Boom.
Noctis, one of many in the crowd, glanced toward the side of the room where Gladiolus stood. Although the long haired man had not been invited as an official guest to the ceremony, he had come along as his body guard. He stared back, concern etched on his battle worn face.
Boom.
The crystal chandelier tinkled merrily as the Citadel shook. Something was wrong.
Suddenly, the window shattered, Magitek Troopers pouring into the opening. Noctis ducked his head, shielding himself from the glass, and ran. He should have known that this was a trick.
Gladiolus and Ignis, dressed in their evening finery, joined him. "The crystal," Noctis told them shortly, and they sped along the corridors of the citadel. They took a sharp turn, pelting down a hall that was lined with windows on one side, and came up short. The trio stared in horror at the building where the slumbering crystal lay.
The doors were swung open wide, the roof of the building crumbling inward. A large drone floated above, its red taillight glowing eerily in the dark, a thick rope plunging downward. As it was cranked upward the crystal was raised. Its pure blue-white glow made it appear ephemeral and otherworldly until it was finally enclosed in the hull of the drone. Having now taken what they had come for, the drone floated away in the night.
Noctis's hands curled into fists as he watched the receding aircraft, anger coursing through him violently. "It was all a lie," he said, his voice ragged. "A trick, to gain entrance into Insomnia."
"Noct, let's go. There's nothing we can do for the crystal now," Ignis said, his voice low and soothing.
When the prince refused to move from the window, Gladio steered Noctis away by his shoulders. Ignis lead the way back from where they had come. As they passed a closed door, a commotion made them pause.
With his finger to his lips to signify silence, Gladio, Noctis, and Ignis all summoned their weapons using the power that being connected to the line of Lucis had granted them. The metal of the broadsword was cool and lethal in Noctis's grip. His muscles tensed as Gladio swung the door inward.
A Magitek Trooper, gun in hand, stood ominously over one of the servants of the castle.
"Oh, no you don't," Noctis said. Enraged by the sight, he charged and plunged his sword deep into the back of the mechanical man. As he yanked his weapon back, the MT turned eerily.
"Are you kidding me?!" Noctis yelled, and with one expert movement, borne of many years of practice, he swung the sword back once more. The weapon connected with the neck of the enemy, and the body fell with a clunk to the floor.
The maid stared up at her prince, her eyes wide in horror, speechless.
"Are you all right?" Ignis asked kindly in his British tones, offering a hand down to the woman, helping her to her feet. "There may be more around. It would be best if you left the Citadel for now. Find somewhere safe to hide."
The woman nodded, unable to speak her thanks, and tore from the room.
"If there are more around, we should go, too."
Noctis, however, had different plans in mind. He ran from the room back down the hall toward the room where the treaty was to be signed. He had assumed, with the crystal gone, the enemy would have packed up and left. The encounter he had just experienced told him he had been quite wrong in his thinking. The guests, his father and king, and the servants were still very much in danger.
Just as he and his companions made to hurtle through the doorway, they were once again kept from their goal. King Regis and Clarus Amicitia were parring down with a large man in armor. The king had placed a wall between that room and the hall.
Noctis hammered on the wall with his fists, determined to break through. Distracted by the noise, King Regis looked back. Glauca took advantage of the opening and struck, clashing swords with the Crownsguard.
"Go!" the king called. "Gladio, Ignis, take Noctis and go!"
Neither of the prince's companions needed to be told twice. Gladio grabbed Noctis by the arm as the young man struggled against the hold, loathe to leave his father behind when he knew that he could help. "Noctis, come on," Gladio grunted.
"The King is in good hands. The best thing we can do to help is to leave."
Behind the wall, Clarus was pinned to the wall with his own sword, defeated. King Regis was left standing alone. Gladio visibly winced at the vicious attack, unable to look away from his father's gruesome demise.
"Gladio! Noct! There is nothing we can do. We need to leave. Now!" Ignis commanded.
The urgency in his friend's voice is what finally broke Gladio out of his reverie. He tore himself away from the door, pushed Noctis ahead of him, and the trio began running once more. Gladio was a Crownsguard now, having taken his father's place. He had his orders from the king: take Noctis and go. There was a good chance that the king would not make it through the night, not if his father had fallen on duty. Noctis, as heir to the throne, was more important now.
The trio hurtled out of the great doors and out into the night.
"Noct! Gladio! Ignis!" a familiar voice called, waving them down. A blond haired man came into view. "What's going on?! There are MTs everywhere!"
"No time to explain," Ignis informed Prompto. "We need to go."
Recognizing that now was not the time for questions, Prompto joined them as they raced across the vast courtyard. If they could only make it to the private parking lot toward the front of the Citadel, there was hope that they could escape the night alive. They could plan what to do later.
Unfortunately, nothing was ever that easy.
"Noct! Above us!" Prompto cried, pulling his gun from his holster.
Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis all summoned their weapons to their aid as Magitek Troopers all poured out of the drone that had been hovering above them. They had no choice left to them but to attempt to fight their way through.
"Everyone stay on guard!" Ignis called.
Noctis slashed, stabbed, and parried until his arms grew heavy. Gunfire echoed around them. Still the troopers kept coming.
"Can't take much more of this!" Noctis grunted.
"There's too many!" Ignis cried. "Make a way through and retreat!"
Trusting the advice of his adviser, who was much more of a tactician than any of the others would ever be, they focused their energy to where they would face the least amount of resistance. With one mighty swing of his great sword, Gladio knocked many of the MTs to the ground. "Through here!" he ordered.
The four hurried through the opening that had been created before the enemy could regain their feet, Noctis in the lead and Gladio bringing up the rear. As they reached the door to the garage, Noctis yanked the door open, allowed his companions to pass him, and pulled the door closed as he followed them through. Locking it for good measure, the sound of metal meeting metal echoed dully through the private garage of the royal family as the MTs thudded against the barrier.
"Quickly," Ignis ushered. "The Regalia is parked through here. If we can get out with the car, we just might stand a chance."
They pelted through the garage until they reached their get-away car. The hood of the car was conveniently down, allowing them to leap inside without even bothering to stop and open doors. Ignis jammed the key into the ignition, pressed his foot down on the accelerator, and with a squeal of tires they were clear of the garage and on the streets of Insomnia.
