It took a day before Dino called Ignis with news. "Heya champs! How fast can ya get to the Three Z Motel?"

Ignis quickly found where said motel was before replying, "A couple of hours at the latest. Why?"

Dino cheerfully said, "Cuz that's where you'll be able to meet the people His Majesty was looking for. They'll be there till morning, room 106."

Ignis waited a beat for something else but when Dino stayed silent, he sighed. "I do hope they are expecting us, Mr Ghiranze."

Dino laughed, "'Course they are. Just don't forget to bring some food with ya. They'll be starving I expect." He hung up before Ignis could demand what the reporter meant by that, leaving him to glare at the phone dejectedly.

The phone call had been loud enough for everyone to hear what was being said. Noct scrubbed his face with a dirt-ridden hand before realizing what he'd done, and groaned in annoyance at himself. "I guess we'll just have to go and see for ourselves, Specs."

Gladio shrugged as he finished collecting the trophies they needed to claim the reward for the hunt they had just finished. "Yup, and if Dino is pulling a fast one then we'll just go track him down afterwards to remind him of the folly of such actions." Picking up the last trophy, Gladio sauntered over to wrap an arm around Ignis shoulders amicably. "At least he called after the fight was over."

Ignis' shoulders slumped and he exhaled forcibly. "I suppose we should be grateful it did not take longer." He straightened and looked at his friends with a disapproving expression. "And that we have enough time to get cleaned up properly! I shudder to think of a worst first impression than this."

Noctis and Prompto glanced at each other, amusement and agreement battling in their minds as they saw the state of their clothes. Not that it was their fault it rained during the morning and made the ground into a mudslide.

Prompto was caked in mud, as he and Noct had launched a bet earlier to see how many enemies they could take down in a single slide. Noctis was a bit better off, as warping seemed to shake off part of the mud,but not by much. Prompto grinned. "Guess we're going to have to wash up before we meet up with our new friends." Noctis nodded with a grin; he didn't mind the mud too much considering how much fun he'd had.

Noctis started walking towards the Regalia, only to find his path cut off by Ignis. "And where do you think you're going?" he asked with a indignant glare.

Noctis tilted his head and pointed at the car. "There? We are on a time limit." Huge hands encircled his waist and picked him up. "Wha?! Gladio!"

"Neither you nor Prompto are going anywhere near the Regalia as caked in mud as you are." Ignis declared. Gladio had Noctis over one shoulder, and was trying to lift Prompto over his other one despite his attempts to wiggle free. "Now I do believe I saw a river to our right. Gladio, if you would be so kind." Ignis gave a mocking bow towards where he thought the river was.

Gladio laughed as he finally managed to wrangle Prompto over his shoulder. "With pleasure, Ignis. A cold bath for his Highness and his highness' boyfriend coming right up!" He walked off in the indicated direction with confidence.

Prompto and Noctis were wriggling incessantly on his shoulders, like two cats trying to escape from a much needed bath. Gladio huffed laughingly as he tightened his grip on both men and quickened his pace. It didn't take long for him to see the sun glinting on the river's edge.

Gladio jogged over to the edge, carefully inspecting the river before nodding to himself. He shifted Noctis and Prompto on his shoulders, and looked over to Ignis. "Well? What do you think, Specs?"

Ignis came to a stop beside Gladio, glasses sparkling in the sun. "It looks perfectly freezing, Gladio. And it doesn't appear as though the current is too strong in this area." He grinned, glancing up to the irate Noctis as he added, "I would even say the area is perfect for fishing."

Gladio burst out laughing at Ignis' comment even as he took two step forward to throw both men into the waters. Noctis shrieked as he sailed into the water. Prompto accepted his fate with silent resignation.

Gladio watched as both of them emerged from their plunge, spluttering and marginally more clean. He leaned forwards a bit, "Better go under a few more time before gett…WAA!" SPLASH!

Ignis looked all too satisfied, both hands raised from where he had pushed Gladio into the river. Gladio roared as he burst out of the river, twirling to stare at Ignis. "You! You!" He scrambled up the riverbed and chased after his betrayer.

Ignis laughed as he dodged, jumped and danced out of Gladio's reach. He realised he had made a mistake when something shattered behind him and the muddy ground became a skating ground. Unable to regain his balance on time, Ignis slipped backwards.

Gladio yelled triumphantly as he lunged forward and caught Ignis just before he hit the ground. "Got you you little…!" Gladio wasted no time to toss Ignis over his shoulder and strutted back towards a grinning, naked Noctis and the equally-naked Prompto.

Noctis leaned against the riverbed as he watched Ignis' futile struggle against Gladio. "So good of you to join us, Iggy." Prompto laughed and carefully got up unto the side as he summoned his camera and got ready for the perfect action shot.

Ignis begged and threatened as Gladio walked over to the river, but the Shield was unmoved by any of it. Gladio simply asked, "You ready, Prompto?" Prompto responded by bringing his camera to his eye and giving Gladio a slightly awkward thumbs up. Ignis gave one last desperate attempt to escape Gladio's inescapable grip before being sent sailing through the air.

Prompto held down the shutter as Ignis flew with all the grace of a featherless chocobo to plunge into the river. A spluttering, soaking wet Ignis rose from the waters trying to wipe water from his eyes as he marched back to shore. Prompto grinned as he kept taking pictures, only stopping when Ignis came within arm's reach.

Gladio grinned as he watched Ignis climb out. "The water's nice and cold, ain't it?" he teased. Ignis glared at Gladio as he wrung out his shirt.

Noctis dropped back into the river, diving under to wash out the mud from his hair before coming up. "It's not that cold anymore." Prompto sent his camera away before joining Noctis in the water.

Ignis felt his annoyance fade away as he watched Noctis get splashed by Prompto. Gladio settled down beside him, offering him a can of Ebony as they watched both men dunk each other with growing laughter.

Ignis took the time to get changed into dryer clothes, even offering Gladio some as well before he accepted the can of Ebony. "Truce then?"

Gladio grinned and nodded, "Truce." They stayed for a little longer before Gladio called out, "Okay you two! We best get going if we want to have time to grab our rewards and get to the motel at a reasonable hour." Prompto and Noctis waddled out of the river, pushing each other even as they shivered.

Ignis tutted as he found blankets within their things to give the two. "Let's get you two warmed up before you both get sick." He took out some clean clothes, laying them out on some dry rocks to get warmed by the sun.

They headed back to the Regalia once Noct and Prompto got dressed in their warm clothes. Ignis slipped behind the wheel and asked, "Then shall we head to the Cauthess rest stop to finish our hunt?"

Noctis nodded, "Sounds good to me, Specs. After that, it's off to the Three Z's Motel!" He pumped his arm in the air enthusiastically. The short playful stop had filled him with energy and optimism, something they were all happy to see.

They weren't far from the rest stop and Gladio quickly hopped out of the Regalia to go get the rewards for their hunt. He returned with a wide grin, tossing a brown bag onto Noctis' lap with a "Got us some lunch as a bonus." Noctis looked inside, mouth watering at the smell wafting from within.

Four paper wrapped sandwiches, still warm from where ever they had come from, dripping with sauce and oily fats. Noctis' stomach growled hungrily as the smells assaulted his nose and he grabbed one of the sandwiches gleefully.

Gladio laughed as he settled down in the Regalia, "Careful there Noct! The tipster gave those, said he was testing a new recipe and wanted to have people try it before putting it on the menu." He grabbed the sandwich Noctis handed him and unwrapped it.

Garula meat, cheese, a secret sauce layered between two thick slices of fluffy, airy bread. It looked, smelled and - after Gladio took a bite - tasted delicious. Not quite to the level of Ignis' homemade garula cheesesteak sandwich but damned close. He heard the others grab their own sandwich and start eating, even Ignis once Prompto unwrapped the sandwich for him.

"Quite delicious." Came the expected remark from Ignis. Gladio grinned as he watched Ignis' reflection take another bite from the sandwich. "I wonder about that sauce. Hmm… peppercorn? No, that would be too strong." Ignis took another bite and went on trying to figure out the sauce's ingredients for the majority of the ride to their destination.

They arrived a bit after mid-afternoon with Ignis carefully parking the car out of sight. Prompto got out and said, "So… Dino said we should bring food right?" Ignis nodded sharply, slightly annoyed at the reporter for his brazen disposition. "Then what should we do? Just grab some Crow's Nest?" He pointed at the fast food joint across from the motel.

Ignis twitched at the suggestion, "Feed that atrocious excuse for a heart attack to people we wish to ask for help?" Noctis and Prompto looked offended even as Gladio sniggered at the outrage just dripping from Ignis' voice. "Perish the thought. I will cook something worthy of the occasion. We have everything we need to make, let's see; I do believe I still have that Niflheim recipe for roast chicken."

Ignis was already moving, planning what he needed to do to prepare the meal he was imagining in his mind. Noctis shared an amused, fond glance with Gladio and Prompto as he followed after the cook. They helped him set up the cooking station and prepare everything for his meal then waited as Ignis worked his magic.

The meal Ignis made looked amazing. Since they didn't know how many people they were meeting, Ignis kept each part of the dish in separate air tight containers to keep them warm. Gladio grabbed the heavy pan containing the chicken, while Prompto grabbed the veggies and Ignis kept the mashed potatoes.

Noctis cleaned up quickly, sending most of it into the armiger and cleaning the stuff that needed to be cleaned immediately. The four walked over to the motel with Noctis in the lead. Room 106 was on the backside of the motel, conveniently out of sight from people using the roads.

Noctis knocked on the door and waited. No answer. He frowned and knocked again. Still nothing. Noctis glanced backwards, seeing worry and suspicion on the faces of his friends, but just as he was about to speak the door clicked open. Noctis turned back towards the room.

Everything became greytone. All sounds stopped abruptly. A figure he wished never to see again was there to greet him. "Hello, Your Highness; what brings you here to this small and inconspicuous room?" said Chancellor Izunia.