~Squall~

Shoving the empty plate away from in front of me, I nod in agreement with Laguna as we discuss how to approach the crowds of people forming all over Esthar. Gripping the handle of the cup, I sip on my coffee while the maid gathers our plates and takes them into the kitchen area.

"I can't think of a time I've seen you drink coffee before, Squall," Laguna mentions, nodding to the man standing beside him with the coffee carafe. I hold my mug out beside me so he can fill it, shrugging. I don't want to go into detail with him on how I hardly slept last night.

"Good morning," Ellone greets us with a smile, taking her seat beside Laguna and thanking the servant that places a plate of food in front of her. I eye her warily over the rim of my cup, feeling my cheeks abruptly warm up. After kicking Seifer out of my room last night, I attempted to catch up on sleep by going to bed right after, but all I managed to do was toss and turn with the images of Prompto occupying my every thought. Judging by the girl's innocent glance between us before beginning to eat her breakfast, I figure she wasn't linked to me at all to see those thoughts last night. Thank Hyne.

"Good morning group," Zell chimes, rubbing the towel around his shoulders along his dampened blonde hair. Seifer trails in behind him, using his own towel to wipe down his face as the two sit beside each other. They worked out together this morning; I noticed them starting as I was leaving the showers myself. Laguna and I greet them with a nod, sipping on our drinks. They seem to be off in their own little world, lively talking among themselves. Zell dives into his breakfast as soon as the plate touches the table with Seifer watching him. I see the man's face soften as he stares at him, swishing a limp lock of blonde out of Zell's face with a smirk.

"Did you make any decisions about those two, Squall?" Laguna asks, noticing me staring at Seifer. I look back at the president, setting my cup down on the table.

"Yes, they can join us. The more on our side, the better," I state, staring off out the window behind the man.

"Good to hear," Rinoa chimes in beside me, startling me. She presses her fingers to her lips to hide her giggle, apologizing for scaring me. Taking the seat next to me, she quietly thanks the lady that drops off her breakfast before she returns to the kitchen. Rinoa eyes me for a moment, nibbling on a piece of bacon. "You look terrible. Couldn't sleep?" she asks, not intending to insult me. I take a drink of my coffee and nod at the man holding the carafe for a refill.

"I'm fine," I reply, Quistis stating the same thing at the same time I spoke from the other side of Rinoa. I glance at the woman who smirks at being able to read me before I take another drink.

"You don't drink coffee," Quistis informs me before pouring some sugar into her own cup and twirling a spoon around inside the mug.

"I didn't think so either," Laguna mentions again to the two who weren't present when he questioned me the first time.

"Good morning fam!" Selphie chirps when she enters the dining room, grinning at all of us. She practically skips to Ellone's side, placing a hand against her back as she bends down to ask how she is feeling. Ellone smiles sweetly and nods, saying she feels fine. Irvine silently walks into the room, eyeing everyone before shuffling over to Selphie's side. He flops down into the seat beside the girl who is still talking to Ellone and waits for his coffee cup to be filled. I take a sip as he does, watching Selphie lean towards the man and whisper something into his ear. Irvine's eyes widen at whatever she says and he almost spits the coffee out on the table.

"Whoa, Squally's drinking coffee? We really are family now!" Selphie announces to the room. I pinch the bridge of my nose and raise my coffee cup sarcastically before taking a drink. Holy Hyne, can a guy just drink a damn cup of coffee in peace? A hand gently grabs my wrist, removing it from my nose. Rinoa's smiling face greets me as she places our hands into my lap. I tense at her hand remaining there, holding the coffee cup in midair in front of me.

"Squall?" Irvine's voice chimes through my panic, catching my attention. His eyebrows raise at my frozen in place state, waiting for an answer. I continue to stare at him, forcing my hand to move the cup to my mouth. "Did you hear me? I asked what the plan was." Rinoa breathes a laugh, bringing her hand back to her own lap. I bite my tongue, wondering where the hell that came from as I glance over to Laguna.

"We figure the best plan of action is to get out there and hear what they're saying and maybe see just how many are following these ideas," Laguna reluctantly responds when I continue to stare at him. Everyone nods, agreeing with the idea.

"Are we going undercover?" Zell questions us as he shifts his empty plate away and steals a piece of toast off of Seifer's. Seifer quickly smacks the back of his hand, making Zell drop the piece before Seifer takes it back. The two share a smile when Zell exaggerates by folding his hands and placing them in his lap like a scolded child.

"In a sense, yes. You guys will go out and find the groups, hopefully without being noticed as the SeeD that took down the Sorceresses. This is why we," I gesture to Quistis and Rinoa, "cannot. They saw Quistis and I yesterday, and Rinoa is infamous for becoming possessed."

"That's not necessary Squall. Seifer and Rinoa have been here a long time, going out in town often without incident. They can help as well," Laguna points out with a nod. I look at Seifer who is nodding.

"Alright then, if you think it'll work," I tell the two of them as I finish my coffee. Selphie claps a few times and turns towards Irvine, whispering excitedly about something. I narrow my eyes at the two and clear my throat. "I do mean keep an eye on the groups, listening to their conversations and attempting to get an idea of how many of them there are. Not using it as an excuse to go shopping all day." Selphie turns back to me with a grin, her shoulders visibly deflating.

"Of course Squally boy! Infiltrate and study them, got it!" Irvine smirks himself, standing from his seat to leave, coffee cup in hand. Selphie stares up at him, watching him leave the room with a slight pout in place.

"I could stay behind, Squall, if you'd prefer," Rinoa whispers into my ear a bit closer than I thought she was a moment ago. I lean away from her out of instinct, shaking my head vigorously.

"No, I need you out there gathering intel. Since I can't do it," I trail off as I see her disappointment for not wanting her to stay behind. Where is all of this coming from?

"Come on, Rinny!" Selphie calls her at the doorway with a smile. She holds her hand out towards Rinoa, waiting for her to follow. Rinoa peers over at me for a moment then sighs, standing from her chair and going to Selphie's side. They intertwine their fingers and leave the dining room, giggling. I shake my head, pinching the bridge of my nose again. Not enough coffee in the world can help me figure that out, I decide.

"So, what can we do here Squall?" Quistis asks, scooting from her chair into Rinoa's now vacant one beside me. She takes a drink of her coffee and sets it on the table, crossing her legs beneath it.

"No idea. We can continue to strategize with Laguna and Kiros while the others gather information, but our hands are tied until we have an idea of what we're dealing with."

"Don't worry Squall, we'll figure something out," Zell says, standing with Seifer from the table and removing his towel. Seifer smirks at the blonde, slowly removing his own towel and staring at Zell's. An idea pops into Zell's head and they both begin to twirl their towels and stare each other down.

"Out, children," I tease, pointing to the doorway. The two laugh and turn to leave, neither one looking away from the other out of fear of getting snapped.

"What is going on with everyone?" Quistis questions, glancing back at me. I shrug, resisting the urge to have more coffee. I felt a lot more awake than I did when I first crawled out of bed, but still not coherent enough to be considered alert. Especially after seeing everyone's...bonding.

"Squall, maybe you and I can work on connecting willingly together?" Ellone mentions, thanking the maid as she hands her used dishes to her. I grab my mug and hold it out, silently urging the man with the carafe to fill it up. Screw it. "I mean, after you strategize of course. I just thought we might see what we can come up with if you and I were to try and control it, instead of being ambushed by it." Laguna nods at the girl and smiles, patting his hand on her arm.

"Are you sure you are up for it Ell?" he asks cautiously, the two of us eyeing her to see how her level of energy appears to be today. She nods vigorously, reassuring us as best as she can under our scrutinizing gazes. I have noticed since being back here in Esthar that Ellone's energy levels are depleting a lot faster than they used to, when she is coherent that is. That could be due to recent events, or just passing time, I ponder to myself when Laguna chimes in again. "That's a good idea, Squall. No need to only focus on one issue when you might be able to do something about another." I feel my lips start to form a smile at the thought of seeing Prompto again, quickly bringing my cup up to hide it.

"This is true. Alright, Ellone and I will work on that while you guys brainstorm what to do about the growing unrest." Quistis nods and stands from the table with Laguna, telling us they'll be in his office with Kiros before they leave. "Where did you want to try this out at, Sis?" I ask her, standing from my own seat and holding the cup in front of the man with the coffee.

"I may need a carafe dropped off to us, if that is alright." The man fills my cup and nods, heading to the kitchen to prepare a fresh pot for me. Ellone shakes her head and smiles, reaching out and wrapping her hands around my arm.

"Wherever you like. I'm not sure anything will happen, but we may want to be lying down in case something does." I nod in agreement, turning to face the man standing by the door to the kitchen.

"Will you ask him to bring the coffee to Ellone's room please?" He nods and exits into the kitchen, the door swinging slowly behind him. "Well, let's see what we can do," I say, placing my hand over her fingers and leading her out of the room.

~Noctis~

Hopping out of the tow truck in Hammerhead, I wait for the others before heading into the diner. A strong cup of Ebony should strike out the last bit of chill in my bones. Sighing, I sit down on the bench outside, doing the math on how long we were hiking before we had a signal to call Cindy for help.

"Thanks again Cindy, we really appreciate it." Prompto smiles at her as she hops out of the driver seat. She shakes her head, wavy blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders under her Hammerhead truck stop hat.

"Ah ah boys, a deal's a deal. I'm happy to help y'all, but you know we talked about y'all dealin' with that monster out near the power lines," she reminds us with a perky grin. Ignis and Gladio nod at her, glancing around to see where I've gone. When they spot me, I stand from the bench and stretch my arms in the air.

"Of course Cindy, we'll deal with it. But first, can we get something to eat? I'm starved," I ask her as she shifts some levers on the back of the cab to her tow truck. The flatbed carrying the Regalia starts to tilt, dropping the back end towards the ground. Holding the lever with one hand, she places the other on her hip and tilts her head towards me.

"Of course ya can! I need to find the details on where exactly that pesky pest was last seen anyway. Y'all go on into the diner and when I find the details, I'll bring em' to ya. Don't worry about the Regalia, I'll tune her up while y'all are off killin' that monster for us. Do we have a deal?" She offers her hand to shake on it. I grip it within mine and give it a quick shake, smiling at the woman before heading into the diner with the others.

"Thanks again Cindy!" Prompto calls out before skipping inside behind me. The diner is a fair size considering its location in the parking lot of the prominent garage, holding a nice round bar that seated at least ten plus about two dozen benched seat tables scattered against the walls. A few people were inside, hushing their children or discussing the latest of the news on Insomnia.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm ready for my Ebony," Ignis mentions, sliding along the bench seat and gripping one of the menus sitting at the end of the table. Gladiolus sits beside Ignis, sighing heavily as he takes up a menu of his own. I stand on the opposite side of the table and wait for Prompto to get in, preferring the outside instead of the wall.

"I think I'll join you on that," I mumble, taking the seat beside the blonde when he finishes adjusting.

"Hey fellas, been a while," the cook for the diner announces from the bar area. I toss up two fingers in a wave as I keep scanning the menu in front of me.

"Might we get some Ebony to start?" Ignis asks politely, smiling when the man nods and gets to making a fresh pot for us.

"Some hot food and coffee should do the trick," Prompto mentions, closing his menu and sliding it in front of me. The rest of us nod, making our decisions on what to eat before the cook came over with the coffee.

"So, what're we having?" Takka asks, taking down our orders and heading back behind the counter to make our meals.

"Can't believe this place doesn't have cup noodles," Gladio grumbles with a pout. Ignis shakes his head and shoves his shoulder into the man's large bicep.

"Cup Noodles is hardly a meal, especially after the journey we have had already today," he scolds, pressing his glasses back in place.

"Yeah man, and we still gotta go kill some big scaries. Can't do that on an empty stomach y'know?" Prompto adds, twisting in his seat to lean against the wall and bring his knee up on the bench between us. We each sip our cooling coffee, opting out of the continued argument over the cup noodles due to our weariness.

"Here ya go fellas," Takka says, sliding the plates in front of us and telling us to let him know if we need anything else. Ignis and I nod while Prompto and Gladio quickly dive into their meals.

"So, what is the plan then? Aside from taking care of the pest problem here for Cindy?" Ignis asks, eyeing me over the edge of his cup. I shrug while I finish chewing, watching the man to see if he's already got something in mind. "Gentiana said we need to return to where it started, which is home. Are we really going back to Insomnia?" Ignis presses further while I continue to eat. I give him another shrug, how should I know? I don't know what the right answer is, or what her words meant. I shiver against the cold spike traveling down my spine when her voice inside my head comes to mind once again. Despite already thinking on her words repeatedly while we all were hiking, the sensation to go through the entire scenario again more thoroughly pops into my thoughts instantly.

"If Gentiana tells us that's where we need to go, then that's where we need to go. She's the one that stopped us, it must've been for a good reason," Gladiolus decides with a slurp of his soup. He holds his frown as he stares at the bowl, pouting at it since it wasn't in a styrofoam cup.

"But is it a good idea to take the King somewhere he may be attacked? All because a spiritual entity that aids the Oracle tells us to?"

"That is all the more reason to listen to her. She is a clairvoyant," Ignis argues with Prompto while I finish my food.

"Hey y'all! Here's that info you boys needed. And thanks again for doin' this for us," Cindy walks over and places the packet on the table between Gladio and I before waving. "I gotta get back to the Regalia. She needed more work than I thought. She runs fine, but y'all gotta be more careful goin' around corners! She's all dinged up! See you boys when you're done!" We wave to her through the window as she walks by to return to the garage.

"Let us see what we shall be dealing with," Ignis says, opening the packet and removing the flyer. A nasty monster was drawn on the front of it, with horns twisting out of its mouth and spikes covering the majority of its body.

"Ah, a bandersnatch. Should be fun," Gladio announces sarcastically as he slams the remainder of his coffee.

"Indeed," Ignis mumbles, pinching the corner of his glasses while he reads through the notes at the bottom of the flyer. "Not too far from here either. Seems to have been causing a problem for a while now for Hammerhead," he mentions before handing Prompto the flyer. The blonde slides his knee back under the table and sits up so I can see the flyer as well. "Well then, shall we?" Ignis announces, urging Gladiolus to get up so we can head out. I sigh, gulping down the last of my coffee before standing up myself.

"Hey," Prompto calls, eyeing me from the table. He slowly stands with a frown, his eyes locked onto mine. "You ok man? You've been pretty quiet since we got here." I shrug as I set down my empty cup, placing it back on the table. Prompto keeps staring at me but doesn't press any further.

"Right then, should we order some chocobos or just jog over?" Ignis asks, eyeing the two of us who are still staring at each other. I'm the first to break the stare, looking over to Ignis.

"Chocobos of course!" Prompto yells through a grin, seeming to give up on our staring contest continuing. Gladio finishes paying the cook for our meal and thanking him before following the rest of us back out into the parking lot. I stand a few feet from the yellow box, letting Ignis order the chocobos while Gladiolus and Prompto stand near the entrance of the diner discussing something.

"Everyone ready?" Ignis asks, alerting the two behind me to come forward. A flock of four bright yellow birds with saddles already in place on their backs stalk over in the street, having heard the whistle Ignis blew to retrieve the birds. He hands a whistle to each of us before hoisting himself onto the first one standing in front of the others. Prompto quickly follows, almost ignoring the stirrup by jumping onto its back in excitement. "The faster we deal with the bandersnatch, the faster we can get back here and sleep in an actual bed for once," Ignis mentions at my hesitation, his head tilting towards the camper parked at the edge of the parking lot. I smirk at that thought and awkwardly climb onto my own chocobo, earning a squawk when I accidentally pulled on its feathers instead of the cantle.

"What is this, your first time?" Gladiolus teases me while he adjusts his seating. Ignoring his words, I quickly follow Ignis who leads us out into the open desert beside the parking lot. The birds reach high speeds once we are out in the wild, the dirt getting kicked up by Ignis' bird clouding my vision in front of us. My mind wanders back over the details of our visit from Gentiana, paying particular attention to her words and her voice which causes me to wince. I'm familiar with the spirit; I've known her since I was a small child growing up beside Lunafreya, and yet something about her voice is affecting me. By the time we reach where the beast was last seen, my eyes are shut tightly, my hands gripping the reins with everything I've got.

"Whoa, Noct, you sure you're up for this?" Prompto urges beside me when he sees my face all scrunched up. I release the reins and slowly open my eyes, witnessing the worry across the blonde's face.

"Yeah, it's just the dirt getting in my eyes is all." I shrug off my reaction, unsure where it came from myself. A terrifying roar rings out before us as the ground trembles.

"Looks like we've found it!" Gladiolus announces, sliding off his chocobo with ease and holding his hand out beside him. An obscenely sized great sword materializes in his outstretched hand which he swings up to lean against his shoulder. Prompto and Ignis call their own weapons to them, Ignis gripping two daggers against the back of his forearms and Prompto aiming an interesting looking handgun. Without thinking, I mimic the motions of the others and a sword appears within my grasp. I frown at the curves in the blade and fumble a bit with the handle, as if my hand wasn't used to holding the weapon.

"Noct!" Gladio's voice snaps me to attention, witnessing him take a few swings at the oncoming beast. It stalks slowly towards me on hind legs, its face distorted by the mass of horns coming out everywhere. My mind phases out while instinct takes over. I throw my sword, shooting it towards the beast and disappearing, with me along with it. My sword and I reappear beside the beast, sword now stuck deeply in its thigh. Gun shots ring through the air, Prompto holding the beast in place while the rest of us hack away at its body.

"Whoa Noct, where'd you learn that?" Gladio asks me, but I ignore him, sliding between the bandersnatch's legs to avoid being stomped to death and jabbing my sword upwards into its stomach. The battle continues on with Ignis taking a moment to analyze before tossing firebombs at its feet and Gladiolus slicing and dicing away with his massive greatsword like he is carrying a regular sword.

"Prompto, on your feet!" Gladiolus yells beside me, snapping my eyes to where he is looking. The blonde falls victim to the creature's spiky tail, failing to move before it slams against him and forces him into a boulder where he appears to have fallen to the floor unconscious. Without thinking, I lurch my sword in his direction, sending myself to his side within a breath of time.

"Prompto," I whisper, wrapping my arm behind his head and hoisting him away from the rock. His head falls to the opposite side and his eyes remain closed, a small trickle of blood dripping out of the corner of his mouth. My eyes seek out the others, who are occupied with the monster now that two of us have stopped fighting it. "Prompto," I call out, as my other hand feels a bulge in his jacket. Gripping the object and tugging it out, I see the phoenix down he's always sure to keep on him. Quickly leaning him back against the boulder, I grasp both of his hands within mine and place the bottled feather in his hands. Squeezing my own shut shatters the glass between his fingers, releasing the feather before igniting his entire form. Life abruptly slams back into his body, snapping his eyes wide open with a gasp of air fresh in his lungs. I wrap my arm around his shoulders once more, sitting him up to help him breathe as I grab an elixir out of my own pocket. He breathes heavily for a moment while I press the bottle into his hands and repeat the motions, making him squeeze it open.

"Whoa," he finally mutters, staring at me with a bit of a smile on his lips. I sigh deeply, flopping down on the ground beside him, keeping my arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, I thought I lost you there for a second. Like, beyond the power of a phoenix down," I tell him while I take my own deep breaths. He hooks his finger on my cheek and pulls my face to look at him again, staring deeply in my eyes.

"No, I mean whoa your eyes," he murmurs, his smile growing a bit more. I watch his face as a warmth develops in the pit of my stomach. "They're different," he continues, removing his finger from my cheek, but resting his hand on my shoulder to keep me from turning away. My eyes flicker between both of his, watching him stabilize after taking the elixir. "Usually they're as blue as the deep ocean, but now they're almost gray, like a storm in the sky." A shriek suddenly startles us as the bandersnatch is finally defeated. I try to turn and see it fall, but Prompto tightens his hold on my shoulder, keeping me from moving. "I've seen these eyes on you before, Noct. Whenever Gentiana shows up. What's going on with you?" His gaze narrows, worry causing him to wince but he continues to stare into my eyes. My hand reaches up to his fist gripping my shoulder and rests on top of it. His eyes widen at the touch, but he only breaks our stare when my other hand starts reaching for his cheek, gently resting against the warming flesh.

"Squall." I breathe out, rubbing my thumb along his bottom lip before my hand falls from his face and I slump over, everything going black.