A/N: Hey guys, I am SO SORRY this took so long to get up! I've been really busy at the hospital this week, and I'm still getting over being sick, and I come home at night exhausted. I finally got this finished last night, but then all through last night and today I kept getting a Service 503 error whenever I tried to sign in and upload the chapter. WEIRD! I'm happy to finally be getting this out to you - and please, keep the reviews coming, they really mean a lot to me :) Enjoy!

Chapter 10:

Inertia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She could feel Ignis and Gladio's eyes on her from across the room, as well as the eyes of several others in the bar. She hated getting dressed up like this. She felt dirty when she wore anything other than white; that was the color of House Nox Fleuret, the house she was sworn to uphold and represent. It was unnatural, wearing this dress, and these heels, and the makeup on her face, when she opted normally to go without. She had straightened her wavy hair, which felt odd too; the only comfort she took was in the familiar charm bracelet around her wrist, and the earrings and cartilage piercings she always adorned. Maybe some of her was left over behind this visage of a young adult with little more care in the world than where the next best party would be held; that had never been Inertia's experience, and it probably never would be.

She'd been cheated out of her childhood. And her adolescence, too. And in keeping with the tradition of her young life, she hadn't ever been able to partake in the normalcies of a typical young adult, either. So when the occasion arose that she did have to endure them, the normal, every day misgivings of a party girl, or a college student, or a barista, she felt awkward, and alien, and vulnerable.

She hated nothing more than this.

She pulled her dress down her thighs, hoping against hope maybe it would cover more of her up. The material shrank back into place, and she sighed. Her efforts were futile.

She looked around the bar, unsure of when or where her quarry would show up. Cor hadn't been very forthcoming with the information he'd given her. She regretted having agreed to the mission, but this was preferable to him compromising her position as Tenebrae's ambassador. Her past was ugly and suspect, she knew, but none of it impacted the way she felt about Lunafreya and her duty to House Nox Fleuret. She must serve Lady Luna to the best of her ability; and should she be asked to leave Insomnia, she would be in no position to do so. She did not accept failure - another thing she'd inherited from Ardyn.

Ardyn.

She scoffed at the thought of him, and the bartender eyed her warily. She grimaced, reaching for her drink.

"You get stood up, miss?" He asked her, cleaning a glass.

"Hopefully not," She managed a fake smile, blinking a little too fast.You have to keep your head on straight, you idiot, she chided herself. Don't break cover. Now is not the time for wandering thoughts.

And yet wandering thoughts were the only thing to keep her company while the predator waited for her prey.

"A favor?" She asked, a little skeptical. "From me?"

"I have it on good authority that some of our Kingsglaive might be intending to betray the King," Cor didn't see fit to ease her into things. He was as direct as ever. Inertia listened intently; she'd be lying if she said this didn't catch her attention. "It seems the empire has infiltrated some of our ranks."

"Where did you get this information?" She leaned back in her own chair, crossing her own arms, mirroring Cor. She was interested and leery all at the same time.

"A friend," Was all he offered her.

She shot him a look.

"Really, Marshal?" She wondered aloud. "You expect me to investigate this matter for you and you won't even allow me the knowledge of your source?"

"Inertia, you should be glad I haven't taken you and your barcode to King Regis himself," He glanced at her wrist, and she shrank under his stare. She threw a hand underneath her thigh, self-conscious. All she wanted to do was hide the stupid thing, but there was no escaping the stern man's gaze.

"All I can tell you is that he caught wind of a plot brewing inside our ranks," Cor rose from his desk, making his way to look out his window yet again. "We'd like to gather more intel, but, clearly, the Glaive in question knows who we are." He turned to look at her, and she swallowed, nervous. "You're an outsider." He sat back down.

"It's not like I'm completely innocuous," She argued, a little dissuaded. "I'm no superstar, but I'm a fairly well known figure, seeing as I'm Lady Lunafreya's retainer."

"Sure, but dress you up the right way, maybe for a night out, and no one will recognize you," Cor offered.

"And why would I dress that way?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Because my source says that's where the Glaive is meeting with his little Niflheim cohort," Cor rolled his eyes, as if she should be following. "In a club here in Insomnia."

"Fantastic," A sigh. "Any idea where?" She twiddled her thumbs. This was all for Lady Lunafreya, she told herself.

"Not a clue," He grinned. "My source can meet with you and give you more details."

"And how am I supposed to meet your source when you won't tell me who he is?"

"He likes to hang out at the Roadhouse on Friday nights. Glaive. Good looking kid. He'll make sure to ask you about garulas in heat."

She blinked.

"Garulas in heat? That's the best code you could come up with?" She laughed in spite of the situation at hand. She was being handed a reconnaissance mission nearly against her will, and she had to swallow it, along with her pride.

"Too late to change it now," He shrugged. His face fell, and his tone grew somber. "Inertia, if there are truly traitors in our midst, I have to know about it."

"I understand, Marshal," She nodded. "I'll see it done." She rose to leave, and smiled at him. "Since I have no choice."

"Do this for me, and I'll know where your allegiance truly lies," He nodded at her, and she let herself out, palms sweaty, heart heavy. She hadn't infiltrated anywhere in awhile. She hoped she wasn't too rusty. Lady Lunafreya depended on it.

"So, d'you ever hear the one about Garulas in heat?"

Inertia looked up from her phone, where she saw she had no messages from Gladio or Ignis - good, that meant no trouble nearby - only to see a young man seated beside her, bellying up to the bar. Maybe not as young as Gladio and Ignis, but young. He was indeed good looking, Cor hadn't lied about that, and in good shape, too, she could see that even beneath his attire. His head was shaved on both sides, a sort of cascade of hair gliding down the middle. His eyes were kind, his jaw hard. This must be his source.

"Do you begin all conversations this way?" She wondered, reaching for her water. He smiled.

"Thanks for not taking the bait," He flagged down the bartender. "I never did come up with a punchline."

After ordering himself a beer, he turned to face her, and it was a little intimidating, this large, good looking man beside her, towering over her even as he was sitting. Then again, he wasn't as big as Gladio. That man was unnatural. Even so, she'd learned not to trust good looking men. They were nothing but trouble.

"So, you're my contact?" She asked, voice low, after the bartender walked away.

"Guilty as charged," He grinned, taking a chug of his beer. "Nyx Ulric, at your service."

"Oh…" He extended a hand, and she took it, a little hesitant. He was warm to the touch; the man exuded heat as if an energy source himself. There was a real fire to his spirit that she could feel in her own fingertips. "I do believe Cor's intention was for you to remain anonymous."

"Yeah, well, I don't play by Cor's rules all the time," He winked. "Figured a pretty lady like yourself might give me her name if I gave her mine."

She laughed uneasily, unsure how to proceed. "Um, well… I'm Inertia. Inertia Izunia."

"The Nox Fleuret ambassador?" He whistled. "I've seen you around the Citadel a few times. This is a bit of a different gig for you, huh, milady?"

"Yes, well," She heaved a sigh. "I had thought to leave the infiltration business behind. But your Marshal has a way of getting what he wants."

"Had a feeling it wasn't your first rodeo," He nodded to himself. "You've got a look about you."

"A 'look' about me?" She repeated, curious.

"Yeah," He slammed his mug on the table; he'd already finished his beer. "You look like you've seen some shit."

"Perhaps I have," She nodded. "I could say the same about you," She countered, flagging down the bartender. She figured her contact here might appreciate another beer, and she pulled some cash from her purse when the bartender finally came over. Nyx nodded at her in appreciation.

"Not too surprising though, right?" He asked. "I am a glaive, after all."

"A glaive, sure… You from Lucis, Mr. Ulric?" She asked suddenly. His face turned somber.

"I'm from Galahd," He answered. She could see it was a painful subject to him, so she backed off.

"I see…" She rested her arms on the bar, thoughtful. "I'm not Lucian either, remember?" She murmured quietly. "Our homes are being swallowed by the empire out there."

Nyx nodded, grim, forcing down more of his beer.

"So help me stop them from taking this one," She ran her finger around the rim of her water glass, avoiding his gaze. "Tell me what you know."

"Check this one out, Noct!" Prompto held the cover right in front of his friend's face, not allowing him the chance to look away. "Limited edition, mint condition!"

"Yeah, that's cool," Noct pushed the cover away from his face, glancing down at the phone in his hand. The store would be closing soon, but he wasn't really checking the time. Every time he had typed Luna's name into the search engine, nothing new had popped up. It had been that way for half the day; he didn't know why he felt the need to stalk her this way. The last article he'd read had been about her negotiations with the Niflheim empire to rearrange the day of the wedding to the week following the peace treaty signing. He wondered if Inertia had anything to do with that.

"C'mon man, it was your idea to come here," Prompto pouted. "Why go to a comic book store if you aren't gonna look at the comic books?"

"Sorry, man," Noctis shook his head, pocketing his phone. "I'm just kinda distracted, I guess."

"What about?" Prompto inquired, holding another comic to the light. "I mean, what could be more interesting than THE MAHOGANY KID, WOODEN BOY WONDER?"

"That sounds terrible, Prompto," Noctis shot him a look. Prompto nodded.

"Yeah, but I bet it's hard to get your hands on one of these babies," He shrugged, putting back.

"Yeah, 'cuz they only made like three copies," Noctis laughed, and so did Prompto, and soon the two of them were elbowing each other as they made their way out of the store. It was almost 9, and while the store owner, Teddy, who they knew pretty well, had let them stay late before, since they were some of his best customers (and probably because Noctis was the Crown Prince, but no one would ever actually say that to his face), they didn't like to inconvenience him that way. It was Friday night; the guy had a weekend to look forward to just like the rest of them.

"So, whatcha wanna do now?" Prompto asked, stretching his arms overhead. "It's kinda early to turn in on a Friday night…"

"Yeah, and for once we get a weekend off," Noctis agreed. He resisted the urge to pull his phone out of his pocket again, wanting to see another picture of Luna's face, remembering their time together as kids. He couldn't wait to see her again. Somehow it felt like both yesterday and forever ago since he'd last laid eyes on her fair skin and blue eyes. Maybe this marriage thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I wonder what Gladio and Iggy are up to?" Prompto pulled out his own phone, presumably to text or call one of the Prince's retinue. The two made their way down the sidewalk, avoiding passersby as they made their way. After a few unsuccessful dials, Prompto pocketed his cell.

"They won't answer?" Noctis wondered aloud. Prompto shook his head, a confused look on his face. Noctis, though still preoccupied with his own thoughts, could feel a knot of worry tighten in his stomach - that wasn't like them. Even if they were out drinking or eating somewhere, they usually always picked up if he or Prompto called. Since befriending the blonde back in high school, the two of them knew that wherever Prompto went, so too did their Prince. They were regular old partners in crime, and when Noctis wasn't with his Steward and his Shield, he was with the goofy, lanky gunman (who still hadn't shot a gun).

"Think everything's ok?" Prompto asked worriedly. Noctis didn't honestly know.

"I'm sure they're fine," He tried to reassure his friend. "They can take care of themselves. Maybe they're actually getting shitfaced and meeting girls for once."

Prompto laughed. "Definitely not Iggy… I don't think even Gladio knows how to take the royal stick out of his ass long enough to get drunk and meet girls… maybe one or the other, but not both at the same time!"

Only then did both of them hear the crash in the distance, followed by the screams of terrified Insomnian citizens, all fleeing in their direction, and know in their hearts everything was not ok. Noctis raced forward, Prompto closely at his heels, wondering just what could have gone so horribly wrong in the Crown City tonight.