Noctis hopped out first and offered a hand to Luna who smiled at him and took it to climb out without making her skirt swish anymore than necessary.
"Alright, let's get a spot to watch the match!" Prompto said. Luna held out a hand for Noctis to hold. He didn't blush as brightly this time but took it and they walked behind Prompto. The arena around them was a bit trashed but otherwise ok and people were filling into the stands with gusto.
"Up here!" Prompto found the stairs and they walked up to a nice viewing area. The barrier was almost too tall for Noctis and Luna to see over, but they could see well enough.
"How does this normally work?" Noctis asked.
"It's normally a bunch of monsters let loose to fight," Prompto said.
"How awful," Luna said.
"They don't kill them, but they do fight until they pass out," Prompto said, "It's hard to get monsters so they're not going to let the ones they have die."
"And this time we have a human fighting monsters?" Noctis said.
"Yep," Prompto said.
"We could do that without having to go to a match," Noctis said.
"Yeah, but it's much better when we don't have to kill stuff," Prompto said. He pulled out a horn, "This is a grudanta. It invigorates the monsters you bet on when blown."
"Sort of like how a chocobo can give boosts before battles?" Noctis said.
"I guess," Prompto said.
"It sounds similar," Luna said. The betting sheets were passed out. The odds were very much against the human 11 to 1. There were ashhorns, voretusks, and a garultessa on the docket versus a mystery human fighter. Weapon for the human was a greatsword.
"Put all the medals on him," Noctis said with an eye roll.
"Why?" Prompto said.
"It's Gladio," Noctis said, "He had to "go do something." He'd never pass up a chance to do something like this."
"If you say so," Prompto said. They had about 100 medals, and if they lost, oh well. The monsters were unleashed and out of the fourth bay walked Gladio. Noctis looked over at Prompto who made an exaggerated put-upon face.
"I didn't even say it," Noctis said.
"You didn't need to, dude!" Prompto said.
"Will Gladio be alright?" Luna asked.
"He'll be fine," Noctis said, "The monsters don't feel strong enough to be a threat to Gladio."
The monsters didn't stand a chance. For one, the two biggest monsters targeted each other instead of Gladio leaving him free to take on the voretusks and knock them out relatively quickly. One Ashhorn broke off and went for him, but a swing of his great sword sent it into a wall, out cold. The Garultessa took down the other ash horn and looked weak, so Gladio finished them off. The arena was silent, except Noctis, Prompto, and Luna cheering for Gladio, as well as the few who'd also bet on Gladio.
"In a startling upset, the human challenger has won the match up. Let's give it up for Gladiolus Amicitia!" Their winnings were huge. Well for a match anyway. 1100 medal in exchange for the 100 they bet.
"Go big or go home, huh?" a nearby patron said.
"I thought I heard your voice. What are you guys doing here?" Gladio arrived up on the balcony.
"I thought I'd take them to see a match," Prompto said.
"It wasn't hard to guess that it was you," Noctis said.
"What Noctis meant to say was, he knows you far too well to have been fooled," Luna said. Noctis blushed as the other two laughed.
"Sorry about his manners, but we've been unable to get him to mind them," Gladio said.
"I'm sure you did your best," Luna said with a sweet smile.
"Maybe we should all go and get some gelatti," Prompto said. Luna looked delighted at the suggestion.
"Maybe later. I signed up for two more matches," Gladio said.
"Don't lose," Noctis said holding up an arm. Gladio grasped it, despite how ridiculous it looked from how small Noctis's child arm was to Gladio's arm.
"Not planning on it." Gladio messed up Noctis's hair prompting him to fix it.
"I wonder why he's doing that?" Prompto said after they'd gotten back to the main part of Altissia.
"Maybe he's sending the money back to Iris," Noctis said with a shrug.
"I wonder how she and Talcott are doing," Prompto said.
"Iris as in Gladio's younger sister?" Luna asked. Noctis nodded.
"Noctis told you about her?" Prompto said.
"Noctis told me about a lot of things over the years," Luna said with a grin, "I was so happy when the two of you became friends."
"Yeah, me too," Prompto said, "There's a gelatti stand. What flavor do you want?"
"Chocolate." Noctis and Luna laughed a little at the unison.
"Alright!" Prompto said, "Wait here, I'll go and get them." Noctis looked up at the fountain. The fountain of Leviathan. A pang of pain gripped him.
"Are you alright?" Luna asked.
"Just a memory," Noctis said nodding at the fountain, "I nearly lost that day, if you hadn't helped me—."
"I understand. I know it was my duty to help you, but I also wanted to help you too," Luna said. They had leaned closer.
"It means a lot to me that—that I'm not just a duty," Noctis said.
"Really? It means a lot to me too," Luna said.
"I've got gelatti!" Noctis and Luna broke apart blushing furiously. They took their treats and ate them in silence for a few moments.
"You two alright?" Prompto asked.
"Fine," Noctis said. It was a bit too quick and high pitched but Prompto let it slide with his eyebrows raised. Prompto looked over the slightly battered city.
"Think things will get better?" Prompto asked.
"In time I believe it will," Luna said.
"I think this is the way back to the estate," Prompto said as he led them down a set of stairs. Something made Noctis's hair stand on end. Luna gasped.
"We need to run, now!"
"Why—oh crap!" A Ronin had appeared. It locked eyes on Luna. Noctis felt his adrenaline pumping and he charged forwards with his short sword drawn.
"Noct!"
"Noctis!" a heat overtook him and just in time to parry, he was facing the ronin at a different height. He was an adult? Taking advantage of his restored strength, Noctis pressed the Ronin away from Prompto and Luna summoning a spear to use the full extent of its reach to do maximum damage to the Ronin while keeping its blade away from himself. He still managed to take a slash to the side but he finished it off.
"Noctis!" Luna arrived at his side and suddenly with a flash he was back to being a child, but now Luna was the adult. She knelt next to Noctis and healed the gash with her powers.
"Ok, so how did you two do that?" Prompto asked.
"I'm not sure," Luna said, "Perhaps our need for our full powers overrode the curse for a few moments." Luna glowed and resumed being her twelve-year-old form.
"This is an improvement, I guess," Prompto said.
"Still hurts to shift like that," Noctis said.
"Though, if we could control this, we might be able to fool the press into thinking we've been hit by a different curse or that we already broke it," Luna said.
"They were able to take on their adult forms temporarily?" Ignis said. Prompto nodded.
"It seemed like an adrenaline thing," Prompto said. Noctis and Luna were exhausted, but going from child to adult back to child again was probably very draining.
"Hmmm. This could be used to our advantage," Ignis said.
"That's what Luna said," Prompto said.
"Once they've mastered that, it could be a way to work around the curse," Ignis said.
"I wonder if a battle booster would work, like that Power VX stuff Noct can make into a magical helper," Prompto said.
"One way to find out."
The next morning, Noctis and Luna both met with the First Secretary.
"I'm sure that you've seen the speculation in the papers," she said.
"We have, Madame Secretary," Noctis said.
"Do you have any plans on how to address the people?"
"We have one, Madame Secretary. Would it be possible for us to give an address in front of the cathedral at sundown?" Luna asked.
"Of course," Secretary Claustra said, "What are your plans?"
"I will be reassuring the people that the rite was in fact successful," Luna said.
"And your current appearances?" Secretary Claustra said.
"We have a plan for that too, Madame Secretary," Noctis said.
Noctis handed a Power VX to Luna and nodded as they crushed it on the count of three. Nothing happened at first until they glowed and took on their adult forms.
"How long will this last?" Luna asked.
"Usually it only lasts through one battle," Noctis said, "I have ten more of these, should we need them."
"We'll need to look presentable for the address. Oh, I have an idea. You will have to trust me," Luna said. Noctis nodded.
"Of course."
At sunset, Noctis and Luna stood ready to go in the cathedral's doorway. It had taken a beating from Leviathan's trial, but it still stood tall.
"Are you sure you want to wear these now?" Noctis asked Luna, who adjusted his collar and his hair.
"Chances are, should we have time to do this for real, it won't be anywhere near as formal as this, and it would be a shame to let these lovely garments go to waste," Luna said. She looked stunning in her wedding dress, as Noctis thought she would. He just hoped he didn't look too ridiculous in his own wedding regalia. His hair had been mercilessly attacked by Ignis and tamed to flow down. His careful spikes had been destroyed. The signal came and they exited together. The hush fell over the crowd. Perhaps they weren't making a gigantic mistake.
Iris had been taken completely by surprise by the announcement that there was to be a joint address from the Oracle and the King of Lucis.
"They emerge from the cathedral and they are wearing the garments Vivienne Westwood had designed for their nuptials, which had been canceled in the wake of the tragedy that befell King Noctis's homeland during the signing ceremony all those weeks ago. In the chaos both King Noctis and Lady Lunafreya had been declared dead before reports came in to the contrary. The Oracle is about to speak."
"Five days ago, I stood before you and I prepared for the rite to commune with the Hydraean. The Rite, though it has caused damage to your fair city, worked as it should have. Leviathan passed on her blessed mark as I had hoped she would helping the Light take another step forwards against the darkness. I pray that further efforts will help drive the darkness back further. Standing with me today is the King of Lucis, Noctis Lucis Caelum. We wear the clothes that had been intended for our wedding to show that we are united in this cause in driving back the dark to protect the Light. He too has some words to say. Bless you all, and may the Six continue to watch over us."
"The crowds cheer loudly as Lady Lunafreya ends her speech and a hush falls over them as King Noctis takes the podium. Sheltered from the public eye for most of his life by his predecessor, this will mark King Noctis's first public appearance since his coming-of-age gala in Insomnia over two years ago."
Noctis tried not to notice how large the crowds were and focused on everything he'd been taught about public speaking.
"As you can tell, rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. The tragedy that occurred during the signing ceremony caught everyone off guard. I cannot even begin to understand how greatly people have suffered or how many lives were lost. I can only vow that I will support the Oracle in defense of the Light and that I will not forget Insomnia or Lucis's suffering. The toll the Rite took on Altissia is regrettable. Were it possible to have avoided collateral damage to this great city, I would have preferred it. Too many places and people have lost too much already. At this time I will answer questions from any who would ask them." Luna gave his hand a squeeze behind the podium.
"Is it true that the real reason you aided Lady Lunafreya during the Rite was because you were earning the mark of the Hydraean?" Noctis took a breath.
"Yes."
MP: Sorry it's late...I've been feeling a bit discouraged lately and my monthly "Why the hell am I doing this" attack has come and gone.