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...
A raging wind blew through her hair, dirt coming to blind her eyes. Hissing at the pain, she wiped her angry tears and looked at the littered bodies strewn around her. They all had faces, faces that were contorted into agony at the death that had befallen them. The deaths that she was unable to stop because she was far too weak, because she couldn't lead anyone to do anything other than get killed. Her bag was clutched to her chest for dear life as she heard the terrifying roar of her enemy, those bright glowing red eyes coming for her and the rest of them. She had to save them, had to stop them from getting killed. Jaw set, she began to run toward the crying of humans in the distance. Debris smacked her from every direction and she whimpered, clenching her body and trying to push past the pain. It was a struggle to stay on her feet, wincing at the wind that tore apart at her skin. She kept going, trying to find her target. She had to save them, she couldn't let them all fall. Tears welled into her eyes as she pushed past the damaged buildings and enemies that were running around in confusion. A particularly large piece of debris slammed into her, making her cry out and fade into the wind. That bag was still clutched to her chest as she attempted to catch her breath.
Pushing herself to her feet, she took a quick assessment of the world around her. The target was in her ears and she was trying to stop the fear that took over her body as the giant glowing red eyes grew closer. Releasing a huge breath she began her chase again, doing what she could to try to avoid any obstacles that wished to bar her path. She still had her bag because if she didn't then no one would survive. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she ran toward her destination. The devastation all around her rang loudly in her ears when she heard the screaming persist. An ominous shadow stood before her and she stopped dead in her tracks, reaching for her weapon - but she couldn't move. The angry red sky cast thunder throughout it but she couldn't move. Drawing in shaky, shallow breaths she watched it moved its hand. The gleam of a blade was made visible but she could not move. An all too familiar sinister laugh sounded in her ears and she tried desperately to reach for her weapon. But still, she couldn't move, could only watch in horror as the blade rose high into the red sky and then strike her down with ease. She screamed but no sound came out as blood poured out of her body. Her legs trembled before they failed her and the ground split apart to swallow her whole. All the while the sinister laugh rang in her ears.
Athenacia drew in a deep breath, opening her eyes with a start and struggling to catch her breath. Immediately she put her hand to her neck, trying desperately to feel for the blood was the spilling out of her, nearly hyperventilating as her eyes had trouble focusing.
"Doc!"
The girl grunted as she smashed her knees against the dash of her truck, still unable to wrest her vision from the red sky that haunted her.
"You're okay," she heard Gladiolus's soothing voice shortly after. Athenacia felt him try to reach for her but she jumped as far away as she could, only managing to hit her head on the window, "Doc, you're fine," he tried again. She was still having trouble breathing but slowly the red was fading and she was starting to get an idea of where she was, "I got you, Doc, you're okay," he said again, only offering his hand out to her. The doctor stared at it for a moment, the black ink of the feathers from his tattoo registering in her mind, "Everything is fine," he assured her once more, waiting patiently for her to respond.
"Gladio..." her voice was breathless as she calmed herself down.
"Yeah, it's me. You're okay," his voice was still soft and soothing as he spoke to her.
Athenacia was still breathing a little heavy but her hazel eyes travelled up his arm that only grew in his tattoo and then to his face that would turn to look to her for a brief moment before going back to the road. His hand was still outstretched toward her and she tentatively took it, her own hand shaking as she moved it. The physician let out a sigh of relief once she had made contact with him, knowing that she wasn't dreaming anymore, that this was real. The Shield gently ran this thumb across the back of her hand and she dropped her legs back onto the floor of the truck, heart rate decreasing to normal.
"Come here," said Gladiolus softly, pulling her hand slightly toward him.
The girl complied, moving closer to where he was sitting in the driver seat while he released her hand and placed his arm over her shoulders, pulling her against him. Gladio could feel the unmistakable quiver of her body when she began to sob as her right hand came to relax against his chest beside her head. He only held her tightly, a frown on his face as he kept his focus on the road before him.
"I'm sorry," she whispered against him.
Keeping a thoughtful frown on his face, he pulled her tighter against him, trying to assure her she had nothing to apologize for.
"Iris says you wake up all the time."
"Bless her, she pretends not to notice. I was afraid I'd wake her up."
"She's worried. We all are."
"You don't have to. It'll fade... eventually."
"Tell me about it," he replied gently.
She shook her head, "I can't... I..."
"You can tell me about it, Doc. You don't gotta do this alone."
Fresh tears welled into her eyes, "I can't, please don't make me," her voice was so broken and she shook slightly as more tears fell down her cheeks and soaked his shirt.
"No one's going to make you do anything," he assured her gently, "But you can't keep carrying this around. You can tell me, Doc, I'm not going anywhere."
"No, I-"
"It doesn't have to be right now."
Athenacia tensed, looking up at him and noting the focused look on his face. There was something calming about it, making her feel that she would one day heal from all the damage done to her and that she truly didn't have to do it alone. The doctor tore her gaze away and shut her eyes tightly, trying to contain the tears that came out. It seemed all she ever did was cry.
"When you're ready, I'll be here," he said finally, pulling her close again.
The girl brought her hand to wipe her tears, lifting her head and ended up meeting the junction of his neck beneath his jaw with her lips, planting a kiss there softly before pulling her head back away.
"Thank you," she replied.
She felt him nod, "Or if you want we can turn the truck around and head down that dirt road I saw not too far from here," he gave her a wolfish grin.
Instantly heat rose to her cheeks as her heart rate increased slightly.
"Gladio!"
However, she was only met with the sounds of his laughter.
The drive continued as mid-afternoon reached them. It wasn't much quieter after she had woken up. After he had managed to lighten up the mood from her nightmare he kept up his merciless teasing of her, making her face turn deep red but keeping a smile on her face. Eventually, it died down and she was back to lying down with a small pillow against him. While Athenacia didn't plan on going back to sleep, she wasn't interested in sitting up either and she had a much better view of the sky through the windshield like this. Gladio kept his arm around her, his fingers intertwined with her left hand. In the end, she was happy that he insisted on driving her truck and that Ignis had stopped her from leaving them in the first place.
Athenacia felt the ground shake and instantly shot up, releasing Gladiolus's hand. Eyes widened in shock as she saw the biggest flying fortress begin to make its way overhead. It took up the entire sky, flying pretty low as the engine sounded in her ears. The doctor angled herself to have a better look when it was directly overhead before it continued on its journey. Her mouth was agape, still in disbelief at what she was seeing.
"What is that?" she asked suddenly, looking over at him.
"Trouble," was his only reply, a frown upon his face.
...
Gladiolus followed the Regalia into Old Lestallum, pulling the truck up into a parking spot and turning the engine off before opening the door. Athenacia also vacated the truck, her eyes still looking off into the distance where that fortress had landed. Frowning, she followed him toward the others that were also getting out of the car. Iris had a worried look on her face and that told the young doctor exactly what she needed to know. They were going to go after it. Noctis had a hard look, his hatred for anything to do with the Empire completely evident. Prompto was similarly angry and Ignis was as calm and collected as he always was.
"You saw it?" said Gladiolus as they approached.
"Hard to miss," replied Prompto.
"Taking matters into hand?" inquired Ignis.
"Delivering justice for Jared," said Noctis darkly.
"And for Talcott too," added Prompto firmly.
Gladiolus nodded, "Iris, I'll need you to wait here," he said, looking at his sister.
"Alright," she agreed in a small voice.
"I'm going with you," stated Athenacia before he could tell her to stay.
"No you're not," he replied.
"Yes, I am. I deserve justice to and I can deliver it myself."
"You're in no shape to fight. You're staying here with Iris."
Athenacia narrowed her eyes, "I don't remember needing your permission to do anything," her voice had an edge to it, "In fact, I am a grown woman and I make my own decisions and I am going to that fort. Now you can either take me with you and make my life easier, or I'll just find my own way there because I've run plenty of ops on enemy bases by myself. Clearly you've all forgotten that I have the most field experience here."
The physician crossed her arms and matched his stare. Gladio was completely unhappy with everything she had to say but she was not going to back down. While she was well aware that he had the power to stop her from going, she also knew that would require him to sit this out as well. And she knew that he couldn't do that with Noctis going in. He had to be there. Besides, she had her own agenda anyway, no intention of hindering his duty.
Gladiolus was looking for any excuse to keep her here with his sister but he knew that nothing would be good enough to convince her. It was clear that she had already made up her mind, however, she was still healing, not thinking straight. The Shield didn't want to have to worry about her in all the commotion, he had a duty to focus on. Still, she had said herself she was going to find her own way there, which meant she would be gone as soon as he turned his back no matter if he got her to agree or not. The purple left eye and the cut on her cheek only reminded him of the pain delivered to her from the Empire in order to protect Iris and he didn't want to see that again.
A weak shield protects naught.
Again the words of Ravus Nox Fleuret taunted his mind as he kept his gaze on her unrelenting stare. Gladio didn't even know if she could fight or if she was just pushing herself in order to seek her own revenge. That sort of mentality was not the type that belonged in combat and from what he knew of her training, she should know that as well. There was no way to actually tell her that without starting a huge commotion. How did Cor manage to get her to listen to anything anyway?
"Given the circumstances," began Ignis gently, "We could use a medic in the field."
Neither of them spoke. They held their ground against each other as the people around them held their breath, waiting for the staring match to end. Who would relent first? Iris was shocked that it was her brother. Usually, he was stubborn to the point that there was no budging with him, however, he growled, tearing his gaze away and crossing his arms over his chest. The Shield was not happy with the reality of what was going on. He was worried about Athenacia, anyone could see that.
"Medic only, you stay away from the fighting," conceded Gladiolus finally, not even bothering to look at her.
"I'll agree to that only on one condition," said Athenacia darkly.
"What?" he growled.
"If Caligo is in there, he's mine."
Gladiolus was struck by the malice written in her voice, the hatred strewn on her features, unable to recall that sort of look on her before but now he had an answer as to who had done this to her. If she was looking for vengeance well, so was he and she would have to beat him to it because he had every intention of killing the man himself. No one said anything after that so she took that as an agreement. Athenacia walked back to her truck, noting she was being tailed by Iris. The young Amicitia obviously had something to say about what happened back there and didn't want to do so in front of the others. The doctor sighed quietly to herself. Now wasn't the time for something like this and she had no idea how to say so without coming off as a complete bitch. Stopping at her ugly truck, she proceeded as if there was no one there, grabbing her things and putting them onto the seat in order to prepare.
"You don't have to go," said Iris gently.
"Yes I do," replied Athenacia without looking at the young girl.
"He's just going to worry."
She shrugged, "I'm not fighting, remember?"
"Wouldn't it be easier to just let them handle it?"
"No, I have to do this."
"Why?"
The physician sighed again, unsheathing her weapon about halfway to test the edge. The gladius was still sharp enough and she replaced it back, "Because I couldn't protect Jared either," she began, unzipping her med bag, "Gin almost got killed," she rummaged through everything to make sure it was all in place, "And then they were going to take you," she zipped her bag back up and took hold of it.
Keeping a firm grip on the bag and on her sheathed blade before slamming the door of the truck shut, she looked over at Iris, an unrecognizable look on her face as she tried to form the words properly.
"What they did, what he did, was inexcusable. I will not sit idly by while that man still wanders this world and continues to hurt good and innocent people. Your brother is right I am probably in no shape to fight. But I don't have to, I only have one target to hit and then I can sit back and maybe try to rest easy for once."
Iris listened to her words intently before finally giving up her own pleading face. This woman before her had saved her life twice, she owed her a lot, however, she, like her brother, didn't want to have to worry about not coming back. There was no way she could stop Noctis and the others but she was hoping there was a way to get through to Athenacia at least - only to no avail, she was as much stubborn as Gladiolus. Figures. In the end, she could only nod as the two of them walked back to the Regalia.
...
"Looks the same as before," noted Prompto.
The five of them pulled up in the Regalia just as the sun was beginning its descent beyond the horizon. The car ride itself had been pretty tense but not overly hostile despite having to sit next to Gladiolus the entire time. Athenacia didn't have anything to say anyway, was just focused on trying to sort through her thoughts and keep her mind on one thing. Her vengeance. The girl pointedly got out of the car on Noctis's side, bringing with her the medic bag and her weapon. Placing her bag on the ground, she leaned against the car.
"Looks can be deceiving," reminded Ignis.
"We beat 'em once. They won't make it easy this time," warned Gladiolus.
Athenacia strapped her weapon to her back, wincing slightly as it was pressed against the wound on her scapula. That one had started to scab over but the fabric of her shirt didn't feel good against it and she would have to remember to cover it up for future trips.
"And neither will we," said Noctis.
The girl picked up her med bag, pulling it over her shoulders and securing it against her back, feeling the Shield's stare upon her and ignoring it. The man wasn't so much eyeing her, more so the gear she had on.
"I don't plan on picking a fight, but I'm definitely not going in there unarmed," she said, her tone still defensive.
Gladio turned over her words in his head, trying to find fault in them, but in the end, he could only agree with her, nodding once as he turned to follow Noctis. Athenacia fell in step with Prompto as she kept her eyes and ears alert of enemy noise. The outside of the fort had dreadnaughts landed and a big fence around it. There was a blockade at the road that any car could just drive through and damage - though none were foolish enough to even try it. They walked past it and she noted that lights on their chests turned on. The doctor generally liked the idea of creeping around in the dark but she stayed close to Prompto as they pressed forward.
"You think Iris is doing alright?" asked Prompto.
"She is all alone," said Ignis.
"She's a big girl. She'll be fine," replied Gladiolus.
Athenacia's sensitive ears caught the sounds of MagiTek troopers not far away. They were getting closer to the outside guard and she really wished that they didn't have those lights signalling that there were enemy forces within, however, she was observing the fighting not actually participating. They walked beside a docked dreadnaught and she made sure it was completely empty before turning her gaze elsewhere. These guys seemed to a little more calmer than they should be for planning on infiltrating an Imperial base, but they were comparing it to the last one. Surely they didn't mean the puny one that she was taken to.
"Iris isn't exactly a 'bring 'em on' backstreet brawler, is she?" asked Prompto
Someone was in love, however, Athenacia had seen the poor boy fall in love about six to eight times a day. The blond was playing with fire inquiring about Iris like that. The doctor wondered if the Shield had picked up on it or not, though anyone that knew her well enough had the knowledge that she only had eyes for Noctis. Poor girl.
"She's tough but I'd feel better if we got this over with and got back on the road," replied Gladiolus.
Truth be told, so would she, but that was when all the talking stopped and the action started. Athenacia watched as weapons materialized in their hands and Noctis warped to the first Imperial trooper, nearly killing it with one strike. A wave of nausea hit her watching him do so but there was no time to focus on that. The physician heard the crack of gunfire and her eyes instantly darted toward the sound. It was Prompto, hitting his target expertly while Ignis finished it off with a blur of arms containing his daggers in hand. Gladiolus swung his massive greatsword once, felling a trooper near him before making his way over to Noctis.
Athenacia heard something behind her, instinctively reaching for her weapon but a dagger came speeding by her face and hitting the trooper before it had a chance to execute its attack. It was down and she watched the dagger glow blue before disappearing. When she turned to look she was only met with a smug look from Ignis. Oh, he was sharp. The first wave of troopers were down and she walked to them, trying to get a quick look to see if her skills were needed. The girl was happy that they weren't so she followed the others further into the base. Not to her surprise, there were more enemies about while she kept to the shadows as she observed the fights from her vantage point. They were good, for not having as much field experience as her but then, it had been a long time since she fought, however, she truly had to commend them for the work they did. It wasn't just one person fighting, they all held their own in liquid motions. All that training they had done really paid off even if they weren't exactly field ready yet. Athenacia felt better about infiltrating the base, knowing that she truly wouldn't have to draw her weapon.
As the last of the outside patrol was cleared they had finally made it to the vantage point Ignis had been looking for all along. The physician followed behind Noctis with Prompto taking up the rear all the way up the steps and into the tallest lookout tower on the outside of the walls. It was good that no more troopers had come to bar their path, allowing them a good view of the base and a chance to make a plan. Peering over the railing at the actual base, she noted there was a red light coming up from the middle and she knew instantly that it was a generator. Take that out and nothing would function inside at all. The lights weren't as bright as she had hoped and that made things a little harder to see, however, there were enough troopers in there to pose a problem. That wasn't even counting the actual human soldiers either. The decision to come was in her best interest, a chance to get some answers. Maybe if she could find out what the Chancellor wanted with her she could put an end to him chasing her.
"So what's our plan?" asked Noctis.
Athenacia turned around, noting they were all staring at Ignis.
"Find the base commander and take him into custody," replied Ignis confidently, "Targeting metal men will yield little in the way of reconnaissance but bones bend easily," oh she liked the way he was thinking, "We'll split into two groups of three and two. Prompto and Gladio will generate a diversion."
"Aw yeah, making a scene is what I do best," said Prompto proudly.
She couldn't help but smile at him.
"In compliance with all our wishes, Dr. Virum will accompany myself and Noct."
Athenacia didn't say anything, knowing that's the side she would have chosen anyway. Gladiolus led the descent back down the tower and she fell in beside Ignis this time. Once they reached the bottom he turned toward her, a little unhappy about the circumstances but not trusted that Ignis knew what he was doing. The medic looked up at him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.
"Watch your backs," he said finally in his gruff voice.
"You as well," replied Ignis.
They parted ways then, Athenacia watching them go until they rounded the corner and could no longer be seen. Then, she followed the other two men, her face hardening as she thought about the vengeance that she was going to get after what was done to her.
...
thanks so much!