Stand By Me

Chapter 9: Remember Me?

The capital of Accordo, City of the Seas – Altissia.

Famed for its many waterfalls and canals, floating markets accessible only by gondolas and complex maze-like streets filled with attractions that appeal to all age groups, this city was one of the finest Eos had to offer.

Such was the place that the Oracle and her 'pet' had set foot upon after their journey across the sea.

"Gotta give it to that old lady, this place looks as impeccable as it was all those years ago." Kurama grunted from Lunafreya's shoulder, having now shrunk back to an 'acceptable' form so as to not scare the crap out of the normal citizens.

"Mo Kurama-san, please don't antagonize her when we meet up with her later on. We'll need every bit of help we can get." Chiding him half-heartedly, the Princess quickly ran through the possible scenarios in her head, mentally preparing herself before going to pay a visit to the First Secretary of Accordo.

"Keh, it's not like she won't help you. She just likes to be all stuck-up about it." Not letting up with his 'disdain', Kurama kept a close watch on their surroundings. So far, he had yet to sense any Imperial forces around them, but it was only going to be a matter of time before they appeared. Far be it for Niflheim to let yet another Astral form a pact with the Lucis Prince after what they've witnessed at the Disc of Cauthess.

The Empire knew that Altissia was never really a part of them even though they were technically under their rule. The fact that Accordo had its own government spoke volumes of the situation. Now that Insomnia had fallen, surely even the dumbest of people would know that they were now the next target. Of course, Niflheim couldn't blatantly 'invade' Altissia, since you know, the City already 'belonged' to them.

However, knowing that the Oracle was at Altissia to summon Levianthan gave them ample opportunity to turn this into a complete war-fest. Destroying a city or two in the name of 'protecting' their citizens and ridding the world of a 'terror' in the Sea serpent was way too easy an excuse for them. That old lady would know this, and she would be prepared to negotiate. She didn't like the Empire any more than they did.

Even so, politicians would always be politicians. Subtle hints, hidden agendas, blatant lies were all to be expected when it came to such negotiations. Throughout his life, Kurama had heard his fair share of bullshit during these 'important talks'. Once Naruto became Hokage, the blond's workload increased phenomenally, even with the use of Kage Bunshin. Naruto had to learn to become diplomatic in certain matters and yet still retain his ideals. He would constantly bounce ideas off of Kurama and the two would often hold long conversations whenever possible. Sometimes, Hinata would pop in as well and give her input, considering her expertise with the whole Clan business.

The fox had met the First Secretary of Accordo a few years ago with Naruto and never really liked the way she could speak for hours and hours and you would never understand what her motive was. The skill level with talking in circles was off the charts.

"Lady Claustra is very kind and humble. Such prejudice against her is unwarranted." Lunafreya gave him a light pat on the head, before moving towards the nearest gondola station, "Please be nice to her?"

Kurama rolled his eyes (a bad habit he picked up from Naruto), "You make it sound like I was going to make a huge fuss and insult her to her face."

"Yes, please don't do that."

"I'm glad that you have so much faith in me, Luna. I might start crying any moment now."

"Save them for when Naruto-san appears."

"Hell no! As if I would shed tears just for – "

"Shhhhh! You promised me you won't make a fuss. People are staring!"

"You started th – mfpmmmfff…"

The citizens of Altissia were treated to a strange sight of a young blond lady dressed in white (who by the way, held an amazing resemblance to the Oracle), smiling awkwardly with one hand cupped around her pet's mouth, with the little thing thrashing wildly in protest. This continued until she got onto a gondola, returned the very enthusiastic greeting from the gondola driver politely, and pretended not to notice how the pet was now trying to bite her.

Those pedestrians would stare at each other, shrug and put it off. They've seen weirder things in their time. It's Altissia after all.

***** ~ XV ~ *****

"Carrots?" Noctis asked dubiously as he stared at the tiny farm he was led to.

"Yeah!" Iris answered cheerfully, ignoring the owlish looks she was getting.

"Erm, that's… that's great."

"Hm!"

"Alright, let's get to work then, since we've got so many to plant." Gladiolus, ever the sis-con that he was, couldn't bear for his sister to find out how much the others didn't care for this lovely 'farm' of hers. Like, come on, they had much better things to do than grow vegetables. They didn't like eating the damn things unless Ignis was practically threatening them with poison.

"Haha! Onii-chan, always in such a rush. It won't even take that long, you can only grow five at one time anyway."

"…" Sounds of a crow cawing could be heard across the sky.

"W-what do you mean we can only grow five?" Prompto asked incredulously as he pointed at the piece of land they had, "What are you going to use the rest of the space for?"

"Well, the thing is, farming is a lot of work after all. A lady like me can only tend to so many things at once, teehee." Iris answered coyly.

Even Gladiolus was struggling at this point, "O-of course, t-that's my sister for you!"

Ignis obligingly gave him an elbow to the chest in response.

"Besides, we've got this gentleman over here who has offered to buy our carrots once they grow! Isn't that amazing?"

The four turned to stare at the man dressed immaculately in his suit, smiling at them creepily as he stood to the side of the 'farm', "Greetings."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute." Prompto pointed at the guy in disbelief, "You weren't there a second ago! Where the hell did you come from?!"

"Ah yes, where are my manners. My name is Claude, and I own a restaurant around here with a menu that needs nothing but these carrots you'll be growing in this lovely farm of yours. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance."

Silence reigned for a few seconds, since everyone was caught between the need to point out the amount of bullshit in that statement and the need to retain Iris' innocence.

"So you're telling us, that your restaurant cooks nothing but carrots?"

"That is correct, yes."

Noctis did a perfect facepalm, before dragging his palm down his face in an exasperated manner, "Ok. Alright. Just… leave your address to us and we'll send these… carrots through once we harvest them."

"Oh no, if it's quite alright with you, I'll just stand here and wait for them." His megawatt smile did nothing to ease the crew.

"You'll just… stand here… and wait?" Ignis asked disbelievingly, "Are you serious?"

"Absolutely! Such gifts from the divine must be treated with the utmost respect!"

With their jaws all effectively resting on the floor now, they turned to Iris for an explanation. Said girl had been cheerfully nodding along all the time, as though everything the man had said was completely viable, "Caem carrots harvest real fast, so it's fine. It'll make selling them much easier for me, whew."

Looking between the optimistic girl and the shady restaurant owner, Noctis decided he needed to ask for the sake of Gladiolus' sis-con sanity, "So erm, how much are you paying for these carrots?"

"Why, that is up to you of course! I'm happy to pay gil for it, or if you prefer, you could choose to exchange carrots for something else."

"Something else?"

"Yes, monsieur, you can pick between a berry, a lovely decal for your ride, or weapons."

"… Did you just say weapons?"

"I believe I did. These are the latest models you can find on the market too, you won't get them anywhere else!"

"How the heck does a restaurant owner own those weapons in the first place?!"

"I have many connections, monsieur, of which I put to good use." Claude declared proudly, "As you can see, I'm very sincere with my offer."

"Don't worry mister, I'll make sure the Caem carrots you get are of the best quality you could ever find!"

"I'll hold you to that miss, hohohoho!"

"Hahahaha!"

Watching the two of them laugh merrily and almost in sync, Noctis could swear he could hear eerie music playing in the background.

"Yeah erm, we've got some mythril we gotta go find so er… Iris… I'll leave the carrots… to you…"

"You got it!"

***** ~ XV ~ *****

"Sniff, sniff."

"What's wrong, Kurama-san?"

"Just a phantom smell of carrots."

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about it."

***** ~ XV ~ *****

"So, Onii-chan, could you help me with the first batch? It's really important!" Iris asked innocently as she gave her brother the most effective puppy eyes she could muster.

Taken aback by the request, Gladiolus blinked before asking curiously, "Erm, I would love to but we've got more important matters to deal with at the moment, so I'm – "

"But it's really important."

That stopped him once again. There was just something about the way she was making the request. Iris had long gone past the stage of throwing stubborn tantrums. She had grown into one of the most considerate and sweet girls ever to exist on the face of Eos (in his humble opinion). Throughout the trip to Cape Caem, she had tried to cheer them all up in her own ways, so it made no sense for her to ask this of him at a time like this. She knew where they were trying to go and what they needed in order to get there. So why was she asking him, just him, to stay behind?

"Iris, this is serious."

"Hmph, I'm being very serious here onii-chan. There will be extreme consequences if you don't stay behind to help me!"

"Now see here!" Gladiolus grimaced, not really sure how to handle Iris when she was in this mode. Surely she understood how important it was for them to get that mythril? It made no sense why she was pushing this much for him to stay.

He was about to launch into another argument when Noctis spoke up, "It's fine, Gladio. The three of us should be enough for the trip. We don't want a repeat of Jared."

A heavy silence permeated the area as memories of that particular event came to their minds. The Amicitia gave a heavy sigh, before nodding to the request, "Alright, I'll stay. Ignis, Prompto, I'll leave him to you. Make sure the knucklehead doesn't just charge head-first into all sorts of trouble."

"Easier said than done," Ignis replied dryly as he made his way towards the Regalia, "but I'll try not to disappoint."

"Yessir!" Chirped Prompto as he ushered his best friend to their ride, "Saa saa our almighty Prince, the Regalia awaits!"

Noctis rolled his eyes as he gave the photographer a whack eliciting a satisfying 'ouch' from him, before bidding Iris goodbye and leaving for the car.

It was all very anti-climactic as the Amicitia watched them set off towards Vesperpool in the Regalia. He wasn't too worried about them considering they could all take care of themselves. That Chancellor, Ardyn Izunia, had let them off the hook time and time again, so he had a feeling that it wouldn't take too much for them to get that mythril. It honestly wouldn't surprise him at all if the Chancellor were to somehow show up in Vesperpool before them, basically waiting for them to appear at his doorstep.

"Alright, you've got me all to yourself now Iris, shall we get started?" Gladiolus took in a deep breath, willing himself to move his focus onto his sister.

"Teehee, Onii-chan is the best!" Iris could easily tell how reluctant her brother was at letting his friends venture into unknown territory by themselves but the fact that he agreed to remain spoke volumes of his love for her. She did feel slightly guilty using that love like this, but because it was for her brother's own good, it was probably for the best.

"Heh, still bratty as ever, aren't you?" Gladiolus ruffled her hair playfully as they made their way back towards the farm.

"You know it!"

In any case, it gave him a chance to see if Imperial soldiers were actively on their tracks. They've had occasional encounters with platoons but nothing solidly planned so far. Perhaps some scouting was in order once he finished this gardening business…

"Speaking of which, how do you even know that restaurant owner?" Come to think of it, they've all been so caught up in the whole act of planting carrots of all things that they didn't even ask this question. It was shocking to see the person just appear out of nowhere, but as Gladiolus thought more about it, it was extremely suspicious how Iris of all people knew this person and how he seemed to know exactly where they were. This place was supposed to be somewhat of a secret base after all. In fact, he didn't remember actually telling Iris the exact location of this place until they've arrived at this place, so how could she have contacted the restaurant owner at such short notice?

Was this why Iris wanted him to stay behind? To protect her from this possible malice that had her under control using some sort of spell? Did Noctis see through this as well and hence agreed to him staying? If that was the case, then he needed to alert the others, make sure old man Cid's alright as well, keep collateral damage to a minimum and –

"Onii-chan, you're hyperventilating."

"Huh? No, I'm not. I'm just thinking about –"

"Well, you're thinking way too hard," Iris teased as she guided him towards the 'farm', "Besides, what do you mean how do I know that restaurant owner? We've both known him for ages!"

The almost indignant tone she used surprised Gladiolus, "Huh? I've never met that person before in my life! I'm absolutely positive!"

Rolling her eyes, Iris chided her brother, "Just because he doesn't look the same anymore doesn't mean you don't know him."

"Okay, I'm getting really confused with all this." Rubbing his forehead tiredly, he made a listless gesture with his hand, "Can you just tell me who it is?"

"Sure, but you gotta help me with the carrots first. We really do need them, so let's get that out of the way, then if you still can't remember, being the silly person that you are, then we'll do a big reveal."

Struggling not to deadpan at the phrase 'big reveal', Gladiolus sighed as they reached the clearing, fully expecting that shady character to be waiting for them with that weird smile of his, only to find that it was devoid of any presences.

"Wait, where did he go?"

"Oh, he said he had an urgent meeting to attend, and he'll be back in a few hours, give or take."

Gladiolus couldn't help but stare at his sister, questions pounding through his brain as he continued to process the situation, "How… just how do you know this?"

Iris, in turn, stared at him as though he was the 'special' one, "Erm, he told me? Are you sure you're okay, Onii-chan?"

"But, but we were together the whole time – "

"Looks like I was right in holding you back, you really need a break. Come on, let's grow some carrots together!"

"But – "

"No more buts!"

***** ~ XV ~ *****

In the Embassy of Altissia, our Oracle had finally met up with the First Secretary of Accordo.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Claustra." Ever the polite woman that she was, Lunafreya gave a formal bow as she greeted the woman with the strongest political power in that continent.

"Quite." Dressed in a stylish turquoise with an embossed pattern featuring a gold pin on the left lapel, the First Secretary cut an imposing figure. Her blue eyes were fixed on the Princess, as though calculating her worth. She mentally applauded the Oracle for mustering the courage to arrange this meeting, evading the Empire and somehow managing to cross the seas without anyone realizing to seek asylum under her care; that was indeed an impressive feat.

With a wave of her hand, she motioned for the Princess to take a seat, and commenced the 'negotiations', "So my dear, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"First of all, I sincerely thank you for agreeing to this meeting, Lady Claustra. I appreciate how busy your daily duties are," Lunafreya gave a light bow this time, before continuing, "Yet, the matter I bring to your attention today is of the utmost importance."

"Oh?" Placing her hand under her chin, she gestured, "Do tell."

Taking in a deep breath, the Oracle looked the First Secretary right in the eye and declared, "I need to summon the Hydraen."

Not even batting an eye at the direct request, she drawled, "Is that so?"

"The King of Lucis is currently on his way to Altissia as we speak." Lunafreya held her gaze, unrelenting and determined, "He is the key to saving this world, and in order to do that, he needs the help of the Six in order to stand toe to toe against Niflheim."

Standing from her seat, she pushed on with her reasoning, "I do not deem to consider myself more familiar with the current situation of Altissia more than you, Lady Claustra, but it is evident what the Empire's intentions are. They have set forth forces at work that would one day threaten to swallow the entire world in darkness."

Tilting her head, the First Secretary replied in an even tone, "And you're going to tell me that the new King of Lucis is the saviour of the world?"

"Yes."

Silence permeated the room for almost a minute as Camelia Claustra gazed at the young woman in front of her. Not once did she show a hint of doubt, a sliver of uncertainty or any signs of hesitation. A quiet stare was sometimes the most efficient tool in weeding out the liars, the faint-hearted and the suck-ups. Noise had been a tool used for distraction since the beginning of time; words were the key to promising empty nothings to reach your goal and once you negate them, you could really differentiate between those with a purpose and those without.

Lunafreya returned her stare with unwavering and unrelenting conviction, with patience and understanding of the 'game' that one would never expect from someone her age. The young were often eager to prove themselves, and would take the silence as a signal to 'explain' things, muddling up their original proposal unintentionally in their haste.

Their conversation so far was brief, extremely so. The Oracle informed her of her request, explained in a few words why and decided that was enough. She did not feel uncomfortable under the scrutiny nor was she correcting anything she said.

Finally, the First Secretary spoke up, with a small smile on her face, "I'm in a bit of dilemma here, Princess Lunafreya." Shaking her head, she continued, "Then again, I should be worried either way."

"Hm?"

"You either clearly believe in everything you've just told me and expect me to understand the severity of the situation or you're a very good liar."

With a gentle smile, the Oracle replied, "I can assure you I'm a very poor liar, as I've been told time and time again."

"Why the confidence, child? Do you not fear that I'll simply laugh at your declaration and have you escorted to prison so I could hand you over to the Imperials?"

"I believe in the woman who has single-handedly managed to keep Accordo safe from the Empire all these years."

That managed to get a chuckle out of her as she shook her head, "Ha! I wish that were true."

"I have a very accurate source of information, Lady Claustra."

At that, the First Secretary narrowed her eyes, "Oh? I didn't think I was that careless, to leave such a 'source' floating around."

"I would tend to agree with you, given the stories I've heard."

A snort sounded at that moment, though in a confined space such as this, the resulting echoes easily amplified the sound, no matter how inconspicuous the individual intended for it to be.

Raising an eyebrow, the First Secretary inquired in a dry voice, "I didn't know we entertained guests in this room. Please do join us, I would love to meet the person who has managed to infiltrate this building without anyone realising."

***** ~ XV ~ *****

The drive itself took a couple of hours, but all in all, it went pretty smoothly. They managed to get to Vesperpool just before night time without interruption from monsters (which was quite lucky considering Noctis would sometimes deliberately drive through dangerous terrains just for fun). Ignis' nagging of his 'terrible' driving habits kept the entire journey filled with laughter and fun. The music helped too, allowing them to burst into chorus (minus Ignis) whenever they felt like it, eliciting nostalgic feelings within their souls (almost as if the music was painting a story of others who also embarked on a journey in an alternate universe, funny that).

"So, what are the chances a certain Chancellor would show up at our destination?" Prompto chirped as they eased into the parking spot very conveniently placed on the side of the road for them.

"Heh, knowing our luck, he's probably waiting for us right now." Noctis replied sarcastically.

"Regardless of the situation, we must stay on our guard at all times. He may have helped us a couple of times, but don't be surprised if this is all a trap."

"Aye, aye, captain."

It didn't take them long to locate the place that they were supposed to explore, and lo and behold, there was just the person they expected to see.

"Ah, what a coincidence." Taking a bow, the Chancellor of Niflheim greeted them casually, "It appears we are fated to meet once again."

Prompto groaned, "Sure, coincidence, I'd rather eat my foot than believe this."

"If that's the case, you must let me know how it tastes afterwards, I've never had the luxury to find out."

"Gaaaaah!"

"Prompto, hush! What can we do for you, Ardyn Izunia." Ignis adjusted his spectacles as he quickly scanned their surroundings once again, taking note of the emergency 'exits' available to them.

Chuckling, the violet-haired man shrugged as he replied, "Relax, relax! I'm not here to be a nuisance; in fact, I'm the key for your objective."

Noctis deadpanned, "Just how do you even know our objective?"

"Oh don't you worry about it. I have my ways," With a wink that sent shudders down everyone's spine, he continued, "That being said, let's start moving. There is someone I would like you to meet."

The three of them looked at each other, before following the Chancellor. After all, mythril was a very heavily regulated substance and had Ardyn not been here, they would most likely have scouted out the place, made camp and carry out their assault at a more convenient time.

"Now, I won't question why you need the mythril."

"Probably because you already know since you stalk us so much." Prompto grumbled under his breath as a response.

"But I'm sure you understand why I can't just let you bust your way into Steyliff Grove. It wouldn't do to draw too much attention to yourselves now, would it?"

No one bothered to react to the rhetorical question. Not only was it hypocritical to ask it considering it was the Empire that was trying to kill them all in the first place, but also it was somewhat humiliating that they had to rely on this guy in the first place. The condescending tone Ardyn always employed when he was speaking to them didn't really help either, but when you're really desperate for help, you didn't have much say in how you go about getting it.

Seeing their reluctance in engaging in conversation, the Chancellor simply continued commenting on the scenery as they traipsed through the woods, "Ah, here we are. I do believe you'll find sufficient help for you in there. Well then, I have other matters to attend to, since, you know, I'm important and all that stuff, so I'll leave you to it. Ta ta!"

"Wait, what?" Prompto gaped as the Chancellor left just as quickly as he appeared, "I seriously don't get what the hell is wrong with that guy."

"You and me both, mate. You and me both." Noctis shook his head as he turned to Ignis, "No ambushes? Armies? Tons of machine guns ready to fill us with bullets in a moment's notice?"

The tactician simply chuckled and shook his head, "No to the first two, as far as I can tell. The final one though, I have no clue. I don't think we'll be surprised by anything at this point."

"Well hello there boys." A sultry voice sounded behind them, shaking them out of their little conversation, "Fancy meeting you again."

"Whoa! No way! It's that hot chick that pretty much wasted us at the Imperial Base!" Prompto shrieked as he immediately hid behind Ignis, since he was the one that was 'wasted' the worst.

Lo and behold, the familiar blonde walked into view dressed in that same crimson armour, "I like you kid. So what's up? Back for some more cans of ass-whooping? Those don't come cheap you know."

Noctis rolled his eyes as he ignored the mocking comment, "Ardyn told us we would find help here to get into Steyliffe Grove."

Aranea clicked her tongue as she gave the guys a once over, "Right… so you guys are the 'recruits' that he wanted me to bring into the grove for a 'training session'."

"…" Ignis placed his hand on his forehead, so very tempted to just drag it down his face and stay in facepalm position for the rest of the night.

Surely, surely, someone would pick up on this bullshit right? Why the heck would the Chancellor of Niflheim come up with such a weak excuse to smuggle them in? What, none of the soldiers would even question this? They were all just okay with the enemy pretending to be one of them?

Noctis simply looked up into the sky, staring at the sun that was slowly disappearing across the horizon, and resigned to his fate, "I'm not even going to bother anymore. Let's just get this over with."

"Smart words, pretty boy. Follow me."

***** ~ XV ~ *****

Footsteps sounded in the room as the figure popped out (literally) from the shadows, "Aww, I wanted to surprise you guys."

Spiky blond hair unruly as ever, cerulean eyes filled with jest plus the trademark whisker-like birthmarks gave away his identity instantly.

"Naruto-san!" Lunafreya gave a joyous cry as she gave the blond a big hug, "I've missed you so much!"

The Sage eased into the hug, running his fingers through her hair soothingly as he chuckled, "As have I. I was so jealous of Kurama being able to hog you all to himself, you know."

"You're just saying that to make me happy."

"Never! I'm so honest I embarrass myself sometimes. Speaking of which, why isn't that furry bugger jumping into my arms right now. I almost feel insulted by his lack of recognition of my appearance." He was just teasing because he knew Kurama was just hiding himself with a mild genjutsu whilst he took a nap on Lunafreya's shoulder.

"Shut up brat! You're making so much noise I can't sleep!" A snarky voice growled as the almighty Kyuubi appeared in all his glory – as a Chibi fox.

"Come'ere you ball of fluff! Did you miss me?" Grabbing him by the neck, the blond held up the disgruntled 'pet' to his face, with a smirk so wide it threatened to split his face.

"Keh! Miss you, I'd sooner kiss my ass!"

"Don't worry Naruto-san, Kurama-san missed you very much! He couldn't stop thinking about you on our way to Altissia!"

"What?! Don't believe what she said! It's all lies! Lies I say!"

"Awww Kurama, you do love me!" With that, the blond proceeded to execute his 'glomp of love'.

"Gaaaah! Get off me, you crazy ass! Let me go! This is abuse!"

"Shut up and enjoy my hug you ungrateful fox! Accept my love!"

"Hell no! Get your stinking face away from me! Wait, what are you doing?! You better not be thinking of –"

"Mwaaaaah!"

Silence, struggles stopped for but a second because the shock was just too great.

"D-did you just kiss me on the nose?"

"Heck yeah I did, haha!"

"Arrrrrrggggghhhhh!"

The absolute 'disgust' at such an act gave Kurama the power boost he needed to 'escape' Naruto's 'demonic grasp' and return to his safe haven (Luna's shoulder).

All this time, Lunafreya simply giggled at the exchange of 'affection' between the two of them. It never failed to amuse her how alike and different they were with each other. They clearly enjoyed each other's presence and would give their lives for the other without hesitation, yet the way they showed their love for one another was so different.

Naruto was all for coddling you, making sure everything was fine, showering you with love at every possible opportunity.

Kurama was all for tough love, challenging you to make you better, never letting you get too complacent with success.

Maybe that was why they were such a great combination, and it made the drama all the more fun.

"Ahem."

Amidst the chaos, a soft but stern cough was heard, bringing all three back to their current situation, with a displeased First Secretary of Accordo glaring at them.

"You will cease this foolishness at once."

"Yes mdm. Apologies mdm." Naruto answered robotically.

"Explain."

"Er… rumours of my death were greatly exaggerated…?"

"Now."

"Yes mdm."

***** ~ XV ~ *****

"So you guys ready to slay a Quetzalcoatl?"

"What's a Quetzalcoatl?"

***** ~ XV ~ *****

A/N: Tales of Gladiolus coming out soon, which is always good. Hopefully I get time to play it, but otherwise I'll just spin it my way. I've added the carrot bit because that almost cracked me up. Hopefully we'll be able to move the events along to the showdown over the next couple of chapters.

As always, please read & review! Suggestions are welcome. Cheers guys.