The citizens of Altissia would have to be evacuated for this to not cause any loss of life. That was the plan that they had come up with, and the plan that they would see through. Nimue hadn't been assigned to a section, if only because there wouldn't be a need for more than three people on the plan, so she'd been free to do as she pleased. Ignis had given her one of the communicators they were using to contact each other, opposite of their smartphones, as they needed to keep in touch during this.
Nimue had watched it play out. Watched as Leviathan rose, Noctis went to fight her and the Imperial battleships come afterwards. Meeting up with Gladio, Ignis and Prompto, the four of them had started to make their way to the altar when Nimue stopped short in hearing Gladio tell them to look out, turning around and shoving Ignis backwards. Watching him stumble and fall uncharacteristically, seeing the three of them stare at her for a split second, she could only give a small smile of apology before the corridor was hit by the dropship, knocking her unconscious from the impact and sending her into the waters below.
It was midday when she roused from unconsiousness. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but that was never a good sign. Swimming towards a nearby ledge, she pulled herself out of the water and rubbed her face a little. This was a good sign if she was alone. It meant that she'd done the right thing, shoving Ignis back when Gladio had called out like that.
Verse 2 had the divergence where Ignis brought back the day with a well-executed plan and never lost his sight... but nearly lost his life to keep Ardyn from his plan. I have to keep him from reaching the altar... Nimue thought to herself, pressing the communicator in her ear. A few seconds passed before she spoke.
"Hey guys, are you alright?"
"The hell were you thinkin', shovin' Iggy back like that and smiling like you were gonna die?!" Came Gladio's enraged response. Nimue could only laugh and shake her head.
"Iggy was in the line of fire. One of us going down was better than both, and I'm okay! It was an apology smile, you overprotective dork, so don't worry so much. I'm not gonna die." Unless the Bladekeeper finds out what I'm planning.
"You really could've died, Nym! You need to be more careful!" Prompto cut in. "Please, please be more careful next time! You really had us worried!"
"I'll be careful. I think I might be a bit away from the Altar, so I'm gonna head there. The Imperials shouldn't get any bright ideas with Titan around, but I could use some help keeping them distracted...?"
"Then we'll keep then busy. Be careful, Nym. Remember, you're free to call on us if you need help." Ignis said, before the line went dead. He had probably disconnected them so they wouldn't be overheard on Niflheim communicators. That was smart, very smart. Going up the stairs, Nimue shook her head.
"Episode Ignis? Guess it's Episode Nimue now... Just keep Ignis away from the altar and everything's good." She said to herself, summoning her daggers as she saw an MT walk out of nowhere. With practiced speed and precision, the soldier had gone down immediately. "What do you two think? If this were an alternative Final Fantasy Fifteen game, would we have an Episode?"
No, it would have been cancelled with the other four and shoved into a book. Came the internal reply. Nimue snorted, shaking her head.
"Yeah, sounds about right. I was really looking forward to Episode Aranea. Dragoons are awesome." Cutting through another few MTs, Nimue kept talking like it was no big deal. "It probably would've ended the same as the book- with the marriage of Noctis and Lunafreya."
Take the eastern-most bridge, Nimue. The internal voice said, stopping her rambling. That way we can get to Noctis faster.
"Oka- Oh, are you kidding me?!" As she ran into the bridge, missiles started to hit it and blew it into the water. Thankfully, she was still standing there and groaned at her misfortune. "Okay, so it's playing out like Episode Ignis. Bridge is destroyed, we go back and listen to Ravus, get a boat to go to the altar, get knocked out of that and then have a fun chase with a Magitek Armor! What a fantastic way to spend the day!"
Grumpy. A snicker followed that, followed by a reprimand from the earlier voice.
"Yeah, I'm grumpy! I missed picking up the hookshot because I took a different way!" Heading out of the bridge, she stopped when she saw Ravus and an Imperial soldier. Listening in on their conversation, she knew what was going on. Ravus would head to the Altar a different way, and Nimue would meet up with him after the boat she had was forcibly crashed... If she managed to get one.
"Attention all units: Assemble at the docks and prepare for withdrawal immediately. We depart in three minutes." A voice over the communicator said. Pressing a finger to it, Nimue prepared to speak up. She couldn't let this chance get by!
I made a promise to protect Noct, and it's a promise I intend to keep. Those words played in her head as she went to say something to get a boat. Ignis was probably trying to find his own way to the altar right now, independent of her and her plans, and that meant...
The images of Ignis losing his sight flashed before her eyes. Of how he was so pained, how he nearly lost his life and his body was slowly burning up from the power of the Lucii. She knew it- She knew it all too well. And she had to prevent it and any more tragedies before things got worse.
"Hold on, I'm headed to the altar! I need a boat!" Nimue said finally.
"Have you lost your marbles?!" The voice asked.
"No, but if we don't act now, we lose the King. If I get to the altar, I can ensure his safety... if he isn't dead by now." Nimue responded, keeping calm. "Please, I need a boat."
"Give her what she wants. It's clear she's a part of the King's retainers." Camelia said over the communicator.
"Understood." The voice said.
"I'll find a way to repay you both for this. Thank you!" Nimue said, before closing the line. She glanced around before heading towards the docks. It was a bit of a run there, having to figure out which way went where, but the moment she found it, it was when Prompto's voice came over the communicator. It seemed that Ignis had, as she thought, gone a different way so he and Gladio were talking to him over it.
Moving towards the commander, Nimue waved a hand to get his attention. "Sir, I'm ready to go. Please make sure the civilians get out safe. I'll get to the King, okay?"
"Are you absolutely sure about this?" He asked. Nimue nodded.
"I'm one of His Majesty's retainers. It's my duty to make sure he stays safe." She was a part of his retinue, not his retainer, but she wasn't going to go back on what Camelia had said earlier. "Come hell or high water, I will see to their safety."
"Alright. Just come back safely, both of you." Standing aside, he let Nimue head to the boat. Getting in, she heard Titan's cry and looked over towards the battle site. Giving a nod, she lowered the lever to get the boat going and started driving it towards where she had to go.
"Don't do anything stupid, Ignis. I swear, if I did all of this just for you to lose your eyesight, I'll- I don't know what I'll do but you better not be doing something stupid!" Nimue yelled over the roar of the engine. As she drew closer, driving by Titan, a missile stopped her by exploding in front of her and a dropship capsized the boat temporarily, causing her to fall into the water.
Breaking the surface, she looked around before noticing where the boat was. Hearing a voice, she looked towards it to see a dropship opening up. It was the guy that had been with Ravus, and his gaudy gold Magitek Armor. The dropship started firing, but kept missing, so Nimue headed towards the boat and climbed into it to escape him.
The magitek armor will topple the boat!
You fuckin' idiot, what the hell are you doin'?!
"I do this, I meet up with Ravus and possibly Ignis. Stop Ignis from doing something stupid an-" A missle blew up behind the boat, sending it flying and tossing Nimue to the ground. The communicator screeched in her ear and she pulled it out, tossing it aside as she heard Ignis' voice not too far from her.
"Nym!" He was helping her to her feet, putting a potion in her hand and having her squeeze it until it burst into blue and white crystals. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine, Iggy, but what are you doing- nevermind, you can tell me in a minute, we've got an Imperial!" Unlike in the Episode itself, it was just the Magitek Armor. Ignis drew his daggers from the Armiger and Nimue pulled out one of the short swords Noctis had stored in there.
The armor's arm swung down, causing the two of them to dive out of the way. Dashing forward, Nimue stabbed at the mechanisms of the leg, trying to bring it down that way. Ignis was using Stormbound Spelldaggers, zipping across the battlefield at high speeds and calculating each strike. The armor's leg came up, causing Nimue to lose her grip on the sword. It disappeared in blue and white crystals, leaving her without a weapon. Backflipping before the leg could catch her delayed the inevitable. The armor's arm crashed into her, sending her into the wall. Gritting her teeth, she fell to the ground and slowly brought herself back up.
Ignis wasn't having a problem, steadying himself every time he got hit and counterattacking with a quick swap of weapons. Watching him made her wonder where she was lacking. She had trained herself for a long time to be able to do so many different feats like he could...
Getting to her feet, she summoned her greatsword and lifted her head up to face the armor. Moving towards it, she let out a yell as she swung the greatsword down and smashed the leg, causing the armor to topple. With another cry, she was about to stab it through the cockpit when Ignis' hand grabbed her wrist. Shaking his head, he had her stand aside while he stabbed the cockpit with his spear. A cold look had gone over his face when he did that. As the magitek armor shut down, its arms no longer moving, Ignis removed the spear and dismissed it.
"Iggy, why are you here?" Nimue asked, before grabbing him by the shirt. "Why?! I'm trying to save you, dammit!"
"Save... me? I'm sorry, am I hearing this correctly?" Ignis asked, blinking once in confusion.
"Yes, you are! Do you want to know what happens to you?! You go anywhere near that altar, you're gonna get the bright fucking idea to put on the Ring of the Lucii to stop Ardyn from killing Noctis! It takes your sight, and leaves you injured and unable to do much until ten years after Noctis goes into the crystal. I don't want that for you. Hell, no one would ever want that for you!"
"Nym-" But he couldn't get a word in edgewise.
"I get that you'd be happy to! You would do anything for Noctis, even if it cost you your own life! You never tell Noctis that's the reason why. You cover it up by saying you got injured helping civilians, and maybe your sight'll return! It never does! Don't sacrifice yourself like that, Iggy..."
"Are... Are you crying?" Ignis gently removed her hands as she kept her head lowered. "Nym, I understand your concerns, but none of that'll happen. We'll get Noct to safety before anything happens to either him or me."
"...Alright. I believe you." Nimue wiped her tears. It was around then that Ravus showed up, and then Imperial soldiers did. The three of them called a truce to get to the altar, which they got to within a matter of time. It was only about a thirty-minute trip there. It wasn't until they got there that things were obvious. Lunafreya was dead, and Noctis was unconscious but uninjured. Ravus lamented about how she had never gotten to live her own life, and had tried turning on them when Nimue blocked his sword.
"Ravus, Ravus! Listen to me!" She only had this chance. This chance to make things right and turn them around- To make sure that more than just Noctis would survive. "Noctis never knew of the hardships Lunafreya went through to help him! I'm sure if he knew, he would've tried to talk her out of it or help her! But you can't let your anger blind you... We share a common enemy, all of us do."
"A common enemy?! Who would that be, then, if not the True King?!" Ravus spat, pushing forward with his sword. Nimue pushed back.
"The one who put Lunafreya and Noctis up to this for kicks, the one who's responsible for the Starscourge and who plays with Humanity like its some sort of game!" Nimue responded. "And it's definitely not Noctis, not Lunafreya and not Ardyn either!"
Ravus slashed at her after letting up, pushing her back. "Tell me who it is so I can strike them down!"
"As long as both you and Ignis can keep quiet about this." Nimue dismissed the greatsword. When she got their word, though Ravus' was reluctant, she cleared her throat. "The Bladekeeper started this two thousand years ago, giving the Nox Fleuret line the powers of the Oracle and the Lucis Caelum line their powers. Two brothers stood at odds. A healer and a man who wanted to round everyone up to cleanse the Starscourge by burning them. The healer took in too much Starscourge and was rejected by the crystal, saw his fiancee die in front of him and wanted Noctis to relive that same pain."
"Wait..." Ignis said. "How do you know this?"
"Because she's not of this world." Came Ardyn's voice as he walked up, making his grand entrance. "Although I loathe that more people are let in, I'll allow it to slide just this once. The Draconian is of whom she speaks, and I've come to understand it's the truth. Though, if things are to play out until I can truly assist, then what comes next?"
"A fight." Nimue said, turning to face Ardyn. "But instead of it being between you and a Ring-powered Ignis, it'll be between you and me. Hold back a little, no fatal blows. Staged, not real."
"As you wish~" Ardyn grinned, summoning a sword from the Scourge inhabiting him. It was a ruse to not show his true identity, at least not yet. With that, the two of them started to clash with Ravus and Ignis standing there. A little dumbfounded, Ignis looked to Ravus.
"Are you alright with this?" He asked. Ravus pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Not particularly, or at all. But I've no choice. If I go along with it, maybe my sister's soul can finally find peace." He said after a minute. Ignis hummed, looking back at the fight.
"Nimue is a good person, and her heart is in the right place. But I fear she may be biting off more than she can chew. She was trying to protect me from my fate, it seemed, of losing my eyesight to wearing the Ring."
"..." Ravus said nothing, but looked at his arm. The memory of when the ring had burned his arm to a crisp lingered in the back of his mind. Out of his peripheral vision, he noticed a purple flash when Ardyn had backstepped a bit far during his attacks. The two of them watched as Nimue stumbled where she appeared, dropping her daggers. Her hands slowly reached up to her face, where there was a pretty bad nosebleed. Ardyn's face was one of pure shock at what had happened, and he nearly dropped his sword too.
Nimue collapsed to the ground just as Prompto and Gladio showed up. It was Gladio who got to Noctis and made sure he was still alive while Prompto threatened Ardyn. After an explanation that he didn't do anything to Nimue from Ignis, both she and Noctis were taken away from the area.
Ardyn stared after them for a moment, slackjawed, before recomposing himself and giving a laugh. "How entertaining! Come along, Ravus, we've a prophecy to potentially turn on its head!"
"Ow... H-huh?" Nimue sat up in bed, looking around. Her clothes were just a plain t-shirt and jeans, probably bought quickly to change her out of her soaked clothes. The last thing she remembered was throwing her dagger to potentially knock Ardyn off-guard when she had felt her body move seconds after she threw it. Had that been the reason of her nosebleed? Did she... warp?
"Nym! You're up!" Prompto said, going over to her bedside. "You and Noct have been out for a week! He woke up just a couple hours ago... How are you doing?"
"...I feel like death and that I need a shower..." Nimue groaned, flopping back in bed. "A week...? What happened?"
"Ignis told us that you and Ardyn had been fighting when you just... suddenly warped like Noct does. None of the rest of us can do that, so I guess you're kinda special, huh?"
"Don't feel like it..." Nimue took a deep breath and exhaled. "Could... I get some water, Prompto? Please?"
"Oh! Uh, sure! And... thanks, for protecting Iggy. If he lost his sight, I don't know what any of us would've done. He's kinda the pillar that keeps us all standing, y'know?" Prompto said, before heading off. Nimue laid there, staring at the ceiling. She'd warped for the first time during her staged fight with Ardyn, gotten a nosebleed and collapsed. How did that mean she fell unconscious for a week? Was warping really that exhausting?
It made no sense to her. But, then again, she really never used the power Noctis gave her for anything but getting things from the Armiger. Sitting up, she got out of bed and steadied herself with the nightstand. Once she was sure she could walk, she made slow steps towards the balcony. It was there that Prompto found her, staring out at the ruined Altissia. It was undergoing repairs at the moment, but it was still slightly ruined.
"They've been hard at work to repair the damage the Hydraean did to Altissia." Prompto said, handing her the glass of water.
"At least Altissia wasn't completely destroyed. They'll get everything back... It'll just take time. Devastation like this isn't easy to come back from." Taking the glass of water, Nimue downed it before setting the glass down on the nearby balcony table. She stared at it for a minute before looking over to him. "...Let me get changed so we can meet the others and head out. There's... a lot we need to do."
"Yeah." Prompto nodded. Nimue grabbed her clothes off the dresser she found them on, changed into them in the bathroom and headed to the lobby of the Leville with Prompto, where Noctis, Ignis and Gladio awaited.
"We've acquired tickets for a trip to Niflheim, courtesy of Camelia." Ignis said, seeing Prompto and Nimue approach. "I know you must be hungry, Nimue, but we'll eat while on the train."
"I'm fine with that." Nimue said. "The Crystal is more important, anyway. We should head out as soon as possible."
"Right. Let's get going." Gladio said, taking the lead. The four of them followed him towards Altissia's train station, where Nimue saw Ardyn and Ravus boarding the same train as them. She smiled and shook her head.
Things were about to get interesting.