Heya beautiful people! Just wanted to say this is the second to last chapter before the outro and, eventually, the second part of this story! Enjoy ^^
Talcott had offered to drive the five of them to the Citadel, expertly avoiding the Daemons crawling at the side of the road. Just like all the others, the young man had come a long way and had fulfilled his dream to become a professional hunter and avenge his grandfather. During the car ride, they got the opportunity to change outfit in the back of the van, boys first and then Iris. Noctis was now wearing his royal outfit, and the rest of them the Kingsglaive garbs, including one for their female party member. It was actually not really meant for her, more like an extra one in case they needed it, and therefore was a bit large for her, but she couldn't complain. Iris had always loved the way the dark outfit looked on the royal guards of King Regis, but loved it even more now seeing how perfectly it fitted Prompto, highlighting his fare skin and blue eyes even more. He had also shaved his goatee, and looked ten years younger now, just like the Prompto she remembered.
"I'm afraid I can't go any further" Talcott said, parking the car at the city gates "But I will be waiting for your return. Because I know you will be victorious today".
They all nodded and smiled at him before walking all together toward the Crown City, where all of them had grown up. Memories from their childhood came rushing to them, almost making them feel sick. They walked past their old school, the park where Prompto used to take pictures of passersby, the café where Ignis used to take them for a good Ebony, Gladio's favorite gym and Noctis and Prompto's meeting spot –the arcade.
Iris felt tears in her eyes when they walked past their parents' house, which was now empty and dark.
The city itself looked just like it had always been before their departure, but everything was dark, and people were completely gone with only Daemons left to walk its countless streets.
"You'll have a lot of work to do after everything's over" Noctis said suddenly.
"You mean you will have a lot of work to do, right? I mean, you're the King here" Prompto replied with a smirk. It was nice to see how he hadn't changed at all even after ten years.
"No. I mean you" Noctis continued sadly "I won't be around to help, I'm afraid".
Upon hearing his words, everyone stopped in their tracks.
"What do you mean?" Gladio asked alarmed.
"I am the King of Light, the chosen one to restore peace and prosperity in Eos with the help of the Six. But that requires a sacrifice" Noctis finally explained after a long pause. His voice was shaking slightly but he refused to break down.
"What?" Prompto was shocked at the thought of losing his best friend again, and this time forever "I won't let that happen to you, buddy!"
"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do" the prince smiled a sad smile "This is our last adventure, guys".
No one spoke after that, too shocked to say anything. Iris wasn't sure she could do this knowing one of her best friends would never return.
They kept walking in silence toward the majestic Citadel that had always been Noctis's home.
"That bastard will pay for this" Gladio said through gritted teeth while taking a look around "For all he's done and will do".
"Let's keep the rage to ourselves for now, yes?" Ignis intervened stoically "You will want to focus on the task ahead, and a clear mind will definitely help much more than jumping into battle without being mentally prepared. We are indeed fighting a formidable foe, who enjoys messing with our heads. Let us not forget that".
"Right" Noctis nodded.
The Daemons they encountered were incredibly powerful, of a type that Iris had never seen before. But Ignis, Gladio and Prompto seemed accustomed to them, having dealt with them for ten years now, and could easily spot their weak points. It took much longer for her and Noctis to get the hang of it.
They took a shortcut through the subway and finally arrived at the Citadel. Ardyn was waiting for them at the top of the stairs, smiling down at them almost in a paternal way.
"So you've all made it" he said calmly "I will be waiting inside, Your Highness". He bowed down at Noctis. "In the meantime, why don't you warm up a bit?"
He snapped his fingers and laughed malevolently before disappearing behind the tall doors to the Citadel. Upon his command, the last god appeared, the only one that had never been tamed by Lady Lunafreya and had never joined Noctis's cause.
Ifrit, the god of fire, was nonchalantly sitting on his throne in the middle of the square, surrounded by blazing flames and lazily staring down at them, as if not considering them worthy opponents.
The five friends stared at each other and then nodded, before proceeding with a direct attack. The Kingsglaive garbs were especially made to resist any elemental magic, but they were not fireproof so they needed to be very careful.
Ignis was dealing a great deal of damage with his ice spells lent to him by Noctis, and the refreshing breeze felt like a balm on their heated skin.
"Nice one, Specs!" Noctis shouted proudly while teleporting around the battleground, dodging the mighty god's attacks. One of his flames, however, managed to find its way to the prince, setting his cloak on fire. Noctis was lying on the floor, desperately trying to roll around to get rid of the flames. Prompto ran by his side and began punching him, managing to put out the fire and effectively rescuing his best friend.
"Thanks, Prompto".
"Hey, no sweat! Aha!" the blonde laughed, stopping when no one joined him "Ehm, got it? Fire – sweat? No? Whatever".
The fight was a fierce one, as the god refused to be defeated by those mortals that he obviously considered inferior. Noctis had had enough, however, and finally called forth the power of his favorite goddess, the icy Shiva.
She elegantly flew among them, stroking their cheeks and sending pleasant chills down their spines before standing to face Ifrit. Her attack was incredibly effective, freezing their foe and allowing them to land the final blow.
When Ifrit disappeared, the square outside the Citadel was half covered in fire and half in ice. The five friends were panting heavily, recovering from the long and strenuous battle.
"And on we go" Noctis was the first to stand up and march toward his home, determined to fulfill his mission.
They finally stepped inside, each one of them remembering a particular episode they had spent within those walls. Iris couldn't believe she had last been at the Citadel ten years ago.
Noctis was now standing in front of the throne room, where they all knew Ardyn would be waiting. He opened the doors without a second thought, with his four friends behind him.
Ardyn was sitting on the throne, smirking at them. But that was not what made their blood boil with anger: on the ceiling he had hung the bodies of King Regis and Lady Lunafreya, a macabre decoration he had chosen to provoke them even more.
"Are you here for the throne, Noct? I'm afraid it only fits one" Ardyn said calmly, his smirk never leaving his face "And what about you, Iris? Did you find out how to use the true powers of the Quicksilver? I bet not".
"Son of a…!"
Gladio never managed to finish his sentence, for Ardyn snapped his fingers once more and they all fell unconscious.
Iris opened her eyes, which felt uncommonly heavy. She wasn't even tired, just very confused. Ardyn must have done something to them so that he could face Noctis alone.
She stood up, making sure Gladio, Ignis and Prompto were still breathing. Iris wasn't sure how long they had been out cold, but everything was strangely calm and quiet. She didn't like it, feeling suddenly very agitated.
"Guys! Guys, wake up!" she shouted, shaking the boys lying motionless on the cold floor.
They began stirring and moving upon hearing her pleading cries, and sat up.
"What the hell happened?" Gladio asked, massaging his head.
"Ardyn" Ignis replied "Where are they now? Ardyn and Noct?"
"I bet they're outside" Prompto stood up first and helped Ignis in the process "Let's go!"
They all rushed through the myriad of doors of the Citadel, their footsteps making contact with the granite floor were the only sound they could hear, until they found themselves crossing the square and reaching the city's main road, where Ardyn's body was lying down, his eyes closed and a single trickle of blood streaming down his face from his forehead. Noctis was kneeling down in front of him.
"You did it" Iris said in a whisper. Noctis nodded at her, but there wasn't any trace of joy on his face.
"What happens now?" Prompto asked worried, knowing fully well what came next.
"I'm going back in" Noctis explained simply, unable to look at them in the eyes.
"So, this is farewell" Ignis spoke suddenly, his voice still calm and stoic. Noctis nodded again, even though he knew Ignis couldn't see him.
Prompto lowered his head, once again words failing him. How did one bid farewell to their best friend –or better- brother? How did one erase the pain and the sorrow that were overwhelming him in that moment? He was so lost in his own thoughts that he barely registered what the King was saying.
"…walk tall, my friends". And, just like that, he was gone behind the majestic doors of the Palace. Prompto couldn't believe it was going to end like that. This was not fair. Was Noctis's dark cloak really the last thing he would see of his friend?
The others were just as sad, and Iris's cheeks were wet with tears but they were suddenly interrupted by the roar of Daemons resurfacing from the darkness.
Prompto let his frustration and anger take over, summoning his guns and firing away first. The others followed suit.
The enemies were many, and kept coming until all they could see was dark figures all around them.
Even doing their very best didn't seem to be enough, and Ignis eventually fell onto the ground, hit by a nasty-looking Red Giant.
"This is not good!" Gladio exclaimed, rushing by Ignis's side to help him stand up "Come on, Noct!"
And then, they saw a soothing light in the distant. Or better, many lights. To their surprise, they were not coming from the Citadel as they had expected, but from the entrance of the city. Countless of candles, torches, flashlights, cars and any other object capable of producing a source of light were being carried by the former citizens of Insomnia.
They were marching neatly side by side, like a disciplined troop, toward the Daemons which began retreating at the sight of their greatest fear.
Iris's eyes widened when she recognized in the first line the faces of her mother and her father, as well as her uncle. And Cor was there too, leading them into the city.
"What's happening?" Ignis asked confused when he realized the Daemons were backing away and the others had fallen silent.
"The citizens of Insomnia… they're all here… with light" Gladio tried to explain, too surprised to add anything else but that seemed to be satisfying enough for Ignis.
"Prompto!"
Prompto's head snapped toward the source of the sound, and he locked eyes with those of his parents, who were now running toward him with tears in their eyes. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out of it. He simply let them embrace him tightly, too overwhelmed to even pat them on the shoulder.
His mother cupped his face and kissed him multiple times on the cheeks before hugging him again.
"I thought… I thought…" she sobbed uncontrollably.
"I'm fine, mom. It's so good to see you" he managed to whisper in her ear, gently stroking her hair.
"I'm so sorry we weren't there to say goodbye! If we had only known…" she cried, but Prompto hushed her with a sweet smile.
"It's ok, mom… dad. I'm just glad you're alright".
"You've grown so much! Look what a fine, young man you've become!" her mother took a step back to take a better look at her son in his Kingsglaive garb, a look of pride in her sparkling eyes. One could hardly tell they were not his real parents right now, for the light in their eyes was identical.
Prompto's father proceeded to ruffle his hair, just as Gladio and Iris's parents approached them.
Unlike Prompto's, Iris's mother and father didn't start crying or running toward them. They simply smiled proudly at their children, giving them a "I knew you'd make it"-look.
They did hug nevertheless, finally reunited after so many years.
Iris shyly waved at some of her old schoolmates she saw among the crowd. She couldn't help but smile when she saw many of them whispering into each other's ears, pointing their fingers at them with a look of awe.
The Daemons behind them were still roaring, having found shelter in the darkness still engulfing the city.
Ignis, Gladio, Iris and Prompto all turned in unison to face them, a look of determination on their faces.
Prompto felt someone grabbing him by the arm. It was his mother.
"It's ok, mom. I've got this" he smiled at her reassuringly, unable to conceal the look of pride on his face. It was time to show them all what he got. That he was not an Imperial who had been adopted by a Lucian family. He was a Lucian, and he was just as strong and worthy as Gladio, Ignis, Iris and Noctis
He briefly glanced sideways and was surprised to see how many familiar faces there were in the crowd, including some of his former teachers and schoolmates, many from high school, even more from elementary school, when they used to bully him all the time for being fat and always on his own, taking stupid pictures of random things and dreaming of becoming the King's guard. He even locked eyes with Regine, the girl who had accepted to go out on a date with him only to ask him to introduce her to Noct.
It was time to prove them all wrong, to prove he had always belonged.
Prompto focused his attention on the massive Daemons in front of him, conjuring his guns and aiming them at the first enemy he saw. He pulled the trigger and then it was mayhem.
The Daemons didn't dare getting too close to the lights, and so Ignis and Gladio, who all wielded close-range weapons, were forced to step into the darkness to stand a chance against them as Prompto and Iris kept shooting from afar. Prompto was grinning widely as he used a whole clip on a particularly tough Naga in the close distance, sending it K.O. shortly after. However, he didn't expect a Red Giant to step out of the darkness and charge straight at him.
"Prompto, look out!"
He heard many people screaming his name, and he turned just in time to see the huge monster aiming its fist at him.
Prompto dodged the attack by rolling out of the way, just in time to see the fist hit the exact spot where he had been standing mere moments before.
"You OK?" Iris asked, running toward him. Prompto gave her the thumbs up to signal he was unharmed, and decided it was time to fight with all he got. No more messing around, or he would be dead meat before Noct could restore Light.
However, he couldn't help but smirk when he noticed the look of pure hatred that Regine sent in Iris's way when she had approached him to check up on him.
"Someone you know?" Iris whispered in his ear, locking eyes with the girl staring at them in the crowd. Apparently, Iris had noticed too.
"Ehm, an old acquaintance" Prompto winked at her and returned to focus on the Red Giant, which was preparing to strike again. To his horror, he noticed how the Daemon was not targeting him or Iris, but the crowd itself. It probably wanted to get rid of all that light before it was too late.
"Crap!" he shouted, running to stand between the monster and the citizens.
"What the hell are you doing, Prompto?" Iris shouted back, but then understood what was going on. "Crap, indeed". Iris quickly grabbed her stone and held it up in the air. To her immense relief, it seemed to work for the Red Giant was now paralyzed in the process of trying to get rid of the innocent crowd with its mighty fist.
"Nice one, Ir!" Prompto grinned at her, before instructing the crowd to move further down the street, away from danger.
"I'm so sorry for calling you a loser back in school, dude" a robust guy said to Prompto, eying his uniform in awe "You're freakin' awesome!"
"Eh, thanks, I guess?" Prompto laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.
The girl, Regine, took her chance and rushed to Prompto's side, stuffing a piece of paper in a pocket of his long, black coat. "My number" she winked at him seductively, and Iris felt the blood boil in her veins.
"Prompto, whenever you're done flirting maybe you might wanna come and help?" she said angrily, sensing that the spell of the Quicksilver was about to crumble.
"There in a jiffy!" he yelled and ran back to where the Red Giant was quickly breaking free.
Prompto made sure Gladio and Ignis were still doing fine by quickly glancing in their direction, and then proceeded to shoot more rounds at the gigantic monster.
Iris worked with him, occasionally dodging the Daemon's deadly attacks until it fell on its knees and vanished into the darkness.
"Wohoo!" Prompto wiped the sweat from his forehead, giving a victory sign to his parents who were still staring in their direction with a look of pure shock and awe on their faces "Nice job, Ir!"
But the girl wasn't listening to him. The Quicksilver was glowing like never before, sending crimson sparkles in every direction.
"Iris, is that…?"
Iris's father had approached her daughter, staring intently at the stone she was holding in her hand.
"The legendary Quicksilver… How did you get it?" Cor joined the conversation.
"It's a long story" the girl shrugged her shoulders "I think it's trying to tell me something".
"You must go and help the King" her father said firmly, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes "It is your job as a guardian. Help the King restore the Light. It is time to fulfill your duty, my child".
"What am I supposed to do?" Iris asked back, confused. She had no idea what it was required of her.
"If the legends are true, the stone will guide you. Just go!" her father gave her an encouraging smile.
"Iris, where're you going?" Prompto yelled after her when he noticed the girl running toward the Citadel.
"Just hold those bad guys back for me, will ya? I'll be back soon!" she shouted back at him in response.
Prompto couldn't help but be worried, as last time she had told him she would be back soon, she had returned after ten years.
I had lots of fun writing this chapter and the following ones! I know it doesn't really show it in the anime, but for some reason I imagine young Prompto to be constantly bullied in school because of his weight and poor social skills. And I wanted him to get his revenge *v*
Next Chapter: following the directions given by the Quicksilver, Iris will soon need to make a choice. The most important in her life. With Noctis having only seconds to live, will she manage to help him restore Light as well as save his life? [!Final Chapter!]