Shulk and his friends went back to Colony 9 to celebrate their victory and spend some time together before they left to go their separate ways. Dunban stayed in the commercial district to help with reconstruction, Fiora and Riki went shopping and to get groceries to make a big feast for tonight, and the rest went to the beach. But something seemed off…

"Oi, ain't we missing someone?" Reyn asked.

Sharla looked around, "You mean Melia?"

"Yeah, princess ain't here. I know she's quiet and keeps to herself, but you think even she'd want to be here with the rest of us and celebrate a little."

"Maybe she wanted to be by herself for a bit. I'm sure she's all right." Sharla assured.

Shulk sat next to them at the end of the pier. While everyone else seemed relaxed that it was all over now, Shulk kept quiet and his thoughts to himself most of the time they've been back.

"You're right, Reyn." Shulk said and sat up, "I'll go look for her."

Sharla looked up at Shulk and gave a small smile, "Go get her, Romeo."

Shulk simply ignored her comment. She always teased him about his love life, so it didn't seem out of the ordinary anymore. Besides, he had other things on his mind that took priority.

Shulk headed back to the inside of the colony and looked around for Melia.

Melia was at Outlook Park overlooking the colony, seeming to be spaced out in her own thoughts. She was reflecting on all that had happened throughout their journey, and eventually, her thoughts would turn towards Shulk. She tried to suppress it, but the harder she tried, the more she would be thinking about him.

Melia groaned suddenly, frustrated with herself and overthinking what could have been…

"Melia are you up here?" A voice called out.

Melia blinked and snapped out of her internal rant. She turned her head and seen Shulk walking up the hillside.

What were the chances of this, the same person she was having an internal turmoil over to suddenly appear out of the blue?

"Oh. Hello, Shulk. What brings you up here?" Melia asked, still seeming a little distant.

"You, actually. We noticed you were missing and I've been all over the place looking for you." Shulk answered as he walked over to her.

Melia smiled, but it was hard to tell if it was from his concern or a forced one, "I apologize if I had you worried."

Shulk looked over at her and noticed her distant expression. He leaned on the rail by the edge, "Did you come up here for the view or was there something on your mind?"

Outlook Park did have a nice overhead view of the colony. Seeing all the mixes of people in one area, along with the advancements being made to it from High Entia and Machina technology, made it almost unrecognizable.

"It is a beautiful view, but that's not the main reason I am here. I was thinking about everything that had happened and what the future might have planned." Melia said.

"I've actually been thinking about that a lot too. I know that's what we all wished for, to have a future where anything can happen from how you choose, but it's still interesting to think about." Shulk admitted.

"Really? Do you have any plans for what to do now, then?" Melia asked curiously.

"I do, but let's hear yours first." Shulk insisted.

Melia thought about it for a moment, "Well, I was planning to gather as many High Entia as possible and rebuild Alcamoth."

"Well, that certainly puts mine to shame." Shulk laughed.

"Don't be so negative, Shulk. What did you have in mind?"

"Do you remember what Alvis told us the last time we seen him? That this world is home to many forms of life besides us? It might not be for a while, but one day, I wanted to venture out and see that for myself."

"See? That's an inspiring goal! You shouldn't be so hard on yourself." Melia reassured him and gave a warm smile.

Shulk smiled back but suddenly felt a little nervous, "I guess you're right. But I've still got some time until then. If you don't mind, maybe I could come with you and help you rebuild?"

Melia blushed at the thought of being with Shulk longer and started to stammer, "N-no, I do not mind. I mean… if you want to, I wouldn't say no, but."

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure, "I just figured you would have wanted to stay here with Fiora and the others for a while longer."

Shulk didn't seem to catch on to the way Melia worded that, she specifically mentioned Fiora for a reason. Granted, he did seem oblivious at times.

"I don't think that's even an option. We've all changed and matured quite a bit through this whole journey. I'm sure they have their own plans and might even leave the colony some day too." Shulk said.

A little color suddenly reached his cheeks, "Besides, if I stayed here I'd probably be doing R&D back in the lab all day. I don't mind doing that but traveling around with you sounds more fun."

Melia could feel her heart beating inside her chest, "If your mind is made up, then I'd be glad to have you come with me, Shulk."

They smiled at each other and looked towards the colony, taking in the view.

"When do you plan on telling the others?" Melia asked.

"We can tell them about that later tonight. But for now…" Shulk took Melia's hand and started running back to the colony, pulling her along with him.

"We can worry about all that later. We should all be relaxing and enjoying ourselves. That includes you too, Melia!"

Shulk brought Melia back to the colony and they hung out with their friends for the rest of the day. Dunban offered to let everyone stay at his house for the night. They were almost finished eating dinner when Shulk and Melia explained what they were going to be doing.

"You what?!" They all gawked, some even dropped their silverware.

"We just got back, man! No need to jump straight back out there!" Reyn pressed.

Fiora went silent. She played with her fork for a minute then looked up to face Melia.

"Say, Melia, do you have to leave so soon? We were all going to Colony 6 later on to help with reconstruction. Maybe you could stay for a bit and help us out, if you'd like?"

Melia put her hand to her chin and thought about it.

Shulk rested his hand on Melia's lap, "We don't have to go right away. Alcamoth isn't going anywhere."

"You're right. I suppose we could stay for a while longer." Melia gave in.

Fiora smiled, "Thanks, Melia! We would've hated to see you leave so soon after we got back! Enjoy the time you have and hang out with us a little more!"

Melia smiled back and nodded.

They finished eating and made their beds. Fiora and Dunban were staying in their own rooms while Shulk was using the guest room upstairs. Even though he tried to offer it to anyone else, they let him have it while they laid pillows and blankets down in the living room.

They all soon drifted to sleep and would be leaving for Colony 6 in the morning.