Xenoblade Chronicles Guide- Walkthrough Part 19: Chronic Diversion Syndrome

As you cross the central junction of the Colony, another cutscene ensues- the Colonel exhorting his troops in the fight against the Mechon.  It seems to be a useless effort, though- despite his threatening to shoot any who flee himself, the entire Defence Force is clearly heading into the shelter of the Military District as quickly as they can manage.  The Colonel himself seems to be wielding some sort of a rocket launcher in defence, for all the good it doesn’t do him or the Colony.

Just to make things worse, the strange gigantic Mechon descends from on high as well, landing before the Colonel.  Bravely, the man bears up briefly under an actual physical assault from the machine, blasting the thing right in its face- and leaving the shiny metal surface staggeringly unharmed.  Tossed back by the blast from his own weapon, the Colonel is then in exactly the wrong place at the wrong time, as the metal-masked monstrosity hurls one of the troop transports at him- and across the courtyard at the same time.  That done, the fighter-Mechon lifts off and leaves the Military District.

As you bring the party close to try and enter the lab, you find that not only has the Colonel been crushed just now, but the troop transport is wrecked and burning all across the front of the laboratory building, keeping you out rather thoroughly.

As the three friends look at the wreckage with horror and sorrow, Reyn most of all, Shulk suggests using the Mobile Artillery to blast the vehicle out of the way and get into the lab.  Fiora and Reyn agree, and that makes it time to set out for the Residential District and the crashed Artillery.

You won’t get far, though- a large ambush is waiting at the junction, and the party finds itself surrounded, soon to be forced to fight for survival rather than reach for victory.  Looking to each other, Shulk and Reyn agree and plan to hold off the Mechon as a distraction while Fiora goes for the Mobile Artillery.  Fiora is uncertain about this, preferring that she be part of the holding action- but her friends point out that she is by far the fastest of the three, and will thus return quickest.  Acquiescing, Fiora prepares to make a dash for it as Shulk and Reyn distract the Mechon before following her.

A relatively easy set of fights ensues, the Mechon here proving no more offensively powerful and no less physically impervious than their earlier bretheren.  Having bought Fiora time, Shulk and Reyn prepare to follow her- only to be cut off by a huge chunk of rubble falling from the tower overhead and cutting off the route to the Residential District.  Staggered and knocked away from each other by the rubble, Reyn is forced down and about to be taken by the Mechon when Dunban shows up in a blaze of blue energy blade, cutting down every Mechon in the junction.