Nyxia had spent the remainder of the evening with her father, enjoying the best meal she had had in a couple of months. She was very fond of the honeyed ham, but there weren't many words to exchange with Cingarus. He did praise her for bringing the Necromancer's Jewel, but it was obvious that their journey was not yet at its end. Only half of the task was finished, but all was at a standstill until they knew what had to be done to destroy the artifact.

It was nice to be back in her room again, which had been maintained by the maid even in her absence. One thing she definitely missed was her polished, black cello that she had to leave behind. Next to the magic staves she possessed, it was her pride and joy, and when she wasn't playing the stringed instrument, she was reading up on her vast collection of magic texts. There was always more to learn in the endless void of magic arts. Most of what she learned had been self-taught.

She approached the case that it had been jailed in for all this time, and once she made sure it was tuned, she would begin to play on the strings. It was a soft melody, very quiet and low in tones at first. Behind her, Rubia was already snoozing on a bench at the foot of the bed. It was at the start of a crescendo in her ad-libbed song when her phone buzzed on the small table beside her.

A text message was sent to her, but it came as a big surprise to see the sender's name.

Gladiolus Amicitia.

For a moment, she didn't want to look at it. Neither she nor the other two had heard from Gladio since he left. It was a wonder why she had been the one to first receive anything from him.

After a deep breath, she set down her bow picked up the phone to read the message.

Meet me at the Rock of Ravatogh tomorrow. Come alone.

For a moment, Nyxia didn't know how to respond to this. What was he doing in Ravatogh? Why did he want her there, especially alone?

Maybe the night in the hotel room wasn't as easy to forget as they had anticipated.

I'll be there tomorrow night.

There was no way she would be able to take on the road tonight. She needed a good night's rest, though it was possible that sleep would not come easily now.

Remarkably, Nyxia slept in later than she meant to. It was nearly noon by the time she was crawling out of the bed in a hurry. Even still, she had to get herself showered and dressed. She picked out her usual attire - black, fishnets, and leather. Once she was on the road, her heart was in a panic. She hadn't told Ignis or Prompto where she was headed. She hadn't even been in touch with them since the night before.

There was probably no need for the extra backup anyway. Gladio wanted to see just her for a reason, and there was no need to risk revealing their rendezvous to the others. That would be incredibly awkward.

As she passed over the newly built bridge that connected Curia to Leide, she turned on the radio to some heavy, metal music to try and drown her thoughts.

The only stop she made was at a gas station, just long enough to fill the tank and wipe the bug guts from the windshield. She wasn't even hungry enough to grab a bite to eat. It was closer to sundown when she began to realize something very disturbing, rolling into the region of Cleigne.

Was she actually hurrying to see him?

Thirty minutes after the sun had called it a day, Nyxia pulled up to the giant volcano. The smoke still emitted from it as it usually did, though it really posed no threat of eruption.

But why had it been a point of interest to Gladio? She'd no doubt find out soon enough.

Even from where she parked the car, she could feel the heat rising from the mountain. She began following the discreet path that led into the side of the giant rock. Along it was a small number of dead scorpions that were the size of her own, lithe body. Someone had already taken them out, and Nyxia had a feeling that by the large gashes in their corpses, she could tell exactly whose sword was responsible.

Already, she broke into a sweat as she passed through the narrow path between the walls of the rock. It served as a hallway of sorts leading her deeper into the mountain. At first, nothing seemed too much out of place, but that was until a streak of blood coated the ground and painted a trail further up ahead. He no doubt left a path for her to follow, and like a predator, she did just that.

The crimson trail had her trek to a cave that took her slightly away from the staggering heat. Nyxia strolled carefully inside. There was no telling what sort of creatures hid in the depths of mountainous structures. While she gave Gladio a lot of credit, she doubted he took down every living thing here.

A few yards ahead, the long corridor opened up into a larger area of rock walls, stalactites, and stalagmites. It was dark now, requiring Nyxia to rely on her hands-free flashlight. She summoned one of her staves - this time, a steel-blue rod that emitted a coolness to the touch. The feeling was certainly comforting in this environment.

She stalked quietly, her caution keeping her from calling out to him. Caution, and outright nervousness, really.

Then, she heard voices, though they were nearly whispers that carried from further ahead in the cave. None of them were Gladio's, however. It was just then that she came to the revelation that this was a setup.

"She'll be here soon. Once we kill her friend, we'll take her to Vess." One voice hissed. She kept hidden behind the wall, peering around the corner to see that the necromancers had come back for seconds.

Then, there came an equally sinister reply. "Remember, he said she cannot be harmed. One strand of hair damaged, and he'll have us dead."

Who was Vess? Was that Gladio on the far end of the chamber? "I'll save him the trouble and end you myself."

From the entrance to the next room, she called upon large shards of ice to penetrate the ground, tearing through one of the eight necromancers in the room.

"GET HER!" hollered one of the hooded figures, but she was already making a swift movement with her staff, freezing the commander in a blizzard wave. Then, she threw the weapon at him, and before it made impact, the tip transformed into a spearhead, causing the solid necromancer to shatter into pieces.

"Gladio!" Nyxia yelled as she summoned a second staff, driving its yellow hilt into the skull of the next attacker. "Wake up!"

He was bound to the wall by metal shackles, low enough to the ground that he was limply sitting. She needed him conscious so she could get him out of here. There was no way she was going to be able to carry him out, that was for sure. Being too preoccupied with the necromancers that were trying to bring her down, she couldn't exactly get a good look at him. She was only able to tell he wasn't moving.

"You're dropping like flies," she taunted her enemies now. "Maybe you should resort to breaking some rules." As if in agreement with her, two of the five that remained drew out their sickles. "Good. It's about time someone made it challenging for me."

One of them came at her with a rather ugly-sounding snarl, one of his curved blades ready to come down on her. She swept forward and beneath it, using her staff to knock off his balance. In front of her, she saw the familiar blade that belonged to Gladio. That would take them out a lot faster.

Use it now, ask for forgiveness later.

She dodged away from the next attack to grab the broad sword, her timing just right as she swung it into the necromancer, slicing his body in two, clean halves.

Though it wasn't exactly clean.

The others stopped and took a step back. They had already lost half of their group to a single enchantress and were probably weighing out their possibility of success versus chance of escape.

They took the latter, and really, Nyxia wasn't going to stop them. They could relay whatever message they wanted to their leader. Maybe those bastards would think twice before coming after her and her friends again.

Once the chamber was clear, she looked back over to Gladio, who now seemed conscious, but it really looked like hell had spit him out. At a closer look, he was badly bruised and bloodied. It was a good thing she brought some healing provisions.

"You look like shit," she said, and she drove the massive blade into the chains that held his arms. As he staggered to his feet, she thought she saw him grin a little.

"That thing's not too heavy for you?" he mocked.

"I'm a big girl, but you're more than welcome to have it back." She smirked in return. When they weren't at each other's throats, they did manage to show some decency, but even this was a rarity. Something did change.

"How did you find me?"

"Well, as it seems you're not the one that told me where you were, those bastards led me straight to you using your phone."

"Hm. That explains why I'm phoneless." She handed him back his sword, and he took it, leaning its hilt on his shoulder. "The others... I guess they don't know we're here."

"They're taking some time off in the City. Which was what I was supposed to be doing, until you got yourself in this mess."

"Let's face it," he said, and Nyxia felt a miniature, heart attack coming on as his palm found her chin, and his thumb strokes her bottom lip. "You couldn't get enough."

Nyxia fought whatever urges were sneaking up on her. It helped to note that he was a filthy mess. Yanking back her head, she huffed. "I don't know what you're talking about." As she headed for the exiting path, she heard him chuckle behind her, but nothing else was said on the matter.

The two of them follow the path back the way Nyxia had come. Behind her, Gladio asked her a question she hadn't thought about until just then. "I think they know the gem is in Curia."

"Really?" she murmured, taking the familiar bend towards the exit. "If that's the case, I wonder why they're still tracking us down."

"They know we're trying to destroy it, plain and simple." Then, Gladio paused. "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

They should have been outside by now. She thought for sure this had been the right way. It had to be. She was looking at the same, blood trail! "The exit was right here, I know it!" she insisted. Her hand reached out for the barrier. It felt warm, as if... "Of course," she growled.

"What?"

"Those bastards blocked the passage. This wall wasn't here before."

"Here. Let me break it down." He could be her guest, but she was already doubting it would work. Gladio swung a few times at the stone, each impact of the hard metal upon it making a deafening sound above his determined grunts. Yet, nothing. She allowed him to keep going, tempted to see how many blows he'd throw before he gave up.

Finally, after a good, two minutes, Gladio lowered his sword.

"Are you done?" Nyxia inquired.

"Well, you do something, then."

"It's a magical barrier, and a strong one, at that." She lacked the confidence that she could do any better, but she'd at least try. Another type of staff was conjured -one that specialized in water. If anything were to bring these rocks down, it would have to be powerful, aquatic spells.

But, after sending several waves of spells at it, all she could manage to do was make a pool on the ground.

"Looks like we'll have to find another exit," Gladio said. The mountain was large enough for multiple channels and walk ways to pass through it. She just wanted an easy way out.

They backtracked to the larger room where she had found him, and they took a different path, relying on nothing more than guesses to find their way.

"What happened?" Nyxia asked after a few, unsettling minutes of silence between them. "Like, what did they do to you?"

"They found me in Duscae. I was going to pay a visit to Iris, maybe meet up in Lestallum, but they found me first." They came into another, vast clearance, but even with their lights, it was impossible to see the full expanse of the area they were in. "Naturally, they wanted information. They tried to torture me to get me to tell them either where you were or where the gem was."

"You could have sold me out, but you didn't," Nyxia turn to look at him, slightly amazed. "Why?"

"Because your daddy dearest would have killed me for it," Gladio answered. He stopped, sitting his sword down against the rocky formation. "I need a minute. Those fuckers took a lot out of me."

"Sure." She knew that he didn't like anyone feeling sorry for him, but she did anyway. He went through a lot of pain to keep quiet, and he was brave for that. He had stuck his neck out for her many times over, and even though he griped about it, he didn't stop. She approached an empty basin nearby that was just large enough to fill with water. "Here, let's get you cleaned up, at least." She took some of the potion she had left over and poured it into the small pool. "That should help."

"I can make it quick. We need to keep moving." As Gladio sat by the basin, she knelt beside him. The healing water would replenish him completely once he was cleansed with it. She pulled off her scarf, dipping it into the water before she would carefully run it along the phoenix tattoo on his chest. It was tinted with red and blue by the wounds he had achieved. The blood washed away easily enough, and shortly after, even the discoloration and cuts began to fade. At this rate, he seemed relaxed - until Nyxia moved to take off his vest.

"Relax, Gladio," she said, trying to keep from smiling. "Not like I haven't seen it all already." She heard him snigger through a single syllable. Besides, she was just checking out the rest of his upper body to make sure he was alright. He had a few gashes on his back, and so she cleansed the scarf before she would wipe them clean, as well. "They sure did a number on you," she murmured.

"Kind of like how I did a number on you," Gladio answered. At first, Nyxia thought he was being a smart-ass, but as she looked at him, his eyes had been turning away from her neck. She had almost forgotten about those bruises.

"It wasn't that bad," she said. It wasn't bad at all - in fact, it physically felt awesome. She just wouldn't admit it out loud. Not to mention, her guilt made the memory of it not so great.

"I couldn't help it," he said, and she froze as his hands dipped into the water. The medicine now grazed over her neck, but the gentleness of his hands on her came as a surprise. "I was just so angry at the time, but there was something else. Not just that I wanted you, but I wanted power over you." He sighed. "It sounds shitty when I actually say it, I know."

She didn't expect any compassion to come out of what they had done that night, but to be frank, she was perfectly content with it being just physical. It would only make things more confusing if it was platonic.

"Even now, it's hard not to do bad things to you."

Nyxie felt a shiver split down her spine; it was all she could do not too big for him to listen to his instincts. "Make it easy on yourself, then. Just do it." She felt his grip tighten around her neck, and why the pressure only thrilled her more, she couldn't fully explain, nor did she care to piece it together. She leaned back her head, her body tensing with excitement as he leaned in. Just as she felt his breath hit her skin, a skittering sound stirred in the darkness, breaking their focus.

"What the hell?" He turned his head in the direction. Whatever it was, it sounded big, but it seem to be moving further away. Nyxia got up to her feet, although she was a little light-headed. Once Gladio gathered his things, he moved to follow the noise, and just as soundlessly, she followed. They stopped at the sight of movement ahead, but she only moved once he did. "A reapertail," he informed quietly. "By the looks of it, it's looking for food."

"Which means he's going outside."

"That's right." The pair had to be stealthy and quiet as they followed the scorpion. That was only difficult when it sped up, but soon, the corridor began to show a small bit of illumination, and the volcano's heat begin to emerge again. They made it out, and Nyxia took a second to breathe in the air - while it was hotter than the city of Lestallum, it was better than the cramped air in that cavern.

Then, a shimmer of light caught her eyes; it was a tiny dot in the distance, almost like a star in the rocky hills. It was a torch in the night, and she was fairly certain it belongs to the runaway necromancers. "Where do you suppose they're headed?" Gladio followed her gaze, and suddenly, she was wishing she hadn't pointed them out.

"Let's find out," he said.

"Don't you think we should flag down the others before we go charging in after them?" Nyxia hesitated. She should have known Gladiolus would want swift revenge on those guys.

"Let the boys enjoy their vacation." He was already walking ahead. "Besides, you did pretty good on your own against four of them." She sighed. She wanted her vacation, too. Although, perhaps this gave them some time to make sense out of whatever weird relationship they had.

So, while I do have some more chapters ready to submit, I'm waiting for the weird glitch on FanFiction to stop so I know my followers are getting their e-mails. Meanwhile, I am open to ideas as to what can happen down the road. Should these two get serious? Should it just be a fling? Also, if there's a canon you're interested in seeing that hasn't appeared yet, or another pairing (not really into the boy/boy pairings, I'll be honest), I'm open to suggestions!