Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy
Noctis took in a small breath as he floated down in front of Ardyn who greeted him with a mock bow, Noctis giving him an annoyed look in response. Now in this kind of situation, the final showdown between the hero and the villain there would be a long monologue from either party, but in this situation Noctis and Ardyn both knew the time for words had passed. Noctis had destroyed Ardyn's mortal body and his soul was now anchored in the border between life and death, stuck in Limbo so he could not pass on to the afterlife and Noctis knew only the sacrifice of his own life force would end him for good.
So it was with a heavy heart that he raised his hand and took aim at Ardyn who mimicked the action, the two prepared to fight but surprise took Noctis's features as his beloved Lunafreya appeared in a golden light, grasping hold of Ardyn who angrily swiped his arm away from her but he began to get bathed in the same golden glow, now looking weaker as he hunched over. Noctis realised the chance he now had and quickly activated the Ring's power, screaming in pain as the weapons of his ancestors burst out of his back and their spectral forms grasped their respective weapons. Noctis glared hatefully at Ardyn and swung his fist forwards with an angry cry and the older man got pierced by every single weapon. Then Noctis steeled himself for the final moment of life he was having.
"It's finally over... gonna miss everyone" he whispered, smiling as he thought of his friends and he began to fall back. Then he knew no more. In the afterlife however, a group of individuals were talking, each one staring down at a young woman who was pleading with them. "Please, you know his destiny was not this. I was told by the six themselves that everything played out wrong! I don't care what it costs just reverse everything! Send him back!" she cried out, tears filling her eyes as the group began debating amongst one another. "You are correct, his destiny is something else but we cannot alter the rivers of time. A single ripple can easily change the flow of life itself. What's to say by interfering that we won't be dooming mankind by doing this? In fact he almost failed anyway! He survived because of help, not his own merit!" a haughty male spoke, folding his arms with an annoyed look at the woman who spoke to them. This male was dressed in long black robes and had burning red eyes that were partially concealed by his black hair. He didn't look like the co-operative type.
"Oh hush, you're just angry Bahamut woulodn't speak to you after that poker game you child. Let's do it. Things are boring up here and I'd quite like to see what he does with all this new information. He needs to strengthen himself, so just this once I vote in favour of reversing the time flow. But he must retain his memories. Are we all in agreement?" a soft spoken lady asked, getting a few grumbles before the other four of the group raised their hands. This woman was clothed in a long white dress that looked rather simple yet everybody in attendance looked at her with authority, showing she was obviously seen as the leader of the group.
"Good. Now, Lady Lunafreya. The price will be that when you and Noctis have your first child, they WILL die after birth at any given moment and be brought to us. Would you willingly sacrifice quite possibly your ONLY chance at a family simply to bring back Noctis? You will come back but will not remember this." Spoke the third of the group, an old but wise looking man spoke, staring at her with a critical eye. The old man didn't look too trusting that she would agree to this, the last person to ever be given this offer had considered it then ultimately decided against it, that's why the young Kingsglaive had died. Nyx was a strong man, but they could not fault his devotion to life itself, unwilling to sacrifice anybody even if it gave him incredible power. Maybe that's why it was a good choice to alow the previous kings of Lucis to inhabit the ring. Although maybe they were lax in only allowing thirteen. Perhaps this time round they would allow the recovery of more of the Royal arms of Legend, it would be a longer battle but they were sure that young Noctis would make them proud, should lunafreya make the hard choice here.
Lunafreya smiled softly and nodded. "I'm the Oracle, I'm here to help the Chosen One. Noctis is the Chosen One and my beloved, I'd give my own soul to give him another day on the earth." she replied, bowing to the group. After a few moments a large flash of light covered the area and Noctis himself appeared before them, albeit dissapearing slowly as his soul broke apart.
Each of the several figures around Lunafreya all placed their palms together in a prayer motion, Noctis's soul now stabilising and slowly forming back to completion. His eyes also opened, confusion on his face as he took in his surroundings. "Luna? What's going on here?" he asked, staring at her in surprise. He took a moment to realise where he was and stood up, smiling at her before embracing her. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't strong enough to save you... so much for our wedding right?" he laughed weakly, biting his lip. "I wanted to see you in that dress walking down the aisle, knowing you were about to become my wife... and yet that can't happen now all because I failed to stop Ardyn in time.." he whispered, clutching her in the belief this was the last he'd ever be able to hold her. Luna's soft smile only made the interaction more heartbreaking for him, feeling her place a hand on his cheek before kissing him lightly.
"Noctis... it can still happen... you're being sent back. You weren't actually meant to die yet, you're meant to live your life out until you die of old age, not because of some nutcase. You'll go back to the day you arrived at the Hammerhead Garage. From that point on you have to train and gather your Royal Arms once again. But please, do it quickly. The faster you do it the better your chances." she whispered to him, her hands cupping his face lovingly as his gaze switched to shock, his mouth moving to form words before his world went bright and the past days since reaching Hammerhead flew past his eyes, filling him with a range of emotions as he saw each dayp ass by in the blink of an eye. And then it stopped and he stumbled, feeling hard ground beneath him compared to the strange misty feel he previously had. It was odd for him to feel that now, mainly due to the time from the Crystal and what he had just experienced.
"What the fuck just happened? That... that was wierd..." Noctis then stood and groaned, feeling sudden strains in his back that made him fall to his knees. "Gah! The hell?!" he cried out then heard the sound of multiple footsteps rushing towards him, blinking away some of the spots in hisd vision as he turned his gaze up from the floor, his vision hazy and unfocused. "Noct! Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked, tears springing to Noctis's eyes as he registered who it was.
"Dude, maybe you pushed too hard with the car, you gotta sit down!" another voice said, this one laced with more worry. "Come on Prince Charmless, let's get you sat down." a gruff voice spoke, Noctis's eyes now watering.
"Guys... it's... it's really you.." he sobbed before collapsing in a heap on the ground.
four hours later
Noctis groaned and rubbed his head as he awoke from his slumber, looking around and finding himself lay in the bed of the Caravan in the Hammerhead garage, barely taking note of a youbg blonde males now excited motions towards two other men. "Guys he's awake! Come on!" he said, the three of them moving close to the bed. "Noct, you're awake. How are you feeling?" Noctis blinked away what was in his eyes and his vision cleared, showing who was around him.
"Iggy... I'm fine, just... I never expected to see you guys again... I can't believe I've really gone back." he said, a wide smile on his face which his three friends actually felt slightly unnerved by. He was never this excited about anything other than fishing, then his words only served to confuse them. "Noct... you must have hit your head rather hard when you passed out, you've not gone back anywhere." Ignis said, giving Noctis one of his usually kind smiles. Just like... when Ignis lost his kept on the strong front with that smile.
"Ignis, no, I have gone back. You guys might not believe me but... I've lived through this before. We've gone through this day, been here today previously. Like, I've been to the future and everything just fucked up, I've seen Gladio get more scars, seen Prompto have a full identity crisis... and Iggy... you lost your eyes... I lost my dad, which is gonna happen in about two days... and then in a few weeks I'd los Luna too. Ravus dies after Ardyn steals my appearance and we have to kill him again to put him out of his misery..." Noctis explained, his three greatest friends currently stuck for words. "I'm not going to let any of you get hurt because I hesitated or refused to accept my duty. I'm going to be the Last King of Lucis and I'm not going to lose anyone else. My father knows his death is near, that's why he sent me away, but I'll be damned if anyone else dies. I've got a second chance and it'll be a cold day in hell bfeore I give up."
Noctis's eyes were hard and determined and there was an aura of strength surrounding him that his friends seemed to pick up on. "Heh, to think you're acting all high and mighty little prince. Well, if you're really form the future, how aobut we see if your skills have improved to show it?" Gladiolus asks, standing up and Noctis mimicked him, smirking. "Let's dance then Gladio." The two left the caravan and headed to a large area next to the garage, wanting to have plenty of space. Noctis wanted to prove to Gladio that he was not lying, and this was the way he'd do it. No phasing or magic, just skill.
"Okay Gladio. Let's do this." Noctis said, bringing his right hand out and summoning his Engine blade but was rather surprised when instead of that, he instead got the Rune Saber. Looks like he'd kept a weapon or two, that was good to know. Gladio himself grinned and suimmoned his greatsword, the Hardedge. Gladio was rather surprised as that wasn't the initial weapon he had and he stared at Noctis who just laughed. "Still think I'm lying Gladio? If so, bring it!"
Then the two rushed each other. Noctis however wasn't thinking about just fighting his friend. He had a second chance to save everyone and he'd do it. He wasn't alone. Not now, not ever. Luna would live, so would Jared, Ravus and everyone else he cared for. Ignis would never go blind either. That much he swore.
"On my blade, I swear I won't let this chance go to waste!"