Greetings everyone! Got the next chapter ready to go. I admit I didn't have much time to write lately (have had to put in long hours at work) but I'm hopeful I can keep the regular posting pace going. Hope the story is still holding people's interest-I don't want to be posting garbage that nobody likes :( Thanks to everyone who is reading and following.


With a rough jolt, the gondola hit a red and white pole.

"Oops. My bad," the gondolier commented jovially, tying up the boat surprisingly competently given his inebriated condition. "Here you go, the port district. That will be 1000 gil."

Ravus did a shocked double-take. "How much again," he asked.

"One zero zero zero gil," the man responded as though speaking to an idiot.

Ravus was an idiot, he realized. The number one rule of tourist transportation: negotiate the rate in advance and walk away if the price was too high. He had blundered into this one like a clueless buffoon. He sighed. "Here. You should be able to buy 100 bottles of vino with this," he snarked.

The gondolier brightened. "Nope. This is going to pay off my college fund. I'm studying to be a lawyer," he replied jovially.

Ravus just stared back bemused for a moment. "Well, you have a knack for it," he finally commented dryly. This guy could rip people off like a champ.

The man grinned then untied his boat and sailed off, yelling his gondolier songs all the way down the canal.

Ravus didn't have to do much to track down Ardyn's boat. He easily tracked down the guards gathered around an empty pier, waving lights at the foggy sea. It appeared the fog had been a harbinger of a storm. The fog was periodically illuminated by flashes of lightning, temporarily changing it from misty gray to bright white.

"We're too late," one of the guards lamented to Ravus as soon as he was recognized. "The boat was already gone when we got here. We have patrols out, but with this fog and now this storm, I'm not too hopeful."

Ravus's shoulders slumped in defeat. He was too late. Iris and Ardyn were gone. "Any idea where they went," Ravus asked as a matter of course.

The guard shook his head. "We'll let you know what we find out. In the meantime, there is nothing for you to do here."

Ravus knew that expression—it was one he had used in his official inquires. It was the code word for, "we have nothing. Get out out of our way so that we can find something."

Ravus strode off down the pier, watching the fog and the flickering ocean sky with impotent frustration. Iris and Ardyn were out there, in this weather. Where the hell were they going? Would they even make it in this weather? And how the hell would Ravus ever find her? He tried to keep his mind focused on the now, but all he could think about was Iris drowning in a shipwreck or getting struck by lightning. His blood chilled at the thought.

He had failed her, on a fundamental level. He had wanted to be her protector—God knows her brother was piss poor at it. It appeared he was no better. Even if she made it through the weather, she was still in Ardyn's clutches. And the thought of her ending up like Luna at Ardyn's hands made him physically sick.

It didn't make it any better when he looked around and realized that in his aimless wanderings he had made his way to the Altar of the Tidemother. Luna had died here—and it looked like his dream of saving Iris had died here too.

The Altar was gray, to suit his mood. The gray light of early dawn and the gray fog reflected in the lagoon below, turning everything monochromatic. It was as though everything had turned grayscale, except for the random flashes of white with each lightning strike. And the black shadow under the water. A shadow that broke the surface with a splash that drenched him. He shook his suddenly wet graying platinum blond hair out of his face and stared down at Leviathan.

Rather than emerge at full terrifying height, she stayed in the water with her serpent head just peeking out of the water, staring at him.

"Go ahead, say it. Unless you refuse to speak to non-chosen ones," Ravus demanded bitterly.

"I, don't know what you mean," Leviathan replied, genuinely confused. Lightning flashed for a moment, and Leviathan looked sharply in its direction, a look of almost terror on her face before turning back to Ravus to hear his response.

"We, I, failed. Ardyn and Iris were here. We could have lured Ifrit here, but we were not fast enough. Now they are gone. There is no way to get Ifrit to you now."

Given Leviathan's past treatment of them, Ravus fully expected virulent hatred. She had made it obvious that she thought the "Warriors of Light" were nuisances.

"You, did not fail," Leviathan stated, resigned. "It was a, shortsighted, plan on my part. I did not, anticipate how much he, injured me, or, how much the seas would suffer as a result. The world is off-balance. In order to adjust that balance, I need to be able to defeat Ifrit and also protect the oceans at the same time. I, cannot do that."

Ravus digested her reaction, surprised by it. She was actually humble, admitting faults. He actually felt, compassion for her.

"You don't need to be that strong," he replied. "If we could have lured Ifrit here, it would have all been over."

Leviathan laughed bitterly, a flash of her old self. "Ifrit did come here. I sensed him, but was too weak to engage him. All I could do was discourage him from fighting by activating the fog bank. And this is me at my 'strongest'."

Ravus turned pale. This put a new complexion on things. What he was hearing wasn't just humility. It was that of a God who had given up. And with a God giving up the fight, where did it leave them?

"Did Ifrit take Iris," Ravus demanded sharply. "And don't give me some bullshit like you don't know. You are a God—you have some kind of omniscience don't you?"

"I am not omniscient. I am fallible and can make mistakes. But, I know he did not take her. I sensed when he departed. And he was alone."

"How the hell did he leave in this weather? Wouldn't the water kill him?"

"I helped him leave. I gave him one fog free path that he could use to escape in. To trap him here longer would have forced a confrontation that would not go well for the city or myself."

"Then, you know where he's going?"

"Yes. He traveled north. He, has taken custody of Agneya."

Ravus stiffened. "Shiva's daughter?"

"Indeed. And his too."

"But, he disowned her. Why claim her now?"

"That, I do not know. I had hoped Ramuh could protect her, but I was wrong. I no longer sense Ramuh's presence."

"You mean, Ramuh is…"

"With this sudden lightning storm, I fear so. With Bahamut guarding the Other Side, Titan and I are the only ones left who can do anything. And, given the fact that even I, with my powers of water, could do little against him, Titan with his powers of earth will be useless. All he can do is keep the land masses stable."

Ravus stared back in grave comprehension. "What happens now," Ravus demanded. "With Ramuh gone, what can we expect?"

"Thunderstorms that do not end. The skies will be just as dangerous as the seas." As if on cue, lightning flashed again, and a muffled boom of thunder could be heard in the fog.

Ravus stared out at the ocean—the same spot where Luna had faded away ten years ago. He felt a flash of nihilistic despair. "Tell me the truth, Leviathan. Is there any point in defeating Ifrit at this point? It seems to me that the world is doomed anyway."

"Ifrit is causing all of the unrest. He is destroying the balance. Take that away, and the planet will find its center again. However, you will need to ensure Agneya survives. She can fill the void left by her parents."

It was sounding more and more like a rescue mission with a dash of revenge. "But who will fill Ramuh's void," Ravus countered.

"I, will confer with Bahamut to see what he knows and see if we can help offset Ramuh's loss. In the meantime, you must see to Ifrit."

"In other words, you don't know what to do about Ramuh," Ravus replied coldly, straight to the point.

Leviathan shook her head. "I, do not. Please understand, this is the first time in eons that we have faced this. We never thought to have one of our own turn on us like this and break the cycle of rebirth. Bahamut knows all. I am certain he will have an answer."

"And he is not here now because," Ravus asked bitingly.

"He must guard the Other World. If he comes here, all the dead will follow. We made exceptions for you. However, if every living thing who has died returns here all at once, it will end the world just as surely as Ifrit will."

"And, where is Titan in all this," Ravus demanded. "Keeping the balance," he asked scathingly.

"Without Titan, the continents will be reclaimed by the sea. And I cannot add anything further to my dominion at this point. Titan and I must work together to keep the shell of the planet functioning."

Ravus sighed. He was tired of the Six. It was because of them that Luna's life had been forfeit from the start. Their powers, and the quest to gain those powers had robbed her of a childhood, of a normal life, and in the end had killed her. Yes, the Six brought her back, as they did him. However, he was beginning to think it was because they wanted them to clean up their mess.

"If you turned the world to a gigantic ocean, wouldn't it kill Ifrit? He'd have nowhere else to go, and I doubt endless ocean would be good for him," Ravus snarked sarcastically.

Leviathan glanced at him in sudden interest. "That would work, if you want to sacrifice all life on this planet," she replied.

Ravus backed off immediately. "No! Although, it seems to be a plan right up your alley though. Why not offer it?"

"Despite what you think of us, we do love humans, and life on this planet. Most of us would prefer to save humanity wherever possible."

"But not Ifrit though," Ravus replied.

"No. His, dislike, of humans is confusing, and disturbing, to the rest of us. In deference to your position as brother to the Oracle, I have given you enough information. It is time for you to do your part," Leviathan concluded, returning to her usual imperiousness.

There was no way to rail against this fate. If Ravus tracked down Ifrit, it would ensure that Iris would not be given to him. If he slew Ifrit before Iris got there, Ifrit could not hurt her. And if Ardyn was leading her to Ifrit, he would find them too. And he would kill Ardyn for even thinking of taking her to him.

"Any ideas on where he is going next," Ravus asked.

"No. However, it will be somewhere hot and/or dry. That is the only way he can use his powers to best effect right now."

"Well, that narrows it down," Ravus replied caustically.

"Confer with your friends. They are on their way here as we speak. They may have insight that you do not have." And with those parting words, Leviathan returned to the lagoon, leaving Ravus with more questions than answers.


Aranea shifted uncomfortably in her seat, doing her best to keep her legs awake. The hard metal seats of the airship pinched nerves painfully. She had forgotten this little detail.

Lux had gotten bored, so was pacing the ship and pestering Cid and Prompto with questions about the controls. Cid just grunted over his shoulder to him. Prompto seemed more inclined, and began discussing what he knew. He even confided the barcode piece of it.

Lux looked down at his own arm. "I don't have a barcode," he commented regretfully.

Prompto shrugged. "I guess not all imperials got them. Not like it matters though," he commented offhandedly.

Cindy glanced at him sharply. She knew it mattered a great deal to Prompto that he had one—it was still a source of shame to him. However, it seemed like he was being blasé about it to cheer Lux up about not having one. It was a shame positions weren't reversed, Cindy thought sadly. Lux really wanted one but didn't have one; Prompto had one and didn't want it.

While Lux was otherwise occupied, everyone else compared notes.

"So, you're saying this armor will make us flameproof," Gladio replied in amazement.

"Seems so," Noctis replied.

"And you got it from Amaterasu," Gladio replied blankly, evidently having no clue who or what she was.

"She was Ifrit's," then Luna broke off, uneasily. She didn't want to get too involved into what kind of captor Ifrit was, especially since Gladio's own sister had been in his clutches, and may be again.

"Ifrit's what," Gladio demanded.

"Er, never mind," Luna replied awkwardly.

"Ifrit has been treating prisoners the same way for thousands of years. Even treating other Gods that way," Noctis replied nonchalantly.

"Does that surprise anyone," Gladio replied. "Although, the fact that he has done it to other Gods does seem, different."

"All the more reason why he must be stopped," Cor added in, terminating the conversation.

The thud of thunder rattled the aircraft.

"Storms, now," Luna asked in disbelief.

"Well it ain't fireworks," Cid countered, just to break off cursing as a bolt of lightning streaked the dark sky right before them.

"A metal box, the tallest thing around, this isn't good," Holly replied.

"All we got below us is water. We gotta keep goin'," Cid countered.

"What the hell is that," Prompto called out in unease, just as Lux cried out in alarm.

That drew everyone's attention to the windshield. There, fluttering right in front of them, was a gigantic black bird. Its wings, veined with electrical current, spanned the width of the airship.

"That looks to be, a Zu," Cor commented.

"But, we've hunted those," Gladio countered. "I've never seen one that can wield lightning."

Cor shrugged. "If you have a better idea of what it is, I'm all ears," he snapped back. Gladio subsided with a slump to his shoulders.

The creature left them little doubt as to its intentions. With a strident screech, so loud that, even through the noise of the ship, Lux had to cover his ears, it unsheathed its talons and smacked the roof of the ship. Even though seatbelted in, the impact caused everyone to smash their heads against the wall.

Lux had been standing in the cockpit, and the impact knocked him to the floor. Aranea rose quickly to make sure he was ok, then guided him back to a seat and buckled him in. As she was concluding that action, the Zu struck again. It was her turn to go sprawling from the impact. However, instead of hitting the floor, she toppled straight into the row of seats.

She crashed into Ignis's lap. She struggled to disengage herself with the still shaking ship, just to have Ignis put a strong arm around her waist.

"Stay still," he ordered sharply, tantalizingly close to her ear. Not by design—it was just how she had landed against him. She realized suddenly that she was sitting in his lap with his arm around her waist. She could feel the pound of his heart against her back, beating in time with her racing one—even someone as calm as he was disturbed by the presence of the Zu. She refused to believe it had anything to do with her, just as her accelerated pulse had nothing to do with him. Or so she told herself.

Noctis rubbed his head and stared up at the roof of the ship. He could see an ominous talon-shaped dent from the repeat hits. "The roof can't take much more of this," he commented.

"Hold on," Cid ordered, then put the ship into a series of sharp swerves in an attempt to dislodge the creature roosting on their mode of transport.

Aranea gasped in fear that she would be twisted to the floor, but she underestimated Ignis's strength. He tightened his grip, holding her close and preventing her falling.

Talcott couldn't handle the bucking ship and retched in response to motion sickness.

"Sorry," he gasped out sheepishly once Cid had righted the ship.

"Here," Cindy, seated beside the ill teammate said gently, handing him her ball cap. "If you've gotta, er, upchuck, do it in this."

He glanced back at her in a mix of shame and gratitude. "I'll try not to, but, thank you," he whispered queasily.

"We still have our stowaway," Cor asked.

Noctis glanced up at the roof, just to hear a teeth-grating screech as talons scraped the roof like a giant can opener. "Guess so, damn it," he commented dryly.

"Another hit like that and the roof is gone," Luna cried out in alarm.

Holly was sizing up the situation. "Cid, is this ship pressurized," she asked sharply.

"Nope. We ain't high enough to need that," was Cid's brisk reply.

"Then, let it happen."

"What the hell do you mean," Gladio demanded.

"Let it smack a hole in the roof," Holly suggested. "That is the only way we, well I mean you guys, can attack it."

"Are you nuts," Gladio countered. "We get a hole in this thing and we're sitting ducks. You see the lightning on that thing? It will fry us!"

"The alternative is we open the hatch and attempt to climb out," Ignis replied calmly. "I think that would be even more dangerous. Miss Holly's point does have merit."

"I know," Gladio blustered, "but I may not be able to protect her, er, us."

Holly couldn't help glancing his way at his accidental slip. "You're not alone here, Gladio," she said gently. "It's not all on you. All of us are in this together, well, given the limitations of some of us non-fighters," she added shyly.

"You've done enough, Holly," Gladio growled out earnestly and tenderly.

Noctis was already unbuckling in preparation for battle. He was ready to go the instant the roof gave way. Lux gasped at the sudden influx of rain that sprayed in, before he just stared up at the ominous fluttering beast.

Noctis engaged, warping out of the hole onto what remained of the roof. His sword drawn, he was ready to take to the air to fight the thing on its turf.

"I can help in this," Talcott said weakly.

Gladio turned to him cynically. "What can you do," he demanded.

"I, have some distance attacks that could be useful, if I could get a good line of sight."

Aranea remembered hunting with him. "Can you do 1000 Needles in your condition," she demanded.

"Yeah. I, should," Talcott replied hesitantly.

"Ok. Ignis, I don't need your seatbelt services right now," she stated to the man holding her. He complied quickly, giving her the room and the trust to make the next move. She grabbed Talcott and dragoon-leaped out of the roof hole. Prompto stood at the base of the hole, shooting upwards at the creature to give the front line cover-fire.

Ignis and Gladio stared at the hole ruefully. "For once, there is not much for us to do," Ignis commented regretfully. They merely stood side by side, providing a shield for Holly, Cindy, Luna, and Lux in case the creature tried reaching in to grab any of them.

Cor stood as Cid's shield as the old man continued piloting the ship with focused concentration.

Talcott swayed a little in dizziness as soon as he reached the roof. The powerful wind almost blew him over, and it was hard to see the edge of the ship in the driving rain. "Easy there," Aranea said sharply, keeping a firm grip on his waist with one arm. With her other arm, she had impaled her polearm into another portion of the roof to use as a grab bar to keep them steady. She tensed as another crack of thunder erupted around them, and braced herself for a lightning strike. To her relief, the bolt hit a safe(ish) distance away. Still, they couldn't be out here too long—they were a too tempting target for lightning and one would hit them eventually.

Noctis landed in front of her with a graceful crouch. "I've got a few hits in, but it's not doing much," he commented.

Lightning struck again. This time, it hit the Zu. What would have been a killing blow for anything else only empowered it. The energy sped through it, giving it a sizzling white glow. The Zu reared back, wings fully spread, sizzling with enough power to make Aranea's hair stand on end. She supposed Noctis was also affected, but with how spikey his hair was naturally, it was hard to tell at the best of times anyway.

The Zu was evidently going to use the energy against them. If it hit the metal ship, in the rain, they would all fry. The attack had to be interrupted now.

"I've got something. Stand back," Talcott ordered. He waved his hands and a thousand cactus needles erupted, impaling the stormy air between him and the Zu, speeding towards their mark. They hit it dead on, resulting in a blood-curdling screech and leaving it momentarily stunned. They had averted its most deadly attack, but it could try again.

"Aranea," Ignis demanded from below. "It's probably weak to fire. The last Zu we fought was anyway. Try these," he ordered, handing up some fire vials to her.

Magic wasn't Aranea's forte, but she would try it now. She grabbed the vials and tossed them like grenades with all her might towards the target. The beast screamed again, its entire body on fire. It began plummeting towards the roof of the ship, little more than a screaming flailing piece of burning debris now.

Talcott leaped back into the roof hole, just to be caught by Gladio and Ignis. Noctis stayed outside, staring at the creature with narrowed eyes. He leaped up, and with full strength struck the creature's neck with his glaive. He sliced clean through, the flaming head careening over the side and into the ocean a few thousand feet below. The momentum of the swing changed the trajectory of the Zu's fall. Instead of landing right on top of them, the body plummeted over the side to join the head in the ocean below.

Noctis stood stoically, barely winded, staring down at the flaming dismembered body with a fixed intensity, sword still drawn. In the rain, with the wind blowing his hair every which way, Aranea had to admit he looked pretty badass, and that for a victory pose, it was a damned good one. However, she wasn't about to let him strike such a pose.

"Was that really necessary? The flames had already taken care of it," she stated archly.

He simply shrugged. "It's better to make sure something is down for the count, right," he stated, then grabbed her and warped her back into the ship.

"I could have done that myself," she commented, flustered. "And, my pole is still up there!"

Noctis sighed at his bit of gallantry being ignored, then warped back out of the ship once again to retrieve her weapon. He handed it to her with a singular lack of flourish—just handing it over.

"Thank you," she stated calmly.

"Are you all ok," Luna demanded, running forward, healing light already prepared in case of need. They all looked around—amazingly enough, nobody was hurt. Ignis gave Aranea an intense once-over, missing nothing, looking for any evidence of injury. His sigh of relief said it all.

"Um, Lady Lunafreya, does your healing light work on nausea," Talcott asked, punctuating his question with a queasy belch.

Roofless, soaked, and nauseated, the nevertheless victorious party made their way to Altissia.