Clearly I've been focusing on this story, I have another chapter in the work, but for now, what matters is that we're out of smut theory and following actual plot again. I hope you'll enjoy!
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Stranded
Chapter 26 – Down the crater
Gladiolus barked a string of warnings at them before entering the bar. Ravus and Iris were both still underage and neither of them intended to follow him into the run-down establishment. Their ride towards civilization had turned even worse after the Mindflayers's attack. In the span of a week, they had faced more daemons then Ravus cared to count, soon realizing that nightfall lasted much longer than it should. And with every new royal tomb they visited, Ravus confirmed his brother had already made off with their ancestor's weapon. Five of them and he was still coming out empty-handed.
Not to mention the ache in his right arm that made it almost impossible to move his limb. He pushed himself for Iris's sake, since she was worried sick about her own father. She had burned their dinner the other night, Gladio turning to cuppa'noodles without a word, but his glare had filled her eyes with tears.
"So this is the last outpost before Lestallum, huh?" Iris asked him.
"Yeah…" Ravus sighed, soon realizing how crest-fallen she looked. "I should treat you to something nice," he decided.
"Not having to cook would be nice," she said simply.
They ventured in search of a restaurant that wouldn't be hidden inside a bar, found a little shop with picnic tables and kebabs that made their mouths water. Ravus jumped a little at the price for a single stick of meat, but unblighted meat was starting to run scarce. The notion was worrisome, but they were both too famished to voice any concern right away, eating through seven kebabs between the two of them.
"Thanks. I needed that," Iris smiled. "Although… If the blight has grown that far…"
"What more can we do about it? I'm trying to collect the arms. At this rate, I'll have to find Noctis and ask him to give them back or…"
Or just ask him to take over where you can do anything? He thought to himself bitterly.
"Rave, you need to realize this is bigger than just you and Noctis. If things are this way here, imagine how bad it must be back in the empire. There must be a reason why they're still trying to invade after what that lady Lunafreya did to their troops."
He winced at the name of the foreign princess.
"There are too many enemies and not enough of us. Without the royal arms, we can't even try to do something to Ardyn…"
"So you want to make a change of plan and meet up with your brother?"
Ravus doubted that could turn out well, but there had to be a way to have Noctis cooperate if only to rescue their father and country.
"If we do meet him, how do I even start…"
Iris sighed, her shoulders slumping low, and Ravus swallowed, mentally chiding himself. She needed encouragement, not his depressive and self-centered comments. He turned silent, pondering what could bring a smile back to her face. He watched Iris toying with the last kebab skewer, thinking back on every time she'd picked him up from one of his brooding bouts.
"What's on your mind?" he finally asked her after what felt like an eternity.
She dropped the skewer, looking startled and he fought against his urge to apologize.
He had so many reasons to ask for her forgiveness, he was afraid saying "sorry" would simply remind her of his many faults.
"I'm just thinking."
"Yeah, I just wanna know about what. If you don't mind that is…"
The hint of a smile showed on her face.
"My father. Gladio is so pissed off and snappy, I…"
Of course she was feeling just as down as him.
"Did any of your friends give you news from Insomnia?" Ravus asked her, knowing she might get some information through normal channels, unlike him.
She shook her head.
"The newspapers are only writing about the empire like it's the only news there is. Accordo's news is more useful and the last front page was about the tide and the fish in their harbor", she sighed.
"Pretty boring. There must be something we can do around here."
"Like what? You want to take me out dancing?"
She was kidding, but Ravus couldn't help the feeling she hadn't picked this activity for nothing.
"Let me try something, okay?"
He took her hand, leading her into the exploration of the Old Lestallum. There really wasn't much to do, but the local vendor had a few discs they had never heard off, Iris happily browsing through the selection. There was one free RV in the lot, Ravus insisting on renting it for the night, Iris surprised by all his initiatives, and even more when he pushed all the foldable furniture back in their place to clear space and set the classical music disc to play, raising the volume to a comfortable level.
"Are we dancing?" Iris asked him.
"If you will, my lady," Ravus bowed to her, Iris giggling as she was reminded by the balls where he would systematically refuse to invite anyone to dance but her.
"Excuse my poor choice of gown, good sir," she whispered, giving a curtsy, Ravus smiling a little more.
"You're exquisite, Iris."
She blushed despite not wanting to be affected by his kindness, not right now when she felt like that entire situation was his fault.
"Can you drop the prince act for me?"
"Only if you give me your arm," Ravus insisted, Iris shaking her head at him, but playing along nevertheless.
He had her twirl, Iris smiling as he held her close, their eyes meeting, unclouded with worry for the first time in so long. She let the music take over, the violins and piano melting their sounds, Ravus guiding her in a slow waltz that didn't make too many flourishes or room. He was careful to not bump her into anything, but Iris soon decided that she should pick the next disc they'd use to dance.
She'd only convinced Ravus to visit a club once and it had been a disaster, but mostly because of the audience they had that left the young prince nearly paralyzed with fear. Sometimes she wondered if he hadn't been too sheltered. He needed to handle a lot more than just a few people around himself if he was ever going to make it as King. And while she was happy to dance with him right now, her heart knew deep down Lucis would be better off without him holding the reins. The very pressure of it all had already pushed him too far.
"Iris?"
"Hmm?"
"You look very far."
"Oh… Sorry."
She tried to look into his eyes and realized there was a knot in her throat. She wasn't sure which Ravus was here with her. Which one had orchestrated Noctis's ruin. He was thinking of asking his brother for help, and yet she was afraid. Ardyn had played him, but Ravus had still made decisions by himself, didn't he? Or had the counsellor taken his place and…?
He froze next to her, his concern starting to shift into worry and doubts. Had he seen her hesitation?
"Rave, it's okay, I'm just tired and easily distracted. Let's waltz some more."
He agreed, although she heard him swallowing as she stepped closer, her arms wrapping around him. His right arm barely guided her, when he would normally always lead with it, Iris wondered if this was another cause for her unease. Taking in a deep breath, she couldn't help a wince, that was thankfully hidden against his shirt. He smelled like charred meat from up close, Iris hoping it was just the scent of the kebabs they'd had.
"Rave?" she asked, her voice a little higher than she wanted.
"Yeah?"
His voice was gentle, and he was making an effort, she should push her fears back, focus on getting them further ahead, on helping him at making something right in Lucis. And yet the smell…
"I'm not sure where to begin…" she sighed, pressing her forehead against his chest, leaning closer to his right side without thinking.
He nearly recoiled, a gasp of pain making it past his lips, Iris looking up in shock.
"What was…?!"
"Leave it, Iris, please. I took a bad hit in one fight, I'm just… bruised…" he explained, his eyes avoiding her as he pulled his right arm back and away from her, touching his shoulder gingerly with his left hand.
"Ravus…"
"I said please," he nearly hissed at her, the brunette clenching her fists.
"Fine then! You can just dance alone!"
She hurried back out, hoping he would come around, but also unsure of what she would do when he did.
…
It definitely took everyone more than 12 hours to regroup, Noctis and Luna showing up a full day after Prompto and Cindy, the four members of their teams welcoming them with very amused smiles.
"Enjoyed yourselves, your highnesses," Cindy poked fun at the pair.
"Oh, don't look at us like that," Noctis protested.
"I need to see if the backseat is bent," Prompto declared very seriously, Ignis rolling his eyes while Aranea nearly cackled.
"Well, it's not like we can't ask the same out of you, guys," Luna said, giving Cindy a pointed look.
"Lots of enjoyment was had, I can tell you all about it, I just need a beer."
"Oh, now that's just not fair!"
"Sorry, I'll treat you to some ice cream," Cindy offered, wrapping her arm under Luna's and dragging her off to the food cart the small station had.
Prompto was coming back from the stolen car, whistling playfully.
"Dude, could you lay off it just a minute?" Noctis asked him.
"In two seconds. You owe me, specs. The indent is three inches deep."
"What indent?!" Noctis couldn't help himself, looking at Ignis with pure disbelief.
"Oh, you know, car sex in old vehicles can have unexpected consequences," the advisor declared as though it was perfectly self-evident.
"Iggy?"
Aranea tugged on Ignis's arm, shaking her head at him.
"I remember those indents being from my lance after you…"
"Ah ah ah, not a word more. A gentleman will never kiss and tell."
Prompto playfully jabbed Noctis's ribs with his elbow, having had enough of their little joke.
"So, are you two rested enough to pack up a body-fluid free car and get going?"
"Not until I punch you, it seems!" Noctis shot back, grabbing for his friend to give him a good noogie at the very least, Prompto escaping him as though he had springs under his feet. It seemed the time off had done them all a world of good, but time itself was still passing by and they needed to get a move on.
After making sure they all had the provisions they needed, they boarded a larger car Cindy had secured, the blonde woman taking the wheel, Prompto in the passenger seat, Aranea sitting in Ignis's lap while Noctis took the middle seat, Luna holding hands with him as they hurried along the rough roads.
"There are so many roads in this country and they seem to lead to nothing," she whispered after the first two hours, Noctis feeling his heart clench painfully.
She was quite right, bit it still hurt. Next to him, he could tell Ignis was uncomfortable. This was their home. At least it was supposed to be.
"We're heading straight for the crater, right?" Cindy confirmed.
"Yes, Titan should be the easiest to find between the Astrals we still have to face. Ifrit… Did either of you ever hear of the Infernian in the empire?" Luna asked, looking at Ignis and Aranea, but clearly aiming her question at them and Prompto.
The dragoon shivered, Ignis's arms hugging her closer.
"I thought they'd killed it. But Verstael really kept it sleeping for all this time, didn't he?" she asked.
Prompto leaned forward, soon rocking back and forth, his face dark, his eyes staring at the air as though he could see something from far, far into his past.
"I remember seeing it once. They froze him up somehow. Would send some of us to blast more ice on it."
Noctis wondered why they were all so traumatized, but then he felt Luna tensing by his side.
"I hope we'll never need to make a pact with the Infernian. If humans treated him this way for decades… Leviathan was a bitch just for waking up."
"Hey, don't psych yourself out. We can get this done."
"Noctis, that thing is pure, wrathful fire," Ignis reminded him.
"I'm not saying we should make a pact with it. We shouldn't even say we, Luna is…"
"Enough," she cut him off. "We need to stay sharp."
"The night's falling," Cindy told them. "This car is not equipped with what we need to repel daemons. Where's the next haven?"
Ignis and Aranea coordinated themselves to consult their map, Noctis wondering how he could feel jealous at how much they were actually cuddling during this ride. Luna's legs were killing her, so she'd laid them on his, but he wanted to pull her in his arms and make sure she'd feel safe at least until they reached Titan. Their last confrontation with an Astral had been horrible and he didn't want a repeat of it.
Most of all, he wanted this ordeal to be over with so she could catch some rest and focus on herself instead of the rest of the world. But for every break they took -naughty or not- Luna carried a large part of guilt. She'd done so her entire life, and now the sheer amount of guilt was enough to suffocate her when she stopped to think about it.
They stopped at a gas station that looked abandoned, with only one flickering light on. There was a large crater on the left of the station, an imperial dropship's carcass lying on the hard ground a few meters further. Prompto leapt out of the car to check the perimeter, Ignis and Aranea close on his heels, Noctis sensing his heart beating hard in his chest at the faint taste of decay in the air.
"How bad has it gotten? Iggy?" he asked.
"Worse than we thought," his friend answered.
"Is it even safe to try and stay here?" Cindy asked, not daring to turn off the engine just yet.
"There's a haven half a mile from here, I just doubt the car would do us any good on that terrain. Gods…"
Luna got out of the car, Noctis offering her his help as he saw her wavering on the first step, but the princess refused with a shake of her head.
"Protect me, bodyguard," she teased him, motioning towards their friends who'd gotten around the station already.
Noctis wasn't expecting the sight out there. The sun was setting low, throwing shadows all across the planes, but as far as his eyes could see, Duscae was in ruins. It had been mostly yellow grass, the forests flanking mountains, but the crater was on to the west and he was staring at plains that used to be grazing lands for Garulas and other animals. It looked like landmines had erupted all over it, craters digging into the earth, giant mechs' skeletons littering the ground. They all bore marks that no human or conventional weapon could cause. And Noctis understood the empire had been destroyed by daemons. Daemons that were bound to manifest soon.
"Fuck, we can't stay here, Ig…"
Ignis was tumbling on his phone and gave him a dark look.
"I think the closer to Lestallum we will get, the worse it will be Noct. Apparently, the city is under siege by general Glauca. This…"
"That bastard is here?!" Luna shouted, effectively cutting off the tall man.
"Appears so," Ignis said.
"Well, that moron clearly lost a ton of soldiers out here. And why would he even deploy them here?"
Ignis shook his head.
"There's one downed ship and we are very far from any large outposts. Lestallum is a good ten hour drive from here. Wouldn't make sense to drop troops here unless there was an army to defeat."
Cindy was following Luna closely, the color draining from her face as she saw the level of destruction spreading.
"Was it like this on your way here?"
"No," Noctis whispered. "I would have noticed. This must have happened a couple of weeks ago already, but… Ignis, tell me it wasn't like this when you left?"
"I left a good three months ago, Noct," Ignis reminded him. "Hunters were still holding down the lines against the daemons back then. So maybe it was a hunter group the empire was…"
A shadow rushed off into the night, making them all jump in fright, Prompto pointing one gun at the retreating form, taking his other gun out.
"We need to get somewhere safe now, guys, we can worry our butts off about why this looks like Gralea's training grounds later."
"Prom's right," Aranea supported him, tugging on Ignis's arm. "Let's quickly confirm this haven is safe and barricade ourselves up.
They were still stuck with only two tents, but in the current circumstances, they were all ready to make do.
Luna grabbed Noctis's hand, summoning her trident in her free hand, the light called forth promising them protection against any potential daemons as long as they hurried forward. They walked in silence, except for the occasional jump or cracking sound under their boots that made them flinch. Cindy was a bundle of nerves by the time they'd reached the haven and Noctis was seething, since Ignis's suggestion of hunters being the target of the empire had been proved by a macabre discovery in the last few feet of their trek.
"This is just…" Cindy started, grateful for Prompto's arm around her shoulders.
"Horrible. Plain horrible. What does that monster even think he could be achieving right now?" Luna whispered through clenched teeth.
She was so tensed, Noctis was afraid she'd break something.
"Let's get settled, we can try to gather more information when we're safe."
The second answer to their question, as to what could explain the level of destruction on the empire's machines came as night fell, otherworldly crackling and roaring echoing through the air. Looking up at the darkness, they saw a gigantic shadow surge from the ground, the haven's rock actually flashing under their feet. Luna gasped while Cindy squealed, Prompto making a pretty similar noise while the rest of them tensed a little more, ready to draw their weapons.
"Is that… an iron giant? A red giant?" Noctis mused.
Ignis shook his head as the shadow kept rising and rising, swelling up to impossible proportion. It's body was larger than the very haven they were standing on, his feet the size of a car, his steps thundering as the giant shifted into the opposite direction from them.
"A thing that big could just grab a dropship out of the sky," Aranea muttered, her voice white.
"And punch any mech into submission," Noctis understood.
More crackling had them looking to the other side, to see another giant rise. It was even larger than the last one, towering over the night sky, Noctis pulling Luna close, his eyes shifting to red as he got ready to tap into his armiger.
As much as the sacred ground of the haven was supposed to act as a protection against daemons, something that large could easily break the stone. Neither of them knew what would happen then. Thankfully, that monstrous giant shoved his bone sword over his shoulders and walked away into the night.
Only then did they started breathing again, Cindy's legs turning to mush and Prompto catching her, while Luna leaned against Noctis, a shiver running through both of them.
"This…" Ignis started. "This is one of the most insane things I've ever… Even Verstael's man-made daemons weren't…."
"I know," Aranea told him, squeezing his hand in hers. "Is this… Is this the fucking blight at work?" she asked, looking at Luna.
For once, it didn't sound like she was attacking her. She was genuinely scared. Lunafreya nodded, swallowing in the hope it would make her voice hold.
"We need to hurry before any of those monsters turn as big as Titan. First thing in the morning, we get to the disc," she told them.
Noctis didn't protest. He was even more worried about her now, but he had to admit, this was nothing like the few daemons they'd heard on the previous nights. Ignis got to work on their dinner, insisting they all needed a proper meal after seeing this. They huddled close to each other, sharing water and warming up some tea, Luna settling for warm water. More daemons kept on appearing, some of them particularly close to the haven, and the noise would make them jump and look around, the six of them wondering if they should stand guard through the night.
"If we do that, it shouldn't be either Prompto or Noctis. I'm afraid of the toll Titan will ask for," Luna admitted.
"Obviously, you'll also need sleep," Aranea observed.
"We all will," Noctis cut in. "And if this is how the situation is right now, we had better have faith in those havens, otherwise, we won't last long."
"The stew's ready," Ignis declared, cutting short any debate as they helped him pass the bowls around, all of them sitting directly on the rock.
The atmosphere was somber, but they tried their best to change each other's mind, Aranea taking out a deck of cards and suggesting poker.
"What would we bet though?"
"Internet time on Ignis's phone?" Aranea suggested.
"Hey! In the remote chance this buffoon wins one round, I am not letting him corrupt my search history!"
"Dude, you think I would look for porn?!"
"I don't want to think about what you would look up for."
"We need another bargaining chip," Noctis decided, not ready to let this escalate any further.
"Chocolate pieces?" Cindy suggested. "Those are freaking better than porn."
"Oh no, I'll need sugar before we're done with this journey and we only brought so much!" Luna instantly protested.
"So lame!" Aranea sighed, shoving her deck of cards back in her bag. "Let's just go with scary stories by the fire then."
"Oh, oh, I'm great at that stuff!" Prompto nearly jumped in place.
"None of them can be real," Luna opposed. "No extra stress to the baby," she defended her point, stroking her belly.
"Awww, that's ridiculous but adorable Luna," Cindy said, shifting over to give her best friend a hug.
"It's not ridiculous!" Luna shot back, laughing at herself as she saw the looks on the other's face.
Some of them were clearly fighting against the urge to remind her what kind of very adult stress she had put her baby in recently, Noctis glaring at them hard to make sure they would hold their tongues.
"I mean, our Darius can hear all of you at this point. So if I can limit the horror."
Aranea dropped herself against Ignis, feigning exasperation, the bespectacled man barely catching her so she wouldn't hit her head, since he had been sitting much closer to her than she'd thought, the man looking flustered by the brash action.
"Careful now, Nea."
"Sorry," she whispered back, her cheeks turning a little red.
The pair barely ever left each other's side, but Luna had to say, this might be the cutest display of affection she'd seen between the two, since it felt so unguarded.
"Nea sounds much cuter than Aranea," Prompto commented.
"Who said you could use it?!" the former dragoon said, glaring at him.
He raised opened hands in surrender.
"Just making a comment on something. Cute things are rare nowadays."
"Is this where we get sappy in a large group?"
"You're such a grumpy lady today," Ignis teased her, leaning low to whisper something to her ear that effectively got her to flush all over.
"You ass! I am not!"
The four others were clearly tempted to join in, but turned to each other.
"It really feels like these two are all alone even when they're around us." Cindy said.
"Guess that comes with how much they've been missing each other. I mean, if I hadn't seen him around her before in our lives, I would have never taken Ig for the touchy-feely type."
They talked some more, Aranea and Ignis already reconciled and joining in the group's discussion as it was shifting to guesses about what their next meals could be. They were slowly going through whatever fresh ingredients Ignis had packed and Cindy and Prompto had managed to salvage. The deeper they got into Lucis and the worse things were looking. Luna wanted to know more about the siege on Lestallum and so did Noctis, but they were exhausted from their day on the road and soon agreed to call it a night. Luna laid on her back by his side, Noctis wrapping himself over her left side, chuckling as she complained about not being to roll on her side as easily as she wanted.
"I like this look on you, though." He told her.
"Me pregnant?"
"Yeah."
"You just like my bigger breasts."
"I like all you curves," he insisted. "And I'll love them after the birth too."
"Even when I start sagging?"
Noctis rolled his eyes at her.
"I want to get old by your side," he whispered to her.
She gave an approving moan, clearly touched.
They heard Prompto grunting in fake disgust while Ignis and Aranea were whispering their own sweet words to each other a little further.
"I feel like we haven't integrated these two quite well," Luna admitted, ignoring Prompto.
"Ignis has always been distant."
"Reminds me of you when we first met."
"That feels so long ago," Noctis sighed.
"Sleep, guys! Unless we all try to evaluate who will sag first from which side. I'm ready to take bets."
"Okay, okay, we get it!"
They snuggled close, hoping their sleeping situation would soon improve. Using Noctis's arm as her pillow was nice every now and then, but Luna was starting to cruelly miss having an actual bed. The night was rough, with the daemons still roaming outside, their cracklings and the unregular cackling of imps shifting any dream to a nightmare for the six travellers.
…
They were all up far too early to call it the morning, but seeing as the sun's rays were peeking out of the cloudy sky, Cindy insisted they should take to the road, Luna starting to undo the tent while both Prompto and Noctis were whining about needing just one more hour of sleep.
"Lady Lunafreya, why don't you help Aranea with packing the food while I focus on the tents?" Ignis offered.
"Gladly."
They had a very brief breakfast, wrapping up the packing with Noctis storing everything in his infinity pocket, before hurrying back to their car. Ignis reassured them about their future travel, reminded he had access to the Regalia. After facing Titan, he would retrieve the car and they could use two vehicles instead of one and actually have room to breathe.
"Still can't believe you stole it from Ravus, stranding both Gladio and Iris."
"I doubted I could get my four pourcent if I left it to your brother," the former advisor observed.
"Wait a minute, how high was your salary for the Regalia to cover one year of vacation?"
"Half your allowance."
Luna, Cindy, Prompto and Aranea all made faces at each other, since they were completely lost with this conversation. None of them had seen the Regalia before, and had no way to determine whether that car was as expensive as Noctis made it sound. Then again, there weren't that many cars in Tenebrae. They tried to focus on small talk, but the scenery under the bright daylight was anything but joyous. The meteor site was now surrounded by craters and as they neared the disc, Luna stared at Titan, spotting marks on his tall body too. The meteor he held on his back was dark, shining under the sun with sparkles that kept on shifting. When she blinked, she could swear the thing was blinking back at her. With more than one pair of eyes.
"He's really moving around," Aranea mused. "This is so insane."
"Iggy, how long do you think we'll have to walk to get down to where he is?"
"I wish I knew, Noct. The site has been condemned for years now."
"Wait, how are we getting in?"
Cindy was sitting in Prompto's lap for this ride, one of her legs thrown over Luna's, while Noctis wondered how well he would be able to walk once he'd get up.
"I'm busting us through," the prince declared. "I've got like… 8 royal arms now. With just a bit of fire, it will be a piece of cake."
And as he'd said, breaking through the heavy concrete gate where the road was blocked took him less than a minute. There was a tension in his magic, the ghost of his father's voice asking him to hurry up and his head turned as he landed on the other side, the temperature rising even though he was still far from the crater.
"What's up with this heat?" Prompto complained, Luna drying sweat from her forehead, feeling just as uncomfortable.
"It's the meteor. Everyone, be sure to stay hydrated while we're here."
"I swear, you're the worse mom-person I know," Aranea chuckled, giving Ignis a wide smile as he glared at her.
Luna hurried to catch up to Noctis, her fiancé giving her a worried look.
"Don't rush, you need to save your energy for this."
"Stop treating me like I'm about to topple over," she chided him. "Why don't you make it snow instead to refresh us?"
Raising his brows, Noctis wondered if he would even have enough mana to muster snow for the whole trek.
"Oh, we need to try and make a snowman in the desert near people, just to see them freaking out about it," Prompto decided, Cindy giggling at the suggestion.
"Guys, we're wasting time. Let's go," Noctis called to them.
No one complained, following suit, past the royal tomb that yielded yet another arm for Noctis, but didn't let him hear his father another time. They walked past the gorges of burned stone and dead earth. The terrain was rough, some of the ground still burning from the very heat and they were all panting and sweating, Noctis taking off his jacket and cursing under his breath against his preference for dark clothes. Prompto was clearly suffering from the heat, while Aranea's bad leg ached a little more with every step.
Ignis himself had shed his jacket and overshirt, Luna teasing him for having so many layers in this heat, to which he simply grunted and suggested she might need more skin coverage herself. Her pale skin was already red in patches and her head was buzzing, but it wasn't solely the heat and the harsh sun.
Approximately ten steps into the crater, she'd heard the voices in her head, talking the gibberish only an oracle could understand. She felt the baby kicking as the voice boomed through her skull, yelping at the violent pressure.
"Luna!" Noctis's arms were almost around her, but she feared feeling his warmth now would be enough for her to overheat, so she held one hand out, trying to massage her temple with her other hand.
"I'm fine, I'm sorry, this… Titan knows I'm here."
"What is he telling you?"
"I… I can't quite tell yet. But Darius is kicking up a storm…"
"Ha, little sprout doesn't like those cocky Astrals," Cindy said, tipping her cap sideways.
"Should we take a break ?," Ignis offered.
"No. No, I'd rather not expose any of us to this place for too long. I have a bad feeling about this." Luna admitted.
"Reassuring," Aranea sighed, not sounding quite reproachful.
They trudged forward, avoiding the burning rocks and defeating a few wyverns on their way, Luna holding her stomach as she tried to suppress whines of pain as Titan continued to assault her mind.
Why are you here, Oracle? Why are you carrying my…
She sensed Leviathan reacting, vapor raising as her magic activated before she'd even realized it.
"Luna, what are you…?" Cindy barely started.
"Damn, it's burning my skin!" Prompto gasped.
"I'm not doing it on purpose! There's something about Titan that makes that bitch twitch and… Fuck!"
Icicles grew among the burning rocks, Shiva trying to warn Luna about something, but her voice couldn't see to reach and now Titan's voice was rumbling and the earth under their feet started quaking.
"Oh no, no, Luna, hold on to me!" Noctis yelled, grabbing her and activating his armiger. "Tell me what you need."
"Get me closer to him. So we can actually talk…"
"Okay. Guys, we'll be going on ahead," Noctis told them, leaping into the air with a warp.
"Wait, just wait, dude!" Prompto called after him, but it was too late.
"So what now, we run after them?" Aranea asked.
"Pretty much," Cindy said, already rushing down the dangerously steeped slopes.
"Goddammit, I hope they don't trigger some fucking shitshow like with fishface," Prompto grumbled, hurrying after.
Aranea and Ignis exchanged a brief look.
"We picked the worst gang to hang with, didn't we?"
"Saving the world is not supposed to be easy," Ignis shot back, giving her an encouraging wink.
"Well, let's not end up missing the whole shitshow."
It was an awful drop to reach Titan's feet, Noctis warping and phasing while holding Luna close. As soon as he stopped, she pushed him away from her so she could throw up without any of it getting on him, shivering and shaking, feeling more kicks now that things had finally stopped moving.
"I'm sorry, Luna, but your magic feels so volatile right now."
"I know," she croaked, retching some more and flushing at the awful sounds making it past her throat as it finally calmed down. "Oh gods."
Why are you here?! Titan insisted, shifting the meteor over his shoulders, making the earth tremble once more.
"I'm here to make a covenant with you," Luna groaned back, speaking in his tongue, Noctis gesturing to help her to her feet but sensing it wasn't the time for it.
Her trident was shining as she summoned it, pushing herself back up, drying her mouth with her wrist, raising her eyes to look at Titan.
I am not to make a covenant with the Oracle herself.
"The rules have changed. There is no savior king."
Noctis flinched next to her, sensing the meaning of the words despite his lack of connection to the crystal and the Astrals.
Isn't he here with you? Isn't he the father of your child?
Titan could apparently sense those things, but Luna gasped, blinking at the giant, her heart aching for Noctis as she both wished the god before her was telling the truth and completely mistaken. In her mind, there should be no other chosen king than Noctis. He was her King. But if he really should have been the one picked by the crystal, than that would make every hardship he'd had to go through… a meaningless fraud.
"Is he?" she managed, forgetting herself.
Noctis frowned, his heart beating too fast. He had the distinct impression they were talking about him.
As a mother, you should know that Oracle.
Her eyes widened, her trident hitting the ground, more ice growing at her feet. Next to her, Noctis wondered if he shouldn't take another step back.
"NO! I meant…!"
Titan cracked a monstrous smile, sending stones and debris flying down from the movement. Luna raised a shield above her head, seeing blurs of blue from the corner of her eyes, Noctis was phasing to avoid getting touched.
We know, Oracle. We know. Many people were dealt a bad hand in this life.
She lowered her shield, staring at the giant, her eyes attracted by movement over his shoulders. The meteor on his back seemed to be cracking open.
Will you take this trial as you are?
"I came prepared."
Very well then. Prove your worth.
His arms pushed against the meteor's cracked surface, sending dark blue stones raining, and as Luna blinked she realized the eyes she'd seen had not been a figment of her imagination.
The meteor had been filled with daemons, and they were coming down, despite the fact the sun was still up in the sky.
"Luna!" Noctis called for her.
"Defend yourself, Noct!," she called back, raising her trident and the strongest shield she could muster.
Noctis's fists clenched, a roar in his throat. Was she really going to brush him off like this now?
Her third covenant was starting. And while Titan apparently had a sense of humor, he had also spend years letting daemons grow across his back. And if they weren't enough, his prone form rose to its full height, his giant foot taking a tremendous step, sending Noctis flat on his chest while Luna fell back on her ass, rolling to her feet as best as she could, one hand protecting her stomach in pure reflex.
We can do this. We can do this, I just need Shiva and Leviathan to work with me.
To be continued…
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I'd like to hear what you think of this chapter. May you all be safe in those strange, confusing times. See you in next chapter!