~Four months before~
King Regis sits straight in his throne, never once daring to slouch. His pale hands clutch the ends of the throne's sides, dark blue streaks revealing the veins running underneath his skin. He should look no older than a day over forty-five, and yet, his white hair and weathered skin give the illusion that he's well beyond his middle aged years.
I stand on the platform beneath his, my arms pressed tightly to my sides. My heart pounds against my rib cage; I can see the vibration of my chest against my shirt with every loud beat that resonates in my ears. In the presence of the king, there is no room for error. No room for protest or opinion- unless you're an advisor, of course. But I'm not. I'm a battle-driven, glorified guard. To Regis, a pawn, at best. And yet he still insists on small talk. Well, kind of.
"How is Magnus these days?" he asks, his voice not quite as booming as what I call his 'king voice.'
"He's well," I reply dutifully. Regis nods, studying me with his sharp eyes.
"Of course. He has his children to care for him." I mean, he's not that old. He continues. "Though shouldn't one of those be more focused on his purpose?"
"Uh," I start, unnerved by the hinting look on his stern face. "Yes, Your Majesty." So, it really has gone around. But to the point that the king…
"Your Majesty," an unfamiliar voice says as the throne room's doors swing wide open. I turn to see several guards part like an ocean, revealing a small group of organized soldiers in white. Tenebrae. "They have arrived."
"As I can see," the king says lowly, almost to himself as he straightens even further, if that's humanly possible. I'm just not entirely sure how he and Noctis are related. That is, if I don't look at appearance. "And where is the one I require?"
"Here, Your Majesty," a light accent replies. I watch as a tall man dressed in white steps forth through the wall of guards, bowing. "Wyn Iterum, Highness."
"Come forth," Regis commands, nodding in acknowledgement. "You have both been assigned to a marriage that will bring the suffering lives of innocents back under the rule of Insomnia. After that marriage, you both shall return to Tenebrae with a portion of our guard." He looks between the two of us in silence before his 'king voice' goes back to echoing through the expansive room. "Do you accept?"
"As you will, Your Majesty," the man beside me replies, bowing lowly.
"I accept," I answer, following suit. I cringe to myself. My voice, so used to responding to the king's orders with strength and dignity, is now weak and humble.
"Very well," the king continues. "This will occur within two weeks. In the meantime, Rayne, take Iterum to his temporary quarters."
"Yes, Your Majesty," I bow once more, refusing to look at the Tenebraen soldier as I turn and walk down the carpeted steps leading to the king's throne. The guards blocking the door part, stepping back and holding their tall spears at their sides. I can hear Wyn following me as I leave the throne room, leading the way to the exit of the citadel silently.
"Where are we headed?" he asks as we step outside. I glance over at the Tenebraen to my right. He's what I would call the generic man from that region: tall, lean, and blonde haired. He's dressed in some sort of white uniform, silver being the prominent accent color. I resist the urge to scoff; they're all so fancy out there.
"I don't know yet," I admit with a sigh, pulling out my phone as we head down toward the road. I shoot a quick text to Ignis, nodding toward Cor when he walks by, eyeing Wyn with a frown. My phone vibrates as Ignis replies almost instantly. Must be on break from babying Noctis.
I: He has an apartment that's been arranged for him on floor five of your building. The front desk should have his key.
M: Thanks, Iggy :)
I: My pleasure. Tonight at seven?
M: Still on
I: We'll be there
I smile, putting my phone away and motioning for Wyn to follow me to my car, which is parked just outside the gates to the Citadel. "Caelum Cove it is," I say under my breath, pulling my keys as we approach my sleek gray car.
"Caelum Cove?" Wyn asks curiously, his accent painfully obvious to my ears.
"Yeah, it's an apartment complex," I reply, unlocking my car. "Looks like you're gonna get a better view than me, though."
"Is that so?" he asks, watching me climb in hesitantly before following me into the passenger seat. "And they're allowed to use the name of the king?"
"Guess so," I shrug, starting my car. I pause. "Hang on. They're not making you travel with a few guards or something? What if someone tries to kill you?"
"Someone as in you?" He smiles, his handsome features brightening with the upturn of his lips. "I'm sure I can handle it."
"Alrighty then," I shake my head, pulling out of my parking spot and turning around, heading down the busy streets of Insomnia. As I drive, I fight a smile. Wyn's deep blue eyes absorb every light, billboard, and skyscraper of the city. "Different than home?" I ask smugly, sharply pressing the brakes when someone cuts me off.
"Undoubtedly," he nods, clearing his throat and straightening in his seat. I laugh to myself quietly, watching him try to pretend he doesn't care as much as he appears to. I pull into the parking lot of a tall, black building. Lights shine from nearly every window, people standing on iron balconies or pressing their faces up to cool glass to see the sights of the city that never sleeps.
"So just how many of these 'powers' are out there?" Noct asks, ignoring Cor's strength comment. I don't blame the marshal for doubting Noctis's capabilities. The prince doesn't look like he could take on more than a few sabertusks at a time.
"There are thirteen known royal arms, each enshrined at a royal tomb, though we know the location of only a few." He shakes his head when we step forward to help Noct take on a small sabertusk pack, wanting only to watch the prince fight. "I've enlisted the help of the Hunters. They comb the land in search of the lost tombs."
"Where's the one nearby you mentioned?" Noctis asks, crushing one of the beasts beneath his blade. I flinch when a sabertusk leaps toward his back, but Noct manages just fine.
"Keycatrich Trench. We know there to be a crypt deep inside the tunnels," Cor responds, crossing his arms. More sabertusks join, and finally Cor nods for us to help fight them off as Noctis slides on the dirt. We make quick work of the vermin as a team. I drop my sword, dusting my hands off. "Prompto, you alright?" he asks, eyeing the young man. Prompto tenses, brushing dirt off of his shirt.
"Uh, yes, s-sir. I'm fine, sir," he stutters. I hide my smile, glancing back to see Gladio's amused expression. Cor shakes his head, following Noct's lead down the dirt path we used to come up.
"No need to be so nervous around him," I mumble with a smile, nudging Prompto gently. He smiles back uneasily.
"I know, he's just so high up there," he looks over at the marshal with admiration written clearly across his features. "It's kinda cool."
"Kinda?" I raise an eyebrow. "Imagine being in the same building as him all the time."
"Fangirl?"
"Totally."
"Man, it's hot," Noctis whines, wiping sweat off his forehead. Gladio glances back at him, eyebrow raised smugly.
"Then lose the jacket."
"He has a point," I shrug, taking my own jacket off and knotting the sleeves around my waist. "Though, where's he gonna put it?"
"That's his problem," Gladio grins back at me. We're in a much better mood today, huh? I laugh to myself, shaking my head.
"Long years ago, we waged a fierce battle here against the empire," Cor starts, watching Imperial airships fly overhead in the distance. "It all went to ruin, and after that, the empire moved in like it owned the place."
"It kinda did after that," I huff. "It's not like we could really retaliate."
"Make it quick," Noctis commands as Imperials start firing on us. I deflect a bullet, throwing my last ice spell into the area before anyone can get in the way.
"You're welcome," I call back to Gladio as he crushes one of the soldiers.
"Er, how do we get through that?" Prompto asks, opening fire on the troops a more reveal themselves, trying to snipe us from their base.
"Take 'em head on, or try to sneak up from behind. The choice is yours," Cor replies, kicking a soldier off the end of his blade.
"I think sneaking's out of the equation," I laugh, flipping off my vantage point to get a good upward cut on one of the MTs. I shoot before landing, turning sharply to strike down the bot behind me. Gladio grunts.
"Show off."
"Slow poke," I fire back in retaliation, knocking the metal legs out from underneath an axeman and stabbing my gunblade into its metal frame.
"Now is not the time for arguing," Ignis huffs, striking down another enemy.
"So when is?" I ask casually, side stepping an attack and driving my blade into the underside of an MT's head. "You always say that."
"Cor!" Noctis shouts. The marshal sprints forward, slashing up and slicing an MT clean in half. Prompto sends an explosive blast toward another, blasting its head off and its armor to bits.
"Nice one, Prompto!" Noctis calls in encouragement. Prompto grins sheepishly.
"It's nothin'."
We hurry further into the base, met head on by another wave of magitek soldiers. A turret suddenly goes off, sending a spray of bullets our way. Gladio holds his massive sword out, blocking the ammunition from hitting the prince. He then smashes the machine under his massive blade. I rush to Noct's side, sliding on the light dirt to knock the larger soldier over. He grabs his spear from midair, diving down onto the bot. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Ignis stumbling away from the fight to shelter himself behind a rock. I turn back to find the prince's shield.
"Gladio! Iggy's down!"
"Gotcha!" he calls back, materializing his med kit and running to help the advisor.
Ignis is back in the fight seconds later, hurling his daggers toward a distant enemy. Noctis smashes the last soldier, panting heavily and leaning forward onto his knees. Cor rests a hand on Noct's shoulder. "You alright, Highness?"
"Of course," the prince breathes, straightening.
"And you?" I ask the marshal, crossing my arms.
"No problem," he answers confidently, not sounding the slightest bit winded compared to the young man under his hand. Noctis shakes his head, leading the way the tomb that's a few hundred feet away.
"A magitek armor," Ignis says, pointing out the large machine that appears from behind a short building.
"Dangerous?" Noct raises an eyebrow, slowing his pace.
"This particular model poses a mild to moderate threat," the advisor answers. I shake my head.
"I swear you've got a computer in that big brain of yours."
"The short version?" Noctis asks, ducking under a wall to watch the war machine.
"Somewhat dangerous," Ignis clarifies, straightening his glasses.
"Marshal, you'd have to be pretty bad #$ to take that thing down, right?" The prince looks back at Cor with a coy smile.
"Think you're up to? Let's see what you can do," Cor replies, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Challenge accepted," Noct grins, stepping up into the window of a dilapidated building with a clear view of the magitek armor. He reaches up into the air, static tugging through the area as he aims his lightning spell and releases. Shocks rain upon the machine as it stumbles, jerking before turning to face him.
"It sees us," I huff. Two rockets fly toward the building. I shove Noctis down, falling on top of him as the blast hits our hiding place. Rubble falls on my back heavily while Gladio curses loudly. "That was close, huh?" I grin down at Noct from where I hover over him. I wince when a small rock bounces off my head. He huffs, rolling his eyes and shoving me off.
"No slacking off, Gladio," Cor calls out as the big man shoves a rather large chunk of wall off of himself.
"Doesn't look like I'll have the chance," Gladio grunts, pulling out his sword and following Noctis into battle.
"Not likely," I agree, running beside Ignis. "Prompto, throw it!" I shout, shooting the magazine that flies through the air shortly after. The blast explodes in the armor's face, momentarily disabling it while Noctis rushes forward, using a greatsword to destroy one sparking leg. I rush in to slash at the mess of wires that hang low on the body of the machine, watching Cor, Prompto, and Gladio take on the second magitek armor. Ours falls first, hitting the ground with a loud thud. The other falls seconds later.
"Move!" Ignis shouts, shoving Noctis as we sprint away. The first armor explodes, the blast triggering the next. The force of the explosion knocks me into Prompto, the two of us face planting in the dirt. He groans, pushing himself back up.
"Did you really have to do that?" he whines. I huff, brushing my clothes off.
"Wasn't trying," I mutter.
"Be careful," Gladio warns, looking back at us. I give him a flat, irritated look before Cor stops us at the entrance of a cave,
"Here's where we go our separate ways." He reaches into his pocket. "Take this key. It unlocks the doors to all other tombs. Seek them out and lay claim to the power they hold. You'll need it."
"Wait, you're not coming with us?!" I demand. I didn't even get to ask about Arma… He shakes his head.
"I have to keep an eye on the Niffs. Find out what they're up to." He starts to leave, turning back for just a moment. "But you should focus on your own task."
"We will," Noctis nods. "You take care." He turns to face the tunnel. "Here we go."
"Man this is steep," I mutter, holding onto the walls to keep from sliding into Noctis's back.
"Yeah," Noct agrees, his boot slipping a little on loose dirt. "Should've made Gladio go first."
"Why's that?" the shield asks from behind me.
"So you don't crush us," I shrug, stepping onto flatter rock safely
"Huh? Look!" Prompto calls, running past us.
"It's a door," Gladio comments, raising an eyebrow at the blonde as we pass through.
"What is this place?" the gunman asks, staring up at the rocky walls in wonder.
"It appears to have been a shelter," Ignis answers, eyeing the setup of the cavern.
"People lived here?" Prompto sounds astonished.
"Those seeking refuge from the war, most likely."
"Wars," Prompto shakes his head. "What're they good for?" He kicks at a stone, watching Noctis head down another steep path. "Wonder if anyone still lives here."
"Let's hope not," I huff, following Noct. "I don't think they'll take kindly to us barging into their home to take something." I step down a broken set of stairs, something on the floor catching Prompto's eye.
"Huh. What's this? A cable?" He kicks at the black wire on the floor. "Wonder where it leads."
"We can follow it and see," Ignis suggests.
"Sounds good to me," I shrug. "Noct? Doesn't sound like too much of a detour."
"Is that… a generator?" Prompto asks, stepping forward and pointing at the large hunk of metal on the floor.
"So it would appear," Ignis sighs. Noctis reaches forward, tugging on the machine's handle hard. It rattles, smoke puffing from one side before the lights to our right flicker on.
"Sweet, it works!" Prompto cheers.
"And then there was light," the advisor says dryly.
"Thank the gods there's light," I breathe, huffing when Gladio knocks a hand down onto my back.
"Oh man, do I love me some light," Prompto agrees.
"Great, now lot's get a move on," Gladio says lowly.
We continue down the dimly lit tunnel, stopping for Noct to check out a small bit of metal before tucking it away in his pocket. He then turns and leads us down a new tunnel. I jump when a rattle echoes through the cave. Prompto yelps, hiding behind Ignis, raises an eyebrow tiredly.
"What was that?!" he cries. I look around quickly, searching for any threat.
"My bad," Gladio calls quickly before we can panic even further. "Kicked a can."
"You are killing me here, big guy," Prompto huffs, releasing an irritated Iggy.
"Seriously," I roll my eyes. "Could you be more careful? You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
"C'mon guys, hush up," Noctis hisses, glaring back at us.
"Hush up," I scoff under my breath. Gladio hits me again.
Noctis's boot hits a rock against a wall; the floor shakes, dirt crumbling from the ceiling. I grab his shoulder, gently drawing him back. "If it's all the same to you guys," Prompto says anxiously, staring at the rocks above us with wide eyes. "I'd rather not get buried alive."
"Yeah, let us be quick," Ignis agrees.
Noctis huffs, pushing open a creaking metal door. I step in first, weapon readied for any ambushes. "Ugh! I hate that noise!" Prompto cringes, clutching his ears. Suddenly he freezes. "H-hey guys? I can feel eyes on us…" He lowers his hands, sleeping forward creepily. I roll my eyes, peering around a corner. "The second we turn our backs…" I can't stop the short, startled scream that slips past my lips as he grabs my sides, shouting in my ear. "BAM!"
"Quit bein' a wuss," Gladio chuckles. I turn sharply, shoving Prompto away as he laughs.
"I'm sure every living creature in this place knows we're here now," Noctis grumbles.
"His Highness is right," Ignis nods, looking at the three of us with sharp, scolding eyes. "Do try to keep it down."
"He scared me!" I protest. Prompto shakes his head.
"You screamed!"
"Cut it out," Gladio huffs, shoving us both gently.
We continue walking. Rocks line the walls, alongside empty glass bottles and small, dusty lightbulbs. Noct pushes against a heavy metal door, shaking his head. "Locked."
"Did you see that?!" Prompto cries suddenly, making me jump again. I swat at his arm.
"Why so tense, Rayne?" Gladio teases.
"Something ran past," the blonde insists. Ignis frowns.
"What was it?"
"Dunno," Gladio shakes his head, following Noct's slow pace carefully.
"Let's find out," the prince says, leading the way past another metal gate,
"Um, hello?" Prompto calls down the hallway. "Anybody home? I'm comin' in!"
"Prompto, zip it," I hiss. Noctis tries the next gate. Prompto sighs.
"Locked. What a shocker."
"Hey, if something's worth locking up," Noctis starts.
"It's worth seeking out," Gladio finishes with a nod.
"Let's just hope seeking out doesn't get us killed," I huff. Noctis crouches, slipping through a low hole in the wall. "Uh, you givin' up the chase, Noct?"
"I personally don't mind either way," Ignis says, looking down the forgotten hallway.
"Give it up, then?" Gladio asks, eyebrow raised. I sigh, following closely with my sword clutched tightly in my hand.
I sigh, following closely with my sword clutched tightly in my hand. I've got a bad feeling about this.
