Reunited
"How did you escape from Angelgard?" Noctis asked as he and Ardyn wandered through the narrow chasm. His clothes dried slowly, but at least they were drying at all. He could hardly wait to escape this dark and clammy hole. Being stuck together with Ardyn was, in a way, more disturbing than ever, now that he knew of Ardyn's true identity, but at least Noctis had learned that Ardyn did not play the role of the monster willingly.
"I have my friends from Niflheim to thank for that," Ardyn replied, "although ... to thank is perhaps not the right expression."
On the cliff face above them, Noctis spotted two goblins eyeing them with curiosity. As Ardyn passed them, the lesser daemons sought the distance. "Whose side are you really on?" Noctis continued.
"First and foremost, my own. Did I help Niflheim invade Insomnia? Consider me guilty as charged. But to me, this was never about seeing Lucis in the hands of Aldercapt. As much as I loathe my brother and the Lucis he founded, it was our god-given calling that set us onto different paths. I only want to take revenge on the crystal and the god who protects it. It just so happened that Niflheim was after the crystal as well. Perhaps you will understand that I could not have asked Regis to simply hand over the sacred stone, especially not as a representative of Niflheim. He would have defended it with his life. Well, I assume he did."
"Who says I will not?"
"Because you are not like your father. You do not care about the protection of the crystal like he did."
"But you can't just set out to destroy it, either. The crystal is said to be the soul of Eos."
"Weren't you paying attention just now? Since time immemorial, the crystal has brought nothing but envy and ill will to Lucis. How could it be otherwise when elsewhere Eos faces darkness, war and poverty?" Ardyn shook his head in incomprehension. "And as for the magic ... Surely I don't need to tell you about the price your father had to pay for the magic of the crystal. Tell me, prince, had it truly been worth it?"
Noctis did not give him an answer to that, seeing how a part of him was very much inclined to agree with Ardyn. Of course, it was unfair that the ring had been consuming Regis's life if it had only delayed the inevitable invasion. His grandfather, King Mors, had died early, too. Could that have been because of the crystal as well?
"By the way, in case you haven't noticed: I had you declared dead so that you will have an easier time reclaiming Insomnia. And I will assist you with this task. Emperor Aldercapt, with his quest for immortality and power, is no better than my brother's descendants who so foolishly sacrificed their lives to the whims of a stone."
Noctis shook his head, trying to focus. "That does not change the fact that Insomnia lies in ruins."
"Like I said, whether with or without my help, the invasion was only a mater of time." Ardyn stopped and turned back to Noctis with the same, smug expression he wore so often. "What say, we make the most of this situation?"
"What say, we get out of this hole first?"
"Nooct!"
Prompto really knew how to interrupt a conversation.
#-#-#
"Oh man, why do I have to do this?" Prompto complained as he descended deeper into the chasm with a rope around his waist. He was not a born climber, and if Gladio was not holding the other end, he would surely have fallen by now.
"Because you're the lightest of us," Ignis explained, keeping an eye on him from the ledge. "Do you see anything yet?"
Prompto didn't dare look into the blackness below him, so he looked up.
"Yes, the blue sky, a few clouds ..."
"Prompto," Ignis admonished him.
"All right, all right." Prompto reminded himself that Noct was down there and needed his help. Just because he had heard his best friend's voice did not mean he was unharmed. Perhaps Ardyn was threatening him further. Prompto swallowed and dared to look down. "I can't see anything at all. It's far too dark down there."
"Can't you fire a Starshell down?"
"Right, good thinking." With nervous fingers Prompto tried to load the right kind of ammunition into his handgun.
"Hurry up, Prompto!" Gladio shouted with effort from above.
"Already at it." In his haste, Prompto dropped a shell casing into the depths. "Oops. I-I'ts all right. I've got another one."
#-#-#
A tiny, metal object came tumbling from above and disappeared into the stream of water next to Ardyn and Noctis. The two looked up.
Far above their heads Prompto was dangling from a rope.
"Prompto!" Noctis cried. "Here we are!"
"What is your friend doing?" Ardyn asked sceptically.
A tiny light shot down. It exploded in a bright ball of light directly in front of them.
Noctis shielded himself from being blinded with his raised hand, but behind him Ardyn winced in pain. Where the gloves did not protect them, dark veins stood out on Ardyn's fingers, and black streams marked his face beneath his upheld sleeve. Black particles detached themselves from his form. Had Noctis not believed him that he was indeed the tainted Adagium, this sight proved it.
"I see him!" Prompto exclaimed. "Ardyn is with him! Move aside, Noct, I'm reloading!"
Noctis stepped in front of Ardyn. "Let it be, Prompto," he said. "Ardyn wants to help us. In a strange, overly complicated way, but I think he means it."
"Seriously?"
"I'll try to explain when I get up there. Hold still for a moment."
With all his strength, Noctis threw his sword in Prompto's direction. It bounced off the rock causing his friend to flinch. Noctis warped after it anyway. At the last moment he managed to grab Prompto's outstretched hand. The extra weight caused the rope to give way a little.
"Ignis!" Gladio shouted in alarm.
"Didn't you tie the rope to a rock?" Noctis asked.
"Does Gladio count as a rock?" Prompto responded through clenched teeth.
Out of nowhere, a rush of air swept past them from the depths of the chasm. Out of the corner of his eye, Noctis noticed the wind carrying black particles with it. Ardyn materialised above them for a moment, began to fall again, dissolved once more and disappeared further upwards, over the edge of the cliff.
"Don't let go, you two," he quipped, presumably addressing Gladio and Ignis.
With a jerk, the rope moved again and Prompto and Noctis were pulled up slowly. As soon as the cliff's edge came into reach, Noctis let go of Prompto's arm and took hold on some protruding rocks instead.
Ardyn reached out a hand to each of the two climbers. Noctis accepted the offer gladly, and, although hesitant, so did Prompto a moment later. When the two of them made it up onto the outcrop, Gladio was visibly exhausted, but picked himself up to point his sword at Ardyn again.
Ignis pushed himself inbetween the chancellor and Noctis.
"What was that about?" he asked firmly.
Ardyn glanced over Noctis' still wet jacket. "I'd say the boy needed to cool off."
"Long story short," Noctis took over, "Turns out, Ardyn is my weird, immortal uncle who kind of gave his life for the people of Lucis until he got screwed over by the crystal some 2000 years ago. He thinks Eos is better off without it, but wants to help us reclaim Insomnia."
"Your ... uncle?", Prompto echoed in surprise.
"More like great-great-uncle, with lots of more greats in between."
"What reason do we have to trust him?", Gladio demanded to know.
To his surprise, Noctis could not think of a reply, but Ardyn was quick to take over.
"You are still alive and well, are you not?" he asked with a shrug.
Ignis looked unconvinced. "And how do you intend to support us exactly?"
"First of all, I can grant you access to most places under Imperial lockdown and keep the Empire off your backs for as long as my change of heart remains undiscovered. Besides, as Noctis so aptly mentioned, I am indeed most difficult to get rid of."
"So we basically have no choice," Gladio concluded bitterly.
"You can put it that way, if you must, but those are not my words."
"I'd rather not depend on a double agent," Ignis said.
If Noctis had to choose between his home and the crystal, the choice came easy to him. Throughout his life, the crystal had always been this inexplicable, ominous object that only a few were allowed to see, and near which the greatest reverence was demanded. As a child, he had hated the room because of the crystal's overbearing presence.
He would retrieve it for the sake of Lucis, but his home came first.
Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Noctis' mobile. To his surprise, it was still intact after the fall. On the other end of the line, the marshal answered.
"Cor?"
"So you made it," Cor replied, "Where are you?"
"Outside the city." Noctis glanced at Ardyn. "We found someone who might be able to get us back inside."
"Don't do that, Noctis. You're not ready for what awaits you. Listen, I'm heading to the Prairie Outpost. Meet me there."
"What did the marshal say?" Ignis asked.
"He says I'm not ready to go back to Insomnia. We're supposed to meet him at the Prairie Outpost."
"The man's right," Ardyn added, "I can get you to the citadel with ease, but the opposition is not easily defeated, even with my power. In case you have an army up your sleeve, you should use it."
Ardyn argues using the crystal instead of Bahamut, because "Bahamut disappeared after the war of the Astrals", and I am not certain Noctis knows the god is watching over him. At least, Ardyn thinks he does not.
Anyway, I hope this dialogue is convincing.
2022-09-27: Updated the dialogue to make it (somewhat) more convincing.
