After the very messy dinner, the boys made their way back to their hotel, The Mary Shelley Inn. Their room was well sized, complete with four beds, a shower, TV, dressing table and wardrobe. Prompto immediately seized his chance and flopped onto the bed.

"Ahhhh." he moaned with delight. "Now this is the life! So Noct, what do you think of Vale so far?"

"I have to admit, it is pretty interesting." he replied, unpacking his luggage. "I mean, where else are you gonna see a red-hooded girl beat up a bunch of criminals?"

"True that! The boat ride here was definitely worth it!"

"We have 3 days to kill until we actually attend Beacon," Gladio said. "What do you suggest we do?"

"Sightseeing!" Prompto yelled, grabbing his camera.

"Sightseeing it is," Ignis agreed.

"Just don't get carried away like last time." Noctis muttered.

"What do you mean?" Prompto asked, slightly offended.

"You made us pose for hours on end for just one photo." Gladio groaned. "We ended up missing the entire carnival because of you." Prompto glared at him coldly.

"You can't rush art, my friend." Noctis shook his head and lay down on his bed. As the others were unpacking their belongings, he thought back to the journey they took to Vale. It was definitely one of the most eventful trips he had in a long time

14 Hours Ago

Noctis wasn't a fan of early mornings, or any mornings for that matter. Yet here he was, bright and early, packing his suitcase on his journey. 3 months ago, he was told by his father, the king, that he and several other students were chosen to represent Lucis in the upcoming Vytal Festival, a tournament between all Huntsmen Academies and this year's tournament is to be held in Vale. What puzzled him the most, however, was the fact that he and his friends were being sent to Vale earlier than not only his peers from Seraph Academy but also the other contestants in general. He'd hoped his father would explain everything just before he left. Soon, a knock was heard at the door.

Your Highness," called Ignis. "It's time."

"I'll be right out." Noctis answered.

Inside an elaborate room decorated in black marble, Noctis, Ignis, Gladio and Prompto stood in the presence of the king; Regis Lucis Caelum. He sat on a beautiful, golden throne, which was adorned with wings and two sets of stairs leading to it. His bearded face was pale and slightly wrinkled, his grey hair had streaks of white and his green eyes were becoming dull with age. He wore a jet black suit and a golden brace on his right leg. On his left hand was an onyx with a lapis lazuli gem embedded on top.

"The decreed hour has come," he spoke in a low but powerful voice. "Set forth with my blessing, Prince Noctis." The four boys bowed to him.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Noctis replied.

"Take you leave and go in the grace of the gods." The boys rose up, though Noctis looked uneasy.

"Right." As they left the room, the young prince took another look at his father. Regis held his head in his hands and sighed deeply. Noctis turned back and carried on walking. Outside the two towers of the Royal Citadel, the boys descended the staircase, decorated by a lavish red carpet. Near the entrance was a pristine black car, with silver wings painted on the doors.

"Well, princes will be princes." Prompto commented.

"So much for royal protocol." Ignis said.

"It's not like you had to deliver a former address." Gladiolus inputted.

"Your majesty!" Noctis and the friends turned around to see the king and a bearded man, wearing a red leather jacket, supporting him. At this point, Noctis was beginning to grow impatient.

"What now?" he asked sternly.

"I'm afraid I've left too much unsaid," Regis uttered. "You place a great burden on those who would bear with you."

"You're one to talk." Noctis scoffed. Regis turned his attention to Ignis, Gladio and Prompto.

"Listen boys, I ask that you not guide my wayward son. Only that you remain at his side."

"Indeed, Your Grace," Ignis addressed, bowing slightly.

"We'll see the prince to Vale if it's the last thing we do." Gladio exclaimed.

"Yeah, what he said." Prompto chimed in.

"Well I hate to break it to you, but Nyx's got the motor running." Noctis informed them. He gave his father and his aid a two finger salute before approaching the car. "Drautos, he's in your hands."

"And another thing," Regis spoke once more. "Do mind your manners around the professors at Beacon." Noctis turned to his father and gave him a mock bow.

"Your majesty, as well. Try to mind yours around the King of Niflheim once he gets here."

"You have no cause for concern," Regis smiled.

"Nor do you."

"Take care on the long road, for wherever you go, the line of Lucis goes with you." Placing one more hand on Noctis's shoulder, Regis looked into his son's eyes and smiled proudly. "Walk tall, my son."

Prompto was in the driver's seat of the car as he cruised along the beautiful landscape of Lucis. He always dreamed of owning a car and even if it was only temporary, he was living his dream. Gladio looked back at the passenger's seat and noticed the prince looking sullen.

"Noct?" he asked. "Everything okay?" Noctis turned around and nodded ever so slightly.

"He's always been like that, Gladio." Prompto spoke. "Ever since I've known him, he's had that scowl."

"What? I'm not scowling." Noctis jumped.

"Well clearly something's bothering you." Ignis chimed in. "Care to tell us, Your Highness?"

Noctis sighed. Guess there wasn't much to avoid it. "It just seems a little weird. All of this is happening so fast; we're getting invited to attend Beacon ahead of the other transfer students for the Vytal Festival and I later find out from dad that I'm to marry Luna in the summer of next year."

"True. That is a lot to bear for a young man."

"Speaking of Lunafreya, when did you guys meet?" asked Prompto.

"Hmm. It was about 8 years ago, I think." Noctis answered.

"That would've made you guys 7 years old. Wow, you've known each other that long!"

"I hope she hasn't gotten her hopes up." Gladio snickered.

Noctis raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Try and keep it together when you meet her."

"She'll expect to see a fine young prince." Ignis quipped.

"Tell me something I don't know." Noctis sighed. Suddenly, a loud crack was heard and the car began to slow down.

"Uh oh." Prompto uttered.

"What do you mean 'uh oh?'" Gladio piped.

"I think I know." Noctis said. They came to a complete stop as the car broke down. To make matters worse, it appeared they were stuck in the middle of nowhere.

"Don't worry, I'm sure everything will be okay." Prompto suggested.

Two hours had passed and the roasting sun was beating down them. They had already pushed the car further along, when Gladio decided it would be easier to hitchhike. Plenty of cars and trucks drove past, but none answered his pleas. Eventually, he gave up.

"Well, I guess we can forget about hitching our way there." he scoffed. "I thought people were supposed to be friendly outside the city."

From the driver's seat, Ignis shook his glumly. "We can only go so far on the kindness of strangers."

"It looks like we're gonna have to keep pushing her over there."

"I already pushed myself… to the brink of death!" gasped Prompto, lying on the floor. Beside him was Noctis, sitting and leaning his head on the back of the car. Gladio rolled his eyes and lightly kicked at them to get them to stand. With their hands on the car, they all strained as they used all their weight to push along.

"Un-believable!" Noctis grunted.

"Not exactly a fairytale beginning, eh Prince Noctis?" Gladio chuckled. Unlike the other two, he didn't seem to be struggling at all. In fact, it was quite possible that he could do the work by himself.

"We let ourselves get carried away." said Ignis.

"Look," Prompto laughed nervously. "These things happen."

"Well let's just hope that this isn't some omen." Gladio muttered.

Noctis gritted his teeth in frustration and pain. "Gladio, do me favor?!"

"What?" replied the burly teen.

"Push this thing by yourself!"

"All by myself?!"

"He won't even notice if we just let go." Prompto whispered, as he was about to lift his hands off the rear.

"Prompto, don't even think about it!"

"Save some breath for pushing, you three." Ignis quietly ordered them. Though he felt bad for having them do the heavy lifting, Ignis had to admit that he was enjoying himself. It was pretty rare that he got the time to relax.

"Ugh, my hands are killing me." Prompto whined.

"Would you rather I killed you with mine?" Gladio grunted.

"Easy there, tough guy."

"Any luck with a signal?" Noctis called out. Ignis, scroll in hand, shook his head in dismay.

"Busy, I'm afraid, Noct." he answered. Noctis looked all around the scenery and he couldn't help but feel a little admiration. He was finally outside the city of Insomnia after all these years and though he could only see a rocky terrain and the open road, it was his first step to exploring the wider world.

"The world's a big old place," he said to himself.

After several miles of pushing, sweating and panting the four boys finally made it to an outpost station. The sign read Hammerhead and they could see a small diner, corner shop, garage and fuel station. Prompto's lips twisted into a smile.

"Finally… we made it." he wheezed before he collapsed to the floor. Noctis followed suit, earning disappointed looks from Gladio and Ignis.

"Really? Pushing a car is all it takes to get you two exhausted?"

"We're not out of the woods yet," Ignis informed his friends. "We still need to get the Regalia fixed. Luckily, I managed to call the mechanic earlier. She should be here shortly." As if on cue, the garage door opened and out popped a young woman. She had olive green eyes and wore an orange cap over short blonde hair, along with a bright yellow jacket, black gloves, orange crop top with jean-shorts and white boots. Prompto was instantly enamoured by her beauty, while Noctis looked dazed. The woman smiled and greeted them with glee.

"Hey there! Y'all kept a girl waitin'. Now, which one's the prince?" Noctis raised his hands as he lifted himself from the floor. "Well isn't it just a pleasure to meet ya? Congrats on the wedding."

"Not quite hitched yet." The prince responded plainly.

"Ah, I see. Lady Lunafreya's groom-to-be here in Hammerhead, who would've thought it?"

"Apologies for taking so long." Ignis interjected. The peppy mechanic shook her head and smiled.

"You best save your apologies for Paw-paw."

"And that makes you..?" Gladio asked.

"Cindy." she answered. "Cid's grease-monkey granddaughter."

"Roll 'er in while I'm still young!" an old man shouted. Like Cindy, he wore an orange cap over his greying hair, along with a matching orange jacket over his white and blue polo-shirt, blue jeans and black gloves and boots. As he approached the Regalia, a glint appeared in his hazel eyes. He then turned to Noctis and smirked at him.

"Prince Noctis." he said. "'Prince'. Like they took your old man and kicked the dignity out of him."

"Wait what?!" Noctis was perplexed by Cid's comments towards him. It almost sounded like he was mocking his father.

"You boys have a long way to go and that slack jaw's gettin' ya nowhere fast." Cid slightly tapped the bumper and grunted. "She's gonna be a while, why don't y'all her in and run along?" Prompto groaned at the thought of more pushing, but a swift and across the head from Gladiolus was more than enough to convince him. Once the Regalia was in the garage, Cindy directed the boys towards the local diner for some breakfast. As soon as they opened the door, they were greeted to a lovely cool breeze. Prompto almost leapt for joy.

"Finally, some nice cool air!" he said.

"Well, let's not stand around waiting, find a table and we can get started." Noctis, Gladio and Prompto made their way to a table near the entrance while Ignis went to the counter to place their orders.

"Hello there, stranger," greeted the server, "What can I do for you?" Ignis looked at the menu and pondered at all the different choices. "I'd recommend our famous hot sandwiches. They have a bit of a kick, but plenty of flavour!"

"I see," Ignis responded. "In that case, I'll take four of those, three bottles of cola and a cup of ebony coffee please."

"Certainly. Altogether, that about comes to 18 lien." Ignis rifled through his wallet, but found that the contents were completely bare. His face became pale.

"Is there a problem?" The server asked.

Ignis tensed up and sighed. "Cancel that order, I'm sorry to have troubled you." Leaving the counter, he made his way back to the table.

"What happened to the food?" asked Gladio.

"It appears we've expanded the last of the funds on the repairs." The three boys' jaws nearly dropped to the floor.

"What?!" yelled Prompto.

"Are you serious?!" grunted Gladio.

"Great," Noctis hissed. "Broken down and flat broke."

"Adding insult to injury." Ignis added.

Clenching his fists, Gladio rose from his seat promptly exited the diner, with the others following suit.

"The old man's in for it after charging us that much!"

"Yeah, let's pay him a visit." Noctis muttered. Meeting up with Cindy, the boys explained their dilemma. Her usual cheerful smile was replaced with a frown of sympathy and disappointment.

"Oh, now I get it. This must be what Paw-paw meant when he said he was gonna "teach them boys a lesson." Told me he oughta have y'all take care of some ornery varmints that've been causin' a ruckus 'round here." With a cheeky grin, Cindy took out her wallet. "I'd be happy to pay y'all for your services if you're up for the challenge. How 'bout it?"

Noctis pondered for a moment. Hunting wasn't the most ideal solution to this ordeal, especially considering what they had to do to get here. But it looked like there wasn't much choice. He agreed to hunt the local pests, much to Cindy's delight.

"The old man's got his eye on you, Noct." Gladio chuckled. "Let's show him what we've got." From the garage, the boys collected their luggage and unpacked their weapons. Gladio's was a large claymore, with a flat surface and two sharp edges. Prompto wielded a silver revolver with a black handle and Ignis carried two silver daggers, with curved blades. Seeing his entourage equipped, Noctis followed suit. He held out his hand for a moment and his eyes glowed blue. Suddenly, a blue light surrounded his hand and a single-edged sword appeared. The crossguard appeared to have several different parts resembling an old engine.

"Show off." Prompto joked. Crossing the empty roads, the boys took their journey south of the outpost station and into the dry grasslands. From a few feet away, they could see their targets; several large scorpions clawing at each other. The sight was quite sinister, making Prompto wince in disgust.

"Are you sure we should do something about this?" he asked. "At the rate this fight is going, I wouldn't be surprised if they killed themselves."

"I'm not fond of this as much as the next guy," Noctis said. "But it's the only thing we got." Taking a step forward, he smirked. "Besides, I could really use some exercise." With everyone ready, Noctis made the first move. He threw his sword straight at one of the scorpions and suddenly vanished in a flash of blue light. As the sword struck the creature, the blue light returned, and Noctis along with it. In a swift motion, the scorpion was sliced in half. This alerted the others and they began to swarm the young prince. One of them jumped high in the air, raising its tail to strike. However, it was shot down in an instant and Noctis could hear whistling nearby.

"All in bullet time, baby!" Prompto quipped. Ignis, meanwhile, was making quick work of the pests, swiftly slicing and piercing them with the daggers. Gladio simply slammed his claymore to the ground, crushing several of them at once. In no time, the work was finished.

"Not bad for a light workout." Gladio said. "What's next?" Soon, they encountered more pests. From the gnarly sparkshears beetles, to the return of the jaggertail scorpions. The boys, however, didn't seem to break a sweat, having been trained under the Headmaster of Seraph Academy, Cor Leonis. The ground was littered with carapaces and Ignis gritted his teeth in disgust.

"A rather uncivilised end." he groaned. "Still, this should be enough to cover our losses." Suddenly, his scroll began to ping.

"What is it, Iggy?" asked Prompto.

"It appears we have yet another hunt on our hands," he replied.. "A creature, known as a dualhorn, has been terrorising some of the local hunters. Cindy says she'll pay double for our efforts." A smirk crossed Gladio and Prompto's lips, while Noctis just shrugged. So much for 'easy money.' "Cindy has sent us the location. I suggest we follow the trail." With their weapons in tow, the boys headed onwards. They found a spot behind a large rock and took cover. Noctis took a glance at the beast. It appeared to have thick, green scales and, true to its name, two large horns protruding from the side of its skull.

"So what's the plan?" asked Prompto, loading his gun.

"Well, charging in blind would be suicide," Noctis said.

"Indeed," Ignis agreed. "It's also heavily armoured. I doubt our weapons could even make so much as a scratch on it."

"So is there any way to kill it?" Gladio asked. Noctis looked again, paying extra attention to its legs. A smile formed on his face. He had the perfect plan.

"There's no armour under its legs," he informed them. "If Gladio can knock it to its side, we can strike the belly and kill it." Gladio gave a chuckle.

"Well, look who's been paying attention in classes."

"Hey! I pay plenty of attention!" The prince objected.

"Yeah, yeah." Claymore in hand, Gladio carefully crept up to the dualhorn. But as he moved closer, he noticed something odd. The beast hadn't moved from its spot. In fact, it didn't appear to be moving at all.

"Uh, guys?" Gladio called. "You might wanna come out here." Leading his friends away from the rock, Noctis followed Gladio to the dualhorn. His eyes were wide with astonishment. Right in front of them was a dualhorn, laying on its side.

"Is it sleeping?" he asked.

"No way!" Prompto gaped. "If that's the case, that makes this hunt much easier!"

"Hold on a moment." Ignis said. "Before we engage, I need to check."

"Check for what?" Ignis didn't respond and walked towards the dualhorn. Placing his hand on its neck, he couldn't feel a pulse. His suspicions were right.

"I'm afraid it's dead." he told the others. The boys gazed with bewilderment. They missed their chance.

"Dead? Did somebody already claim the bounty?" Prompto asked.

"It would appear so." Going around the front, Ignis examined the body. On the abdomen, he noticed several scratch marks and blood seeping from the wounds. Ignis gulped with discomfort. This was a fresh kill. Suddenly, a vicious snarl cracked the silence. Noctis eyes darted fiercely at his surroundings, his grip on his sword tightening. The snarling became louder and he heard Prompto scream.

"Beowolves!" Noctis turned to see a pack of large, black wolves approaching them. White bone spikes protruded from their backs and on their faces were white, skull-like masks. Their eyes were burning red, as were the markings running down from their masks. Facing the boys, the beowolves bared their fangs and charged, ready for the kill. With great force, Gladio swung his sword forward and cleaved one of the monsters in half.

"Well guys," he panted. "Looks like we have our first taster as Huntsmen in training."

"Indeed," retorted Ignis. "Time to put our skills to the test." One of the beowolves tried to lunge at Noctis, but he simply vanished and reappeared behind the beast, stabbing it in the back. Trying his best to stop shaking, Prompto took his aim at the pack and began to fire away. Several of them fell with a thud. Ignis, meanwhile, made several light slashes at four of the beowolves that had circled him, all while carefully avoiding their sharp claws. Though adept with fighting, he moved with the grace of a dancer. Gladio made sure to end his fight quickly by lunging his sword and slicing them to pieces. The last few were handled by Noctis, who used the flat of his blade to parry the claws. Once he found an opening, he stabbed the beasts in the chest. The last of them tried to sneak behind him, claws ready to strike. But the prince was much faster and decapitated it in one, clean swing. Their ordeal was finally over and the beasts were slain. Black smoke emanated from their bodies as they began crumbling to ash.

"Wow." Prompto gasped, collapsing to the floor. "So that's what Grimm are like."

"They definitely made this day more interesting, I can tell you that." Gladio said, cleaning black ash from his blade. A ringing noise was heard from Noctis's scroll and he answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey there, Your Highness," Cindy chirped. "How goes the huntin'?"

"It was… interesting." Noctis replied. "We actually encountered Grimm along the way."

"Oh. Yeah, those Grimm are a real nasty bunch. Unfortunately, we don't have any local Huntsmen available at the moment." Noctis became sullen. Without any Huntsmen, the Grimm were sure to cause more harm to the people here. "Anyway, I called to let you know that your car is ready. She'll be waitin' at the garage. I've also got your payment waitin' too!"

"Gotcha. Thanks Cindy." Noctis replied. With a glow of blue light, the weapons the boys all carried disappeared and they made their journey back to the station. They returned to find Cindy applying wax on the car and Cid with some canisters, all bearing an emblem of a lightning bolt.

"My, my. Ain't she purdy?" Cindy beamed.

"Sure is," said Prompto, blushing at the sight of Cindy.

"She's almost too pretty for the road." said Gladio. Admiring the beauty of the newly fixed Regalia, Prompto took out his camera and gave it to Cindy.

"How about it, Noct? Wanna take a picture?" asked the blonde, almost jumping for joy.

"Sure, why not?" Noctis responded. The four boys all posed for the camera; Ignis and Gladio stood either side by the front doors, while Noctis and Prompto sat down at the front of the car. With the picture taken and car fixed, the boys were ready for their next destination; Galdin Quay. Aside from being a famous beach resort, it was also the key to set sail to Vale. Before they could drive off, Cindy approached Noctis with a stack of lien.

"As promised, here's your pay," she said. "2000 lien, enough for four o'ya!"

"Thanks Cindy." Noctis said. Waving goodbye, the boys set their destination for Galdin Quay.

"So what's the time now?" Noctis asked.

"It's almost 12 o'clock," Ignis replied, checking his watch. "We still have many hours to spare." Noctis lay back and closed his eyes. After the morning they had, it was time for a much needed nap.

Present

With everyone in their pyjamas, they proceeded to get some sleep for the following day. Or they would have if it wasn't for Noctis and Prompto taking out their scrolls and playing the latest game, King's Knight.

"What do you say, Noct? Fancy a game" Prompto asked.

"In King's Knight? Hell yeah!" Noctis replied.

"In that case, why don't I join you?" Gladio chimed in, taking out his scroll.

"Sweet!" Prompto yelped "The more, the merrier!"

"Children." Ignis moaned, laying his head down flat on his pillow. "I'm surrounded by children."