Disclaimer: If I owned Final Fantasy XV then I wouldn't need to make an OC/AU in the first place. But I do own this plotline, my OC, and every word on this page. My advice? Don't steal it. Enjoy. ◕‿◕
This chapter was inspired by the song: Origa-Inner Universe (R.I.P Origa, you amazing woman.)
Summary: The Crystals Summoner experiences intense emotion for the first time. Her tomb begins to shatter. Noctis confronts Cor Leonis. Stella contacts Gladious.
2#: Divulgence
oOo
Act 003
Angels and demons were circling above me
Swishing through the hardships and Milky Ways
Only one that didn't know happiness
who couldn't understand its call
Watch in awe, Watch in awe
A heavenly wind, A heavenly wind~
Watch in awe, Watch in awe
A heavenly wind, A heavenly wind~
I am calling, calling now
Spirits rise and falling
To stay with you longer
Calling, calling in the depth of longing
To stay with you longer...
-Origa
oOo
The first time she felt it was during a nightmare.
Or maybe not a nightmare; but a vision.
Of what, she didn't know. What it meant- she had no idea.
But she remembered flames...and fear. So much fear.
She heard screams...and tears. She recalled the smell of smoke and the unbearable heat washing over her skin.
She remembered the endless chants of 'I'm sorry, this is the only way... protect her, protect her...'
It was only then did she realize the screams were her own.
And then she was plunged back into her cocoon of darkness. But this time it was different.
This time the isolation hit her hard.
If she could feel beyond the surface of her mind she would have felt the tears burning at her eyelids.
'What does it mean?' she thought as the coldness and emptiness surrounded her again. 'Why am I feeling this way?'
And then she felt it... and heard it.
And finally she saw it.
Her cocoon...her prison... the darkness that had trapped her for longer than she could even remember..
It was cracking.
Present day
oOo Lucis Palace oOo
Cor Leonis flew across the room, his back colliding with a large wall. The vase sitting on a pedestal beside him shook with the impact, but the Captain himself barely reacted. He simply pushed himself from the surface of the wall and dusted off his clothes; before raising his dark eyes to the prince.
Noctis stared down at the older man, the irritation in his gaze clearly visible beyond the coldness. "You have some explaining to do."
A slight smirk briefly curled at the Captains lip before his expression turned serious. "This is an odd way to great me, Highness."
And truly; it was. Cor had simply been walking down the castle corridors toward the council room, he had to meet them to make arrangements after all. And then all of the sudden Regis' son had teleported out of nowhere... and punched him.
Hard.
It was highly out of character for him, since Noctis rarely used violence toward those in the Lucis circle. Heck, Noctis rarely used violence unless in battle. He was a generally reserved, quiet man. Unless someone did something stupid enough to piss him off...
And sure enough, Cor had a nagging suspicion that he knew what had Noctis so riled up.
The dark princes gloved hand twitched -he had changed into his normal attire- almost as if he was contemplating summoning one of his runes. But he seemed to reconsider it, and instead Noctis took a step closer to the Captain and met his gaze head on.
"Duchess Stella informed me of your impending treaty with Nifleheim. I want answers. Now." His voice left no room for jokes.
And yet Cors amused smile showed that he obviously thought otherwise. "Last time I checked; I answer to the King." He replied.
Noctis' eyes narrowed and a flash of red crossed his irises.
"And last time I checked the king is on his way to enemy soil. Which means while he's gone, you answer to me."
Slowly the Captains smile left his face; annoyance and disdain replacing it. He had never liked Prince Noctis. The boy seemed to be getting too big for his britches lately. He was always either brooding or running around the kingdom with his little entourage. And when he wasn't doing that he was somehow getting into trouble. Usually it was because of that puckish straw haired commoner that Noctis was friends with (Primpto, Prompt?...Ah, Prompto.) but that was besides the point.
Bound by honor or not, Cor wasn't obligated to like the rebellious prince and his little boy band of hooligans. So when Noctis got a little too cocky and decided he was bold enough to order Cor around, of course the war toughened Captain wasn't going to like it. Being on close terms with King Regis didn't mean he was going to kiss his sons feet.
"I'm not a servant to come to your beck and call 'Highness'. If you want answers, go after your father yourself. You only returned yesterday, it shouldn't be too hard to pack your things and leave again!" Cor snapped, a twisted glare marring his features.
"Maybe I will." Noctis murmured coolly, flecks of crimson clouding his vision. Cor was seriously starting to piss him off. He never understood what his father saw in him.
"And while you're at it, tell your girlfriend to stay out of men affairs. She might end up getting herself into trouble someday." The Captain added coldly, the meaning behind his words unmistakable.
Prince Noctis stiffened- the whirring of magic runes behind him alerting him to his growing fury. The fact that Cor was threatening Stella indirectly should have earned him a broken jaw right then. But Noctis knew what happened once he let his emotions take control. Ever since becoming a teenager and growing into a man, his natural bloodlust had slowly increased. The power of the crystal had only added to that.
And now it was taking all he had to keep it restrained. Killing the Captain of the Imperial fleet wasn't something his father or the council, or even Stella, would take lightly.
Quickly he reeled his emotions back in, and the runes instantly vanished. Cor had noticed though, and his dark eyebrows rose nearly off of his head as he squared his shoulders and stood up a little taller; towering over the dark prince.
"I'd advise you not to do something you will regret later." The Captain warned softly, his mouth set in a firm line. "If you'll excuse me, I was on my way out."
And with one last lingering glare, the Captain gruffly brushed past the prince and continued on down the hall.
Noctis didn't move to stop him.
Same time
oOo Lucis palace oOo
Stella stared out at the swaying blossom trees, pink and white petals sailing past the window she stood beside. It was a beautiful view, especially since spring had just arrived and the entire palace was surrounded in heavenly scenery. The wind carried the scent of vanilla and flowers as it blew into the room the Duchess currently stood in.
Stella greatly valued the natural beauty the kingdom of Lucis had and could spend all day admiring the view.
But right now she was too worried as she dialed Gladious' number to let herself do so. Prompto's phone wasn't working, and she had no time to send a messenger. Hopefully Gladious and Prompto would be together since they had left together for Duscae a month ago.
She pushed 'talk' and then waited quietly for the muscled bodyguard of Noctis to pick up. She was slightly irritated that most of Noctis' inner circle were away, save for Ignis who was contacting several envoys of his.
She herself had plenty of things she had to do once she left for Tenebrae, though getting confirmation on the treaty was her main priority at the moment. Apparently Cor had managed to get King Regis to go to Nifleheim and discuss an alliance with the Emperor and the council there, along with a few of his own council members. She had received a copy of the treaty, and Nifleheim was requesting unlimited use of the crystal and independence in exchange for peace.
Considering Nifleheim had been a long enemy of both Lucis, Tenebrae, and most of the kingdoms inhabiting Fractum; it was a huge risk. Several a time had Nifleheim betrayed and tried to invade neighboring kingdoms, and Stellas own mother had been killed during a war with the traitorous land.
Eventually Nifleheim went too far and in an attempt to gain territory the Emperor of Nifleheim completely annihilated Solheim; one of the six allianced kingdoms. The destruction of one of the most loved kingdoms in Fractum caused the enemies of Nifleheim to unite and fight against Nifleheim, temporarily ending the Emperors reign of terror. The first cold war had taken place then, and for a long time Stella had spent her childhood alone as her father had been off fighting in the war.
When the war ended and Nifleheim finally surrendered, the kingdom was kept isolated and the power of the royal family there had been restricted. It was why the region containing all of the kingdoms were referred to as Fractum, because eventually the land had to be broken and isolated from each other to ensure peace.
For so long Stella had wanted to find the Nifleheiman noble who had sent assassins after her family. She didn't know his name, just that he was in close ties with the past Emperor. Her mothers death had hit her hard, and even though Noctis had been there to share her pain, she had never truly healed from it.
So naturally her comrades would understand her distrust of a treaty with Nifleheim, considering the long list of atrocities that the kingdom had committed not just against Tenebrae, but Fractum in its entirety. The people there weren't to be trusted. It was why no one had wanted to allow Nifleheim their share of Cosmos' crystal after the King of Solheim had discovered it and attempted to split it evenly so all of Fractum could use its power.
When Stella became Duchess, she had internally promised herself she would never fall for Nifleheims schemes. All of her problems had started and ended with that kingdom. She had never met Emperor Idola, the most recent ruler of Nifleheim, personally. And truly she never liked being biased in anything.
But some things she could never forgive.
Suddenly the sound of a beep and static came from the speaker of her phone.
"Aigoooo. What's up? Stella?" A foggy gruff voice snapped Stella from her thoughts, and her big violet-blue eyes blinked once, twice, before she recognized Gladious' voice.
"Oh! Gladys, hey." The young Duchess greeted happily, her wary face turning bright and warm.
Stella heard Gladious snort at her pet nickname for him, and then she heard shuffling sounds and a loud slam. Her eyebrows rose slightly as she pressed the phone to her ear and leaned sideways on the wall, her gaze flickering out the window. Eventually she heard Gladious grunt and mutter a 'Finished!' before he returned his attention to the phone.
"When are you going to stop calling me Gladys?" The dark haired brute of a main chuckled into the phone, causing Stellas smile to turn to a wry smirk.
"As soon as I stop calling Ignis; 'Iggy' and Noctis; 'Noct'. Which is never." She teased.
"Everyone calls our favorite prince Noct. And you haven't called Ignis that in two years."
"Well maybe it's time I pick up the habit again."
"Ha. Like he'd let you."
"I'm sure he would Gladys."
"Pft. Even Ignis doesn't like you that much. Kidding. We all love you Stella. But enough of this. What's up? I've been in Duscae for so long...Haven't heard from you in a millennium."
Stella let out a laugh at Gladious' dramatic claim just as the door to the guest room opened; Noctis walking in. Her laughter trailed off when she saw the poorly concealed annoyed look on his face, and she raised a questioning eyebrow as he collapsed on the bed beside the window. He only shook his head to fend off her silent inquiry and lifted an arm over his face.
Stella frowned.
"Ahem. Stella? Stellaaaaaa. You just died on me." Gladious called into the phone, causing the Duchess to flinch in surprise.
Turning her gaze away from Noctis, who didn't move from his spot, Stella put the phone on speaker.
"I'm still here. Noctis just walked in is all." She explained.
"Noctis? My cousins at your place?" Gladious asked, the confusion in his voice completely unmasked.
"Nope. I'm in Lucis."
A beat of silence passed, before:
"Okayyyy. Last time I heard from you; you were traveling all through Tenebrae and booked with political meetings- too busy to even visit. What's going on?" The confusion was now tinted with worry, and Stella let out a exasperated sigh as she opened her mouth to explain.
"Now I'm not too clear on all the details of how it happened. Ignis just left to confirm it actually. But it seems King Regis is on his way to Nifleheim."
There was another loud slam from the phone, and this time since it was on speaker the sound reverberated throughout the room. Noctis turned his head and glanced at Stella in confusion, but she raised her arms in a 'Don't look at me!' look. The princes eyebrows furrowed.
"Sorry about that. These damn chocobos are acting up. My ears must be acting up too because it sounded like you said Regis is on his way to the most fucked up place in existence." Gladious muttered into the phone, causing Stella and Noctis to glance at each other again.
"No..." Stella began warily. "You didn't hear me wrong. Regis is on his way there now. To discuss signing a treaty no less."
"I'm actually considering going there to stall him." Noctis added, his voice so soft it was almost inaudible. Stella glanced at him in surprise, and an awkward pause issued.
"...Well, looks like my vacations ending early." Gladious suddenly said in an overly cheerful tone, causing Stella to look back down at the phone in confusion.
"Huh? Gladious?"
"Stay on the line Stella, I'm about to hitch a ride back home."
oOo
Finished. I know Stella and Gladious seem really playful, but in this story they're super close. Next chapter is already finished. Just deciding when to post.
Now- I'm off to watch Cowboy bebop and finish some schoolwork.