SITE. BEHAVE. STOP KEEPING ME FROM UPDATING.

Gladio couldn't help but feel like something was off. He could understand the King sending Prompto home, but Cor? Now? While Noctis was so close to being killed? It didn't add up. Not with Cor not having a scratch on him. And Ulric too? That Glaive had single-handedly just stopped Loqi from escaping. Not that Gladio thought the King was stupid. Of course not. Which was why none of this made any sense whatsoever.

Unless… unless he was missing something. But what?

"Any sign of them?" The King spoke in his normal tone, but Gladio knew he was talking to that other Glaive over the comm. Penelo or Pimento or something. Without the snipers up there to get a better view, the King had ordered the Glaive to take position on another nearby building so he could see deeper into the upper floor of the arcade.

"Just the woman. She's…"

"She's what?" Gladio's dad pressed.

"…She's playing on the pinball machine, sir."

"You have got to be kidding me," Gladio muttered. She was playing a game? What the hell was the deal with these mercenaries? It was like they didn't even care if their mission succeeded or failed.

"Other than that, still no sign of the others. They must still be in the back on the first floor."

"Doing what, exactly?" the King wondered, his gaze lingering on the phone on the table next to his right hand.

Gladio was following his line of thought. Why hadn't the Imperial asked for another phone call yet? Was he trying to come up with another plan? Probably, but given what they'd seen of this guy so far, he should have called to make more threats or something. He couldn't think they could hide back there all day–

Bang.

All heads turned in the direction of the restaurant.

Shit.

That was a gunshot.

The King's posture straightened. "Converge! Every Guard and Glaive–"

"I have eyes on the Prince!" the Glaive up high said. "Majesty, he's gesturing for us to stay back."

The King scowled harshly. "Any sign of Ignis?"

"No, Sire."

The King hesitated, and Gladio's mind raced. If Noctis wanted them to stay back, it had to be for a reason. Maybe the Imperial was threatening Ignis? Would the King take the chance of rushing in now to save Noctis?

"Hold positions!" the King ordered.

It was pure instinct from all the training he'd had over the years that let him warp away in time not to get shot again. Loqi was aiming to kill him. He wasn't even threatening. The Imperial had actually snapped.

Noctis overturned a table, ducking behind it.

Wait.

He was close to the door. Somebody outside could probably see him.

Crap. That gunshot was gonna have the whole Glaive and Guard in here without them knowing what was going on. They might kill Biggs and Aranea, or Loqi might shoot Ignis if he saw them coming.

Frantically, Noctis waved through the window behind him, gesturing for whoever could see him to stay back before throwing his sword at the stairs. He ran smack into Aranea, who was just entering the room.

"Whoa, what the hell is going on down here?"

"Loqi's lost his mind and is trying to kill everyone," Noctis blurted out, not waiting for a reply before gabbing Aranea's hand and dragging her back behind the same table.

"Where. Is. Biggs."

"On the floor shot in the kitchen," Noctis hissed. Footsteps. Loqi was almost to the eating room. "He tried to stop Loqi from torturing Ignis, and Loqi just started shooting!"

"Oh, that asshole is so dead!" Aranea flicked her wrist, her lance appearing in a flash of red light.

Wait, what? How did– never mind. Not right now.

"Don't! He's still got Iggy in there too – he might just shoot them both before we get to him!"

"You got a better plan, then, Highness?"

Yeah. Yeah, he did.

Loqi was here.

"I'll lure him upstairs – you get to the kitchen!" Noctis didn't give her time to say anything. He threw his sword back at the stairwell, ducking as another bullet hit near him.

That was an absolutely terrible plan, but Aranea wasn't given a choice in going along with it as the Prince warped away and started dodging bullets as he headed up the stairs.

Aranea waited until she was sure Loqi was following him before she vaulted over the table and sprinted into the kitchen. "Biggs?"

"…'Ere…" came the weak, pained reply.

She wouldn't have needed it, as she almost tripped over him right then.

"Shit, Biggs…" She crouched down, narrowing her eyes at the wound he was covering with his painted-red hands.

"The kid…" he mumbled. "Check on 'im…"

"I will, in a minute." Dammit, that was not a good place to get shot. He needed real help, not field help.

"Lady A…" Biggs' voice gained some strength as he looked up at her. "Finish this. Now. Please."

Aranea paused before giving a slow nod. This should have ended a long time ago, and if it didn't end now, Biggs would die. "You hang in there until I get back, all right?"

Biggs gave a weak smile, his breath shaky. "Promise I'll try."

"You better do more than try," she said as she stood, looking around for Specs. He wasn't hard to find, and thankfully not harmed.

…Except he was a shivering ball on the floor.

Okay. Maybe he was harmed, but he wasn't dying, at least, was he?

Her foot caught on a turned-over pitcher of water as she approached, and Specs coughed weakly right then, telling her exactly what had happened.

"Specs? Ignis?" She knelt beside him, very slowly setting a hand on his shoulder.

He flinched at her touch, not looking entirely coherent as he found her face.

She started cutting the ropes on his hands without any further delay. "Specs? Hey, it's okay now. He's not gonna do that to you again. Can you hear me?"

He blinked a few times. "I… I hear you. Yes."

Well, in a near trance-like state was better than completely zoned out, at least.

"…Where's Noct?"

Maybe this would be what he needed to snap back into focus. "Upstairs with Loqi. We need to hurry."

Specs tried to lurch to his feet, but she wasn't done with his restraints yet.

"Easy!" She cut through the last of the rope and helped him to his feet. "You've just been through a trauma – you need to take things slow!"

"I can't afford to take things slowly," he mumbled, trying to get moving. She walked with him, keeping him from falling over. "Noct needs me…"

"Well, he doesn't need you like this." She dug her fingers further into his arm as his legs wobbled.

He shook his head, clearly trying to get a hold of himself. "Loqi… he won't stop… he's lost all reason."

"Yeah, I noticed." She spared Biggs a glance as they passed him. Specs didn't even seem to notice he was there. "Look, we're gonna help the Prince, just let me take the lead, okay?" She pulled ahead of him, still keeping a grip on his arm as they headed for the stairs.

She didn't hear a struggle from upstairs, and she wasn't sure whether to take that as a positive or negative sign. She was nearly dragging Specs up the stairs as they climbed, somehow managing to keep her balance while keeping her lance at the ready.

"Noct?" Specs called, and Aranea winced at the rasp in his usually smooth voice.

"Oh, he's here."

Dammit. Loqi.

Aranea doubled her pace, hauling Specs up the last few steps. She found Loqi as soon as they entered the room

His eyes were feral as he stood picture still, his knife poised to end the Prince's life as he kept a hand around the back of his neck. Given the way the Prince's nose was bleeding, Aranea guessed Loqi had managed to stun him with a punch to the face.

"Loqi," Aranea growled. "It's over. Don't be stupid. Kill him and the King of Insomnia will have your head. You won't gain anything by killing him now."

"Perhaps not personally." Loqi tightened his grip on the back of the Prince's neck, making the boy's lips part with a hiss of pain. "But I will end the line of Lucis. That crippled old King can't last for many more years. In the long run, I'll have assured the Empire's victory."

"For Astrals' sake, Loqi, he's a kid!" Aranea tightened her grip on her lance with one hand while her other made sure Ignis wasn't about to charge forwards and do something stupid.

Loqi laughed psychotically. "Well, I'd say he grew up quite a bit today! Besides… we all started earlier in this game, didn't we? War tends to destroy childhoods. Why should the beloved Prince of Lucis be any different?"

He started to raise his knife to strike.

"Loqi," she warned.

"I'll give you the information you seek!" Specs blurted out, pulling against Aranea's hold but not breaking free. "All of it! You can pass it along to your superiors – just don't harm him!"

Loqi hesitated. "Oh? Would you now? So, your true weakness divulges itself."

"Perhaps." Ignis coughed on his raspy words again. "Release him, and I'll speak."

"Yes, I'm certain you would. Right after Highwind drives her lance through my heart, no doubt." Loqi laughed again with that on-the-edge-of-a-mental-breakdown tone. "You're right – I have no way out. But I can take Lucis down with me."

Loqi raised his knife again, right as Aranea spotted the red dot trailing over his torso.

Aranea expected Specs to lunge after Loqi. He didn't. Instead, he plowed into her, shoving her with what little strength he must have had at the moment as both the windows to the arcade shattered.

Nyx watched the scene before him with baited breath, not wanting anything he did to throw off the snipers he was now guarding. Even with them moved to a different building and the King being the only one who knew they were there, the King wanted extra protection for the Marshal and Argentum as they did their delicate work. Nyx wasn't watching the area at the moment, though. No, he was currently relaying the play-by-play to the King as the Prince of Lucis was getting his ass handed to him by that damn Imperial. Not that the Prince ever stood a chance considering it was his first real fight and he clearly had a bullet wound in his arm.

Nyx winced as the Imperial landed a punch to the Prince's face.

Argentum hissed. "I can't get a clear shot – they're moving around too much!"

"Stay calm. Keep trying," the Marshal said, though he was obviously having the same problem.

Nyx was itching to just rush the building, but that might straight up get the Prince killed, and he was too far away anyway.

…Especially since the Imperial had won and was holding onto the Prince at knife point.

Nyx barely avoided swearing as he relayed that to the King too.

"If you get the shot, take it." The King's voice was low, probably so no one else could hear him but the three of them.

The Prince's struggling ceased after a few moments, and Nyx thought the Marshal might be about to put a bullet in the Imperial's head, but then the female mercenary burst into the arcade, her lance drawn as she kept Scientia in her grip.

Nyx wanted to punch the air. Both their people in one room, and two of their captors within the sights of the snipers they didn't even know were there. Wherever the last mercenary was, it wasn't close enough.

Loqi was going to be a tough shot, though, given the angle and distance and how much of his body was covered by the Prince – Nyx could tell that without even using guns.

"Both of you, shoot as soon as you are able," the King ordered immediately upon hearing that the woman was in the room too.

"I-I've got the shot when you do, um, sir," Argentum said, his hands surprisingly steady compared to his voice.

The Marshal didn't have the shot. He was quiet for a moment, and then adjusted his aim by way more than a little. "Prompto, trade targets."

"What?" Argentum squawked.

"You heard me." Cor was already taking aim at the woman instead. "You'll have to be very precise. The target window is going to be much smaller."

"Then why am I the one doing it?" Argentum demanded.

"Because you're a better shot than I am and I won't jeopardize the Prince's life any more than I have to."

Holy… That was more than high praise coming from the Marshal.

"Y-yes, sir…" Argentum shifted. "Finding the shot now…"

Nyx frowned down at the scene in the arcade. Why did it look like the mercenary and Loqi were almost facing off?

"I have the shot," Argentum said shakily.

"Take it," the Marshal ordered, and a second later, two gunshots split the air.

Nyx watched with almost a proud grin as Loqi fell away from the unharmed Prince. This kid was going to make one hell of a Crownsguar–

"Shit!"

Nyx actually flinched at the Marshal's swearing. Oh, Astrals, what? Nyx turned his attention back to the arcade. The Marshal never lost his composure like that.

"Cor? What is it?" the King demanded, voice no longer hushed.

Nyx found the answer just as the Marshal said it.

"I hit Ignis." The Marshal shoved away from his gun, pushing himself to his feet and heading for the stairs. "I repeat: Scientia is down. Medical teams into that building, now!"

Dammit. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

Scientia was down, all right, but Nyx very much doubted it was because the Marshal missed the shot. The mercenary was trying to stop the bleeding alongside the Prince.

Scientia had taken that hit for her at the last second.

Nyx was about to head after the Marshal when he noticed Argentum was still on his stomach on the floor, unmoving.

"Kid?" Nyx knelt down next to him, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Hey, kid, it's all right. You did great. You saved the Prince's life. You can let go of the gun now." He got no response, so he gently began to pry the gun from the boy's hands. "Come on, let go… there you go…"

Argentum swallowed, his hands shaking now that they were free.

"It's okay." Nyx took his hands to help them stay still. "First time is… pretty difficult. But you'll be okay. Everything is gonna be fine."

"But Iggy…" Argentum choked out.

Nyx helped him up. "Yeah, let's go down and check him, okay?"

"Okay…"

Nyx put an arm around the kid's shoulders, steering him away from the window.

This wasn't over quite yet.

Hey guys! I made another video tribute to this wonderful game. :) Please check it out if you have time! It's on youtube as "I Don't Have Any Regrets | FFXV"