Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom Hearts

Part 45

Summary: Two warriors of Light, the Chosen King and Keyblade Master, face an unseen Darkness.

*Train to Cartanica*

Unbeknown to the members of the party, Aqua had always wanted to take a train ride to anywhere really. While many would find this to be odd, given the many methods of transports, so even superior, she has at her disposal, she had always wanted to experience a train ride.

Maybe it was something that most folks had used and from what she had been told they are often moments of peace. Plus, she would have been able to sit back and watch the world she was in go by her, take in the landscape and have a cup of tea while doing so, much like how she used to drive for the others.

However, that experience was ruined because of the Eternal Night, casting the world in a dark and cold shadow. Not that Niflheim had a very spectacular landscape, to begin with, much of the land was desolate and filled with abandoned facilities and buildings. A shame she mused, learning that so much of the natural resources were sucked dry because of the empire's need to produce their magitek army in such mass. Aqua wondered how much of the land back on the mainland was ruined thanks to those fools.

A day had passed since they arrived on the train, their destination was Tenebrae first to gain intel on the imperial capital before forming a plan of attack, or at the wisdom of Ignis, infiltration. The occupants of this train were minimal due to the ever-lasting nights, so they didn't have to worry about lodgings. The benefits of the train was despite it not having the same powerful lights as the cities, it was moving quick enough to evade any daemons from popping on board.

As a precaution, Aqua and Kairi both used their light to bath the locomotive in a power ward to repel any daemons. Lunafreya did what she could to assure the other passengers when she could, and thanks to her brief but useful lessons with Aqua she had enough magic to soothe the people.

Looking out the window as the world bypassed them, she lets out a breath, disappointed her first train ride was tainted by such a bleak turn of events. Maybe when this was over, she would take a proper train ride to somewhere. Her thoughts were broken when a plastic cup of tea was offered to her, held by the blonde. Smiling back at him while taking hers with a "thanks", she sipped it as he joined her in the seats.

'Just thought you could use something hot, it's pretty chilly today', Prompto says, sipping his beverage. The woman nodded in gratitude, leaning back into her seat. 'It feels cold every day since Altissia, doesn't it?', she asked softly. 'Yeah', Prompto agreed, leaning forward, 'It's like winter except ya know, always dark and scary'. Aqua giggles softly at him, not entirely disagreeing with what he's saying as she turned her gaze to the darkened world.

'Hey um, Luna says at the next station, there's supposed to be a royal tomb', Prompto says with a shrug, 'But, do you think the arm is still there after everything that's happened?'. Aqua ponders the good question, not certain if the weapon would technically remain there since Ardyn's defilement of the Lucis line and given the fact Noctis was only able to reclaim them thanks to the keyblade restoring him she would assume only the arms he did manage to collect before then have returned to him.

Still, when he was given the Trident of the Oracle, a royal arm Lunafreya obtained in Altissia to summon the Tidemother, he managed to absorb it. Granted it was only temporary because he relinquished it to Lunafreya, but it was still an arm he didn't collect before he lost his powers. While it is possible that the tomb could no longer home the weapon of his ancestors, it would be too valuable to dismiss based on possibilities.

'If the trident was still around when Bahamut was destroyed, it is possible the other royal arm could still be there', Aqua theorized sipping her cup. 'Besides, it would be a good opportunity to gauge Noct's and Luna's skills before we head further into the imperial lands'. 'You sure? I mean Noct's pretty wet behind the ears with the keyblade sure, but he's got the other arms too', Prompto asked. 'Of course, if all else fails he can fall back on them, but it'd be prudent of us to make sure he can use it proficiently as well', Aqua surmised.

'Regardless, Luna's still in need of experience. No sense in her first battle being something a grievous as storming the imperial capital'. Prompto hummed in thought before shrugging. 'Yeah, I guess you're right. We'll grab her some EXP and then boom, we'll be fine!'. Aqua blinked at him tilting her head. ' "EXP"?', she inquires. Prompto laughed with a wave, saying it wasn't anything. She rolled her eyes, thinking it must be something relating to those games they've hooked Riku and Kairi on to. The woman couldn't fathom why they found so much amusement in a game of bright lights and colors, it was more annoying than fun.

And it had nothing to do with the fact it reminded her of another game she played with Terra and Ven years ago…and despised every time…

*Cabin*

Gently stirred awake despite the peaceful sleep he hadn't had for quite some time, Noctis opened his eyes to see smiling down on him was Lunafreya, tilting her head slightly. Gently stroking her king's hair while having his head in her laps alone, she giggled as his cheeks turned pink.

'Good morning', she greets shyly yet happily. The prince stammers a "morning" back, not moving from his pillow. In their room alone, when Noctis was still sluggish and sleepy she offered him to rest his head on her lap to get some sleep before they arrived at the station. The king stared up at her as she kept stroking his hair, trying his best to keep his cheeks from glowing anymore and relish the petting the woman gave him.

'Did you sleep well?', she asked. 'Y-Yeah…', he said. Begrudgingly the king sits up and sits on the bed. Instead of getting up from it to Lunafreya's surprise the king just shifted her and laid them together on the mattress with the woman inside the bed (her back against the wall while Noctis was on the edge). Noctis looked at her as she giggles. 'Are you still intending on staying in bed?', she asked, disbelievingly.

'Would you be surprised if I said "yes"?', Noctis questioned, smirking at her. 'It would seem the stories of your sleeping habits weren't exaggerated by your friends', Lunafreya teases, giggling girlishly at the king. Laying together on the bed with the woman shifting closer to him, gently resting her cheek on his chest and listening to the gentle beat of his heart. The strong heart that restored the hope within the party when despair sank into them.

Shyly the king wrapped his arms around her and held the woman close to him, stroking her unkempt bed hair. Times like these, with just the two of them in peace and security of their solitude, had become scarce or straight up non-existent ever since they had left Altissia. These moments with just the two became precious to Noctis, holding the woman who had been taken from him and locked away for so long still made him fear he was stuck in a nightmare with her being his only solace of peace.

Gently brushing a stray hair from her beautiful eyes that enraptured him, allowing his thumb to brush against the warmth of her cheek was a privilege he feared he may never have. It was still a miracle that he could even share a bed with her, wake up to see she was the first thing he would ever see as a new day dawns for him and her.

He still remembers how awkward he was when he was sharing a bed with her, the amount of blood that went to his cheeks nearly convinced his body it was no longer able to function at such a blush. Yet the woman not only took it in stride, but she was the one who encouraged him to join her in their bed. It still was the best sleep he had ever gotten, when he felt her legs tangling with his own, the way she cuddled up to him and slept on his chest, the security he provided for her.

If things were going well, then he hoped those nights of the two sharing a bed would continue long into the future.

That's not to say she and he went to bed and slept all the time, there have been nights where they would as Gladiolus would have put it "fooled around in bed" but nothing as serious as becoming intimate with each other. Despite how comfortable Lunafreya acted and how Noctis would allow her to be in control, now wasn't the time for them to be indulging in sacred activities as such. With everything happening around them, fornicating isn't a priority.

Not that Gladiolus wasn't hinting at him especially when Noctis was removing his jacket he felt a strange shaped piece of plastic and rubber in his pocket. When he pulled it out, his cheeks burst into flames and eyes widened to the size of a car wheel.

A condom.

Never had Noctis thrown something so far and fast in his life out the window.

'Are you, gonna be ok when we get to Tenebrae?', he asked, soft and low. The woman frowns in worry before speaking: 'I don't know what the empire has done to my former home, with myself in your custody and my brother's passing'. Noctis hummed in understanding, trying not to think about Ravus' passing after Ignis explained to him what's happened when he woke up. He gently rubbed her arm comfortingly, something he noticed she took greatly too as she nuzzled into his chest.

This wonderous feeling within him, he wondered if this was how Sora felt whenever he and Kairi did any lovey-dovey stuff. 'But I want to see my home, unshackled by the empire's chain', she says earnestly. Noctis nods in agreement but then decided that these moments should not be hindered by fears or foreshadows. He smiles softly and pats her head. 'Remember back at the castle, we used to use those secret passages you had for late-night snacks?', he asked.

She giggles mischievously. 'How could I forget? Those nights were we spent indulging in sugary treats and were high on sugar for the entire day after?', she says with a smile. 'And the fact you had a more fearsome sweet tooth then even me?', Noctis asked with a cheeky smile. The woman's cheeks turned dusty red with a small frown, not angry but certainly embarrassed. 'Hush, I was twelve, by the rights of a child I could indulge'.

Noctis smirks at her childish pout, loving this playful side of her she never showed anyone else. Certainly not what one would expect from the proper and pure Oracle the empire dolled up regularly that's for certain. They both share a laugh between them, allowing the other relish the warmth of their embrace as once again sleep began to tug on them. Throwing the blanket over them after Lunafreya settled her head on his chest, both down to just a t-shirt and their smalls.

As Lunafreya drifts off into slumber, Noctis kisses her on the forehead and utters the words he swore he'll be able to tell her one day.

*Later…*

A gentle shake on the shoulders woke the prince up, making him glance to see Kairi placing a finger on her lips. She gestures the sleeping woman near him, likely not wanting to startle her. 'Hey', he croaks tiredly, 'What's going on?'.

'We're at Cartanica', Kairi reveals. At this, Noctis gently sits up without disturbing his lover and looked at Kairi with a serious look. 'How bad is it?', he asked. Kairi gave him a tired look and shakes her head, 'It's pretty much all abandoned from the looks of it', she explains, 'Gladio, Riku, and Aqua went out first to clear out the daemons while Prompto and Goofy checked on the lights'. The moment the train had arrived at the station, Gladiolus organized a party to wipe out the daemons and/or heartless prowling the area while Prompto, being the only real tech guy amongst them, checked for power.

Kairi herself had been put on guard duty with Donald. Not that she disagreed with Gladiolus' choice obviously since she and Donald were the only ones left to keep the trio safe. 'Where's Iggy?', he whispered. 'In the dining car', she says, 'He said he was listening to the news from the radio'. Kairi then turned to the entrance and headed out to give him and Lunafreya time to get dressed, saying: 'I'm heading there to check on him and get him ready'. With a quiet thanks from the king and after she left, he woke Lunafreya up and together the got dressed.

Leaving their shared room and stepping outside the train with the others after Gladiolus texted them the all-clear. On the station grounds, Noctis looks around to see the desolation and disparity of this place, not a soul in sight and everything looked to have been abandoned as soon as the idea of night reigning forevermore sank in. He hears the empty winds whistling, bits of cloth and rubbish blew past them with their only solstice being the light Prompto managed to revive.

The king looked to his guardians approaching him, weapons dismissed. 'Anyone around?', he asked, looking to his shield. 'No one. Looks like they've abandoned this place', the shield explained. 'Daemons were making themselves at home in the abandoned trains, the restaurant, pretty much anywhere'.

'No sign of heartless', Aqua adds with a nod, 'Just daemons'. He looked to Lunafreya and Kairi, they shook their heads. 'Nope, not sensing their darkness', Kairi assures, backing up Aqua. 'Least for now'. 'Let's hope they'll stay away from here while we look for the arm', Noctis said, 'Last thing we need is two of them ganging upon us'.

Before they would go below the station where the arm is supposedly residing, the party had tried to make this station at least hospitable for their fellow passengers, Kairi and Lunafreya using their light to empower the lights to repel the daemons while Prompto tends to Ignis and the others hunt down the remaining daemons that managed to avoid getting caught by the team. Inside the abandoned restaurant, Ignis settles in one of the empty seats, Prompto offering to make him a coffee while they wait.

Resting in the seat, his cane lying across his laps as he intently listened to Prompto's movements and his occasional blunders when he hears things being knocked or shuffled aside. The man withholds a sigh, not out of impatience to Prompto's slow and clumsy searches, the boy was doing the best he could do, no what truly frustrated him was everything else that had transpired for him. The meetings with her grace and the situation unfolding before them, just only hearing the turmoil's the world was facing not only terrified him, but it reminded him just how inadequate he was.

Since Altissia, he had been desperate to quickly adapt to his new disability and master using his ears to fight and detect his foes, but that became more difficult as time went on. He desperately tried to master it but with them moving from one place to another so frequently he had no time to adapt to it, much less fighting with it. Sure his hearing had grown to be more acute than his companions, but a minor privilege compared to being able to combat.

Uselessness stirred within him, unworthy of having even the chance to join Noctis on this journey. What good could he possibly be to his majesty if his party would have to constantly watch out for him? His strategies were no use if they would have to relay every bit of information to him, not to mention how could he become a burden to Prompto and the others constantly caring for him?

Now likely the tomb would be in a place inhabited by man and home to vicious beasts and likely the creatures of the dark. Fear clutched his throat like it threatened to strangle him, but he resisted the cold chill, knowing this is nothing but a trial to him, to test him. If he could provide aid to his company, if he could still find a way to keep Noctis safe, then perhaps there is a chance he may be able to complete this journey with his brothers.

This thought keeps him hopeful and pushes those horrible thoughts away from his mind. He refused to be anywhere away from his family.

*Fodina Caestino*

After establishing a place of safety for the people on the train, the party of ten used the elevator to descend to the lower levels where according to the former Oracle, the royal arm was said to be further down.

While much of the party had their concerns over the tomb still possessing the royal arm after everything's occurred, it would be a waste of a chance to empower Noctis based on speculation. Some, however, were very concerned with Ignis tagging along with his state, but Noctis brought him along none the less. Whether he did this as a sign of faith to his advisor or to keep the team together is up for debate, but none had commented on it as they descended to the lower levels.

No sooner had the group arrived, rain began to fall on them, and the darkness of this abandoned site was greater than above. They couldn't even see their hands in front of them thanks to it, furthering their worries. 'Sheesh…it's like walking into a dark room', Prompto grunts, obviously worried about what resided in the darkness. Kairi steps forward, however, summoning Oathkeeper and bathing it in light. Slowly their path brightened up in a hue of golden light with the redhead leading the way.

She turned to the group with a smile. 'Light bulb Kairi, at your service!', she laughed. 'At you're brightening up our days…', Gladiolus remarked, earning laughs and groans at once. Ignis smiled weakly at that, least it was a relief someone else could fulfill his role as the pun man. With Kairi in front of Aqua and Noctis, they climbed down a slope that was nearly submerged entirely in water, the mud sucking in the footwear of the party.

With Kairi's light helping grant sight to the group they discovered by looks alone this is place was a quarry of sorts judging from the amount of heavy machines that were scattered around the area. When asked, Lunafreya explained this place used to be mined for valuable resources, it was how the citizens of Cartanica worked and how they were able to survive, but after the empire depleted the resources it was the well had dried up.

In time they were forced to give up on mining and find other means of getting by. Mostly through commercial means such as restaurants and using the train to bring in tourists.

Prompto stayed in the back with Donald and Goofy to keep an eye on Ignis along with Lunafreya, the woman with her trident out to help herself with the roots that arched over their feet or tried to trip them.

Reaching the end of the slope, they came to an area flooded with knee-high water and populated by the gurangatch prowling in the waters. They stopped at the edge of the lake, looking at one another. Aqua stepped forward with the shield of the king, weapons drawn. 'We'll take care of them; everyone stay on the bank. If heartless or daemons show up, then you know what to do', she instructed.

Together the two rushed into the lake, leaving the others at the bank weapons drawn. Aqua slashes past one as she cartwheeled away from one of their jaws before they snapped onto her. Gladiolus immediately cuts the long maw off the beast with the Masamune, throwing the dismembered limb into the air. The shield raised his weapon of choice to catch the closing jaws of the beast as it snapped its massive mouth onto it.

With the shield lodged between the maw, it was left open for Aqua to fire a chilling mist that caked the body of the aquatic being in frost and ice until its movement stills. Freezing the beast allowed Gladiolus to sweep his blade as the woman ducked underneath it and he shatters the wildlife's skull into frozen pieces while Aqua erects a barrier to protect the two of them with her free hand as more tried to take bites out of them. The master aims her keyblade and creates one Magenta spell behind the four wildlife, sucking them up.

'Gladio! All yours!', Aqua announces as the shield turned to the grouped beasts. He smirked and ran at them, leaps into the air with his blade and them slammed the weapon upon the grouped beasties. The strike was so great the party felt tremors from his attack as he decimates the opposition, none had even survived a second against his mighty attack. Yanking his sword back from the crushed beasties, he turned and gave an arm bump to Aqua, smiling approvingly.

'Nice work', she praised. He nods and waves down the others to join them, yelling to watch their steps as well.

With the beasts removed and out of the way, Lunafreya deduced that the royal arm was likely to be further down the quarry, deeper into the earth. The group finds another slope riddled with deep mud and roots that reached over their feet, steep slopes and with the rain growing heavier, likely made the path more dangerous. Still, they carried on with a slow pace, Noctis helping Lunafreya while the trio guide Ignis.

'Mind your steps', Aqua calls out, gracefully walking down the slope. A yell caught her attention and down went Prompto with several bumps and curses until he reached the end of the slope. He fell on his back but yelled "I'M OK!" with a thumbs up.

Noctis rolled his eyes as Lunafreya giggles at him, Riku jumping down and helping the blonde back to his feet. 'And here I was worried about Luna or Iggy tripping up…', he sighed, patting his friend on the back. 'I'm not entirely sure if I should feel insulted or relieved…', Ignis muses quietly. Just as the party got closer Riku yelled out to stop. Before him and Prompto is a large piece of machinery that barred their paths.

The silver head breathes in annoyance while Prompto looked around it to see if there was something that could move. He shook his head with a groan, before turning to Riku. 'Think you guys could, I dunno, cut it to pieces?', Prompto suggested hopefully. 'I've got a bad feeling we'll have better luck collapsing the path itself', he replies with a huff. They both climbed back up to meet the others, explaining the situation to them.

'Well now, what do we do?', Donald asked, looking around.

'Destroying the machine will potentially collapse the path on us, and time isn't a luxury can afford to spend willy-nilly', Aqua laments, crossing her arms. Ignis cleared his throat and said: 'Perhaps if we can get the motor running, we may be able to move it'.

'If I recall', Lunafreya says, gesturing behind them, 'There is a station that has several control monitors, perhaps one of them can make the vehicle move?'.

'I'll have a look, just so we're not all trudging back up there', Kairi offers, jogging back up regardless. When she got there, the princess looked at the buttons and system, seeing a faded but eligible warning signs hammered to the wall near the controls. Skimming through it, she looked at the controls and found a generator nearby. Unused and likely devoid of power, Kairi summons her keyblade and jolts the generator with a morsel of lightning, not wanting to overpower it and explode.

She's had enough of explosions lately.

The generator rumbled and shook with the noise of coming to life, and with it, she used her keyblade once more to turn on the machines. Following the instructions, Kairi pressed a few switches while simultaneously praying she doesn't accidentally crush the others doing so. Kairi hears movement, groaning machinery and sounds of wood breaking apart, but also heard her friends call her.

Re-joining them and seeing the vehicle was moved a smidgen but enough for them to pass through, the group ventured onwards and down another slope. Not riddled with gnarly roots and thanks to the large tree acting like cover the ground was more solid and sturdy for them to walk. Closer to their goals and closer to leaving this place, Prompto suddenly spoke up. 'So uh, where are all the daemons?', he says aloud.

'Don't tell me ya miss them!', Donald grumbled, eyeing the blond. 'I miss them like I miss sleeping next to Gladio!', Prompto laughed. 'Aren't you always clinging them him though?', Riku asked with a smirk, 'Every time I wake up, you're always got your arms around him, like a loving boyfriend'. There were snickers and giggles as the blond pouts, but Ignis intervenes. 'Prompto poses a good question', he says, 'We haven't been attacked by daemons since we've arrived'.

This ceased the laughter and put everybody on alert, taking in the man's concerns. Aside from the wildlife, which in of itself wasn't an issue for them by now, they hadn't encountered anything that required them to go on full alert. None complained, however, having Lunafreya as a newbie and with Ignis in a less than ideal state did not boost morale of the party. Goofy also points out they hadn't been attacked by the heartless yet either. Neither beings of the darkness had so much as stalked them since their arrival, and most of them were on the surface earlier.

'It's weird, that's for sure', Riku agrees with the team's puzzlement, before saying: 'But hey, let's not question why and just get going'. 'I'm with him on this one, the sooner we find the arm the sooner we leave', Noctis concurs.

The team climbs down the slopes to find a large lake before them, there was more fauna down there compared to the bleak muddy surface above. Then as they climbed down the bank of the small lake, Kairi groans. 'Ugh, what is that?', she said, covering her nose with her hand. The party shared a collaboration of groans as well, a rancid odor befouled the air around them. 'Incentive to be done with this', Ignis encouraged as they walk into the lake, much deeper than the one above.

Gladiolus called out after some searches that beneath the web of roots, he could see something that be the tomb. Upon getting closer, Noctis sees what looked to be large pink fleshy sacks that Lunafreya clarified were eggs of sorts. Then she frowns with worry, grabbing her trident as turned to the lake with narrowed eyes, earning her new friends' worries. 'What's the matter?', Goofy asked. Lunafreya doesn't respond but her gaze to the waters only grew more intense.

'This smell, the eggs, the waters…these are the all the perfect habitat for a certain creature…', she said. As she finished that sentence, several green tentacles surged from the lake, thrashing wildly like snakes and slowly pulling itself from the depths of the waters, a large green monstrosity lurched from the waters. Not only was the beast as tall as a small building, but it had a mouth as wide as a car with hundreds of needle-like teeth within it, more tentacles on the head.

'IS THAT ITS FACE!?', Prompto yells in disgust and horror, everybody drawing their weapons bar a confused Ignis. 'What? What is it!?', he questions. 'A Marlboro!', Lunafreya yells. The monster slithers to them, forcing the party to split up as the beast crashes into the entrance to the tomb, shaking the ground. 'Prompto, look after Iggy!', Noctis shouts as he summons Night's Sky, 'Luna, stay close to Gladio or Aqua or…Anyone!'.

Noctis warp-strikes the Marlboro on the back, digging his divine weapon into the beast as Riku fired a barrage of dark firagas at it. The spheres exploded upon impact as Noctis warped into the air, and Kairi fires beams of light at it. However, their attacks do little but burn the green monster, filling the air with terrible smells of brunt vegetables. The beast roars from this as it turned around the group, baring its massive maw at them while the eggs began to hatch.

Smaller thralls of the Marlboro began to pollute the lake, slithering towards the party. 'Terrific…', Gladiolus huffs as Kairi blasted one with a ball of fire. 'Now we're fighting its babies?', Kairi groans, 'Least the smell isn't…intolerable…'.

As the largest of the monsters faced off with Noctis, Riku, and Aqua, the smaller ones were being dealt with the princess of light and shield of the king. Some that have passed them were taking down by Goofy keeping on the front of the team, backed up by Prompto picking them off with keen precision and careful aims.

Lunafreya did what she could with the basics she managed to retain from her early years of using a spear from her teen years. She would keep her distance from the biting beasts and stab at them, the power of the trident being more than strong enough to rip through the flesh of these monstrosities. She sidestepped one when it launched forward with mouth wide to taste the Oracle's flesh, plunging the trident into its back.

She spins around to see Ignis beside Donald, swinging his dagger clumsily and recklessly to keep back the beasts, likely trying to place where they were via sound. With all that's happening around them though he may as well be wearing headphones with all the noise occurring. 'Luna!'. The woman turned around in time for Goofy to leap before her and catch the gaping maws of the mini spawn with his shield. With it trying to crush the steel of the shield, Lunafreya took this chance to pierce its side by running around Goofy and pierced it.

Removing the beast from the battle, she gave him a nod of gratitude and stood by his side fending them off.

With the keyblade wielders, Riku and Noctis kept striking at the monster, cutting it and the tentacles off like they were weeds as Aqua fired magic at it repeatedly. Despite the combined ferocity of the trio, it was like the beast seemingly refused to relent or submit to them. It felt as if they couldn't do more than irritate it and delay it. Then as Noctis and Riku leaped into the air using it as a steppingstone, it reeled back while sucking in a large amount of air with its huge mouth.

Seeing this, Lunafreya's eyes widened as she saw Aqua was right in front of it. Quickly she erected a barrier of golden light around Aqua, stopping her from attack as the beast spews a ghastly dense fog of brown and filthy yellow that immediately swallowed up Aqua like a wave. The blue head could only watch in bafflement and disgust at the action of the creature until the air dissipated around her, but she gagged and covered her nose.

'Everyone do not get caught in that fog if it spews more!', Lunafreya ordered as she dispelled the barrier and uses her free hand to fire a force wave at the creature running at her. 'Otherwise, you'll reek of dead fish for the rest of your life!', Aqua groaned, wafting the smell from her as she returned to ensure the death of this beast. Possibly with a vendetta now.

With Kairi and Gladiolus, they stood together striking down their opposition that didn't seem to dwindle at all. Everyone they cut down two more would pop up in their place. Likely the beast had been here for decades judging by the size and old look the body had, it may have mated here, and the entire place could be a giant nesting ground for it. 'Get down!', Gladiolus yells. Kairi ducks to her knees as Gladiolus swings his sword over her and cleaves two in half. He picked her up and to her feet, the girl nodding.

They both looked to the monster slithering towards them with the king and keyblade wielders fending off the smaller ones. Gladiolus grunts, grabbing Kairi's shoulder and pulled her behind him, weapon gripped with both hands as the monster struck him with the tentacles. He swings his sword to slice them while Kairi runs around it and hacked it's sides wildly, but all her cutting did was annoy it. It was like she was trying to get into the center of a dense oak tree with a dull blade, the rubbery surface of the tentacles were too dense even for her.

Gladiolus evaded the massive mouth trying to swallow him whole, punching the beast with his shield. Kairi spins around to slash at the smaller creatures trying to sneak up on her, making her glare at them as they grew in numbers, like weeds refusing to die out.

Over with Donald and Ignis, the two slowly getting swarmed by the beasts. Ignis luckily cuts on enough to get it to back off while Donald fires a whirlwind that blew three of them away from them, spinning around and smacking one with his staff. 'There's too many!', Donald cried out, leaping backward from one. Ignis blindly strikes at them, hitting them occasionally or just the air as he staggered forward.

They were saved by Lunafreya and Goofy joining in with the latter tackling them and her grace guiding Ignis away from them via grabbing his hand. There was no chance to win at this she feared, with the Marlboro was seemingly unharmed despite the numerous slashes and hacks the team struck it with and its children were growing in numbers that could rival a small colony. 'Noct! We need to retreat!', she yells over the battle.

The two were suddenly cut off by the beast as it tackled them both with its body, throwing them off their feet and into the lake with two large splashes. Lunafreya quickly resurfaced, coughing up the filthy water that threatened to run down her neck as Ignis was on his hands and knees, pacing around without his cane.

She spat out the water as the Marlboro slithers towards the helpless man, likely going for an easy meal as opposed to the other predators. 'Ignis! RUN!', she shouts, getting to her feet and summoning her trident. The monster tried to chomp down on the blind man, only for Noctis to let out a beastly roar of his own and brought down the Sword of the Tall straight on the head of the beast with a humungous slam that echoed throughout the abandoned quarry.

The Marlboro roars and sucks in more air like it had done before, almost sucking Ignis in into its mouth. This, however, gave the man insight into the beast. Slowly he rose to his feet, reaching into his breast pocket. In his hand, as he yanked it out, he feels the curve and smooth surface of the flasks he had gotten from Noctis earlier before they ventured forth into this place. If he was right, then if they couldn't harm it from the outside perhaps inside it would be the key to victory.

'Everyone! Get ready!', Ignis ordered.

He spun around and threw the two flasks he carried at the suction and prayed this would work. When the Marlboro closed its maw, it starts to thrash around as suddenly smoke rose from its huge mouth and tendrils, before it burst into an explosion of flames and burning limbs that stunk of burnt broccoli. Its many tentacles were plopping into the lake with splashes and smoke filled the air as the children all started to scatter and scurry away from the battle, defeated and now left to roam.

There was a collection of cheers and praises with some complaining about the smell. Most of the praises went to Ignis as Gladiolus clapped his shoulder and Prompto going off about him even gone blind he was still the MVP of the team. While most had no clue what that meant, none would deny Ignis' quick thinking had once again pulled their rears out of the proverbial fire. Even so, Ignis felt their praises but…he still feels that uselessness plaguing him.

Once everyone was checked for wounds, with most of them assuring they only worry about getting swamp water out of their socks and for Aqua praying she managed to stay safe from that bad breath attack, to which the former Oracle teased her that "Gladiolus will be the first one to complain about the smell if you wish to keep sharing his bed".

For a moment drowning, the Oracle sounded perfectly fine with Aqua.

While his friends talked and bantered, Noctis proceeded to the tomb and see if their beliefs were founded. He used the key (still learning how to use the keyblade efficiently) and entered. In the cold room of stone with only the coffin before him and the physical weapon laid upon it, he takes a deep breath and raised his hand towards it. Slowly he feels a warm magical touch coil around his hand as the weapon glowed blue and slowly turn.

Like all his previous royal arms, the weapon stabbed him in the heart and joined his arsenal of arms. He placed a hand on his heart, allowing a small breath of relief to leave his mouth and felt stronger for it. The journey had paid off in the end, his power grew, and resolve strengthened. "I'm getting there, Sora", he thinks to himself, "We're getting you back…just wait for a little longer".

As Noctis left the tomb and re-joined his team, he could not help but feel like a promise was made between him and the boy. Like, he felt Sora's heart connecting with his own, complete faith within the king.

And for a moment, he swore he heard him say: "I know you will".

*Cartanica*

Returning to the surface with most of the travelers back on the train, the group had decided to use the restaurant to their advantage with Aqua taking over the cooking, following Ignis' instructions using his recipe book. She had offered, assuring the team she used to do it for Terra and Ventus years ago while Gladiolus and Kairi went on patrol just in case.

After getting Ignis settled in one of the rooms of the abandoned inns nearby with Riku chatting with him, Prompto took Donald and Goofy with him to go over some of the photos he took. After some promises from the blue-haired master she would be fine with her light acting as a repellent for daemons, Lunafreya and Noctis went into another cabin in the abandoned inn.

Thankfully they still possessed working showers, so Lunafreya hopped in first while Noctis changed into dry clothes. The inn itself was nothing special as it looked to be a very cheap and decently kept well inn, with very tacky wall paint of propaganda from the empire, some old furniture probably as old as her father and even the bed looked old. But he wasn't planning on sleeping anyway thankfully. As he sat there with his mind swimming with thoughts, he hears the bathroom door open and out came his lover.

Lunafreya smiled at him, looking clean as a whistle and fresher compared to their trek through the quarry. 'Rejoice, I no longer smell like a swamp', she sings. 'You smelled find earlier', the king assured playfully. Lunafreya smirked at him as she joined his side. 'I was always aware of the term blinded by love, but I wasn't sure if it applied to sense of smell', she teases. She leaned and playfully sniffs, recoiling with a giggle.

'Nope, it does not', Lunafreya giggles. 'Oh? So, I smell huh?', Noctis accused, grinning at as he slowly opened his arms. 'My feelings are hurt; I think I need a hug'. Quick as a mouse spotting a cat, Lunafreya leaped onto her feet as Noctis tried to catch her with a hug. She was screaming playfully as he kept cornering her, nearly trapping her and just missing her thanks to her evasive tactics, but in a small room like they were in there is only so much a woman could do to avoid capture.

Noctis eventually scooped her up into a hug, earning shrieks of laughter from her as he nuzzled into her neck and laid them on the bed. 'Noct!', she whines playfully, 'I've just gotten out of the shower! I'm going to be smelly again!'. 'Nah, you're the Oracle, you probably don't even sweat!', he laughed. 'An Oracle and a vampire are two very different things!', she argued as she giggles when she felt his nose brushed against the crook of her neck. A sensitive and ticklish spot of hers that the king of Lucis knew all too well.

As their laughter died out, Lunafreya gives him a pout as he turned her to face him. 'I can already smell the swamp water lingering on me', she sighs. Noctis chuckles, 'So? Not like we're paying the water bills here', he shrugged. 'But now we must have more showers', argues the captive woman. Then in a bold move, she gave the prince what he thought was a flirty smile and with batting her eyelids at him like a teenager who had no clue how to flirt, says: 'Unless we take one shower together'.

This got the king to turn bright red and suddenly his voice went deep into his stomach and would likely never come out for fear of saying…well anything. Flirting wasn't something the king of Lucis had ever practiced, heck it goes over his head most of the time whenever he was in the company of a woman, with only Gladiolus calling out the less than good intentions a woman may have for the king or whenever the shield was teasing Aqua.

Lunafreya's face looked akin to the color of Kairi's hair, slowly she ducked her face into Noctis' chest to hide her face yet he still hears the shy giggling. Least she was just as clumsy and shy at this game of flirting as him.

'ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!?'.

Quickly the two rose up from the bed, hearing the anger in what sounded like Riku's voice and quickly Noctis ran out of the room and down to his friend's. When he entered, he sees Riku glaring at Ignis and pace around the room while the blind man was sitting on the armchair, face forward on Riku. The silver head turns to Noctis, his angry look fading to surprise and shock that he was loud enough for his voice to travel across the rooms.

'What's happened? You two ok?', he asked, not seeing anything warranting Riku's surprising outburst as Lunafreya joined him. The master gave Ignis a hard look before he approached Noctis. 'You need to talk to him about this!', he says, gesturing the man. 'About what?', Noctis says.

Ignis sighs. '…a way to restore my sight'.

Both representatives of light turned to Ignis with shock, before Noctis' frowns to Riku. 'W-What's he talking about?', he asks, slowly and hopeful. Riku shakes his head with a grunt. 'No, not a way to restore his sight! A good chance to turn into a heartless!'.

He turned to Ignis as the man stands up. 'Riku, we saw Ravus restore his arm, who is to say we can't do the same for sight?', questioned the man. 'Difference is, Iggy, Ravus' darkness was manipulated by Xigbar and Ardyn!', Riku states, 'It turned him into a heartless! The same could happen to you!'. 'Hang on, what's going on? What are you two on about?', Noctis says sternly, looking between his two friends.

Riku's shoulders slouch as he huffs. 'Back in Altissia, Ravus was able to regain his right arm after the darkness was manipulated within him…', he explained. 'Yes', Lunafreya affirms, 'But in doing so his light was fainter, and much longer he would have turned into a heartless'. Noctis looked at Ignis, shock plastering on his face as he approached him. Standing before his sightless friend, gently grasping his arm to alert him, he asked: 'D-Did…are you asking Riku to do that to you?'.

Ignis sighed and said: 'No. I'm aware of the risks but what I want is for him to exploit the darkness within my own heart'. He placed his hand on his. 'You remember what Aqua said, every heart carries a darkness. If Riku can manipulate the one within me, he can restore my sight'. 'And if one thing goes wrong, you'll lose your heart to the darkness!', Riku argued, 'That risk is too much!'.

'It is my choice, Riku', he said, 'If anything should happen to me-

'No!', Noctis denied, 'No one is gonna even think about it!'. He grasped Ignis' arm tightly, pleadingly looking at him. 'Iggy, this…what you're asking, you can't…', he tried but looking at the man only told him why he needed this. The scars on his face will forever remind the king of the price Ignis made for him, the risks he is willing to go to protect him. Slowly he looked down, fearing what could happen to Ignis.

'Noct…I'm not going to pretend this will guarantee my recovery, nor will I ignore the consequences of what may come…but I cannot stand by your side like this', Ignis says, warmly and saddened. 'I refuse to be a liability to you or the others and be used to hurt you'. Noctis looks at him, eyes painted with pain and gratitude. 'Please, let me do this…', begged the man.

Noctis looked at Riku and Lunafreya, the latter holding her pain back as Riku looks away. '…can you do it? Do what they did?', he asks. '…its…possible. But if we are doing this', Riku relents with a sigh, 'Then everyone needs to be here…'.

*Later…*

Once the group was informed of this and after everyone was filled in on the requirements, what was needed from everyone and of course accepting what may need to be done should the worst come abound. Aqua and Lunafreya remained in the room with Ignis and Riku, the two masters of light created a dome around the two with them facing each other on chairs. At Riku's request, the dome was to trap them both inside in case the darkness was too much for Ignis to control and at least Riku would be able to slay the heartless before anything happened.

Outside were the others, giving space to their friends and allowing Riku to do what he can without disturbance.

With the two facing each other, Riku's hand glowing with the dark embers of darkness as he searched for the darkness within Ignis. Though his knowledge is limited compared to Xigbar's, he knew enough from his time spent as Ansem's vassal how to exploit the darkness within the hearts of men. Even as small as Ignis'.

'Last chance to bow out', he warned, 'No one will hold it against you'.

Ignis nodded. 'Do what you must', he says, confidence resonating to Riku. With reluctance, Riku began the process as Aqua and Lunafreya watched on stoically.

Ignis immediately felt the darkness within his heart stir wildly like a ferocious beast just awoken from its long slumber, his heart beating quickly within him while pain surged through him. His grip on the armrests of his chair tightened so badly it was like he was trying to crush the wood in his hands, teeth-gritting as he starts to sweat.

Riku's own eyes glowed with a violet light within them, he finds the darkness within Ignis and slowly stoked the flames of it to expand and grow. The man before him feels the flames burning his heart, slowly spreading all over his body as he slammed his back against the chair with a strangled growl escaping his mouth as he squeezed his useless as hard as he could. Ignis lets out several grunts, breaths, and pants of pain, trying to keep his voice in to hold back the agony that slowly grew.

Riku himself was trying to gauge it, trying to see how much of it was needed to replicate what occurred to Ravus to a smaller degree, but the darkness he found wasn't growing nor does it help him understand it. He had to make it stronger with his own, stroking it until the tiny embers grow into roaring flames that could swallow heart as strong as Ignis. In doing so, would put Ignis in greater danger than before.

Ignis finally allows himself to let out a scream of agony, throwing his head back as he thrashed in his seat, teeth bared and feeling the flames within him grow hotter and painful. The darkness was lulling him in with voices, telling him to accept the gift and be free of pain, take revenge on Riku for making him endure such agony for the sake of his king. He could hear the breaking of the armrest, crackling and bending to his agonized infused strength.

The two guardians could only watch helplessly yet stoically as the sight before them fell, both surrounded by darkness as Riku's eyes glowed more darker and eviller while Ignis writhes in agony.

Outside the party hears Ignis screams of pain, each of them trying to stay strong and bare through it, Gladiolus' back against the door just in case as he cast his head down with his eyes shut. Noctis and Kairi standing together as they withstood the sounds, both clenching their fists in helplessness with Donald and Goofy sharing glances of worry but keeping themselves together.

Prompto by far was handling it the worst, pacing and grabbing his hair as he tries so hard to block out Ignis' screaming agony. He would look at the door and if one was paying attention to the boy, they were sure he would have broken it down and stopped this madness if Gladiolus was not there keeping watch. Tears ran down his cheeks and only when Kairi wrapped him in her arms to offer some form of support to his suffering, he breaks down into her.

Inside Ignis' screaming didn't let up as he felt more and more of his own beliefs, morals and himself being swept under the rug, the darkness telling him these wonderful and hopeful lies to entice him to submit. The power Ravus displayed outclasses him and even a more powerful Gladiolus wouldn't have stood a chance, to hold such power for himself would make him an asset, nay, a worthy advisor to serve his king.

With that power, he could destroy Ardyn, destroy Xehanort even, bring an end to the scourge and keep his king safe forever if he just gave in to the darkness. It was so tempting, so desirable just to be free of this sheer inhuman pain. Not even in the Ring of the Lucii had hurt him this bad, and that was a ring that granted him a taste of true power. He just needed to let go…

"Please, take care of my son".

That day flashed in his mind, the day he first met the young prince. That wonderful innocent smile he swore he would protect. Memories flashed of his encounters with the trio of brothers he had grown to love, but not just them.

Sora, Kairi, Riku, all of them had all flashed in his mind, the sacrifices they had made to help them get this far. The tears that had been shed by the boy before him, the agonizing torture Kairi had endured when she lost Sora and the pain of failure that lingered over Aqua. Yet all of them had found ways to surmount their trials no matter how painful or agonizing their losses became.

As his darkness manifest, Ignis reached deep within his own heart and felt that power, that oath he had sworn so long ago grow within him. He grabbed for it with both hands and then for a moment before his consciousness faded, all he could see was just one thing…

A world…of violet flames…

Entering the room quickly once Aqua shouted for them, the party sees Ignis slumped in his chair with Riku on his knees, panting and heaving with the woman of Tenebrae comforting him. Noctis approached Ignis, checking his friend. The scars remained but he didn't sense any darkness within him grow worse or evil he would go far as to say he felt a strange akin to Riku's. The king looked to the boy, shaking with exertion as he was helped to his feet.

Kairi immediately checked on him, helping him stand as Lunafreya tended to Ignis. 'Are you ok?', she asked. Riku gave her a shaky nod, looking so pale as a ghost and ready to faint. 'H-He's gonna ok…', he says sickly, like he was enduring the worst kind of illness his body had never known. 'You healed his eyes?', Noctis asked, shocked. 'I…I don't think so…not in the…the…', Riku tried but he slumps into Kairi, putting his full weight on her.

Had the girl not grown stronger throughout this journey she would likely be pinned to the floor by Riku's weight. She struggled to keep him up however until Gladiolus helped her by taking him off her entirely. Noctis glanced back to Ignis before turning to Prompto, gesturing him to help carry the man. They had no more time to spend away, the journey must proceed.

As they got on board the train and laid their sleeping companions in their cabins, the train rides off to leave Cartanica behind and proceed onwards to Tenebrae.

None knew that upon stepping onboard the train, that another passenger had joined them…and his plans to torment the group had just begun…

A/N: Done and done. A/N: Done and done.

Sorry it took awhile, I was dealing with a massive headache from the cold, but hey I got this done! WHOO!

So the final tomb has been claimed, the party is now on their way to Tenebrae, what kind of troubles lie in wait for the band? What exactly did Riku do to Ignis? Find out next time (maybe I dunno…)

I know there wasn't much action, but if anyone has played the game then you know there were no daemons in that dungeon (for some reason) so we'll make it more action oriented!

Questions:

Q1: Did ya enjoy this one?

Q2: Did you like Luna and Noct and wanna see more?

Q3: How was the pacing?

Q4: What would you like to see in future chapters?

Q5: What do you think is gonna happen to Ignis?

Thanks for reading everyone! Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!