A/N: It's finally out. The beginning of the end. I hope everyone enjoys!
Chapter Ten: Reluctor
There was no doubt in his mind that this entire interlude was made up of the most pivotal moments of his life. His young life. Young, yet he felt so old. His life, his choices, his friends, his sanity are being tested and threatened and right now he was having a very hard time not letting it consume him. Reassuring himself with the knowledge that his friends would always be by his side only helped marginally. That is, before he felt the dread set in at the reality that life was so fragile. It could be taken away too soon and too swiftly. There was no predicting and no way to know for sure. Life was nothing if not unpredictable.
The fool. He had always felt that title had perfectly matched his life. He was a fool. He was Fortune's fool. Now he finds he is a favored child and that makes him the fool all the more. How ironic, when he was the one who hated her the most. Hated her for being the cause of so much anguish. Hated her for being the reason he lost his parents too soon. Hated her for even considering that she could replace his mother. If anything in his life had ever been sacred, it had been her and she had died. Had she died in vain? She had died to save him and he wonders what her last thoughts had been. What the last thoughts of his father had been. Would they have approved of what he had become? Would they have thought him a fool as well?
Now, now not only was he a fool. He was now a fool on parade. A deathly parade of destruction and resentment and hate. All things that he knew so well. He was the cause and he was the effect and he would be the one to stop it. So help him he was going to stop it.
"I would just like to say, that I know we've done some pretty stupid things in our lives," states Sapien and he says it so nonchalantly, so matter of factly that it does not sound like any sort complaint. It is merely an observation. They all feel him floor the accelerator.
"This might top it," says Vires in agreement and his tone is equally factual.
"Yeah, but you know you've never felt more alive!" screams Des as he raises his arms high above his head and lets the wind ruffle his already ruffled hair.
"Only fools can do what is most foolish," states Vires with a roll of his eyes.
"Then we're all fools," answers Des smuggly.
"I most of all," claims Noctis.
"Nope, you're the leader. We're more fools for following," responds Des with a nod to emphasize his point.
"King of the fools," comments Sapien with a smirk.
"A kingdom of four," said Vires with a smirk of his own.
"Nice one," says Des. "The only way I think this might even work is because the car is black and it's night. It'll look like you're flying, Noct."
"You guys are sure this is going to work?" he asks but he's looking at Sapien in the rear view mirror.
"Bring the fireworks, Noct," is the reply.
"Don't worry about us," says Vires.
"What if...?"
"Beauty of an armored car," explains Vires.
"And make sure you scream loud enough," advises Des.
"I am not screaming."
"Come on! Don't you have a howl?"
"Howl?"
"You do sort of remind me of a wolf sometimes..."
"Focus Des," reminds Sapien.
"Right, you should just scream."
"I cannot believe I am doing this," says Noctis as he reaches to grab hold of the edges of the open moonroof.
"Hang on," says Sapien.
They are in very dangerous territory. It's dark and the moon is not quite out. For it is still a young night. It is not quite full and not quite as bright, but it is dark enough. There are explosions all around them as each side unloads its artillery on the other. The infantry are on the front lines and about to approach each other in a clash of the nations. Shields have been activated around each side. The Nihil side is more equipped and more prepared but it is not his men that he is worried about. To wipe out the entire army of the Tenebrae had never been his objective. Wasted blood was so much more mournful than blood well spent. This situation qualified for the former.
Sapien is swerving the car dangerously close to the gunfire from just about everywhere to reach the small space between the currently warring nations. He takes a little bit of comfort in the fact that this was not his idea this time but it was he who would be the lead character in this warped stage production before them. Not that he is ashamed to play the fool. Everyone already knew that. He's never tried to prove that he was anything but. There was just the fact that this was important and this needed to work. But, who ever ignored a fool? So he can deal with that as long as it stopped.
He pulls himself through the moonroof to stand upon the rooftop as the car speeds along the front lines and has a moment to marvel that Sapien was right. The cracks of explosion and the booms of impact were much like fireworks. He can hear the whistling sound of an approaching missile and his insignia flashes. He tries his best to make sure its at its brightest and all his swords are visible with the flash of crystals as it blows up around the car. The impact knocks the car to the side but it does not rollover and continues to speed along.
"STOP!" he shouts as loud as he can. He throws up his arms as his shout echoes in the silence that his powers have caused.
The essence of crystals. The swirling of his swords and the bright flash of his rune seem highlighted in thick, dark night around them. With no sufficient moonlight, he wonders if he really does look like he's flying. As he takes in the stunned faces of the men from both sides, he wonders how he must look. The fool or, as Stella had imagined him, a dark avenging angel. Either will do as long as he gets them to stop. The two prominent fingers of his right hand go up in front of his face and all his swords tilt to take aim at everyone surrounding them. Closing his eyes in concentration he telelports here and there and back to front and he does it so fast that it almost looks like there are four of himself streaked in blue.
"Now!" he shouts as Sapien slams on the breaks and he teleports off the roof and onto his feet on the rough ground. He makes sure that the flash of crystals is exaggerated as the remnants of them shoot away like the embers of a fire.
There is a moment of stunned silence. Nobody moves as he gulps to gain his breathe and hopes. Hopes that at least in this, he has not been a fool.
"That is enough!" he shouts.
The silence is a tense and he begins to doubt this has really worked. Cheap visuals could not possibly stop such intense fighting from two bitter rivals. But nobody has moved and they are all staring at him as he is surrounded entirely by blue light. Then, finally he hears a movement, from the Tenebrae side.
"Your Majesty?" he hears and he wants to cringe but doing so would give the wrong message to the Tenebrae on his side. He was not the one he would have preferred but he was familiar and it was good enough.
"Yes, it is I," he answers and he hears as men are pushed aside and he finally sees the person behind the voice. "It is nice to see you again, Lord Nuntius."
"And I you, your Highness!" Nuntius cries in what he decides is relief. He knew he had been right when he had first met this man. He was not fit to be a soldier. He had grown too soft and overindulgent and he's forgotten what it's like to be a soldier. He still did not entirely trust him but he does not have much choice.
Nuntius walks close to him but not too close, his insignia is still emblazoned. He sees the fear behind the older man's eyes for a moment before that easy smile covers his face. Nuntius bows to him and turns sharply to his men. "Arms down!"
Noctis turns around and stares at the soldiers of his army. "Arms down. Now!" His tone is authoritative and demanding and his right eye flashes red into their shocked faces. There's the flickering of hastily disarmed weapons and then there is silence as nobody knows what to do next.
In the corner of his eyes he can see a light. It's far enough away that its not easy to see but his sharp eyes can see it clearly. He turns to look, the collar of his jacket covering the lower part of his face. There is someone standing on top of the high risers within the city, staring at him. They are surrounded by golden light and from this distance he cannot see the expression on their face but there was no way he could not know who that was. Though they are too far to really have eye contact, he knows. He knows that they are. He can feel the anger boiling inside of her. It's barely contained and threatens to explode. He cannot blame her and he cannot console her but he wishes he could try.
Connected. Severed. Betrayed with wounds that have not healed.
Wounds that can never be healed, he thinks back. He feels the weight in his chest build as he continues to watch her. Even from here, she is a vision that he cannot stop looking at.
"Your Majesty, where have you been?" interrupts Nuntius.
It breaks the connection with Stella and his eyes glare at the older man.
"I merely wanted to take up an offer for a tour that was offered," he comments with a sniff. Fools do not forget to put on a show.
Nuntius looks dumbfounded for a moment as he tries to find a reply.
"I believe I was asleep until late this afternoon so I had not heard the broadcast," he makes sure to give a sly smile as he says, "Had a bit of a crazy night last night."
Crazy, yes. But, not in the way he knows the man must be imagining and it's just what he wants the man to believe.
"I am afraid I never even made it outside the borders of Nihilsomno. I do want to give my sincerest apologies for this misunderstanding," he even deigns to shrug. He manages to catch himself from closing his eyes and cringing at his own callousness. He knows too soon Nuntius is going to know exactly what he has done. He's only bought time, time for him to get back to his city and confront the counsel. Then the real battle will begin. He just needs to buy some time.
Lord Nuntius sputters a bit in disbelief but he thinks he's been successful in convincing him. "This is an outrage and you must agree!"
"Yes and I intend to take this up to Lord Aenigma myself. There was no foul play. Please let me give my condolences. As an act of good faith, I shall pay an official visit to Tenebrae myself."
The man looks at him doubtfully for a second until he realizes that it's disrespectful and gives a small bow in acceptance.
"I will have to consult my King," he answers and Noctis barely contains his cringe.
"Of course," he says and he tries not to give anything away in his expression, except aloofness. "I will see Lord Aenigma directly." He nods respectfully to Nuntius and waits for the man to address his men before he turns to look at his friends and the men of his army. "Stand back immediately."
They look back at him as if they are not sure what to do. He is the crowned prince but he has never exercised his authority before. His eyes fly to who he can only assume is the commanding officer and makes sure his eye flashes red as he regards the man.
"You heard Prince Noctis," the man responds shakily. "Retreat back!" He turns back to look at him hesitantly.
"What exactly were your orders?"
"We were told to retrieve you, Your Highness," is the reply and his voice is steadier this time. He can no longer see the fear in the man's eyes and he wonders how accepting the rest of his subjects would be if he had demonstrated what he had in front of them. He figures not many and he's instantly impressed.
"Now that you know I am here and well, I can trust that you have accomplished your mission?"
"Yes, yes of course," the man reassures and its such a rare thing that he is shown such genuine respect that he finds it takes a little bit of the weight away from his shoulders. He needed as many allies as he could find.
"Can I trust you to lead the men safely back to our borders...?"
"Miles, Major Miles."
He lowers his voice so it does not carry. "Major, I want you to order your men to retreat but stay on alert."
He can see the curiosity in the officer's gaze and he sees. He can see that this man has seen through his foolish disguise knows. He knows that he is not who he shows himself to be. It makes it easier for him to speak the next words. "I am going to have to count on you in the case of something happening. When it does, I want you to work closely with these three men," he says pointing towards his three companions.
The words begin to sink in and understanding dawns within Miles' eyes. "I understand, Your Majesty." Then he knows, that this man trusts him and would help.
The difference between a fool and an idiot is that a fool knows what he is. He knows he plays himself a fool and is aware of how people perceive him. They are also more keen and more observant than they are given credit for. Who better than a fool would know who else was a fool? As he looks as Major Miles, he can see that this man is not an idiot. He can see within the man's eyes that he is, a fool as he was and he needs that. His lips curl into a knowing smirk and nods his head. This man was his kind of fool.
Turning his head he looks at his friends. "We must hurry to Nihilsomno."
The three of them nod and the four of them get back into the car. Once inside, he shuts the door, but opens his window to look at Major Miles again. He reaches out his hand to him.
Miles takes hold of it for a moment. "You can count on me, Prince Noctis," is the answer to Noctis' unspoken question and it's followed by a deep bow and salute.
Unconsciously, his eyes look beyond Major Miles to the spot of gold light still standing where he had last seen it. He closes his window and watches as the color darkens because he cannot look at that just yet. He cannot allow himself to look at her now. It reminds him of what he has lost and what he has done and he needs to focus on what he must do. He cannot hear words but he can feel emotions and they tell him that there are no words that can bring comfort and no words to fully express what she must be feeling. What a poison he was to do this to her. Yet he found he craved her still, as impossible as it should be, like a drug and he knew. He knew their next encounter was to be tragic. Such addiction and craving and longing never led to good. This would not be the exception, but he would try.
We should have stayed away, he thinks as Sapien drives away and he does not turn back. He does not because he cannot. To do so would see him running back to her. Running back to let her do whatever she wanted to do to him. He owed her that much, but he could not do that. Just not yet.
The ache in his chest returns and he feels as if it has begun to sting.
"Well, it did work," comments Des, drawing him out of his thoughts.
"Who thought it wouldn't?" asks Sapien with a smirk.
"Never had any doubts," said Vires with a smug look on his face as he crosses his arms.
"We'll have plenty of opportunities to go down in a blaze of glory," says Des confidently.
"You don't think we'll have problems getting across the borders this time, do you?" asks Vires and he remembers the collapsed bridge.
"I'm sure the army took care of that," says Sapien confidently.
"I love army efficiency," says Des. "Makes me wonder why I never thought to join."
"You would have never made it past basic training," says Vires.
"Why?"
"He who cannot drive and talk at the same time is asking this," states Sapien.
"One track minded determination never hurt anyone," says Des defensively.
"You would be fine in the army, Des," says Noctis. He says it almost absently because he feels, strange somehow.
"At least someone has faith in me," Des says happily. Then he turns around to look at Noctis in the backseat. "Is this another topic we shouldn't talk about?"
"What do you want to know?" He knows he owes them any explanation that they want. The ache in his chest becomes more than a mere discomfort. It has become a pounding sting but he tries not to show his discomfort to his friends. It's all he can do to not clutch at his chest.
"It wasn't your fault," states Sapien.
"Yeah, how were you to know it was her father?" asks Des.
"The fault lies in the fact that it would not have stopped me," he nearly hisses because the ache in his chest is tightening even further and he feels like he cannot breathe. All he can hear now is the beating of his own heart and suddenly he's light headed again and...
"Mother wishes that I should never see the light," he hears his younger voice say in a pout.
"Did she now?" a male voice responds and it might just be the only male voice that has ever made him feel so reassured. He pauses his task of picking the prettiest flowers and looks up from the flowerbed to the calm face of his father. "Did she tell you why?"
"She says I would have a happy life," he answers and he is sure the disbelief is evident on his face.
"Why would you like to see the light, Noctis?" his father asks.
"I want to know everything. I want to be the most powerful king in the world!"
He can hear his father's low chuckle and feels himself lifted up by his armpits to look directly at his father's face. "But you will be. You just have to be patient."
"How when I cannot see the light?"
"The light is not everything my boy," comes the answer and feels the support his father's arms around him and he wraps his small arms around his neck as they walk along the grassy hill.
"But you can see the light and so can mother," he protests because he's not convinced.
"Do you see that Noctis?" his father asks pointing at setting sun.
His small eyes blink because the rays are still too strong to stare directly at it. "Yes but it's too bright."
"That is all the light you need to see," explains his father. "What more do you want?"
"That isn't the point, father!"
His father laughs and bounces him a little but he does not smile.
"Is there something wrong with me? Is that why I cannot see the light?"
"There is nothing wrong with you, my boy. When the time is right, you will know what your true powers are."
"Mother says I have to hide my powers when that happens," he grumbles because he still thinks that is unfair. He does not notice how his father freezes temporarily at his complaint.
"She is right to say that," and the tone in his father's voice makes him look at his face. "No one is to know of your powers until it is the right time."
"Not even my friends?"
"They should be fine."
"Then hide them from who?"
"Aenigma and anyone who you do not trust."
Aengima, just the sound of the man's name causes distrust to flair in his heart. His father's laughter distracts him.
"You really do dislike Lord Aengima, don't you?"
"Yes!" he cries. "He's... he's not pleasant."
"Putting it so diplomatically, even at your age," his father teases. "Already the makings of a great King."
"I shall be a great King. Won't I?"
"Of course you will!"
"I do not like Lord Aenigma."
"I would have to agree with you there, son."
"Then why do you keep him around?"
"Sometimes, Noctis, there will be people that you do not like and you do not think are pleasant. But an important part of being a good King is to know how to deal with them."
"Can you not just killl them?"
His father barks a laugh. "A good king knows that killing is not the answer to everything. Now betrayers are a different story but that is for another time. For now, there will always be men like Lord Aenigma and when you are older, you will understand that sometimes you need them even if you cannot stand them. It is your responsibility as a ruler, to know when to kill and when to show mercy."
"Why bother?" he asks genuinely perplexed.
"All in good time, my boy," answers his father as they approach the villa. "Now stop worrying about this nonsense about seeing the Light and powers and worry about getting those flowers you are holding safely to your mother."
The last thing he sees is his mother's familiar figure waiting patiently for them on the balcony, waving to them in greeting and he remembers not to ruin the flowers as he waves back.
"Did the light give you power?"
"No, I don't need anything like that. I'm fine how I am."
Fine would not be a word he should have used to describe himself. He had said it to throw her off but it had also been a little bit of the truth. His powers had not exactly been provided by the light and he wishes he had not been so eager for the things he had to suffer with now. Not for the first time he curses that his parents had been taken away from him too soon. There had been many things that they must have wanted to tell him but they knew, they knew he would not have understand nor would he have probably remembered. Would it have been those thoughts that had run through their minds in those last few moments of their lives? The regret. The worry. All the things that they knew he would have to suffer when they had been forced to leave him behind.
His hatred for Etro deepens.
He opens his eyes and sees the highway of the city and the quickly approaching high rises.
"They're happening more frequently," says Vires as his eyes begin to focus.
It is still night.
"I have been overexerting myself," he shrugs.
"More than overexerting," states Des. He can see Des looking at him with a worried expression on his face.
"Your powers have been more unpredictable," says Sapien and he sounds worried too.
"How long was I out?"
"Not as long as a couple days ago," says Vires.
"Noct, what Stella said about the last crystal dying..."
"I know," he says. The last user of the crystal would gain the prize.
"Did you see anything in the temple for Etro?" asks Sapien.
"I saw the severed tentacle I cut off," he says it as casually as he can but he can feel the dread coming from his friends.
"You, you really did cut it off?" asks Des.
"That was not a dream," he states.
"How is such a thing possible?" wonders Sapien.
He can only shrug because he has never really given it much thought. It was one of the few things he has never regretted. He watches as they are finally within the streets of Nihilsomno and he can see the castle in sight.
"What was the plan going to be?"
"If you hadn't woken up, we would have gone to my place," says Des.
"Now that you're awake, whatever you want to do," finishes Vires.
"I need to confront the counsel."
"Just as I thought," says Sapien knowingly. Which was why they were already driving towards the castle and not Des' house.
"Do you think they'll be in meeting now?"
"I have no doubts," he responds.
"Are you sure you're up to it?"
"Now or never."
"Are you going to kill them?" asks Vires.
He wonders what his father would have done. What he would have said to him. It would be so easy to walk in and slaughter them all. He could do it so quickly and not have to worry about their scheming and their plots. All these years of hiding his true self and now he was to confront them as himself. He may have been Fortune's fool but he most definitely was not Fancy's fool. It was time to drop the act and rise. He did not have a lot of time.
Sapien parks the car at the entrance gate and the four of them get out together. The guards are stuif at attention at the sight of him, but they do not otherwise react. He waits until his friends are behind him before he makes his way inside. The guards bow to him then, as he enters. Nobody stops them as they walk through the dimly lit, gothic halls. The castle's alight, even so late at night, signaling the sleepless activity within its walls.
Very rarely had he ever ventured towards this wing of the castle but like everything else, he knows the way blindly. There was not an aspect about his home that he did not know about.
Somehow knowing that his friends flanked behind him, made it easier. He does not know what he had done to have such loyal friends and he has no idea how he was ever to repay them.
"They're all in there," says Sapien looking at his handheld.
The four of them turn the final corner and he does not even stop to pause as he pushes open the double doors leading into the counsel room.
The echo rings into the high vaulted ceilings and the grand chandelier blazes in all its glory above. The room is such a combination of black and white that he thinks how ironic it is that all the men at the table were neither. They were grey. What they did have though, was fear and they all feared him now. He hopes its enough. He hopes they will at least see and do what is necessary, as he needs to.
"Your Highness," says Aenigma as he stands up from his chair to greet him.
"Highness," the rest exclaim in mock surprise. The sound is so fabricated that he almost loses focus.
He walks further into the room with confident strides. "Now, let us just look past the fact that you tried to entrap me."
"That was simply a misunderstanding…"
"What did I misunderstand about you sending soldiers to attack me within my very own chambers and then chase me and my friends out of the city?"
"How else were we to know?"
"Maybe if I could ever trust the lot of you, I would have told you outright."
He can see Aenigma's jaw clench.
"We shall deal with my assassination attempts later," he says dismissively because right now, it's not that important.
"In favor of which topic, your Majesty?" asks another man at the table.
Noctis' eyes flash to his and he knows his eye is flashing red. He watches as the man leans back in his chair but otherwise does not give away his fear.
"We are on the verge of war and no," he says putting his hand up to stop their protests. "Not a war based on false pretenses."
"What happened while you were in Tenebrae?"
He gives Aenigma a hard look before answering. "I killed the man responsible for the deaths of my parents."
All heads at the table snap at attention.
"Good," says Aengima and it's one of the rare times he sounds sincere.
"There is a problem."
"What?"
"It was the King of Tenebrae."
The tension mounts within the room and he was not even finished.
"I burned down a temple to Etro."
"Are you mad?" exclaims one of the counsel men.
"It gets worse," he reassures and he almost wants to smile.
"How could it possibly get any worse?"
"He was part of a group that watched over the users of the crystals. He was the leader and was in the service of Etro herself."
"Go on, your Majesty," says Aenigma.
"I believe that they may have brought her out."
"What are you talking about? Out of what?"
"You, you didn't," stammers Aenigma and Noctis nods in response.
"I did."
"What are you talking about? What is going on?"
"Etro has been trapped all these years and she has been released."
"Trapped? I thought it was said that she was asleep."
"Not asleep, but trapped."
"What? How do you know this?"
"I put her there."
There's not even a gasp that follows because everyone is too shocked to utter a sound.
"How, how did you manage that, Highness?" asks Aenigma and he looks so clearly shaken by this.
"I do not know. Just that I did it. I pushed her through the door. She must have been trapped all this time. What I did was real. I saw proof of it when I saw the arm I had severed within that temple."
"And now they have somehow opened the door to the dead, again."
"We are dead. If Etro is released, her wrath will be…"
"The crystal. We still have the crystal."
"Not for long" says Noctis. He looks straight at Aenigma.
"No," the man says faintly.
"I am dying," he says. They all knew what that meant, but he says it anyway. "The last crystal is dying."
He sees the torn expressions on all their faces. He turns to look at his three friends before turning back to the men seated at the table. They all knew what this means. With his death there would be no user of the crystal. There would be no crystal to protect them. No crystal to help their advancements and nothing to stop the other countries from invading.
"How long?
"Not much longer."
"This is a disaster," one councilman says.
"There is another user of the crystal."
"What? That is not possible."
"Many things should be impossible. I am proof of that."
"That affects much."
"Not our crystal's outcome."
"You should have told us," hisses Aenigma. "We had a right to know that our own monarchy is all but dead."
"You knew that before," he says giving him a critical look. "You have always known."
"What are we going to do?" asks someone else.
"You can start by desisting from trying to entrap me and save Nihilsomno," he hisses in reply, giving all the men sitting around the table a glare. They were too busy hiding in his room and playing in the dark to know what it was like to be out there and facing everything that they decided within these walls.
"My lords!" shouts a man servant as he bursts through the room.
"What is it?" asks Noctis as he turns to look at him.
"A small faction of the Tenebrae army has broken through our borders and is attacking within the city."
"Damage?"
"Not too extensive but we cannot be sure," the messenger says hesitantly. "The rest of the Tenebrae army is quickly approaching our borders."
"Where is this small faction now? How many are there?"
"We cannot say for sure, My Lord."
"Why not?"
"We can't find them."
"What are you talking about?"
"They've set up strategic explosions around the city but we cannot physically find them. It's like they're ghosts."
Stella. Stella was here. He could feel her and he can feel the blood beating hotly in his chest.
"The night is darkest just before the sun rises in the sky. It is the twilight hour and you must get through that. Things will only get darker until the blackness looses the battle against the light."
He can hear her voice in his head and she had been right. It was time to let the light win. He would let the light win and there was only one way to do it.
He reaches for his earpiece, knowing who would already be waiting for his command and presses the activating button.
"Major Miles," he says.
"I am already within the city walls, your Majesty," is the answer. "I have already divided up my men to find the threat."
"Keep as many alive as you can," he orders. "My men are on their way."
"Copy that," Miles replies and Noctis closes the connection to address the counsel.
"We cannot fight within the city. There will be too many casualties."
"I advise that you try opening a communication to Lord Nuntius," he orders.
"Why should we make peace with them?"
"Because there is no gain in death," answers Noctis.
"We still need to give a show of force."
"Fine, but casualties are to be kept to a minimum. Do I make myself clear?"
Aenigma looks at him grimly but nods anyway.
"If this group is found, I do not wish them dead either."
"Why not?"
"A show of good faith," he answers secretly and begins to walk back out the door.
"You aren't going yourself, Your Majesty."
He stops and turns his head sideways. "I have a debt to repay."
They wait until they are a safe distance away before his friends start to speak.
"Noct, what are you going to do?" asks Sapien.
"What I have to," he answers.
"That's not good enough," says Des and the tone of his friends makes Noctis stop.
His stiff shoulder slump a little as he sighs.
"We knew this would happen some day," he says. "Right?" He turns around to stare at his friends.
"It doesn't have to end this way," says Vires.
Explosions go off but they're a little distance away. They make him turn back. "Yes it does," he says firmly because he believes it. "Someone has to stop this and this is the only way."
"What is he going to do?" Des asks Vires and Sapien.
Sapien gives him as assessing stare and his eyes widen. "Stella is here, isn't she?"
He nods.
"You're going to..."
"Wait, you're going to let her kill you?" asks Des in disbelief.
"Why?"
"She kills me and justice will be done." The revenge would be complete.
"She would get the prize," states Sapien.
"She would know better than I to wield that gift," and it was true. He was too dark and too tainted. There was no other choice. It was Stella who should be the one to take whatever the prize was.
"What if it doesn't work?" asks Sapien.
He turns his head and smirks. "Then I know you will think of something that will," he says and before they can say anything else or even try to follow him, he's gone.
It was not fair to leave them like that but he has no choice. They were never the most sentimental of people and he was not about to start. His life had always been a risk and he also knew that it would be short. Fortune's fool and all that. He is just thankful that he had, had friends like that while he had been alive. That he had never been completely alone. Even though he was now going towards his death, he did not feel the burden of fear. He who had been surrounded by death all his life would not fear the face of it.
He's running and he doesn't think he's ever run so fast before. He supposes he has never had a reason to before. Before her because it is her. He can feel her. She is close and he can't run to her fast enough. Even if he knows that one of them must die, he does not feel too regretful because he knows that this must be. He knows what has to happen and he is glad that she is angry. She will be too angry to hear the whispers warning her what he plans to do and he can use that to his advantage.
He's finally reaching her and he comes to a skidded stop. There are no words to describe what he feels when he sees her there. For there she is, standing there with her face turned away from where she knew he was going to be. Her eyes are closed for a second and he has that moment to stare at her. Because even in her pain. Even in her grief, she's still such a stunning picture. Wearing a black dress and a white sweater and he's never thought he's seen such beauty before. How well the blackness suited her as much as the white. How she balanced both so well.
Tentatively, he takes a step towards her and she almost runs to him. He can see her face and he feels his heart swell because he knows. He knows in that one look at her raw emotion that she does not completely hate him and he knows he's making the right choice. He allows himself a pang of immense regret as he activates his rune. He sees how her steps immediately stop and she remembers herself and what she needs to feel.
Her powers flair before him for the first time and he tries not to let his surprise show. How it perfectly matched her. She's golden and her rune is a Koi. Koi and he wonders just how their insignias had been chosen for them. For she really was a Koi. For she was always wanting. She was always romantic and she was always, always passionate. He watches with rapt attention as she summons her sword and it's a rapier. Nothing had ever been done by halves with her and he almost hated what he was going to do.
They face off.
"I don't want to do this, Stella," he steels his face into a cold expression because he needs to use her passion.
"It's not about what you want," she answers him as her face becomes clear of all that raw emotion from before. "Its about what must be."
He does not have an answer to that and she does not give him time for one as she lunges towards him and their battle has begun. Then swords clash and there are flashes of gold. He sees his blue and he sees her gold and even in the midst of their battle, he can see that they do not combine. He goes on the defensive and lets her attack because he does not want to hurt her.
But this only makes her angry.
"Did you hesitate with my father?" she asks as their swords come together with a clang. Her face is so close to his that he can feel every breathe that she withdraws from between her lips.
"No," he says and it is the truth. He did not hesitate, but he felt so much regret.
"Then don't hesitate with me!" she cries and she pushes him back roughly before taking aim at his head. He swipes her sword away and she uses the momentum to flip over him.
The fight continues and he realizes that he needs to show that he is complying. With a slash, he's gotten her arm but he's careful not to permanently damage her. She does not show him much quarter as she manages to take a swipe and catches his chin. He welcomes the pain because he is tired of feeling the emotional pangs he has experienced all his life.
"I don't want to kill you," he growls as they face each other again. He doesn't want to and he knows that he will not.
He sees her hesitate for a moment before she comes at him again. He deflects. She tries again. He can see the struggle inside her eyes as she makes to move to his left so he points his sword to the right and what happens next makes his heart stop.
The disbelief makes it as if time had stopped entirely.
"Stella," he says weakly as he realizes what she has done. It isn't supposed to happen this way! he cries within his head as he catches her in his arms. His eyes look at where his sword has been embedded in her chest and he thinks he's going to be sick. Then he looks at her eyes and she's smiling at him. They sparkle as they had when she had first turned him the night that they met. It makes his wretched heart beat again.
She laughs. Laughs not at him but at what they were and its as if she's relieved.
"We are not good and we are not bad. This is not wrong and this is not right. But it is what it was meant to be."
"Not meant to be yet meant to fulfill our destiny," he adds because they've said these words before. But he cannot accept that this was to be it.
"Mmmmph," she confirms his words with a slight nod of her head.
"No more nightmares now," he says and it's what he's always wanted for her. Just not this way.
Her laugh is a little stronger than before and there are tears flowing down the sides of her face. "Mean to the end," she jokes but he does not take it as so. He feels a stab in his chest as real as the one that's buried within hers. "You are not all dark now. I have taken some and given you my light."
That cannot be right. "I was not meant for the light," he responds because he was not.
"Don't make this end in tragedy. There must always be hope."
"For me?" he asks in disbelief.
"In you," she emphasizes.
He shakes his head as his mind whispers, no.
"You must find it at the end. There will always be an end to the night."
"Not when you have faded," he says with so much regret he feels he'll choke on it.
"We are two stars that have collided," she explains and he can hear her struggling for breathe. The shock has faded and he can see her fighting for a few more moments of life. Her eyes leave his and look at where he has killed her. "We were not meant to survive such a union," her eyes grow fierce. "But you will go on. Stake your claim forever upon what is yours."
"I will," he vows but he knows she cannot possibly predict what he is going to do for it.
"My dark and tragic prince… Noct," she says as she closes her eyes for the last time and he wants to shout at her.
Instead he leans forward to breathe in her last breath and says, "My bright star, Stella."
He kisses her forehead tenderly as he pulls away to look at her face. He envies the peace he finds in her face and he feels the magnitude of what he has lost in her passing. He feels all the loss. The loss of the things not said. The loss of the things he never allowed himself to fully explore. His heart clenches as he becomes completely overwhelmed with her leaving him, with her blood on his hands. Her blood that is seeping through the leather of his gloves. Her blood that was so warm that he could feel it through the layer.
Not now! he hears whispered.
No, he supposed right now is not the time. There will be a time to grieve and fully express his agony. But now, now there is a mission. The quest to find hope and bring it here. He must do this. So he carefully lifts her in his arms and takes her away with him. The soft, swishing noise of his teleportation, the pool of her blood and the essence of crystals are what he leaves behind them.
A/N: So yes, Star Crossed was a sequel to this. I think a lot of you saw this happening at the last chapter but there have been hints for a few chapters now. There is going to be one more chapter and then an Epilogue. I can't believe I have reached this point already. Any other author's notes will be added to my profile.