In the morning Noctis did his best to not just glare at Ardyn when they got to their cars and started off to the meteor again. There was still something he couldn't quite place about the man, and he was only getting worse once they arrived at the barricade that was around the Disc.
Noctis glared heavily with suspicion when he watched Ardyn simply wave at the barricade, allowing them to be easily let through with no questions asked. And once they were allowed that entry, Ardyn all too easily said that was as far as he would go, letting the bros go forward all on their own.
"Seriously, what is with that dude? Who is he?" Noctis muttered to Prompto.
"He actually has ties with Niflheim... so totally more suspicious," Prompto said, eyeing the path carefully in front of them.
"At least we have a place to start searching for information about him. If he really has ties… then we need to keep away from him, for your sake. But first... this chaos." Noctis said as he carefully drove the car down the dirt path toward the cliff edge.
"How much further are we driving? We can't possibly drive the whole way there."
Noctis gritted his teeth as he tried to figure that out. "I think we're stopping soon. I don't- don't wanna hurt the Regalia."
"So it'll be walking from here on out," Gladio added before Noctis parked the car.
"Let's hope there's no more earthquakes now that we're here." Noctis mused as they started to walk further down the path.
"Noct, do you see that in front of us? Do you think...?" Ignis's question pulled Noctis from his thoughts to make him look up at what he was referencing.
"A tomb? Here? Of all places?"
"Who would want a tomb right next to the Archaean?" Prompto asked.
"No clue, but I guess one more tomb down in our quest." Noctis replied, stepping forward to claim the blade, this time ready for the sensation.
As soon as the shimmer of magic settled, the earth began to shake again, and Noctis could clearly see the ground under his feet start to crumble.
"Wh-what's going on!?" Prompto gasped.
"Prompto, watch yourself!" Ignis cried out as he helped them get to steadier ground. He bit back his curse as he watched his other two friends fail and vanish behind the level of the cliff.
"Noct!" Prompto screamed as he tried to scamper to the edge of the cliff.
Ignis hurried after Prompto, holding on tightly to the back of his shirt. He nearly sighed when he spotted Noctis at the bottom of the cliff with Gladio. "Thank heavens you're safe. Is there a way back up?" He called down.
"No, but there's a path. Gonna see where it leads!" Noctis shouted up at him.
"Are you okay though?" Prompto shouted, even though he could feel that Noctis was okay.
"Yeah, we're both fine! Are you okay?" Noctis asked as he looked over both of them for any injuries.
"We're all good up here. So we should both try and meet up further down the path?"
"Sounds good. Be careful, okay?"
"Right! See you soon!" Prompto shouted before he stood up. "Might as well hurry along right?"
"Certainly. Please let me know if you sense anything of note." Ignis replied as he started them toward the same direction as Gladio and Noctis.
"Yeah... I mean Titan seems like he is waking up. My head kind of hurts from it... but other than that everything else seems good."
Ignis reached out to steady Prompto. "I suppose it's good we're here then. If we need to stop, we can do that."
"I'll let you know."
They proceeded forward, trying to not let the heat get to them, but it was already much hotter than expected. Dynoaevis flew above them, but not diving down.
"Why do scary birds always gotta fly overhead like they expect us to die?"
"They're probably simply taking advantage of the thermals the meteor gives off." Ignis explained.
"Still unsettling," Prompto grumbled. "I bet Noct is wishing he borrowed one of my tank tops now. I can tell he is really uncomfortably warm."
Ignis let out a little huff of laughter at that. "I imagine you and Gladio are more comfortable here."
"Well hey! I am at least wearing a shirt! I don't know how Gladio can go around with only a jacket!"
"Gladio is full of nothing but self confidence in his body."
"And I'm sure you enjoy that," Prompto snickered.
Instead of answering, Ignis just pressed his glasses further up his nose and pushed further ahead on the path.
"Aw come on Iggy! I'm just messing around. Don't be so shy about it!"
"I am not being shy, I am simply not qualifying that question with a response."
Prompto pouted. "Aw you're no fun."
Ignis looked over his shoulder to give Prompto an arched expression. "And what would be your idea of fun? Convincing Noct to wear one of your tank tops?"
"He would be so cute in one! So yeah totally!"
A small smirk raised his lips at that. "Well, perhaps, if you're good, I'll help you with that mission."
"Really! Thanks Iggy! Now come on, let's keep going!"
Prompto only moved a few feet ahead before the ground shook and he was suddenly hit with another headache. Groaning he nearly dropped to his knees, holding his head tightly.
"Prompto!" Ignis hurried back to his side to help brace him. "What's wrong?"
"Titan won't stop being really loud. I really hope the other Astrals are more polite than this."
"We can certainly hope so. Can you keep moving, or do you need a bit longer?"
"I'll be fine. If Noct can keep going, so can I."
Ignis nodded and helped Prompto stand up. "Then, I believe I see a way we can get down with them."
He just finished talking when several Imperial ships soared overhead toward where they knew Noctis and Gladiolus were. And, they heard the rumbling of trucks behind them to crest the edge above them with several torrets aimed toward the meteor.
"Shit. Imperials. You think Gladio and Noct can see? We should try calling, see if we can get through," Prompto replied.
"I'll give Noct a call to warn them." Ignis said while pulling out his phone and quickly conducting the warning phone call. "Come on, we need to help them hold off the Imperials."
Prompto gave a quick nod as they ran forward to make it down where the other two were. Running down the hill, Prompto summoned his gun and fired at a nearby MT. "Noct! We're coming!"
Noctis turned around quickly to look up at his husband and friend and gave them a smile. He was kept from yelling anything as a giant hand came down to try and flatten him. He just managed to bring up his greatsword to block the attack and force it away from him. He yelled as he performed a Warp Strike to try and keep the others safe from the giant Astral.
"So we need to fight imperial soldiers and an Astral! What a day, am I right?" Prompto shouted over the fray of the battle.
"Focus Prompto! Take out the Imperials first." Ignis suggested as he surged forward to take out a few torrents with his polearm.
"I'm trying!" Prompto shouted as he threw a grenade towards oncoming MTs.
Between Ignis and Prompto, with the occasional help from Noctis warping into the Imperials who broke rank, they were finally stopped from trying to hurt the Archaeon.
"Prompto, I think I have an idea. Follow me!" Ignis said as he leaped forward toward the middle of the middle with his daggers in hand.
"Right! What's the plan?"
"Get near Noct, and we'll do a group attack with some magic."
"Right, got it!"
Prompto ran as fast as he could, making it over to where Noctis was fighting. He helped clear out the remaining MTs while avoiding any attacks that Titan tried on them. "You ready for this?"
"I'm ready for this! Let's do it!" Ignis shouted as he pulled out an elemancy flask to juggle in his hand. He took a deep breath, checked with Noctis, and then threw the bottle at the right moment. The Blizzara shattered and coated the giant arm with ice.
Noctis broke the arm for a moment before a golden light flooded the area. He went to help steady Prompto as he watched Gladiolus do the same for Noctis while the whole world tried to fall apart around them. He hated that he didn't know the best way to get out of a bad situation.
With their magic attack working, Titan collapsed before them. Prompto sighed as he stretched his muscles briefly. "So is that it? Is it over?"
"Seems so." Noctis called back before he was pulled into another vision that Prompto was able to partially see.
During the vision, the ground around them was starting to fall apart around them and lava was shooting up to try and pull them down.
"We need to get out of here!" Prompto shouted when the vision and headache ended.
"No shit Blondie!" Gladio interjected.
An Imperial ship hovered down in front of them with no guns aimed towards them. The loading dock lowered to reveal Ardyn walked down the ramp with a smug smile. "Looks like you might need some help. Care for a lift?"
Noctis looked around his friends before making a split second decision. "Yea, I don't wanna die today."
"Me neither," Prompto added. "But are we really going to..." he trailed off at the end.
"I don't think we have much choice. This or death." Noctis said seriously as he stepped toward the ship.
"Agreed. Dying here is not an option. We have no choice," Ignis added.
With a firm nod with the agreement from Ignis, Noctis marched forward to board the Imperial ship.
"I suppose I should properly introduce myself. My name is Ardyn Izunia." Ardyn said as he smiled down at them from his spot on the ship.
"Like Chancellor Izunia from Niflheim?" Ignis asked quickly, adjusting his glasses.
Ardyn's smile grew a bit wider. "Yes, Izunia would be my last name currently. Such a smart young man." He took a step back. "I'll leave you alone for now."
"So he was actually affiliated with Niflheim this entire time," Prompto commented.
"It makes all the more sense when you put the pieces together," Ignis added.
As soon as he could manage it, Noctis hurried over to Prompto and Ignis to place his arms around both of them to pull them close. "What do we know? How can we make sure to not be separated again? If he is the chancellor… then how can we be sure he won't..." Noctis glanced around and then at Prompto. "You know, go for Prompto?"
Prompto frowned. "He could be here for me, right?"
"That may be… so best to be wary of Chancellor Izunia," Ignis replied.
Gladio scooted closer to the group, closing the gap of their small circle. "We keep an eye closely on Mr. Chancellor here. Make sure he doesn't pull any shady moves on it. Then we get back to what we were doing."
"I believe Gladio has it right. And we stick close to each other." Ignis added while leaning on the wall next to Noctis.
"When we're not here, I wanna tell you what I saw earlier." Noctis confessed. "But, right now, I'm just exhausted."
"This thing seems to be moving pretty slowly," Prompto commented. And thankfully no windows so I don't have to see how high we are."
"We'll see where they take us. Hopefully this wasn't a giant trap to take us to the Empire." Noctis sighed.
Prompto rested his head on Noctis's shoulder. "Might as well get some rest while we wait. And hope for no traps."
Ignis looked over the pair carefully. "Yes, get some rest for the moment. We can take shifts in keeping guard. I believe Gladio and I have this round covered."
Noctis sighed and leaned more against Prompto. He closed his eyes, soon relaxing to a light sleep.