Noctis walked over to Cindy to talk to her about the whole money situation.

"She ain't gon' be ready for a while. Y'all need somethin'?" Cindy asked as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Hate to ask, but could we borrow some cash?"

A look of realization crossed Cindy's face.

"Oh, now I get it. This must be what Paw-paw meant when he said he was gonna 'teach them, boys, a lesson.' Told me he ought to have y'all take care of some ornery varmints that've been causin' a ruckus 'round here. I'd be happy to pay y'all for your services if you're up to the challenge. How 'bout it?"

"All according to Cid's plan. I say we play along and teach him not to underestimate us." Ignis inquired before Noctis could answer.

After accepting Cindy's offer Cindy gave them a warning before sending them on their way.

"But don't go runnin' 'round after dark. The daemons're liable to rip y'all to shreds. Here- this oughta be enough for a place to stay. Just between us, though. Don't tell Paw-paw!" Cindy said while handing Noctis some money.

They all started in the direction of the closest target. Gladio stopped Rosalie by placing a hand on her head.

"And where do you think you're goin'," Gladio asked her sternly.

"Uh, going to help you guys," she said while looking up at him despite his large hand still being on her head.

"Do you even have a weapon?"

Not saying anything she snapped her fingers and a medium sized staff appeared in her hands.

"Oh, what are you going to do daemons with that stick-"

Gladio let out a cry of pain as Rosie stabbed the top of his foot with the bottom of the staff. Once he bent down to clutch his throbbing foot she hit him on his lower back, which caused him to stumble forward. As he tried not to fall over, Rosalie stuck out her foot and tripped the towering giant. When Gladiolus met the ground she quickly sat on his back with her feet on his arms, she used her magic to turn her staff into a broadsword and held the edge against his neck.

"Whoa! That was awesome!" Prompto said as he took a picture of them. Noctis was laughing at Gladio's misfortune, Ignis smirked a bit and almost started laughing but covered it up with a cough.

"Alright, Rosalie! You made your point, now get off!" Gladio growled as he struggled to get her off of his back and not get cut by her blade.

"Hm, say you are sorry. Then I will get off."

"Fine. I'm sorry. Now get off!" Gladio yelled.

"Fine, don't get your panties in a twist," she said as she got up and changed her sword back into a staff. "Let's get going then," Rosie said happily, as she walked away from Gladio.

They all started running towards the first target. As they approached the daemons Noctis started giving orders.

"Gladio, c'mon!"

"Gotcha," Gladio responded.

"Looks like we've found our first targets. Ready, Noct?" Ignis asked and Noctis answered by warping into the fray striking the closest one.

The rest quickly came to help, Ignis ran in striking with his daggers before leaving an opening for Rosalie to use her magic to freeze the daemon, letting Prompto shoot at it. The other daemons started to get to close and were about to attack Noctis' blindside. Gladio rushed in with his greatsword sending them backward. For some reason, Noctis seemed to be slacking off as they fought, Ignis and Rosie noticed this and quickly picked up the pace focusing on bringing one down at a time while avoiding the others attacks. Prompto would shoot at any that got to close for comfort, Gladio was busy defending them as he turned his attention to Noctis.

"You got all those arms at your disposal. Use 'em!" Gladio yelled frustrated with him

Soon enough they finally killed the first group of daemons. After making sure they were all okay, Noctis led them to their next target which wasn't too far away. As they approached the next group they all crouched down, so they could get as close to the daemons as possible before attacking.

"They aren't gonna know what hit 'em. Let's do this!" Prompto said before Noctis warp-striked again.

"Don't use all your stamina! You'll be a sitting duck if you do," Rosie called out to Noctis as they fought.

"Haven't you ever heard, 'the best offense is a good defense'?" Gladio asked as he blocked a strike that was about to hit Rosalie.

"Thanks, Gladdy!"

Rosie struck at one of the beast's legs while Ignis came from behind and stabbed it with his lance killing it.

"Good job, you guys," Noct said as he killed the last one.

"Alright! We'll be done in no time," Prompto said happily.

"I hope so..." Rosie whispered to Ignis as she tried not to cough, Ignis patted her back as he handed her some water.

"Let's get on with it," Gladiolus said as he led the run to the last group of pests.

After a few minutes of running, Prompto decided to speak up.

"So uh, where are we headed anyway?"

"Nowhere until the repairs are done. Then we head for Galdin Quay." Ignis informed him.

"And after that, we hop a boat and before you know it lover boy's hitched," Gladio added with a teasing smile.

"Wait for car repairs, then wedding bells in the air. Got it!" Prompto said Rosie laughed as much as she could since they were jogging.

As they approached the last few, Gladio called out to Noctis.

"Hey, Noct! Warp strike to catch 'em off guard!"

"Yep. Right. On it." Noct responded with before quickly warping away.

It didn't take them nearly as long to finish them off. Letting out a sigh of relief Rosie smiled at the boys.

"Finally, all done."

"Yep, mission accomplished," Gladio confirmed, he then pulled her into a side hug. "Good job shorty, proud of ya."

"You're just saying that cause I kicked your ass earlier."

"What? No, I'm not! And you caught me off guard that is the only reason why you were able to take me down so easily." He tried to defend himself.

"Now, now Gladio... The first step is admitting you lost, fair and square." Prompto said as he patted Gladio's back.

"Whatever..." Gladio marched away from them with a huff. Prompto and Rosalie shared a laugh and gave each other a high five.

But before they started to make their way back to the outpost. Noctis' phone went off.

"Who could this be?" Noctis answered his phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Cindy. How goes the huntin'?"

"Actually, we just finished."

"That's great, 'cause I got one more hunt for y'all-only this time it's for a person. Fella named Dave went off and we ain't heard from him since. Reckon he staked out a spot in an old shack nearby."

"Old shack... Oh, got it. We'll take a look."

"So, what did Cindy say?" Prompto asked.

"Needs, us to find some 'Dave' guy."

"He went missing?" Gladio questioned.

"Not 'missing'. Said he's holed up in that shack."

"Huh, I wonder what got him hiding in that shack?" Rosalie wondered out loud.

As all of them entered the shack, Rosalie and Noctis noticed an envelope and a few pieces of paper lying on a table.

"What's this?" Noctis asked out loud as he read what was on the paper.

Mutant Dualhorn Sighting

Codename: Bloodhorn

Characteristics: Red tusks, extremely violent

Outstanding bounty on Sabertucks in the area

"Noct! Rosie!" Ignis called out to them in a panic.

The two of them turned around to see a sabertusk running right at them. Rosie stood in front of Noctis as the beast leaped forward attacking her. Rosalie threw up her arms shielding her face as the beast clawed her arms and bit her shoulder trying to get at her face.

"Get outta here!" Prompto yelled as he shot at the sabertusk that had Rosalie pinned down.

Once the sabertusk was off of her Noctis quickly killed it off. Prompto stood in front of her while she recovered from the shock of being attacked. He shot at a sabertusk that was in the middle of trying to break threw Gladiolus' defense.

"You okay?" Prompto asked her as he helped her up, not paying close attention that she was hurt but making sure that no more sabertusks tried to ambush them.

"We are now." Noctis quickly answered for her.

"Spoke too soon!" Ignis said as more sabertusks surrounded them.

"You okay to fight?" Noctis asked Rosalie.

She looked down at her arms which had some deep scratches on them, those weren't too bad. The worst was on her right shoulder where the sabertusk bit her, blood was coming out of the wound.

"Worry about me after this!" She called out to him quickly before closing her eyes and mumbling some words. "Mortem, help me..." She pleaded softly as she finished her summoning.

Rising from the ground was a fearsome beast. Its head and snout were deformed. Fire and smoke spewed out of his mouth and different places on his head. His eyes glowed a molten gold. As he panted, his razor sharped teeth glistened from the fire within him, wisps of fire and ember rolled out of his mouth as he released a breath. He let out a roar at a sabertusk that got to close to Rosalie before launching himself at it.

As her hell-hound fought for her she continued to give support from a safe distance with her magic. Noctis managed to get pinned to the ground by one.

"Noct!" Rosalie yelled before quickly casting a lightning spell, which briefly paralyzed the sabertusk long enough for Noctis to get out from underneath it while Gladio finished it off.

"Thanks, guys!" Noctis called out before running to aid Ignis.

All the sabertusks were finally killed, so they took a moment to catch their breaths.

"We all good?" Gladio asked.

"Better than good," Prompto said excitedly while bouncing on his feet.

"Good to go," Noctis said before making his way out of the barn.

"Hey, what about that shack over there?" Gladio asked as he pointed out another shack not too far away.

Noctis led them to the shack while Rosalie trailed behind them at a slower pace. She had healing magic she just couldn't use it on herself. Her hellhound followed closely beside her looking up her with worry. She quickly got to where they gathered and she noticed plenty of sabertusks standing guard near the entrance of the shack but before Noctis could run in and start attacking, Ignis pulled him back by his shoulder.

"Not yet! I've got a plan."

"Huh, what are we looking at?" Noctis asked as he noticed Ignis and Gladio looking at the windmill that was near the sabertucks.

"This creature is known as a 'sabertusk'. It skewers prey with its tusks, extracting the game from the safety and comfort of burrows." Ignis told them as they moved their way quickly and quietly to a better position to attack them from.

"That's a bit heartless," Prompto said.

"Yeah, don't think we'll be befriending any," Gladio said as Noctis warped to the top of the windmill to literally get the drop on the sabertucks.

When he finally made his move this prompted the others to begin their attack. Prompto and Noctis completed a blindside attack, while Gladio quickly finished it off. Leaving only a few more left. Ignis was struggling to keep one back at a safe distance, so Rosalie decided to throw herself into the battle knocked the sabertusk back with her staff while Mortem jumped on top of it from behind latching onto its neck. Ignis gave his thanks and quickly handed her a potion to use.

"You should have told me sooner," he scolded her, before throwing his daggers at a sabertuck that got to close. Noctis quickly ended the sabertucks life with a loud cry.

"That seems to be the last of them," Rosie said while looking around.

"Hey, who's out there?" A voice from the shack called out as a man opened the door.

"And look who's in here- the man of the hour. Dave, right? Been looking for you," Gladio said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Didn't mean to cause y'all any trouble. Been stuck here on account of my sprained ankle. Somethin' funny 'bout them varmints. I gave 'em hell, but couldn't finish the job. Still one mean mutt about... Y'all don't look much like hunters, but whaddaya say? Put that puppy to rest for me?" Dave asked them kindly.

"Oh, yeah. We'll take care of it," Noctis answered.

"Y'all got guts, that's for sure. Lemme tell ya where I last saw him." Dave said as he showed them where to find it on their map.

"Way to show some spunk. Now let's get ready to kick some tail." Gladio said with a big smile raring to go.

Noctis started leading them to the beast but didn't get very far before Ignis caught up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It would be wise to rest up before we set out," Ignis said softly while stealing a glance at Rosalie who looked slightly pale from the blood loss.

Noctis followed his gaze and frowned. He started mentally kicking himself for not noticing sooner and for being too focused on finding Dave.

"Yeah, good idea."

"In that case let's find a spot to make camp."

"The Hunters are really out in full force around here, huh?" Gladio stated as he led the way to the nearest campsite.

"So, they're the new Crownsguard or something?" Prompto questioned.

"Similar, though technically a civilian outfit," Ignis replied.

"They've definitely seen a lot more action than we have," Gladio said, it was clear that there was a hint of admiration in his voice.

"Uh... Is it cool we rock Crownsguard outfits?" Prompto asked a little worried that they would stand out too much.

"Be worse not to. They made 'em especially for us." Noct said as he playfully nudged Prompto with his elbow, which caused him to almost lose his footing on the uneven ground. In retaliation, he pushed Noctis back.

Gladio chuckled a bit at their antics. "Even got a sweet insignia on 'em."

"In the Crownsguard, your attire identifies you. So wear it with pride." Ignis said with a definite smile as he walked beside Rosie who was inspecting their clothing. She had to admit, their clothes were unique to them. "And here we are..." Ignis said with a sigh of relief as they made it to the top of the campsite.

Rosie was quick to examine the markings that were around the campsite with Mortem. "Do you know what they are Mortem?"

Mortem sniffed them before looking at them more closely. "It seems to be a ward for daemons, to keep them at bay." Mortem said to her through telepathy, his voice was deep and gravely. "It seems your being watched..." He said with a deep chuckle as he pointed his head at something behind her.

Slowly she looked behind her to find Prompto looking at her in curiosity. "Yes, Prompto?" She asked softly.

Prompto jumped slightly in response then he walked up to her. "I was just curious about what you were doing..." He trailed off a bit looking embarrassed.

"And?"

"...And I was wondering what that is," Prompto asked while pointed to Mortem who huffed and looked away.

"Rude."

Rosie couldn't help but laugh a bit, which caused Prompto to turn red and look down with a sad expression thinking that she was laughing at him.

"Oh Prompto, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at what Mortem just said," Rosalie said as she placed a hand on his shoulder giving it a comforting squeeze, he in return just gave her a strained smile.

Rosalie looked at Mortem for help. "Please, speak with him." Mortem sighed, looking towards Prompto his eyes glowed brighter for a moment.

"Trust me, boy, she wasn't laughing at you," he said with a small growl.

Prompto gasped in shock as he jumped backward. Rosie giggled as she placed a hand on his shoulder before walking towards Mortem, kneeling down next to him gently patting his head without being burned.

"You were wondering about what we were doing? Mortem and I were looking at these markings," she said softly as she gestured to the markings with her free hand. "We believe they are a magic warding to keep daemons away while we sleep."

Prompto walked closer, keeping his eyes on Mortem not sure if he would attack him or not. Once he was close enough he turned his gaze to the etchings on the ground. "Huh, I guess that makes sense since there are multiple campsites around here and it wouldn't be good for people to be attacked while trying to sleep."

Noctis walked over to them and stood behind them watching them for a moment before shaking his head. "Hey, why don't you guys help with setting up camp so we can call it a day." Prompto and Rosalie both jumped a bit, startled by Noctis sudden appearance.

"Yeah, sorry," Prompto said sheepishly, as they all made there way over to Gladio and Ignis to help set up camp.