Update(s):

1. Cleaned up various sentences.

2. Added the Kingsglaive appearing before Cor at the end of the chapter.

Chapter Three

Insomnia Undone

Night, minutes before the attack

Gladiolus watched Noctis disappear inside the dome and made to follow, when his father approached him. His old man was not as buff as his son, as age claimed much of his muscle mass, and he even failed to possess an inkling of his former head of black hair, but he was still an expert with a blade. Clarus Amicitia had never failed to protect King Regis the multiple times he was present in the attempts against his life. He had still managed to best his son in their last bout weeks ago, though Gladiolus would claim he was taking it easy on the aging warrior. A sentiment both knew was false. As his father approached, Gladiolus stopped and gave a short bow.

"Son," his father, Clarus, said. "Leave him be for now. You know who is in there right now?" Gladiolus shook his head. "Lady Lunafreya," Clarus continued, with a small wink.

"Ah," Gladiolus replied. "I suppose his highness wouldn't be too happy with me intruding. So, any news on anything yet?"

"The king is still speaking to the emperor," Clarus said with a sigh. "It's about the most wooden of pleasantries, but it is still pleasantries. The chancellor, however..."

"I've heard about this chancellor," Gladiolus said. "I haven't seen him yet, though. Where is he?"

"He left. He unsettles me, son. There's something off about his smile."

"Right." Gladiolus took another look around, eyes scanning for Ignis. The retainer had approached him hours ago, voicing Cor's commands and concerns. "Where did Ignis go? He was near the king."

"I imagine to get a view of the prince," Clarus said. "I wouldn't be too concerned with Ignis. He's pretty capable. I know your job is to keep a close watch on Noctis, but I have another request for you."

"Of course," Gladiolus quickly said. "What is it?"

"Your sister, Iris, is in the floor below." Clarus placed a hand on his considerably taller son's shoulder. "I know as the former head of the Crownsguard, I should not believe this to be so, but as a father, I view her protection as important as Prince Noctis's."

"Believe me, dad. I know." Gladiolus bowed. "I'll do everything I can to protect both."

"Good. Keep those eyes sharp, son. I'll return to the king."

"Of course. Good luck."

"Same to you, son." With a small bow, Clarus left.

"Your father is quite the local legend," came the voice of someone nearby. Gladiolus turned to see a Kingsglaive he hadn't met speaking to him. He held out a hand. "Ulric. Nyx Ulric."

Gladiolus took the hand and shook it. "Amicitia. Gladiolus Amicitia."

Ignis Scientia had retreated to the floor below to use the restroom. After washing his hands and stepping out, he marched over to the stairs leading to the roof, when he was stopped with a familiar and perky "Hello!" Ignis turned to see, dressed in a black dress, young brunette Iris Amicitia approaching.

"Lady Iris," Ignis said. "I wasn't aware you were up here."

"Oh," she sighed. "They shoved me up here with the rest of these rich people. It's super stuffy and I've kinda had enough of it, if I'm honest. So... is Noct up there?"

"Yes. Last I saw, speaking to Lady Lunafreya."

Something briefly passed through Iris. An expression Ignis hadn't the time to catch, but one he assumed was a small form of jealousy. It seemed everyone, but Noctis himself, was aware of what the young maiden felt for the prince.

"Well, good for him, yeah?" she squeaked.

Ignis smiled. "Why not head up top if it's so stuffy down here?"

"Ehh. The emperor kinda scares me if I'm honest." She gave a sheepish smile.

Ignis found himself laughing. "I suppose he is scary, isn't he. Very well, then."

Iris looked out a nearby window as she noticed a grey Niflheim airship getting a little close to the building.

Prompto snapped a photo of a nearby dancing and drunken man. He smiled, aiming his camera at Caelum Via. The young commoner was at the foot of the building, and he used the long lens he had spent the last of his savings on to zoom as close as he could to the roof in the hopes of catching a glimpse of his best friend. However, just as he was about to snap a photo of Gladiolus, whose back was visible near the edge of the roof, he noticed a movement in his peripheral vision. He slowly lowered his camera in horror as a Niflheim airship crashed into the building.

Night, Imperial Invasion of Insomnia

Caelum Via had erupted into utter chaos. The people fled to the stairwells and the elevators, screaming all the while as missiles hailed down at the building. Within the dome, the aquarium had shattered, and the many fish desperately flopped around as they choked on the cacophonous air. Surrounding them were the limp and lifeless body of several Niflheim soldiers.

The Engine Blade hit the floor of the outer area of the rooftop and got stuck half in. Prince Noctis appeared soon after in a flash of light, gripping his blade. Instead of wrenching it free, he stood and called the blade back to him, which appeared in his hand in a blue flash. Noctis immediately spun and took off the arm of a soldier. With another slash, he severed his throat, and the gurgling soldier slowly fell to the ground with a metallic clang.

Panting, drenched in sweat, the prince looked around. The soldiers were dead. He heard another explosion and looked up to see an airship raining missile fire at the side of the hotel. Screams tore through the cacophony and disappeared nearly as swiftly as they came.

Bastards! thought Noctis. Where is Gladio? Ignis? Prompto? Or... Lunafreya!

"Luna!" Noctis cried out.

Gods above, if she had been harmed, there weren't enough bodies Niflheim could spare. Noctis looked around, but it had been cleared out save the airship slowly circling the building. It had yet to notice him on the roof. Noctis gripped his sword tight and tossed it. In a flash, he rolled onto the roof of the airship. To help keep himself steady, he called the sword away and it disappeared. With both hands, he crawled across the roof of the airship. Far below, he saw an envoy of vehicles on the move, all sleek and black, seemingly heading toward the citadel in the distance. It was then he remembered someone else: his father. He had to have been in the convoy, or at the very least, the convoy was heading towards him. Cursing, Noctis looked for a way down. The height was still as dizzying as ever.

Another missile launched from the airship at the hotel, and Noctis decided he needed to put this thing out of commission. He headed toward the back of the airship. When it had crashed through the glass dome, Noctis had noticed the airship had spun around. The back would lower into a ramp and the people inside could rush out. He needed to find a way to open up the airship and get inside. Then he would cut them all down, the bastards.

He crawled his way to the back and peered over the edge. The wind threatened to blow him off and he gripped the metal tightly. He noticed it, then. A small opening. Noctis growled and called for the Engine Blade again.

The Niflheim soldiers were definitely surprised when a sword fell into their ship. Within moments, they were scattered as Noctis warped inside and made quick work of them. In the cramped space, they stood little chance against royal magic. They hadn't the time or the room to pull their guns, but Noctis didn't need it, summoning his weapon as though from nothing. He had to be careful though. Powerful as he was with royal magic, he couldn't overexert himself, lest he be unable to find and save anyone.

There was something Noctis forgot to consider: Without any one to pilot a ship, it goes down. First rule of flying. Noctis braced himself, grabbing a metal bar above the benches inside the ship as he felt it quickly drop.

This is going to hurt, he thought, groaning.

With a jolt, he gripped the bar as tightly as he could and kept himself from flying into the ceiling. The ship had started sliding forward, rumbling as it sped across the ground. With another great crash, Noctis was thrown into the air, unable to hold on any longer, and slammed against the metal wall opposite him. He hit the ground with a heavy grunt, dazed. When he pushed himself back to his feet, he stumbled to the back of the airship and looked around for any sort of release mechanism. He found a lever by the door and pulled it. With a hiss and a groan of metal, the back dropped with a deep thud against the ground. Noctis stumbled out of the ship and looked around. He was on another rooftop, one belonging to a building several stories shorter than the Caelum Via hotel, which loomed right next to the him. The building was fenced, and Noctis peered through the metal links at the building on the other end. Through the window, he could see several people still stampeding in desperation to reach the streets below.

He walked over to the fence and pressed his face against it, doing his best to see down to the street. He estimated he must have been a good forty feet from the street. A height he might be able to safely warp down from. He readied to cut an opening into the fence when he heard a loud hum. Another airship had appeared, followed swiftly by another missile, screaming through the air. Noctis leaped back as it crashed against the fence and exploded. The force of the blasts was strong enough to push him through the air, where he slammed against a stairway bulkhead.

Noctis groaned as he got to his feet, stumbling as he regained his bearings.

The fence had been properly blasted apart, and the ship readied to launch another round of missiles. Noctis pulled the Engine Blade and growled.

"Come on!" he shouted.

Three missiles fired. Two of them flew past Noctis and exploded safely behind him, but the third came straight at him. Noctis tried to raise the sword and throw it in time, but he winced as his arm screamed out in pain from the previous attack. It looked like it was all over. Noctis braced himself, calling to the royal magic in a last desperate attempt. Before the missile could strike him, his body became surrounded by blue magical energy and his reflexes heightened. For a moment, the world slowed and Noctis was able to easily sidestep the missile, which continued on its path, blasting apart the bulkhead. Noctis stumbled forward, just managing to escape the blast radius.

This power... he thought. It feels... good.

Noctis called to the royal magic again and held out his hand, palm open. Within his palm, static rose, increasing in strength until it became a ball of electrical energy. He pulled his arm back and threw it at the airship. As it collided, it burst into an explosion of blue electric magic, and the ship ended in a fiery explosion. Noctis smiled. His father had told him there was great power resting within him. He had trained for warping, but he had never used this before. This was incredible. He felt like he could singlehandedly take out the empire.

It was then he remembered he had a phone, a realization which struck him as he stood there, momentarily confused as to what the ringing sound was, before being pulled back to reality. The phone! How could he have forgotten? He pulled the slim smartphone out of his pocket and answered it.

"Noct?" came the familiar and thick accent of Ignis, though it was muffled slightly by the wind and the shouting of people in the background.

"Iggy? Where are you?"

"Gladio and I are at the foot of Caelum Via," he responded. "Where are you?"

"I got thrown to the top of a building nearby," Noctis replied. "I just took out an airship using magic. It was crazy."

"Ah. We saw the explosion from the street. That was you, then. Impressive."

Noctis peered down through the exploded fence. Far far below he saw, surrounded by rushing people, the unmistakable figure of Gladiolus and Ignis. Noctis put the phone away and threw his sword to the street.

Ignis took a quick back step as Noctis suddenly warped before them. Noctis stumbled as he called his sword away. He was starting to feel a little strain as he performed royal magic. He had been unwise with how he was using it, but now he had found Gladiolus and Ignis and he was hoping he wouldn't have to push as hard.

"Where's Luna? Have you seen her?" Noctis asked.

Gladiolus nodded. "She's with a Glaive. Nyx. He's going to lead her out of the city."

"Good. I saw my father's convoy heading toward the citadel," Noctis said. "I was going to head there next."

"My orders are to get you out of the city, Noct," Ignis replied. "We need to go."

"What? No. I'm not leaving him." Noctis walked away, heading in the direction of the citadel.

"Noct, please. We need to get you out of here," Gladiolus said. "I know you're worried about him but we have more pressing matters."

"Your father is with him!" Noctis shouted, not stopping. "I'm not leaving him, Gladio. Ignis. I'm going, whether you are coming or not. And Prompto—" Noctis then stopped and looked back, when he noticed who was missing. "Prompto!" he shouted. "Where is he?"

Ignis shook his head. "I am not sure. Have you tried calling him?"

Noctis quickly pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, landing on Prompto. He pressed the call option and waited. Noctis nervously muttered as he held the phone to his ear. He impatiently tapped his foot, scanning over the fleeing crowd.

"Do you hear that?" Ignis asked. Noctis shook his head. "Listen. It's faint."

Noctis focused and after a moment, he heard a faint ringing sound. The three made their way to the source of the noise and found a phone lying on the side of the sidewalk, on a front lawn of a building. It was Prompto's. Noctis closed his phone and put it away, picking up his friend's phone.

"Where is he?" Noctis asked, his voice low. Worried.

"I'm sorry, Noct," Gladiolus said, "but we can't worry about him right now."

"That's..." Noctis sighed. "Prompto... be safe..."

They made their way down the street, fighting against the heavy crowds still running and screaming. Noctis wasn't quite sure where they were running towards. Probably to the nearest exit from the city. As they moved, Noctis scanned the crowds, holding out to any hope he might catch a glimpse of his blonde friend. He considered abandoning his current mission to look for him, but he quickly pushed it from his thoughts. Whether it was Prompto, or even Lunafreya, it was his father which mattered most. He had this feeling he needed to find him. Absolutely needed to.

Fire was falling from the skies. Gunfire cracked the night. Screams had become the symphony of this unimaginable violence. If his father fell... If Noctis could even bear to consider such a thing, he knew Insomnia would fall too. It would be the end of Lucis.

As though to pull him from his thoughts, an airship quickly spiraled down toward the street, bouncing wildly between buildings. The three quickly ran, watching the ship as it came dangerously close to falling on them. They dashed under a sky-walk connecting two of the buildings and looked at the ship, which slid to a halt into a pole. It shook a few times, a frightening growl coming from within, mixed with the sound of screeching metal. The back suddenly burst open, and a great and massive beast leaped out onto the street, dark tendrils flailing off of it briefly before absorbing back into it's body.

"What the hell is that thing?" Noctis asked.

Ignis adjusted his glasses. "It appears to be a behemoth; a creature native to the Duscae region of Lucis. But... it looks different. Almost like..."

"Like what?" Noctis asked, as he pulled the Engine Blade.

"Like a daemon," Gladiolus said. "They sent me out there for training once. Into Lucis. In the middle of the night, a daemon spawned. The darkness coming off of them... looks a lot like what's pulsating off of that thing."

The behemoth roared as it lashed out and rolled a car into a building. It seemed to take a moment to notice the three, and when it did, it reared back and let out an ear-piercing roar.

"Get ready!" Ignis shouted. He held out his hands, and a pair of daggers appeared in a flash of blue, much like with Noctis. The bleeding magic was what they had once referred to this. Being near Noctis long enough had allowed them a limited access to some of his magic; in particular just the ability to summon weapons. It was as though some of his royal magic had bled through the air and into them. It was not like the Kingsglaive, who obtained their power directly from the king through special rituals. Those powers were ones Noctis was not strong enough to perform for others.

Gladiolus growled and pulled a massive great sword he rested on his shoulder with one hand. The behemoth rushed at them and Noctis tossed his sword, which impaled itself onto a nearby street pole. Noctis appeared quickly after and held onto the handle, dangling as he took a moment to observe the creature.

It moved wildly, spinning as it lashed out. The creature's appearance was absolutely frightening; a seventy-foot-long tiger, with a shark-like dorsal fin and enough teeth and claws to suggest it was not a friendly, cuddly beast.

Noctis felt his arm growing sore and he knew it would be time to join the battle pretty quickly. Ignis was doing his best to stay back and watch the creature for any noticeable patterns. Gladiolus, on the other hand, let out great roars similar to the beast as he rushed and swung his giant blade. The behemoth had thus far managed to avoid these, even swinging its massive paw at him. Gladiolus had been saved by a shield he had managed to make appear in a flash. Noctis grunted and released his hold on the sword. As he was falling, he quickly called it back and threw it at the monster.

Noctis appeared and slashed the beast at it side, and the great creature flailed as it fell over. The distance had amplified Noctis's warp strike, and it hit the monster with the force of a truck. Downed, the other two quickly rushed over and slashed at the monster, managing to create great gashes across its exposed stomach. It didn't bleed though, instead releasing clouds of blackened mist from its wound. The beast roared and returned to its feet. The three leaped back as it seemed to grow stronger. From all of its pores, black energy crackled across its body.

"The hell is holding this thing together?" Gladiolus shouted.

"It seems to grow stronger still!" Ignis replied. "We need to regroup and come up with a strategy."

"And just how do you plan to get away from this thing?" Gladiolus grunted as he brought out his shield again, skidding backwards on his feet as it blocked a clawed paw.

Ignis quickly looked around. The street was narrow and the creature long enough that passing by it seemed impossible, or unlikely, unless one possessed the ability to warp. Noctis did of course, but it would still leave the two of them exposed to the beast.

Noctis warped to the set of stairs leading to the sky-walk, but the beast turned to him, its attention caught by the flashing blue magical energy. It rushed at him and Noctis gritted his teeth, gripping the Engine Blade tightly at its hilt. It came close and Noctis slowly backed up the stairs, stumbling as he couldn't keep his eyes on the step. He fell down, letting out a gasp of surprise as he lost control of himself. The beast growled and gnashed its fangs, saliva dripping from its mouth. Before it could reach him, a shot cracked through the air. From beside the behemoth, a gas pipe burst and exploded a stream of fire on the beast, which rolled sideways from the force of the blast, screeching.

Noctis looked behind him, and saw Prompto holding a gun he twirled on his finger.

"I just saved a prince," he said. "Do I get a reward?"

Noctis returned to his feet and wiped himself off. He looked over at the behemoth, which Gladiolus had managed to skewer in its guts.

"I'll have to consider your reward later," Noctis said. "We need to go."

The two descended to the bottom of the steps and observed the behemoth. It had fallen still, the life taken from it. A thick cloud of darkness fell from its body, and the beast itself slowly dissolved until nothing of it remained. Noctis tilted his head.

"What the hell was that?" he asked.

"I... am not sure," Ignis said. "Research into daemons is minimal in Lucis. No one can say why they recently have started to emerge either. Except... the chosen time may soon be upon us."

"It doesn't matter right now," Noctis said. He turned to Prompto and handed his phone back to him. "Where the hell were you?"

Prompto sheepishly smiled, pocketing his phone. "I got lost in the crowd. They were pushing and shoving like crazy. Then I made my way back toward the hotel, trying to find you guys. I heard all the roaring and stuff and made my way over here. Used the stairs on the other side to sneak my way onto the overpass here and, well. Here we are now."

"Well, I'm glad you're safe," Noctis said. "We gotta get going now. I think dad is in danger."

"Right," Prompto said. He released the gun, his own custom-made design he had commissioned by the Crownsguard, and it vanished in a flash of light.

It wasn't too long ago Prompto was taken through a course on how to fight which at first didn't seem too strange, but now made it clear how much of this was anticipated.

The violence in the streets continued raging. Airships did battle with other airships, and the results of those struggles began to litter the streets below, a few bringing down chunks of buildings. The bodies of Insomnians, Niflheimians, and Tenebraens were scattered across streets, shops, homes.

Cor had contributed to many of the corpses of his enemies, and he added another he sliced apart with his katana. Another soldier rushing him nearby never made it any closer as a bullet collided with his metal helmet, denting the steel into his skull with enough force to kill him immediately. Cor looked back, at a building behind him whose roof was occupied by Monica. She gave him a thumbs up from behind the scope of her sniper and Cor nodded in response.

Several blocks behind them, their black car lay in a smoldering heap, having been taken down with a rocket from an airship. The convoy heading for the king was far ahead, no doubt nearing the citadel for the end of King Regis's plan. Moments before he had engaged this group of enemies, Cor had received a message from Ignis stating the prince was in their company. This very same phone now lay at his feet, shattered before he could get a chance to look at the next message he received shortly after.

He was not comfortable without access to the phone, and without his eyes on Prince Noctis. He had to decide next where he was heading. Whether to find the prince or go to his king. No doubt Regis would desire Cor to find Noctis, but Cor had no desire to abandon his king. King Regis was trapped inside the citadel, which had been locked down by Niflheim soldiers. Truth be told, no one was sure if he was still alive, but Cor occasionally noticed a member of the Kingsglaive warping around. He didn't like to assume, but as long as they still could use the royal magic, then perhaps the king was still alive.

And so, physically and metaphorically, Cor was at a fork in the road. He was nearly equidistant between Caelum Via and the citadel. The prince or the king? His obligation to do what his king demanded, or his devotion to the protection of the man?

Ultimately, the answer was quite clear: he could not ignore the order of his king. Prince Noctis was to be his charge, and so he chose his destination, and he, and Monica from above, made their way toward Caelum Via. However, he was interrupted from his mission when he heard a whistling cutting through the air.

Cor quickly raised his katana and stopped a knife from connecting with his chest, swiping it out of the air. Before it could hit the ground, it was caught by a man robed in black, appearing in a blue flash of light. From behind him, several others warped in and readied their weapons. Cor narrowed his eyes as he took a step back. The Kingsglaive had betrayed them. Or at least, some of them did, and now Cor knew he would have to cut down some men and women he had considered comrades.