It was a long, hard slog. After the fall of Insomnia, most of the demons used during the initial sacking had vanished, but the city had sat in ruins for almost six months, and a substantial demon infestation had set in. It was nowhere near as bad as Gralea of course, but unlike the capital of the empire, the civilian population had either died in the initial fighting or evacuated; only a few stragglers and scavengers had remained behind. As the nights grew long and the starscourge infection rate increased, there had been far fewer victims to succumb to the "vanishing sickness" and join the demonic hordes.
By Noctis' express order, none of them had mentioned what demons were created from, and if Cor or Dave or the others had their suspicions, they kept them to themselves. Prompto thought it was for the best. It was hard enough on everybody walking through what had once been their home, the crown jewel of Lucis. It would be harder still if everybody kept eyeing the piles of deserted clothing the way he and the others did.
Prompto suspected that Noct had told Iggy to do his best to keep Prompto from having to fight or kill any MTs or Magitek armors, judging by the way the advisor took it upon himself to launch into the fray with his lance and daggers every time they came across a remnant of Imperial forces. It was kind. Prompto was doing his best to turn off his emotions and act on instinct, which was to protect Noct and his friends, but he hadn't been looking forward to shooting the broken, demonic, twisted remnants of what had once been his brothers. It was hard enough being reminded of his intended fate every time he saw an MT with glowing red eyes.
Gladio was fully focused on protecting Noctis, which was made difficult by the way Noctis insisted upon being in the thick of things. The prince had spent the past couple of days giving armiger access to the remnant of the Kingsglaive so that they could once again use the magic that had been ripped from them at King Regis' death, which had left him tired and nauseous. Even so, that didn't keep him from walking towards the front of their little phalanx, wielding the magic of the Ring, draining the most dangerous of demons from a distance or banishing large groups in a single moment that thanks to Aslan no longer knocked him to his knees but still left him winded and leaning heavily on Gladio. They all understood; Noct had always tried to protect them, whether it was from the tabloids and paparazzi back in the good old days, from the voreteeth and dualhorns during their ill-fated road trip, or now, from the demons and monsters that now roamed Insomnia. Fortunately, his pride no longer precluded him from accepting their assistance, so now he let his bodyguard keep one arm around his shoulders, supporting him until he was ready to continue while the soldiers and hunters mopped up any stragglers and cleared the nearby alleyways. City block by city block, they slowly inched towards the Citadel, the long line of well-guarded support trucks driving behind them. When the gates rose up before them, somehow strong and unbroken in spite of the damage that the surrounding city had sustained, they stopped.
"Dave, you take your hunters and clear the grounds," ordered the Marshal. "I'll take my men and clear the Citadel. Your Highness, will you and your men need anything?"
"No, we're alright, Cor," said Noctis. "Be careful. Call us if you want any backup."
"Yes, Your Highness," said the older man with a crisp bow. He led the bulk of his soldiers up the long stairs as smaller groups fanned off to the left and right to clear side hallways and loading bays.
"Well, shall we set up camp?" asked Ignis, indicating the center of the large courtyard. Dave was already helping his men set up the large portable generators Miss Cindy and Cid had provided them, preparing to light up the courtyard as a temporary staging area.
"I'm on it," said Gladio, pulling chairs out of the armiger. Ignis began setting up his cooking station as Noctis and Prompto walked over to the nearest cherry tree. Once it and its fellows had provided shade in a lovely little seating area outside the palace. Now it lay broken and shattered. Together the two friends dragged a large chunk into the center of their claimed area, and Noctis lit it on fire with an idle wave of his hand and a surge of elemental magic.
"Hey, don't waste that," said Gladio reflexively. Noctis snorted, and Prompto tried to make the noise that escaped him sound more like a laugh than the sob it was.
"Can't have camp without a campfire," said Noct. Ignis nodded.
"A thoughtful gesture," he agreed.
Ignis made them Noctis' favorites-a Mother and Child rice bowl, with Ulwaat berry cake at the end. They sat mostly in silence, not really sure what to say. It was a little odd having the dark silhouette of the Citadel rising above them, but they did their best to ignore it as Dave and his hunters gave them a respectfully wide berth.
"So yeah," said Noctis eventually, clenching his fists awkwardly. "I um..."
"Out with it," ordered Gladio, his face set. Prompto stared into the fire, unable to look at his friend.
"I just..." There was a long silence, punctuated by the crackle of the fire and the far-off howl of demons. "Dammit," he muttered. "Why the hell is this so hard?
"So I," the prince began again, "I've made my peace. Still, knowing this is it, and sitting here with you, now..." Prompto tried to meet his best friend's gaze, but seeing the tears dripping down his friend's face, he began to cry himself and buried his face in his hands. He didn't want to make this any harder than it had to be. There would be time for sorrow later. "It's more than I can take."
"Yeah," Prompto blurted, as the silence grew long. "You're damn right it is."
"Huh, you spit it out," said Gladio, but even in his bluster and bravado, he still wiped away a bit of moisture from his own eyes.
"It's good to hear," said Ignis, choosing to focus on the first part of the Prince's statement and ignore the rest.
"Well, what can I say?" blurted Noctis, climbing suddenly to his feet. They all stared at their friend, mourning what was going to be. "You guys are the best." Gladio was the first to embrace his friend, but Prompto and Ignis hurtled forward to join them. They stood there, the four of them, in the light of the fire as floodlights turned on, one by one, and chased away the shadows.
Eventually they rubbed their faces and sat down to eat the cake that Ignis had painstakingly prepared, not that it tasted like anything but ash in their mouths, anyways. The hum of Aranea's airship filled the air, and Prompto knew that she and her men were delivering the Crystal to Cor at the top of the Citadel. The minutes and hours ticked along until Noct's phone rang.
"It's done," said Cor's voice. "The pathway to the throne room is clear. The Crystal is once again installed above the throne room."
"Thank you, Cor." Prompto saw Noctis swallow hard. "Take care of things when I'm gone," he said.
"It will be my honor, your Highness," said the Marshal.
In silence, the friends made their way up the stairs to the entrance hall of the Citadel. Cor had managed to get power running to some areas, so Prompto led the way to the elevators, not eager to climb 20 flights of stairs up to the throne room. They reached the final doors, and Noctis stopped. None of them wanted to rush him, so they waited silently.
"Prompto, can I see your photos?" he asked abruptly.
"Uh, yeah," stuttered Prompto. He fumbled as he reached into the breast pocket of his Crownsguard robes. He'd only ever printed the very best ones, his favorites. They were usually kept in the armiger, but since they wouldn't be able to rely on it soon, he'd decided to carry them on his person. He hadn't had any opportunity to print anything since Altissia, but he didn't think that Noctis would mind.
"I just need one...to take with me," Noct said.
"Oh, yeah," said Prompto, his stomach falling out from under him. "I get it. You can take whichever you'd like." Noctis didn't search long; he snagged one of the oldest ones, a selfie taken as they stood over the body of the first dualhorn they'd killed. They'd been fresh out on the road, stranded in Hammerhead, and the money from that bounty had helped pay for the repairs to the Regalia. They were brash and triumphant in the photo, and although it had only been six months, they felt much older now.
"That's the one," said Noctis. He stared at it for a long moment, then tucked it into his pocket, turned, and deliberately swung both throne room doors wide. There had been some damage to the throne room, and it hurt to see it in disarray, when the last time they'd been here, they'd bowed before Regis. But that wasn't what drew their gaze.
"Hail, King of Light," said Gentiana. She stood below the throne at the foot of the stairs, her dress blowing in an icy, otherworldly wind, eyes closed as usual.
"My lady," said Noctis as his retinue bowed deeply to the messenger form of the Ice Goddess.
"Soon the king shall ascend, wielding the light of providence to banish the darkness from our star," she said. "But one thing yet remains before his ascension can be complete. The Immortal Accursed has discovered his attempt on the King's life has failed, and even now he moves to confront you. He must be defeated in this realm before you can banish him in the beyond."
"I have to kill Ardyn here before I can sacrifice myself?" said Noctis, his voice cracking. Prompto could see the despair creeping into his face. He had been so ready! They'd fought their way in. They'd said their goodbyes. They'd had one last meal together, for Astral's sake!
"Hey, you can do this," he said quickly, grabbing his friend's arm. "You're not alone."
"We're here to help," Gladio added.
"The Watchers of our star will honor the covenants made," Gentiana continued.
"And you have Aslan on your side," said Ignis. Noctis glanced at the ring, still shining brightly from Aslan's blessing. "You will never be alone."
"Besides, Ardyn tried to kill us once, and he failed!" reminded Prompto. "For someone who's apparently been planning his revenge for thousands of years, he sure sucks at it!" The joke was weak but unexpected enough to startle a chuckle from Noct.
"Yeah, you're right. We can do this. Together." The prince pulled his phone from his pocket. "Marshal? Change of plans. We're expecting company."