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...
The wind blew in their hair as they drove down the streets of Duscae on their way toward Lestallum. Gladiolus was in a bitter mood but he kept it internal. Cindy was able to find the Regalia and he was right in assuming the Empire had taken it. The location: Aracheole Stronghold. The base was big and he was a little upset that the Imperials had started to make themselves at home, however, Ignis had managed to keep them out of trouble until they actually found the car, having them cloaked in the night and using Noctis's warp strike ability to kill any MagiTek troopers that would get in the way. They were very fortunate to have those skills on their side.
Once they had cleared the troopers and found the car they were caught. They were able to wipe out their enemies and then went after the power source. It was a tough battle, almost a losing one, but Noctis's new skill with summoning astrals managed to turn the tide. Gladiolus was there to feel the presence of Titan when he awoke and was trying to attack them. Now he saw as the Fulgarian unleashed his wrath upon their enemies. He was bigger than anything Gladio had ever seen, bald with a flowing white beard and a staff, wiping out the Niflheim forces without even breaking a sweat. As they came to the car they were met with none other than the High Commander, Ravus Nox Fleuret. Lunafreya's brother had a serious grudge against Noctis, something consuming him about the past. Ravus was easily able to deflect Gladiolus, and ever since they had left the scene - again thanks to the Chancellor - the Shield was silently brooding to himself about his failure. Ravus seemed to have some sort of mechanical arm and Gladio's abdomen still hurt from where he was struck. He couldn't believe he was so easily tossed aside like he was nothing but a fly.
A weak shield protects naught.
Ravus's voice taunted his mind. Frowning, he was toying with Athenacia's necklace around his wrist. Just another reminder of his failures. What sort of Shield was he if he couldn't even stand up to a punk like Ravus? To be so easily pushed away by one man? Gladio always feared he wasn't strong enough he, just never knew that it was actually true. All of this, he kept to himself, wouldn't trouble the others with something they couldn't understand, nor they could help with. So he kept his eyes distant on the scenery, deciding that he should check on Iris in Lestallum. The others were quick to agree that stopping in the city and seeing familiar faces was the best course of action. As they arrived in the parking spot the sun was beginning to set. Seemed like perfect timing, they could get some rest in the hotel for the night. No one else appeared to be too defeated so Gladiolus pushed his thoughts from his mind, tucking in the tree disc and following them towards the hotel. Iris was standing the lobby and she looked completely distraught. Something had happened to her and he immediately felt defensive.
"Oh Gladdy," she was near tears.
"What's wrong?" he was concerned.
"I let you down, I never made it to Caem," her tears fell down her cheeks, "The Empire came while you were gone."
"Gladio!" someone frantically shoved passed Prompto and towards him.
"Gin?" Gladiolus regarded the pregnant nurse curiously, looking between her and his sister.
"They took her Gladio, they have Cia!" said Gin in a panicked tone.
"What?!"
That only caused Iris to cry more. Gladio felt like he was struck another devastating blow by Ravus. Athenacia was alive... She was here in Lestallum... and now in the hands of the Emperor. What was going on here?
"Perhaps we should continue this conversation away from any possible unwanted company," suggested Ignis.
Gladiolus nodded, letting Iris lead the way up the stairs and toward her hotel room. Once they stepped inside he hovered over his sister who was sitting in a chair. The girl had done nothing but cry for who knew how long, making guilt ear away at him. He looked over at Gin, who was carefully seated on the bed with a hand on her swollen womb, moving awkwardly and seemed to have some back pain.
"Tell us what happened," said Ignis gently.
"They stormed us all, brought us together and started asking us where you were," began Gin.
"None of us said a word about Noct. They just showed up and then... poor Jared," said Iris
"What do you mean? What happened to Jared?" asked Gladiolus, trying to keep a lid on his own rage.
"There was nothing we could do!" cried Iris.
The tone of her voice told him everything he needed to know, confirmed when Gin was unable to face him. Gladio tightened his fists at his side, hating that once again he was powerless to stop the Empire. They heard a sound at the door, snapping his attention towards it. Talcott was in tears as he stood there, opening it slowly and that only made the Shield feel worse. Noctis walked to the young man who was wiping his tears with his arm. The Prince knelt down so that he was eye level with Talcott.
"It not right," said Noctis, "We should have been here."
"I couldn't stop them," whined Talcott.
"But I won't let the Empire get away with it. They'll pay for what they've done. I promise."
That appeared to make the boy feel better, "I believe in you, Prince Noctis," he said before fresh tears occupied his face and he walked away.
"You said they took Dr. Virum?" Ignis looked towards the pregnant nurse Gin.
"It should have been me," said Iris.
"What does that mean?" asked Gladiolus in fury.
"When they weren't getting answers about the Prince they started asking where Iris was," began Gin, "I opened up my big mouth and they were going to kill me too. But Cia stood and said she was Iris. She offered herself as a hostage in exchange for them to leave."
"So she was here all along?" asked Prompto.
"No she left after she drove us here," answered Iris.
"You said a nurse got you here?" stated the Shield, frowning.
"Gladio she looked different. She had long black hair and it was hiding her scar. But I know her face, I know it was her," supplied Gin.
"Long black hair?"
"Sounds like she was trying to hide herself," mused Ignis.
"Why would she do that?" asked Prompto.
"We cannot be certain unless we ask her."
"You have to save her, Gladdy," Iris cried more, "None of us would be here if it wasn't for her..."
"I wouldn't be here either..." said Gin sadly, "Nor would my child."
Gladiolus wore a scowl on his face. As much as he wanted to rush after her, it wasn't his decision, he had a job to do, a duty as Sworn Shield. Looking over at Noctis, who had a hard look on his face with everything he had learned tonight, they shared a small look before the Prince walked to the pregnant nurse that was having trouble sitting with her awkward size. Placing a hand on the woman's shoulder, she looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
"We'll get her back," said Noctis, trying to assure the woman.
Gin nodded, "Thank you, Highness," she cried.
...
Gladiolus was on the terrace breathing in the night air, holding the necklace that was brought to him by Umbra. Thoughts raced as he stared intently at the silver chain. This entire time she was wandering around on her own. Who was she hiding from? What happened? Why hadn't she contacted anyone? Athenacia even hid her identity from Iris, knowing that she was his sister. Why? He didn't have answers, only she did. Twice now she had saved his sister, the first time by getting her to Lestallum and just now by offering herself up. Gladio was obligated to help her and he knew that even if Noctis hadn't agreed to it, he would have gone off by himself anyway. The Prince had managed to get to sleep, same with Prompto. Iris had gone to her own room with Talcott and Gin had returned to the hospital for work. Ignis was still awake but the Shield had no idea what he was up to, still toying with the necklace, fixated on it and the thought of her still being alive. They hadn't a chance to talk about their next move, it was getting late and he wasn't even sure where to start. Ignis had stepped out onto the terrace, leaning against the rail and looking out over the city. Gladiolus waited, knowing that the man was probably thinking of a way for them to move forward.
"Have you contacted the Marshal?" asked Ignis.
"Not yet," replied Gladio, not taking his eyes away from his hands.
"Perhaps he could enlighten us as to a location. He would be relieved to know the status of her well being."
Gladiolus grunted, wishing he had thought of that but he was plagued by so many things as of late, he wasn't really shocked that he didn't. Pulling out his phone, he fired off a quick message to Cor, not even sure what the Marshal could be doing at this hour but it was important. Thankfully, it didn't take long for him to call.
"Cor," said Gladiolus.
"Where is she?" asked Cor.
"On the move, the Empire has her."
"What?!"
"They came to Lestallum. They killed Jared trying to find us and they were going to take Iris. Cia offered herself as a hostage using Iris's name. I don't know where they went, no one does."
"If they think she's Iris they'll plan on using her as bait to get to you."
Gladio sighed, "Yeah, that's what I figured."
"I'll have a look around here and get back to you tomorrow morning."
He hung up the phone before Gladiolus had a chance to reply. Pocketing the phone, he gripped the necklace tighter. Ignis didn't say anything, didn't ask about the conversation, knowing that if there was something important then the Shield would have communicated it to him. Instead, he put a hand on his shoulder a moment before going back inside the room. Gladiolus went back to toying with that necklace. It seemed to calm his nerves a little as thoughts continued to race through his head. They were all negative, only uncertain scenarios concerning Athenacia and what the Empire was doing to her. The Shield knew that she wouldn't talk, especially since she was the only one here who hadn't seen them even running around. Iris said the nurse who saved them took off outside of the city, which could only mean that she was passing by and got caught up in this mess. She was protecting Iris and the others here.
A weak shield protects naught.
Gladiolus tightened a fist. He wasn't weak and he was going to prove it; he was going to find Athenacia and bring her somewhere safe. He was going to make sure that no one close to him would even run the risk of getting hurt again. He was going to protect them, and Noctis, because he wasn't weak, he just wasn't. Even if the lingering pain of the hit he sustained was still causing him to wince once in a while. Gladio wasn't going to let anything get in his way, he was going to take them all out.
...
The morning came far too slow and Gladiolus was dozing in a chair. Anxiety kept him awake, so instead he stayed silent and eventually started reading another one of Athenacia books. The Shield ate through it in no time and then began his dozing but once the light hit his eyes he was up and alert. That wasn't the story with everyone else, however. Noctis, though restless in his sleep was still out. Prompto was stirring and Ignis was just getting up. Gladio wasn't going to rush Noctis, happy that the Prince was willing to go rescue her from the grasp of their enemy. Still, he was impatiently waiting for Cor to call him. Ignis didn't speak as he prepared himself for the day. Prompto finally opened up his eyes and then started to move around. Noctis was the only one left. Still, it wasn't like they could do anything until the Marshal had contacted them.
Gladiolus decided to leave the room, going toward the stairs and out of the hotel building. While walking, he was looking for any sign of unfriendly attention, not wanting the Empire to come back and sneak up on them. Eventually, they would find out that they didn't have the real Iris Amicitia and might want to do a double take. The Shield still couldn't believe that the doctor had done that, that she was the reason his sister had made it this far in the first place. It should have been him, he should have been the one to take care of his own family. No one would blame him, doing his duty to Noctis, but that didn't help his guilt. The Shield's wandering took him into the hospital, through the emergency department and into the waiting room. There were lots of patients here still, flooding the room with the ordeal that happened, however. Gladiolus spotted Gin quickly and motioned for her to come see him. The nurse swiftly darted to him, walking with him outside where it was less crowded. That worried frown remained on her face as she held his arm in desperation for some good news. He wished that he had some for her, he truly did. It was lucky that she was here at all or he was sure that they wouldn't have known about Athenacia's presence.
"Did you find her?" asked Gin.
"Cor's looking into it," replied Gladiolus.
Gin had tears in her eyes, "You have to find her..." she whimpered.
Gladiolus put a hand on her shoulder, "I won't stop until I do."
The nurse nodded then, hugging him and awkwardly burying her face in his chest - awkward because there was a small house where her womb used to be. Gladio tried to comfort her as best as he could before she finally took a breath and composed herself, wiping her tears as she looked back at him.
"I need you to tell me every detail. You said she looks different," said Gladiolus.
"Yeah, yeah, she's got long black hair now."
'How long?"
"It was braided off to the side so it only hung at her ribs."
Gladiolus frowned. There was no way it had grown that long in this short time.. had it? No, Iris said it was long and black too and that was the day after the city had fallen. Something seemed off about all of this.
"Anything else?"
"She cut herself some crooked bangs so that they were practically hiding her face. That braid hides her scar too, it was like she was trying to be a completely different person..."
"And this is the first time you saw her?"
"Yeah. I had no idea she was in the city. I wouldn't even if I did, only because I saw her face clearly I was able to identify her before they took her."
Gladiolus nodded, "Thanks, Gin."
"If you need anything else..."
"I know."
"Bring her back safe."
"Trust me, I will."
...
Cor had spent the entire night out since Gladiolus's phone call. The Marshal was in Duscae at the time and began to travel toward Leide as soon as he had gotten off the phone. He thought he was tracking Athenacia here in the Duscae region, on his way toward Lestallum. The trail was cold but it seemed that he was on the right track. No one had seen her, she was very careful about her interactions, but someone did mention a scared looking girl with long black hair in an old beat up truck. Cor wasn't entirely sure that was her, but it was the closest lead that he could follow. The only solace he took in this was that if he couldn't find Athenacia, then no one else could - not that he would stop trying either but being unable to turn up anything made it easier for him to sleep at night.
Not tonight, however. Gladiolus had informed him that the Empire came to Lestallum and she was spotted, protecting the people there. The Empire was going to use her as bait in the hopes of having the Prince and his Shield come after her, there was no denying that. Someone would eventually catch on that she wasn't actually Iris and by that time the young girl would be safe in Caem. Then they would try to kill Athenacia and continue their search for the Prince and the others. That was the best case scenario, the alternative mean something much more catastrophic. This just meant that the countdown was on. Cor was going to find her long before they had a chance to think about it and get her to the safe house in Caem. Then he would know where she was and what she was doing, giving him some sort of peace. There was no way to protect her if he was unsure of her whereabouts and finally, that was going to change. Cor knew for sure that he saw that big giant blue dome or else Athenacia wouldn't have gone into hiding.
As he was coming up to the barrier between Duscae and Leide he noted that there were more forces flying above his head. Cor knew where they were headed, toward that base that the hunter, Dave, had told him about. That seemed to be the only logical place to take anyone after Noctis took out the stronghold in Duscae. Frowning, the Marshal sped up on his bike, hoping to make it to Hammerhead before Dave did. He needed all the help he could get scouting the area before he knew for sure that she was in there. Cor approached the garage of Hammerhead just as the sun was beginning to peek its way over the horizon. The morning air was still and quiet as the Marshal scanned the area for any familiar faces. The barking dog led him behind the garage, the animal lying at Dave's feet. The hunter was leaning against the building with his arms crossed, looking up to acknowledge the company while Cor raised a brow at him expectantly.
"Someone is there, not sure if it's her," said Dave.
"What makes you say that?" asked Cor.
"Can't see her face but she's got long hair like you said. Only its dark, not that light colour."
"Who's got her?"
"Caligo and Loqi. Didn't see anyone else official there but they were roughin' her up a bit. Reckon they didn't like anything she was sayin' to 'em."
"She does have an attitude problem," conceded Cor, "You see where they're keeping her?"
Dave shook his head, "Had to leave, the local wildlife was hungry."
Cor grunted, "Thanks," he said once before turning to leave.
"You're going to need some backup, Cor, you can't go in there alone and hope to survive. Immortal or not," said Dave matter of factly.
"I'll keep that in mind," replied the Marshal without looking back.
...
Cor ducked down from more dreadnaughts flying their way overhead. Construction on the fort not too far away was nearly complete, but this small base was the only way they could operate the territory. It seemed that there were more Niffs here than the last time he had come to check in. His eyes darted toward the guards along the perimeter, taking it all in before walking around it while keeping to the shadows. There was no visible weak spot in the daylight so he knew instantly that he was going to have to wait until the cloaking of night. As he came in a full circle he frowned. Dave was right, there were far too many of them to take on by himself. He wasn't even sure which building she was being held in, they all looked the same. The delay was also concerning, Loqi very capable of recognizing Athenacia and raising the stakes. As long as they thought she was Iris then there wasn't much to worry about. Who knew exactly what was going on in there? His eyes darkened as he saw Tummelt coming out of one of the buildings, talking to a man obscured by the sunlight. It seemed to be a short conversation, then Loqi left through the heavily guarded gate in a vehicle. One down, one to go. Cor still couldn't see that other man but he disappeared into the same building.
Shortly after, Caligo came out with two soldiers behind him. They were forcing someone roughly down the path and toward the back exit. The Marshal kept his eyes trained on them and followed at his own distance. It was the woman Dave had described and Cor caught sight of her face. Definitely Athenacia, there was no mistaking it. Her hair was long and black, wavy and being grabbed by the fistful by his enemy. Her face was hard, that same defiant glare in her hazel eyes he came to know on a regular basis while raising her. Cor scowled as he saw Caligo give her a swift backhand, looking like it could break her neck. He didn't hear the contact but he was sure it was ugly. Athenacia instantly turned her head toward him and spit blood in his face. Cor smiled at her actions before she was struck again in the abdomen and forced into the building. Good, now he knew where she was.
The Immortal continued to observe, looking at the defences they implemented around her. The lack of guard meant they didn't see her as much of a threat. Maybe they didn't know who she really was. That suited him just fine, but the path toward her was a little concerning. Cor continued to gather his intel for at least another couple of hours before he was completely satisfied. With one last circle of the perimeter, he was sure he had everything he needed. Carefully, he pulled out of the area a little way, not wanting to attract attention to himself. Once he was in some sort of cover he grabbed his phone from his pocket and unlocked the screen.
Cor stared at the screen for a few moments, frowning. The idea of involving the others made things complicated. This was something he had been trying to avoid for years and yet, now he was here. As much as he hated to admit it, he could use their help and was certain that the Shield would be inquiring about his girlfriend soon. In the end, it was just easier to call him.
"Cor," grunted Gladiolus.
He was obviously not in a great mood.
"I found her," said Cor.
"Where?"
"Meet me Longwythe Outpost, I'll fill you there."
"We're on our way."
Cor hung up the phone before they could speak more, replacing it in the pocket and let out a heavy sigh. If they were in Lestallum even Ignis would take most of the day to get where they needed to be - which was perfect for a night assault. Since there was nothing more to do here, he decided to head back and keep an eye on things. By the time he had to leave he was sure he would have a way in and out with minimal issues, but he was also ready to take out every single last one of them if need be. He was not going to fail Athenacia anymore than he already had.
...
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