When Dave intercepts a Nifleheim message; Prompto, Ignis, and Aranea, brave Costlemark tower together to take out their greatest enemy.
Prompto knocked hard on the door, a notebook tucked under his arm. He could hear some groaning from inside, as well as some cursing, and knocked again. Some shuffling, some footsteps, the lock clicking then finally the door opening.
"Prompto? What are you doing?" Ignis asked, his voice gruff with sleep.
"What's going on?" Aranea's groggy voice called across the small room.
"Oh hey Lady Aranea. Sorry to wake you but it's important!" he called across.
"Call me Lady again and I'll punch you so hard you'll shit teeth for a month" she grumbled back to him, rolling onto her side and pulling the blankets up tight over herself.
"Love, I do believe you made that threat last time he called you that." Ignis replied.
"Good point. Can't leave empty threats. You have an hour to run skinny." She groaned, "your only saving grace is how tired I am."
"It's important I swear and couldn't wait until morning." Prompto insisted, pulling the notebook out from under his arm and shoving it at Ignis. "The big-dicks themselves are going into Costlemark tonight. They think there's some cool weapon in that tower of nightmare fuel. The doors will shut at dawn. We can kick their asses when they can't get to their big ships and guns!"
"How do you know this?" Ignis asked, opening the notebook and flipping through the pages covered in Prompto's near-illegible writing. Not that his eyes could see it.
"Dave was manning the radio and found the Nif frequency. They were using code but he went to wake up Biggs and Wedge who were able to break it. Idiots were using an older code!" He cheered. "Here, I'll read it to you." Prompto offered, reaching to grab the notebook back from Ignis unsure what caused him to hand it to the blind man in the first place.
"Guess keeping a bunch of former Nifs around wasn't such a bad thing huh? Can't wait to rub this in Gladiolus's smarmy face. Guess you just earned yourself a pardon skinny." Aranea called across the bedroom, the traces of sleep gone from her voice. She threw her blankets off to sit up on the edge of the bed, Prompto clearing his throat and trying to keep his eyes fixed upon the notebook since the dragoon had decided to sleep in nothing but a tank top and underwear. His arms were crossed, bouncing on his right foot as he tried to read aloud the transcription.
"If what they translated is right this is our big chance to wipe out some of the biggest names in the Niflheim army." Ignis gaped when Prompto finished speaking, shaking his head. "Why risk so many?" he pondered. Prompto shifted over to his left leg and resumed his restless bouncing.
"Buncha arrogant dudes all trying to be the one to get credit for whatever weapon they think is down there?" He offered with a shrug.
"They aren't that stupid. We hate them but we can't underestimate them." Aranea disagreed. She vanished from the view of the doorway, and Prompto was able to bring his gaze back up to Ignis's face and cease shifting his weight. "Likely whatever they think is down there is so heavy-duty it requires multiple people. Is it just the big assholes or a bunch of shitlets in tow too?" she asked, having only paid partial attention in her groggy state to Prompto's reciting.
"I would expect trouble, but the impression I get from this is that they are only sending higher-ups. Must not trust underlings." Ignis explained.
"Distrust of underlings, maybe running out of money for other sexy mercenaries to replace me, maybe a failed attempt to keep this mission more secret. Who knows what they're thinking." Aranea added.
"Either way we should gather people together to raid Costlemark." Ignis suggested.
"I think just a smaller party might be smarter." Aranea disagreed, and appeared again coming up behind Ignis. She was now wearing denim pants and a tee-shirt, much to Prompto's relief. He felt too invasive seeing his friend's wife nearly naked. "We're short on time and we'd have to go gather a bunch of people." she shook her head. She ducked out of sight and returned as she fastened an old watch to her wrist. "Three hours until dawn. That's just enough time to get there nevermind get a bunch of people together. Give me that notebook so I know what we're up against." she wiggled her fingers, her arm reaching around Ignis to give him a half-hug while Prompto handed her the notebook.
"So. We should go get the car." Aranea stated as she finished reading, crossing her arms in front of her. "Might have a minute to brew up some coffee." She added after she pressed the back of her hand against her mouth to stifle a yawn.
"I'll go get the car pulled up while you make said coffee?" Prompto suggested.
"I assume that the big guy is going to tag along? So we have that giant sword of his to cut everyone in half?" She asked.
"No. He's up north with Iris, Cor, and Monica." Prompto explained.
"Shit. So just the three of us?" Aranea asked, placing a hand on her hip.
"Seems so." Ignis answered.
"We've faced worse odds." Prompto offered with a shrug.
"Well go get the car. Only have a few hours until Costlemark closes for the morning. And raid the storage shed for a few MREs and water bottles to keep us fed in that creepy hall of nightmares." Aranea rubbed at her face roughly and dropped her arms at her side as Prompto gave her a cheerful agreement and the door to their hotel room-turned-home closed.
"Love. Did we just spontaneously agree to single-handedly take upon the task of murdering the Niflheim elite with merely the three of us?" he asked aloud.
"An aging dragoon with arthritis, a blind man who moves around with echolocation like a bat, and a skinny blond man I could break in half by sneezing on him. What could go wrong?" She asked.
"Ever my source of encouragement." Ignis gave her a bow, lip twitching in a light smirk that spread into a genuine smile ss a giggle bubbled in his throat at her slap against his shoulder.
"It's our chance for some serious revenge."
"I concur." Ignis righted himself, tugging at the hem of his shirt and brushing his front to smooth out imagined wrinkles.
"Well we have a few minutes while he scrambles for the car." Aranea started. The confused expression on Ignis's face vanished when her lips clashed against his, her fingers wrapping around his wrist and bringing his hand up to her chest to press his palm against her bare breast.
"What has sparked this?" He asked when she drew back from the kiss for air, bringing up his other hand to cup her left breast and duck back in to another kiss. Her hand brushed between his legs and moaned her approval of his reaction to her.
"We have time for a quickie." she stated with a shrug.
"Am I that disappointingly quick?" Ignis asked, righting himself stiffly. She laughed, reaching out to slide her arms around his neck.
"I would tease you but we both know I suck at lying to you. So it's more like you're so damn irresistible." She guided him backwards towards the bed. His hands dropped slowly from her breasts, letting his fingertips trace her skin and the goosebumps on it before fumbling with his pant buckle, pushing his pants down listening to Aranea's quicked breaths that she was unsuccessfully trying to control by breathing through her nose. Her fingers were pulling off the remainder of her own clothes. The mattress creaked, more shuffling of fabric.
The impulse to remove his shirt and fold it neatly to place on the edge of the bed rose to mind, but the thought of Aranea lying naked on their bed panting with desire combined with the looming time limit had him climbing atop the bed. He crawled slowly, testing where he put his hands and knees before settling his full weight down. Her hand slipped between his legs and gave him a test stroke, humming her approval.
"I'm not the only eager one." She lifted herself to silence his answer with a kiss, then dropped herself back down. He reached between her legs, letting a finger slip inside her. She was clearly wanting, though he wished there was time for some proper foreplay. He followed her urgent tug, letting her guide him to her. A few thrusts and their hands were no longer needed, Aranea's arms winding around his shoulders to pull him tight against her while his hips rolled against her.
She moaned and sighed, murmuring his name in that damned way that drove him nuts and he quickened his pace, chasing that peak that felt just out of reach. He felt her tense, nails digging hard into his back, knees pressing hard against his side while she moaned his name, dropping back against the bed after several seconds. He wasn't far behind her with a deep throaty grunt of his own. Ignis was withdrawing from her when the pounding came at their door, and he let out a hard breath at Prompto's damnable timing.
"But a moment! I must dress in more than my sleep clothes!" Ignis called across the room, hoping he managed to cover his breathlessness with a level tone. Aranea was pressing a fist to the back of her mouth and giggling, the sound a delight to Ignis and he wished it was a sound she would make more. They were quick to cleanse themselves and dress. Ignis found his walking cane in its habitual spot next to his side of the bed, his thumb testing the small clip that let him draw out the rapier hidden within it. There were two tiny flasks as well, each containing a small amount of magic he had learned to imbue. The belt he chose contained extra loops for several more flasks that served as magic grenades. He sighed, patting at the flask, never able to equip them without recalling the fight in which he learned this mighty skill, and the friend he sorely missed fighting beside.
"Hey." Aranea's hand came down on his shoulder and he flinched, righting himself. She frowned, lines appearing between her brow and the sides of her mouth. He reached up and pressed his hand over hers. He could feel the gloves she wore to wield her polearm and already knew which outfit she chose. She no longer opted for her ornate helmet, disliking the way it obscured her vision. Rather than wear her plate she was in cloth and leather, arguing that it made her both quieter and harder for Niflheim tech to detect her than if she came charging at them in full metal that would set their detectors screeching if it was indeed a weapon they were seeking.
They both grabbed a backpack with their basic camping gear that was ever at the ready in case of events as such. Ignis's pack filled with water filters, a small kit of salts and spices, and cooking kits. While Prompto had been asked to gather MREs it was unlikely these pre-packed meals would be available and it would be some dried meats, fish, flatbreads, and a limited selection of dehydrated vegetation. Lestallum had managed to establish gardens in many areas of the city, but the products were strictly rationed even for the soldiers that protected it. Meat was more rare, but artificial fishing ponds had been built by the city and were strictly maintained to keep the water clean meaning there was a steady supply of fish.
"Taking the world's biggest dump?" Prompto asked when the pair finally left the hotel room.
"Must keep ourselves fresh for such a journey." Ignis answered, and sorely hoped the problem of restroom needs would not complicate this quest.
"I grabbed the stuff you asked for. And managed to sneak a flask of booze so we can celebrate our victory!" Prompto cheered in a loud whisper. "Got the car running so it's nice and warm."
"That's all the extra motivation I need." Aranea shrugged. "C'mon sexy glasses, let's get on the road." She tilted her head towards the defunct elevator and the staircase beside it, the thought running through her head what would happen if anyone ever tried to steal the Regalia. And did not want to ponder too hard on what Dave and Cor would have in store for said thief when they were inevitably caught; if the hoards of daemons didn't get to them first.
The car at first glance looked identical to their faithful companion that carried them throughout Lucis to find the Astrals. But various components had been changed or upgraded throughout the years. The headlights had been replaced with the strongest daemon-repelling lights ever manufactured pilfered from deep within balouve mines. One door had been repainted after a mess made by a bomb. The bumper had been modified with mithril to allow them to ram the majority of blighted wildlife and fully turned daemons that wandered into the road. Even the horn had been changed to more closely resemble the howl of a behemoth to frighten smaller animals.
Ignis walked past the driver's door, patting the car's roof above it before sliding into the seat behind it. The trunk was filled with the provisions requested and Prompto's backpack, the rest of their supplies were set into the back as well. They pulled away from Lestallum, and the blurred shaped lights that made up his limited vision vanished as the city was left behind and cast him fully into blackness.
Prompto flicked the radio's dial, nothing but the continuous hiss of static and he frowned, pushing the knob to power it down. Ignis leaned his head back against the seat, his leg bouncing in place while he drummed his fingers against the car's door. Aranea turned in her seat, frowning when she saw the lines in Ignis's brow. She dug in her pocket for her phone glad that she had thought to charge it while sleeping. She had a couple movies downloaded onto it for nights her and Ignis would try to pretend they were on a date while eating their final meal ration for the day.
"Hey, sexy specs." she called back to him, causing him to lift his brow at her and shift himself back upright. "Want me to wiggle back there with you?" She offered, wiggling her phone in the air the device making a subtle shifting noise in her palm as she moved it. The lines between his brow smoothed and reappeared at the corners of his lips, and she was sure that behind his darkened glasses the corners of his eyes would match.
She managed to squeeze herself in the space between the driver's and passenger's seats without kicking Prompto in the side of the head, wedging herself between Ignis and the pile of supplies. She settled beside him, resting her head against his shoulder and smiled when his arm wound around her waist, fingers lifting her shirt just enough for him to brush the skin just above the waistband of her pants. She thumbed the lock on her phone and brought up a movie to help fill the car with something but silence and darkness for Ignis.
"You spoil me." He told her, to which she turned her head to press a kiss just below his ear,
"I know." She smirked, knowing damn well she picked one of his favorites. Prompto chuckled, agreeing with her movie selection to try and occupy their minds during the drive to Costlemark. "You'd think we'd spend this time, y'know, being smart and coming up with a plan."
"Awe come on, thinking is for boring people! Be fun and spontaneous!"
"Ever the logical of the group." Ignis answered Prompto's cheer. They tried to plan, but found their memory of the interior of the tower was spotty at best. The notebook was with them, and Aranea gave it a read aloud, momentarily pausing the movie, but it didn't help them better think out their impulsive plan.
"Just charging in like a Behemoth I guess." Aranea settled, shifting her weight in the car to rest against Ignis's arm again. The movie was shy of the credits, the trio having given up on attempting to be smarter about this, when they pulled off the road a mile from Costlemark tower. It took only a few minutes to get all the food, water, and equipment packed into the bags.
"Oh man this is heavier than Gladiolus." Prompto complained after hitching his up onto his back.
"Beats realizing we're dehydrated a day from now.' Aranea shrugged, grunting as she lifted her own pack. She watched Ignis pick up his and bit the corner of her lip when he took a step to re-balance himself. They started the walk to Costlemark, stopping a few dozen yards away to analyze what they could make of the place Aranea was making frequent checks to the analogue watch on her wrist often accompanied with a tisk or a shake of her head.
"Anyone guarding outside?" Ignis whispered to his left. He heard Aranea's head swish followed by a low whispered yes.
"Two magitek. That's it." She explained.
"That's it?" Ignis asked, looking in the direction of her voice.
"Probably trying not to draw attention with an entire airship stuffed full of them." Aranea supplied with a shrug. "Or the same cockiness about pulling this off that caused them to chatter about it on the radio?"
"Think they can hear gunshots from in the tower?" Prompto asked, chewing on his lip and wiggling his fingers as he tried to gauge if he had ever accurately fired his pistols from so far away and with such poor lighting and let out a hard breath through his nose at his conclusion.
"Should we risk it?" Aranea asked instead.
"Even silenced these things are really loud." Prompto answered her.
"How open is the layout?" Ignis asked in a low whisper.
"Open." Aranea whispered back, dropping her voice to match his volume. "Guns are probably the safer gamble. If they charged into that tower a few hours ago they probably can't hear any shit going on at the surface." She suggested. "How good a shot are you?"
"Need to get a little closer. Pretty far for my pistols." Prompto answered. He summoned his pistols, holding one out to Aranea followed by a magazine pre-loaded with bullets and the silencer. Ignis listened to the various clicks before following the beckon of his wife and friend. They worked through the trees, Ignis following closely behind Aranea and nearly bumped into her when she halted suddenly. He managed to keep himself from making a sound, and instead crouched down. He tried to listen for sounds of further movement, but there was only the breathing from his companions.
"Can you line up a good shot?" Aranea whispered, and a pause, then spoke again this time her voice slightly louder after he listened to her shifting her stance. "Cover those ears sexy." She advised. He wasn't sure what good his palms were going to do against the might of a pair of pistols and tried to mentally run through the contents of his pockets to provide better protection. He pressed his hands hard over his ears and squinted his eyes in anticipation of the pain that would accompany the tinnitus-inducing explosive bark of the weapons.
The two shots were so closely timed that an inexperienced ear would not have been able to distinguish them. The sound echoed through the air and made Ignis recall many battles with Prompto firing at whatever was trying to claw its way through them; and wondered if silencers even did a damned thing, if they were on the guns at all. Ignis rubbed at his ears before dropping his arms. He felt a hard hand on his shoulder, fingertips digging into his skin and he brought his own up over the familiar feel of Aranea's cool palm beneath his.
"Glad I have my thick shirt on, lest I'd ask if you had submerged your hand in ice water." He teased. He could tell by her chuckle she had expected the long-worn tease and graced him with her warm lips momentarily against his. "We properly screwed or this gamble pay off?"
"Seems like we rolled seven. C'mon."
"That was a good shot. Didn't know you were a marksman." Aranea shrugged and offered Prompto a sheepish grin biting back the reply that it was just dumb luck and she had actually been counting on Prompto making two rapid shots.
"I'm just too damn good." The crunch of dried leaves and dried broken twigs quieted to boots on dirt. Ignis tried to right himself feeling suddenly exposed. His heart rate increased and he tried to keep his breathing level to prevent himself from losing any other degree of his hearing that was helping him orient himself to his environment. The distinctive way he would tap his cane against the ground was not echoing back with any meaningful information outside the presence of his two companions. The tones of their quiet voices confirming they were exposed out in the open. Dirt became stone, and familiar closed space returned as the environment started to close back in around them, and finally fully enclose them as they stepped into the tower.
"Oh man either of you just get super creeped out the moment we got in here?" Prompto asked with a slight quiver in his voice.
"Made sure to wear my adult diaper in just such an event. Pretty sure my sexy glasses there is just too perfect to get creeped out so you can borrow his underwear when you soil yours and he can rock it commando. Promise there won't be skidmarks." She replied.
"No one here to shoot us in the face so I think we did good blowing those MagiTeks to bits?" Prompto asked, squinting into the semi-darkness. There was an artificial blue light running through the stone of the tower that made his skin feel itchy to look at.
"Time to go running in, do some cryptic puzzling because ancient Lucians were dicks, and shoot some Nifs in the face?" Prompto suggested.
"The locations they chose for royal tombs was not clue enough?" Ignis asked back. The corner of his lip flinched as he couldn't control the painful thought of where Noctis's own tomb would be erected where his Engine Blade would never need to be summoned. But he pushed away the pain of his friend and tried to cling to the hope that he would return from that accursed crystal, preferably with the Oracle miraculously in tow to help chase away the blight and the growing night that seemed to be settling earlier and earlier each night like an eternal winter solstice so they could see what they were doing to shove said crystal up the Emperor's ass down in hell.
"Well let's get going because I might panic if I see us get locked in here at dawn." Prompto suggested, his voice high. Ignis hummed his agreement, and Aranea moved ahead to prod the chatterbox men into walking. The inside of the structure was deceptively large, and the name tower was a misnomer. The place was more akin to an underground fort with only one visible spire from which it got its name.
They crossed a stone bridge that crossed what they assumed was merely a gap of blackness the limited ambient light couldn't make detail of. The air smelled humid and stale as they crossed it, a foul sulfurous odor clinging to the back of the tongue that had Prompto clicking his to try and clear the smell and taste from his sinuses until they walked away from the foul source, the trio refusing to let their imaginations provide possible sources of the rotting odor.
Ignis winced and pressed a hand to the side of his head, feeling dizzy and needing several seconds to realize it was due to the subtle slope the path turned into. It wasn't tilted enough to be noticeable until the fluids in his ears detected the abnormality and announced it by sending his equilibrium spinning. He cursed, needing to stop in place. He heard the footsteps of his companions halt, before Aranea's strides closed the distance to him.
"You okay?" She asked. He felt her palm against his cheek and nodded, knowing tilting his head against her palm would only make the dizziness worse.
"The path is sloped." He explained. Aranea looked down, and then at either side of the path they were walking. She couldn't discern any change in degree but but gripped his free hand with hers and nodded at him.
"It turns into stairs just a few more meters ahead." She explained. "Why don't we take a short break once we get to the steps so you can get your bearings?"
"I will endure." He argued with a shake of his head.
"We don't need you to endure, we need you in top-form to kick ass with those elemental grenades you learned." She argued, squeezing his hand painfully hard.
"I expect I lack choice in this offer for a pause?"
"Right on. It's almost like you know me or something." She placed another kiss on his cheek. Her hand remained clamped within his own and she remained next to him until the damned slope leveled out as they walked down a set of stairs. "Nice wide area here. Sit." She commanded.
"Oh no a break!" Prompto bemoaned, throwing his hands up dramatically and sitting down. "Well. On the good news front, the floor isn't actually as wet as it looks. What do you say you break out a snack? Did you pack booze by any chance?" He asked. Aranea and Ignis sat down, the former pulling out a trio of meal bars. "Can we take a nap since none of us slept? Not sure I'm the best shot when I'm seeing double."
"We should keep going." Aranea said, shaking her head.
"Prompto does have a point. This tower runs deep, and it's likely the Empire will take its time to investigate what it thinks is down there. We should try to get some rest."
"Ganging up on me?" Aranea asked, pushing against Ignis's shoulder with her fist.
"Seems we are."
"Sweet! Time to get my beauty sleep! As… best as I can sleep. On the ground" He grabbed his backpack and pushed against it until it resembled a shape he considered comfortable enough and laid down against it. Aranea did the same, Ignis lying his backpack beside hers and lying flat on his back. Aranea rolled onto her side, resting her head against his lower chest.
"You're more comfortable than a backpack full of junk anyway." She mumbled and nuzzled her head against his chest, her fingers idly rubbing against his shirt.
"Aww can we all get into a cuddle pile? You do look more comfortable than this backpack. Are your cooking pots in this thing?" Prompto asked, sitting up and pushing against the backpack more.
"Careful dragons are territorial animals." Aranea lifted an arm and pointed a rigid finger at Prompto.
"I thought that was like, all about shiny things. Collecting gold and stuff. Breathing fire."
"Seems as though she does breathe fire." Ignis teased, reaching up and pinching his nose.
"Hey! Well here I thought you loved me." She exaggerated a sigh, placing her palm against his face and pushing his head back. He laughed, infecting her and Prompto. The sound echoed off the walls of the open box shaped corner they were settled in.
"I certainly do, your dragon breath and all." Ignis reassured, wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm gonna sleep. But if you guys try making a dragon baby while I'm right here that makes you guys super creepy." Prompto pointed at them and turned up onto his side, grumbled to himself about how uncomfortable the stone ground was and lamenting how much he missed his bed.
Ignis ran his hand along Aranea's back. He grunted when she shifted her weight and released a hard breath when she found a comfortable position. She had her arm draped across his chest, the rest of her body pressed close to him. She was a welcome warmth against the stony chill of the tower. He wished they had thought to pack blankets, and briefly considered sitting up so he could drape his jacket over Aranea and himself. But she seemed to have found a comfortable position. A fact for which he envied her. Already a throb was starting in his lower back, and he shifted slightly to relieve the pressure but only succeeded in moving it.
He closed his eyes, making no difference in the blackness around him. He stroked Aranea's back hoping to find rest himself. He heard Prompto rolling back and forth, but that eventually stopped. Aranea's breathing slowed. But sleep evaded him. His shoulders and hips began to ache from the prolonged period on his back and he lifted Aranea's arm from his waist and tried to shift himself up slowly without disturbing her. She grumbled a bit and he paused. She rolled off his chest turning up onto her other side which allowed him to sit up. He groaned, hissing a breath as he flexed and extended his legs to try and ease his pain.
"Can't sleep?"
"No."
"Yeah this place is too creepy anyway. Would probably just have nightmares all… morning?" She yawned and sat up, groaning as she started rolling her shoulders. "Gods these have to be the worst rocks ever. The hell did the Lucians use to build this place."
"As you stated I believe they found a way to withdraw and concentrate pure nightmare and craft this material into an ultra-hard stone."
"Well blondie over there seems to be sleeping pretty damn peaceful." She chuckled. Ignis had moved himself to sit upright with his back against the wall. Aranea sat herself next to him, pressing her head against his shoulder and smiled when his arm wrapped around her to pull her closer to him.
"His head is even harder than this stone."
"Ah. Explains a lot. Well at least we get a moment of privacy."
"We live together 'Nea. All we get is alone time." He felt her weight lift off him and he could picture the pout on her lip. He reached up and touched her face a moment before the pout vanished and she giggled.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"I…" he started. His cheeks felt hot and he hoped the damned tower was as dark for the rest of them as it was for him. He felt a new warmth as she pressed her lips to his cheek and he turned his head. He pressed a hand against her cheek to orient himself while he tilted his head and kissed her. She smelled and tasted like morning breath, but continued the kiss nonetheless.
"Trippy. Expected a loud childish eww." Aranea remarked, turning to glance at Prompto over her shoulder. She shrugged and sat up on her knees. "Well if neither of us can sleep may as well try to pass the time a little, huh?"
"Suggestion?"
"Got my phone and the brains to download movies on it a few days ago." She reached over and pat his chest.
"Perhaps a fantasy, one about a dragon?" he suggested, then laughed when he felt her slap against his shoulder.
"Just for that I should put on the Neverending Story." Ignis snorted at the suggestion. "What? It meets your criteria. Fantasy, a dragon."
"More of a sci-fi dystopia of a land scourged by excessive DNA manipulation culminating in a cross between a dog and a lizard." A few months prior Aranea had been struggling with nightmares, and started routinely falling asleep to the same movie each night in an attempt to trick her brain into a sense of familiarity in hopes of chasing away the months on and the habit seemed to be sticking.
"You still hum that song in your sleep."
"Is that why you kick me awake every other night? I mean, everyone jokes that a girl's feet are freezing but you ever been kicked by yours? I'm the spawn of Ifrit by comparison." Aranea said and settled back against Ignis's side.
"Your feet are cold merely because every BTU of body heat you produce rushes to your feet, your hands must be a graft from Shiva. Makes me curious if you actually qualify as a mammal." Another swat at his shoulder had him laugh and he shifted his shoulders to try and get more comfortable against the cold stone wall.
"Man, that makes you the weirdo into beastiality."
"You've known for some time now that I seem to have a thing for dragons."
"I should slap you for real. Or put on that dreaded movie. Not a bad idea actually… we might get some sleep." She shrugged and settled herself against his arm. He shifted it prompting her to sit up. His arm came behind her back and tugged her back against him. Rather than taunt him further she flicked through her limited selection of downloaded movies and found a fantasy movie, though she couldn't recall it having any dragons in it.
Ignis's fingers rolling down the side of her arm soothed her into relaxing against him, and she rested a palm against his lower thigh and rubbed circles against his pants. A quarter of the way into the movie and they tried lying back against the stone. Aranea sacrificing her hooded sweatshirt as a makeshift pillow. By movie's end both had managed to fall asleep.
Three hours of fitful sleep was all the trio managed before they woke up due to a variation of anxiety to keep moving, discomfort on the stone ground, and the unnatural sounds groaning through the ancient structure. A rapid meal of granola bars and water had them walking through the halls again.
The change in elevation took time to notice, mostly Ignis's moments of lost coordination clueing them in to the incline in the hallways that gave the illusion of being level. The deeper they descended the colder the air grew, and the louder the ambience became. The trio stood close together, Aranea and Ignis standing close enough for their hands to brush as they walked, the slope making it too jarring for Ignis to follow his impulse to reach out and hold her hand. Prompto walked on Ignis's other side when the hallway was wide enough to allow, and a pace ahead when it didn't.
"Dude I don't like this. Maybe we should have just set the place on fire and shoot everyone when they ran out." Prompto said, slowing his pace causing Ignis to bump into him and stagger both of them off balance. Aranea reached out to steady Ignis, Prompto catching himself on the wall. He jerked his hand back away from the wall with a loud "blech!" rubbing his palm roughly against his pants and stared at the wall.
"What the hell." Aranea squinted at the wall, trying to see what had caused Prompto to react the way he did. She touched her fingertips to the wall and felt a sticky substance. She withdrew her fingers and saw something dark against her skin and made a disgusted sound before mirroring Prompto. "Just keep going."
They continued, hugging their upper arms and wondering how deep the tower ran to that weapon that the Empire was after. The stale scent in the air began to grow foul, a metallic aftertaste lingered on the back of their tongues.
"Oh holy shit!" Aranea stumbled away from the wall, collided with Ignis causing them both to crash to the ground. She rolled onto her back, kicking herself away from the wall cursing repeatedly until her back hit the other wall. Her back felt specks of damp and she screamed again, and threw her weight again.
"What is it?" Ignis asked, his voice raised half an octave. Prompto's own squeal and curse interrupted Aranea's potential answer.
"Blood! The wall is covered in it! What the hell!" Aranea answered, rubbing her hands against her pants again, rubbing against and again until her palms felt raw.
"There are many stories of this place-"
"Fresh blood Ig! Fresh!" She interrupted.
"Where did it come from? Is there a body?"
"No… just… blood." Prompto answered after he cleared his voice.
"Uh…. I. I think I found the source." Aranea whispered, an arm held out with a pointed finger.
"Someone please enlighten me to our current situation." Ignis asked. His heart was racing, and he stayed seated on the ground not wanting to stand until he knew what was happening.
"Daemon wall." Prompto provided. "Looks like the Empire decided to drag someone down here with them… but umm…" he hesitated, swallowing hard to try and ease his constricted throat. A long smear along both sides of the wall joined in the darkness across them. What they originally thought was a sharp ninety-degree turn in the hallway was rather a dead end. At the base of the stone wall across them was a dark-red pulp, and from the stone itself was the upper body of a skeletal figure. Long thin arms ended in disproportionately large hands with elongated fingers with too many joints. Dark skin was pulled taught over robs, a crooked sternum separating the asymmetrical chest. The neck looked too thin to support the reptilian head that swayed back and forth. In one of its claws was pieces of what once was a part of the mass at the base of the door. Chunks of it seemed ready to fall off, held on by a thin strip of sinew.
Ignis felt his breath catch. He'd heard of the things, read about them once, but doubted their existence. Aranea was still cursing from beside him, and Prompto started to hyperventilate. His rapid breathing was interrupted by gagging, then retching. The tangy smell of undigested food and bile assaulted his nose, and Ignis almost gagged himself. The cold air suddenly felt hot, his ears throbbing with his own pulse.
"How do we get past this." Aranea asked.
"I think I know how the empire did it." Prompto suggested, and retched again with a wet splash as an echo, stepping back to keep it from wetting his boots. Ignis grunted as he shifted his weight to stand up, his knees ached for a moment when he stood and turned to Aranea with an extended hand.
"Kick its ass together." He answered. He felt Aranea's fingers wrap around his hand and braced himself to help her get to her feet.
"Cool. Always wanted to die and leave a pretty corpse." Prompto said.
"From what I've read they're always in dark cool places. Running into one here supports this hypothesis." Ignis explained.
"Your point being maybe we should not go for an evening stroll in old ruins straight from Cthulu's nightmares?"
"Nah, not enough tentacles." Aranea said.
"Fire." Ignis answered Prompto's original question. He called up a magic grenade, feeling the heat in his hands. He lacked the natural abilities of the Lucian royals and the heat quickly built up into pain. He listened for the slight creaking of the daemon and hurled the grenade. He could feel the heat of the subsequent explosion against his exposed skin, causing him to bring his arm up to shield his face.
The daemon wheezed, dropping the mass in its hand with a wet squelch. It agitated the pile below refreshing the air with the scent of old blood and new decay. The trio gagged, and tried to keep focus on the daemon through watery eyes.
"I think you just pissed it off." Prompto suggested in a strained voice. He wished he could use his guns, but was certain his friends appreciated still having their hearing and despite their indiscretion was sure a gun would attract attention if their loud voices hadn't already.
Aranea pulled out her polearm and extended it, taking advantage of the daemon wall's wild thrashing to put out the flames on its papery skin. An acrid burnt flesh scent just added to the assault on their senses and she blinked away the sting in her eyes and swallowed hard to keep the threat of retching suppressed. Her polearm collapsed through the daemon wall's skull with a sickening crunch. She leapt back and her hands slipped off her weapon as it stayed wedged in the daemon's head.
The trio stared at the abomination, thrashing its gangly limbs. Blood started oozing out of the wound in the top of its head, the wheezing noises that it made accompanied by clicking and groaning. It reached out and scratched at the floor, dragging the mess on the floor closer to its mouth and lifted a clawful into its mouth.
"Oh Gods!" Prompto back-pedaled and nearly stumbled over the uneven stones.
"It's regenerating." Aranea gaped. "Fuckin burn it!" she barked. Ignis flinched at her sudden shout, and called another fire to his hands. He threw a grenade, trying to summon thunder in his other palm and hurled it. The daemon convulsed, a deep gagging cutting off its wheezing respirations. Bits of gore fell from its mouth back onto the floor. The twitching ceased, and Aranea rushed for her polearm but bone had knit around it holding it firmly in place. She vaulted back, and felt hot pain along the length of her left calf. This knocked her jump off-balance and she hit the ground with a hard grunt, the air knocked from her lungs.
"You shall not touch her!" Ignis's voice boomed, echoing off the stone walls. Aranea felt the intense heat as she felt two more bursts of his grenades. The pain in her calf eased and Prompto grabbed her wrist to drag her away. Ignis cursed again and there was another explosion of heat, followed by another of thunder.
"Ignis!" Aranea called, trying to get to her feet but pain flared in her leg and she realized her calf felt hot and wet. She looked down and saw three lacerations that ran down the length of her calf. She cursed, and got up with Prompto's help and stood with her weight shifted to her good leg. Ignis looked mad, staggering back as he hurled grenade after grenade. One arm hung limb at the wall's side, the flesh burned down to charred bone. Half the jaw had similar treatment and fire was eating away at the thin neck, causing it to struggle to hold its head up anymore. Through the peeling burnt skin the daemon wall's neck Aranea saw their opening, and shouted Ignis's name again. "The neck! You got the spine exposed!" she called. The wall seemed to understand her call and slammed its own head against the wall from which it was birthed, pressing its exposed spine so it was safety against the stone. She cursed, and felt helpless leaving the battle to Ignis. But her polearm was still sealed inside of its skull, and Prompto's guns were useless. Wait… "Ig! Throw me your daggers!" she called. Ignis didn't hesitate, drawing the weapons and sliding them across the floor to the source of her voice.
Ignis gasped for breath, his throat and chest burned as he panted desperately for air. His arms ached, and his palms felt as if he shoved them against a stove. But he called more grenades, throwing them at the wall. Determined to burn it until it was nothing but ash. The ache intensified, fatigue starting to overwhelm his body and drove him down to his knees. He called another grenade, the magic stuttering before heeding his call. He could feel it was smaller. Less intense. Please. He prayed, to whatever would listen. He hurled it, and tried to call another. It stuttered, and he shook his head trying to gather his focus. He had to kill it. He had to destroy it. Erase the abomination.
Aranea's loud grunt jarred his thoughts and he jerked his head in the direction of her voice. She leapt passed him, holding the daggers in her hand and dove them deep into the exposed spine of the wall, wedging both of them in the space between the bones. She felt the blades grind against bone and it felt like she was trying to push against metal wire. She ran back as she saw the wall's one valid arm lift, and gave it no time to lock the daggers by eating the remains of the Nifleheimer it had smeared on the walls.
She jumped again, moved by pure adrenaline fighting through the pain. She jumped, and pushed off the handles of the daggers with all the strength she could muster. She felt them push through the wall's spine, and impacted the wall behind her. The daemon wall went limp instantly, the wheezing respirations silenced.
The three watched, panting for breath, for any sign that it was going to move again. Ignis tried to summon another grenade to scorch it for good measure but nothing answered his reach. He fell over, blinking slowly as his hearing was replaced by the sound of the ocean and static ran through his limbs before he drifted to unconsciousness moments after hearing Aranea call his name.
Ignis came to and it felt as though his skull was going to be the next spawn point of a daemon wall. His eyes burned almost as bad as his palms. He flexed his fingers and realized they were wrapped in something. He groaned, trying to collect his senses and locate his friends by their voices or at least their breathing.
"Welcome back sexy glasses! Decided to scare the shit out of me, huh?" Aranea was the first to notice his movements. Ignis felt her palm on his chest when he tried to sit up, "holy shit you just took down a daemon-wall pretty much single handedly. I think you earned a break. I'd give you a cigar and glass of whiskey if we had any."
"More bad thinking on our part, not bringing booze. Because I seriously need some brain bleach after that."
"When you find some make sure you share it skinny." Aranea agreed.
"We best keep moving." Ignis interrupted them. "How long was I out?"
"Not long. Ten minutes? Enough for me to wrap up your burnt hands with shit from the first-aid kit." Aranea explained. Ignis grumbled and nodded, wishing he had adequate control over the magic grenades to call ice to soothe his burnt skin but knew the only thing he would accomplish was giving himself mild frostbite and give himself and his companions hypothermia.
"Are either of you injured?" He asked, searching his memory for any sounds that would have indicated such.
"Yeah but I'll live." Aranea answered him. She had scraped together just enough gauze from the kit to cover the lacerations in her calf, wishing she had made a habit of packing a suture kit since by the time they reached camp it would be too late to close the wounds and they would likely leave deep purple scars and uneven skin. She closed the gap between her and Ignis, sitting beside him and reaching for his hand. "How 'bout you? You kicked some major ass and passed out."
"Fainted like a victorian woman at the sight of blood?" Prompto suggested. Aranea snorted and gave Ignis a rough pat on the back.
"Would explain a lot."
"I merely overtaxed myself and I feel better after a brief reprieve." Ignis said back.
"At least eat a granola bar and drink some water before we go running into the next batch of trouble." Aranea said, holding out a palm and jerking her fingers in a give it here gesture. Prompto reached over for her pack and tossed it to her and she rifled through it for a bar, unwrapping it and shoving it into Ignis's hand so he couldn't argue against eating the damn thing.
"You both should eat as well."
"Last bars. So hopefully we'll be out of this hell-hole in a few hours." Aranea explained. They ate, drank, and packed up. Aranea tested the weight on her leg and cursed, knowing she would slow them down. She had already taken two pain killers from the nearly empty container that she always kept in her pack, offering two more to Ignis who declined.
"The Nifs might have reached the weapon by now." Ignis argued to try and get them moving quicker. They continued through the halls, walking down the center of the path avoiding touching the walls. The air grew colder still and after twenty minutes of walking all three were shivering.
"I really wish we remembered booze." Aranea complained as the shivering intensified the pain in her leg. She tried to keep pace, limping and feeling her sock and boot soak with blood. They had used every provision inside of the first aid kid, and hoped that eventually the blood would clot beneath the bandage she wrapped around it.
"Are you faring well?" Ignis asked, feeling their pace slow as he tried to stay beside Aranea. She nodded, then answered yes.
"How deep does this place go? And why was the daemon wall the only thing we've come across?" Prompto asked.
"I wonder…" Ignis mused aloud, scratching the side of his jaw. He tried to recall the time they descended through costlemark but couldn't recall encountering such a thing. Or the air becoming so cold. He brought his hands before his face and blew into them, and tucked them under his arms. "Perhaps the daemon-wall was guarding the pathway down to where this weapon lies?"
"Well now it guards my nightmares for all eternity." Prompto quipped back. Another quarter-kilometer and Ignis's expression wrinkled, trying to focus on a sound beyond the conversation between his companions. He threw out his arm to halt Aranea, who reached out to catch the back of Prompto's shirt. "What-"
"Shh." Ignis cut him off. He tried to focus on the sound again and was sure he was hearing voices . He pressed his finger to his lip and pointed in the direction of the sound. The hallway ahead of them continued and turned sharply as it had been doing for kilometers. Aranea nodded and started to advance, holding her hand up to keep Ignis and Prompto from following her. But it only took three steps for her to realize that her injured leg was not going to allow her to stealth up onto the Nifleheimers. She grit her teeth tight together and looked over her shoulder and made eye contact with Prompto before she tilted her head in the direction of the hallway.
Prompto nodded and started to advance, inching forward and peering around the corner. He jerked back, twisting his upper body and shrugging at Aranea and Ignis and pointed around the corner with his thumb. He crept back to them and spoke in a low whisper.
"The hall ends in a dead-end guys. But in the center of the wall is some glowing diamond.
"How are we hearing their voices if the hall is a dead end?" Aranea asked. Ignis hummed and rubbed at his chin. His brow was furrowed and he started to drum his fingers against the side of his jaw.
"Did you touch it?" Ignis asked.
"Hell no! I'm not touching anything in this hellscape. As soon as we get home, I'm showering until I have no skin left."
"It seems we have no other options." He stood up, taking a step in the direction of the dead-end. Aranea came up beside him and Prompto followed behind.
"Where is said glowing object?" Ignis asked.
"Here," Aranea reached out and touched it, jerking back at the sound of grinding stone. Ignis stepped back, and the trio cursed at the sudden sound. Dust fell from the ceiling and they cringed at how loud the grinding stone was. Ignis wondered if this was the source of the groaning they had been hearing for much of their descent.
"What is beyond?" Ignis asked when the grinding stone stopped. He tried to listen for a change in the voices of the Nifleheimers but they were too indistinct to decide if they had been heard.
"Umm. Nothing." Prompto answered.
"Not nothing. A small cube-shaped room." Aranea countered. Ignis stepped inside, and Aranea behind him. Prompto hesitated before stepping forward and yelped, forced back as the stone began to move again.
"Guys?!" He called, realizing the wall was grinding closed. It felt like it was closing in slow motion, his eyes were glued on the floor where it was going to settle in place and bounced on his feet, the image of being crushed from far too many horror movies rang in the back of his mind causing him to hesitate just long enough for panic to arise at the mere thought of trying to roll under the closing door in time.
Ignis and Aranea were thrown off balance by the intense shaking from one door closing and the vibrations intensified by the loose walls around them, and they felt to Aranea as though her leg was caught in a thresher. She cursed loudly, Ignis dropping to his knees beside her.
"Fuck! We're locked in!" She barked, gripping her leg.
"It is too soon to panic." Ignis tried to say in a level tone.
"Panic?! My leg has been shredded, my boot full of blood, and now the one with the guns is stuck on the other side of that wall!" She laid out their situation, hissing out a long breath with a fresh throb in her leg wounds. Ignis wanted to ask her to describe her wounds to him, but decided he would only fight one battle at a time.
"Look around." he said instead. She lifted her head and looked around noticing the four walls, floor, and ceiling were identical save for two walls with the glowing diamonds.
"Two walls have that glowy thing. Speaking of. Why isn't Prompto trying to open the door?" She asked, turning and looking at said wall. She could hear his voice, but not make out his words.
"Is there a diamond on that wall?" Ignis asked.
"No." Aranea answered. "Why isn't he hitting it on his side? Did a rock hit him on the head?" She asked. She tried to get herself to her feet, another hiss of breath at the pain, allowing Ignis to reach out and brace her. Once standing she was able to bear her weight and limp over to the door and pressed her palm against it. There was no diamond in the center, and she pressed her ear against it. "Skinny! Open the damn door!" she hollered. She listened, hearing his voice, but his words were distorted. "What is this stone made of?" she asked.
"It seems ancient Lucians were… an interesting batch."
"Well remind me to punch Dave in the face on behalf of his ancestors. I don't dare cross Cor, and your face is too sexy to punch."
"Allow me to obtain popcorn prior to this evening. Should provide solid entertainment." Ignis said. Aranea laughed at his deadpan tone and tried shouting to Prompto again.
"Hey! Speak up!" she tried. But the answer was still muffled. "Something must be stopping him from opening it from his side. What do we do?" she asked.
"We must press on as the two of us it seems." Ignis answered.
"What about Prompto." She asked. He paused, head tilted down. He didn't like the idea of leaving him behind but any idea that came to his head was immediately dashed. Pound morse-code against the door, but none in the group knew it. Wait for Prompto to find a way through the door, but that risked giving the Niflheimers time to find what they were looking for. Find a way to slip a note through the cracks at the edges of the wall. Don't be stupid. He chided.
"He is able to find his way back if he cannot find a way to follow us. We must press on." Ignis answered Aranea when she repeated her question. His tone was low, a crack in his voice. Aranea came over, pressing her hand against his back. He turned to face her, and felt her warm palm against his face turning his head so he was looking at her.
"Look, we'll do this together. 'Kay? Like we do everything. Kick ass like the amazing duo we are."