Part 2! Sorry for the delay, but I've gotten a beta-reader at last! Massive thanks to Manga124 for this!

Final Fantasy XV-2

Chapter One

A new Generation and a new Problem

*Five Years Later*

The alarm buzzed loudly with the obnoxious choir of chocobo calls, the small device shook on the dresser beside Iris' bed which added to the noise. Grunting and groaning tiredly, the huntress lazily and blindly searched for the button to kill the noise. After knocking something over, the alarm finally died and silence reign supreme in her bed room.

Iris then let out a sigh of relief and nuzzled back into the pillow, nearly dozing off again.

Until her other alarm clock kicked in.

'Mama! Mama! Mama!'.

Iris had to restrain that exaggerated groan that attempted to make itself know as a tired grin begun to surface on her face, the sounds of soft pitter patter feet and then this annoying pestering prod in her side. 'Mama…wake up!', ordered a little voice. Iris held back a giggle, hoping to seem asleep to her alarm.

Then she let a grunt as a sudden weight appeared on her, pokes increasing by two with two digits poking her sides insistently. Iris eventually cracked on eye open to see Aurora, perched upon her mother's stomach, looking at her with a pout. 'Morning sweetie', she yawned, rubbing her eyes with her arm. 'Mama, you said you were gonna be up early', pouted the child, lower lip out. Iris sighed kindly as she ruffled her daughter's hair.

'Well I'm awake now, that's half the battle', promised the mother. Aurora let out an impatient whine as Irish sat up. 'But Uncle Gladdy is gonna be here soon!'. Nodding the woman climbed out of bed and stretched as Aurora watched her. 'Then I better get dressed then…and so should you', she said, pointing at her daughter's choice of clothing. Aurora was currently wearing her pjs, a pink cotton top with moogles all over it, a pair of night shorts with the same moogle pattern. Her light blond hair all tussled and bed like, making the mother assume she merely woke up recently.

Her eyes though, shined with childish energy and youth with a touch of sleepiness to add. Iris guessed she forced herself to get up early for today exclusively, not that the former huntress could blame her. 'Well come on, let's go make some breakfast', Iris said, throwing on a pair of jeans. The girl beamed and followed her out with a spring in her step.

After making the girl her breakfast and pouring herself some OJ, Irish picked up the paper to check up on the recent developments of Insomnia. So far the reconstruction of the city had been slow with daemons still prowling the area, many of the wild beasts had occupied the city too and there were still active magiteck soldiers that miraculously had survived. Yet there was good news for the original inhabitants, slowly the city was returning to its glory days.

Thankfully most of the homes and major buildings remained in relatively decent condition, a few construction workers had even finished up on several old buildings for housing and with the power being restored underground, it was only a matter of time for the city be reborn.

However, the one place that everyone seemed to stay away from, was the Citadel.

After a few days in the sun, many of the hunters with Ignis and company had built a tomb for Noct, the palace acting as his final resting place. The funeral was kept from the masses, and only friends, allies and loved ones were able to attend to the passing of their king. Iris herself hadn't set foot in the Citadel since the funeral, and a part of her hoped to continue that streak as long as she could.

Just as her musings grew into memories, the doorbell rang.

Quick as a chocobo, Aurora bounced off her chair and answered. No sooner did she turn around the corner; her squeals rang through the house as she was carried over the shoulder of her uncle. 'I believe this little pip squeak belongs to you?', Gladio asked, gesturing his passenger. Iris giggled warmly as Gladio shifted the girl until she was resting on both shoulders, hands in his hair. 'Morning Gladio', Iris said kindly. The ex-huntress got off her seat, but no sooner did Gladio step aside, two girls rushed in and tackled Iris into a hug.

'Auntie!', the two cried.

Iris laughed warmly at the two, embracing them both lovingly, peering down at her nieces. Clavam, the oldest, was taller with short dark brown hair with a single bow upon her head, dark amber eyes like her father, wearing a plain grey t-shirt and long skirt. Her sister, Ferox, is two years younger than her, soft brown hair with lighter brown eyes like her mother, wearing a tank top with a cactuar on her stomach, long red skirt.

They bore more of their mother's features than their father's in physical appearance sure, but Iris couldn't count the amount of times she saw her brother in their personalities, or their attire when they were at home. She looked up at her brother who despite busying himself with Aurora, was still in his prime. Granted among the trio he was still the most active when it came to maintaining his incredible strength, he's a hunter now after all.

He wore his favourite black tank top today with white pants, she was saddened to see his tattoos had seemingly begun to fade out over time. He says he stopped worrying about them since his kids say he's super scary with them. His wife, Yuria, had encouraged him to at least keep them fresh looking. 'So you two ready for the beach?', he asked, chuckling as Aurora bent over to stare into his eyes. Yeah, we're just finishing up our meal', Iris promised.

'Beach!', the trio of children cried cheer.

The smells of the ocean brought smiles to the party of five, the beautiful blue skies and golden orb of light shining down upon them all, signalling it to be a glorious day. Iris was genuinely amazed by how much the seaside had changed in the span of five years, no longer was it just a restaurant that occupied the beach, but a small village. Gladio had told her it took time to manage the housings, building them, fighting off the wild life and other monsters. He was in charge of the extermination squad, putting his skills as a shield and a leader to great use.

In time the village grew into a small community that created a trading system with the other cities and became a local tourist attraction thanks to the restaurant being re-opened. Coctura, the original chef, is now the owner of the place since the previous owner had perished during the eternal dark. Between the restaurant and the local festivals that took place here, it was easily the most attractive spot for tourism.

They drove into the car park, that spot hadn't changed at all, and unloaded the equipment for the beach activities. Iris had to watch the princess while unloading because as soon as she hopped out of Gladio's jeep, she hopped to the railings to see the large ocean before her. Her blue eyes glowed with awe as Clavam and Ferox joined her. Iris figured living in the city for so many years, nature just finds a way to surprise her daughter.

'Reminds me of Noct when he goes fishing', Gladio said, closing the trunk of the jeep. Iris turned to him, seeing a sombre look in his eyes, hands placed on the edge of the jeep. Iris gently placed a hand on his shoulder, a comfort looking formed on her face for her brother.

'I miss him too, Gladdy', she said.

He sighed in response, placing a hand on her resting one.

'Hey~y!'.

Both turned to see jogging down to them from the beach, was Prompto, waving like a loon as he always did. Gladio smiled as Iris beamed at the blond haired man, just reaching the steps to the car park, but he only made it to the bottom of the steps.

'UNCLE PROMPTO!'.

And thus, he was tackled to the sandy ground by a trio of kids, easily knocking the wind out of him. On his back, the former glaive just laughed and ruffled the kids' hairs playfully. 'My little chocobos! Great to see ya!', he said.

Since the light was brought back, Prompto had mostly retired from the glaives, with the occasional hunt or when Gladio and Ignis were asking for his aid, and actually developed a photography organization at Hammerhead. It was a well-known group that took the most amazing photos, mostly from places himself and the old group ventured to in the past.

As for himself, Prompto had gotten rid of his goatee after Ignis and Gladio both admitted he looked like a half assed biker…and their opinions were only strengthened when he bought himself a bike.

He got rid of it, but he also worked out more. No longer being the scrawny pip-squeak of the previous band, his hair remained the same though with a touch more care to it. He wore a bright red t-shirt and a multi coloured shorts. As for his barcode, he still kept a band around it, old habit but it was more so to prevent a panic or anything like that.

'So whose up for swimming?', he asked. The girls cheered happily at his question.

'AFTER you all change into your swimming gear', Iris said with a playful stern tone.

The girls whined in response, their impatience shining brilliant at that moment as Prompto chuckled. After the last time they hopped into the waters in their clothes, Iris was adamant with them swimming in the gears for such activities, especially after the hours she had spent helping cleaning the car afterwards. The amount of sand, seaweed and smells of salty waters in that car wouldn't leave for a week.

And Gladdy did not forget to remind her of that on a regular basis.

At the spot where everyone else was waiting, Iris's lips tugged at the sight of old friends, even family, together again. By the makeshift kitchen was Ignis and Coctura, the latter working on the grill while the spectacled man added the finishing touches to the sandwiches for the kids. Hiding under an umbrella was Fulgur, nose deep in a book of his, by his side was Vitae, who was watching him, bored. Lastly building sand castles was Callidus or Calli, as the kids call him.

Since going back to Lestallum and having his sight returned, Ignis had devoted his time raising Fulgur while lending a hand with Aurora for Iris. So far he mentored and educated his son on the basic educations first before he taught him the history the Lucis line, but he also encouraged him to make friends and have a normal childhood before duty would rear its head to the boy. In regards to the future of the kingdom…that's a story for later.

Ignis had shown he let his hair down since his sight returned, wearing a simple grey t-shirt and a pair of khaki shorts, his hair was almost the same aside from the pony tail that reached below his shoulders, apparently Prompto encouraged him to look like this. Granted even though he was a single father, he still kept his skills sharp when it came to rebuilding Insomnia.

Coctura had become part of the inner circle following the defeat of the darkness, often babysitting their children when the occasion rose, and after Aurora and company became friends with her son, Calli. The woman had barely shown any aging compared to the others, save for a scar across her right shoulder that almost rendered it useless by a daemon years ago. Her hair tied into a bun, wearing a simple sundress.

As for their children, Fulgur had definitely shown his potential after finishing junior school at the age of seven, now a year away from enrolling in high school. His silvery like hair had grown into a tussled mess, but that was only because Ignis forgot to take him to a barber.

Vitae, is actually the son of Prompto and Cindy. After going their separate ways, a month later Prompto had discovered Cindy was actually carrying his child. To say he was over the moon with joy would be a massive understatement. They were married at least a month before he was born, Cindy insisted she wanted their child to be raised in a safe world first and foremost. Therefore, Prompto had out-done himself in the cleansing of daemons, heck he even put Gladio to shame.

The boy was almost identical to his father, bright blond hair all shaggy and messy looking a ruffled chocobo, green tinted blue eyes bright as his fathers. Wearing a vest with ocean patterns and a pair of red shorts.

Regarding to Cindy, she remained behind at Hammerhead because of the amount of repairs needing for several transport trucks and other travellers that were helping the rebuilding of the Crown City.

Calli is Coctura's son, having been born around the same year as Vitae. The father was never mentioned nor did she ever disclose the information, and none had asked since then. The boy bore his mother's hair colour and eyes, playing away in the sand.

Upon seeing the others, Ignis waved them over, smiling in a friendly manner. Food was served as the adults sat together to catch up while the kids sat in their little circle and ate. Until Gladio and Prompto were dragged away from the group by Ignis, asking if they could help bring something over from his car.

The walk was silent but the air was thick with worry as the spectacled man led them to his car. A simple car he rarely used save for long trips, but he mostly stayed in Lestallum.

'So what's going on specs?', Gladio asked, arms folded with a stoic look on his face. Ignis said nothing as he retrieved a yellow folder with the old Lucian crest pressed upon the body of the item. At the sight of their old nation's emblem, both men glanced at each other before Ignis spoke.

'The council has finally come to a decision regarding the throne', he explained.

Since the start of rebuilding Insomnia, members of the council who managed to have successors or find ones suitable for the task, have been chosen to reform the council. Ignis, having been the previous king's advisor, was placed in charge of them.

'And that is?', Gladio asked.

The look on Ignis' face truly hurt the others, it was a look that they knew all too well. 'They…want Aurora to be trained and educated as the next ruler', he said.

'What!? But, but she's five!', Prompto shouted.

Quickly Gladio slapped his chest in an attempt to stop further outbursts from him, last thing they needed were people eavesdropping on them. 'Noct was born into this, Aurora is completely unaware of her heritage, let alone who her parents were', Gladio said, looking at Ignis with obvious annoyance.

'And as far as we know, she believes Iris is her mother', Ignis mused, 'If we tell her all this now'.

'It'll break her heart', Prompto said.

The trio shared a sombre look between them, their duty conflicting with their oath to Noct. Ignis knew one day the council would reach this decision but to hear it happen now after five years of peace. He understood their reasons of course, he had been dreaming of seeing Insomnia returning to its glory for years and with each passing day the place he once called home was coming back.

Yet the cost…

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge between them, a heavy breath exhaled from him. This dream had a hefty price to pay, and one he was not sure would be worth it. Leaning against the car, Gladio folded his arms in deep thought before he took a breath.

'What did you tell the council?', he asked.

'I have suggested, we wait until Aurora is at least sixteen before we tell her the truth', Ignis explained. 'At the very least, she would be more prepared for it'.

'Wait so we just drop that bombshell on her? Tell her, "Oh by the way, you're actually a princess and the daughter of King Noctis and the Oracle"?', Prompto asked exasperatedly.

'Of course not', Ignis sternly replied, before his features softened. 'But how do we explain this to her?'.

'There lies another problem', Gladio muttered.

'But the council will want an answer soon'.

Though the inner circle, bar their children, knew of the girl's true heritage, they were forced to reveal the truth to the members of the council. As much as they would have preferred to keep her heritage between themselves, if they want the Lucian line to remain on the throne the truth would have to be shared with the council. They managed to come up with some story about her whereabouts and how she came to be despite the short time Noct and Luna had, thanks to Prompto.

It also helped that Ignis used the myths surrounding the ring of the Lucii to spin the tales into a more believable story.

They managed to get the council to reframe from forcing the girl into a life of royalty at her birth and instead allowed her to remain unaware of the truth, but their patience was running thinner and thinner with each passing month. Ignis had stalled them, came up with every excuse he could think of and the amount of stone walling he did, he could build a castle with it.

But when word begun to spread about Niflheim having a new emperor, Tenebrae chosen a new leader and Altissia finally re-establishing its government, the council grew fearful of the fate of Insomnia. Sooner or later the Nifls would no doubt invade and re-capture their former land from the Lucians once more, and with no leader or ruler, they'd have little to no chances to keeping their lands safe.

They couldn't even have a steward to rule over until Aurora's reached that right age, seeing as Insomnia hadn't used a steward since the 90th king, and whatever traditions that came with it had been lost years ago.

Even if Ignis could find someone with equal calibre and valour worthy of being a steward, the council would be less than thrilled to have a "pretender" on the throne. Even he himself wouldn't be considered as candidate, regardless of his accomplishments and loyalty to the throne. 'So what do we do?', Prompto asked. 'I can't say I like the idea the council's going with'.

'I doubt any of us would jump at the option to throw Aurora on the throne', Ignis mused. He then clapped his hands together and with a stern look, resumed his speech. 'No, we will not allow this to pass'.

'Aurora is too young to be forced onto the throne, nor do we go back on our promise', the advisor said with conviction that almost made Gladio see Noct for a moment. 'The council will simply have to make do with what we have to offer'.

Back at the camp site, IE, the haven, the children were helping the women with the cleaning from the meals. Aurora was helping Fulgur doing the washing up, the latter washing while she dried the dishes. Something she absolutely hated, the grossness of soggy food or squishy substances her little hands would touch sent shivers and waves of disgust down her spine.

Fulgur however seemed to ignore it, his expression never changing from his concentrated looks. It was weird she notice, how he can remain so focus on something as mundane and boring with things like this. Maybe it was because his dad told him that when you're asked to do something, you do it to the best of your ability. Sure her mon gave her encouragement for school, but Fulgur always took his tasks so seriously it was both amazing but also very boring.

Once the dishes were washed, the two turned to see Clavam waving at them, her lower half blocked by the haven. Curious, the two kids followed her to the others who were all standing by the old draw points. Aurora remembered Iggy telling her about these one time during a homework session at his home, he said these were magical spot that only certain people can use.

'Wow', Ferox commented.

The cool icy breath of the veins washed over the six kids, Aurora finding it incredibly refreshing from the intense heat from the sunny beach. 'Kids! Desert is ready!', Coctura called. At the word, most of the kids ran back to the haven, Fulgur was about to join them, but he stopped. Turning he saw Aurora still looking at the veins with childlike wonder. 'You guys coming?', Clavam asked, herself and Vitae stopped for them.

'Aura?', asked Fulgur.

She didn't respond, instead, she kept looking at the vein. Something, whether it was childish curiosity or some feeling she couldn't place, Aurora lifted her hand and aimed it to the pointing rocks. Suddenly, the cold misty air around them swirled and danced until they shot towards the young princess.

The danced around her arm until they ran down and flowed into the palm of her hand until the veins depleted entirely. The cold gone and the heat took its place. The princess fell back with a cry, crawling away from it and looking at her hand. Quickly Fulgur joined her side along with the other two.

'Holy crud, did you see that?', Vitae asked, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

'She drew from that rock thingy!', Clavam pointed out.

Aurora looked at Fulgur, her eyes widened with confused fear, desperately hoping the smartest boy amongst them would tell her what just happened. But she only found worry and confusion just like the others, even he wasn't sure what she just did.

'Kids!'.

The trio looked up to see Prompto and Ignis jogging to them. 'We heard someone shrieking, you guys ok?', Prompto asked, immediately going to Vitae and checking him for anything.

Ignis however looked at the princess, and then to the veins, then back to her. 'Fulgur, what happened?', he asked, knowing full well his son would tell the truth. The boy showed hesitation, looking between Aurora and his father, conflicted by his love for the man who raised him and loyalty to his friend.

Sensing his son's turmoil, Ignis offered him a softened smile and knelt down. 'You're not in trouble, my boy. I promise neither of you are', he assured.

'I-I…the magic's gone', Aurora admitted, so quietly it was barely above a whisper, 'I aimed my hand at it… a-and it went into my hand'. At this, the softened looks vanished and in its place, a look of shock. Ignis looked at the princess, looking at her arm with obvious worry, before she looked up at Ignis.

'Uncle Iggy, why did the magic go into my hand?', she asked, her voice told him she was close to tears.

Truth be told, the advisor was close himself. Looking at the poor girl, those worried eyes…reminded him of a young Noctis whenever he felt incredibly down or worse. If she was able to draw magic at such a young age, where it took Noct years to draw even a quarter of the vein completely, meant the power of Lucis was starting to finally show in the young girl.

'Father?', Fulgur asked, worried by the silence, 'Is Aura going to be fine?'.

He took one glance at Prompto, who showed just the same, if not more, worry. The blond ducked his gaze back to his son. Even behind him he felt Gladio's own gaze fall on them all. Gladio said nothing, placing a hand on Forex's shoulders as she clutched his leg, confused by the events that unfolded before her.

He swallowed back his shock and gave them all a nod. 'Don't worry, it's just…luck on her end', he explained. He got up and ruffled her hair warmly. 'Do not worry yourself, my dear. The magic is quite old and whatever affect it would've had on you has long since vanished', he promised. Clapping his hands together, he turned to his friends. 'Right, I believe Coctura has prepared her famous apple pie for desert yes?'.

At the mention of the desert, the kids dropped their worries and raced to the camp site, leaving behind the three adults behind. All shared the same looks of dread.

*Iris' Home*

Placing her daughter in bed after her bath and tucking her in, Iris kissed her forehead. 'Well that was a fun day, right?', she asked. Aurora nodded happily, showing her perfect white teeth. 'I'll see you in the morning then, we have to make sure we have enough snacks for our movie night', she said.

Before Iris left though, Aurora spoke up. 'Mama?'.

Iris turned to her, the girl seemingly shrinking in her sheets. 'What was…papa like?', she asked.

A question the Amicitia dreaded for so long, and one that became a frequent question on a regular basis in the past year. She simply mustered a smile and kissed her forehead. 'He was one of the kindest, bravest men, and he would've been thrilled to have you as a daughter', she said. That seemed to sate the child's ever growing curious mind, as she nuzzled into the pillow as her mother switched on the night light and left.

On the outside though, she let a few tears fall.

Both out of the memory of Noct…and the fact her daughter's lineage was growing closer and closer to the light…

*Ignis' Home*

So much to worry, and now with Aurora's lineage slowly working up, it made the older man wonder what other traits would spring up from her. Gods he prayed it was the need for excessive sleeping, that would be the least of his worries.

'If it gets too cold, close the window. The lower latch will be the only to close', he explained as he locked the other latches higher up. Fulgur let out a sound of agreement, closing the book he was reading.

'Father?', he said. Ignis turned to see his son's sharp eyes. 'How did Aura do that? I thought only the old kings could draw magic', he asked. Ignis remained silent, his eyes steely but in his heart. The advisor sighed as he sat down on the bed.

'…Fulgur…what, do you remember, when you were younger?', he asked. The boy hummed in thought before he spoke up again. 'I remember, there was…darkness…and you left with someone…then you came back, and you could see again', he said slowly, trying to piece together the memories bit by bit.

'Yes…and you know what I was? Before the darkness?', Ignis asked. 'Aunt Iris said, you were a Crownsguard?', he said.

'I was… I was part of a group that was to protect…', he tired but faltered. Memories of his old life sprung back to him, thoughts of their journey together…and the day he lost Noct for the final time. 'Father?', Fulgur spoke, his accented voice had never sounded so small and frail.

Ignis turned to him, and then wrapped him into a hug. It was all he could do, just to prevent his tears from spilling before his son. 'I'll tell you tomorrow morning…', he promised.

He then allowed his son to sleep and after exiting his son's room, he opened his phone.

It turns out, Fulgur is the only one asking question about Aurora. Gladio had texted him that Clavam was demanding to know what was going on with her best friend, Gladio showing a picture of the girl pouting and stubbornly refusing to go to bed it seems.

Prompto was faring no better, Vitae seemed to be threatening to dip his camera in oil if he doesn't talk about Aurora. The spectacled man let out a deep sigh, as he sent both men the text they dreaded for a long time.

"We'll have to tell them everything tomorrow".