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It had started as a simple errand. A child in Frontier Village was sick, and the best treatment for the illness involved seeds from a certain fruit. The fruit grew mostly in the southern part of Makna Forest, and Riki had insisted that he knew where to find it. So with him leading the way, the party had set out to gather the fruit.
On the way, other questions had been raised. "Hey Riki, what does this fruit look like?" asked Reyn.
"Spinypoke fruit big and round, with sharp pointy bits all over," Riki explained. "It too dangerous to open with hands, so Nopon drop fruit from high place to break. Then it safe to pick up seeds."
Reyn frowned. "If it's so spiky you can't even touch it, how are we supposed to get it back to the village?"
Riki was quiet, and Reyn crossed his arms. "You don't know, do you?"
"It not usually Riki's job to find medicine! Sidekicks can figure it out," Riki replied, defensively.
"Calm down, you two," Sharla interjected. "We'll find some way to transport this thing once we find it."
The group went south from Frontier Village, but once they crossed the river, the route became a lot more meandering. The trees here were especially tall, and the further they got, the less light found its way to the forest floor. It had been a while since they'd run into any monsters, but the constant sounds of cracking twigs and rustling plants made it clear that there were still plenty out there. They knew they couldn't let their guard down.
They continued for a while longer through the forest, and after a while, Shulk stopped. The other six followed suit. "Is something wrong?" asked Melia.
Shulk pointed to a nearby tree. It was snapped in half, and it was covered with sickly green fungus that emitted a faint glow. "We've passed this tree before," he pointed out.
"Are you sure?" asked Dunban.
"Well, not entirely, but I remember something like it before," replied Shulk.
"So we're lost, then" said Reyn, dryly.
"Not necessarily," said Shulk.
He looked down at Riki. "Do you still know where we are?" he asked.
"Of course Riki know!" exclaimed Riki. "This the scariest place in Makna Forest! But it only place where spinypoke fruit grows, so Riki and sidekicks keep looking until fruit is found."
Fiora frowned. "Wait a minute. Riki, you said you don't gather medicine. So then, how do you know we're in the right place?"
Riki said nothing. "Riki?" Fiora repeated.
Reyn groaned loudly. "Are you serious?"
Riki was still quiet. "Please, leave him alone," said Melia. "He seems to be very upset."
She was right. The Nopon seemed unusually solemn all of a sudden. "Let us continue onwards for now," Melia added. "Do not forget our objective. It would be wise to find the fruit in question as soon as possible."
"But if we don't even know this is the right place –" Reyn started.
"Then we'll find the right place," Fiora interrupted. "We said we'd find these fruits, and we will. We can't let that poor kid down."
She pointed to the left. "Is this the way we went last time, Shulk?"
"I don't know for sure, but I think so," Shulk replied.
"Then we'll go right," said Fiora.
The group continued onward, but this time, Riki was lagging behind. Melia slowed down a little bit, and walked closer to him. "Riki, what are you so concerned about?" she asked.
Riki kept walking, but said nothing. "It is unlike you to be so quiet," Melia added.
Riki shook his head. "Melly very kind," he said. "But Riki not want to talk. Best for Riki to be alone right now."
Melia looked ahead towards the others, who were quickly getting further and further ahead. "Then I shall stay nearby," she said. “Being so far behind is not safe by yourself.”
The forest grew darker and more foreboding as they continued through it. They weren't attacked by monsters very often, but the few times it did happen, the monsters were stronger than expected. After a fight with a particularly vicious group of Deinos, the group stopped to rest. They went to the most open area they could find, and sat down on the dirt, making sure to stay close to one another. "Is it still daytime?" asked Fiora. "It's so dark…"
"It shouldn't be nighttime yet," said Dunban. "We left in the afternoon, and I don't think it's been more than two or three hours since then."
"Really? Feels like it's been longer than that," Fiora remarked.
"Not that long," said Sharla. "Dunban's right. I think this is just an especially dark part of the forest."
"No kidding," groaned Reyn. "If it gets any darker than this, we might need Melia to make one of those fireballs so we can see."
"It would be dangerous to use fire in such a dense forest," Melia pointed out.
Meanwhile, Riki was still quiet. He'd barely said anything since they started, and right now, he wasn't paying much attention to the group's conversation. His thoughts seemed to be elsewhere, and it didn't take long for the others to notice. "Riki, if something's bothering you, it's OK to tell us about it," said Dunban.
"If it's about what I said earlier, then I'm sorry," added Fiora. "This forest is your home, and you know it better than any of us."
"No," said Riki. "Fiora right that time."
He took a deep breath, and continued. "Riki not usually look for medicine, but Riki remember last time doctor in Frontier Village need spinypoke seeds. Mokoma…Mokoma sick. Oka not leave home for days because she so busy taking care of her. Riki young and stupid, so Riki try to find fruit himself."
"Who was Mokoma?" asked Melia.
"Mokoma Riki's littlepon," said Riki. "She very smart. Loved flowers – knew all their names. Bugs, too. Liked to catch bugs and bring them home."
"Riki…" said Shulk.
Riki paused for a little bit before continuing. "Riki go out alone. Stay in forest for days, but never find fruit. When Riki come home, it too late. Mokoma already gone."
Sharla bit her lip. "Riki, I'm so sorry," she said.
"I was afraid it was something like that," said Dunban. "I seem to recall you saying you'd lost a child, but you never brought it up after that."
Reyn looked away. "Sorry for giving you crap before. I didn't know the job was so personal."
"Are you still comfortable with this?" asked Melia. "If you would prefer to leave this task to the rest of us, I cannot imagine anyone would blame you."
"No!" shouted Riki. "Riki not let another littlepon die like Mokoma. Riki help friends get it right this time!"
Fiora smiled. "Well, in that case…"
She stopped. "Shulk?"
Next to her, Shulk was sitting still, his eyes glowing bright blue. The rest of the group waited, all eyes on him. A moment later, the glow faded, and Shulk spoke. "I know where to find the fruit!" he exclaimed.
"Where?" Riki demanded.
"We'll have to go back a ways," said Shulk. "Remember the place with all the sticky moss on the trees? It's near there."
"Then let's hurry," said Sharla. "Did you see anything dangerous?"
"I saw some Brogs," said Shulk. "Really big ones, even for Makna. But the fruit was right nearby. If we can deal with them, then we should be fine."
"If it's just Brogs, we should be able to handle them," said Reyn. "We've fought plenty of those."
"Exactly," said Shulk.
It took a while to get back to the right place, but when they did, Shulk recognized it immediately. "We're getting closer," he announced. "See all the moss? We're going the right way."
From there, the group made their way through the trees, following Shulk's lead. There was more light here, both because of the gaps in the trees and because some of the plants were glowing. This part of the forest smelled different, too – almost a chemical smell. There were fewer large trees, but a lot more underbrush, and a few particularly tough patches of plants had required Reyn or Dunban to cut a path through.
A few minutes later, Melia noticed something. "Do you hear that?" she asked.
Everyone was quiet. A faint bubbling sound could be heard somewhere nearby. "There must be a stream nearby, or a spring," said Dunban.
"Did you see anything like that in your vision, Shulk?" asked Fiora.
"I think there was a spring," Shulk answered. "It would explain why there were Brogs around."
"Then let's keep looking," said Fiora.
The group went on, following the sound of the water. It grew louder and louder, until finally they reached a large spring. It seemed fairly shallow, and the water was incredibly clear. Small fish could be seen darting around near the edges, and the luminous plants surrounding the water lit up the area with an eerie glow. More importantly, there were small, sturdy trees on the far end of the spring – trees with branches weighed down by large, spiky fruits. "Riki, are those the fruits we need?" asked Melia.
Riki jumped up in to the air to get a better look, fluttering in place for a while before landing. "Those spinypoke fruit!" he exclaimed.
Dunban breathed a sigh of relief. "We're lucky that Shulk's vision led us here," he remarked. "I'm not sure we would have found it otherwise."
"So what're we waiting for? Let's go knock 'em down and get back to the village!" said Reyn.
He ran ahead and began wading through the spring towards the trees. "Reyn, maybe you should – "
Suddenly, he froze. "Look out!"
Before Reyn could react, an enormous Brog burst out of the forest and tackled him from the side, sending him flying. The others rushed over to him, and Sharla readied a healing round. Once they'd reached the other side of the spring, Fiora, Dunban, and Riki started attacking the Brog, trying to keep it away from Reyn. Melia and Shulk, meanwhile, wet to make sure he was OK. "Are you alright?" asked Shulk.
Reyn slowly pulled himself to his feet. "I think so," he said. "Sorry about that."
A wave of ether surrounded him. "I'll watch your back," said Sharla.
She loaded another shot into her rifle, this one meant for offense. "Go help the others," she ordered.
Meanwhile, Dunban stepped out of the way of the Brog's attacks, waiting for an opening. The next time it lunged at him, Riki jumped onto its side and smacked it hard with his biter. The impact knocked the monster off-balance, sending it crashing onto the forest floor. Fiora ran over to it, swords drawn, and began to slice into its rubbery skin. Dunban did the same, attacking with quick, precise strikes to its most vulnerable spots. By the time the Brog got up, it had already been severely weakened, and it looked like it could fall at any minute.
A bolt of lightning shot past them, striking its target with a sharp crack. Melia held her staff tightly, preparing to summon another elemental, while Reyn moved in front of her with his gunshield at the ready. The Brog charged forward, pushing against his shield while he struggled to keep position. Shulk ran behind the enemy and delivered a quick slice to its back. The Brog flinched for a moment – all the opportunity Reyn needed to drive the point of his weapon deep into its underbelly. The monster let out one last ragged croak before collapsing.
Reyn took a quick look around the area. "Are there any more?" he asked.
"I don't see any," said Sharla.
She put away her rifle and rejoined the rest of the group. "Shulk, did you see more than one of these things in your vision?"
"I did," Shulk replied. "We should get one of those fruits as soon as possible, before any others find us."
Riki walked over to a snapped tree near where the Brog had appeared. "Look at this!" he announced.
A few of the fruits had fallen to the ground during the fight. One had cracked open, revealing an interior that was more seeds than flesh. "I guess we don't need to worry about carrying it back to the village," said Reyn.
Fiora walked over to the broken fruit, and scooped out a sticky lump of seeds. "Will this be enough?" she asked.
"Riki think so," said Riki.
"Better take extra just in case," Sharla suggested.
As the rest of the group began to leave the area, Melia walked back over to Riki. "Are you going to be alright?" she asked. "This job turned out to be far more personal than we expected. I hope you'll forgive us for opening old wounds."
Riki was quiet for a while. A sad smile appeared on his face. "Mokoma already long gone. That not change. But thanks to brave friends, other littlepon will be OK. That enough for Riki," he told her.
Melia smiled back. "In that case, I'm honored to have been able to help."