Researching FF15 and its lore with the Crystal and Power of Kings really is hard with the mixture of the game and movie. So, I'm winging the lore as openly as the game makes it to be. I don't care if I'm right or wrong, but enjoy the chapter!

By the next day, Iris had grown so concerned, she was calling Gladio every few hours. Lexus sent texts to Ignis and Prompto, only having their numbers. Her texts never got through, getting an error message everytime. Varin recovered from his head injury, but stayed in bed as his wheelchair was broken from recent news that the building's structure was weak and needed to be fixed. Apparently, a wall collapsed in their apartment, and crushed their belongings, including the wheelchair. Hilda stayed by him, helping him around the hotel along with Lexus.

Lexus herself was drowning in worry. Her thoughts were plagued with so many bad scenarios for the boys. It wasn't until Talcott offered to help fix her father's wheelchair she got out of her quiet state. The wheelchair wasn't crushed but needed repairs for her father to use again. Although, the parts she needed were not found in Lestallum, but Old Lestallum. So, Lexus decided to take a quick drive down there and then return with the needed parts.

As the pine haired girl was checking her bike, she was approached by a woman.

"You're Lexus, right?" She asked.

Lexus turned from her bike to her. "Yeah, and you are?"

The woman was wearing the same thermal outfits she's seen her Mother wear, hair was shoulder length and she held a kind look. "The name's Holly Teulle, I work at the power plant with your Mom; Hilda."

Her brows went up, "Oh, yeah. I think she's mentioned Holly before." she bluffed.

"Anyway, I've gotten word she's taking care of Varin, your Father. How's he doing?"

"Better, but his wheelchair was damaged in the tremors. They're staying at the Leville since the apartment building is too dangerous." She explained.

Molly smiled, "I'll drop by for a visit then, we miss her at work." she told.

"What does my Mom do at the plant?" Lexus asked, leaning back on her bike.

"Mostly valve inspections, around Lestallum. I've taken her shifts since then to ease the workload." Holly adjusted her footing, looking to bite back some pain. "I work at the plant itself, so I've been all over the place."

Lexus frowned, "Sounds like you've only added more work to yourself." she commented. "Hey, how about I inspect the valves for you?"

Holly seemed surprised by the offer, shaking her head. "I couldn't ask you that, you seemed like you were busy with something else."

"Well, I was going to go and ask nearby stops and get some information. But, I can spare an hour to help out." She shrugged.

Holly was troubled for a Moment, but then sighed. "If you're anything like Hilda, I think saying no won't even phase you."

Lexus tilted her head, "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Hilda is always grabbing extra work, taking on more than she can handle at times. More than I can handle myself." Holly explained. "She takes anyone's shift when open and covers people left and right. I think she spends more time at the plant than at home."

She pressed her thumb to her chin, having a hunch as to why that was.

"But, if you want to inspect them valves, be my guest. There's about eight valves that we check around the city. Sometimes, they're perfectly fine, other times and they can be ready to burst with the steam escaping." Holly told.

"Oh, I see. So, just turn off the leaks?" Lexus asked.

Holly nodded, "Yup!"

Lexus pushed off her bike. "I'll give them a look, you go see my folks. I'm sure my Dad would like to see someone other than my Mom and I for once."

Holly chuckled, "I'm sure your Dad loves to have you around, as does your Mom." she waved and left for the hotel.

Lexus had wandered nearly as much as the city as she knew, and only found five of the eight valves. Three were leaking to which she turned off. But once she struggled to find the remaining three, she resorted to returning to the defective ones and fixing the leaks to allow them to be back on again. Lexus thought she was going in circles when she found the main plaza too many times. The hour check up led to being near three, as she stopped by the small outdoor venue of Surgate's Beanmine to take a lunch break. Lexus rested her head on the table, awaiting for the food she ordered. Should she go to the hotel and ask Holly where the valves where? Lexus started to regret offering to take it. At this rate, she'd have to wait until tomorrow to go out and search for the boys.

"Here you go, ma'am. Peanut Sauce Skewers, fresh off the grill!" The plate slid in front of her as she raised her head. "Hope this cheered you up."

Lexus gave him a kind smile. "Thanks, sir. It's working already."

She dug into the skewers, loving the taste of the sauce on the meat. She'd have to get Ignis to make these next time they camp. Lexus brought her phone out, seeing the signal was not up yet. She pocketed it and finished her meal, wiping her mouth and hands with her napkin.

"Thanks sir, it was delicious." She told, placing the gil and a little extra on the table.

He walked over, taking the plate and gil. "My pleasure, miss. You still seemed troubled, is it from the recent events of the tremors?"

She shook her head, "Just a little lost. I'm helping this friend at the plant check the valves, but I only found five and can't find the other three." Lexus told.

The man rubbed his chin, "Oh, some of the valves can be tricky. I've seen new workers circle themselves around the city before getting someone to help." he told.

"Oh, good. I thought I was blind or stupid." She laughed.

The man chuckled. "There are narrow roads that people use for shortcuts to get around. Might find the remaining ones there, East of the city."

With new determination, Lexus threw a thanks and rushed down a walkway to find the narrow roads. The man was right, she found the remaining valves and fixed two before returning to the hotel to inform Holly. When she got to her parents' room, she found Holly gone and only her father in bed.

"Dad, where's Mom?" She asked, walking over to his bedside.

Her father smiled, "Oh, she left with Holly. She told us she ran into you on your way out of the city." he told.

Lexus nodded, sitting at the edge of the bed. "I offered to help with her work load, since Mom hasn't been at the plant for a few days." She sighed, reaching up to comb her hair back. "I didn't get to leave though, I'll try tomorrow."

Tomorrow she tried once more; Lexus was leaving the Leville early morning when once again, she was met with Holly.

"Good morning, Lexus!" She greeted her with a wave. "I wanted to thank you for helping out yesterday."

"It was no trouble." Lexus lied, adjusting her jacket. "Glad to help."

"You did more than help; fixing those valves gave us extra time to handle the plant. Actually, it led us to finding out we had some problems with our pylons."

"Pylons?"

"You might have seen the large towers, the ropeways are what we use to keep the power on for the city and all around Cleigne. If one shuts down, that area could be without lights." She explained.

"That's scary, out in the open?" She asked, frowning with concern.

Holly shook her head, "That's why I hesitate to send my new recruiters out there. But, you shouldn't have any trouble. A tough hunter like yourself!" She praised her.

Hunter? Well, she had been doing some hunter jobs with the boys for extra gil. Word must have gone around. "Alright, where can I find them?"

"You can't miss them. Follow the road out of the city until you find large white towers, those are them." She informed. "There should be ladders to climb with ease."

The back of Lexus' mind reminded her of the need to go out and search for the boys. Yet the thought of ignoring this issue growing into a power failure to the city, she couldn't let that go.

With a defeated sigh, Lexus took the job and left the city following Holly's instructions. Keeping her eyes on the road and the fields, she spotted them on her left as she drove the Coernix Bypass. Leaning on the breaks, Lexus pulled to the side and looked around. There were distant lines of the pylons, a good few miles between one another. Repressing a sigh to keep her visor from fogging, she parked her bike and got off. Leaving her helmet and taking her crossbow, Lexus jumped the guardrail and trekked toward the pylon. Though the trek was feeling more like a hike… possible mile long or so.

Catching her breath from the long walk, Lexus leaned back looking up at the towering pylon. She shrugged, coughing into her fist and circling to find the ladder.

"Can't say I didn't skip out on leg day."

Lexus gripped the ladder and heaved herself up, taking her time to climb with even breaths. Vertigo started to weigh in, making her pause just before reaching the platform. Pulling herself up, Lexus held the railing looking over the horizon. She was in awe of her view, never having such an advantage to see the valleys, meadows, and lakes. Lexus was out of breath by the sights before her more than her exhausting efforts of her running and climbing.

Her eyes fell upon the distant smokes of the Rock of Ravatogh, remembering Roland telling her about the heated mountain of smoke and lava.

"You climbed that!?" Lexus exclaimed, being shown an old picture. One of Roland and Ajax standing at a ledge of a mountain. "Isn't it encased with lava and poisonous smoke?"

"There is lava, so long as you don't take the wrong path, you can avoid everything." Roland told her as Ajax brought the two drinks for a break in Lexus' training. "Remember the climb?" He asked Ajax.

The man scoffed, sitting down beside Lexus. "I remember you betting we couldn't get the feather from the monstrous bird."

"Bird? Monstrous?" She asked, curious to the story.

Ajax sipped his water before starting. "While Roland and I were traveling the land, w came across a small pit stop just outside the Rock of Ravatogh. We were told of this monstrous bird, Zu, it's called. Bigger than this citadel with wings to cause a twister and a tail that when smashed, shakes the earth. Talen bigger than a bus, unable to take down."

Roland huffed at Ajax' exaggerated details, though it made Lexus's eyes sparkle in wonderment and excitement. "It sounds so bad ass!" She wiped toward her uncle who sat on her other side. "Did you ever get the feather?"

Ajax laughed, loud enough to echo off the walls of the training room. Roland scowled at his friend as Lexus looked between the two confused. Rarely did she ever hear her trainer laugh so loudly.

"What?"

"Are you kidding? This guy saw the damn bird fly off the mountain as we were half way up and he just yelled 'nope' the entire way down. Completely threw out the idea of even trying to get a souvenir from the expedition." Ajax wiped a tear and flicked it away as he caught his breath of the laughter. "That made my day."

Roland glared at his old friend, huffing to himself. "Says the one who decided to go West and nearly set himself a flame from the molten rock he walked on." He sniped, making Ajax glare right back at him.

"That's because I wanted to avoid those damn Wyverns, Roland." He countered.

While the men argued, Lexus just looked over the picture, her eyes studying the mountain in the background. When she leaves this damned city, she'd have to go see the Rock of Ravatogh.

Taking a large breath and exhaling slowly, Lexus whipped her eyes of the memory. Maybe she could finish that quest for Roland, and get the feather of a Zu. The description matched the one he described, and she had seen it fly over her and the boys when she first met them. It was larger than I had ever imagined and understood why it was hard to catch its feathers.

Lexus took a deep breath, feeling all this energy bubbling inside her. She cupped her hands around her mouth and let out a loud "WOOOO!" into the air as a gust of window carried her call across the sky.

"When the guys get back, we'll continue our adventure and even get the feather, Uncle Roland." She told the sky, deeply hoping he could hear her vow. Her eyes fell upon the horizon, toward the direction where the Disc was. "Please be safe." She prayed for them.

Lexus continued her work to fix the pylons, which led to her running all over the plains to find the fourth pylon she found was the true culprit. Taking a few Moments to fix, the pylon came to life with a groan.

"There!" But once she turned toward the ladder, she realized the sun had set and darkness was setting in. "...Shit."

Lexus contemplated staying up there, believing the height was safer than whatever Daemons would be on the ground. Her eyes fell upon the road, thankfully this pylon was much closer to the road so she might be able to bolt to her bike and ride to the closest sanctuary.

With no time to think, Lexus slid down the ladder and booked it to the road. She swore to have heard sounds like metal scraping, groaning, and a scent of burnt garbage and rotten eggs- sulfur.

"Don't look. Don't look. Don't look-" She kept chanting to herself, pausing to jump the railing.

When she finally reached her bike, she turned to find a few gross globs wandering around the field. They glowed pink with yellow red hues as it roared weakly in the distance. Lexus resisted to heave a sigh as she roughly put her helmet on and mounted the bike.

"Stupid gross flans." She groaned, wanting the scent out of her nostrils as she revved the bike to life and high tailed it back to Lestallum.

"Thanks again for the help." Lexus told Holly as she arrived at the hotel, a truck loaded with parts she needed.

Holly shrugged, "You nearly risked your life to get those pylons up and running. I owe you big time for that." she told, opening the back door and climbing up to unload. Two other women came over to help. "Which room is yours?"

"It's the second floor, only the door opened on the left." She told, watching women take some heavy parts, some even Lexus would struggle to carry. "Thanks again."

Holly hoped off, giving a small nudge to Lexus' shoulder. "Hey, like I said; I owe you. And anything to help your parents, your Mom does a lot to help the city. I see where you get it from."

Lexus folded her arms. "Has she really been that way?"

Holly frowned. "Always helping?"

"...Hiding my father." she corrected.

Holly sighed, reaching back to scratch her neck. "I wouldn't say 'hiding.'" She told. "When Hilda and Varin first arrived here, they were welcomed with open arms. Some of us even recognize him as the famous Lucian Chocobo Racer, always telling us stories of his glory days."

Lexus and Holly moved for the girls to get the parts in the hotel. They stood by the front door as Holly continued.

"Hilda was always cautious, it took her a while to get friendly and open up. Once she got a job at the plant, I offered to help her find someone to take care of Varin while she worked. It wasn't until a year ago we hadn't seen him leave the apartment."

"Why not?" She asked.

Holly tilted her head to Lexus with a look. "Maybe something you should ask your Mother." Was all she told, before going over to take the last parts and heading inside.

Lexus leaned against the wall, arms around her waist as her eyes gazed up at the sky. Was there a better reason for her father to be holed up in the apartment? She wanted to give her Mother the benefit of the doubt, but the back of her mind reminded how she had left her behind with no contact.

Once the parts were moved to her room, she gave Holly another thanks and entered her room where Iris and Talcott were looking over the stuff brought in.

"Working on a project?" The boy asked, messing with a wheel.

She took it from him and ruffled his hair. "My Dad needs a new chair, so I'm building him a mechanical one he can use with ease."

Iris' brows rose. "Woah, you can build that?"

Lexus nodded, going through the parts and getting wires and electronics separated. "I worked in a bike shop; I fixed them, tore them apart, and rebuilt them. It's why I'm the only one who ever works on my bike."

"Can we help?" Talcott asked, eager to do so.

Lexus chuckled at his enthusiasm. "How about something to eat? I could go for something pretty fruity and sweet."

The boy saluted and jogged off to fetch some food, hungry himself. Iris sat on the bed, watching Lexus get out some papers that had sketches of the designs for the chair. "How's your father doing?"

"He's doing good, eager to get out of bed." Lexus told, "That's why I want to make this for him before the boys get back."

The silent reply from Iris made Lexus pause going through her work. "Any word from them?"

"No, still nothing." Iris quietly told, rubbing her arm anxiously.

Lexus brought a hand to her mouth, her brain taking apart plans and what to do. "Maybe I should go find them." She suggested standing up.

Iris looked to her, "What about the chair?" she asked.

"My Dad would understand, it's been nearly a week and we still don't have any clue where they are." Lexus told, grabbing her jacket she had thrown onto the bed last night. "That's also your brother out there." She added.

"But-"

The door suddenly opened with a distressed Talcott running in. "Iris! Lexus!" He cried, jolting the two women.

"What's wrong, Talcott?" Iris asked as he rushed over to a radio by the bed side.

"Listen!" He told, turning the volume up. "I heard this broadcasting in town."

The three gathered around the radio as a newscaster spoke.

"High Commander Ravus Nox Fleuret issued the following statement regarding the imperial blockades across the region."

Fleuret? Where did she hear that name before?

"We believe the insurgents behind the Citadel attack have taken refuge in Duscae." Came a male's voice. "The blockades shall help us root out the criminals."

"Citadel attack? Do they mean Gladdy?" Iris asked, her hands knotted in her lap.

Lexus frowned at the radio as it continued. "I realize the inconvenience imposed upon the citizenry, but we must each do our part for the good of all."

"Damnit," Lexus hit the wall with her fist. "That means we can't access the other regions."

"The high commander also stressed the imperial army would continue its recovery efforts in the Crown City."

"Recovery? Why would they care!?" Lexus yelled, when the announcement ended, she turned it off and huffed about, pacing back and forth. "Recovery my ass, everyone's dead."

Her anger had made Iris' anxiety rise as she attempted to call Gladio again. Talcott tried to comfort the teen, as Lexus tried to scramble her brain on what to do.

"What's going on?" Hilda appeared at the opened door, a look of confusion and concern when she saw the three's expressions.

Lexus turned to her. "They got blockades trying to hunt down Noctis and the others."

"What?" Her Mother gasped, stepping into the room, she looked to Iris who sighed putting her phone down. "Still no answer?"

"I'm getting scared, what if they-"

"They won't, Iris." Lexus told sternly.

Hilda turned to her daughter, approaching her. "We heard something hit the wall, are you alright?"

She ignored the soreness in her knuckles, pressing her chin to it. "Yeah, sorry. Dad's okay?"

"He was wondering what was going on." Her eyes fell upon the junk scattered onto the floor. "What's all this for?"

Lexus turned, completely forgetting about her project. "I'm rebuilding Dad's chair. Making it mechanical so he can move around much easier."

Expecting her Mother to chastise her, instead she smiled. Picking up the rough sketches of the chair design, what each part goes to and how to use it. Her daughter was not only brave and strong, but smart too.

"You designed this?" She asked.

Lexus folded her hands behind her back, nodding. "Yeah, I thought of putting in an electric battery that could just be charged overnight. A hand held control so he can move easily and it only goes at a good speed of five mph."

She watched her Mother look over the schematics a little while longer, before handing them to her. Her eyes fell over her daughter, taking in the true sight of her; how mature she truly was compared to the little girl she left behind.

"Mom?" She asked, seeing her Mother staring.

Hilda sighed and smiled, nodding to her daughter. "I'll keep it a secret from Varin." She promised, reaching over to rub her shoulder affectionately.

Lexus sighed, placing the papers down before glancing at Iris and Talcott. "I might not get it done." She whispered, and motioned toward the hallway, shutting the door behind them.

"Just take your time." Hilda encouraged. "You looked to have all the parts."

Lexus leaned against the wall, frowning with her arms crossed. "I have to go find them."

Hilda blinked, "Find them?" she questioned.

"Iris is so upset and scared, I'd imagine she was like then when the Crown City fell. I'm worried too, we haven't heard from them for far too long." She explained.

"But, what about the blockades? You might be captured." Her Mother said.

Lexus shook her head, "I could say I'm making deliveries or something. I have no evidence that I know the boys so I should be alright."

"It's still a risk." She insisted. "Maybe wait another day."

"Waiting is all we have been doing, and I-I can't just sit and wait while they could be hurt somewhere." Lexus argued. "They think they're hiding out in Duscae. If that's true, I could use Ferris to travel the land and find them."

Hilda wanted to support her daughter, but worry for her safety still hung in the back of her head. "It's an awful lot of land to scour and find four boys." She warned.

Lexus looked her Mother in the eyes, "I have to try, for Iris." she told persistently.

Her Mother's worried eyes looked away, unable to argue or change her mind. The daughter frowned, wanting to ease her Mother without another fight. Lexus pressed a palm to her shoulder, gaining her attention to see her smiling daughter. "I'll wait one more day to build the chair for Dad, if there's still no word, I'll head out."

That eased Hilda enough for the night. She brought a hand up, caressing her cheek gently. Lexus saw the soft look in her Mother's features, one she would give when she was younger. Usually a Moment she did something cute in her Mother's eyes.

"Mom?" She raised her hand to Hilda's.

"I remember my little Lexi, stubborn and chatty. Always playing with those Chocobos, crying when she got lost in the city or a small cut on her knee." She told, making Lexus' cheeks tint.

"Mom." Lexus looked away but turned back to meet her eyes.

"Now she's fighting beasts and saving the world with the Prince and his friends, venturing across Lucian as if on a walk in the park. Willing to risk herself to help and protect those she loves."

Hilda let out a breath, "Lexus Quintin. My daughter really has grown up." a tear threatened to fall from her eye. "You are the bravest, smartist, beautiful woman and I am so proud of you."

Lexus curled her hand around her Mother's, lowering them to feel Hilda's grip squeeze. "You became this woman from so many hardships from me; Leaving you and never contacting you. Losing people you loved in the Crown City, defending yourself and finding us all over Lucian. You're not a little girl anymore."

Lexus reached up with her free hand and wiped the stray tear from her Mother's cheek. Her hand was placed on top her's, holding them tightly. "I'm still your little girl, Mom."

Hilda hugged her daughter tightly, and Lexus returned the hug. They rubbed each other's backs, as they finally accepted and broke the long distance between one another. Lexus sighed shakily, pressing her face into her Mother's shoulder, feeling her hair smoothed down. To be held by her mother, this was more emotionally gratifying than the reunion.

Hilda held her apart, as Lexus wiped her eyes dry of any tears that tried to escape. "You find those boys, bring them back, and I'll be giving them a scolding for scaring us all."

Lexus chuckled, "I will, Mom." she promised.

The wheelchair was almost done by the next morning, Talcott and Iris helping. Lexus allowed it, to help ease Iris' worry as she was planning to leave that morning. The chair just needed to be wired, when Holly offered to help when Hilda informed of Lexus' leave.

As the pine haired woman got ready, she grabbed her bag, crossbow and jacket, making her way to her parents room. She wanted to bid them a quick adieu and check on Varin before heading out. When she entered the door, she found them huddled by the bed, radio sitting on the table.

"What's going on?" She asked, shutting the door behind her.

"More news about the Disc of Cauthess." Varin told, sitting in bed as Lexus came over to hear.

"The frequent quakes which rocked the Duscae and Cleigne regions in recent days have finally quieted. In response, the empire provided the following comment." The newscaster informed them.

"More from those bastards?" Varin grumbled, earning a shush from the girls.

"The cause of the tremors was the Archaean, who had awakened in a fit of rage. The imperial army took swift action and laid the unruly giant to rest, thus averting disaster." The man before told.

"Eyewitness reports confirm Titan has disappeared from the Disc of Cauthess." The Newscaster told.

"Huh," Varin folded his arms. "Put it to rest then it's gone? Pick a story."

Once the announcement was over, Lexus turned the knob and powered the damn thing off. "Don't worry, I'll get those boys back and they can explain what happened."

Varin gave her daughter a thumbs up. "If anyone can find them, its you, Lexi!" He cheered.

Lexus chuckled at his encouragement. "Thanks, Dad." She leaned over to give him a hug as he kissed her cheek.

"Give 'em Hell. I'll be here waiting to hear how you dragged their asses back here." He told her.

Hilda shook her head, "Even when bed ridden, you still act like your hyper self." she said.

Varin grinned at his wife. "You know me best, Sweatie."

Hilda rolled her eyes, looking at their daughter. "Still no word from Iris' calls?"

Lexus put her bag down and slid her jacket on. "Fixing the Pylon the other day got our services back up, but Iris decided to stop trying to contact since the Empire is hunting them down."

"We'll keep Iris company while you're gone." Hilda told her, she walked over and fixed the collar of her jacket. Like a usual doting mother. "But call us if anything happens, alright?"

Lexus nodded, reaching for her bag and crossbow, giving her Mother a hug before leaving the Leville. She walked through the town when she noticed how quiet the city had gotten. People were rushing toward the main road as others urged their kids inside. She frowned, had someone arrived? It was no one they welcomed judging by the looks and actions the people took. Lexus approached the crowd, trying to look through and above the crowd.

"What's going on?" She asked bystander.

He huffed, folding his arms. "They think they can just show up and take it like they did the Crown City."

Lexus' heart started to beat faster. "Who?"

The man turned and pointed toward the one building, there the flag that hung made her stomach sink.

The Empire was here.

"What do they want?" One distressed woman asked.

The same man scoffed, "What else? To take away our freedom and our land." he muttered.

Lexus turned away and got her phone out. She sent a text to Iris, warning her about the Empire.

Hide! Now! The Empire is here!

-Lexus

"Move aside!"

A voice barked out, as the metal groaning and hissing made Lexus turn to see a young man in armor with blond hair breaking through the crowd. His minions of soldiers ensured people kept a distance, as he made his way through the center. His eyes fell onto Lexus as she tried to pocket her phone, but her shaky hands made her drop it behind her. The device somehow bounced and fell down the steps to stop dead right in front of the blond man. Her breath hitched, her paused and bent down picking up the phone. His blue eyes fell on Lexus, as he approached her and held it out to her.

Lexus slowly took it from him, seeing the screen was slightly cracked from the fall but still working. Her mouth was dry, unable to swallow as she dared to look him in the eye.

"Be more careful," He told her, turning to return to his unit.

Lexus turned to get back to the Leville, she had to make sure Iris got her message.

"Lexus Quintin."

She froze, how…. How did he know her name.

"That's your name, correct?" He asked, turning back to her as his eyes pierced her soul.

Unable to find her voice, her mind was scrambling for fight or flight mode. She couldn't handle the amount of soldiers and put these people in danger, but could she outrun these monsters?

She heard the clinking of his armor a he approached her. "Where is the Prince?" He asked lowly, only for her to hear.

She tilted her head to him, finding him taller than herself as he walked up to the step she stood on. "Woman of pine hair and a crossbow was seen traveling with him and cohorts." He informed, hands folding behind him.

She barely heard him, her eardrums flared with the sound of her heart beat pounding and her breathing hitched. Who reported her? Had it been from their attack by the soldiers? Possibly someone has snitched about in another town?

When she failed to answer him, his patience got the better of him and he grabbed her by the front of her jacket. The crowd gasp as he lifted her off the ground with ease, the knuckled of his armor pressed against her throat.

"We've been given intel that you were seen with them here, so where are they?" He asked more harshly.

"I-I-I don't know!" She finally squeaked out, her legs wiggled trying to find the ground beneath her. "I haven't heard from them in a week!"

Her phone on the ground once again, started to light up as someone had started calling her. Lexus peeked down, her sweat broke seeing the name 'Iris Amicitia' on the screen. If he saw the name and knew Iris was here, she'd be integrated or worse by this bastard!

Lexus reached back for her crossbow, already loaded and aimed at her phone, firing the bolt. The man assumed she was going to fire at him, once the phone was shot dead, threw her to the ground down the steps. She lost her bow as she hit each step, tumbling to the end with a groan. Bruises ready to form over body as she got onto her hands and knees.

"Pick her up." He ordered, two soldiers stomped over, grabbing her arms and picking her up from the ground. "Who was calling you?"

Lexus felt her fear linger, the need to protect Iris, Talcott and her parents were stronger. "Don't know."

"It was someone you're protecting. You called you!?" He barked in her face.

She glared at him, "Who am I to answer to, Blondie Locks?" she countered only to earn a slap across the face.

"You will show your respect to the Brigadier General of the Niflheim army, Loqi Tummelt." He told watching her shake her head from the slap. "We were informed by the Imperial Chancellor that you know where the Prince is hiding, being the last to have contact with them." He grabbed her by the chin, making her look at him.

"And who is the Imperial Chancellor?" She asked, earning a second slap.

"I ask the questions here!" He barked, the second one had really left a stinging red mark on her cheek. Loqi stared at her down for a moment, before musing to himself. "Let's take a stroll, maybe your memory will jog as he stroll the city?"

This was bad, but if Iris was calling maybe she got the message and they're safe.

"Hello, how may I help you gentlemen?" Jared greeted in the lobby of the Leville.

Lexus had been dragged all over town until Loqi spotted the hotel in the distance. He had her standing to the side with two soldiers on either side of her. She had lost her weapon during the earlier scuffle, along with her bag and jacket. Her heart raced as she glanced up at the ceiling, praying they were safe and hiding upstairs.

"You worked in the home of Amicitia, am I correct?" Loqi questioned, how much information did he have?

Jared nodded, leaning on his cane. "I did, but as you can see, I no longer can with the home gone and family amiss." He replied.

"You wouldn't happen to know where the Amicitia shield or Prince would be?" He asked.

Jared heaved a sigh, "All I can tell you is all that I know." He told. "And that is nothing."

Loqi growled standing over the old man. Lexus tensed in her spot, her eye catching movement at the stairs. She spotted Talcott at the top, peeking over to see the event. What was he doing!? If they see him they'll get caught!

"Protecting them is useless, we'll just have to lure them out." Loqi sneered. "Search the second floor."

Jared stood his ground, not moving from his spot, though Lexus was shaking in her spot. Without thinking, she barked out. "Are you stupid!?"

Loqi and his soldiers paused at the stairs, she was held back at the two by her side but she glared at Loqi. "The radio informed them that they were hiding in Duscae, are you sure you checked that area?"

Loqi scoffed, "Would we be here, girl, if we hadn't checked?" he countered.

Lexus swallowed back her fear, scoffing herself with a shrug. "I'm just saying, if you checked an entire region and still no sign, you must just suck at your job."

"What?" Loqi hissed, stepping away from the stairs and marching towards her.

Her eyes rolled, in a way to see the stairs and found Talcott gone. Good.

Loqi gripped her shoulder tightly, glaring down at her. "You should learn respect, girl. Know your place."

She winced as his grip was tight, but she kept going. For their sake, she chided herself. "I give more respect to Sabretusks, pretty low life creatures. Though not as low as some Imperial scum."

Once the insult left her lips, Loqi swiftly punched her straight in the gut, making her wheeze and hunched over, falling to her knees onto the ground. She coughed and gagged, trying to regain the air knocked out of her.

"The only scum I see is some smart mouth Lucian peasant!" He barked down at her, watching her struggle to compose herself.

"Lexus…" Jared moved to aid her, but was stopped by Loqi, he procured a sword in his hand, putting the blade between her and Jared. "Please, don't hurt anyone."

Loqi glared at the older man. "I only hurt those who deserve it, spitting on the Empire is unforgivable."

"Says the one…. Who cowardly attacked….. The Crown City…" She wheezed, raising her head to glare at him. Loqi smuggly looked down at her, moving the sword to point it at her throat.

Lexus' teeth clenched, arms wrapped tightly around her stomach in an attempt to ease the pain. Might just want to ease up on these retorts, she thought.

"Please, don't hurt her." Jared pleaded, raising a hand as he took a step over. "We are being as truthful as we can be."

Loqi bore his eyes deeper into Lexus' seeing the fire in blaze in her blue eyes. No, she had respect and no fear for the Empire. A lesson was to be learned.

Just as quickly as his punch to her gut, he spun and ran the sword right through Jared. He gasped, the cane falling from his hand as he found no strength to stand. Loqi whipped the blade out just as roughly, letting Jared collapse to the ground.

"NO! JARED!" Lexus screamed, horrified he would actually kill an innocent harmless old man. Jared did nothing! He didn't deserve this!

Something snapped in Lexus, she seethed and she was seeing red. Loqi was talking, giving out orders but she heard only the pounding of her heart beat against her ear drums again. Her jaw clenched and her hands formed into fists. Loqi, he would pay.

Lexus got to her feet and felt a surge of power, something tingling in her hand. Raising her hand, she saw her crossbow materialize into her hand, much like the boys' weapons had done so many times before. Instead of being in awe of this sudden power, she aimed the crossbow at Loqi, ready to fire at the man.

Unfortunately, the bolt was deflected as he swung the sword to block the attack. Lexus raised the crossbow in attack to bash him, when a surge of electricity shot through her system as something had stabbed into her back. A shuddering scream erupted from her lungs as she fell to the ground, her nerves and limbs twitching from the shock that had gone through her body.

"Weapon summoning?" Her eyes strained to look up, as she curled in herself on the floor, small whimpers was all she could manage out.

Loqi knelt down at her, craning his head to get a look at her face. Her eyes grew heavy as she felt the pain unable to bear. Her eyes closed tightly, feeling her body being lifted against her will.

"There's more to you than meets the eye."

The wind blew past them as the Regalia sped down the road through a tunnel, finally arriving back in Lestallum after a week. Gladio still had no contact with Iris and the others couldn't get in touch with Lexus either. It was one thing to discover Ardyn was the Imperial Chancellor to the Empire, but another when meeting Ravus Nox Fleuret face to face as Commander of the Imperial Army.

"Still can't get through." Gladio groaned, having called his sister for the upteenth time since they got the car.

"Perhaps she's unable to answer." Ignis guessed.

Gladio sighed, pocketing his phone. "But I told her to be ready and pick up when I call."

"I can't get to Lexus either." Prompto told. "Let's hope they're alright."

Sadly, they hopes were dashed when they exited the tunnel and first thing to greet them were flags- Flags of the Empire hanging all over the city. Banners, buildings, street signs and barely anyone was on the street.

"What… happened here?" Prompto questioned, horrified to see the flags.

"To the Leville! Come on!" Noctus called, leading the way as they ran into the city.

The four ran through getting to the hotel as soon as possible. At the front lobby, they found Iris sitting at looking upset.

"Iris!"

She stood, her eyes watered seeing the boys alive and safe. "Oh, Gladdy!" She ran to her brother, hugging him as tightly as she could.

Gladio hugged her back before pulling back to look at her. "What's wrong? What's going on?"

She sniffled, looking down with a shake of her head. "I let you down." She looked up, then to the others. "The empire came while you were gone."

So they weren't wrong to see the flags all over the place. "Is everyone alright?" Noctis asked.

Iris shuddered, "No." she told.

Ignis glanced outside, unknown of who was listening. "Let's take this upstairs, explain everything that had happened." He ordered.

Iris led them to the room the boys would stay in. Gladio eased his sister to a seat, letting her try to regain herself to explain. "Lexus and I were getting worried, we hadn't heard a word from you in days, so she was going to leave and search for you."

"But the barricades." Prompto told.

Iris nodded, "She still wanted to find you, she said she was willing to climb over hills and mountains to look for you." she explained. "But, when she was heading out, the Empire arrived. She warned me ahead, to hide with Talcott. We stayed with her parents in the other room. They questioned Jared and Lexus, demanding to know where Noct was."

Ignis tensed, they interrogated her? Jared was a caretaker in Gladio and Iris' household, but Lexus was just a citizen.

"None of them said a word, Talcott and I listened from the top of the stairs, she was trying to keep us safe." Iris shuddered a breath, "She… Lexus they… Poor Jared."

The boys looked to one another. Ignis noted she was referring Lexus in a past tense. No… Had they?

"What do you mean?" Gladio questioned. "What happened to them?"

"There was nothing we could do!" She cried, looking up at Gladio. "They… They killed him, right then and there! And for nothing!"

Prompto fidgeted, please he prayed. "Lexus was she…?"

Iris glanced to the blonde, her blue eyes begging for her to say she was alright and safe. Maybe resting somewhere or tending to Taclott or her parents. But when Her amber eyes reached the food, his heart sank.

"The Empire took her away."

EXTRA LONG chapter for HOW LONG it took me to write this. The car accident is long gone but I also had holidays and long shifts as New Years is our next busy time.