Author's note: I apologize if any typos slip through. I'm typing with only 9 fingers tonight. I was in a car wreck in February. The only injury I suffered was a very slightly dislocated left index finger. Due to the splint I must wear for now, my left middle finger is stuck doing double duty. It definitely slows my typing. And wears out the other fingers of that hand a lot faster. (Especially anything with er or re.)

Momentis
Part V: The Beginning of the End

Better Late Than Never
by Philippe de la Matraque

The local paper—which now came with one Braille copy thanks to Biggs finding a Braille typewriter—had numerous anecdotal stories of daemon attacks near the city and its various outposts. Administration got the official reports from Cor. Lestallum's walls were thick and solid, so beyond the sounds of daemons hitting or ramming it, there was no danger of them getting in so long as the lights stayed on within. Caem had no walls, but it had a lighthouse. New lamps had been installed that shone downward all around the tall tower. The place was lit up like daylight, which kept the daemons at bay and allowed the garden to grow.

Old Lestallum and Hammer Head had chain-link fences and bright lights. And lots of hunters and fighters to face those daemons who got adventurous. The roads between each of these settlements were safe enough for vehicles. All lamps and headlights now had the daemon-banishing properties reverse engineered from the Regalia years ago.

Those bright lights also kept wild animals away. Wild animals, it appeared, were faring better of late, increasing in number. The foragers found that different grasses and mosses grew in the dark, and that those plants were plentiful and nutritious. Trees still grew though not as tall or as full as before. Predators kept the prey numbers from getting out of hand, so meat was available out there again.

Getting that meat was more dangerous than it had been the first eight years since Noctis had disappeared into the Crystal. The predators weren't shy about hunting hunters, and there were more and more daemons wherever one went. Daemons weren't interested in animal meat anymore. Ignis wondered if that was an oversight by the Accursed. It offered the opportunity of meat to the hunters who were brave enough to go out.

Every week there were one or two who didn't come back. Or came back infected.

One the other hand, the daemons were attacking a new target: reprogrammed MTs. Cor had concluded that Ardyn had purposely sent out Ronin to kill as many of them as possible. Aranea, Biggs, Wedge, and their armies were kept busy trying to protect hunters and outposts while trying to minimize their losses in MTs. Those Ronin also killed men fighting with the MTs if they could. It was a tough fight out there.

But out there was exactly where Ignis intended to go. He and Gladio and Prompto had missed the eight anniversary of Noctis's disappearance, so they decided to go now, two months after Gratitude Day.

That day, in fact, had not been as joyous as in previous years. The additional names read out for Remembrance Week had put a damper on the festivities, as did the general tension in the city from training and the gods-awful banging on the walls at all hours.

The Vesperpool was the location again. There was a haven so they'd be safe, and it was far enough from the city that Ignis wouldn't be called back for minor emergencies. Besides, with Bina fully sharing in his workload, Ignis felt he wouldn't be needed even for mediocre emergencies.

Prompto rode on a supply truck back to Lestallum, and Gladio then drove the three of them to the haven. An ariadne placed herself between the car park and the haven, so they had to fight just to get there. It was no match for the three of them.

They set up camp in relative silence. Relative because daemons were dancing and growling around the edges of the haven as if they expected the magic to just disappear and let them in. Ignis fixed dinner while the others set up the tent.

"Are you and those superhuman ears going to be able to sleep with all that din?" Gladio asked after their dinner was eaten.

"Earplugs," Ignis told him, pulling a container with a pair of them from his pocket. "Anyone living near the wall has started wearing them to bed. And we really only go home to sleep."

"They rush the fence sometimes," Prompto commented. "But the light and bullets stop them. So send some of those earplugs out way, won't you? It's not the rattling. It's the gunfire."

"My place isn't near the wall," Gladio said.

"Oh?" Ignis asked. "So you're not in the hunter's barracks anymore?"

"I have a bunk," Gladio responded. "I don't always sleep in it."

"So, you staying with your lady friend?" Prompto picked up the hint.

"Perhaps," Gladio replied. "How are things with yours?"

"No comment," Prompto groused.

"Cindy still hasn't looked your way?" Ignis inquired. "You know, there are plenty of other nice women to get to know."

"I still live in hope," Prompto answered. "Maybe she'll come around after Noctis comes back."

"She didn't before Noctis left," Gladio reminded him. "Why would she after?"

Ignis let them continue to banter. Eight years had passed without Noctis. All the appearance changes he could remember from the vision had come to pass. Ardyn's activities pointed to a coming climax. Were they close yet? He couldn't help but feel some desire for Noctis to return, even if it also filled him with dread. The world needed his return, his sacrifice.

"—Aranea?"

Ignis's attention returned to his companions.

"He's seeing my sister more these days," Gladio said.

"Oh, do tell!" Prompto replied.

Ignis put up a hand. "Iris is the only person who will train with me voluntarily. She's an Amicitia. She doesn't lack in confidence the way some others do. She sees it as a particular challenge. She swears that, one day, she's going to slip past my defenses."

"If anyone can, it'll be my sister," Gladio said, with obvious pride.

"Aranea and her men have been quite busy of late," Ignis commented in regards to Prompto's earlier question. "She hasn't had a day off in what feels like months."

"Not even Gratitude Day?" the younger man asked.

"Not even," Ignis replied.

They grew quiet again. Finally, Gladio broke the silence. "Eight years now. Who'd a thought that we could last eight years after the world went dark?"

"Seven and a half years dark. But still, it is somewhat astounding, isn't it?" Ignis asked in agreement.

"8 without Noctis. Do you think he knew?" Prompto asked. "I mean, the world was getting dark but it was still light when he went in."

"I don't think he would," Ignis surmised. "I don't think he gets updated on current events in there."

"It's going to be a shock when he comes out," Gladio added. "We're all kind of used to it by now."

"I used to dread him coming back," Ignis admitted. "I still do, somewhat. But I'm also finding myself more impatient for it. I miss him. I miss the world as it was."

"Yeah," Prompto said. "Will it ever be like that again? I mean, if he's the king and he—uh—won't be around to reign, who will?"

"I suspect we'll keep going as we have been," Ignis replied. "For a while anyway. We came together for survival, and that's probably what keeps the peace more than anything. Once the sun is back, survival will be easier. People will spread out. Can we maintain that peace?"

"We'll find a way," Gladio said. "Just like we did already. We became one people, one country in a sense. Maybe we can stay that way."

"I've thought about this some," Ignis told them. "Bina is sharing my duties and responsibilities because I expect her to be Lestallum's leader after Noctis returns. If I should survive, I will be in Insomnia, beginning the reconstruction."

"I'm glad you're making plans for that, Iggy." Prompto offered. "It'll be easier starting with a plan this time."

"We'll rely heavily on Lestallum at first, until Insomnia's factories and farms can produce enough for it to stand on its own."

"Well, thanks to your plans for Lestallum, we have plenty of trained people to come over and work in Insomnia," Gladio pointed out.

"You know," Ignis added, "Talcott has two specialties: historian and hunter. Maybe more hunters and fighters should start thinking about what they'll do when there are no more daemons to fight."

"Some could become the new army," Gladio pointed out. "Some will still be hunters."

"True enough," Prompto agreed. "But not all of them. I'll try and talk to the guys at Hammer Head."

"I'll talk to the ones I train with," Gladio offered.

It was a start. "Noctis might return tomorrow, or it might be years yet," Ignis said. "It's better for them to start preparing now. I can talk to Cor about it, as well. What might the two of you do after dawn returns?"

"Hadn't thought that far ahead," Gladio admitted. "Might not be here to see it. I'm the Shield of the King. If he goes down, I probably do first."

Ignis didn't feel it was the right time to remind him of his vision. Noctis was alone with only his ancestors, his father, when he died.

"I never wanted anything but the Crownsguard," Prompto answered. "I guess I'll do whatever Cor is doing, if I'm still around."

"What about your photography?" Ignis asked him, softening his voice.

Prompto thought for a moment. Ignis could hear him cross a leg over his other knee. "I can still take pictures," he said. "I think I always will. But it's not the only thing I'd want to be doing. What about you, Iggy?"

"You mean after Insomnia is restored and recovered?" Ignis inquired. "I don't know. Administration is sort of what I know best. I'll probably still be involved in that, or maybe advising whoever takes over as leader."

"You don't think that might be you?" Gladio asked.

"In a crisis, I suppose. That's what I've been doing, and I'm quite good at it, if I may speak for myself. But after, when the world is set to rights? Would the people still want me as leader?"

Prompto gave a soft chuckle. "You might be surprised."

Gladio stretched and yawned, which prompted Ignis to realize just how tired he was. "I dare say it's time to turn in. We may have to fight our way back to the car in the morning."