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Chapter Text

Outlook Park. The place within Colony 9 to relax as the breeze cools you off after a hard day’s work. The cry of the birds was all that could interrupt one’s thoughts…

“I call the sword!” Noah shouted as he rushed for the chest of foam weapons his parents brought with them.

Well, it would be if not for the five children that were running around the park like headless flamiis in a thunderstorm.

“Noah! You can’t always pick the sword!” Joran complained as he, Eunie, and Lanz followed behind their friend. “What if I wanted the sword?”

“Ha, you with a sword? It’ll be a cold day in hell before you’d get it before me!” Eunie grabbed the foam dart rifle out of the chest and aimed it square at Lanz, who only ducked behind a tree before she could fire.

“Taking shots before I even have a weapon, do you have any damn honour Eunie!?” Lanz shouted as he dove for the chest, grabbing a bow and taking a shot himself, only to graze a white wing on Eunie’s head.

“Watch your language, you two.” Shulk shouted towards the machina and high entia children. “You won’t get any of Fiora’s cookies if you keep it up.”

“Sorry Mr. Shulk!” The two shouted as they joined the other two in their play fight. Joran beaned Noah with a plush ice elemental. Lanz swapped out the bow for a shield, using it to prevent getting hit from more of Eunie’s shots.

Nikol, unlike the others, had grabbed a Nopon weapon, specifically a gunberry. He hit Noah in the chest with a dart before diving behind a tree like Lanz. It had taken a lot for him to open up to the others, but Shulk was thankful Nikol was willing to make those first steps like he did.

Fiora was taking advantage of the mostly peaceful moment to practise painting the scenery. As she decided to include her husband in her work, she couldn’t help but notice Shulk was writing something down in his notebook. 

“Shulk, is something wrong?” Fiora asked, realising just how cluttered the page he was writing on was.

He looked up from his writings at Fiora. “Sorry, I was running some equations that Tora sent me last night. I’ve just been stuck on this one, and it’s bugging me.”

He handed the book to Fiora, who skimmed through his maths to find some sort of error. “Right here.” She pointed at an integral. “You forgot to take out the -1 here, luckily it doesn’t change so much that you’ll need to rewrite the whole problem.”

Shulk tapped the pencil against his head as he got the notebook back. “Thanks, I don’t know how I missed that.” He closed the notebook and tossed it in his bag. “But I’m done with it for now.”

As he took a drink out of the cooler, he looked at the canvas Fiora was working on earlier. It had a different style than what she normally worked with. “What’re you doing there?”

“Oh, Mythra and I were talking over the communicator last night after you and Tora finished.” She answered. “I’m trying a somewhat abstract style for this one.”

‘I can already tell it’s going to be amazing.”

“You say that about anything I make, but thanks regardless.” Fiora joked about his old habit. She shifted her seat closer to his. “Is there something wrong? It’s about Origin, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Shulk admitted. “We haven’t told Nikol about the Intersection yet. I’m worried what’ll happen if something doesn’t go right.” He rested his head against Fiora’s shoulder. “Will he still have a future? Will everything we fought against Zanza to secure be for nothing?”

Fiora lifted his head up and gave a kiss to his cheek. “I know, I worry the same, but the way I see it is that we will get through this. That both worlds will survive and co-exist. Maybe afterward, I’ll be able to paint with Mythra in person rather than through a computer screen. Maybe you and Rex can fight a crabble that’s hiding in some metal or something”

Shulk chuckled. “Yeah, I see what you mean. I’m still gonna worry though," he admitted. “But that is something that’s just gonna drive me to finish Origin.” 

The sky started to gain a pinkish tone, a sign that it was time to leave. “Alright kids, pack up the toys. We’re heading back.”

“And because you played nice and kept your mouths clean.” Fiora looked at Eunie and Lanz for just a split moment. “You can bring some of the cookies I made with you home.”

The children rushed to pack up the toy weapons at the promise of cookies. Shulk scooped up Nikol, bringing him to ride on his shoulders. He looked towards the other four. “Fiora is giving you something as a nice gesture, so what do you say to Fiora?”

“Thanks, Ms. Fiora.” They say in unison, once again at the promise of the cookies.

Even with Origin’s mathematics loomed in the back of his mind, Shulk couldn’t help but smile brightly towards everyone around him. 

Chapter Text

Shulk lightly knocked on the door of his son’s bedroom. “Hey Nikol, it’s time for dinner.”

He could hear tools whirring on the other side of the door. Shulk knocked again. “Nikol?”

Slowly, he turned the doorknob. Thank goodness he’s not old enough to bother with locks yet. Shulk thought as he peaked in. Nikol was working on something, but he couldn’t tell what.

“Hey Nikol, what're you working on?” Shulk asked as his hand laid on Nikol’s shoulder.

The younger homs nearly jumped in surprise when he realised someone was behind him, only to relax when he noticed who it was. What Nikol was tinkering with looked like a backpack of some kind. In and of itself, it didn’t look too big, but the piece Nikol was working on seemed to fold out from the central unit.

“I call it the variable backpack.” Nikol said without looking at his dad. “When it’s complete, it’ll look like Nopon wings.” He put a metal piece over his right arm. “I’ll control it with this. I can’t seem to get the magno-connectors to work, though.”

Shulk listened to his son talk about his project and couldn’t help but think back to his own youth. Shulk could see a lot of himself within his son: the social awareness issues, the fixation on machinery to the point he’d lose track of time, and his reserved nature. Shulk wonders if Nikol merely copied him, or if it was genetic. Nikol’s friends, much like Shulk’s own he made in his younger years, were able to help him come out of his shell. They thought his mechanical genius was cool, something Shulk was grateful for.

“How about you take a break? Maybe if you get some dinner in you, you’ll figure it out.” Shulk asked.

Nikol looked at the clock. “Oh, I must’ve lost track of time. Sorry.

“It’s really good, mum.” Nikol exclaimed as he took another bite of his meal. 

“Why, thank you Nikol.” Fiora responded as she took a bite herself. 

The three of them ate their dinner in relative silence until Shulk made a near orgasmic sound as he got a mouthful of the veggie dish in front of him.

“I’ll never get tired of your cooking.” Shulk admitted. “I don’t know how I could live without it.”

“That’s good to hear. Nikol, you want to hear a secret?” She asked her son. “Your dad used to hate vegetables growing up.”

“Dad did?” Nikol questioned. “How could someone hate them? They’re delicious!”

“I know, right? It took my cooking to break him out of his dislike.”

Shulk chuckled in light embarrassment. “This dish isn’t something you’ve made before. Did Pyra send you the recipe?

“Yes, she did. In fact, it’s the Addam’s supercakes you happened to like, when you first tried them in the Land of Challenge.”

Nikol had no clue what his parents were talking about. He knew it was this “Pyra” was relating to Origin, as he overheard some conversations from his parents talking with others on their communicators, but he didn’t know anything about a land of challenge.

Nikol spoke up again. “Is it okay if I go out with my friends on the Queen’s anniversary?”

Melia was holding her anniversary in four days. That wasn’t all that was happening that day though, because as soon as midnight struck the Intersection would begin and Origin would have to prove its worth.

“I don’t know.” Shulk responded, trying to keep his worry hidden. “Melia did invite me and your mother to Alcamoth’s palace, and she said we could bring you. I’m not sure if Noah and the rest have that connection.”

“She did?” Nikol questioned. “Can we watch the fireworks from there?”

“That’ll be the best place to watch from.” Fiora answered.

Nikol finished his drink. “Can I go back to working on my project now?” He showed his now empty plate to his parents, a rule they established to help him from running off from meals.

“Brush your teeth first, then yes, yes you can.”

Nikol put his plate in the sink before running out of the kitchen. 

“Was the invite to Alcamoth just so he’d be in our line of sight when it’d occur?” Fiora questioned.

“It’s not just that.” Shulk responded. “He loves High Entia technology. I think it’ll be a good way to help him build his project.”

 Fiora got out of her chair. She went behind Shulk and looped her arms around him. “He’s so much like you.”

“At least he’s somewhat able to cook. He gets that from you.” Shulk admitted. “Did Dunban come back from the Fallen Arm yet?”

“He did, and he wants to teach Nikol to fight with a sword.”

“He does?” Shulk questioned. “I don’t know if Nikol's ready for that yet.”

“Dunban said he’s not waiting until Nikol’s twelve, unlike when he taught you.”

“Next time I see Dunban, I’ll talk to him about it.” Shulk affirmed. “Let’s just hope he doesn’t try to teach me his fighting style again. My left arm still aches from last week.”

Fiora kissed his cheek. “You know Dunban just wants to keep us safe, and that’s his way of showing it.”

The two of them sat in the kitchen for a while. Even with the event of a lifetime so close to occurring, the two focused on each other.

Chapter Text

“Gale Slash!” Dunban shouts as he tries to strike at his sister. Fiora simply jumps out of the way of the attack, smirking as she does so. She slices forward with her weapon, hoping to stagger Dunban.

“ You’re getting better at this.” Dunban says as he deflects the attack from his sister. “Not enough weight into that strike, though.”

Fiora tightened the grip on her replica Meyneth blades, currently in their combined state, in her left hand. When’s the last time I even used these like this? She thought to herself.

Dunban was adamant about teaching his fighting style to others. His normal target was Shulk,  but this time his sister offered to be his student for the day.

Sparing at the Imperial Villa in Alcamoth was something of a common occurrence when Fiora visited, whether it be boxing with Tyrea, testing out new equipment Shulk made, or keeping Melia’s abilities up to snuff.

“Now that I think of it, your normal technique involves holding two weapons.” Dunban playfully teased. “How’re you going to handle dealing Arts now?” He said as he went for a stab.

“Like this.” Fiora responded as she dodged again, sliding behind him from his right. “ Gravity Zero! ”

The former hero of the Homs had been caught off guard as the attack stunned him for a few seconds. Once he recovered, he only had a second before Fiora sent an attack at him again.

“Hitting a man while paralyzed?” Dunban jokingly questioned. “As always, you impress me.”

The former Face unit wiped the sweat from her face. “Are you holding back on me?” She asked, the smugness in her tone obvious to her brother. “And to think, you were once the greatest Homs to ever live.”

Dunban chuckled. “Oh, you’re on. Separate your blades; let me see all you got.”

“ Try and catch me.! ” Fiora shouts as she activates Speed Shift to dodge the strike from Dunban.

Dunban swung his sword in a downward strike again. She caught his Wyvern cutlass between her blades, only for him to pull it out with an upward slash.

“ Spirit Breath! ” His strikes were getting faster, Fiora being unable to dodge as many previously.

The black-haired swordsman looked at his sister in the eyes, a fiery look of determination set alight in them. "There is no escape!"

“Gale Slash!” He used his favourite technique again, this time to set off a proper attack combo. Fiora was caught off guard when it hit her. When she looked at her brother again, it was obvious yet unavoidable what he was setting up. That's my big brother, she thought to herself. 

“ Tempest Kick! ” Another hit, Fiora could feel the Speed Shift dispel as he landed facing away from her.

“ Thunder! ” He unleashed, forcing Fiora in a dazed state as he got some free swings at her. “ Soaring Tempest!”

“ Born in a world of -

-Strife! Against the odds, we chose- 

-To Fight! Blossom Dance!”

Dammit! She thought.Once Fiora got her barings again, she dodged another strike. She could feel the tension within her rise to very high levels.

“You know Dunban, you only left yourself exposed.” She warned as she crossed her arms across her chest. Her Meyneth blades weren’t just a special design. The overachiever he was, Shulk managed to get them to replicate many of the abilities she had as a Face unit using the same tech he made his REX+ with.

Oh, I love these things. She thought as she unleashed the attack. “ Final Cross! ”

Getting knocked over by the laser barrage, Dunban tried to re-orient himself before the next attack, but couldn’t pull himself up in time.

"One, two, Cross Impact!"  Fiora shouted as the two kicks dazed her brother. "Spear Blade!"

"Gravity Zero!"

Much like my combo, Dunban thought. Even with their wildly different fighting styles, he could still see the lessons he imparted onto his sister all those years ago.

"Butterfly Step!" Fiora shouted as she unleashed a quartet of blade swings at her opponent.

Dunban was knocked back a few metres by the attack, dropping his sword in the process. “Alright alright, you win.” he surrendered.

Fiora did her flourish with her blades, folding them up as she put them on her waist. “Woo, that was fun.”

She pulled Dunban off the ground, her brother collecting his discarded sword. “Guess so. Haven’t been in a spar like that in quite a while.”

Fiora was about to respond before noticing a High Entia guardsman walking up to them. “Ms. Fiora, Mr. Dunban, Shulk is back from Origin.”

“Everything’s working up to optimal levels on our half.” Shulk said to the group. “The Ontos core’s synched up with the others across the dimensional barrier.”

“It stills feels weird.” Reyn responded. “We’re… however many hours away…”

“Five, starts at midnight.” 

“Five hours away from potentially a double-world ending collision, and we’re all just… accepting of it? And that it’ll all work out in the end?”

Panacea chuckled. “What about that whole ‘fighting Zanza’ thing? Didn’t that work out in the end?”

Melia spoke up now. “It did, but that was still a threat localised to our world. It took a lot to get there. This threatens both worlds.”

“Riki wonder if Shulk and Fiora finally told Nik-nik about Intersection.” Riki questioned.

A nervous look appeared on the engineer’s face. “We told him about some of it. Not about the ‘if it doesn’t work, the worlds will be anniliated’ part, though.”

That was something everyone agreed with, as much as it was frustrating. Holding the festival for Melia’s anniversary kept everyone cheerful on what could be, should it go wrong, the last night of existence. And if it did work, it’ll be an extra reason to celebrate.

The clock on the wall seemed to tick louder each minute…