Ch.20
As the group left, Noctis had another moment where he nearly crumbled to the ground in pain. He said he had seen something in between the flashes of pain, and Ignis was the one to figure out it was at the place known as the Disc of Cauthess.
With the idea of going to the Disc in mind, the group headed back to Lestallum. The first thing they had to do was talk to Talcott to inform him of what they had found, knowing how excited he would be to hear the adventure.
On the way back, Cloud drove his motorcycle right behind the car, mulling over what had happened and what could happen next. He still had a lot of questions, but he was still keeping many of them to themselves. He knew though, when there was time, he would ask more about the world, but for now it was just time to focus on the task at hand.
After they got back and talked to Talcott, Noctis decided to step outside for some fresh air. Cloud watched for a moment before he saw him yet again stagger. This time Cloud ran out and held on to him, making sure he didn't fall. Right behind him, Iris caught up, looking concerned.
"What's the matter? You alright?" she asked.
"I think he just needs a moment," Cloud answered.
The rest of the group soon came up behind him, with Gladio placing a hand on Noctis's shoulder. "We oughta take a closer look at this so-called 'Disc'. See what we can find out."
"Then look no further than the outlook. We can use the viewer things!" Prompto declared.
"And that's right over there right?" Zack asked as he pointed in the direction of the outlook.
Ignis nodded. "Yes. So let's start over there. We can see what we can glean of Noct's condition."
As a group, they headed down to the outlook, as they approached Noctis stared at a tall man who was already there. Before Noctis could even say anything the man, who was dressed in far too many coats, turned and smiled.
"What a coincidence," he replied.
Right away, Cloud tensed. There was just something about this man that he didn't like. Maybe it was the way he smiled, something that was rather unsettling, or maybe it was just the way he spoke. Whatever it was, Cloud was ready to keep his guard up.
"I'm not so sure it is," Gladio replied to the man.
"Aren't nursery rhymes curious things? Like this one: 'From the deep, the Archaean calls… Yet on deaf ears, the gods' tongue falls, The King made to kneel, in pain, he crawls.'" the man said rather casually.
After Prompto asked how they would keep 'the king' on his feet, the man gave his answer and then offered to help them. He would take them right to the Archaean, or so he claimed. While it was clear that Noctis and his friends had run into this man before, Cloud still was holding back all his thoughts until he could get a clearer picture.
He could tell that Zack was thinking the same thing at least. He was giving the same suspicious look as they stared. So maybe deep down, Cloud wasn't entirely alone on how he felt, but he still had yet to get the other side of it from Noctis. He knew he would have to ask later at a more opportune time when this man was not around.
"I'm not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction. I think it suits the time, especially since I see you have acquitted some new friends of your own. Please, call me 'Ardyn.' Come with me to the car park. That's where I left my automobile. She's a dear old thing. Pales next to your Regalia, but she's never let me down. So we take two vehicles—a convoy of sorts. Shall we?"
When they arrived at the cars, Ardyn turned to face the group. "Allow me to do the honor of assigning your driver… I choose you," he said as he pointed at Noctis.
"And what if I wanted to drive your car?" Noctis asked smugly.
"You might find the rental fees to be more than you bargained for," Ardyn said with a chuckle.
"Then what if I rode with you? Still don't know much about you, plus with everyone we have, it may be easier that way."
"A fair point, but just like before, the fare I may charge may not be what you want. Besides, you must have something else for a form of transportation. I highly doubt that the six of you have been jammed into a single car," Ardyn replied. "What I said before still stands, you drive your car, and I drive mine. Surely you can work out your seating arrangement on your own. With that decided, let us be off."
With that, the man turned around and got in his car. The group looked at one another before backing up to give Ardyn room to pull out from the parking lot.
"I believe we should get going then," Ignis said. He then looked at Cloud and Zack. "Will you be fine following us once again?"
"Yeah, we'll keep right behind you," Cloud nodded.
The group then got to the car, while Cloud and Zack got on their bike. Noctis drove out first and followed slowly behind Ardyn and Cloud stayed behind them.
"So Cloud, totally really bad vibes from that Ardyn guy, right?" Zack asked in a soft voice.
Cloud hummed in agreement. "Yeah. Something is off about him. Don't know what though."
"Guess we'll just have to keep an eye on him. If he tries anything we'll be ready!"
"Right."
Watching the road ahead, Cloud still drove carefully behind the two cars. They drove all the way out of Lestallum and towards the Disc. Eventually the sun started to set and Ardyn had pulled into a nearby gas station.
When Cloud pulled up everyone was already getting out of their cars. "What say we call it a day here?" Ardyn said.
"'What say' we continue on to Cauthess?" Ignis asked with a look of suspicion.
Ardyn shrugged. "The Archaean's not going anywhere. But I believe a night of good rest would be most beneficial."
So we make camp…with Ardyn," Prompto said softly.
"Hell no," Noctis said right away.
"Might as well get the tent up," Gladio suggested. "Should be a haven close by."
"Oh, I'm afraid I've never really been one for the outdoors. I shall foot the bill, so let us stay at the caravan over yonder," Ardyn said far too casually.
"I really don't think all of us are going to fit into that caravan, let along with Ardyn," Prompto whispered when Ardyn walked away. "Especially with Ardyn."
"So why don't Cloud and I head to the haven and camp out there? Less people that way cramming into there," Zack suggested.
"That still leaves four of us… with Ardyn," Prompto replied.
"I do agree that perhaps some of us going to the haven would be good, but some of us should remain to keep an eye on Ardyn."
"Well, I'll stick with Cloud and Zack," Prompto stated. "We'll at least be split three and three that way."
"You sure?" Noctis asked.
"Dude, Ardyn is giving me the creeps. I'd rather not be sleeping in the same space as him. Even if he is trying to help us."
"If you're okay with it then. Text when you guys set up though, okay?"
"Can do, Noct!" Prompto said as he nodded. "So does this mean I can ride with you on the motorcycle?"
"I'll probably have to make two trips, but yeah," Cloud nodded.
Prompto pumped a fist into the air. "Awesome! So where is the nearest haven?"
"There should be one just a little ways from here, closer to the Disc itself," Ignis said as he pulled out the map. He opened it up and pointed to where the haven was, letting Cloud figure out the direction to it.
"Ah no too far," Cloud nodded. "Zack and I will go first, then I'll come back, okay?"
The others nodded and the two were off, heading towards the haven where they could set up camp for the night. The sun was already beginning to set so Cloud had to move it as fast as he could. When Zack was at the haven, Cloud turned around and headed back. Though on the way back, he felt nervous.
He had left Zack at the haven alone. Sure, he could fend for himself and knew what he was doing, but that wasn't what worried Cloud. Part of him worried that if he was away from Zack too long, he wouldn't be there anymore. He feared that Zack was nothing but his imagination, his deep down wish to see him again. But he knew that Noctis and the others saw him, Zack was 100% real and there.
"Come on, Cloud. Get a grip on yourself. Zack told you he was brought here so he could join you. This is real. This time with him is real, not a hallucination."
When he arrived back at the station, Prompto was waiting there eagerly. "Ah man! I get to take a ride on the crazy fast Fenrir! I can't wait to rub it in Noct's face!"
Cloud gave a soft chuckle. "You do know, I'll probably have to give him a ride at some point, right?"
"Yeah, but I'm the first!"
"Alright. Whatever you say."
After Prompto got on Fenrir, Cloud revved the engine and took off towards the haven. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Prompto's cheers of enthusiasm. By the time they got to the haven, Zack had already gotten a fire going and was relaxing right by it.
With Prompto there with them, he was able to pull out some of the camping supplies from the armiger. The three of them set up the tent fairly quickly before going to sit down and eat some food. While they were there, Prompto was already looking through his photos from the day.
"Aw crap, I forgot to show Noct and the others the photos I got today! Guess I'll just have to save them all."
"What do you mean?" Cloud asked.
"Well I take a lot of photos usually everyday. If I saved every single photo, I would be out of storage space before Tuesday. So I usually only save the best of the best from each day. Usually going through them with the guys."
"Well why not go through them with us?" Zack asked. "As long as you have someone to look at them with you, it still works out, right?"
"Hm, I guess so. Alright! Let's do it!" Prompto said before he moved to sit between Zack and Cloud.
They started to look over the photos, a lot of them from when they were in the cave. A lot of them were of them in the heat of battle with daemons. Eventually, Zack and Cloud had pointed out some of the ones they thought were the best, at least in their opinions.
By the end of it, Prompto saved a few others that he also liked. He smiled and put away his camera into the armiger before laying back onto the ground. "Thanks guys. I can't wait to show those to the guys tomorrow."
He pulled out his phone and started typing on it. "Looks like Noct and co are doing okay at least. He says that Ardyn isn't bothering them, so that's good at least."
"I still don't trust the guy," Zack said with a shake of his head.
"Me neither! He's been a weird guy who just seems to show up wherever we go."
"When did you encounter him before?" Zack asked.
"It was back when we were at Galdin. Just a little while before we met Cloud actually," Prompto replied.
Cloud hummed. "And you don't know much else about him?"
"Nope. And as you saw today, we only just learned the guy's name. There's just something about him… something I don't trust."
"At least we are on the same page. We'll keep an eye on him though. If he tries anything, we'll stop him before he is able to!" Zack declared.
"Yeah, but maybe after Titan? As long as he doesn't do anything before that? Ah man, I can't believe we are going to see the Astral himself tomorrow."
"If we are going to go see him tomorrow, we should get some sleep," Cloud said as he got up and headed to the tent.
Zack jumped up to his feet, following after him. "Right! Tomorrow's going to be another long day."
"And who knows what'll happen next," Prompto added.
With that the three of them went to sleep, with the glow of the Disc on the horizon. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and all of them could tell that. But what they didn't know was just how big of a day that it would be. What they never would expect to happen during their adventure awaited all of them, waiting to begin.