Thanks for all the feedback so far! Here's chapter two!

Chapter 2

Onward to Lestallum

The storm continued to rage on for two more uneventful days before finally hinting at its demise on the third. The fourth day blessed the prince and his best friends with a beautiful, cloudless blue sky and perfect weather to drive in the Regalia with the top down. The sun shining brightly above, Noctis leaned his head against the side of the window, arms folded across his chest. He sighed quietly, comforted by the breeze brushing against his skin. He welcomed the calming sensation; it allowed him to temporarily forget about his burdens.

After their brief encounter with the strange woman with an even stranger occupation, the quartet made their way to Lestallum. The decision was mostly Gladiolus's idea, probably because he wanted to see Iris, his little sister. The Shield didn't want to leave her by herself after what happened in Insomnia but alas, his duty was to Noctis— to protect him. He was, however, comforted by the thought that she was with the Amicitia's trusted butler, and grandson.

Understanding how much of a worrier he could be for his sister, the other three agreed to head back up north. At least in Lestallum they could relax without fear of Imperials hovering over the town. For now.

There was an audible click originating from Prompto's camera which was only slightly distracting. Fortunately, having been friends with the blonde for years, the prince was used to his love for photography. He even ended up as the model for a few pictures. To his right, Gladiolus cleared his throat and flipped a page in whatever book he was reading this time. Ignis had turned the radio on to a random music station to keep the drive from being completely silent (although with Prompto in the car, silence doesn't last). He made sure to keep the volume low enough to allow the prince to sleep—

"You think we'll run into Mia again?"

And the silence was shattered.

"The girl from the gas station?" Gladiolus recalled with twitch of a smirk. It seemed pretty random he would bring up the elementalist out of the blue. "Why, Prompto, did you suddenly change your mind about Cindy?"

"What? No way!" The sharpshooter turned around to kneel on the passenger seat, leaning the front of his body against the back cushion. His expression feigned offense at the bodyguard's words as he placed a hand on his chest, proclaiming, "My heart will always belong to Cindy! Nothing in the world can change my feelings!"

Both Noctis and Gladiolus rolled their eyes while Ignis scolded the younger man to sit down properly. When he did, Prompto leaned between the gap in the seats so he could still look towards the back seats. In his hand was a flask containing fire magic, but Noctis noticed with a discerning eye (for once) that it lacked the special quality compared to the one they received from Mia days prior.

"The fight from yesterday just got me thinking about her, I guess," the blonde clarified himself. "I mean, her present to us pretty much saved our butts."

No one argued with him.

Once the storm transitioned from heavy rain to a light drizzle, the four of them set out to claim the monster bounty. While they defeated the monsters with relative ease, a Magitek dreadnought found them and they were pulled into a fight with Imperial soldiers. They managed to escape in the end with minor scrapes and bruises, none of which were life threatening. It was a risky battle that taught them much about the efficacy of their enemy's strength.

"It was quite fortuitous that we were given that particular spell," Ignis remarked as the Regalia entered the tunnel leading to Lestallum. "Who knows what would have happened if we didn't have it in our possession."

The rest of them agreed, the memory still fresh in their minds.

One of their first mistakes was engaging in combat without the knowledge of how many soldiers there were.

The four fighters eventually found themselves overwhelmed by more troops than they predicted as Imperial reinforcements arrived in waves. The lifeless machines carried a variety of weaponry: swords and axes for melee combat; rifles and machine guns for range. So much chaos surrounded them that it was difficult to concentrate on any one particular enemy.

Their second mistake was trying to divide and conquer.

Ignis strategized Noctis was the ideal option to deal with the long-ranged enemies in the distance to keep the gunfire off of himself and Gladiolus. Prompto was tasked with assisting the prince while he warped in to attack. The plan was working flawlessly but countless more soldiers disembarked from the dreadnoughts overhead. The constant phasing to dodge bullet showers resulted in Noctis reaching stasis, slowing him down significantly.

It got to a point where he became so exhausted he fell to his knee, gasping for oxygen and on the verge of blacking out.

Sensing he was in serious distress, the three members of the Crownsguard all converged to protect the prince. The situation did not bode well for them, even as Gladiolus eliminated multiple soldiers with a single swipe of his greatsword. Prompto covered his back with his pistols while Ignis supported Noctis until he could recover his stamina. It wasn't just Noctis, though; on top of their fight with monsters just moments before, they were all feeling fatigue and exhaustion.

It was then the strategist recalled their gunner had the foresight to bring a certain magic flask.

"Prompto!" he shouted over the fighting. The urgency in his voice grabbed the blonde's attention. "The fire spell!" Catching his drift, Prompto hastily reached into his bag and tossed the flask toward Ignis, who caught it with his free hand. "Everyone, group up!"

Once they were in close vicinity, he threw the bottle at their feet.

The flask shattered into pieces. In an instant, fire encircled them, searing the ground in every direction. Flames rose taller than Gladiolus as it burned everything within its staggeringly large radius. Magitek troops drowning in the sea of flames were incinerated within seconds. Even the grass and nearby bushes were reduced to piles of ash. Nothing stood a chance.

From the epicenter, the four friends could only watch the scene unfold in awe. They felt the intensity of the heat, the flames nicking at their skin, yet they felt no pain. Tiny orbs of light, a mix of soft greens and yellow, flitted, danced, and sparkled around them before being absorbed into their bodies. True to the elementalist's words, they regained the energy to continue.

Ignis heard Noctis groan as he steadied the prince. "How are you feeling?" he queried.

"I'll survive," the raven-haired prince panted, lightly pushing away from his advisor to stand by himself. He opened and closed his hand to test his strength, pleased to find his renewed vigor. "Let's get the hell out of here."

The four of them broke into a sprint to put as much distance between them and Imperials as possible. As everyone piled into the Regalia, Prompto glanced back at their previous location, his blue eyes widening at what he saw. The fire that was once raging had now dissipated into dark smoke, leaving behind a bizarrely circular area of scorched earth and dying embers. He turned to his friends, who also stared with varying expressions of shock and awe.

The brightest grin stretched across his freckled features. "We owe Mia a big hug."

The luxury car exited the cliffside tunnel, where they were greeted with a welcomed sight: Lestallum.

A big tourist town, Lestallum was designed to appear visually charming and mirror its tropical climate. Grand palm trees lined the busy sidewalks with the fronds rustling above in the warm breeze. At the crosswalk, the ever present smell of food wafted in the air, causing some stomachs to rumble. Both tourists and locals alike strolled the busy street to reach the multi-tiered balcony, where they could get a magnificent view of the Disc of Cauthess, the impact site of a meteor.

If they were going to have to lay low for awhile, they couldn't think of a better place.

Ignis turned left into the parking lot, diligently navigating the Regalia until he found an open space. Once parked, the guys temporarily separated from each other. To no one's surprise, Noctis stayed in the car in an attempt to sleep for a few minutes longer. Ignis stood dutifully near, content with people watching. Gladiolus also stayed close, but stepped away at the moment to inform his sister they were in town. Prompto jogged over to the observation platform to take pictures of the Disc.

"I shall make arrangements at The Leville," the Royal Advisor thought aloud as he propped his glasses up. "I surmise we'll be spending a couple days here."

Noctis made a sound from the car, acknowledging that he heard him even though his eyes stayed closed. To his frustration, he found it impossible to take a nap due to everything around him: low murmurs and excitement of the people; cars passing through; a mishmash of music from numerous street performers; and shop keepers shouting their products to attract the attention of potential customers.

The young prince shifted his position, growing exasperated. "Too loud." he grumbled under his breath.

"Gladio," Ignis called out to the Royal Shield, who was the first to return. "Were you able to contact Lady Iris?"

"Yep," the tattooed man nodded. "She's waiting for us at the hotel."

The brunette twitched a smile on his lips. "Then it's best we don't make her wait longer than necessary."

It was in Gladiolus's tone that told anyone who heard him he was rather eager. Gruff and macho he may be, Gladiolus Amicitia was a family man and was looking forward to reuniting with his sister. His friends knew he was actually a big teddy bear deep down but they never dared to say it to his face. They preferred to live.

Gladiolus looked over at the trying-to-sleep prince before a mischievous grin spread across his face. He suddenly reached out, placing a hand on the younger man's head, and ruffled his black hair violently. His victim protested much to his pleasure. He even received a threat of physical harm him if he didn't stop.

"Rise and shine, Your Highness!" Gladiolus guffawed. "Time to get up!"

"Alright, alright!" Noctis growled, slapping his hand away. Shooting a lazy glare in his supposed bodyguard's direction, he hopped out of the car. Gladiolus simply shrugged, unaffected.

"I'll go find Prompto," Ignis inwardly sighed before walking away to retrieve their photography-obsessed friend.

Sometimes he wondered why he chose to remain around these childish people.

With their sharpshooter in tow, the quartet walked up the stairs and crossed the road to reach Lestallum's Main Street. It was almost noon, the busiest time of the day in the town. Vendors positioned themselves along the sidewalk, some selling souvenirs and others varieties of food. Noctis was tempted to peruse the food stalls but he knew they were going to eat lunch with Iris.

Besides, a certain glasses-wearing advisor would look down upon eating such "unhealthy" food.

The main front of the town was bustling and packed full of people at restaurants and cafes. Musicians and street performers stationed themselves at every corner so entertainment was never in short supply. The atmosphere was free and relaxing, as if the kingdom wasn't in dire conflict. Although they had visited Lestallum before, it still astounded them how different Lestallum was compared to Insomnia. To feel at peace, even for the moment, was like a breath of fresh air.

"To The Leville!" Prompto exclaimed excitedly.

They didn't get very far before a roar of an engine brought their attention to the side of the road again. A black motorcycle with a green cactuar decal pulled up along the sidewalk. The driver carefully balanced the weight of the vehicle, kicking down the stand so it leaned away from the road. It was nothing uncommon to see, as that particular section was marked as the parking area for two-wheeled transportation. Noctis would have ignored them too if Prompto didn't stop to look.

"Hey!"

The other three men halted in their step to give the sharpshooter a questioning and somewhat annoyed stare. He was always getting distracted. They followed his pointed finger to the motorcyclist, blinking in surprise.

With the helmet held at her side, the familiar face of the elementalist was recognized.

The woman exhaled a tired sigh, presumably from a lengthy drive, when she noticed Prompto waving at her. It took her a second to realize who it was but returned the wave with equal enthusiasm. She swung her leg off her motorcycle just as Prompto approached. His friends followed close behind but at a slower pace.

"Fancy meeting you again!" Mia greeted them with a bright smile as she fixed her windswept bangs. "I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon! What are you doing in Lestallum?"

"We're just visiting," the blonde replied coolly as he pointed behind him with his thumb in the direction of the hotel. "We're staying a few days at The Leville."

She let out a low whistle, a sign she was impressed. "The Leville, huh? That must be nice."

"What about you?"

"I live here. My family runs a small shop near the marketplace. Second on the right just outside of the entrance. If you happen to be in the area, you're more than welcome to stop by," She paused to give them a flirtatious wink. "I'll even give you fine, handsome gentlemen a discount~"

She garnered a roll of eyes from Gladiolus and Ignis, an excited exclamation from Prompto, and Noctis suddenly had an interest in the ground.

"Perhaps we will take you up on that offer," Ignis cut in, patting Prompto on his shoulder. They were already behind schedule. No more delays. "But we must be leaving. Lady Iris is expecting us."

Mia nodded in understanding. "Don't let me keep you. See you soon!"

Noctis and his retinue resumed their trek to the hotel, turning into an alleyway out of sight of the woman. "I say we visit her shop," Prompto mused as he placed his hands behind his head. "I wonder what kinds of stuff an elementalist sells."

"You sure you're interested in just her inventory?" Gladiolus sneered with a cheeky grin, the innuendo lathered in his words.

"Knock it off," Noctis groaned, shoving the big man while resisting the urge to cover his ears. "Let's get to the hotel. I'm tired."

"You're always tired," Prompto scoffed, his attention effectively diverted from the previous topic. "But no matter what you say, I'm going to her shop!"