This chapter is short, but felt better compartmentalized like this than including it in a longer chapter


Noctis stopped only a few strides away from everyone, pausing as a tremor crept back into his limbs. The pain in his leg turned into a static numbness starting from the sharp throbs in his lower back. His Engine Blade vanished in a flash of blue sparks, and he turned on the ball of his feet, nearly causing himself to stumble as he looked back at everyone. Crowe was brushing dust off the seat of her pants while a few steps away Ignis was helping to support Prompto who still had an arm resting against the Regalia. Aranea was leaning into the trunk of the car rummaging through stuff. Gladiolus was walking up to the Prince, and brought a firm hand down onto his shoulder,

"Noct, I want to rip every Nif in half with my own hands as bad as you do. But we need to make sure Prompto and Crowe are okay. And before you give me that look you love-sick puppy we need all the strong bodies we can get which means letting the injured ones patch up a bit." He explained, digging his fingertips into the leather of his jacket. Noctis bit down on his lip, feeling the stinging returning to his eyes. His cheeks ached, and his throat hurt nearly as bad as his back as he swallowed. He nodded, letting out a long stuttered breath. I can't protect anyone. How can I protect all of Lucis? Familiar doubts started coming to mind, cut off when he felt a punch to his chest that would have thrown him off balance had the same arm not wrapped behind his shoulders and pulled him close. "We'll kick their asses. Promise."

"You never break a promise about kicking someone's ass. Especially if it's my own." Nocits managed a laugh through the sobs that finally broke the ache in his throat. He gripped his friend's jacket, knuckles flushing white as he pressed his forehead against Gladiolus's collarbone. He stayed for an extra moment before drawing back to walk over to Prompto who was thumbing the rim of an energy drink in his hand.

"How's the leg?" he asked.

"Ignis tried to get a good look through the hole in my pants. Said the bullet got me at a shallow angle so its a really bad graze. Otherwise I woudn't have a leg. Guess I'll never be a pirate!" he laughed.

"Can buy you an eye patch and you can say yarr all day if it makes you feel better." Gladiolus teased him.

"Steal a Nif ship so I can be a real pirate!"

"Good way to get us back across the ocean to Altissia eventually." Ignis nodded, rubbing at his chin.

"So plan: Step one, we give the blond an eye patch. Step two, sexy glasses here forms a plan. Step three, Prompto steals a ship. Step four, we raise a pirate flag. We win." Aranea joked, smirking at Promoto who stuck out two thumbs-up at her plan.

"First we need you to get those royal arms so I can help you steal those boats." Noctis tried to join the in the joke, but his tone was flat. His heart rate was rising again, and he could feel his respirations increasing to match. His vision threatened to blur, and he squinted his eyes shut. He could picture Lunafreya smiling and talking about some book about a pirate she read, wondering if she would fall into book talk with Ignis. "You'll need a first mate who can kick ass with an entire armory in his pocket instead of just one sword." he added in a hoarse voice, biting the back of his tongue when he saw the fragile smile on Prompto's face. "Oh. Here…" he reached out for the can, plucking it from the dust between his knees and imbued it with his magic.

"So much caffeine after two of these I'm gonna be vibrating at a sciency-sounding number of hertz!" Prompto announced.

"A gal's best friend." Aranea quipped. Prompto snorted and a few drops of the sugary drink came from his nose before he slapped a hand over it, his friends snickering around him.

"Well sitting here is making us a specific gal's not-so-best-friends." Crowe added. "I think I can hear with one of my ears. Time to move if you think you can walk. If not we can do an emergency amputation and give you that peg leg you want." Noctis flinched, nodding at her and tried to agree but his voice caught in his throat.

"We should try to get the Blade of the Mystic while it's still light out." Ignis agreed. Noctis was unsure if they could find the weapon in the ruins of the meteor. He wondered if he should call upon Titan to find the thing for him, but recalled his battle with the Astral and doubted his worth. I lost her again. What would the Astrals think of his worthiness after losing humanity's messenger to them? He wished Gentiana would apparate and provide guidance.

"I'll stay here and watch him" Crowe suggested, pointing her thumb at Prompto.

"I can help!" he insisted, standing up and wincing. He held himself on two legs without leaning on the Regalia for support, but it was clear all his weight was on just one of his legs. Noctis shook his head at the suggestion,

"Rest up dude. Plus the paths were really narrow, the fewer of us the better." Prompto opened his mouth to protest but Crowe slapped him hard enough on the back to make him stagger, and pain shot through his leg and he had to stumble against the car to keep from collapsing into the dirt, taking in a sharp inhale and squinting his eyes as he the shock in his leg faded.

"Point made." He grumbled, and eased himself to the ground and started massaging his thigh. Noctis met Crowe's eyes, reddened and a deep crease in her brow. She looked as if she was trying to focus on something far in the distance behind him, causing him to look over his shoulder a moment.

"Signal us if there's a problem" Noctis suggested. Crowe looked down at her palm, flexing it into a fist and relaxing it before looking back up at the Prince. She shrugged and nodded, letting a flame appear in her palm then vanish again. He gave her a curt nod, and turned to the other three. "Coming with me?" he asked.

"I want to see this freaky magic in action. And besides, someone needs to watch sexy glasses here." Aranea answered, giving Ignis a firm pat on the back.

"I can hold my own quite well." The advisor insisted.

"I never said the watching had anything to do with protecting you." She winked, placed a hand on his shoulder and planted a kiss on Ignis's cheek. Noctis smirked when he saw the redness instantly take over Ignis's face, even the tips of his ears flushing. He exchanged a knowing glance with Gladiolus who barked a laugh, clapping Ignis hard on the back once Aranea started taking a few steps forward, the others quickly following suit.

The once red walls of stone had turned ashen grey with webs of black reaching from Titan's former resting place. The wind whipping around the abnormal geology no longer held its stinging heat, the ground beneath his feet felt cool. He reached a hand out to the stone, hovering it just away from the rock face before he curled his fingers and drew his arm back, wrinkling his nose. He wondered again if he should simply summon Titan, and tried to think of where within his magic he could find the connection to call upon the covenant.

Noctis's quick pace caused him to pass his friends and ally shortly before the path grew too narrow to pass by each other. The air held a metallic smell to it, the near salty taste of it lingered on the back of his tongue causing him to rub it repeatedly against the roof of his mouth trying to clear the foul sensation. Just get the sword, get every weapon you can, Luna needs you. He urged himself onward as the goosebumps rolled down his arms, nausea rising as he walked further. It wasn't long until the path became obscured by what looked like a minor rockslide.

"Well how do we plan to get past this?" Aranea asked, Noctis flinching and turning to look over his shoulder.

"I'll warp up." He looked to the top of the rock, answering the itching in his fingertips by welcoming the Engine Blade in his fist, grunting with the effort of throwing it towards the top of the rocks without throwing himself off balance. In a blur he was atop them and it took a moment to ensure his balance. He could hear a few small stones shift beneath his feet, and decided to warp further ahead. This time, landing in a spot that didn't welcome him with a threat. He tried to look around, but it was no longer the semi-ogranized spiral it once was. Grey and black surrounded him on all sides, and he shifted his weight between his feet that were growing more itchy by the second. The discomfort was crawling up his legs and he felt a rising desperation to find the damnable weapon and leave this place. Maybe once he gathered the weapon Titan and Ramuh would blow this place to hell. Where the hell is it? He grimaced, looking at his palm as he vanished his blade. The itch in his feet was in his palms as well now, and he scratched it by rubbing his palm roughly against his pants. He thought he could hear his friends shouting, or likely cursing, at him to get his ass back so they could find a route together. There was no discernable path, no easy way around. Was the blade lost? What do I do if I fail to get these? Will the gods reject me? Will the Crystal change its mind?

He recalled his father's lessons, being told that these weapons were echoes. On a hunch he called his Armiger, wincing at the strange sensation that shot through his body as it flashed around him in sparks of blue and black. The metallic smell in his nose and lingering on the back of his tongue grew stronger and he let out a strong huff of air. He felt the slightest tug, and wondered if it was just his own wishful thinking. Come on, help me find this thing. He pleaded. He summoned his blade once more, and warped off in the direction Armiger seemed to be instinctually drawing him towards. He thought that it wouldn't be many warps, though his arm grew sore with the force of each throw, but by the seventh he was bent over and panting for breath and let his blade and Armiger vanish. He was standing in a narrow gap between a large boulder, and what had once been part of the pathway leading downward. His surroundings were dark, and he pulled his phone from his pocket to check the time and frowned when he remembered that he had turned it off.

A headache was settling behind his eyes, the discomfort in his entire body making him all the more anxious to find his ancestor's tomb to leave. He rubbed his palms against his pants and roughly tried to turn his feet in hopes of scratching the itch. His nails left red marks on his skin as he chased the maddening sensation. In more than one place he knicked a scab from injuries he couldn't recall leaving a thin trail of blood on his skin that he wiped away uselessly. He decided to clean up once he was done bleeding. He looked at the gap further ahead before trying to press himself through. As he warped, the vague tug from Armiger had grown stronger, and once he landed in the gap he was sure that he needed to pass through the opening.

One hand tapped rapidly against his thigh while the other pressed against the cold rock wall beside him. He thought anything would have been better than the itching, but the cold bit into his skin immediately, a chill running through his entire body and he wished he was wearing his jacket that was left behind in the Regalia. Why is it so cold? He tried to squint, to find any light though the gap that was becoming more narrow as he pressed through until his back was pressed against the rock wall behind him, and both palms helping to brace him against the boulder and continued through the rock. He tried to breathe, but the pressure was to great and he found himself taking rapid shallow breaths. The pain in hsi head intensified, joined by a dizziness that soon spread a sensation of static throughout his skin. He bit his tongue to stop the chattering of his teeth as his body began to shiver. I need to fill vials. He thought, biting harder on his tongue as he realized that all his magic vials were in the Regalia's trunk.

"Godsdamnit!" he cursed, finding it harder to push through the gap. He tried to look through the corner of his eye, too compressed now to turn his head without abrasing his skin on the frigid stone. He was losing sensation in his hands and feet, and tried to draw in a deep breath. He phased through doors, and his eyes stung as a memory flashed of phasing to be greeted by Lunafreya's warm embrace. He would have given anything to feel her light soothe away the cold, the pain, this desire to scratch every surface of his skin. To have her voice reassure him he was worthy, he would find this weapon.

He found his magic, wondering for only half a moment if he would breath the phase and kill himself as his body merged with rock. He swallowed back bile at the thought of mixing with this place and tried to force himself as far as he could. He followed the magic, trusting it, releasing it when he felt the underwater sensation leave. He found himself sliding down a slope, and cursed as he tumbled uselessly down over the rough uneven surface.

He was able to reach out and hook his fingertips around a rock just enough to slow his tumble, a second grip slowing him more, and the third finally stopped him with a hard jerk in his shoulder. He cursed loudly, squinting his eyes and pressing his forehead against the rock and sand. The freezing rock was only marginally colder than the air around him. He was reminded of Tenebrae, and the two winter weeks he would spend at the manor. He would always want to stay swaddled in blankets before the roaring fire in her room, but she somehow always coaxed him into going outside. To see the snow-coated landscape, to see the frozen waterfalls of the floating islands, or simply to breathe air outside of her bedroom. She's trapped again. Get up. He tried to find a place to warp to, somewhere he could safely call out Armiger so it could help him find one of its companions. He rolled onto his back, pushing his heels against rock to keep himself from resuming his slide.

He warped and called his magic, and it was one more warp later he found himself looking at the only white stone in the sea of grey and black. There were tendrils of the black webbing crawling up the sides, but the alabaster was still stark enough to catch his attention immediately. He reached out to the magnetic pull, wincing as the itching grew intense enough to overpower the prickling numbness. He noted how pale his fingertips were and tried to push the concern aside. The blade flashed with black and blue, forcing him to close his eyes. He felt the instant of absolute agony before it spread through his limbs. He groaned, both hands slapping over the place just above his stomach that the blade chose to test him. He tried to gasp for breath, the air burning his throat. His whole body felt like it was convulsing as he shivered. Get out get out get out. He urged himself, trying to find the power to get back to his feet. He couldn't remember when he put the ancient weapons away, but left them gone and pulled out Engine Blade.

He didn't know how many warps it took to get back, his mind consumed with finding comfort. He needed warmth, he needed to find something barasive to rub against his skin. He needed something to chase the pain in his head, the pain in his throat. Hell, he'd settle for Gladiolus punching him. At least the pain of a punch would distract him. After another warp he looked at his fingers, now painfully numb. The pale skin has the slightest hint of blue and he shook his head, convinced he was imagining it. He warped. And warped again. Each time he landed he couldn't keep himself upright. His blade would vanish the moment he landed, refusing to answer his call for several seconds, each stop the pause growing longer. Get back. Get back for Luna. She needs you.

He imagined her worried expression, then laughed at himself. He knew that she would make fun of him for not tolerating the cold, such a Lucian. She would joke. She would press her palms to his face, her forehead against his, pouring pure relief into his body. Then he knew she would fix everything with a taste of her lips, the sound of her voice, the feel of her breath against his cheek. He couldn't muster the imagination of how his friends would react. Instead, he clung to the image of Lunafreya, forcing himself to continue erratically warping in the direction from which he came. He could see his friends, and laughed with releif. His voice was hoarse, broken. His final warp failed partway through and he crashed into the rocks a mere ten meters away from them, before blessed blackness overtook him.