I do not own Final Fantasy XV or any of the characters.
Desperation
Nyx looked out the window silently. Something wasn't right. Section D was deserted, and everything was quiet. Too quiet. Libertus could be running late, but there was also a possibility they were wrong about him. It was why they had all agreed not to say what the package was without even having to discuss it.
"I don't like it," Crowe said quietly.
"Me neither," Nyx said. "I'll go out first. If Libertus is here, and he's trustworthy, I'll bring him over."
"And what if he's not?" Crowe asked. "This feels like a trap!"
Nyx kissed her, holding it for several seconds before pulling away. "Pelna, if anything happens, get her out of here."
Pelna nodded.
"You'd better come back to me," Crowe said.
"I will," Nyx said, then quickly stepped past her, leaving the building overlooking Section D where they were hidden and heading down to the square. "Libertus!" He kept his voice low as he called out to him. "Libertus!?"
He looked left and saw Libertus step out from behind a building across the road to his right just as Libertus's eyes widened. Then, a gunshot rang out and agony speared through Nyx's body as a bullet punched into his gut, instantly dropping him to his hands and knees with a shout of pain. He looked to the side, seeing Libertus hesitate and grit his teeth.
"Get out of here, now!" He pushed himself up to his feet unsteadily, looking to Luche, who was walking toward him, just as Luche put a second bullet in his gut, once again dropping him. Nyx drew one of his daggers, but as he moved to slash Luche, Luche kicked his wrist, knocking the dagger out of his hand.
"You've got some fight in you," Luche noted. "Can't believe you're still moving...with that hollow point in you." He punctuated the word "moving" with a kick to Nyx's bullet wounds. "Crowe could barely do any more than lay there and scream when one tore her insides apart. Of course, that shield you gave her protected her just long enough for her to recover and escape. I should have known killing your girlfriend wouldn't be that easy."
"Why'd you do it!?" Nyx demanded, voice shaking as badly as his body with the pain.
"Because the Kingsglaive is nothing!" Luche snapped. "An old man's battle fodder sent to die in Insomnia's war while our homes are bound and shackled!"
"Niflheim took your home!" Nyx spat. "Took all our homes! Nothing will ever change that!"
"You never were too smart," Luche said, sweeping the arm Nyx was supporting himself with out from under him. "You could have had a new future with the Empire. Now, tell me. Where is the princess?"
"I'll never tell you that!" Nyx spat. "She's long gone by now!"
"Oh, I doubt that," Luche smirked. "See, you left Crowe and Pelna with her. Now, Pelna...he may be smart enough to leave you and complete the mission, but Crowe...she'd never abandon her precious hero. Not even for the mission. And Pelna's just not man enough to force Crowe and the princess both to leave."
"So then Crowe will stay and the princess will leave," Nyx said as a car pulled up. "Either way, you don't get what you want."
"Don't be so sure," Drautos said, stepping out of the car and walking over. "Come now, Nyx. It's not too late for you to do the smart thing. Tell us where to find the ring and we'll let Crowe live. I'll even make your death painless."
"I don't know where the ring is," Nyx said. "If you're going to kill me, just do it. I'll never sell out to the Empire. I'm not a traitor like you!"
"Oh, I have no intention of killing you," Drautos said. "At least, not yet. There are other plans for you first."
He nodded to Luche, but just as Luche moved to kick Nyx in the head, a dagger spun out from between two pillars off to the side, stabbing Luche in the side. He shouted in pain and Drautos spun toward the attacker, only to see Libertus. A moment later, Crowe leached them from behind, driving a blade into Luche's back and up into his heart at the same time as Pelna stabbed Drautos in the back. Luche collapsed instantly and Drautos staggered away. Crowe and Pelna knelt, quickly lifting Nyx just as the princess sped into the square in a car and skidded to a stop. Crowe shoved Nyx into the back and got in with him, followed closely by Libertus, who smashed a crutch into Drautos's head on the way past, while Pelna got in the passenger seat. Then, Lunafreya sped off again.
"I thought I told you to get her out of here," Nyx said to Pelna as Crowe pressed bandages to his gut.
"You know how Crowe is," Pelna said. "I couldn't have gotten her out of there even if I'd had magic."
"Yeah, well, that's because you always sucked with your magic," Nyx said.
Pelna snorted, rolling his eyes. "So, now what?"
"We're about to be very unpopular," Nyx said.
"We need to ditch the car," Libertus said. "Turn left at the parking structure up ahead. I have an idea."
Lunafreya did as instructed and they drove down a slope then into the underground section of the parking structure before ditching the car, Crow and Pelna helping Nyx walk as they quickly went up to the street and left into the back alleys, heading toward the nearest gate. They travelled fairly quickly, under the circumstances, but after a few minutes, they stepped out of the alleyway just as General Glauca crashed down in front of them, dozens of Niff Magitek soldiers behind him, and several massive airships flying overhead with the same massive demon that had defeated the Kingsglaive in a single attack during the final battle before the treaty was offered.
"It's over!" Glauca said. "The Daemons are unleashed! Surrender the ring!"
"Come on now, Captain Drautos," Nyx said, pushing off of Crowe and Pelna and standing on his own. "You know we're not going to do that."
Everyone looked between the two of them in surprise.
"You always were clever," Glauca said. "Use that intelligence now, Nyx Ulric. There is no way you win this. Don't try to be a hero."
"Oh, but captain," Nyx said, shaking his head slowly. "Don't you remember? I love to play the hero."
He grabbed Lunafreya's hand, taking the ring just as Drautos leapt forward, moving to slash him. Then, as he put on the ring, it shone and the world seemed to slow almost to a stop. All the lights around them went out, and darkness swallowed the world. he looked around slowly.
"Show yourselves, Kings of Lucis!" he called out, orange flames erupting to the side in several spots one by one, burning for a moment before going out before the next appeared, each leaving a silhouette behind.
"You call upon the wards of this world's future, mortal," a distorted voice spoke as Nyx suddenly found himself hovering in a void, the former kings towering over him in massive silhouettes of blue flame. "And if you come lusting for our power you must first stand in our judgement."
"How long will you do nothing whilst Insomnia burns?" Nyx asked. "Old, or New, or whatever it is. Summon your Wall!"
"You do not command us!" the distorted voice snapped. "Yours is not even royal blood!"
"It does not fall to us to guard your city," a second, deeper distorted voice said. "Man is a fool creature, clinging to his past and cowering from his future. Wasting his strength on bygone days."
"And what future are you wards of?" Nyx asked, looking around at them, anger filling him that they refused to help anyone.
"So short sighted," the second voice said. "And cursed never to rise above it."
"Wait," King Regis's voice spoke, Nyx's head snapping around in hope, though he couldn't tell one silhouette from the other, and all of the voices spoke inside his mind, giving no direction as to who spoke when. "I have seen what this brave soul is prepared to do. He, too, seeks to safeguard the future."
"Your Majesty," Nyx breathed.
"Very well, young King," the first said. "We will weigh your warrior's worth. But our boon does not come cheap. The cost is a life."
Suddenly, Nyx was back on the street, Drautos's sword slowly descending toward Lunafreya, however, Drautos was darkened, as was the world around them. Only Lunafreya and Crowe were illuminated.
"The princess, or the partner," the first voice said.
"No," Nyx said, the world around them fading again. "To hell with your power!" He began to laugh weakly, his stomach throbbing in agony in response. "I'm not here for it! I only came to tell you, you are no kings." He laughed harder, sucking in a breath as one hand clutched at his stomach.
"Your worth has been weighed, and found wanting," the first voice said. "Now burn."
Nyx shouted in pain as his hand lit on fire, but in spite of the pain, he laughed again. "You are no kings. None of you. None but King Regis. none of you deserve that title. True kings don't demand sacrifices in exchange for defending their subjects. They don't demand that one of their subjects give up their life in exchange for their kings to defend their country, their people. Their future. None of you care about the future. You can't see the future. You have no idea how the princess's death would affect it, or Crowe's, or mine. You don't care about the future, you care about yourselves and your own descendants. What difference should it make if someone is of royal blood or not, when they only want to defend the future of those they love, and of the kingdom that you all refuse to defend without a sacrifice? If you all are such false kings that you would deny your people and your kingdom aid unless they first choose to take away someone's future, then I don't want your aid. Just send me back without burning me and I'll find a way to protect them myself. I'll defend the future in your place, while you all wait here and pretend to be righteous."
He grit his teeth as his stomach throbbed, but the kings remained silent. Finally, a new one spoke.
"We will grant you our light," the voice said. "However, know that it will last only until the sun rises. If you cannot ensure the future of those you fight to protect by then, you will burn. But if you can succeed, your life will be spared. But this will not happen again."
"I accept your terms," Nyx said.
"Go then," Regis said. "And do what you must."
Suddenly, Nyx was back and instantly formed a barrier that deflected Drautos's sword before he sent a lightning bolt into him, sending him exploding backward into the line of Magitek troops, the lightning arcing from Drautos to the rest of the soldiers and destroying them all.
"You idiot!" Crowe shrieked instantly. "What have you done!?"
"Earned myself a chance to protect you all," Nyx said. "Pelna, Libertus, get them out of here, now!"
"What about you?" Libertus asked.
"I only have power until sunrise," Nyx said, drawing his daggers, the one he'd lost having been grabbed by Pelna. "Oh, I almost forgot." He pulled the ring off, handing it to Lunafreya. "You'll need this. If I can defeat him and get you all out safely, I'll meet you after this is all over."
"And if you can't?" Crowe asked.
Nyx smiled. "Then I will always love you. Give Prince Noctis my regards."
Crowe pulled him into a kiss, and he held it for several long seconds before pulling away. Pelna instantly pulled Lunafreya to a car off to one side and they all got in, speeding away. Drautos leapt toward the car, but Nyx's appeared beside him in a flash of blue light and slammed a ball of lightning into his side, sending him exploding into the ground. He hurled a dagger and warped to it just in time to slash at Drautos, but Drautos deflected the slash, kicking Nyx. Nyx staggered away, then spun, deflecting Drautos's sword twice, slashing him across the chest each time, before crossing his daggers before blocking an overhead slash, struggling to hold the blade back.
"You are out of time," Drautos said.
"Not yet," Nyx said, then kicked Drautos away and let his sword fall to one side before slashing him several times quickly.
However, just as he did, the Daemon released dozens of rockets, which began to spread across Insomnia. Nyx spun, hurling a dagger, then warped to it just as they rockets began to explode behind him. He warped three more times before stabbing one into the side of a building. He looked back just in time to form a barrier, a rocket hitting it directly and exploding, hurling him into the building. He stood, shoving a chunk of broken wood off himself before picking up his daggers as Drautos landed inside the building.
"What can you hope to do?" Drautos asked. "One main against an empire? Against the daemons. How will you save Insomnia with no Wall to protect you?"
Nyx laughed. "You've got it all wrong. I'm not fighting to save Insomnia."
He focused, sensing the Old Wall. The statues of the former kings, all of them with the power of the crystal stored inside, waiting to be activated. He held out his hand and golden light shone from it as he sensed the statues beginning to come alive. He focused a single order into them. Destroy the Niflheim forces in Insomnia. Roars began to ring out all across the city, echoing deafeningly. Then, suddenly, a massive stone sword shot across the city before a statue warped to it as it reached the demon, appearing beside it, equal in size to the monstrosity that towered over the city. It slashed the demon and the Demon shrieked in pain, falling backward. Nyx lunged instantly, slashing Drautos across the back several times before ducking under his sword as Drautos spun clockwise to slash at him, spinning around him and slashing him up the front with his right dagger. At the same time, his left dagger spun into the air and Nyx smashed a fireball into Drautos the explosion launching him backward just as the Daemon crashing to the ground shattered the base of the building. Nyx hurled his right dagger out of the building on the higher side, then caught his first and warped to the second. As he did, he saw Drautos leap toward a statue of a former king with a trident. Nyx hurled his dagger and warped to it, then again and again before landing beside the statue's neck, using a barrier to block Drautos's sword and get his attention again. He let the barrier fade, deflecting Drautos's sword away before slashing him and flicking a dagger past him. Drautos slashed down at him, but he warped to his airborne dagger, catching it slashed Drautos up the back. As he did, he growled in frustration. He needed to find a way through the armor. So far, he'd done no real damage to Drautos.
Suddenly, the statue hurled its trident and warped away just as a Niflheim warship above them fired its main cannon. Nyx, having been left behind with Drautos, hurled his dagger out of the way and warped to safety just before the blast hit Drautos, then a skyscraper behind them, exploding into a massive blast. As Nyx fell, he landed on the shoulder of one of the statues, driving his dagger into its shoulder armor to stop himself sliding off its back. Then, it smashed through a skyscraper and hurled its massive sword at the warships. It spun over the middle of the three before the statue warped to it, this time bringing Nyx with it, and as soon as it landed on the warship, Nyx jumped off, landing in a roll. Drautos landed ahead of him, but instantly received a lightning bolt to the chest, massive bits of his armor being blasted off as he sailed off the back of the warship. Nyx hurled a dagger after him and warped to it, but by the time he caught his dagger and slashed Drautos across the chest, his armor was already regenerated.
Both landed on a chunk of falling metal, then leapt off at each other. Nyx hurled a dagger seemingly the wrong way and Drautos smirked, slashing at him, only for Nyx to slam his other dagger into the blade and flip over Drautos before blasting him in the back with lightning, sending him speeding after Nyx's other dagger. Then, Nyx warped to it and slashed Drautos across the back before grabbing him by the helmet and blasting him at point blank range with a fireball, Drautos streaking toward the ground in a trail of smoke. Below Nyx, a statue with a massive maul got blasted in the shoulder by one of the warships and hurled his maul at it, warping to it and beginning to rip it apart. However, a chunk of metal exploded up into his damaged shoulder and smashed his arm off. The statue was not deterred, and within seconds, the warship was a massive fireball plummeting toward the city. Drautos flipped, landing on a warship that had been flying low, and which began to rise, and Nyx hurled a dagger to the ship, appearing behind Drautos and seeing that even though his armor was regenerated, there was a little bit of blood leaking from under it.
"Looks like I got you that time," Nyx said.
"What do you fight for?" Drautos asked. "You're destroying the city you were sworn to protect. You abandoned your king. Is it for the princess? For Crowe?"
"For the future," Nyx said.
Just then, a female statue warped to a warship in the distance that was carrying one of three more Daemons being flown into the city. The statue dropped to the Daemon and began to tear into it with her shuriken, only for it to unleash dozens of rockets, which obliterated the statue instantly. A moment later, the statue Nyx had caught a ride onto the first warship with hurled his sword to that Daemon, warping to it and stabbing it in a glowing orange sphere in its torso. However, after a moment, the Daemon exploded into a blood red fireball, destroying the statue as well. The one-armed statue suddenly crashed into their ship, starting it crashing, as a Daemon neared it from behind. The statue scrambled along it and swiped at Drautos, who avoided it, leaping backward onto the Daemon. Then, when the statue lunged to attack the Daemon, Drautos leapt at it, only for Nyx to appear in his path, deflected his sword and blasting him with lightning at the same moment that the statue's fist crashed into the Daemon's head, knocking it free of its cables. It flipped, grabbing the falling warship as Nyx and Drautos landed on it. Nyx shot forward instantly, daggers sparking against Drautos's sword and armor rapidly, Nyx warping back and forth around Drautos quickly to try and keep Drautos from being able to target him accurately. Finally, Drautos managed to kick Nyx backward and leapt after him, stabbing down at him. Nyx leapt backward and Drautos's sword embedded itself in the Daemon instead. Just then, the one-armed statue roared, falling at them from above and smashing a fist into the Daemon on the way by, knocking it off the ship and making it fall with him.
Nyx warped to the ground safely, but when the Daemon and the statue landed, the Daemon stood, roaring deafeningly as the statue lay motionless. Nyx looked to Drautos, who began to stand, his helmet and the right side of his chest glowing orange, apparently nearing the end of their ability to regenerate. Nyx blasted him with lightning instantly and Drautos shot backward bouncing away. He looked up at the one and only Daemon still standing and sighed. He needed to take that thing down in order to fulfill the terms of his agreement with the old kings. He looked to Drautos as he began to stand, half his helmet missing but not regenerating.
"The fault is not with the empire for taking what was given," Drautos said. "I blame the man who gave it."
"I'm past caring about your reasons," Nyx said, glancing at his right hand, where he was focusing all the magic he could.
The concentration of magic was causing his hand to burn like it was being held in a fire, and it was probably going to end poorly for his arm, but it was hopefully enough. More magic than a group of Kingsglaive spellcasters could muster together. Most of the magic he had left from the old kings.
"Give me the ring, and our homes will be free again," Drautos said. "The empire has promised it."
"I don't see much future on the other side of that promise," Nyx said.
"Don't be a fool!" Drautos said. "Save your friends! Give your little sister peace! What do you fight for if not that?"
"I can't help my sister now," Nyx said. "I fight for those I can still save."
He snapped his arm up and a bolt of lightning as big around as a train exploded out of his hand, his glove and sleeve up until his shoulder being blasted off and his arm charring in seconds. The lightning exploded into the last Daemon's core and almost instantly had melted through it, exploding out of its back into the last warship and exploding. The Daemon shrieked as it fell backward before erupting into a massive fireball, levelling several city blocks. Drautos roared, slashing downward at Nyx, who warped to his right dagger off to the side, avoiding the slash before gritting his teeth as he forced his right arm to move, his charred skin cracking and breaking apart, beginning to bleed badly. He grabbed his dagger and hurled the left one. Drautos slashed it aside and Nyx charged. However, just as Drautos took a step forward, Nyx warped to the dagger he'd thrown, grabbing it off the ground before lunging and slashing him up the back, both blades breaking through his armor and splitting his back open. Drautos shouted in pain, spinning and slashing at Nyx, only for him to deflect it, then slash his right arm. He made sure it was too close, and as Drautos leaned back, Nyx's blood splattered in his eyes. he shouted in pain, staggering backward and Nyx lunged, stabbing at his head.
Drautos stumbled to the side at just the right time and Nyx's dagger hit the side with a helmet sill there. It cut into it and sliced a gash in his cheek, but it didn't kill him, and when Drautos stepped back, it was ripped out of Nyx's hand, so Nyx flicked his other dagger past Drautos, warping to it and slashing Drautos across the back again. Drautos roared in pain and rage and spun left, slashing again, only for his sword to once again pass over Nyx, who was crouched. Then, Nyx stood, his dagger splitting Drautos's armor diagonally up the front, blood following the blade out of it. Drautos staggered backward, then began to fall to his knees, only to stab his sword into the ground to hold himself up. Nyx sighed, shaking his head.
"You don't go down easy, do you?" Nyx asked.
"I won't lose here today," Drautos said. "I learn from history."
"But you're a slave to the past," Nyx said.
"A man's past...is his pride," Drautos said.
"My pride is shaping the future," Nyx said.
Then, he warped to his fallen dagger, appearing directly behind Drautos, and snatched it off the ground before driving both daggers into Drautos's back. Then, he ripped them back out and slashed up the backs of Drautos's arms, making him drop his sword before driving them down into the sides of Drautos's neck. As Drautos fell to his knees, he ripped them back out. Drautos collapsed to the ground and Nyx let his right arm fall limp just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. He watched it for a moment before looking toward the West Gate. He smiled, putting his dagger away, then knelt to retrieve the other before setting off toward the gate. Since he wasn't burning to death yet, and all the Daemons and Drautos were dead, he figured that was as good a sign as any that he had held up his end of the bargain. Especially since he could feel the magic leave him again.
As he walked, he used one of his daggers to cut the bottom half of his jacket into strips and used them to haphazardly wrap the worst of the splits in his right arm, slowing the bleeding. He was probably going to be walking for a while. The others should have been out of the gate and gone a long time before he finished off Drautos. However, when he reached the gate, he was shocked to find Crowe, Pelna, and Libertus waiting for him. Crowe sprinted over instantly, throwing her arms around him and kissing him. Then, once she pulled away, she slapped him and began to fuss over his injuries, including ripping her cape up to bandage his arm better.
"What are you all still doing here?" Nyx asked.
"Come on, Hero," Pelna laughed. "When are you going to figure out that no matter how hard you try you're not getting away from Crowe?"
"Yeah, she wouldn't let us move from this spot until you got here," Libertus said. "Hell of a fight, by the way. That was incredible."
Nyx smirked, shaking his head. "That was what happens when someone wields the power of all the former kings. All I ended up doing was fighting like a Glaive, aside from a couple of small spells, and that one lightning spell that torched my arm."
"That was a stupid risk, by the way," Crowe said, finally tying off the bandages. "You could have killed yourself."
"Well, if I didn't do it, the old Kings would have just killed me anyway," Nyx said. "So I'd say it turned out pretty well. So, where's our princess?"
"She left," Pelna said. "Said she had to travel on her own from here. Forbade us from following her. She wanted us to thank you for her, though."
Nyx nodded. "I figured she might. So, what are we doing now?"
"I'm...heading back to Galahd," Libertus said.
"So am I," Pelna said. "I've been away too long. Even without our magic, there's gotta be something we can do for them."
Nyx nodded. "Alright." He looked around. "I'm..."
"Going to try and find the prince," Libertus said. "We know."
"You're pretty predictable," Pelna said.
"And you're in no shape to travel, so before we go anywhere, we're going to rest at a town nearby," Crowe said. "There's a mechanic there named Cid who found me after Luche shot me and brought me back to Insomnia. Once you've recovered, we can figure out where to go from there."
Nyx chuckled, then nodded. "Alright. Since I can't talk you out of coming with me anyway, and wouldn't if I could, sure. Why not?"
Crowe nodded and helped him up. They shook Libertus and Pelna's hands before the four of them split up and began to head off to their chosen paths.
THE END
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