It didn't took them long to arrive in Niflheim. The place was foggy and cold, and the sky was covered with dark clouds. The buildings weren't as big as in Lucis, but still huge. The only thing that seemed strange was that there was no Imperial Army around. Even after they reached the palace of Niflheim, no enemy was found. This can only mean one thing – They are already waiting for them.
The five of them hopped out of the car and stared at the huge palace in front of them. "Now things get serious", Noctis muttered. "You ready?", he asked the group.
"Yeah! Let's get 'em guys!", Prompto said with a motivated voice.
"Sis?", he asked demanding an explicit answer. She glanced at him with a tense expression, but he could feel her determination deep inside. "I am ready", she said with conviction.
"Alright, Let's do it". Gladiolus murmured as all of them started to head for the entrance. It was a wide light-grey door. Noctis grabbed the silvery doorknob and slowly opened the door. Light fell in the dark foyer. They got inside and looked around. Still no one is there. A trap?
"Maybe we should branch up in two groups to look for King Regis?", Prompto suggested with a low tone, to prevent someone to hear them.
"Yeah. It's probably quicker this way.", Noctis responded and looked around in the group. "Iggy, Prompto. you go with Lucida. Gladio, you come with me", he commanded.
"Yes, Your Highness", Ignis responded and turned around facing Prompto and Lucida. "Shall we take this way?", He asked the two of them as he pointed to one of the corridors on the left side. Prompto nodded, "Let's go." They headed to look for the King on the west wing of the Palace while as Noctis, and Gladio checked the east wing.
Lucida went fast – very fast. Not even the boys managed to keep up with her with their long legs. Ignis took some quick steps forward, grabbing Lucida's wrist. "Highness! Not so fast!", he said with an admonishing look. "If you walk any faster the soldiers might get you ,and we not only have to look for your father, but for you too!", Prompto added with a serious voice. Then she apologized, "I-I'm sorry. I won't do – "
"Don't you dare do that again. You can't just run away like that!" Ignis said. He isn't the type of person who interrupts someone who is talking, thus Lucida was damn sure, that Ignis really was upset. It was quite unusual for him to react like this, but somehow she liked seeing him with any kind of emotion on his face, since he is is a very composed man. Then he sighed, adjusted his glasses and averted his gaze. "My apologies."
She looked at him with wide eyes. "No", she muttered. Trying to apologize again she said "I'm sor – " but she didn't get a chance to speak, because Ignis made a sudden noise. "Shh!", he put his forefinger on her mouth to make her fall quiet. Her eyes opened even wider, as he came closer making a protective pose in front of her. "Someone's coming", Prompto whispered. He took a brief look around the corner and saw one soldier approaching another, then looked back at Ignis holding two fingers up.
"They are here!", one of the Soldiers said. "The Prince?", the other asked. "Yes, and his companion. They are now in the basement. Aemulus Dux needs us there. Let's hurry!"
Aemulus Dux? Lucidas heart almost jumped out of her chest. Aemulus Dux is the name of her mother's fiancé . What is he doing here? If it really is him, then the problem is far worse than she thought it would be.
Prompto looked around the corner, watched them walking away. They are probably heading for the basement, where Noctis and Gladiolus are. "We gotta follow them", he murmured. The three of them chased after them without attracting attention and found Gladiolus and Noctis in a big room, surrounded by dozens of soldiers. As Ignis dared to take a look around the corner, he saw Noctis and Gladiolus being kept in check by some soldiers. The prince tried to start fighting when he saw Ignis, since he thought they would have a chance if the six of them would fight, but backfired on them and now all of them were threatened with guns and forced to their knees, only Lucida refusing to kneel down as she saw her future-stepfather. "You!", she exclaimed.
Suddenly she heard a familiar voice. "Lucida? What are you doing here?" Her mother stepped into the room, then made towards Lucida completely overcome with hysteria. "I'd ask you the same question", she said with a cold tone. "You shouldn't be here!", here mother said. Ignoring her mothers concerns completely Lucida asked, "What is he doing here?" and pointed at her stepfather by making a head movement. "He's -"
"Rosa!", her fiancé yelled. "Hold your tongue", he added in a humiliating way. Rosa just lowered her head and took a few steps aback. Then He said with a half smile, "I am Aemulus Dux, leader of the Imperial Army. I will obtain the crystal and Niflheim will rise again."
"You son of a -" Lucida yelled and tried to break away from the soldier, but got hit by him with a gun.
"Where is my father?", Noctis asked with a harsh voice.
Aemulus raise an eyebrow. "You want to see your father? So be it." He turned around to some of the soldiers and gave them a hand gesture, which made them go inside a room behind them, grab the King, trailed him after them and pushed him to the floor next to Aemulus.
"Father!", Noctis exclaimed trying to move forwards him but was being hold back. "Noctis!",the king yelled back and muttered "My son." He was not killed by their enemies. He was alive and that relieved the prince and his companions a little bit. Gazing at his father, Noctis noticed the clothes covered with blood and a lot of scratches on his face. The King must have been through hell to protect the crystal and his family.
"The Crown Prince from the kingdom of Lucis, Noctis Lucis Caelum", Aemulus said with a slight hint of joy in his voice, as he took a golden knife out of his jacket pocket and pushed it against Regis's throat. "You have to decide. Give me the crystal and your father will be safe, or you keep it and I'll put an end to his life", he threatened. "Choose wisely."
Then the King said with a shaky voice, "Forget about me, Noctis. Stop him!"
"Shut your mouth!", Aemulus commanded as he pressed the knife closer to the King's throat, leaving a superficial cut. Noctis's heart almost broke into thousand pieces as he saw his father suffering.
"Noct, what are we gonna do?", Prompto asked in despair. The Prince felt his heart rate increasing which made the blue of his eyes being replaced by blood red. "It's all or nothing!", he yelled as he teared away from the soldiers and tackled Aemulus, summoning his sword and stabbed his enemy in the stomach.
"Aemulus!", Lucida's mother exclaimed and fell to the ground next to her fiancee as everyone began to draw their swords. Aemulus coughed and spit blood. Although the stab must have injured him severely, he managed to stand up and steady oneself with Rosa's help. Now there were 6 men against a whole military troop
"Noct! There are too many of 'em!", Prompto complained as he shot some of the soldiers. "We have to flee!", Ignis advised as he saw backup entering the room. The six of them started to head upstairs, but stopped again. "Lucida!", Aemulus cawed. "You stay here!", he commanded and threatened her by holding his knife against her mother's throat.
The Princess panicked and turned her weapon against him, "You bastard!" She was totally pissed off by her future-stepfather and his ridiculous little breakfast knife. She wanted to move forward with the aim to fight him, but felt her arm being strongly grabbed. "We have to go!", Gladiolus said. "No!", she screamed and tried to break away. Gladiolus pulled her back and grabbed her arm even stronger, "If you go now, everything we did will be for nothing!"
Lucida looked over to Noctis and her father. Gladiolus is right. After all she has been through and after all she has put the others through she just can't give in. Her Brother and her father are the reason why she even started. And now they stand right in front of her waiting for her to go with them. She cannot leave them.
"He won't harm her. He need's her", Noctis assured.
Her hesitation has become determination again. "You're right", she nodded. They quickly moved forward after Gladiolus cleared the way with his giant sword.
They made their way upwards out of the palace, doing their best to protect the king. Once he was a great fighter, but the days are over. However he still knew how to defend himself and he still was good at it.
As fast as possible they burst through the big front door, ran to the Regalia and hopped in. Unfortunately the Regalia only has 5 seats, but that was no big deal. Thus Lucida just sat on Noctis lap.
Ignis started the engine and took of, leaving the soldiers, who failed shooting at them, behind. The four on the back seat , Prompto and the Caelum family, turned around and took cover from the shots. Then they watched Aemulus limping through the door until they couldn't see him anymore. Why is he so tenacious? Why was he even able to walk? Noctis's attack definitely must have injured him heavily. Of that there is no doubt.
Finally the road was clear and all of them felt relief, but not for long. As they drove around the corner they were confronted by a giant behemoth. Ignis braked hard. This road is the only way out of the city, thus driving back was no option.
Ignis countenance hadn't changed one bit. While he was planning the next action he still kept holding the steering wheel. "What now?", Prompto asked. Noctis sighed with despair. At no notice Gladiolus opened the door, got out of the car and whipped out his sword. The behemoth lowered his head, facing his opponent, and roared loudly, so that Gladiolus's clothes and his hair fluttered. Then Gladiolus turned his face to Noctis. "I'll handle this. Prompto! Ignis! Bring them to safety!"
Immediately Noctis jumped up. "I'm not gonna leave you behind!", he yelled and ran to Gladiolus, closely followed by Ignis. "Highness!", he exclaimed. As the behemoth took a big swing to hit the prince, Ignis covered him and was pushed 3 metres away by the monster. "Ignis!", Noctis exclaimed. Gasping for air Lucida ran up to Ignis and dragged him slightly away from the battlefield. That monster left three deep scratches on his chest and his shirt was completely destroyed and covered with blood. He was unconscious and bled heavily. Lucida applied firm pressure to the wound, when the King came running. "The first aid kit!", she said with a teary-eyed face. He needs medical attention now. Thus Regis frantically ran to the car trunk and brought the first aid kit to Lucida. She cut his shirt open with the scissors from the kit and then bandaged his chest and his shoulder with Regis's help. After they finished, the King patted Lucidas shoulder, "He will be alright."
When he was at Ignis's age, Regis had his battles as well, and he probably was injured as severely as Ignis, too. If he says that he will make it, then he must be right. He just have to be.
Gladiolus, Prompto and Noctis kept fighting to no avail. The Behemoth constantly flails around. "It's no use", Prompto claimed, as he shot the behemoth in the eye and was defenseless for a split second. Suddenly a light dawned on Gladiolus, "Noct, do you see this?" he pointed to the behemoth's head. "His horn?", Noctis asked. "Yeah, I think it's his weak spot", Gladiolus responded. "Prompto, you have to shoot his eyes. After that, Noct, you have to jump on his head and damage his horn. It's our only chance!" Suddenly the behemoth attacked the three of them, but Gladiolus blocked and the enemy was vulnerable. "Now!", Gladio shouted. Just as planned Prompto precisely shot in his eye and the monster fell back. Then Noctis used his sword in teleporting him to the horn and closed in for the kill. His sword stuck deep near his horn and the behemoth lost consciousness. "Let's get out of here fast", Prompto said.
Quickly they all got in the car. Gladiolus carried Ignis to the car and put him down on the lap of the Caelum's in the back seat. He substituted for Ignis and drove off as long as they still can.
Ignis' head was lying on Lucida's lap. She stroke his hair, when she noticed more blood on her hands. She tilted his head and found another wound. "It's nothing serious", Noctis noted with a low tone. She nodded and let out a sigh of relief. Ignis's glasses are missing. He must have lost them when he fell on the ground and lost consciousness. When Lucida continued holding his face, Regis saw the ring with the skull , which once belonged to him, on Lucida's thumb. Now that they have a more or less a quiet moment, he finally asked with a confused expression on his face, "Who are you?" Lucida's heart rate increased. "Er. I..", she stottered. "The way you fought against the soldiers earlier... those powers. They can only be used by members of the Royal Family and the Royal Council", the King added with a sceptical voice. She breathed faster and she could feel her eyes slowly but surely tinge red. As she opened her mouth in order to speak her brother preempted her. "Maybe we should talk about that later", he suggested. The Imperial army probably is close on their heels. Their first priority is to leave this place and to properly doctor Ignis. Family reunion can wait for now. "It'll take us a while until we leave Niflheim, but you should have a talk when we rest", Gladiolus agreed. Lucida's heart rate decreased again. Still the atmosphere was extremely tense.
After what seemed like eternity, they arrived at a motel and engaged two rooms. They put Ignis, who still was unconscious, down on one of the beds. "The bleeding stopped for now. We should put on a new bandage when he's awake again", Gladiolus said. "Thanks, Gladio", Noctis said being downcast. "And you too, Prompto." He felt guilty, that his friends always put themselves in danger for his sake. At once Prompto put his arm around Noctis with a big smile on his face. "What's with that face, Noct? We're friends right?" Then he ruffled the prince's hair messy with zest.
After Lucida washed the blood from her hands and exit the bathroom, she was confronted by her father. "I have waited long enough. Tell me, who are you, young lady?", the King said with a serious tone. Lucida lowered her head. Indeed. He waited long enough, and Lucida too. It has been 18 years. This is the moment she has been waiting for. There's no running back now. Without saying a word, Gladiolus patted Promptos shoulder and both of them left the room.
Regis gazed at her expectantly. She let out a slow and shaky breath. Where does she even start? The King looked over to his son, who then came closer, patting his sister's shoulder, "Lucida. Tell him what you told me." She nodded, then she said, "My name is Lucida Procul Caelum. I am... " she took a deep breath, "I am your daughter." The King's eyes opened wide. She continued explaining, "The woman we saw earlier, Rosa, she's my mother." Her father exhaled and after a few seconds he stroke his daughter's cheek. Those were the longest 3 seconds of Lucida's life. "I never knew", the king murmured. "You", he said "resemble her." She looked down to hide her eyes glowing red, but he put her head up again by touching her chin with his fingertips and looked her deep in the eyes. He saw it. This is the conclusive proof. Lucida Procul Caelum is his daughter. "Carry your head high, my child. There is royal blood running through your veins", Then the king hugged her and muttered "You have a strong heart."
Of course he had his concerns, because he knew her mother was from Niflheim. Niflheim, the enemy nation of Lucis. But for now he will leave it at that. For now he will enjoy the moment with his long lost daughter.
After a long hug, Regis turned to Noctis putting his hand on his shoulder. "My son" he said, "I am proud of you." Finally they have the time to realize what just happened. They saved the crystal and the king of Lucis. Suddenly they heard a low groan. "Ignis?"