Sure enough, and as Noct suspected, the drive felt long. Teetering between 'unbearably long' and oh my gosh, I seriously think I might die in here long.
With nothing to look at apart from the endless, black nothingness out the back window, Noct contented himself as much as he could by leaning back and resting his eyes. Or "resting," really. To say any part of him was truly restful at that moment was a stretch.
He was growing so jittery it was literally taking as much self-control as he could muster to keep the annoying, nervous bounce from claiming its usual command over his leg.
He was at least grateful for the helmet. He didn't know if he could manage his agitated twitching and keep his hands free of any anxious hair-fidgeting at the same time without it.
He was still really trying to play it cool...Just the lowly prospective recruit, on his way to the rendezvous site to mingle awkwardly amongst the officers, unobtrusively attempting to listen in on a legitimate glaives' mission. As Lib said, there would be no action, nothing to worry about.
If only that was really the case.
Once they reached the rendezvous site, Noct would be facing nothing but action for the remainder of the night. All of it unknown. With Prompto's welfare hanging in the balance.
He had reason to be nervous. He had reason to be very nervous. But he was still determined not to show it, despite what his parched throat and bounding pulse might say about it.
The other three glaives he'd stowed away with conversed calmly and quietly at intervals throughout the drive. If they had any apprehensions about their upcoming mission, they could have easily fooled Noct.
Lib attempted to engage Noct in a casual exchange several times, and while Noct was really all for politely humoring the guy, he was too afraid the conversation might once again be drawn to further speculation on the prince and his latest misdeeds. He really didn't want to touch that topic again with a ten foot pole.
So, he sat in disquieted silence the majority of the ride, trying not to get too caught up in his own mind. Which proved a challenge.
Time and again, his thoughts inevitably drifted to his best friend. What was going on with Prompto? Was he okay? Did he have any idea how insanely out of his mind with worry Noct had steadily been going all day? Did he have any hope for a rescue? Was he hurt? Was he scared? Did he blame Noct for this mess? Would Noct find him tonight? Would everything go according to the glaives' plans?
Noct exhaled a shaky breath and forced his thoughts to move elsewhere...Where they were immediately drawn to Ignis and Gladio, despite how hard he tried to keep them from going there.
Gladio would be at the rendezvous site. That thought alone was nearly enough to make Noct jump up and demand the driver turn the van around on the spot and head straight back where they came from.
Gladio was going to...No, Noct couldn't let himself think about what Gladio might do or say when Noct encountered him next. And he couldn't hold back the subtle shudder that suddenly ran through him. Gladio would have to be avoided at all costs. That went without saying.
And while Gladio brought an immediate jolt of fear anytime Noct allowed his thoughts to venture near the big man, Ignis...well, Noct found himself hating thinking about Ignis. The ensuing guilt stung too much; it filled him with bitter self-reproach.
He hated the situation he had put Gladio in the last couple days (despite how badly he knew he was going to catch it from him), and even more so, he hated the position he'd put Ignis in.
He wasn't certain if Ignis had decided to help with communications at the rendezvous site itself (there was a good chance he had, considering the personal interest he had in Prompto, as well), or if he would have elected to remain at the citadel. Surprisingly, Noct was hoping for the former. If Ignis was on-site, that would mean he wouldn't be the one to find Noctis' bed empty in the morning. And boy, would Noct have preferred to spare him from that scenario for the second time that week.
Ugh, the thought of cool, collected Iggy struggling vainly to conceal yet another full-blown panic brought on by his heedless charge, who claimed to also be one of his closest friends, made Noct's gut clench.
Unfailingly loyal Iggy. Unerringly patient, gracious and caring...
...And so undeserving of Noct's shit. Noct knew it was indeed a shit move he was pulling on Ignis. And he hated it and himself for it.
But, he thought with a resigned sigh, there would be plenty of time for apologies later. Once Prompto was home safe and sound.
Although, Noct realized, if Ignis was on-site, that meant another pair of sharp eyes to avoid. So much avoiding. Noct prayed he could pull it off.
His thoughts persisted in mirroring the never-ending gloom glimpsed through the window. Continuous darkness filled with countless uncertainties.
Ah, he wished he could just get this all over with already.
As if in answer to his plea, the van finally began to slow. Noct lifted his head, straightening as he noticed the others perk up as well.
"Finally," Crowe said under her breath, clearly having been rearing to go for the last two plus hours.
Nyx and Lib shifted their weight forward, not caring to hide their apparent anxiousness either.
Noct could feel the tense excitement bouncing between the three of them. He could tell it was a familiar feeling to them. A feeling they seemed to relish in.
Crowe may have been complaining about having to put their lives on the line earlier, but Noct was beginning to suspect they lived for that kind of thing. The official missions. And he couldn't blame them. The endless adrenaline and overall badassery that went along with being a glaive was something Noct could see himself being continuously drawn to as well.
He would have felt a prickle of jealousy upon seeing the three lean for the door, all confidence and grit, had he not been planning on joining them, himself...
"This is us, kid," Nyx said, donning his helmet as the van drew to a halt.
"Enjoy listening in," Lib said, pulling his helmet on as well. "You'll be hearing my dulcet tones announce, 'The target is secure,' over the comms in no time."
Crowe snorted as she prodded Lib forward. "'Kay, 'Dulcet,' let's go."
"Wish us luck," Lib added as they pushed the back door open.
"Good lu—" Noct began, but was quickly cut off by Crowe sweeping past him.
"Don't need it," she said with a dismissive wave, hopping out in quick succession. "Later, kid."
He watched them climb out into the dark and waited a few beats before following suit.
They appeared to be in a wooded area a little ways off the road—he could make out the dim outline of surrounding trees.
Noct wasn't surprised by the lack of bright lighting. This was a covert mission on the outskirts of an imperial base, after all. The only subtle lighting illuminating the group came from the various computer stations set up at the rear of the vehicles.
Though his heart rate had already shifted into high gear since exiting the van, Noct was pleased by the amount of darkness. Chances were looking good he could slip away without anyone ever noticing him.
He didn't even allow himself to scan the silhouettes of the group as he made an immediate and soundless beeline towards the trees. He was afraid whatever courage he had been clinging to would immediately scatter if he happened to catch a glimpse of Gladio.
And he didn't even want to think what would happen if Gladio happened to lay eyes on him. If he had even the faintest hint of suspicion...
Please don't let Gladio notice me, Noct silently prayed. ...Or Cor...Or Drautos...Or, come to think of it, Ignis, if he's here...You know, maybe just don't let anyone notice me, please?
Noct pressed his back against a thick trunk, his breath quickly escaping him. He'd made it away from the group, the night was providing a perfect shroud, and he was certain his brief presence had gone unnoticed.
All he needed to do now was wait and see which direction the glaives were headed.
Hang in there, Prompto, I'm coming.
He figured they'd have a final hasty briefing before setting off, and he thought he could make out the three of them huddled around one of the comm stations. And that must have been Drautos at the head. He watched the exchange of information and orders and saw their tight nods. They were ready to go...Any minute now...
Finally, the three figures broke away at a brisk pace, quickly melding into the night. Noct immediately pushed off in their direction, hastening his pace as swiftly and quietly as possible. It was imperative to stay a safe distance behind, while not letting them get too far ahead, either...
Once they were away from the rendezvous site, it was near impossible for Noct to keep track of the glaives' streaking shadows through the night-cloaked trees. Fortunately for him, as a fellow magic-user, the subtle ribbons of fleeting warp trails were easy to recognize. The glaives initiated warps (as far as the trees allowed) at fairly constant and well-paced intervals, hoping to close the remaining distance to the imperial base as quickly as they could. And their trailing streams of soft blue light acted as perfect route-markers.
Fully intending to keep up, Noct had no choice but to utilize his warping abilities as well. He only hoped he was lagging far enough behind that his own warp trails wouldn't be noticed. It was risky, but he couldn't chance losing them. He didn't come all this way to end up lost in the woods, with no way of finding the base on his own.
Their running seemed to go on and on. Sure, Noct could understand the rendezvous site needed to be a safe distance away from the base and all, but this almost seemed excessive. Couldn't they have at least taken chocobos or something? Too hard to transfer, he supposed. And too loud for a covert mission. Still, their running must have exceeded a mile or two by now. Surely they were getting close.
In answer to his thoughts, a bright light suddenly winked into view up ahead, flickering between the dense trees.
Finally! They were nearly there. The glaives were smart in pacing their warps so as to not cause unnecessary over-exertion, for which Noct was grateful. But with the constant thump of adrenaline coursing through him, Noct doubted it would be possible for him to feel winded, regardless. He felt alive. Sure—scared, reckless, brash and uncertain...but alive. And determined.
He was doing this. He was going to reclaim his best friend. His best friend whom the empire had absolutely no right in stealing from him.
A tinge of anger flared up, heating the adrenaline racing through his bloodstream.
I'm almost there, Prompto. Hold on.
Just a little bit farther.
They closed the remaining distance quickly, and Noct hung back as the glaives approached the high back wall of the imperial compound, their crouched movements fluid and soundless.
Noct knew they had to be precise with their point of entry into the base. He was certain an earlier unit of glaives had already cleared a path for the extraction team. And that unit was likely still inside the walls, lurking in the shadows, keeping the extraction team's path clear of any opposition.
Noct watched as Nyx silently approached the wall. He hardly hesitated before casting his weapon and reappearing at the top, quickly vanishing from view as he crossed the walkway and dropped inside the base.
Considering Nyx's hasty confidence, Noct gathered that yet another earlier unit of glaives must have already tapped into the base's security to an extent. That was usually the protocol for covert extraction or retrieval missions. One team handled the tech side of security, another dealt with the physical side of it, and the extraction unit should be left with relatively smooth and straight-forward circumstances to quickly achieve the objective. In this case, retrieve the target—Prompto.
Lib was next up and over the wall, followed closely by Crowe.
Noct wasn't sure to what extent the glaives had managed to tap into the base's security. He knew the objective varied with each individual mission, and he was aware a few of the glaives had some very impressive and vital hacking skills in that regard. He knew surveillance of the path laid out for the extraction team would be safe from enemy eyes. But Noct wondered if any video footage was being fed back to the rendezvous site. He doubted it—comm management usually only relied on ear pieces and mics in the glaives' wristbands. But, video footage could potentially be very problematic.
Noct couldn't help imagining Gladio, watching the screened security footage back at the rendezvous site, suddenly noticing a fourth and unauthorized "glaive" in unit C. With the exact same slight build as the prince...
Noct was fairly certain the mission would likely be aborted immediately.
Oh god, please don't let them have access to video footage of this.
Once Noct was convinced the coast was clear, he made his break from the trees, approaching the wall quickly and low, as he had seen the others do. Without pausing to ask himself one final time if he was really sure of what he was doing, Noct flung his weapon, and reappeared atop the enemy lines.
He crossed the walkway and peered down the other side of the wall. If the glaives had a very specific path to follow, and knew where they were going, it would be crucial not to lose sight of them completely.
He quickly scanned the vast amount of storage crates and equipment littering the lot, hoping to catch sight of one of the three—
Oh phew, there was Crowe. He barely caught a glimpse of her dark form, crouched along the skirts of a pool of flood-light, before she disappeared behind a crate, following the other two towards the facility.
There didn't seem to be any sign of anyone else out there, imperial or otherwise. Whether that was the earlier unit's doing or not, Noct supposed there probably wasn't much need for overly tight Imperial security inside their own walls at two o'clock in the morning.
He warped down quickly, aiming to follow Crowe's path towards the facility as closely as possible. He couldn't let them get too far ahead—they seemed to know exactly where Prompto was being held, and that kind of invaluable intel would save Noctis a whole lot of trou—
A knife suddenly slammed into the crate behind Noctis, a mere half a foot from his head. He nearly jumped out of his skin, failing to contain the shout of alarm that escaped him, so caught off guard as he was.
A dark figure instantly materialized before him, a firm hand pressing solidly over his mouth, effectively cutting off his exclamation of surprise almost as quickly as it left his lips.
The faint blue streak of a warp trail quickly faded behind the figure, and Noct felt himself sag a fraction against the hands holding him, realizing with relief that his assailer was not actually an enemy.
Noct sucked in a breath as his mouth was released, the unyielding hands gripping his collar fast and drawing him near.
"Kid," Crowe said in a harsh whisper, clearly struggling to keep her voice down, "you have three seconds to tell me what in the almighty hell you're doing here...?!"
Noct was reeling. How had she seen him?! He had been so cautious...Kept such a careful distance...! His mouth opened and closed a couple times, but he had nothing to offer apart from a wide-eyed stare.
"How—Did you—?" Crowe was obviously fumbling for words as well. "Was that a warp streak I saw?! Did you—did you warp down from the wall? How—how did—"
Crowe's eyes suddenly widened, her own bewilderment closely mirroring Noct's. She released him, instantly breaking away as she gripped her visor and paced a length off.
"Oh, God...Oh, God..."
She whipped back towards Noct, a subtle sheen of terror glistening in her eyes, though her voice remained surprisingly steady. "Kid...you have two seconds to tell me you're not who I think you are..."
Noct's lips formed a tight line as he held her gaze, forcing himself to straighten to his full (if somewhat meager) height. There was no point in affirming or refuting her suspicions. She already knew.
Crowe was quickly able to put together what Noct's silence meant. She let out an exhale of shock and disgust, immediately drawing away again as a string of expletives left her.
She paced to and fro briefly, clutching vainly at her helmet as she tried to figure out what the hell to do.
"Wha—" Words seemed to evade her, "How—What do you think you're doing here?" she finally settled on asking, as she turned to glare at him once more. A glare that was equal parts anger and fear now.
Noct wasn't sure if he should jump right to offering a meaningless apology or launch immediately into a summarized explanation, still earnestly attempting to compose himself as he was. Yeah, he knew eventually revealing himself to the glaives was inevitable. They were both pursuing the same goal, after all. He was just hoping to hold off on it as long as humanly possible—till they were on the verge of rescuing Prompto.
"Your Highness," Crowe said, trying to keep as much vehemence out of her voice as she could. "What," she stepped up to him, "are you doing here?"
Noctis met her gaze squarely, finally deciding to keep any hint of apologies at bay. This wasn't the time for that.
He finally found his voice. "Look," he said, willing his hesitance to be replaced by something that might sound close to competence or authority. Anything but sounding like the impetuous fool he knew he appeared. "I'm just here to find my friend."
Crowe's glare didn't even flicker.
Noct knew there wasn't any response he could offer that would abate her anger, but he found himself going on, regardless. "It's my fault he's here. It's my fault he crossed paths with the imperials. It's my fault he left the damn city in the first place..."
Crowe just stared, and Noct wondered if it was taking all her restraint not to get physical with him again.
"Wha—" She was clearly still dumbfounded, trying to make sense of the absurdity. "So—That somehow justifies this? A completely unauthorized infiltration of an official kingsglaive mission? Inside an imperial base?" She was definitely struggling to keep her voice down now. "What were you—Do you have any idea—"
Noct cut in. "I just had to make sure nothing goes wrong tonight." He felt stupid even as he said it.
"Nothing goes—wrong?" Crowe scoffed. "I'd say we're about four warps past stasis of something 'going wrong.' What were you thinking?"
Noct was grateful for the visor hiding his burning cheeks. This was starting to sound awfully familiar, and he'd had enough. Prompto was here and waiting for him, and he wasn't about to stand there and listen to a full-blown Gladio lecture from Not Gladio.
Noct unclenched his jaw, deciding this entire conversation was a waste of time. He moved to brush past Crowe, but barely made it half a step before she seized him under the arm, whirling him about.
"Come on, let's get you out of here," she said, ushering him back the way he'd come.
Noct jerked free, his irritation spiking. He may have been way out of line that night, and yeah, Crowe's anger might have been justified. But he was still the prince, and there was still certain conduct he didn't take well to. And being physically coerced by essentially a stranger was something he would not allow.
Crowe could tell the prince was bothered by her pushiness. She also didn't give a rat's ass. The only thing that mattered was getting the prince to safety immediately, his pride and obstinacy be damned.
She reached for him again and found herself grasping at a faint blue outline of the prince framing nothing but air. He'd phased an arm's length away.
She tried to refrain from grinding her teeth. "Your Highness, I was going to suggest the other two continue the mission while I escort you out of here, but if you're going to be difficult, I'll have to request their assistance, and the mission will likely have to be aborted."
Noct's lungs picked up their pace as panic began to settle in. This was not going remotely how he had hoped. It had never even crossed his mind that the possibility of his premature discovery might jeopardize the entire rescue.
"Look," he said through sharp breaths, "Throw out whatever threats you will, but I am not leaving here without Prompto." He couldn't stress those words enough as their eyes remained locked in a war of wills.
"I will phase and warp away as much as I have to to keep looking for him," he explained. "I will wake up this entire base and offer my own goddamned self up to the empire as a trade, if it comes to that. But there is no way in hell I'm leaving here without him."
Crowe continued to hold his fervent eyes. He was serious. If she tried to physically force him out of there, all hell might break loose.
Ugh, he was impossibly stubborn, and thought himself so far above any rule or protocol that ever existed, it was infuriating. But she couldn't help wonder if her own behavior might be capable of nearing such desperation if Libertus or Nyx were ever the ones being held prisoner inside an imperial facility.
Her gaze softened almost unnoticeably. Loyal conviction was one thing she always understood through and through.
She sighed, resigning herself to a whole shitton of trouble, and said, "Okay, 'Knox,' if you're really going to be that foolishly bullheaded, then I guess I have no choice but to treat this as a royal order."
Noct released the most relieved exhale of his life.
"But, I hope you have at least some inkling of just how screwed we're all going to be afterwards because of this."
Nope. Just me. The blame will stay with me, I'll see to it.
"And you better stay right with me, because I sure as hell am not letting anything happen to yo—"
She cut off, fingers immediately drawing to her ear. Then a tap at her wristband.
"Yes, I read you." A brief pause. "Sorry, something caught my eye, I had to backtrack briefly...Keep going, I'll be right behind you."
Another brief tap at her wristband.
Her eyes met the prince's once more. She held them a moment, words escaping her for the hundredth time that night. With a few slight shakes of her head—either resigning herself to the proverbial guillotine, or reluctantly half-admitting to herself she somewhat admired the prince's resolve—she gestured for him to follow her.
Noct did so without hesitation.
Of course Crowe would be on to you, duh, Noct.
Thanks so much to those of you who actually came back to catch these latest installments! It was so nice seeing a few familiar faces, and I'm very grateful for your comments. I'm sorry updates continue to be few and far between, but the conclusion to this fic can't be too far away now. I'll get there. Just got to keep finding some meager time to squeeze in between parenting and being quite addicted to Persona 5 at the moment, lol.