Hey guys, long time no see! I'm sorry this took so long but here's the finale of GAHPAHK! So just a few things to note: I will be going away this coming week so I won't be able to answer your lovely review right away but don't let that deter you from commenting on what you loved/hated. Since I'm going away, I'll try to work on the next portion of the story but I am also working on another fic rn so it kinda depends on how i feel in the end. Also after I get back, I probably won't be able to just hope right back in with updates cuz I start my new job the day after I get back. But I'll try to give y'all something shortly after I get back.
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Words: 3,892
Posted: 07.15.18
The End of Innocence - Alexandre Desplat
Nyx POV
Nyx side-eyed Crowe from his position on the floor of the fishing boat, watching as the mage stared out into the darkness where Goryeo was. The two of them definitely had their reservations about going into Nifelheim territory so soon after the area had been conquered. The place was bound to be crawling with Nifs and magitek. Hell from what they heard, people were evacuating the islands pretty quickly after the council of princesses fell, and since the land wasn't Lucian, it was unclear as to why the Kingsglaive was being sent in.
It wasn't until they hit Galdin that they picked up on the murmurs of the refugees. Whispers of a girl barely older than the Crown Prince being tortured by the agents of Nifelheim, for no reason other than that she was the only remaining princess of the country.
The rumours from Goryeo didn't clarify why she was being tortured and to what end, but the thought of a young girl, someone younger than Selena, experiencing those horrors was enough for him to board the fishing boat in determination. Nyx couldn't save his sister from the empire, but he'd be damned if he let them kill another innocent girl in their sick thirst for power.
Movement from the ship's cabin drew Nyx's gaze over to the shadowed figure of Luche, the man stepping out onto the open deck. The man's footsteps also drew the attention of Crowe, the younger woman turning to fix her brown eyes on the mission team's leader.
"Pelna's got the location of the target, just where the informant said she would be. Goryeo has the same blessings as the havens in Lucis so daemons are not an issue. The goal is to get in and out with as minimal interaction with occupying forces, only engage if necessary." Luche announced to the pair, adjusting his gloves as he looked between them.
Nyx pulled himself up off the floor of the boat, nodding to the other man before checking his gear one last time.
"Got it. In and out, minimal open combat."
Crowe huffed as she pushed herself away from the edge of the boat, "What could possibly go wrong?"
"Well now you jinxed it." Pelna said over the comms from his position in the cabin.
"Shut up, Khara. We'll be fine and we'll get the girl out in one piece." The brunette snipped back, a grin dancing on her lips as the boat drew closer to the cliff that the royal palace rested on.
"Let's get this show on the road then." Nyx stated, pulling his kukuris from their sheathes as the boat came to a slow stop at the foot of the cliff face.
"Last one to the top is a smelly coeurl!" the young mage whispered over the comms before warping up the cliffs, reappearing a few feet up in a burst of crystalline light before continuing the process.
Nyx shook his head at the younger glaive's antics before following her in a similar manner, Luche only a second behind him as they climbed the cliff.
The king's magic made it easy for them to reach the top of the palace walls, the trio crouching above the gardens before dropping among the bushes as a Nifelheim patrol walked past.
The garden was dark save for the faint flicker of torches and the lights of the guards' guns. The trio stuck to the shadows, waiting for Pelna's directions over the comms.
"So Goryeo is essentially one big technological blackout due to the limitations placed on importing foreign tech, but aside from the flagships grounded across the island and the MT units, there's only two main sources of power on the island." Pelna said, pausing as papers shuffled in the background, "According to the informant's maps, both sources are located in the council's apartment complex."
"So our target is likely in one of the apartments." Luche replied over the comms, waiting for the tech's confirmation.
"It's our best bet, especially since one of them is more heavily guarded by MTs. I'm sending the coordinates for both locations but my money is on the one that's got the most guards." the man confirmed, their tech gear blinking with the newly received coordinates.
"Alright, comms offline until we've reached the target. We'll check back in once we've got the girl, Pelna." Luche ordered, looking to Nyx and Crowe for their nods of confirmation.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for check in." the tech replied before the comms shut down, the frequency dropping and leaving the trio in silence.
"Let's move out. The complex is located in the center of the rear portion of the palace, so we have a lot of ground to cover."
"Right behind you." Nyx answered as Crowe nodded over his shoulder before they crept through the garden with ease.
They silently warped up onto the rooftops, stepping lightly to avoid drawing the attention of the MTs and guards patrolling the area. The natural silence that enveloped the island was disrupted by the whirring of the empire's magitek, the pairing of the two setting Nyx on edge as they warped from rooftop to rooftop.
The trio waiting for another patrol to pass by before dropping down into one of the courtyards located outside the complex, Crowe slipping into the area of the palace quickly with the two men close behind her.
The three glaives quietly followed the blinking coordinates of their target, peering around corners before proceeding with caution. When they came to the hall where the guard was most heavy, Crowe silently warped up into the shadows of the rafters as Nyx and Luche used the king's magic to pass across the hall, unseen and undetected, into the next hall covered by darkness.
There was a man's voice that traveled out from the apartment, the tone both frustrated and pleading before silence took over. It wasn't long until a blonde dressed in the white uniform of the imperial military strode out the door, anger radiating off him.
A portion of the MTs guarding the door followed him, only two remaining at their post.
Luche signaled to Crowe up in the rafters, receiving a quick thumbs up before silently moving across the rafters towards the guards. The mage pulled out her kukuris with a near silent hiss before dropping between the two MTs, her blades finding purchase in a gap between the neck armor.
Nyx threw his kukuri into the chest of one of the MTs, warping fluidly as Luche followed with a high level Thunder spell aimed at the other. Crowe pulled her kukuri from the two magitek soldiers, choosing to hit the one MT with her own Thunder spell before turning to slash at the other alongside Nyx.
Both opponents eventually dropped to the floor, sparking and smoking respectively where their wiring had been damaged by blades and overheated with electricity.
The trio of glaives sheathed their weapons before glancing at each other.
"Didn't even break a sweat." Crowe boasted quietly, turning to open the wooden door carefully and leading the way into the apartment.
The room itself was lavish and decorated, with bright fabrics hanging as curtains in the doorways, beautiful rugs covering the wooden floor, and the furniture being made of a dark wood inlaid with gold. The only thing out of place was the obvious Nifelheim tech taking up most of the space in what could only be a former sitting room, a large metal operating table placed at the center.
"Pelna, we got some strange Niff tech in the apartment that's probably the source of power you're picking up." Luche reported over the comms as Nyx and Crowe slowly worked their way further into the apartment.
Nyx crouched down to examine a rather large bloodstain on one of the carpets in the room.
"There's enough blood here to warrant that somebody died of blood loss in here." the glaive reported, his gray eyes meeting Luche's, the other man frowning before turning back to the tech.
"What's it look like?" Pelna questioned, prompting him to approach the set up.
"Looks like a power generator that's connected to a massive dinosaur of a computer. There's also a bunch of wires coming out of it that have some sort of weird attachment of some kind." The dirty blonde responded, eyes darting around to check for any missed details.
"Okay, I'm gonna guide you to see if we can't get any of the files or whatever that's stored on there." Pelna said, waiting for the confirmation.
"Alright, Nyx. Crowe. Go ahead and see if you can find the target further in." Luche ordered, turning back to the computer to start it up.
Crowe led the way, light on her feet as they entered different rooms meant for a variety of things. She carefully opened one of the rice paper doors, wincing slightly at the sound of the wood scraping together before stepping into the room.
Nyx barely got a foot in the door before he ran into the younger woman's back, the mage hardly budging as she gaped at the sight across the room.
"Holy fuck."
Soo's POV
I could hear Ravus' voice, he was agitated by something. Somebody grabbed my hand, causing me to finch and squirm further away on the bed.
"If you just give them what they want, we can leave right away for Tenebrae, Eun-Byeol. Just give Izunia and Besithia what they want, and the torture will end."
I could hear him but none of what he said made sense to me. It was like I was under water, and everything he said was muffled.
"If you don't tell them what they want to hear soon, they will break you."
Joke's on him, I think they had already broken me by that point.
I could tell by the elongated silence that my guest had left me, allowing me to rest for the remainder of the night before the scientists would return and the torture would start again.
I rested fitfully for what felt like hours before jolting out of my daze as fingers brushed against my forehead. I shot up and scrambled across the bed, my eyes looking fearfully around the room before locking on the strange man crouching by the edge of the bed.
His hand hovered where my head had been resting, frozen in shock as I trembled against the wall. My eyes darted to the left as movement caught my vision.
A woman stood across the room with her hands raised in surrender, slowly approaching the bedside.
"Hey, we're not here to hurt you." the woman, who was barely old enough to be called an adult, said quietly, big brown eyes shining with concern.
I shuddered like a leaf against the wall as she approached, trying to calm me like I was a skittish cat.
"We're from Lucis, His Majesty, King Regis, sent us on behalf of Princess Eun-Byeol. We're here to get you out." the woman said calmly, extending a hand to me as she reached the edge of the bed, "I'm Crowe, the idiot who touched you without asking is Nyx, and we have our mission leader Luche waiting outside. One of our tech guys, Pelna, is waiting for us on a boat at the foot of the cliff. You don't have to be afraid anymore. We won't let you get hurt anymore."
Crowe's voice was calming….it was understanding. My eyes fluttered nervously between her extended hand and her face, conflicted about the odds that it was a trick before shuffling toward the brunette. I placed my small hand in her gloved one, feeling her squeeze it gently as she helped me stand.
"Getting those cuffs off will have to wait until we get back to Pelna. You alright to walk?" the man, Nyx, questioned, gray eyes flicking over me in worry.
I nodded once, leaning against Crowe for support and allowing her to guide me out of the bedroom. We walked into the sitting room, my eyes immediately locking on the bloodstain on the rugg that was the only reminder of what happened here.
"You found the target." I flinched at the sound of a new voice coming from over by Besithia's computer, looking at the serious-faced man as he fiddled with the device.
"Yeah, she's a little skittish and really roughed up, but she's alive." Nyx replied, poking his head outside the third princess' apartment to check the hall, "You almost finished with that?"
"Just about. Pelna wants as many files as possible to examine and send off to the crownsguard and council." the man, Luche I guessed due to the process of elimination, replied. He pulled a memory stick free of the computer before shutting it down.
"Okay let's move out. We're going to have to move a little more slowly and stick to the ground shadows since we have her with us." the dirty blonde ordered, pulling his hood up and covering his face with his visor, "Crowe, stay by her side, Nyx will take up the rear."
Both of them nodded as they pulled up their own hoods, Crowe guiding me along as we crept out into the hallway. We stuck to the shadows as planned, creeping in the darkness between buildings as we avoided guard patrols carefully.
We managed to make it to the gardens before the sound of the magitek grew louder suddenly, causing the group to pause.
"They know she's missing. We need to get her over the wall before the MTs get here!" Luche hissed at the other two, causing me to tremble against Crowe's side. The mage's hand came up to stroke my hair lightly in an almost soothing motion as she waited for directions.
"You two should take her over the wall, between the you two, you'll be able to warp with her easily. I'll deal with the MTs and meet you down there." Nyx insisted, looking to Luche for approval.
The dirty blonde narrowed his gaze, his mouth set in a firm line as he contemplated for a brief second before nodding in approval.
"Good luck, Ulric." he said, Crowe nodding as well before looking back to her superior, "Crowe, I want you two in front of me and take the memory drive. If anything happens to either me or Nyx, you make sure both the girl and the drive get on that boat headed for Galdin."
"Got it." the brunette responded, taking the drive and placing it in her pocket before guiding me through the garden towards the wall.
I could hear the telltale sounds of gunfire behind us before Crowe pulled out her kukuri and looked at me.
"I need you to hold on to me as tightly as possible. Side-along warping is usually unpleasant." the woman told me, brown eyes staring at me from under her hood.
I gripped her tightly, nodding in confirmation and shutting my eyes as she literally worked her magic.
It was a strange sensation to suddenly become nothing and then reappear elsewhere. Luche was right behind us, landing on top of the wall before looking back to where Nyx was still fighting off some magitek soldiers.
"Get her to the boat, Crowe. I'll wait for Nyx." the older man ordered, the mage nodding again before pulling me along to the edge of the wall to gaze down the cliffside.
The ocean crashed against the rocks but the shape of a boat could faintly be made out in the moonlight, bobbing cautiously at the foot of the cliff.
Crowe pulled me tightly against her side before throwing her kukuri down towards the deck of the ship and warping us after it. It felt like I had left my stomach up on the wall, my legs crumpling underneath me as we hit the deck.
"Crowe?!" A man's voice called from somewhere to the left.
"I got the girl and the drive, Pelna. Luche and Nyx are just dealing with some MTs before coming down." the woman shouted back before turning to me, "You're safe now. They can't get you anymore."
I nodded tiredly in response, allowing her to guide me over to a sheltered section of the deck.
"You can stay here for now. Once we get far enough out to sea, I'll have Pelna check you out, alright?"
I nodded again, my eyes drooping as the sound of people warping onto the deck drew the mage's attention away from me, allowing me to fall into a dreamless slumber.
I slowly came to, feeling incredibly well-rested for once. There was no way Besithia let me rest for more than two days and recover, prompting me to open my eyes and look around.
The room was white and everything smelled like bleach and antiseptic, leading me to the conclusion that I was in a hospital. But there were no hospitals in Goryeo.
I sat up in a panic, thinking that the empire had moved me to Gralea while I was unconscious before my gaze fell on an older man dressed in all black sitting quietly in the corner.
"It's good to see you awake child. We were unsure if you would come back to us." the man said calmly, choosing his words carefully in order to avoid frightening me further.
"Where am I?" I asked timidly, staring openly at the stranger.
"You are in Insomnia, Soo-Min. You have nothing to fear here, the empire can no longer touch you." he assured me, rising from his seat and walking towards me slowly with the assistance of a cane.
"How do you know my name? Not even the glaive who rescued me knew who I was." I questioned, shifting slightly as he drew closer.
"How could I not recognize Myung-Hee's daughter? Especially when you're the best friend of my son."
All the pieces suddenly fell into place, my brown gaze locking onto his green eyes.
"King Regis…." I whispered, looking up at him in a mix of awe and shock.
The king nodded in confirmation, smiling gently at me before settling into the chair next to the bed.
"You're on track to a speedy recovery according to your doctor. They estimated you'd only be staying for a week after you woke." Regis stated, relaxing into his chair, "But your recovery isn't the only thing we need to discuss."
His face became more serious suddenly, his green eyes piercing.
"My closest advisors and I have reviewed the memory disk containing the information retrieved from the Nifelheim technology found in the palace."
I froze at his words, dread filling the pit of my stomach.
"What are they?" he asked quietly, his tone a double edged blade in terms of calm and danger.
I cleared my throat before speaking, "My memories, sir. From before."
"Before?" the king questioned, clearly needing more.
"From before I died."
Regis remained silent for a long moment, analyzing my body language before folding into himself slightly.
"I was afraid it was you after all these years…." the king said, more to himself than me, "Something was changed about the world shortly before you and Noctis met, but it was so minor that I simply believed it to be the gods preparing for the coming of the chosen. But when you and Noctis had the encounter with the demon, something changed about the crystal in the aftermath. Like it had extended itself beyond the royal family, which it has never done before. I couldn't figure it out and after all these years, it was you the whole time. The crystal and the draconian were extending themselves to you. Why?"
I looked up from the plain white bed sheets to look into the kings green eyes once more, trying to find the words he wanted to hear.
"Because I wanted to save him. He was my only friend and I would give anything to get him back. I gave the draconian my servitude in exchange for the power to bring him back." I smiled lightly as I thought of the benefits of my choice, "It allowed me to watch and take care of him even when we were apart."
"Does he know?" Regis questioned patiently.
"No. I only used my previous form around him. It was too much for him to understand as a child and now it's too late to explain it without repercussions." I admitted, looking back down at the sheets.
"And was this gift the only thing the draconian granted you?"
"No, I have unrestricted access to the power of the crystal." I answered, looking up to take in his shocked expression, "I've never used anything other than my gift to look out for Noctis, I tried casting a spell once and it was exhausting."
The king sighed tiredly, looking up at the ceiling, "Well, we can't have an untrained girl running around with the power of the Lucis Caelums at her fingertips. You are seventeen, correct?"
I nodded in response.
"Good, as soon as your living arrangements and guardianship is sorted out by immigrations and customs, you'll be inducted as a trainee with the Kingsglaive. It'll be an excellent cover and a quiet way for you to work on harnessing your magic, and you'll be able to learn some combat skills even though you're too young to be deployed." the king continued, standing from his chair.
I nodded again, accepting his decision easily considering he didn't want me executed for essentially stealing the power of the royal family.
The king's face slipped into a more lighter expression, smiling gently at me.
"Now, I do believe you have a long awaited reunion waiting for you. I shall fetch Noctis for you."
My heart fluttered happily at the mention of the prince, overjoyed at the chance to see him again.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." I said quietly, both for the lack of execution and for allowing Noct to visit.
"Of course." the king replied smoothly before slowly exiting the room.
My hospital room was calm and quiet for about ten minutes, allowing me to come down from my emotional high for a few moments before the door opened again.
A black head of hair peaked around the door, sapphire blue eyes widening as they locked on my own brown ones.
"Soo…?" Noctis whispered, stepping into the room further, his behaviour causing me to smile lightly.
"Hey Noct…." I replied, tears slowly making their escape down my cheeks, "It's been a while…."
My voice seemed to break the teenage boy out of his trance, lanky limbs tripping over each other as he ran towards my hospital bed and pulled me into a tight hug.
"I was so fucking worried when I heard about Goryeo….I thought you were dead…." he mumbled, his voice cracking slightly due to his tears.
"Hey, I'm alright. I came back….I told you, 'The Gods themselves would have to order me from your side if you do not do it yourself'. I may have gone away, but I'll always come back to you." I assured the younger boy, allowing him to squeeze me a little bit tighter in his hug.
"Don't ever scare me like that again." Noctis whispered, tucking his head against my neck.
"I won't. I'm not going anywhere." I promised, running my fingers through his ebony coloured hair as we basked in each other's presence.
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