Chapter 8
Ignis and Silver were flying at a great pace when a phone ringing sounded. Ignis took out his phone and saw it was Gladiolus. He picked up and answered.
"Hello? Gladio?" Ignis answered.
"Ignis! Are you alright!" Gladiolus asked.
"I'm fine!" Ignis responded.
"Where the heck are you!" Gladiolus asked.
"I'm flying my way back to Insomnia! Is everything alright on your end?" Ignis asked.
There was a long pause then unexpectedly, Ignis heard Cor's voice.
"Ignis." Cor said from the other side.
"Cor? Is everything alright?" Ignis asked again.
"No. Shadow's army has taken Insomnia. He also held Moonrise captive. We're on our way to protect the Crystal." Cor said.
"Are you outnumbered?" Ignis asked.
"Yes. Very." Cor said.
"We'll try to be there as quickly as possible." Ignis said and he ended the call.
"Hurry Silver. We don't have much time." Ignis told him.
Determined, Silver put on a burst of speed, flying closer to Insomina.
Cor and the other two were almost to the Crystal when they got blocked off by the Orpheus dragons. They turned around to see Shadow standing, blocking the way they just came.
"I really hate doing this to you but I won't be the one with your blood on my claws." Shadow said and he stepped aside. Moonrise, who was mind-controlled, slowly walked towards them. Her eyes were slit and her teeth were bared.
"What's wrong with her?" Gladiolus asked with alertness.
"Is she okay?" Prompto asked nervously.
"She's being mind controlled. If she gets to the Crystal, we're done for." Cor said.
"Oh. I'm not after the Crystal." Shadow confirmed.
Cor, Prompto, and Gladiolus looked up at him.
"I'm after you." he simply said. In a flash, Moonrise rushed towards them.
"Go!" Cor said and the three ran for their lives.
"Cor, what do we do!" Prompto asked him in panic.
"You two, try to stop her as much as you can. Get as much energy out of her. I'll try to get her far from Shadow." Cor told them.
"You got it." Gladiolus said as he summoned his Greatsword and Shield.
"No problem." Prompto said as he summoned a huge machine gun.
Gladiolus and Prompto stopped in their tracks and turned around to face the raging Moonrise.
"Ready Prompto." Gladiolus said to him.
"Ready." Prompto said as he prepared his machine gun.
Once Moonrise was close enough, Gladiolus said "Now Prompto!"
Prompto started hitting the ceiling of the hallway, ending up having chunks of marble falling to the floor. Gladiolus was hoping that would stop Moonrise but it didn't. Moonrise avoided every boulder. Gladiolus put up his shield just as Moonrise pounced on him. She had her claws holding the shield, trying to get at Gladiolus. Using all his strength, Gladiolus pushed Moonrise off and swung his Greatsword at her. He hit her on the side of the face but that only angered her more.
Moonrise blew fire straight at them and Gladiolus brought up his shield in time to protect him and Prompto from the heat. Gladiolus felt the heat leave but when he looked up, Moonrise's tail hit him and Prompto. They both hit the side of the wall.
"Prompto. You okay?" Gladiolus asked him.
"Yeah. I'm fine." Prompto said, sitting up.
They saw Moonrise run past them, rage still in her eyes. She was going after Cor.
"Cor, I hope you know what's coming." Gladiolus said under his breath.
Cor kept running. He heard a roar and looked over his shoulder. He saw Moonrise racing towards him. Cor kept running for a little bit more then he leaped. In mid leap, he transformed into a large lion. He landed on all fours. He can run ahead of Moonrise. But Moonrise had longer legs so she was still able to keep up with him. Cor had to get her on the roof of the Citadel. He remembered Moonrise saying something about a staircase winding up to the roof in one of the Citadel's towers.
He ran towards the inside of the towers. He was running towards the entrance of the Citadel but he saw he was on a higher floor. He saw a door and rushed towards it. He brought down the door with such force that he broke it off its hinges. He saw the staircase winding up. He saw Moonrise running around a corner towards him. Cor didn't want any longer. He ran up the stairs. Moonrise tried to get to him but in her dragon form, she was too big to fit through the door.
As Cor was halfway through the stairs, Moonrise burst through a window, glass breaking. Cor ran out of the way and continued on. Moonrise roared and raced after him. Cor saw a bright opening and he leaped out. He landed and looked around. He was on top of one of the Citadel's towers. He walked to the edge and looked down. He saw the destruction the dark dragons caused. Buildings were toppled to the side, some leaning against each other, some still standing.
Then Moonrise leaped onto the roof. Cor turned around and saw her. Looks like there's no way out of this he thought. So without hesitation, he rushed towards Moonrise. Moonrise rushed towards him as well. They both fought tooth and claw. Eventually, Moonrise pinned down Cor with one talon. Cor tried to get her off him but she was too strong. She snarled at him.
Then Shadow appeared with an evil sly smile.
"Kill him Moonrise." he said evilly.
Moonrise shook her head, fighting off Shadow's control and looked down at Cor, realizing what she was doing.
"No." Moonrise responded. Her eyes were still kept on Cor. She was terrified.
"Do it now!" Shadow shouted at her.
"No. I won't do it!" Moonrise protested. She had tears in her eyes.
"Moonrise. Please. You must." Cor said.
"No. Cor. I won't let you do this." Moonrise said.
"Please. I have nothing else to live for. I'm much too old for this generation." Cor said, chuckling a little.
"Cor. Please. Fight back. I won't let you give up." Moonrise said.
"Ever so strong. Just like your mother. She would be proud of what you've done. I am proud of what you've done." Cor said.
"Cor..." Moonrise said, tears rolling down her face.
"Enough of this nonsense! Do it now!" Shadow ordered her.
All of a sudden, Moonrise went from tearful to rage. With one swift movement, Moonrise broke the lion's neck. The life in Cor's eyes faded away.
Moonrise, who was now in full control, backed away from the body. She transformed into a human and collapsed to her knees. She cried. Gladiolus and Prompto arrived but stopped at the sight that lay before them. They saw Cor's dead body and Moonrise in tears. They ran and quickly went to their knees.
"Moonrise, what happened?" Gladiolus asked. He was on Moonrise's right side and Prompto on the other.
"I killed him...I killed Cor." Moonrise said and she cried into Gladiolus' shirt. Gladiolus and Prompto looked at the body which then disappeared into small little balls of light. They floated up into the sky before disappearing.
"How sad but really, let's get this over with already." Shadow said.
"Orpheus! Destroy the Citadel!" he ordered. All at once, the dark dragons all flew up and dive-bombed the Citadel, leaving no time for Moonrise, Prompto, and Gladiolus to escape.
