The First Tombs
The Sword of the Wise emits a light so bright that the others shield their eyes as it joins with Noct.
Cor and Monica had met with them that morning, where they had learned that Iris had been escorted out of the damaged city. The edge in Gladio's voice and the tension in his body had considerably melted away upon hearing that his sister had survived. Noctis and Gladio had both expressed their thanks, before the group left Monica for the first Royal Tomb.
Noctis reflexively staggers back a step, trauma from dying to the Royal Arms and the instinct to dodge a flying sword fueling the action. He ignores the eyes on him and focuses on the Sword of the Wise.
Compared to the other Royal Arms that had traveled over with him, this one feels almost sturdier. He can feel it, the edges of the blade and the light it radiates, just at the edge of his grasp and ready to be wielded at a moment's notice. It is decidedly there, something he cannot feel with the Royal Arms he has not collected in this timeline.
However, the tangibility it brings does not immediately convince Noct that he should continue searching for the rest of the Royal Arms. Aside from the light magic, the Ultima was physically stronger and he could still summon all the Royal Arms while using the Armiger.
A chill runs through his body and a sinking sensation of dread has him feeling that he would regret it later if he didn't gather them.
It would look suspicious anyway if he summoned all thirteen weapons for the Armiger and had only gathered the one.
"The power of kings goes with you, Your Majesty." Cor interrupts his internal debate.
Noctis nods and lets his hand fall away from his chest.
"Another tomb lies close by. I suggest you head there next." Cor comes around the elaborate coffin and leads them out of the tomb.
Noctis quietly listens as Cor gives him an explanation he already knew. They pause shortly as a few sabertusks ambush them, but the group makes short work of them.
The last beast falls with a haunting yowl, and Prompto lets his gun vanish with a huff.
"Prompto, you all right?" Cor asks.
The question throws him off guard, and the blond finds himself stumbling over his words.
"Yeah. Um, yes, sir. I'm fine, sir." He replies, clearly awestruck. Cor's lip quirks upward, but they end the conversation there.
As they make their way closer to the next tomb, they catch sight of Imperial airships.
Frustration lines Cor's voice as he briefly explains the history of the battlefield the airships land in, and the group slow to a crawl as they sneak up on the troops already there.
Noctis warps into the center of the group, Cor and the others following close behind to drive a wedge into the enemy's troops. With Noct's experience and Cor's assistance they make short work of the foot soldiers.
The mecha's they come across a distance later are another story.
They spring out from behind the ruins that litter the old battlefield, nearly catching them all off-guard. Noctis warps immediately, driving his blade deep into the joint of the leg where there is no hard plating to deflect his strike.
The other mecha takes aim at him, and Noctis throws his sword at the top of one of the ruins, warping after it and dangling out of reach.
Cor delivers it a devastating blow while it focuses on finding Noct, and Gladio takes the opportunity to continue the onslaught.
Noctis warps back down to help Ignis and Prompto take down the first mecha. He grunts in frustration as each of them get a little too close to him with their respective weapons.
He had forgotten that they, as a team, hadn't immediately fallen into step with each other at the beginning. Even when they had gotten used to the flow of battle, Noctis would occasionally hear an apology tossed out or someone chastising another for coming to close with the business end of their weapon.
Heaven forbid if he ever changed weapons within a mile radius of them.
But, it had surprised him in the end. Ten years apart and he heard not one complaint, not one apology, from his teammates. Either they no longer bothered asking forgiveness for their wild swings or they had become so in sync with each other that there were no misplaced attacks.
Noctis rues to think it the latter.
They'd had ten years, after all, to grow together as a team without him.
If he could change anything by coming back in time, then he would deny them that chance. Noctis couldn't stand the thought of letting ten years of darkness destroy all the good in the world, leaving it only a husk of what it used to be. Even if it meant never letting his friends' teamwork mature.
A magitek soldier attempts to decapitate Prompto, and Gladio steps in to cut it down first. Prompto returns the favor by providing him cover fire as he returns to finish off one of the two mechas with Cor.
The remaining mecha strikes down at them, Ignis and Prompto barely roll out of the way while Noct warps on top of the machine. He drives his sword directly down and into the cockpit. The mecha staggers and falls, the Imperial's self-destruct activating and destroying the mecha in a fiery explosion.
Noctis ignores the post-battle banter between them, instead looking towards where the entrance of Keycatrich Trench would be. Prompto is gushing under Cor's praise when he turns back to them.
"The next tomb is that way, right?" He gestures to the entrance to the tunnels where the tomb lies. Cor nods and leads them that way.
He stops them at the entrance and searches his pocket, pulling out a key and handing it to Noct.
"Here's where we go our separate ways. That key unlocks the doors to the other tombs." Cor fixes him a steely look, "You'll need the power they hold."
Noctis nods, "Right, what will you do?"
"Keep an eye on the Niffs. Find out what they're up to." He turns to leave, before fixing Noctis one last look, "But you should focus on your own task."
Noctis huffs his agreement and prepares to part ways when Cor addresses him once more.
"By the way... What happened to the Engine Blade?"
Noct's mouth goes dry. Cor wouldn't just sit down and take his lies like the others likely would. He had been careful on how often he would summon the Ultima, but Cor had apparently still caught a glimpse of it.
"I had been wondering that myself, actually." Ignis adds, hand on his chin.
If Ignis knew he was putting Noct in such a spot, then he wasn't letting on about it. Noctis wishes he could revoke his actions of bailing Ignis out of trouble with the lost ring this morning.
"Is something wrong with the Engine Blade?" Gladio openly asks while Noct chooses his words.
"No..." Noct says, refusing to summon it so they could get a better look, "But it's different."
Noct forces himself to remain neutral and not squirm under the Marshal's gaze.
"I'm not exactly sure how it changed." - partially true - "But it was like that when I returned to Insomnia."
It was the Ultima when he returned to Insomnia, Noctis just omitted the fact it had been like that for far longer than just the past few days.
Cor frowns, but other than that says nothing.
"Very well, take care then." With that Cor leaves.
"You too." Noct replies to his leaving back.
Noctis turns towards the tunnels, leading the way down them and keeping an eye on the cable that would eventually lead them to a generator. Even with the flashlights, the group can barely see in front of them.
"You didn't take the blade to the mechanic's before we left, did you?" Ignis probes, continuing their earlier conversation. Ignis would already know he hadn't, so Noct wonders why he even asked the question in the first place.
"No, I don't know what caused the change." Noctis gestures airily, "Maybe it was meeting Bahamut or something."
Ignis 'hmms' and drops the topic, choosing instead to point out the fork in the tunnel.
"We may want to follow this cable - see where it leads."
"That's what I was gonna say!" Prompto adds cheerily, trying to ignore the creepiness of being so deep underground.
The generator shortly comes into view, and when they manage to get it functioning it lights up the tunnels.
"Oh sweet! It works!" Prompto voices what had been on all their minds.
"Then there was light." Ignis adds with a subtle lilt.
After that, the group falls quiet as the make their way deeper into Keycatrich. Eyes and ears on guard, they shuffle down the tight pathway.
Gladio kicking the can startles Noct as much as it had the first time, and sends Prompto scrambling forward with a shriek.
Gladio apologizes with a sheepish "My bad", and Prompto chastises him for nearly giving him a heart attack. Noctis avoids joining in on the conversation and leads them further, where they notice some doors and the failing support beams.
The rocks even shift above the beams as they watch, aggravating Prompto even more.
"If it's all the same to you guys... I'd rather not get buried alive." Prompto says, anxiety clear in his voice. Noctis didn't have the heart to tell him that the dungeons they would enter later on would be way worse.
He does admit to himself, however, that this place was eerie, even after all he had been through. When the generator had suddenly failed, leaving them all in total darkness, a chill ran down his back. When they had made it into one of the rooms and heard someone in there with them, turning a faucet on and off, he was ready to leave and never come back.
Just because he had done all this before, didn't mean he would enjoy doing it again.
"Yeah, let's not check that out." Noctis says of the mysterious noise. He leads them further in, avoiding places he knew were dead ends.
They quickly come across a larger room, boxes and barrels scattered throughout. His muscles bunch up as he raises his guard, remembering they had encountered an arachne here.
Noctis summons his Royal Arm just as the daemon descends upon them with a bang.
It had purposely landed in the center of them, dividing their group. Not that it mattered much as Noct had already delivered a devastating counterattack, relying on the light his sword possessed to eat away at the daemon's darkness, and Gladio was already bringing his massive sword down in an attempt to cripple the arachne.
Igins and Prompto are quick to catch their bearings, joining in with attacks of their own. The spider-like daemon swiftly jumps out of range, and when she lands she expulses beams of lightning.
Noctis phases just in time, but the quick attack manages to hook his friends. He checks behind him to make sure they are okay, and returns to battle when he sees them getting back up or shaking off the blow in Gladio's case.
Roughed up - but okay - they rejoin the fight.
The group continues to trade blows for a while, and Noctis can tell he is pulling them through battle. Despite their calm demeanor, their witty quips, his three friends are struggling.
He tries not to forget that this is the first major daemon any of them have faced.
In fact, none of them had probably even seen a daemon until around an hour ago, when they came across the random goblin or two.
Aside from the Marilith, Noctis no longer remembers what his first encounter with a daemon had felt like. He no longer remembered the fear the others were likely feeling right now.
Noctis frowns, it was something they would eventually get over. He couldn't carry them through all their battles.
Fear was always present in any encounter with a daemon, no matter how big or small, and it had taken on a new form after he had learned where daemons really came from. Noctis knows the only reason they are capable of fighting right now, is because they are fighting together.
Ignis manages to dislocate one of the arachne's legs with his lance, sending her sprawling, and Noctis takes the opportunity to plunge his sword straight through her chest.
It ends the daemon's life quickly, the essence of her body dissipating into black smoke.
They each let their weapons return with varying degrees of weariness. Noctis waits as Ignis and Prompto catch their breath, and Gladio dusts himself off.
"It's over..." Prompto gasps out.
"No use hanging around here." Gladio adds and Noctis agrees, taking them out of the room through a collapsed wall.
He recalls the tomb lies shortly down this tunnel, and it greets them as they take a corner.
Prompto and Gladio gasp out at the sight of it, nearly causing Noct to jump as he takes out the key. It slides into the rusty lock with some gentle force, and unlocks the Tomb of the Conqueror.
Noctis thrusts his hand over the Axe, wincing at the brilliant light it releases in response. It rises into the air before him before soaring back down to join the Sword of the Wise.
Both appear once more as they circle around him, and if he squints just right, he thinks he can maybe see hazes of the other Royal Arms in between. None of the others mention anything about it however, likely unable to see the uncollected weapons even if they knew to look.
Prompto asks him something while he wasn't listening, but Ignis answered for him instead. He ignores Gladio's remark about being a copycat king, instead listening to Prompto when he speaks again.
"Well, what's it like?" He asks out of genuine curiosity. Noctis tries to reply the same way he had the first time Prompto had asked this question, but his voice falls flat.
"Like I've got some tricks up my sleeve." He sends Prompto a light smile regardless.
It was about time they leave Keycatrich.
Thank you guys very much for reading!
Please let me know your thoughts/comments/concrits!
Also if you ever spot any errors, even the tiniest let me know, I want to improve!
Quick question - what do you guys call the void where all Noct's stuff goes? I originally called it the armiger(lower case A) but I've seen it called Arsenal(which I used last ch.) among other things.
Alright, so bad news, my semester is way busier than I thought it would be. My update schedule will likely be every few weeks, as I only have weekends to work on . Goodish(?) news - hit me up on tumblr and I'll start giving previews if I'm able. (I don't start writing the next chapter until the previous is done though, so I won't have anything to see for at least a few days after the latest is posted)
I will be participating in hurt!Noct week(March 1-8). I have three prompts filled out already, and may consider doing a fourth for day 7, but lacking ideas(if anyone has wants suggest ideas, I may consider them if I have time/feel like I can accomplish it correctly. Forgive me if I can't)
Also, I chose a triceratops for my thesis. Idk if I can actually tell you guys that, but since none of you guys know me irl (oh god please don't let anyone in real life find me here), I figured I'd let you in on that. Also because I will probably be done on that first, which is due 2019, before I finish this lol. K, long AN done, peace.
Thank you guys again for reading as well as your patience!
You all are really super awesome, thank you so much!