Hello! It's been a while, but I am working on where I'm taking the rest of this story. This chapter is a little shorter and might be expanded later. Thanks for reading!

PART TWO

LIVING LEGENDS

Chapter Six

Aftermath

Cindy Aurum blew on the white mug filled with boiling hot coffee as she entered the large and empty garage at the Hammerhead Service Station. The day was hot, as ever under the oppressive sun of the Leide Region of Lucis. It had rained about half an hour ago, and the quickly evaporating water made the air quite humid. With her free and gloved hand, she lifted her orange cap from her wavy blonde hair, the sticky strands fighting to grip onto the hat until it was far enough away that it fell back down, splatting against her forehead. Inside the garage, her grandpa was sitting on a lawn chair. Normally he'd bark out some crotchety remark about how young people were ruining their world, but on this day, he did no such thing. He was in mourning.

When she handed him the mug, he took it with his wrinkly hands and set it aside on a black toolbox next to him. Next to the mug was a newspaper partially covered with a red wrench. Beneath it, the headline read: INSOMNIA FALLS. Cindy had never been to the crown city, but the marvelous sights had been described to her by her "paw-paw," who tried his hardest to make it sound not as grand as it actually was. It was difficult to make Insomnia not sound amazing.

The old man rubbed his forehead with his hand and let out a sigh. The last time he described King Regis to her, he complained about him being lazy and a terrible friend, but the way he mourned now made it seem as though he had been lying to himself. King Regis had been his best friend, and he was dead now. Cindy placed a hand on his shoulder and gave her grandfather a gentle pat. She wasn't sure what to say, so she said nothing, leaving him to continue his silent mourning.

As she walked away, she looked out past the large open bay doors of the garage, and was alarmed as she saw what looked like a group of people pushing a black car. An itch crept to the tips of her fingers. She hadn't gotten a chance to work on anything yet that morning, and she was looking forward to opening up the hood of that thing. It looked fancy. It looked… She frowned. There was something familiar about it. Cindy turned her head to look at the wall to her left, where they fell upon a picture tacked to a board. A photo of the same black car.

"Paw-paw!" she exclaimed.

"Hmmm?" The old man looked up at her.

"It's the car. That car." She pointed at the photograph.

Cid narrowed his eyes. "So, they actually made it…"

What hadn't he told her was happening? Cindy frowned as she looked at the four men that now sat exhausted around the black car, each of them clad in black. The only one that wasn't resting was a black-haired young man, who looked out past the road in front of the service station, to a large and jagged rock formation in the distance. There was something familiar about this person, much the same as the car. She looked back at the photo, at the man leaning against the black car next to a much younger Cid. They looked somewhat similar, though this young man had much more layered hair.

That photo was of the king. Which meant...

"Go find out what they need, Cindy," Cid's gruff voice said. "I'll be out in just a second."

"Right," Cindy replied.

Near the Regalia, Noctis looked out past the distant horizon of the arid desert region of Leide. The region was flat, save a few mountainous rock formations jutting out of the hardened dirt and the large pieces of machinery he had seen jammed in. The land was pretty dead, scarred from the ancient war that took place there between Lucis and Niflheim, when they first battled when Noctis's father was still a boy. Back then, King Mors ruled Lucis. Noctis knew little of the man, who died before he was born. Only the stories he had heard from his retainers as well as whatever tales his father had indulged him with. Cor also occasionally told him a few stories, as he had been his shield back when the man was merely fifteen years old.

The more Noctis saw of Leide, the more he saw of a world seemingly abandoned by Lucis, far before the events of the previous night.

This didn't really matter to him though. He had more pressing problems now. Though Noctis's muscles were undeniably sore from the events of the night as well as from pushing the car, he ignored all of the pain, focusing the entirety of his thoughts on what was to come next. Once the Regalia was repaired, he planned to assault the empire as quick as possible. The thought of rest was absent from his mind. They needed to pay.

"I recognize this car," came a voice thick with the drawl of a country girl. Noctis turned to see Cindy approaching.

The blonde mechanic was dressed in a manner that simply wouldn't fly in the crown city. That much exposed skin... He shook his head and looked away again.

"I thought you might," Ignis replied. "It was constructed here, according to the manual. By a Master Cid."

Cindy nodded. "That would be my paw-paw."

"Your paw-paw?" Gladiolus replied. "So that would make you...?"

"Cindy," she replied, raising a hand to her chest. "Cid's grease monkey granddaughter."

All the while, Prompto had bolted to his feet, mouth nearly hanging agape as he stared at the blonde mechanic. He scooted next to Noctis and leaned in close.

"Wow," he whispered. "What do you think, Noct? She's pretty."

"Does that really matter right now?" Noctis growled back.

Prompto scratched the back of his head. "I... guess not. Sorry."

"Roll 'er in while I'm still young!" The two turned to see old man Cid hobbling over. He ran a finger along the sleek black frame of the hood. "The Regalia. She's a custom-built thing of beauty. The last car I had specially commissioned before I retired. A special request from Reggie." He looked away from the car, his gaze crawling up Noctis. It ended when they met eyes, and Cid narrowed his. "Prince Noctis. Heh. Prince... like they took your old man and kicked the dignity out of him."

Noctis raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"You got a long way to go, son, and that slack jaw's getting you nowhere." Cid shook his head. "You're all that's left of him now. Don't disappoint, son."

Noctis took a step toward Cid. "Do you have any idea what I just went through?" he shouted. "What I've seen? I watched him... I..."

Cid's expression softened. "Hold yerself together, boy. You boys!" Cid pointed at the other three members of Noctis's party. "Roll it in." He looked back at Noctis. "Come with me, Noctis."

While Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto pushed the car to the garage, Cid led Noctis to a chair outside of the garage. He slowly took a seat and let out a weary sigh, as Noctis stood next to him, arms tightly crossed. Cid looked past him, to the horizon.

"Well?" Noctis impatiently asked.

"I received a phone call from Cor the Immortal earlier today," Cid said. "Well, from some woman named Monica, who relayed Cor's message to me. He said that if you boys made it out of the city, you'd come straight here. And when you did, to give you this."

Cid reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He handed it to the prince. Noctis took a hold of it and examined the silver item. It was a little battered and appeared to have been used for a long time. Cid reached into another pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He handed this to Noctis as well. Noctis unfurled the paper and saw it was a map of the region.

"What do you want me to do with this?" he asked as he folded it up and put it in his pocket.

"There's an outpost nearby, where the hunters have gathered," Cid explained. "Near that outpost is a royal tomb. You'll see both on the map. That key opens the door. Cor said that once you're inside, you'll know what to do."

Noctis narrowed his eyes as he examined the key. He shook his head. "Raiding a tomb is useless to me. I need to know where the empire is."

"Don't be a fool, boy," Cid coughed. "You really think you can just march in and take them all on?"

"I've got the Royal Magic," Noctis growled. "I can take them all on."

"Oh, really?" Cid replied. "If that were true, then... why did they win?"

Noctis's eyes widened. He clenched his fist, threatening to raise it. How dare this man say such a thing? Who was he to have the gall?

"You have no idea—" Noctis began.

"Don't be a fool, son," Cid interrupted. "Go to the royal tomb. Cor is waiting there. You will find power there. The power you need to face the coming days. Once we get this car fixed, head there."

"Fine," Noctis replied. He made to walk away.

"Your father was my best friend, you know," Cid said. Noctis stopped, but he didn't turn back around. "We spent years ignoring each other. Got into a big fight once. Can hardly remember what it was about, but... well... Don't let anger ruin your friendships, boy. Just a piece of advice."

"Thanks," Noctis dryly replied. He walked off to meet with his three friends.

The four ended up at Tanka's Pit Stop, a small diner near the garage. They took to a booth, Noctis sitting next to Prompto, and Gladiolus and Ignis on the other side. Noctis sat next to the window, straight across from Ignis. The purveyor, Takka himself, arrived with four dishes, each with burgers and fries strewn upon them. He placed it in front of the boys, but Noctis didn't turn to look at his food, instead occupying his attention at the window outside.

"Mmm," Prompto noised. "This is a crazy tasty burger! Better than the shake shack!"

"Yeah," Gladiolus grunted. "It's not bad."

He took a generous chomp, clearing most of the burger. Prompto frowned as he observed Noctis silently staring out the window. He was struggling to find something to say to his best friend and wondered if Noctis would even be interested in anything he might say.

"Noct?" Ignis asked. Noctis's attention remained elsewhere. "Noct?" Ignis asked louder.

"Hmm?" Noctis said as the words registered, turning to look across at his retainer.

"What's the plan?" Ignis asked.

"We get the car fixed and we go to the outpost," Noctis replied. "Like I already said."

"So, your plan is to set out and get this power from the royal tomb, correct?" Ignis asked.

Noctis let out a sigh. "Yes."

"And you plan to do this on an empty stomach?" Ignis continued, gesturing at the untouched burger in front of the prince.

Noctis rolled his eyes. "I don't feel hungry."

"I know, Noct. But trust me, you are. Eat, or you'll regret it later."

Noctis grumbled, taking the burger to his lips and biting down. As he felt the contents drop to his stomach like a pebble dropping into an empty well, he relished in the feeling both painful and relieving. He took another bite, so hungry that he didn't notice he forget to take the offensive vegetables off.

Ignis placed some napkins in front of him, trying to look stern, but clearly relieved Noctis was eating again.

A few booths away, a man and a woman were chatting.

"It's crazy, isn't it?" the woman asked. "I mean, you can still smell the smoke from here! To think... the capital is gone..."

"Did you see the newspaper?" the man replied. "Apparently the Kingsglaive turned against the king, and they weren't alone. A bunch of people from towns lost to the empire all came together and led the revolution. I guess they were gunning for both the king and the emperor, but they only got the king."

"Jeez," the woman sighed. "All those people, gone... How can they do that?"

"Do you really feel that sorry for them?" the man asked. "I mean, yeah, the innocent people gone is bad, but... Isn't this kinda the king's fault? When push came to shove, he put the wall around Insomnia, not Lucis. He left us to the wolves."

"What are you saying? The empire is better?"

"I'm saying, we don't know now. Hopefully."

"Are you really sure you should be saying things like that?" the woman muttered, looking around.

"Please," the man sighed. "I'm not the only one who thinks this. I think support for the crown has been pretty minimal in these parts for some time."

"What about Lady Lunafreya?" the woman whispered. "She... Apparently she didn't make it out alive."

"If that's true..." the man trailed off.

Noctis squeezed his burger so hard, the contents oozed out over his fingers and onto his plate. Ignis frowned and reached over with another napkin, placing it beside his plate on the yet untouched stack.

"It's unconfirmed," he muttered.

It did little to comfort Noctis, who held the burger as though unaware of the mess he made.

He gave a passive "mmhmm."

Gladiolus grunted. "A revolution," he growled. "The empire is now spinning it so that they were also the targets of the revolution. A revolution they helped fuel. Bullshit."

"Simple propaganda," Ignis replied. "In this way, they look innocent. It makes it sound like the king was killed by his own people rather than the empire themselves. In the end, they'll win the sympathy of the people and make their transition to controlling Lucis all the smoother."

"Snakes," Prompto muttered.

Prompto looked at his sullen friend and at the other patrons of the diner. A pall hanged heavy in the air and its effect was quite oppressive. He thought of ways he could comfort his best friend, but nothing he thought of seemed like it would do the trick. How does one console someone who has lost almost everything?

"There y'all are," came the southern drawl of Cindy.

She closed the door to the diner and stepped over to the group.

"An update on the car?" Ignis asked.

"Serpentine belt is snapped," she replied. "The part will come in tomorrow. I'm afraid you'll have to hang tight for now."

"What?" Noctis suddenly exclaimed. "I have places I need to—"

"I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to wait," she quickly replied. "I know it isn't ideal, but…"

"I thought you were a mechanic," Noctis snapped. "How can you not have the part in?"

"I'm sorry, but we ran out!" she snapped back. "Our shipments didn't come in today because of the attacks. So, you're gonna have to hang tight. Yelling at me won't change anything."

"What a load of bull," Noctis growled.

"You know we're doing this for free, right?" In a huff, she departed.

Gladiolus growled.

"Don't be a brat," he said to Noctis.

"Can it, Gladio," Noctis growled back.

"Hey, buddy," Prompto cut in. "We're on your side and—"

Noctis suddenly stood, physically demanding Prompto to let him out of the booth. The blonde, startled, nearly fell out of his seat as he quickly scrambled to his feet. Noctis shoved past Prompto and quickly left the restaurant.

Ignis and Gladiolus glanced at each other and then at Prompto.

"I'll go after him," Prompto said.

"No," Ignis replied. "Leave him be for now. Let him cool off. He's been through a lot."

"We all have been," Gladiolus said with a heavy sigh.

Prompto sent a concerned gaze at the door and gave a silent apology to his friend.

Outside, Noctis moved as though he intended to break the ground with his footsteps. As he walked past the gas pump, he punched the steel casing, ignoring the sudden protest his knuckles gave at the inconsiderate act. He felt helpless, wondering what it was he needed to do to fill this void inside of him. He felt rage and sorrow churning within, unsure which motivated him. He was ready to boil over, and he knew it was wrong to explode at his friends, but he convinced himself they were wrong for suggesting he should feel any different than he felt at that moment.

"Damn it!" he cried out.

Past the gas pumps, he could see the flat and brown horizon of Leide. Desert as far as the eye could see. Noctis had an idea.

He pulled the map from his pocket and unfurled it, looking at the part marked for him. The outpost nearby. It didn't look too far on the map and he knew Cor was waiting there. Waiting with the answer he was looking for. Waiting with the key to the power he could use to burn the empire down.

Noctis looked back at the diner but quickly looked back, shaking his head. He didn't need them right now. They could stay here and rest. They would need it after the tumultuous events of the previous day.

And so, Noctis left Hammerhead Station alone, heading east to the hunter outpost.