Have some, a bit more literal, Bahamut bashing in this one.


Onwards (to Altissia)

It was, perhaps, coincidence, that Noctis and his friends met up with Gladio at the power plant in Lestallum. They had come to retrieve the finished replacement part from worker Holly, whereas Gladio had arrived looking for them. Although Noctis' Shield was reluctant to talk about where he had gone, the new scar across his forehead told them of at least one battle he had been through.
Independent of whoever or whatever he had fought, however, Noctis was glad to have him back in one piece. They chatted about their encounter with Aranea and the Empire's harvest of daemons all the way from the power plant to the food stalls besides the main road. Prompto kind-of admitted to having fallen for both Cindy and Aranea, causing Noctis to chuckle when they descended the staircase down to the car park.
Next to a red convertible, a familiar figure was waiting for them. Not too long ago, Noctis would have sighed and rolled his eyes at the sight of him, but now he simply crossed another name off his mental list of missing party members.
Funny, how things tend to change over time.

The chancellor's face lit up as his eyes fell on the prince and his companions.
"Did you miss me, your Highness?" he asked, spreading his arms invitingly.

"As if," Noctis joked. "You look like you've missed us, though."

"Only the amusing conversations we've had. It gets boring without anyone to talk to."
He joined them on their leisure walk across the car park to the spot where the Regalia stood.
"I've gathered you've come to Lestallum to have the Mythril ore fashioned into the replacement part you need. Did you have a hard time finding it?"

"Not really, thanks to Aranea," Noct replied.

"So she has served you well?"

"Yep."

"Hate to break it to you," Prompto chimed in. "But y'know, she really can't stand you."

"Can't say I'm surprised."

Gladio chuckled. "Is there anyone who can stand you?"

"I believe you know the answer to that question already," Ardyn replied.

"It's that bad, huh?"

"One would think the chancellor of Niflheim had better public relations," Ignis thought out loud.

"Mind you, I get along great with the public! Niflheim politicians, on the other hand, are predators. It takes an unusually great amount of pretence and backstabbing to survive among the high and mighty. I understand that not everyone approves of such methods."

"Oh, that explains so much!" Prompto exclaimed. "Like, all that teasing we had to endure."

"That was no teasing. I was merely … nudging you into the right direction."

"Some would call it manipulation," Ignis criticised him, but Ardyn just shrugged.

"I cannot help it. After some thirty odd years, it has become a force of habit."

Ignis unlocked the Regalia's doors and they all moved towards the seats they had taken at the start of their journey. As usual, Prompto was the first to get in and take the spot in the middle of the back seat.

"You think Aranea's really gonna quit the Niff army?" Noctis asked as he sat down next to his high school friend.

"Noct" Ignis reprimanded him. "This might have been sensible information."

"Didn't sound sensible when she said it."

"There is no need to get upset," Ardyn said to both of them. "I've had my suspicion, anyway. The girl always possessed too much common sense to stay in this madhouse of an Empire indefinitely." Instead of placing his Fedora on the dashboard, he simply let it disappear into his armiger.

"I know what you mean," Prompto agreed. "For someone from the Empire, she was much nicer than I thought. Uh … No offence, Ardyn."

"None taken."

They set off back to Cape Caem, where Cid, Iris, Talcott, - and most importantly, Regis' yacht, - were waiting for them. It was a long ride from Lestallum to the coast, even without any unexpected stops. Yet time passed quickly, thanks to the lively conversations in the car. Ignis had bought a new ingredient at Lestallum to try and recreate the Tenebraen dessert from Noctis' childhood once more, which led Noctis to recount some other memorable highlights of his stay at Festala Manor, and Ardyn eventually explained how he had convinced Lady Lunafreya to conspire with him against the Draconian. Coincidentally, he revealed also some more of the Draconian's machinations.

It was about 6 pm and the sun had just begun to set when Ignis pulled over at the roadside nearest to the Cape Caem light house. A partially overgrown path led from there to the abandoned home of former light house keepers, where Iris stayed, as well as further up, to the light house on top of the cliff. Noctis had put about half of the way behind himself by the time he spotted two people tending to the newly rebuilt vegetable garden in between the buildings.
"Oh crap," he uttered and stopped.

"What is it?" Prompto asked, stopping as well.

"I completely forgot about Dustin and Monica."
Noctis could have smacked himself for not thinking of the Crownsguard members earlier. Even if Monica had not been aware who Ardyn was back at the Prairie Outpost, chances were Cor had told her by now, which meant someone had to explain to her and Dustin why the prince was travelling with one of Lucis' greatest enemies. Hoping for an easy way to skip the upcoming discussion, Noctis turned around to Ardyn, who had been trailing behind them.
"Hey, Ardyn. Can you throw up an illusion or something?"

"First of all, I don't do parlour tricks on request," Ardyn replied lightly offended, with his gaze fixed onto the two Crownsguard members in the distance. "Secondly, I have nothing in my repertoire convincing enough to fool them for more than a couple of seconds. And last, but not least …"

Monica looked up and pointed into the direction of Noctis and his companions.

"… it is already too late for that."

"Then you explain yourself to them," Gladio suggested as he walked ahead.

Ardyn ran a hand along his chin. "I'm afraid I cannot do that. Or rather; I could, but I won't."

Already, Monica and Dustin were purposefully walking towards them, and Noctis sighed, annoyed by Ardyn's antics once again.

"Consider this an opportunity to show off your diplomatic prowess." The chancellor leaned over to him and eyed him questioningly. "You are capable of thinking before talking, right?"

Noctis crossed his arms. "Pff. Sure."

Well, he said that, and still glanced over to his advisor, who had always been so much better at carefully choosing his words than him. Yet Ardyn was quick to wave a hand in front of his face in order to regain his attention.
"Ignis is not going to help you. He possesses the skill, but his words hold no weight. As a future king, you cannot expect him to do the talking for you."

"I will offer advice, however," Ignis added, to which Noctis responded by nodding into Ardyn's direction.

"Take a number. I got more advice than I bargained for."

In the meantime, Dustin and Monica had gotten close enough to them to send upset and confused looks the chancellor's way.

"We'll be with Iris if you need us," Gladio announced and took Prompto with him towards the light house keeper's home.

Monica's expression spoke volumes of irritation when he walked past her.
"What is going on here?" she demanded to know and gestured towards the chancellor. "Prince Noctis, do you not know who this man is?"

"Calm down, Monica," he replied. "He is … helping."

That answer was nowhere near enough to calm her. If anything, she looked more worried than before.
"Why would the chancellor of Niflheim be helping you? We are … we're not being blackmailed, are we?"

"Please don't put any ideas into his head," Ignis said in response to Ardyn's chuckle.

"The Niff chancellor is with us, because …"
Noctis rattled his brain for a moment. Damn, why did his motives have to be so complex?
"Because he's a Lucis Caelum, that's why."

Next to him, Ignis shook his head in disappointment.

Ardyn straight-up put his palm to his face. "What did they teach you at the Citadel? Did they teach you anything at all?" he demanded to know, exasperated. "This is the first argument you put forth and you choose to share the single most valuable information I gave you!?"
Something about his gaze told Noctis he was holding back on slapping him in the face, and whether that was true or not, the notion in itself was scary.

"I was taught diplomacy," Noctis defended himself. "It's just not easy to apply it all of a sudden, all right? Besides, you didn't mind me telling the others about your past."

"Because I assumed you trusted them not to spread that knowledge nilly-willy."

"Of course I trust them!"

Monica's and Dustin's expressions had shifted from angry and confused to completely perplexed at watching the two of them fight.
"So, uhm …" Monica eventually started again, "You're a brother to King Regis, then? But how? We know of no relatives."

"Chancellor Izunia was inaugurated before King Regis' ascension," Dustin matter-of-factly informed the other Crownsguard member.

Ardyn took a step back and turned his attention away, apparently having written off the prince as a lost cause. At the very least, this meant that Noctis could keep talking about him and he would not care. "He dates back a little further than that. His name was removed from all records, and he himself was unjustly exiled. That's how he ended up with the Niffs, but he's going to help us reclaim Insomnia now."

"Then I assume you have broken your ties with the Empire," Dustin addressed Ardyn directly.

"Not yet, but I will, once we no longer benefit from my influence on the Niflheim government and military." He briskly strode past the Crownsguard members. "Now, if you are quite done with your questioning …"

"As a matter of fact, I am not done yet," Monica stated.

"It's okay, Monica," Ignis said before she could run after Ardyn. "You do not need to trust him. Just trust Noctis in his decision to have accepted him as an ally."

She begrudgingly gave in. "Of course."

"Thanks, Iggy," Noctis mumbled, glad that at least someone knew what to say.

"As for your practise …," Ignis continued, "I believe you can still take some time improving your political prowess after we've arrived in Altissia. Let us go see Cid for now."

Great. So Ignis was not happy with his choice of arguments, either. Seriously though, he should know better than anyone that Noctis had an easier time expressing himself with actions than with words. He never had the chance to improve much, either. Out of all the meetings and negotiations his father had been to, Noctis had attended only a few, and even then, Regis had always been at the centre of everyone's attention. On top of that, Noctis had no aspirations at all to ever sweet-talk people into doing his bidding like Ardyn did.
He huffed, trying to vent his frustration, and just agreed with Ignis. "You're right. Let's go."

The old mechanic was just stepping out of the lift when they arrived at the entrance to the light house. Luckily, the replacement part they had brought with them met his quality standards. Even so, installing the part and putting everything back together would take a while. According to Cid's estimation, it was going to be late evening by the time he was finished. He suggested they stayed the night at the light keeper's house and set off in the early morning. Noctis did not mind, as long as he was in good company and there was a soft bed waiting for him.
Truth be told, Noctis had probably never sat at a table with so many people than he did at that evening, which was funny in a way, considering that the dining table back at the Citadel was even larger. With the help of Monica and Dustin, Ignis whipped up half a feast for everyone, and Ardyn proved that he could very well entertain others with pleasant small talk if he only wanted to.

Once dinner was finished, everyone except for Monica and Dustin moved upstairs to play darts. With so many people, however, the game was going slowly. Prompto eventually took a break and sat down at the couch table with a piece of paper and a pen in his hands.

"Gimme a sec, I just thought of something that'll make this game tons more fun!"

Doodling was not one of Prompto's hobbies, which made Noctis all the more curious just what he was trying to put together. He joined his friend at the couch table. Prompto's untalented scribbling slowly formed what appeared to be a winged lizard with swords surrounding it.

Noctis chuckled. "Is that supposed to be Bahamut?"

The mentioning of the Astral caused Ardyn to lean forward on the couch and take a peek at the drawing.
"A poor rendition," he said. "Didn't you know that his wings consist of nothing but blades?"

The young Talcott, who sat on the floor next to Prompto, looked up at him in awe.
"You've actually seen the Draconian?"

"More times than anyone should have, I suppose."

"I'm sure Val could have drawn a really cool sketch of him," Noctis said, suddenly reminded of his other high school friend and Crownsguard member Valyria Iridius. She had only just received the honorary title of "Sword of the King" before he had set off to Altissia for the arranged wedding, and he had not heard of her since. The thought of her came with a twinge of sadness that Prompto apparently felt, too.

"You think she's all right?" Prompto asked without the usually cheerful tone to his voice.

"I don't know. I tried to call her not long after Insomnia's fall, but I think her phone's dead. You know her, though; She can manage on her own."

That seemed to lift his friend's spirits again. "Yeah right."

"You could ask Monica or Dustin about her," Ignis suggested and sat back down after another perfect score on the dart board.
His precision was off the charts. If he did not back out of the game or someone took his glasses – all of them – he would be the sole winner by the end of the evening.
"Someone from the Crownsguard is bound to have heard from her," he added.

"You're up next, Noct," Gladio reminded him, but Noctis waved it off.

"I'll pass." With a sigh, he left the room and moved downstairs, where Monica and Dustin were washing the dishes.
At the sound of his footsteps, Monica turned around and noted his presence. "Your Highness?"

Noctis took out his phone. No new messages, no missed calls. He scrolled over his contacts to where Valyria's name was listed and hit the button to call her. As expected, it took mere seconds until a computer voice told him that "this number was unavailable".

"I was just wondering," he said to Monica, "if anyone from the Crownsguard knows what happened to Val?"

"To my knowledge, Miss Iridius had left the Crown City to check on the wedding preparations in terms of security," Dustin explained. "That was a few days before your departure. Last we heard from our contact, she left Altissia because of Insomnia's fall."

"I have not seen it with my own eyes, but Baelor and Yentreia Iridius died in the battle for Insomnia," Monica added. "It only makes sense that she wished to return to Lucis to offer her support in place of her aunt and father."

"'Suppose so," Noctis agreed.

"I'm afraid we don't know where she is now, but a lot of the Crownsguard members are currently scattered all across Lucis, helping out whomever and wherever they can."

"Right." While it was not exactly the answer he had hoped for, Noctis was satisfied knowing she was probably out there, doing her job. Perhaps even looking for and helping Luna.

A crash came from the room upstairs.

"No weapons in the house!" Ignis yelled harshly.

Alarmed, Noctis hurried back up the stairs.

During his absence, Prompto had pinned his sketch of Bahamut to the dart board. A red glowing spectral blade was stuck in it dead-centre and Ardyn stood there, still with his arm outstretched and a content smile on his face.

"Keep calm, specs," Gladio said from his spot on the couch. "I don't think any damage was done."

"Of course not." By dismissing the weapon, Ardyn proved that the dart board and wall were undamaged. "The soul of a blade hurts without cutting. And don't we all wish Bahamut felt that?"

"We still agreed not to draw any weapons in the house," Ignis insisted. "Besides, using anything but a dart for throwing is cheating."

"Disqualify me from the game, if you like," Ardyn said and turned to the others with a theatrical sweeping gesture. "but know that you cannot take from me the satisfaction of having struck Bahamut in the face, even if only by proxy."

The way he spoke caused Noctis to laugh.
"Hey, someone pass me a dart. Let's punch some holes into that dragon for all his stupid rules!"


Did you see what I did with the sun setting at 18:00?

Yes, there's an OC mentioned here - a little shout-out to my friend blackorchid1004 over on AO3, who more or less jumped the bandwagon regarding this AU.
I can't say yet when, how or to which extend she'll make an appearance. Perhaps there'll even be a guest chapter, who knows?
For now, I can tell you that I have the events in Altissia planned out and there's a lot to plow through first, because Altissia is where the canon divergence really kicks in.