Face Mechon

Face Mechon are a type of enemy in Xenoblade Chronicles. They are advanced, stronger versions of Mechon.

Characteristics
Face Mechon are so named because they are the only Mechon to have defined faces instead of the typical red sensor-lights. They have significantly more humanoid shapes than other Mechon as well. Unlike standard Mechon, they have individual personalities and a sense of self, and with the exception of Mass-Produced Faces, are capable of speech. All Face Mechon have the ability to transform into a flight mode for transportation.

Face Mechon possess an immunity to the power of the Monado, and are completely unharmed by its attacks. The only way to damage them is to inflict Topple first; after the Monado is upgraded by Zanza, this restriction is removed.

It is revealed later in the game that Face Mechon are actually mechanical suits, controlled by Homs pilots who have been modified with Machina technology. Face Mechon gain their immunity to the Monado by pumping the pilot's blood through its structure (visible as red glowing lines all over their body), causing the Monado to recognize them as beings of Bionis and refuse to harm them. Pilots are capable of controlling the Face Mechon while outside of it, allowing both to fight together. However, pilots have been modified to such an extent that they cannot survive outside of their Face Mechon for long periods of time, as several of their internal organs have been removed and their immune system has been modified for compatibility with the Mechon.

Story
After Dunban's use of the Monado during the Battle of Sword Valley, Egil began working on creating a new type of Mechon who would be immune to the Monado's power. Xord, Mumkhar, and several other Homs are captured and turned into pilots for the first Face Mechon.

Face Mechon are first encountered during the attack on Colony 9, when Metal Face makes his appearance. Shulk, Reyn, and Dunban attempt to fight him, but they quickly realize the Monado has no effect on him. Their battle is interrupted by Fiora attacking him with a Mobile Artillery, but her assault fails to do anything but cause minor damage to his face, and he kills Fiora. Afterwards, the three battle him again, learning that they can damage Face Mechon by Toppling them first. However, not long into their fight, the Mechon abruptly begin to retreat from the colony. Hunting down Metal Face to avenge Fiora forms the party's main motivation for the early game.

Shortly after rescuing Juju from the Mechon M71, another Faced Mechon, Bronze Face, appears. He captures Juju, taunting and toying with the party until an apparent malfunction causes the red lines on his body to start flickering green. Seeing this, he leaves, challenging the party to come fight him at Colony 6, warning them to hurry, as he's "still hungry".

The party tries to sneak into Colony 6 through its Ether Mine, but Bronze Face is waiting there and ambushes them at the Central Pit with a horde of Mechon. He introduces himself properly as "Xord", though he remarks that he doesn't remember his name, saying that's just what "they" call him. He attacks the party; once again, they're able to do very little against him due to his Monado immunity. The party is saved by Otharon attacking him with a Mobile Artillery, managing to shove Xord into the river of raw ether below. Xord survives, attacking them one last time on the elevator back to the surface, but the ether has severely damaged his armor, making him vulnerable to attacks, and Xord is soon reduced to a limbless torso. He expresses shock that Shulk managed to defeat him without the Monado's true power, but refuses to elaborate what that means. He expresses that when he became what he is now, his eyes were opened to the truth, before activating his jet thrusters to send himself hurtling down the mineshaft, where he explodes.

As the party emerges from the Ether Mine, Metal Face appears again with a horde of Mass-Produced Faces by his side. Now either able or willing to speak, he taunts the party about how much he enjoyed hearing Fiora's screams as he murdered her, provoking Shulk into attacking him. The party is aided by the arrival of Dunban and Dickson, but even the five of them together aren't able to defeat Metal Face.

A Telethia soon arrives and attacks the Mechon with bolts of ether, providing a distraction that allows Shulk to hit Metal Face with the Monado. Somehow, he manages to slice through Metal Face's arm. Doing so triggers a vision where he sees the party at Prison Island, meeting Zanza, and having another battle with Metal Face where they manage to defeat him. When the vision ends, the wounded Metal Face retreats. The party then makes it their mission to head to Prison Island.

As Metal Face returns to the Mechonis for repairs, Vanea constructs a new Face Mechon, Face Nemesis. Fiora is used as its pilot, and the soul of Lady Meyneth is transferred into her.

At Prison Island, while the party talks with Zanza, the Face Mechon struggle to break through the island's defenses. Metal Face finally manages to break through as Zanza begins to release the shackles of the Monado and impales him with his spear. Face Nemesis soon arrives as well, talking briefly with Zanza as he dies.

Shulk charges at Face Nemesis as she pleads for him to stop, saying she means them no harm. Shulk refuses to listen, but Metal Face blocks his attack. As they fight, Dunban recognizes him using several of Mumkhar's fighting techniques, expressing disbelief that his old friend could still be alive. Metal Face prepares to kill the party with a blast from his cannon, but Sorean stops him before being killed.

As Zanza dies, he tells Shulk that the shackles have been released, and the true power of the Monado is his to wield. With the giant disintegrating into ether particles, Shulk transforms the Monado into Monado II and attacks, managing to slice off Metal Face's arm. He charges in to deal the killing blow, but Face Nemesis blocks the hit. Part of her torso is destroyed, revealing Fiora. The party realizes that the Face Mechon are piloted by modified Homs. The Face Mechon retreat as Shulk begs for Fiora to come back.

Face Nemesis, after being repaired, sets out to meet Shulk again, encountering him at Valak Mountain. The party attempts to speak to Fiora, but Face Nemesis doesn't recognize that name or remember her past life at all. She tries to tell them about something, but before she can, Metal Face arrives and attacks her, knocking her unconscious. Metal Face demands that Shulk hand over the Monado or else he'll kill Fiora. Shulk, desperate to save her, agrees and sets the Monado down. Metal Face opens his torso, revealing Mumkhar as its pilot. Mumkhar takes the Monado, taunting the party; they attempt to fight him, but he reveals that he can remotely control Metal Face even when outside of it. As he commands the party to grovel at his feet, Melia hits him with an ether attack, knocking both him and Metal Face over, and allowing Shulk to reclaim the Monado.

The ensuing battle is soon stopped when Egil arrives, piloting Yaldabaoth. He takes Face Nemesis away, with Metal Face following soon behind; he tells them to come to Mechonis if they want to see their friend again. At his base, Egil debates if the Face Mechon are worth using now that the Monado can damage them, but believes there might still be something to be learned from using them.

The party heads for Sword Valley, where they meet Mumkhar once again. He challenges them to one final battle, climbing into Metal Face as a group of Mass-Produced Faces surround them. He taunts the party, asking if they're really willing to kill innocent Homs to defeat the Mechon. The party soon manages to defeat Metal Face, but as Dunban prepares to kill Mumkhar, Shulk stops him. He manages to talk Dunban out of killing Mumkhar, and he instead cuts off Metal Face's arms.

Suddenly, Shulk has a vision of Metal Face being impaled by a falling tower damaged earlier in the battle and attempts to warn him, but he refuses to listen. True to the vision, Metal Face is stabbed by the collapsing rubble, leaving him nailed to a collapsing platform, sending him falling to his death. His remains can later be found as the Black Wreckage, on the Fallen Arm.

Within Galahad Fortress, the party meets Yaldabaoth and Face Nemesis again. Egil usurps control of Face Nemesis from Meyneth, trying to force her into attacking them while simultaneously disabling the Monado with the Apocrypha Generator. Egil tries to force Shulk to surrender the Monado, but Meyneth regains control of Face Nemesis long enough to attack him, destroying Galahad Fortress and sending herself and the party hurtling down to the ocean below.

The party awakens on the Fallen Arm, and meets the Machina. One of their doctors, Linada, claims to specialize in people in Fiora's condition. She explains that Fiora's body cannot survive without a Face Mechon to pilot, and with Face Nemesis destroyed, she needs a new circulatory system for her immune functions. Shulk scavenges some parts from destroyed Mechon, and Linada performs the required repairs, allowing her to rejoin the party. Linada promises to begin research into how to restore a pilot to a full Homs, but admits that the chances of ever finding a method are slim.

Following the betrayal of Face Nemesis, Egil decides that the memories of the Homs pilots limits the Face Mechon's potential, and as such, he begins wiping them of their past lives and personalities starting with Jade Face.

Jade Face attacks the party as they climb the Mechonis. Sharla instantly recognizes his voice, identifying him as Gadolt, but Egil's brainwashing has removed any traces of his past life. After they defeat him, he emerges from Jade Face, but the party is unable to remind him of his past, and he flees.

He strikes again in Agniratha, fighting the party once again. He still has no memories of his past, but Shulk notices that he deliberately misses all shots aimed at Sharla. This causes him to realize that Gadolt's true self is still in there. Further attempts to reach him fail, but Meyneth speaks through Fiora, telling the party that she has the power to undo Egil's brainwashing, but she needs time. The party battles Jade Face to buy her time to restore him. She succeeds, and Sharla reunites with Gadolt. Too weak to continue on, Gadolt remains in Agniratha as the party continues on.

Finally arriving at the core of Mechonis, the party battles Egil as he pilots Yaldabaoth. Egil easily wins, only prevented from killing the party by Meyneth's intervention. Egil then connects Yaldabaoth to the core, using it as a control mechanism to take control of the Mechonis. Agniratha is destroyed by the Mechonis's awakening, a massive explosion wiping out the entire city. Gadolt once again pilots Jade Face, using the Mechon as a shield to protect the party from the explosion, and is vaporized in the process.

Returning to the core of Mechonis, the party battles Yaldabaoth once again. Shulk manages to cut the head off the Face Mechon, revealing its pilot and allowing him to talk Egil down. Once Zanza emerges from Shulk's body, however, Egil uses Yaldabaoth to try and attack him. Zanza uses his power to completely destroy Yaldabaoth with Egil still inside.

A mass-produced Face is seen saving Juju from a Gigas Telethia during an attack on Colony 6 before flying away. Otharon remarks that the Faces are now assisting Homs as they want the same thing as them.

Lore

 * According to the Monado Archives, Xord was the first Face Mechon ever constructed. Instead of having a separate pilot, Xord consists only of the brain and organs of a Homs directly integrated into the Face Mechon, rather than a full body.
 * In the Japanese version, all Face Mechon are named after colors, either in their main name or their alternate title. However, for the English translation, Black Face was changed to Metal Face, while Xord's alternate title of Brown Face was changed to Bronze Face to avoid connections with blackface.
 * During the Heart-to-Heart "Riki Have Question", Fiora speculates that Face Mechon pilots might potentially be able to live longer than a normal Homs, but this remains unconfirmed.
 * The Monado Archives contain a short story which details a story scene happening shortly before the party enters the Bionis Interior. In it, Linada's research into restoring Face Mechon pilots to full Homs leads her to discovering an ancient biological regeneration device within the Cylinder Hangar, which can fully restore Fiora's original body, but would take six months to work. Fiora turns down being restored for now, saying she needs the strength of her mechanical body to help fight Zanza.

List of Face Mechon

 * Metal Face - Piloted by Mumkhar.
 * Xord - Piloted by Xord.
 * Face Nemesis - Piloted by Fiora and Meyneth.
 * Jade Face - Piloted by Gadolt.
 * Yaldabaoth - Piloted by Egil.
 * Mass-Produced Faces - Copies of Xord, piloted by unknown Homs, which appear as generic enemies. Early models wield hammers, while later ones wield spears.
 * Temporal Gawain - A Unique Monster version of a Mass-Produced Face.