Chapter 3

Since Amy had some time to spare, she chose to go off to the deserted part of the beach so she could train a little. She wanted to figure out her own style after learning some entirely new techniques from Gladio. She did some endurance and strength training while she was at it. It wasn't that she loved to exercise or body build, but she knew that in order to achieve what the god Shiconen asked of her she had to keep her body ready for anything.

"I see you've been busy." Ignis' voice came from behind her after she was through with one of her formations. She knew she wouldn't be as great as Cor but it was a start.

"Oh, hello Ignis. Sorry, I wanted to get some training in. How did the mission for gems go?" She asked with a smiled sheathing Kyoko.

"It was TERRIFYING!" Prompto said dramatically. "This giant bird almost ate us!"

Amy chuckled remembering the Hurricane Bird that rested only to fly away once the task of getting the gems was over. She always chose to jump down the cliff rather than have the bird fly over her. "So, are we all set to sail then?"

"Dino said we gotta wait 'til morning." Gladio grumbled.

"We just booked the hotel for the night. We got some time to kill, so want to go hunt those Stonespears over there?" Noctis asked pointing in the direction of the creatures that were AWAYS there every morning when she camped near the harbor.

"I'd love to! Gotta get my practice in." She nodded firmly. She needed all the strength she could get if she was facing an unknown enemy… possibly even Ardyn one day. She shuddered at the thought. That man was too strong for her. She was terrified of the day he would find out her secret.

They snuck up on the creatures quietly and used a planned attack to defeat them. Amy got hit a few times because she was still trying to learn the ropes, but she was finally able to defeat one with the help of Ignis.

"You're getting better. Soon you could probably take one down all by yourself. You learn pretty quick." Gladio said patting her on the shoulder. It was gentler than he would to the others, which gave the feminism side of her pause for being annoyed, but she shrugged it off instead. In some ways, she must have reminded him of Iris.

The five of them went back to the resort and ate some dinner before heading to bed. Amy didn't own a cell phone from this world yet, but Prompto allowed her to use his so she could learn how to play King's Knight. She picked up the game pretty fast and sure enough she was able to kick Noctis' ass in no time.

"Ah, beginners luck!" Noctis chuckled softly.

"What don't wanna admit you got beat by a girl Noct?" Gladio smirked patting him on the back.

Ignis smiled. "Well now that you've finished your game might I suggest going to sleep? We have a long boat ride tomorrow."

"Yea, your right." Noctis yawned. "Gonna get married soon after all."

A pain came to the pits of Amy's stomach. She would have to witness it. She would have to be there when Noct and the gang found out about Insomnia. She will have to help them infiltrate to get to the edge to see Insomnia burning. She didn't mind that. What she worried about the most was her ability to keep this all to herself. The torture of not being able to change things. She had a plan to save Jared, but what about after that? If she saved Luna then Ardyn's plan would go into ruin. Noct had to see her death in order to defeat the Leviathan. Ignis asked for a suite with an extra room so that she could sleep in her own comfortable bed. She was grateful but felt bad that he had to ask for a separate room just for her. `

"You have deceived me." A sexy voice said from behind her. Amy was pinned. Face down into a bed with barely any clothes. Her wrists were held by a strong man's hand whose other was softly touching the curves of her body causing her to moan and pant.

"Ch…Chancellor…" she breathed. She was afraid… but this was what she wanted. Damn that old man for being so attractive.

"You must be punished for this. Did you think I would not figure it out?" He pulled her hair to the side and away from her neck. He bent down and kissed the crook before clamping his teeth down. It was not out of malice but of passion.

Amy yelped as she felt the warmth of her blood spike through her body right to the part that mattered. At this moment, she feared not the daemon that had her pinned. She wanted him to ravish her in these silk bedsheets.

Amy woke up suddenly early the next morning and breathing heavily. What was that? She asked herself. I dreamt that Ardyn… No… I'm not some fangirl. I have a job to do and logically he would kill me if he knew. The people he kills are those I need to save… He wouldn't fuck me… He'd kill me… She sighed looking at the time. It was before dawn. She may as well stay up at this point.

She got up and took a cold shower to calm her nerves and take the thought of being in bed with Ardyn Izunia out of her mind. She felt better and got dressed with the clothes she was able to get thanks to the hotel. She also got a cell phone in case of emergencies. She was finally able to really fit in. She sighed looking at the clock.

About the time Noctis would show… She picked up her things and walked in their room.

"Morning." She said with a smile sitting down. She had to pretend she didn't know Noctis just lost all the family he had. Besides, Coctura was dead. She had to focus on making up for her death. While she was roaming around training, she saw wanted posters saying that she was "missing." Whoever it was who was doing this was being sneaky.

"Heya, Mornin'." Prompto said with a smile. Noctis nodded without saying a word. Ever the non-morning person Amy thought. Poor man… why can't he stay this innocent forever? Amy smiled trying to hold her sadness as she drank some tea while sitting looking out at the beauty of this place.

"Where's specs?" He asked.

"Should be back any minute now." Gladiolus said with his arms folded.

"So how did you sleep?" Prompto asked with a smile.

Damn it.. He has a thing for me doesn't he? "I slept fine. Always love nice hotels." She nodded.

"That's great!" Prompto exclaimed. "So uh… In Altissia, you think you might…w…wanna… grab a bite to eat?"

Amy blinked. This was the first time she's ever been asked out by anyone. Usually her tough demeanor would scare them away. "U…Um…"

Her reply was interrupted by Ignis walking into the room with that horrible look that broke her heart into a million pieces. She went silent and stared at him with apologetic eyes. She knew he had some kind of family there and he was so strong. Trying to hold it together for the other three. In this moment, Amy truly respected Ignis. He could have lost family as well, yet his sorrow was for his prince… no his king.

"What's that look for?" Noctis asked.

Amy bit her lip and turned away as Ignis gave Gladiolus the newspaper. "It's in all the papers…"

"What is?"

"Insomnia…falls?" Prompto asked in disbelief. She winced at the sound of shock that came from the chosen king.

"Is this your idea of a joke?" he asked frantically.

"I need you to calm down, so I can explain." Ignis told him calmly.

"I'm as calm as I'm gonna get." A tear escaped Amy's eye as she heard him walking towards Ignis. She wiped her face so the boys would not see.

"There was an attack. The imperial army has taken the Crown City."

"As treaty room tempers flared, blasts lit the night sky. When the smoke about the Citadel had cleared, the king was found…dead." Gladiolus continued reading from the article.

"No, wait, hold on…" Noctis pleaded. It was so much clearer in person that it was a sudden realization and denial that he was now King.

"We had no way of knowing." Ignis added sadly as his feet shuffled away from his prince.

"What? Knowing what?" he demanded.

"That the signing was last night, that insomnia…"

"But the wedding! Altissia!"

"I know, that was the plan. Yet the reports of the invasion are all the same. How could every headline in the kingdom be wrong?" Ignis rationalized.

"…Lies."

Noct slowly made his way to the seat beside Amy. She dared not to even look at him. The guilt that she could have somehow stopped this made her feel horrible. But could she really? Would she be able to stop Regis' fate? Hell… Nyx's fate. He could have been one of the three she saved somehow. Like her power with his could have defeated the enemy instead of forcing him to die. Amy glanced up at Prompto. He was looking down at his hands… at his wrist. She never noticed in the game because his eyes were so far away. He was staring at his barcode that he had covered at all times. Did he partly blame himself? No, he didn't know where he was born until Ardyn took him. Maybe he felt as if he should feel bad because he didn't have any real family in Insomnia.

"…If only." He said sadly now holding his wrist.

"What else do we know?" Gladio asked. After Ignis shook his head, he went on. "Then we can't be sure until we see it with our own eyes."
"And that means we go back to Insomnia." Prompto said turning around slowly.

"It might not be safe for us there." Ignis began.

"it might not be safe for us here!" he argued back.

"Turn back?" Gladio suggested.

The three men looked to Noctis. Amy found the strength to do the same. He stared at the ground with so much sorrow in those deep blue eyes.

"Yeah." Was all he said.

The room was quiet for a few minutes until Ignis broke the silence once more. "Amy, I'm sorry that we got you dragged into this. Is there anywhere you would like to stay? I doubt you would want to stay with us. It might not be safe for you."

"Um…well," Amy was shocked. She never thought of what she would do at this point. How would she convince them to let her go? "I…don't really have anywhere to go. I came from another world. This place is foreign to me. I don't know quite what's going on, but I'd like to help the best I can. Even if it means I'll be put in danger. You found me and I could have been left there to die. I believe I owe you all my gratitude."

"You got guts. Gotta give you that." Gladio nodded. "Alright, but if you're not up for it just tell us. We can try to get you somewhere safe."

"Got it. Thanks, Gladio." She said with a kind, apologetic smile.

Amy was quiet during the car ride as she was squeezed between Gladio and Noctis. All she could do was look at her hands and cling to her katana. She needed to help them as much as she could. Nifs were still humanoids. She hated that they all looked like Prompto, but they were all brainwashed. She had to remember that. She dared to glance at Gladiolus. His expression was strong even though she knew he worried about his sister and father. She was jealous of how strong he was. How intense his ability to keep it all together was evident now even more than when she played the game. She saw the tension raise in Prompto's bare shoulders as Ignis explained about the MTs. She couldn't imagine what was going through his head. He'd have to fight Magitek. Just what he was born to be.

"Up ahead!" Prompto announced.

Amy lifted her head and gripped her katana. Here we go… she thought. It was time to fight their way to watch Insomnia in ruins.

"They've set up an inspection point." Ignis explained.

"If the road ahead's blocked, then we find a way around." Gladio added.

Amy took a deep breath as Ignis drove around a dirt road to the hills outside the city.

"Let's make a detour. There ought to be a decent vantage point up ahead." Ignis said as he parked the car.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Gladio asked Amy.

Amy gave a firm nod. "I want to help." She took a deep breath and exhaled as she followed Noctis running up the stairs and towards the Nifs. She did as she would in the video game. She used her training to zig zag so she missed bullets as the came towards her. She sliced at the MTs and found herself stronger than she was before. She was getting used to fighting in this world which was good for what she had to do. She still got hit a few times by a stray bullet but never anything too serious. She had to get used to pain. She made herself a soldier in this war so she had to learn to deal with the injuries that came with it. She was used to bruised arms, legs, and even broken ribs. She needed to keep her head and use those experiences so she could keep up with them. There was no room for error. She was proud that she finished a few off that she double teamed with the bros. She was even able to do some team attacks with them. The training that she had with Gladio paid off even if it was only once.

They finally reached the cliff. Amy stood behind them as she watched them staring at the burning city that they grew up in. She stayed silent as the radio played the newscast that claimed that Noctis and Lunafreya were dead.

"Keep it on!" Gladio ordered when Promto turned it off only to have the phone fall on the ground.

"Don't bother!" Noctis yelled.

As Noctis called Cor, Amy gaped at the giant dreadnaughts that flew above them. They looked so amazing on her TV screen, but in real life… it was epic. She just wondered if Ardyn was in one of them close-by or not. What did he think of her. She was definitely not in his plans. She shook her head. He would use or kill her. Nothing more. That dream was just a dream. Noctis' sudden silence after hearing his father was dead broke her out of her trance. That horrible feeling was there once more. What would she have done if her father was suddenly dead? She was lucky to have a big, extended family but Noctis only had his father.

"Right." The words gut her like an arrow.

"What did the Marshall have to say?" Ignis asked softly.

"Said he'd…be in Hammerhead."

"And the king?" Gladio asked walking towards him.

Silence fell among them all as they looked out onto their burning home. Amy slowly walked towards them in the middle of them all. She could not know what it was like to lose so many that they cared for but she could feel their loss as she did every time she replayed the game. The shit she would have to watch them go through was almost too much for her to bear. But she had to do it. She had to see this through. She looked towards the sky. I know you want me to fix this world Shiconen… But how much sorrow and pain must I witness in the process?