Plot summary of Xenoblade Chronicles

This page describes a plot summary of Xenoblade Chronicles. It is not a full description nor a complete novelization, but simply an overview of major events.

Prologue
Long ago, two great titans appeared in an endless sea: the Bionis and Mechonis. They fought and killed each other, their corpses becoming immobile landmasses for life to arise on.

Eons later, the people of Bionis, the Homs, are fighting for survival against the invading hordes of Mechon from Mechonis. While the Homs army is defeated and must retreat, a trio continues fighting: the violent Mumkhar, the old hand Dickson, and Dunban, wielder of the mysterious and legendary sword called the Monado. As the battle continues, Mumkhar abandons the others in hopes of claiming the Monado for himself when they fall, but he fails to escape. Dunban charges ahead despite the sword's power weakening him, and a blinding light covers the battlefield.

Chapter 1
A year after the Battle of Sword Valley, the engineer Shulk is rooting for useful scrap in a Mechon Wreckage Site. He finds trouble with wildlife, and gets out of it with the help of his best friend Reyn. The two return home to Colony 9, with Reyn off to his shift with the Defence Force, and Shulk to the Weapon Development Lab. Along the way he sees Colonel Vangarre chew out some of his men for crashing a mobile artillery unit. Shulk gets to the lab to find Dickson has returned from a journey with some new equipment for the force. They discuss the Monado, which Shulk has spent much time researching to try and discover its secrets, now that Dunban is no longer fit to wield it.

Dunban is alive, but laid up in bed with his right arm practically unusable. He thinks he is healthy enough by now to handle the Monado again, but his sister Fiora doesn't want him to. Fiora gives Dunban some food and leaves for the lab to bring Shulk some. She meets Dickson on the way, who says he sent Shulk out of the lab for fresh air, so she heads to Outlook Park. She finds Shulk as expected, where they enjoy the meal and peaceful atmosphere. Then Colony 9's debris siren sounds, warning of things falling from higher up the Bionis, so they head back to the safety of the lab.

On reaching the lab, the two find Reyn overcuriously holding the Monado. It activates on him and he loses control of it, damaging a bunch of equipment, only being knocked out of his hand when it hits Fiora. Shulk admonishes Reyn for being dumb, while Fiora yells at Shulk for caring more about the equipment than her, even as Shulk explains the Monado can't hurt people. While being cornered, Shulk activates the Monado by accident, which causes him to see ghostly flashes of several strangers. He shrugs it off, saying it isn't the first time. Reyn then explains he came here to get Shulk's help in collecting some ether cylinders from Tephra Cave, to which he agrees. Fiora doesn't trust Reyn to keep Shulk safe in the dangerous cave; she initially doesn't come along, but on finding the two forgot to bring any transport cases, she gathers some and joins them.

The trio get through the cave to reach the Cylinder Hangar above the colony. After collecting the cylinders, they are attacked by a mysterious pair of machines, presumably defending the cylinders. The group wonders for a moment why these machines have never appeared before, which is quickly answered by further unusual sounds from above: a fleet of Mechon has arrived.

Chapter 2
As Shulk, Reyn, and Fiora hustle back to Colony 9, the Defence Force attempts to fight the Mechon deployments. While successful at first, a large Mechon with a face disables enough Anti-Air Batteries that the invasion takes a firm hold. When the trio arrives to the, they find the Mechon eating people. While Shulk and Reyn hold off an approaching Mechon, Fiora hurries to check on Dunban, who is gone. Shulk knows Dunban is probably going to get the Monado, so they head to the lab.

Apporaching the Military District, the trio sees the faced Mechon take out a lot of men and Vangarre, before flying elsewhere. The carnage blocks the door to the lab, so they can't get to the Monado. Shulk reasons that if they can get to the mobile artillery they were collecting the ether cylinders for, they can blast the way open. Mechon attack as the group reaches the ; Fiora is sent off to the by herself, while Shulk and Reyn hold off the Mechon. Dunban arrives, holding the Monado in his left hand, but the bridge to the Residential District has been blocked - to get back to Fiora, they have to go the long way around.

As they reach the Main Entrance, Dunban can't handle the Monado anymore and drops it. Shulk decides to pick it up, and to everyone's surprise, he seems to have no problem with it. In addition, he sometimes sees a vision of the immediate future, which lets him avoid attacks. Dunban says this is not something that's happened to him, but to not worry about it now.

On reaching the Residential District, the faced Mechon appears, which people take to call Metal Face. The party quickly discovers that for some reason it's immune to the Monado. Shulk tries to figure out why, but they are quickly overwhelmed. Fiora arrives from behind, having successfully taken control of the mobile artillery, and grabs Metal Face's attention. Shulk gets a vision of Metal Face downing and stabbing the artillery, but he does not quite understand his visions yet, and Fiora ignores his yells to get away. Taking only minor damage, Metal Face destroys the artillery and kills Fiora. The Mechon then all leave at once.

In the aftermath of the attack, Dunban tells Shulk to not be sad over Fiora's death, but be glad she gave him a chance to live. Shulk considers his desire to move on with his desire for revenge, and decides on the latter - he will chase down the Mechon, and Metal Face, and destroy them all. Reyn is surprised that Shulk beat him to deciding this, but agrees, and the two leave Colony 9.

Chapter 3
Fourteen years ago, an expedition to a snowy tower discovers a stone chamber. Dickson arrives not long after to find them all dead - all except for a four-year-old Shulk, sleeping under the Monado.

Back in the present, Reyn suggests to Shulk that they head to Colony 6, which is between them and the Mechon's base, for more information on Metal Face. The two return to Tephra Cave and hike up the path towards the Bionis' knee. They discover a group of dead traders, which they bury in a nearby pool, and decide to camp for the night. Between watch shifts, Shulk and Reyn wonder about what the Mechon want with them, and why the Monado seems to have chosen Shulk to be able to use it better than even Dunban.

Shulk has a strange dream. In a foggy place he does not recognize, he sees a mysterious person who tells him of desiring to change the future and the "True Monado". The dream then changes to seeing Reyn get killed by a large Arachno. Shulk wakes up to find him and Reyn surrounded by normal Arachno, which they fight off. Reyn comments that it looked like Shulk was having a nightmare, so Shulk thinks about his dream. He wonders if seeing Reyn and the Arachno was a dream or a vision, and is too unsure to act.

As the two continue through the cave, Reyn is ambushed, and the pair is separated. Shulk catches up to Reyn in time to see the and realize the vision is about to come true. In panic, he manages to use a previously unknown power of the Monado, saving Reyn. After defeating the Arachnos, Shulk realizes that his visions only show what will happen if he does nothing - by doing something in response, he can change the future.

The pair leave the Arachno Queen's Nest to reach Kneecap Hill, gazing up at the Bionis above and the Mechonis looming in the distance. But they are being watched by a helipod scout Mechon, which reports their presence to a faced Mechon.

Chapter 4
Reaching the Bionis' Leg, Shulk and Reyn come upon an abandoned buggy. With a vision as a clue, they find and rescue its driver, a young teenage boy called Juju. Juju offers to take them to a Refugee Camp nearby, which they accept. At the camp, they meet Juju's older sister Sharla, a combat medic who (after yelling at Juju for leaving the camp) says that Colony 6 was taken by the Mechon a month ago. Sharla is worried about colonel Otharon and her fiancé Gadolt, but knows it's foolish to go back and fight the Mechon. Juju is convinced that the attack on Colony 9 means there are fewer Mechon defending Colony 6, and again steals the buggy to go there by himself. Shulk gets a vision that Juju will be in trouble, and Sharla joins him in going to save him.

Juju is a terrible driver and crashes into a wall, so he proceeds on foot. The party fights through groups of Mechon and manage to catch up with him at Spiral Valley, caught by a Mechon M71. Shulk manages to save Sharla from ambush with another new Monado ability, and the trio destroys the Mechon to save Juju. They are quickly attacked again, however, by a faced Mechon - a bronze one, different than Metal Face, and able to talk. "Bronze Face" turns out to be just as immune to the Monado as Metal Face, but he abruptly loses power and leaves, taking Juju with him to Colony 6.

Chapter 5
Back at the Refugee Camp, Sharla dreams about the last she saw of Otharon and Gadolt, as she helped prepare Colony 6 non-combatants for evacuation. The faced Mechon interrupts the dream, and she wakes to find that Shulk and Reyn were about to go to Colony 6 without her. She sticks with them and suggests they enter through the Ether Mine, which should be too complex for the Mechon to have figured out within a month. Everyone agrees.

The team enters the mine to find that the Mechon have indeed taken it, and a fight is ongoing. They find and help Otharon, who says that Gadolt is gone and most of the others are dead. He also says that the Mechon don't eat Homs right away, so Juju can still be saved, and directs them to follow him. Shulk gets a vision of Otharon dying and tries to slow him down without telling the truth, but Otharon becomes upset at Shulk's attitude and goes off himself. Reyn chews out Shulk for keeping his visions to himself, and tries to convince him to tell the others so they can all help.

The party descends through the mine and eventually reach the bottom. The faced Mechon is there, calling himself Xord and taunting the group with showing off the captured Juju. The ensuing fight is a standstill until Otharon arrives in a mining mech to contest Xord. As Sharla saves Juju, Shulk and Reyn work together to save Otharon as Xord gets dunked in the ether river below. Otharon gives Gadolt's Rifle to Sharla and apologizes to Shulk for doubting him. The group uses a freight elevator to get out of the mine, but have to fight off Xord again, who survived the ether river but corroded badly enough for the Monado to damage him. Defeated, Xord commends Shulk for beating him without the Monado's true power, and flies off to explode at the bottom of the shaft.

Not long after exiting the mine, Metal Face appears, backed up by many Mechon and several Xord lookalikes. He gloats and taunts the party, mostly over how the Monado doesn't work on him and how he enjoyed killing Fiora. Dunban and Dickson arrive to help, but they are still grossly outnumbered and still cannot touch the Faces. The battle is interrupted by a giant flying creature that rains green lightning on the battlefield, distracting Metal Face enough for Shulk to force a cut into his arm through sheer force of will. But he is interrupted by a vision where he is fighting Metal Face on a dark tower, defeating him easily, and seeing a third shape of Face Mechon. Distracted, Metal Face shakes him off and the Mechon leave.

The lightning-shooting creature meets with a silver-haired man, who asks about Shulk.

Chapter 6
With the Mechon driven off, Shulk explains what's happened so far to Dunban and Dickson. Dickson draws on his experience as a traveller to make sense of Shulk's most recent vision and form a plan: they will travel through the nearby Satorl Marsh, go into the Bionis to reach the upper regions, and meet the High Entia (thought by the others to be a myth), in order to reach the black tower at the Bionis' head called Prison Island. He joins the group to act as guide, with Otharon and Juju following, while Dunban joins to fight alongside the others. The party treks through Satorl Marsh. Stopping for the night at the Silent Obelisk, Shulk considers what he's been through and what is to come, while Dickson mulls with him over the irony of how he'd found the two of them together in the icy ruins.

The group eventually reaches the Sororal Statues. Dickson says he's needed back at Colony 9, so he leaves the party to continue, and takes Otharon and Juju back to Colony 6 so they can begin its reconstruction. In order to open the way into the Bionis, the party must complete an ancient High Entia coming-of-age ceremony, collecting objects from around the marsh in order to summon and defeat the Satorl Guardian. They must climb most of the way to the top of the statues afterward, but do reach the passage forward. Shulk is feeling guilty about using the Monado while still thinking of it as "Dunban's sword", but Dunban pushes him to accept that things have moved on. The journey through the inside of the Bionis is short, and the party reaches the other side easily.

Somewhere on the Mechonis, a humanoid being is overseeing the construction of the new faced Mechon Face Nemesis. She notices Metal Face returning with a scar and wonders how this is possible, before initiating a soul transfer of some sort and proclaiming her loyalty to Lady Meyneth.

Chapter 7
Somewhere in a forest, a creature is killing the bodyguards of a young lady they call Melia. Melia detonates a large quantity of ether against the beast, and the aftermath is unseen.

Shulk, Reyn, Dunban, and Sharla have arrived in the same Makna Forest. Not knowing where to go from here, Dunban suggests asking the Nopon, who are native to the region, and so they begin to look for a village. They find Melia instead, unconscious in a patch of forest drained of colour. Sharla diagnoses her with severe ether deficiency, which needs very pure water crystals to cure. Shulk convinces the others that he'll be fine getting them himself, and heads to the Lakeside. There, he meets a strange Homs named Alvis, who seems familiar and knows things he should not. Four creatures then attack Shulk, which his visions do not help against. Alvis explains these are Telethia, which can read minds and thus his visions are no help, and takes the Monado to teach Shulk the ability he needs to defeat them. Shulk manages to kill the remaining Telethia, but Alvis ignores his questions about how he knows these things, instead saying that these were only smaller Telethia spawned by a larger one. A worried Reyn then appears, and Alvis vanishes before Shulk can introduce him.

With the ether crystals Shulk collected, Sharla heals and revives Melia. Melia refuses to explain what she is doing here, but is intrigued by why the Homs are here, and offers to guide them to the Nopon's Frontier Village. On arrival, she hands them over to the village chief Dunga and scurries away. Shulk follows her and, with the help of some of what Alvis said, pieces together that she is planning to go fight the larger Telethia alone. Melia is shocked and appalled that Shulk somehow knows these things, and refuses to believe that he can kill Telethia or see the future. Shulk and the others continue to press her until Dunga offers his own help in killing the Telethia, which is a risk to the Nopon as well. The "help" is revealed to be Heropon Riki, the village's legendary hero (translation: this year's deadbeat pressed into community service to work off his debts).

Riki helps the party find the Telethia. The fight does not start well, with it able to regenerate missing limbs, but with Shulk encouraging Melia and enough teamwork, it is taken down. The group returns to Frontier Village and allows Riki to take credit to help his status, but Dunga invents a new prophecy to keep Riki out of their hair for longer, and gets Riki to join the party as their journey continues. Riki initially balks but is convinced by his wife and kids to go along with it. Melia directs the party to Apex Lake so they can travel to Eryth Sea.

In a poorly-lit laboratory, someone is studying live Telethia.

Chapter 8
Reaching Eryth Sea, Shulk explains the purpose of their journey to Melia. Melia indicates Prison Island and reiterates that they need imperial sanction to enter, which requires travelling to the High Entia capital of Alcamoth. Upon reaching the city entrance, the captain of the guard welcomes Melia back, and allows her to proceed as she declares the others her guests. As Melia approaches the Imperial Palace, she is watched by conspirators Yumea, Tyrea, and one other, who are upset she still lives. Melia (First Princess) reaches the and reports to her father, Emperor Sorean, that she successfully killed the Telethia. Sorean is pleased that she bettered many veterans at the task. Melia brings up that she had help, but Prince Kallian says that Shulk's group has been arrested because they might have the Monado, and the divine seer was to figure out if they can be trusted. Sorean then declares Melia his successor, which Kallian agrees with, and they both leave - much to Melia's confusion, as Kallian is the older heir. The Minister of Research, Lorithia, acts to soothe Melia's thoughts.

Shulk's group is held in the Whitewing Palace. It turns out the seer is Alvis, who explains the High Entia fear the Monado, and frees them immediately. The party decide to stretch their legs by helping with a distress call out in Eryth Sea. Alvis reports to Sorean that the Monado is indeed here, which combined with the strength of the Telethia, Sorean reads as signs of the Bionis' reawakening. He moves to have Melia's succession accelerated, to which First Consort Yumea suggests the Trial of the Tomb. Kallian hates the risk, but Sorean agrees with the reward, and Melia accepts. Yumea then later tells Tyrea to have Shulk's party killed so they cannot help Melia, which Kallian spots from a distance.

Shulk's party returns to Alcamoth to see the announcement of Melia's succession. Shulk gets a vision that Melia will be attacked by another Telethia, so he decides they need to save her. They are then attacked by assassins; once they are dispatched and Alvis and Kallian arrive, they are explained as part of the Bionite Order, an illegal organization devoted to the Bionis rather than the imperial family. As Melia enters the High Entia Tomb, the party prepares to go and rescue her, and Kallian decides to turn a blind eye to them interfering with the ritual. Approaching the tomb, Alvis explains to Shulk that he is of a long line of seers that protect the royal family, but that Shulk seems to have a power greater than he in terms of receiving visions.

Melia is scanned by the tomb's verification devices, and is allowed entry. The proceeding trial is laughably easy for her, and she reaches the end shortly. An ancestral simulation declares that her half-Homs nature is exactly what they're looking for in order to break free of a curse imposed by the Bionis, and grants her the seal of the next ruler of the High Entia. Tyrea then appears and begins trying to kill her. Meanwhile, Reyn has made it difficult for the party to catch up to Melia through the tomb's security systems, but they reach her just as the foreseen Telethia descends from above. The Telethia is destroyed, and Tyrea escapes.

Alvis explains what happened in the tomb to Sorean and Kallian, who agree that the trail's result is legitimate. Sorean then sends for Shulk. They exchange apologies, and he asks why they are here. Shulk is upfront; he wants revenge on the Mechon, and needs to go to Prison Island for it, but he doesn't truly know why. Sorean explains an ancient message left by their forefathers: the secret in Prison Island and the wielder of the Monado may be connected to the awakening of the Bionis, which could end all known life, so he must think long and hard over whether to grant Shulk's request. He also says that Melia needs a friend.

A gold Face Mechon broods to himself about the Telethia, the Monado, and the other Faces. He decides it is time to attack Bionis once more.

Chapter 9
One month ago, Alvis shows Sorean a vision. In it, Sorean sees himself, Shulk, Melia, Metal Face, and an unknown humanoid on Prison Island. There is a fight, and Sorean is stabbed. Sorean considers the implications of this vision in relation to what the forefathers have warned about, and whether it should be allowed to pass or not.

Today, Crown Princess Melia's success at the trial is announced to Alcamoth. In the background, Lorithia and Alvis discuss an unknown benefactor, while in the airspace between the two titans, Metal Face and Face Nemesis face the first wave of defence drones. With the ceremonies concluded, Riki wants to go see Melia, so the party goes to the Imperial Villa, where her small wings are revealed for the first time. Melia explains that she is not Yumea's daughter, but that of the long-dead Homs Second Consort, making her half-blooded. Shulk gets a vision of Sorean being killed by Metal Face at Prison Island, immediately followed by sirens of Mechon appearing in Eryth Sea. In the Audience Chamber, Sorean responds to the reports by taking the Imperial Staff and leaving for Prison Island. The party arrives shortly thereafter, wanting to get him to stop or otherwise save him from the vision, but he is long gone. Kallian and Alvis say that Sorean knows what will happen and should not be interfered with, but Dunban declares they're going anyway.

As the Face Mechon are held back by ancient creatures released from Prison Island, the party travels across Eryth Sea to unlock the seals blocking the transporter to the island. After doing so and fighting off one of the Skyrays, they transport through. Up on the isle's terrace, Sorean opens whatever was sealed within the island, which turns out to be a Giant. The Giant speaks in acceptance of his role, which is for Sorean to use his power to energize the island with a shield and array of lightning bolts that deal heavy damage to the surrounding Mechon. Meanwhile, the party has arrived at the island's main entrance, a giant sealed door. Melia explains that the island was not made by the High Entia, but they did seal whatever is inside, and the Telethia-like statues are based on the legends that the forefathers looked quite different from the modern people. Melia then opens the door using her status as heir to the throne, and the group uses a series of temporary transporters to quickly climb the island.

The party reaches the terrace to find Sorean and the Giant, who calls himself Zanza. Zanza says that he is the creator of the Monado, and has been waiting a very long time for Shulk. He explains that he made the Monado to fight the Mechonis, but the High Entia feared its power, so they sealed him. Now, if Shulk will free him, he can remove the sword's limits (such as being unable to hurt people) and reveal its true power. Melia can sense that something is amiss and urges Shulk to not do it, but he does. Just as the freed Zanza is preparing to free the Monado, Metal Face pierces the barrier around the island with a spear, striking Zanza and turning off the shield. Metal Face says the point of them being here was to kill Zanza, and running into Shulk is coincidental. Face Nemesis mentally speaks with Zanza's body for a short time, but Shulk breaks it up by trying to attack her. In the ensuing fight, Metal Face successfully stabs Sorean. Shulk is distraught for failing to save him, but Zanza's voice tells him the power is now his, just before his body disappears. Shulk successfully gets the Monado to change form and cut Metal Face's arm off with ease. He moves in for more, but Face Nemesis intervenes, and he cuts open its front instead - revealing that Fiora is inside, who doesn't seem to recognize or respond to anyone. The Mechon then all leave, and Sorean dies.

Some time later, with everyone else gone, Alvis walks up to the terrace and says to Zanza's disembodied voice that he is pleased. Zanza implies the worst is coming.