Chapter 2
"Would you like some dinner?" Ignis' voice asked breaking Amy out of her thoughts. He was holding a bowl of the "Veggie Medley Stew." Her eyes lit up when she realized that she was actually going to be able to try the food that she could only see on her TV screen. She took the bowl and nodded with a smile.
"Thank you Ignis,"
"No problem." He said with a soft smile. She got up and came to the fire with the others. Prompto decided to be a gentleman and let her have his seat. She couldn't believe how sweet and generous that boy was.
"Really Specs?" Noctis whined. "Veggies?"
"Promto seems to enjoy it. You need to eat them Noct."
"I'd rather eat a cheeseburger." He said picking at the meal.
Amy silently smiled listening to the banter. That was one of the things she loved most about the game. She took a spoon and put some of the dish to her mouth. Her mouth was filled with the perfect flavors and the vegetables were amazing. She guessed he put sweet potatoes in there so that Noctis would at least eat it because of the sweetness. She felt like she was sitting in a restaurant instead of in front of a campfire.
"So, where did that katana come from?" Gladio asked after he scarfed his bowl down.
"W…well… I don't think I have an armiger..." she said looking at her sword with a frown.
"You're not a bad fighter. What exactly did you do in the world you're from?"
"I was a martial arts instructor, I learned how to use a katana when I was young and then I branched out into a lot of other fighting styles. Though, I'm not used to fighting wildlife or anything stronger than a human with my katana. I never thought that I would end up…here."
"So, I take it you no longer believe this to be a dream." Ignis pipped up.
"No… that gash proved this wasn't a dream," she agreed. "In fact, I… never mind… Thank you all for taking care of me so far…"
"It's no trouble. You can stay in Hammerhead if you'd like," Noctis suggested.
"Why don't we take her to Altissia with us?" Prompto suggested. "She seems pretty tough. I think she should come with us on our road trip."
Amy's eyes widened at Prompto's suggestion. Go with them to Altissia? That would mean… I'd be there when…
"Altissia?" Noct asked. "What if we run into more trouble."
"She looks tough." Gladio shrugged. "A little more training and she might be able to handle it. Not like there aren't women in the Kingsglave."
Amy gulped quietly as she stared at her stew. Train with Gladio? Travel with them? Why… how am I even here? She was lost in her thoughts.
"What do you want to do?" Ignis asked. "I'm not entirely thrilled with the idea of putting you in possible danger, but I don't want to leave you in a strange place. Especially if you have come from another world with no knowledge of why you are here. I cannot guarantee that we will be able to protect you."
"Yes, I…I understand Ignis. I… I'll go with you. I don't know why I'm here, but if you four were the ones who found me maybe I'm supposed to stay with you." She said with a smile.
"Alright! We got one more to the group!" Prompto exclaimed.
Amy chuckled at his enthusiasm. Gladio decided that early the next morning he would help me train while Ignis cooked them breakfast. After that, they would head to Hammerhead and travel to take the ship to Altissia. Well… at least they thought so. She played along for now. There was no need for her to tell them that she knew the horrible events to come. For now, she would pretend that she was simply from another world and that she was there to help. It was as if she was an actress in one of those plays she used to do in grade school. It took all she had to be "surprised" when they revealed Noctis to be prince of Insomnia.
Training the next morning was brutal. Amy expected nothing less from the King's Shield. She stumbled at first, but the discipline she learned so long ago allowed her to focus enough to never lose her grip.
"You're pretty good. I guess all that training in your world helped." Gladio said putting his large sword away.
"Thanks, training with you was tough but I didn't want to sound like a weak girl. I've had various instructors whose training style is like yours," she explained sheathing her katana.
"What's her name?" he asked as they got back to camp.
"Kyoko." Amy smiled. "I love that name and I think it suits her."
"Me too." He agreed. "Somethin' smells good. Is his royal highness up yet?"
"Barely." Ignis sulked as he served breakfast into five plates. "It's a good thing we have extra utensils and dishes. We would have to buy more with our surprise companion."
"Yes, sorry that you have to cook more…" She frowned.
"It's no problem, at least with a bit more training you will be able to take care of yourself."
"Yea, I know. Thanks again Ignis." She nodded.
Prompto was snapping away before he got his food. He took a few good ones of herself which made her smile. She always wanted a picture with the boys. Collecting photos was one of her favorite parts of the game. They made it back to Hammerhead all in one piece.
"Who's this gal? Ain't seen her with ya'll before." Cindy said looking me over a bit.
"I'm Amy. The boys found me and decided to take me along. I may not look it but I'm pretty tough."
"Thata' girl." She said with a wink. "Us gals gotta show the boys who's boss, right?"
Amy chuckled. "Yep! Definitely. I'll keep these boys in line."
She brought the Regalia out so the boys could get her back. She was so much more beautiful than she could have ever imagined and she wasn't one for being a car lover. She only really knew two fictional cars. The Regalia, and the Winchester's "Baby." She definitely deserved her name considering how beautiful and regal she was. When it came time to get the group shot with her, Prompto made sure Amy was involved. It made her happy to be part of this experience.
When they got to the next stop to drop off what Cindy put in the trunk, Amy was excited to meet Umbra.
"Umbra!" Noct said patting the faithful companion on the head.
"Bringin' us stuff! Atta boy!" Prompto encouraged.
"That dog can really track a scent." Gladio mentioned.
"Certainly 'nose' how to find us." Ignis noted. Amy giggled at the pun she never picked up on until she was there in person.
"How do you always know boy?" Prompto asked.
"Just a sec." Noct said taking the book and scribbling down in the journal. While he did so, Amy couldn't help but notice that the dog was staring at her. Not at Noctis like he was supposed to. Did he sense that she was from another world? He had to. He wasn't just any ordinary dog.
"Is he staring at you?" Ignis asked.
"I…I think so. He is an adorable dog." Amy said with a nod.
"All set, take care out there." He said. Umbra gave one last glance at Amy before running off to give the book to Luna. They got back into the car and proceeded to their destination.
After a long drive to Gaulden Quay, Amy felt at peace with breathing in all the fresh, sea salt air.
"This place looks amazing!" Prompto exclaimed.
"Yea. It is!" Amy was amazed at how beautiful this place was in person. She loved going there even if it was just for the fishing but seeing it in her real life was just breathtaking. Then she realized another thing that was going to take her breath away… Ardyn. She took a deep breath trying to remind herself that she was not some ridiculous fangirl. She knew right from wrong and Ardyn was bad. He was the villain. If he knew what she knew he might use her or kill her. She had to stay cool. Amy tried to ignore the anxiety as they approached the docks leading to the Ferry.
"I'm afraid your out of luck."
Amy almost jumped. She knew he was coming yet his voice in person made her react. She tried to act cool. Like she was supposed to be there.
"Are we?" Noctis asked.
"The boats bring you here,"
"Wha…what about 'em?" Prompto asked nervously standing in front of me. It was obvious he was trying to be a gentleman but to be honest… I felt like he was trying to hard to make me like him like that. I felt bad for the guy but at this moment I didn't mind. Ardyn knew about the four of them… not her.
"Well, They'll not take you forth." Ardyn said scratching his head absentmindedly. Damn him and his good looks… Amy thought.
"What's your story?" Gladio urged.
"I'm an impatient traveler, ready to turn ship…" As he walked in his usual graceful yet dramatic way, he paused and looked at Amy with a small puzzled look. Her heart began to race with the mixture of fear and attraction that she felt. She hated herself for being attracted to such a man but her fears were starting to become realized… He knew she did not belong. He went on trying to pretend nothing was wrong. "The ceasefire's getting us nowhere." He threw the oracle coin toward Noct which made Gladio catch it in midair.
"What's this? Some sort of souvenir?" he asked.
The distracted Prompto jumped in. "What? They make those?"
"What? No!" Noctis said with a sigh.
Amy stayed silent staring at the dark, yet too charismatic man. What was he going to do now that there was a fifth party member? Surely the prophecy had not changed.
"Consider it your allowance."
"Yea, and who's allowing us?" Gladio asked annoyed standing in front of Noct.
"A man of no consequence." He said at last. He turned to Amy and bowed his head with his hat before turning to walk off.
Damn him it's like he knows… wouldn't put it past him… she thought in silence as the boys discussed who that man might be. They all walked towards the docks and sure enough the boats weren't leaving. Amy stopped when she realized something was amiss… The lady at the reception booth was replaced by a man… But why? She chose to ignore this instance as she followed the boys. She stood at the dock staring out into the ocean while Dino did his spiel.
"Hey, want to go get these stones with us?" Noctis asked her. "It's alright if you don't you can stay at the hotel and wait. We shouldn't be too long."
Amy didn't exactly fancy watching a giant bird fly too close to her. "Yea, I'll pass on that one. The place looks so relaxing. I might just explore if that's ok."
"Yea, perfectly fine." He smiled. "See you when we get back."
He waved as the four of them went off to get the stones. When they were gone, she decided to go up to the desk when a strange looking man practically appeared in front of her.
"Who are you?" she asked with a hand on her Kyoko instinctively.
"Fear not, I am an ally." The man said with an Australian accent. It was strange because not many people from this universe had that particular dialect. The only way Amy could describe the clothes he wore was that he had been thrown in a thrift store and came out fully clothed. Everything was mismatched except for his prominent grey eyes.
"You're…you're not from Eos…" she whispered.
"And neither are you." He nodded. "I have brought you to this world because it needs your help."
"My help? Why? What can I do?"
"If you haven't realized already, that woman who is supposed to work at the reception desk is not there. She has been killed and that man is her replacement. I am a god named Shiconen. I have created various worlds, one of which is the one you have come from. Moranko is a version of Earth where no magic exists but those who create stories give life to different worlds. This world is no exception. There are those who would destroy these worlds in order to combine them with others. Their goal is to rule them all in one big, chaotic world where nothing is separated."
"Wait… your telling me you want me to be some kind of heroine? What exactly am I supposed to do? Why did you make the boys find me?"
"I need you to save three people who were supposed to die within ten years in order to make up for that woman's death."
Amy's eyes widened. How could she possibly do that? The three she had in mind would be Lunafreya, Ravus, and Jared. None of which she had any real control on saving. Not unless… unless she made friends with Ardyn and somehow convinced him not to kill Luna and Ravus. Even then she had to still worry about how to save Jared. Should she stay behind instead of going with the boys? Should she simply tell Talcott not to tell anyone anything and hope for the best?
"I know this is a lot to take in," Shiconen went on, "but you are the only one I can trust with this information."
"Why can't you do it?" she asked suddenly harsh. "Why am I the one to do it? Isn't there anyone else?"
"I can only set foot in a world for five days each year. The rest of the time I must spend up in the God Realm."
"Then why send me?"
"You are very well versed in various disciplines. You have always wished to live in a world like Eos and you know the story very well since you have played it multiple times."
Amy sat down on a bench trying to take all of this in. Was he even giving her a choice? How dare this god force something like this upon her?
"What if I cannot save three people?" she asked calmly. "What if Ardyn…"
"If you cannot do the task you will have to see how the story plays out. If you are able to save two that would be enough as well. However, you will never be allowed to go back to your home. You must stay in Eos and live here as the replacement for the third person you failed to save. There is also a possibility that creating a new life can make up for it as well."
"Creating life? Like what? Get knocked up?"
"Well…yes…"
She scoffed. The only two people she would even think about having children with were villains… well if she saved Ravus then maybe she would be able to have the child to make up for a death if needed. Though, a life in Eos really did seem more appealing. The moment she got there she was thrust into an adventure. It was a lot to think about.
"Well, I must go. I wish you luck Amy." He said as he went off and disappeared in the crowd. She stayed in her spot and stared out into the water. This world's fate was up to her? She would have to get to know the boys and then watch as Noctis died to destroy the daemons? What would Ardyn do to her if he found out her plan? How could she save Luna or Ravus, or anyone really? She had to think of a plan.