brought. They both stared off blankly at the sea. After some time Melia fell back into the grass, interrupting the long silence, and Fiora turned to look at her laying in the grass. Melia was clearly just as troubled as she was, and she had an obvious look of defeat.

"Melia, what's troubling you?" Fiora finally asked.

"Pardon? What makes you think I'm troubled?" Melia said not breaking her stare at the bright blue, still cloudless sky above, "I was thinking that we are so fortunate to have such a beautiful day."

"You're not very good at lying Melia." Fiora leaned back in the grass, somewhat feeling bad for calling her out. She didn't want to share her feelings with Shulk earlier after all.

Melia let out a sigh, and sat up quickly, "I apologize, but I'm not sure I know what to tell you Fiora."

"I guess I hear you on that." Fiora started, "I did the same thing to Shulk earlier." She admitted.

"You're feeling troubled as well?" Melia's eyes met Fiora's with a loook of concern.

"Yeah, these procedures I have to go through are taking their toll on me."

"Oh no, are you going to be alright?" Melia asked.

Fiora always appreciated how Melia put the feelings of others before her own, but Fiora couldn't help remembering how distressed Melia looked when she was making her way up to this spot they were sitting at. This conversation couldn't be about her right now. She knew Melia needed to talk to someone. This was her time to do so.

"I'll be okay Melia, no worries. But HA. you admitted that you are in fact troubled. I am honestly more concerned about you. You seem so distant." Fiora changed the subject, giving Melia the most concerned look she could put on her face.

Melia dropped her head and looked at the grass that was continuing to blow with the gentle breeze coming from the sea and mountains ahead. "I was sent on a mission to examine a possible Telethia sighting."

Fiora was surprised Melia opened up so quickly. Melia told Fiora about how Vanea had asked her to go investigate the area the sighting of the Telethis came from, and that if it was a Telethia, there would be something Melia would need to bring back to her. Reyn and Sharla had met with Melia at the time she had encountered the Telethia, and helped her with it's defeat. After the battle, Melia had realized who exactly she had been fighting. Melia went on about what happened...

"Brother..." Melia dropped her hands slowly from her face, hoping that when she looked at the face again, it wouldn't be Kallian, but there was no mistaking it. She brought herself to a kneel, and reached out to touch his face with both of her hands. "It can't be. You were free when we defeated her on the Bionis." Melia sobbed.

"This has to be some kind of sick joke." Reyn was now standing next to Melia along with Riki and Sharla.

"This isn't a joke Reyn." Sharla responded, kneeling to meet Melia where she was at, "There has to be a reason. Why would this particular Telethia appear right here and now? What is the reasoning that Melia has to relive this moment?"

Melia's hands fell to the ground from Kallian's face, and she continued to sob. She wanted to curl up in a ball and disappear. The last thing she wanted was to be comforted or talked to by anyone. She banged her fist off the ground in pain and anger. Why did she have to see him again like this? She had closure with it before, why? The hot tears flooding her eyes made it almost impossible to see. She lifted her head to find a blinding blue light shining in front of her. She continued to lift her head, that previously hung in defeat, to look at the light shining before them. Blinking the tears out of her eyes, she brought herself to crawl, and reached out to the blue light. Sharla tried to stop her, but was unsuccessful. As if possessed and being told what to do by the light, she grabbed onto the source of it. Lorithia's lifeless upper body came into Melia's view, and anger consumed her. The blue light was coming from a stone near her body. Without thinking about it, she pulled the blue stone with all of her might, and to her surprise it ended up loose in her hand. She quickly crawled backwards, back to the others, who were all silent in the shock of what just happened.

The Telethia began to sparkle, and light up in the way it did when they defeated it within the Bionis Interior. Melia stood up, and in this moment she knew she looked stronger than she felt. She wanted to collapse onto her knees again, mourn all over again, and be left alone to sob eternally in her grief, but she knew she had to be strong. She was the queen of The High Entia, and she could get through this. She had to be strong for her people. The Telethis disappeared into nothing and her eyes narrowed upon the spot it previously occupied. Everyone stood around Melia in silence as she looked down at the triangular shaped stone in her hand. The energy this stone was emitting was so familiar to her, but she couldn't pin point what exactly it was from. The force was almost too much for her, it wanted her to black out - it wanted her to not be present right here and now.

"Melly has shiny blue rock!" Riki pointed out to the others, making them gasp.

"Melia? Are you okay? What is that?" Sharla asked.

Melia held the stone hard in her hand, coiling around the stone with her fingers. It was as if the stone was telling her what to say. Kallian's last wish was for her to find this, that had to be it. She knew why Lorithia had this stone with her, she was sure of it.

"Do you all remember that Lorithia was promised immortality?" Melia started, and Sharla and Reyn looked at each other blankly. Riki did his usually hopping up and down. No one said a word until Melia continued, "I believe, somehow, this stone has something to do with my brother's reappearance. We need to make haste and get back to Vanea." She said in a much stronger tone than she felt.

"It was when we returned to Vanea that we discovered the stone that Lorithia wore was the immortality she was promised. Vanea also explained Dickson wore one very similar to one I brought back. I do not think Lorithia had any idea what it was that she had, and she thought Zanza had granted her not only immortality, but resistance to becoming a Telethia permanently in her immortality. We think that is why she came back as a Telethia in this world. My brother just so happened to be part of that body, but I do believe he had a part in getting that stone to me."

Suddenly, Fiora felt her problems were much less important than Melia's. She realized that Melia lost almost everyone she knew and grew up with from Alcamoth. Melia no longer had her parents, not to mention both her father and brother had a traumatic end to their lives. Fiora tried to empathize, and couldn't imagine going through life without having her brother to support her. How did Melia find the will to keep going forward? Fiora couldn't imagine how lonely Melia had to feel.

"Melia, I am so sorry." Fiora apologized as she felt herself tearing up again. She had no right to be anywhere near as sad as Melia. "Please, if you ever need anyone to talk to, know that I am here." She took Melia's hand with both of hers, and nodded at her.

Melia took in a deep breath, looking at the hands that held her own, "I am in your gratitude, Fiora."

"So formal." Fiora tilted her head, and they both laughed a genuine laugh this time.

"Now, if I may ask, what has been on your mind?" Melia asked, taking Fiora off guard.

"It's not important." Fiora answered quickly, "trust me, having this conversation with you made me realize how important the people in my life are to me, and I need to appreciate that."

"You talk as if you don't already appreciate those you hold dear." Melia said, giving Fiora a fierce look with her blue green eyes.

"There you two are," a familiar man's voice came from the distance, prompting both Melia and Fiora to look behind them.

"Dunban, you're back!" Fiora called out, looking back at Melia who looked more red than ever before. Fiora smiled at her briefly. She heard from Shulk about the alcohol induced conversations Melia would have with him, after their committee meetings, about her blossoming feelings Melia was developing for Dunban. She couldn't help but giggle, and think this reaction was cute. Fiora got herself up to greet her brother.

"Shulk asked me to find you, and I also had some matters to discuss with our High Entia Queen here." Dunban stopped and put his left hand on his hip. His right arm was now fully functional again, but out of habit from their journey Dunban continued to favor using his left.

"Oh, is that so?" She looked back at Melia, who continued to sit in the grass, the color of her face apparent even from where Dunban was standing. Fiora silently hoped he was too dense to notice. "Did he need me for something?" She looked back at Dunban, who gave her a very serious look.

"Word has it that he is going to Colony 6 to handle a situation..." Dunban started.

"A situation." Fiora echoed, "What kind of situation are we talking about? Does he need me to go with him?"

Dunban nodded, "I heard from Reyn, and Sharla that Dickson is being held there."

"Dickson!?" Fiora unconsciously put her hands over her mouth with how loud she was, and then continued, "But he's.. But we... He survived?" Fiora almost shouted but stopped herself. She also noticed this caused Melia to look at her instead of the grass.

"That's the same reaction I had when I heard about him, and also her brother." Dunban pointed at Melia.

"So you know then..." Fiora said sadly.

" Do you remember when I mentioned that Dickson wore a stone like the one I obtained from Lorithia?" Melia finally spoke, suddenly materializing beside Fiora and Dunban, "It has to be the same thing. That must be what is keeping that man alive."

"I can't believe it..." Fiora breathed, "So does that mean you are going too?"

Dunban shook his head, "I just came back from Colony 6. I said what I needed to say to him while I was there. It is now time for Shulk to have his final words with him. Hopefully that will bring some closure to Shulk's mind."

Fiora sometimes forgot that Shulk grew up not knowing either of his parents, and that Dickson was more of a father figure to him than anything. She was sure Shulk had accepted his fate before, and that was his closure. Dickson's last words echoed through Fiora's mind:

"I ain't gonna let you see me die. I won't give you the satisfaction of victory. See ya, kid. It looks like the student finally surpassed the teacher."

It must have been unbearable to Shulk that in the end he had to fight, and defeat Dickson to get to Zanza. She knew in the bottom of his heart he didn't want to fight him. He didn't want to believe what Dickson really was. The expression Shulk had after their fight had been far from a victorious one; it was one of utter despair. Fiora had been sure his wounds had been the end of him, but if what Melia was saying was true, then he could very much be grasping to whatever life he had left after that battle. Yet another person who would have to relive losing someone. Fiora looked at that ground silently at the thought.

"I'm going to go meet with them." Fiora said, "I think we all know that Linada, and Vanea are hiding something. I'm sure of it now, and I... No we need answers." Fiora looked at Dunban and Melia, and remembered that Dunban had to talk with her about something, "I will meet you two down there then right?"

They both nodded at Fiora before she left, and she made her way down to the clinic as fast as she could.

Shulk, Reyn, Sharla, and Riki were all at Linda's Clinic when Fiora arrived. Linada and Vanea stood on the other side of the room with their arms crossed, appearing reluctant to talk about what was going on. Shulk appeared angrier than Fiora had seen him in recent months, but he also looked the most alive she had seen him since the battle against Zanza.

"Shulk, I came as soon as I heard." Fiora said between breaths.

"Fiora, I'm glad you're here." Shulk walked over to her, and to her surprise he embraced her. She hugged him back, but felt her entire body get hot. This kind of touch from him was similar to the time on the Fallen Arm's beach, and it sent shivers down her spine - something she was unable to feel on The Fallen Arm. Their eyes met one another, and they looked at each other in silence for some time.

"Shulk, I'm so sorry I avoided you before." Fiora started to sob.

"It's okay, I understand that you are going through a lot." Shulk said, "but I need you here. Vanea and Linada are going to tell us what is going on."

Fiora swallowed dryly, "Everything?" She looked nervously at Linada who in return closed her eyes, and shook her head. Fiora's heart skipped a beat as she looked back at Shulk.

"Now that you are all here, and now that we have the information Melia obtained from the Telethia she encountered, we can now tell you what is going on." Vanea took in a deep breath, "Are you sure you are all ready to hear what we have to say?"

"It's a real shame Melia had to go through something like that for you two to tell us what is going on here." Sharla crossed her arms, "I'm ready to hear an explanation."

"More ready than we'll ever be!" Reyn answered with enthusiastic determination.

Linada and Vanea exchanged nervous looks, and Vanea walked closer to the group of Homs that were standing in the lobby of the clinic, who were insistent on hearing answers. Linada stayed where she was at in the room, and folded her arms.

"It has been brought to our attention that both Fiora and Shulk have been having what they call 'dreams' of Meyneth, but with the amount of energy expended with these 'dreams, as evidenced by what Shulk was experiencing, I am afraid to tell you, what you are seeing, they are not dreams." Vanea said in a dry, matter of fact tone.

Fiora and Shulk, no longer in their warm embrace, looked at each other in disbelief.

"You were having them too?" Shulk asked her, but she remained silent, waving him off, and pointing to Vanea.

"Those so called 'dreams' you two were having, were none other than the memories of Meyneth and Zanza." Vanea stopped talking for a brief time, looking as if she were collecting her thoughts, and then continued, "Linada and I were, secretly, looking into a way we could somehow bring Meyneth back into this world."

Everyone gasped at Vanea admitting to this, including Linada, who in turn sat in a lobby chair, putting her head in her hands.

"Now before you all go pointing fingers, please understand where we are coming from." Vanea continued, "Meyneth was a loving god. All of our people, all of the Machina loved her, and she loved us all in return. You can only imagine how devastating it was for us to lose her not once, but a second time with her last battle with Zanza."

"Vanea, you heard what Meyneth had said in her last moments though!" Fiora interjected, "It was her will for us to live on, for us to grow without the need for gods."

"I had accepted as much when she did pass, but her soul still rests within the very stone that helped you reclaim your Hom body and self." Vanea smiled at Fiora, Fiora couldn't think of any way to respond to that, so she decided to remain quiet from this point forward.

"So you sensed her presence and wanted to see if you could bring her back?" Shulk questioned, "even though that may have not only been against her will, but also something we do not agree with."

"We wanted to see if that was truly her final wish. So we tried to extract her memories from the soulstone," Linada answered from where she was sitting, "The tests we ran on the soulstone could have had a direct impact on You and Fiora."

"You mean to tell me that your tests were the reason I was having these 'dreams,' or visions whatever you want to call them- The reason I was experiencing Meyneth's memories was because of that?" Shulk continued.

"We were experiencing." Fiora corrected him softly.

Shulk looked over at Fiora, his deep blue eyes piercing through her forest green ones. It felt like an eternity before they broke their stare at one another, and looked back at the two Machina sharing their reasoning for what they had caused to happen to the two of them. Reyn and Sharla appeared stunned at what was being told by Vanea and Linada.

"Yes, and we are sorry it had affected you in such a way. Had we known you two would have been involved with this, we would have been honest with you sooner." Linada replied, "We were afraid that you would feel betrayal from us."

"Well perhaps you felt right." Sharla said, tongue in cheek.

"We thought Meyneth had passed for good, but the life force coming from her soulstone told us otherwise." Vanea continued, "being living beings of the Mechonis, we were intrigued by the information we acquired from her soulstone. Once we removed it from Fiora, that was when we started doing tests. We honestly did not think it would impact anyone. With what we found, we also found that Zanza had his own soulstone. His life presence is still very much here and alive as well."

Shulk, Fiora, Reyn, Riki, and Sharla all looked at each other in astonishment. Fiora wanted to say something, anything, but words escaped her mind as they all continued to let Vanea speak.

"As terrifying as this is to all of us, we wanted to find his soulstone, perhaps to have more answers as to who Meyneth really is. Zanza had been very deliberate in the way he made sure he continued his existence. Even though this had weakened him, he split his life force into three parts, each piece he gave to each of his disciples." Vanea took a deep breath and looked at everyone who continued to gape at her, minus Linada of course. "From what we had found from our studies of Meyneth's memories, was that Zanza had been very important to her in her original life."

"Her original life?" Sharla breathed.

"What exactly are you two playing at? What are you talking about, her original life?" Reyn shouted.

"Reyn..." Shulk interupped, "I didn't tell you all this before, but when I decided to create the world, without gods, Alvis told me that Meyneth and Zanza existed in a life before the Mechonis and Bionis. I think this is what they are referring to. I won't lie and say that I'm not intrigued by this as well."

"Correct, and their souls are more bound than we had ever realized, not just as gods." Vanea allured all of them back to her. "We originally wanted to see if there was a way to bring her back, but in turn we found that one may not be able to exist without the other." She looked at everyone in the room, one by one, for a brief amount of time, and then continued on, "Meyneth couldn't bare the world Zanza had envisioned for himself, so she accepted defeat, somewhat knowing that you would all destroy him n the end. Does that mean she wouldn't want another chance at life? I don't know, but now that you are all involved, I am asking for your help and guidance."

"So you're asking us permission to bring not only her back, but a dangerous god that threatened to destroy everyone's existence for himself?" Sharla accused.

Shulk held out his hand to Sharla to gesture her to stop. Fiora noticed Shulk was deep in thought, and decided to keep quiet herself. Sharla folded her arms, and let Shulk say what he needed to say, "Sharla, I think I understand where this is going, from what I had seen myself, from these 'dreams,' I am also curious as to what information we can gather about this world that has been forgotten."

"That's Shulk for you. Always interested in the science behind everything." Reyn said.

"Then you do understand?" Vanea asked softly. Fiora was always amazed how the Machina always kept their sense of self, and very seldom got angry, or overly emotional about anything.

"I understand, but I don't agree with bringing them back." Shulk said harshly.

"That is fine, and we will respect that decision, but before you make that final we have something to ask of you." Vanea continued to say softly, unaffected by his tone"You are going to see Dickson right? We need you to get that soulstone piece from him. I assume you know what that means for him though right."

"I had accepted his fate long ago Vanea." Shulk said with confidence, but Fiora could tell this was a facade. This was going to be extremely difficult on him, again.

"Then you can retrieve that?" Linada asked., breaking her own silence once again.

"Yes, and I will use force if I have to." Shulk responded, and Fiora noticed his fists clench at this statement. Her heart bled for him, and she felt the emotional pressure in her chest. She bit her lip hard to stop herself from tearing up at the thought of Shulk facing him again. She would have to talk with him about this before arriving in Colony 6.

"Shulk..." Reyn breathed, but didn't say much else.

"What about the third piece?" Fiora finally interjected.

"The third piece was held by Alvis." Shulk answered, "He was one of the disciples after all. I'm sure he will show up at some point, sooner rather than later."

"How can you be so sure?" Vanea asked, but let it go with the piercing look Shulk gave her. "Irregardless, all that we are asking of you is to retrieve those pieces, and assist us with looking into their memories. After that, we would be honored for all of your input with this final decision." Vanea looked at Shulk, and everyone else followed.

"We have a deal with the pieces. But don't hold your breath for any resurrections." Shulk answered.

A/N: Jeez that was dialogue heavy. It's gonna get super interesting from this point on so stay tuned. Hopefully it wont take me another year to update again. Thank you so much for your ongoing interest and support! Love you all!

-Tisfortwee