Barely hours later, the Regalia had broken down and the party was exhausted. Nova and Ignis were in the car, Ignis steering and Nova being deemed not strong enough to push the car. Gladiolus was trying to wave down a car and failing. Noctis and Solis were sitting at the back of the car, catching their breath. Prompto had collapsed onto his back.
"Wait, their car, a Regalia, broke down?!" Ben cried as he looked up at his grandmother and great-uncle.
"Yes." Grandma nodded, an amused smile coming over her face.
"How?!" Matthew cried, shocked. He and Ben loved cars and hoped to buy a Regalia themselves when they were older.
"No one knows." Grandpa chuckled.
"Who cares about a car?" Mia whined, her head falling back as she did.
"Please keep reading, Grandma!" Lucy begged, giving her grandmother the biggest puppy dog eyes she could.
"Alright." Grandma chuckled as she returned to the journal.
"Don't ask me how this happened, but the Regalia broke down and I swear Gladio's trying to kill us by making us push this damn car!"
"I think we can forget about hitching our way there…" Gladiolus sighed as yet another car passed them. "Thought people were friendly outside the city."
"You can only go so far on the kindness of strangers." Ignis stated.
"Just gonna have to push her all the way." Gladiolus conceded.
"This ever happen to you?" Noctis turned to ask Solis, who straightened instantly as the prince spoke to him.
"No, Your Highness…I haven't traveled outside of Tenebrae that often." Solis admitted as he wiped sweat out of his eyes.
All the men had removed their jackets and vests as the heat got to them. Nova, despite the sweat clinging to her skin, was the only one to keep her leather jacket on. Solis seemed to be the only one confused by this.
"Stop calling me that." Noctis groaned as his head fell back and hit the Regalia. "Call me Noct or Noctis."
"That would be inappropriate!" Solis protested.
"Hate to break this up, but we gotta get pushing." Gladiolus cut in.
"I've already pushed myself…to the brink of death." Prompto whined.
"Quit whining, this is your guys' fault!" Nova cried, glaring at the men.
"How is it our fault if we had no idea?" Noctis asked, exasperated.
"Because you idiots didn't think to check everything out before we left and now we're stuck here." Nova growled.
"Says the girl…who doesn't have to push." Prompto tried to join in.
"Weaklings." Nova shook her head as she turned away again.
"Oh, get up you three." Gladiolus said as he reached the back of the Regalia. "C'mon, car isn't gonna move itself." As the four got into their positions to push, Prompto continued to whine and Noctis continued to groan.
"I thought the car was supposed to move us." Prompto said.
"Wouldn't that be nice…" Noctis sighed.
"Can it. Ready…Steady…" Gladiolus counted down, bringing groans from Prompto and Noctis while Solis simply prepared for the inevitable. "PUSH!"
As they began to push, Noctis began to complain between his grunts.
"Un. Believable." The prince grunted.
"Not exactly a fairy tale beginning, huh, Prince Noctis?" Gladiolus teased.
"We let ourselves get carried away." Ignis stated.
"No kidding." Nova scowled as she crossed her arms.
"Look, these things happen." Prompto tried to be optimistic.
"Do they happen often?" Solis grunted almost sarcastically.
"Let's just hope this isn't some omen." Gladiolus said.
"Gladio, do me a favor." Noctis bit out.
"What?" Gladiolus asked.
"Push this thing by yourself." Noctis stated.
"All by myself?" Gladiolus repeated.
"That seems unwise." Solis cut in.
"Aw, come on, you won't even notice if we just let go." Prompto grinned.
"Prompto, don't even think about it." Gladiolus growled.
"Save some breath for pushing." Ignis quipped.
"Ignis, c'mon, time to switch!" Noctis grunted.
"Nuh-uh! We just switched back there!" Gladiolus cut in.
"Nice try, Noct. No getting out of this." Nova stated as she wiped more sweat away, her breath coming in as fast as the men's.
"And it's my turn, Noct." Prompto added with a grin.
"His 'turn'." Ignis rolled his eyes.
"Is this actually normal?" Solis whispered.
"The car? No. Their antics? Yes." Ignis, who heard the escort, answered.
"Hey!" Noctis and Prompto cried.
"He's not wrong." Nova smirked.
"Nova is included in that statement." Ignis said.
"Ignis!" Nova cried as Noctis, Prompto, Ignis and even the quiet Solis began to laugh.
"Less laughing, more pushing!" Gladiolus cut in.
"My hands are killing me." Prompto groaned.
"You rather I kill you with mine?" Gladiolus asked, completely serious.
"Easy there, tough guy." Prompto backed off.
"Any luck?" Noctis asked.
"Only a busy signal." Ignis shook his head.
"Based off this, what kinda luck were you expecting?" Nova questioned.
"Enough to get us out of this." Noctis quipped.
"Hold the phone-is it just me, or was it supposed to be way closer?" Prompto asked.
"I assure you the map is correct." Ignis said.
"The conversion is where the trouble lies." Solis added.
"The map said Hammerhead was right there." Noctis argued.
"Literally next door." Prompto joined in.
"Looks that way on a map of the world." Gladiolus agreed.
"What, were you expecting a five minute walk?" Nova said bitingly.
"No, just…not this." Prompto finished lamely.
"The world's a big old place." Noctis stated.
"Filled with wonders." Ignis agreed.
"Tell that to my legs." Prompto grunted.
"Are you guys even pushing?" Gladiolus asked.
"Hard as I can." Prompto stated.
"With everything I've got." Noctis added.
"You expect us to do nothing?" Solis managed to ask.
"No, I expect them to do nothing." Gladiolus answered.
"Harsh." Noctis and Prompto said in unison.
"Welcome to the real world." Ignis and Nova added in unison.
"We finally reached Hammerhead with Gladio pushing us harder than I thought possible. And Nova's comments weren't helping much, nor did Solis insisting on calling me 'Your Highness'. Though they did provide a welcome distraction from Prompto and I's plan to kill Gladio and vice versa. That's to say, I was very happy when we reached Hammerhead."
When they finally reached Hammerhead, Prompto, Noctis and Solis collapsed on the ground as Ignis and Gladiolus got up and waited for the mechanic to come. Nova was laying in the Regalia, exhausted yet none of the men knew how.
"Hey there, y'all kept a girl waitin'!" The welcome voice of the mechanic said. "Now, which one's the prince?" At his title, Noctis stood up while Nova sat up and Prompto and Solis stood. "Aha! Hello, Your Highness. Congrats on your wedding!"
Noctis instantly looked down, though his eyes darted to the Regalia quickly. Nova's fingers twitched once again. Solis reached into the Regalia and pulled out his backpack before he began to check it over.
Ignis watched all three of them with a critical eye.
"Not hitched just yet." Noctis contradicted, his voice catching as he looked away from the Regalia.
"Lady Lunafreya's groom-to-be, here in Hammerhead." The mechanic said in disbelief.
"Apologies for taking so long." Ignis cut in, changing the subject.
"You'd best save your apologies for Paw-paw." The mechanic shook her head, smiling an amused smile as she examined the Regalia.
"Well, that makes you…" Gladiolus trailed off.
"Cindy-Cid's grease-monkey granddaughter." The mechanic, Cindy, smiled.
"The mechanic's a girl?!" Matthew cried.
"Is that really so strange?" Mia challenged, glaring at her brother.
"Keep reading!" Lucy cut in as her cousins started to bicker.
"Roll 'er in while I'm still young!" A voice that could only belong to Cid ordered. "Didn't yer daddy tell ya? She's a custom classic, not some beat-up ol' clunker." Cid began to examine the car before he looked up and saw the prince. "Prince Noctis."
"Uh, yeah." Noctis confirmed.
"He wasn't asking who you are, idiot." Nova said as she jumped out of the Regalia and punched Noctis in the arm, causing him to flinch the slightest bit and her to smile a closed smile.
"'Prince'. Like they took your old man and kicked the dignity out of him." Cid continued, ignoring the exchange between the two.
"What?" Noctis asked.
"You got a long way to go, son. And that slack jaw's gettin' you nowhere fast." Cid stated. He examined the Regalia for a minute before he spoke again. "She's gonna take a while. Y'all get her in and run along." Cindy sighed as her grandfather walked away before she faced the party.
"Y'all heard him! Let's get movin'. Right this way." She smiled.
Once the Regalia was safely in the garage, after many complaints from Prompto to have to push again, Ignis spoke up.
"And now we play the waiting game." He said.
"Never liked that game." Prompto shook his head.
"Never any good at it, either." Noctis quipped with a smile.
"Look who's talking." Nova nudged the prince's shoulder as she spoke.
"Cindy gave us a map of the area and then Ignis had the joy of telling me we're flat broke. And, according to Cindy, this is Cid's way of teaching us a lesson. Fantastic. Of course, then she mentioned some 'varmints' that she'd be happy to pay us for if we got rid of them. Looks like we've got no choice."
"So much for finding an easy way out…thanks a lot, 'Paw-paw'." Prompto sighed.
"Might as well get to work, right Your Highness?" Solis said as he straightened his backpack.
"Please, stop calling me that." Noctis was close to begging. Why does he insist on that?
"Well if you guys don't mind, I'm gonna stay here, maybe find some non-hunting work." Nova spoke up.
"What?" Noctis asked as he turned to look at her. Why would she not want to-oh. Right.
"I'll just be a phone call away, don't worry." Nova smiled reassuringly as she patted Noctis gently on the arm. "Besides, you're the ones hunting, not me."
"Yeah, I get it." Noctis chuckled, "See you back here."
"See you." Nova waved.
"Later, Novalee!" Prompto called when he was a good distance away.
"I told you not to call me that!" Nova screamed but there was nothing she could do to get back at the blonde, which made him laugh. "I'll get you when you get back here, Prompto!"
"That's a promise!" Prompto called back cheekily before he turned and continued walking.
As the party walked, Prompto spoke up.
"So, uh, where are we headed anyway?" He asked.
"Nowhere until the repairs are done. Then we head for Galdin Quay." Ignis answered.
"And after that, we hop a boat, and before you know it, loverboy's hitched." Gladiolus added, not noticing the glare Noctis sent his way.
Ignis watched the prince carefully.
"Wait for car repairs, then wedding bells in the air. Got it!" Prompto tried to smile but couldn't quite manage it as he glanced at Noctis.
Solis was busying himself with his backpack.
"Why are you messing with that, anyway?" Prompto asked suddenly.
"I made this myself…I don't want it to break when I need it." Solis admitted.
"What do you mean?" Prompto asked.
Solis was about to answer when he saw something else that grabbed his attention.
"Noctis!" Solis cried as he reached back and suddenly threw a dagger at a beast that was about to jump the prince.
"What the-?!" Noctis cried but before he could say anything, Solis threw a spear that pierced the heart of the beast and killed it.
"How did you do that?!" Prompto cried as he stared at the now calm escort, who was back to adjusting his backpack again.
"My backpack." Solis admitted. "It creates weapons of all sorts for me. All I have to do is reach back and the necessary weapon will form. Like this." He reached back and the rest of the party watched in awe as a sword's hilt was built into his hand. He then pulled it out and there was a whole sword.
"That's awesome!" Prompto cried.
"Never seen anything like it." Gladiolus commented.
"I made it myself." Solis blushed in embarrassment.
"Very nice craftsmanship." Ignis nodded in approval.
"Nice job. And you called me 'Noctis', by the way." Noctis spoke up. Eyes widening, Solis quickly began to bow until Noctis grabbed his arm and pulled him up.
"Your Highness-" Solis started when Noctis completely covered his mouth with his hand.
"No more of this 'Highness' stuff. I'm just Noctis to you, okay?" Noctis said.
Slowly, the escort nodded.
"Good." Noctis smiled. "Now let's get back to work."
Within a few minutes, the monsters were all taken care of.
"Mission complete." Gladiolus said.
Just then, Noctis' phone rang.
"I don't think this is over yet." Prompto sighed.
"Who could this be?" Noctis asked as he took out his phone and answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's Cindy. How goes the huntin'?" Cindy asked.
How'd she get my number?
"Actually, we just finished." Noctis informed the mechanic.
"That's great, cause I got one more hunt for y'all-only this time it's for a person." Cindy said.
"Cindy explained how a guy named Dave went off and vanished and we had to hunt him down. I couldn't help but wonder how Nova was though and if she gave Cindy my number, it's the only explanation. This isn't how we usually do things, but hey, wasted time is wasted time."
"Dave ended up needing our help and so we were off to defeat a dualhorn for him. We ended up having to make camp for the night, which I know Nova will give us hell for leaving her for, and found it in the morning."
"Over there! That's it, right?" Prompto asked as he spotted the target.
"That's a dualhorn?" Gladiolus asked as the five men squatted down near a rock face to observe the target.
"Yes, but not your run-of-the-mill breed. We'd best make quick work of it." Ignis advised.
"Understood." Solis nodded as he reached back and pulled a sword out of his backpack.
"You've gotta make me one of those!" Prompto said suddenly.
"Later, right now we have to focus." Solis said, all business. Prompto nodded and the party slowly approached.
"Wait a sec." Gladiolus stopped them suddenly.
"What-scared, big guy?" Prompto teased.
"You oughta be too. Thing's vicious." Gladiolus stated as he took out his own sword.
"You sure? Looks tame to me." Prompto said doubtingly.
"Yeah." Noctis agreed.
"It's definitely not someone I'd regularly mess with." Solis stated as he stood in between Noctis and Gladiolus, Prompto and Ignis on either side of the prince.
"Look out!" Ignis suddenly cried as the beast approached. Gladiolus quickly struck out, knocking the dualhorn on its side.
"Yeah! Show him who's boss!" Prompto cheered.
"Nice one!" Noctis agreed.
"It's not over yet!" Ignis cried as the dualhorn got up.
"Be on your guard!" Solis cried before he ran forward and stabbed the dualhorn as deeply as he could.
"What are you doing?!" Prompto cried as the escort had no weapon. Quickly, the blonde began to shoot at the dualhorn when it suddenly cried out.
Looking closer, Noctis saw three of Solis' swords stabbed into it. How'd he make those so fast?
"Duck!" Ignis ordered as he threw dagger after dagger at the monster.
Quickly, Noctis used his warp strike to give the others time to prepare.
"Now, Gladio!" Noctis shouted as he warped away and the shield sliced at the dualhorn's stomach yet again.
"Prompto, now!" Gladiolus ordered.
"On it!" Prompto grinned, shooting several bullets at the beast, one after the other.
"Prompto, look out!" Solis cried. The gunman turned and ducked just as the escort shot an arrow straight into the beast's eye.
"Just a little more!" Ignis cried. The strategist threw three more daggers in succession after he spoke.
Noctis attacked with everything he had before he warped away and Gladiolus finished the beast off.
"Nice job, Gladio." Noctis smiled.
"Yeah, you killed it, literally!" Prompto grinned.
"Ha ha." Gladiolus mocked the gunman.
"We all did well, including Solis." Ignis spoke up.
"Nah, you guys did the most work." Solis denied. Just then, Noctis' phone rang.
"Hello?" Noctis answered only to hear Cindy's voice.
"Cindy thanked us for finding Dave then informed us the Regalia was ready. We practically ran back to town after that."
"That's it? Aren't there more fights?" Ben asked.
"This is just the beginning, my boy." Grandpa smiled.
"Stop interrupting!" Mia cried.
"It's rude to keep a girl waiting. You'd better apologi-what is THAT?!" Prompto went from teasing to scared in a flash. Noctis turned to see what was so scary and his eyes widened as he saw the giant bird.
"A live hurricane!" Noctis cried as the bird flew right over them.
"That thing's like half-bird, half-storm, half-airship!" Prompto cried.
"You realize that's three halves…" Gladiolus said.
"You mean thirds, right?" Solis asked.
"Yeah, whatever, you get the point!" Prompto cried.
"Would explain its size." Ignis commented.
"Awesome in every sense." Noctis answered.
"Nova'd beat you for that, you know." Prompto stated.
"Good thing she's not here then." Noctis shot back with a smirk.
"She beats him?" Solis asked.
"Only when he does something idiotic, as she says." Gladiolus answered.
"It's how she says she loves him." Prompto added, causing Gladiolus to laugh.
Solis looked from Prompto to Noctis, who was leading the way.
Noctis didn't stop, though he heard every word.
How she says she loves me, huh?
Once the party reached Hammerhead, Nova ran over to them.
"Finally! Why'd you idiots take so long?" She demanded, hands on her hips.
"Got a few more missions that took longer." Gladiolus answered.
"You could've called to tell me, you know!" Nova cried.
"Sorry…slipped my mind." Noctis answered, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked away.
"'Slipped my mind' my ass! You did that on purpose!" Nova accused.
"Hey, you wouldn't talk that way around the children, would you?" Noctis teased.
"This is different and you know it, dammit!" Nova yelled.
"Wait til we get home and you start yelling at Gladio and Prompto like a hypocrite." Noctis smirked.
Nova's face fell.
"What makes you think you're coming home?" She whispered before she turned and quickly walked away. Noctis sighed as he remembered their situation. Prompto patted his back to try and console him to no success.
She's right.
"Sorry 'bout the wait. Ain't she purdy?" Cindy grinned with pride in her voice as she showed off the Regalia.
"She's almost too good for the road." Gladiolus complimented.
"She's back! We should all get a picture with her!" Prompto grinned as he passed his camera to Cindy. While everyone else posed, Prompto pushed Nova towards Noctis and pulled Solis into the group.
Ben flipped to the picture Noctis had written about and laughed. Solis looked more comfortable but still put out as he stood between a posing Prompto and a normal Ignis. Gladiolus was leaning against the Regalia and below him, Noctis was sitting with Nova on his right side, both looking the slightest bit uncomfortable.
Below the picture were the words:
I never felt as happy as I did when we got the Regalia back. Solis almost got out of the picture, but I wouldn't let him. And Noctis tried to avoid Nova but that was not an option. Being back on the road means back to being friends!
"This guy's so cheesy!" Ben laughed.
"I think he's funny!" Lucy protested. "Can we hear more?"
"Cindy asked us to do a favor for her and now we're off to Galdin and after there, Altissia, where Luna's waiting and…where my wedding will happen, where I'll say goodbye to the life I knew."
With that, the six got in the Regalia and were off, Ignis at the wheel again. They reached the next stop, dropped off Cindy's stuff and were about to head off when they heard barking.
Turning, the party watched as a dog approached them.
"Hmm? Umbra." Noctis said as he recognized the dog.
"What're you doing here, boy?" Solis questioned as he and Noctis bent down to pet the dog. "You're supposed to be with Freya."
"Freya?" Nova repeated.
"Uh, Lady Lunafreya allows me to call her Freya." Solis admitted, looking away.
"I think that's cute. You must be close." Nova smiled sadly.
"Yeah…we are." Solis nodded.
"Bringin' us stuff, atta boy!" Prompto praised.
"He's not a delivery dog." Solis said.
"That dog can really track a scent though." Gladiolus commented.
"Certainly 'nose' how to find us." Ignis agreed.
"Ha ha." Solis rolled his eyes as he stood up only for Nova to silently bend down and place a hand on Noctis' arm silently.
"How do you always know, boy?" Prompto asked, curious.
"Just a sec." Noctis said as he took a notebook off Umbra and began to write in it. The prince then tied the notebook back around the dog. "All set. Take care out there."
"I know. You're not gonna tell me." Prompto started as Noctis and Nova stood up, Nova remaining silent.
"Then don't ask." Noctis cut in.
Prompto ignored him.
"What was that about?" Noctis was silent. "You don't say."
"Can we just get to Galdin, please?" Nova finally spoke up as she walked over to the car, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, even Noctis', despite his efforts.
As they drove, a news report came on.
"For our next story, Lady Lunafreya of Tenebrae has issued an official statement regarding the forthcoming treaty." A news reporter said.
"Words cannot express the joy in my heart on receiving word of this coming peace." Lunafreya's voice said.
Solis instantly looked down upon hearing her voice.
"Nor the pride I take in my betrothal playing a part in this historic moment." Lunafreya continued. "On this joyous occasion, some have voiced cause for concern: the fear I will be unable to fulfill my duties as Oracle. Please rest assured, my marriage will not stand in the way of my calling. You will find me in your towns and villages, as you always have. And I shall continue to bless you all."
"Lady Lunafreya will set forth from Tenebrae for her wedding ceremony in the coming days." The reporter said. "Please be advised that, during this time alone, her duties as Oracle will be suspended."
"It's in the treaty?" Prompto asked.
"Of course, simple formality." Ignis nodded.
"One of those 'symbol of the peace' deals." Gladiolus added.
Nova's grip on her intertwined hands was making her knuckles turn white.
"So it's more like a…marriage of convenience?" Prompto asked.
"Her Ladyship seems nevertheless amenable to the prospect." Ignis said.
"And Noct here likes the idea." Gladiolus grinned as he looked at the prince. Said prince was refusing to meet anyone's gaze and forcing himself not to turn around into the row behind him.
"Buzz off." Noctis scowled at the shield, causing him to laugh as well as the gunman, though the strategist looked at the prince in the rearview mirror in concern as did the escort for the woman.
"King Noctis didn't love Lady Lunafreya?" Mia asked, sad.
"No, he was in love with someone else." Grandpa said.
"But he did love Lady Lunafreya as a dear friend." Grandma added.
"Look who's interrupting now!" Matthew stuck his tongue out at his sister.
The party reached Galdin Quay not long after that. Nova seemed to brighten up as she saw the sea.
"You miss it, huh?" Noctis asked her.
"Of course, it's a part of me. But so is my duty." Nova smiled as she patted Noctis' arm and began to walk towards the dock. "Come on, ferries are this way."
"I think we could've figured that out." Gladiolus commented.
"Shut up, Gladio." Noctis said offhandedly.
"Does Nova know the sea well?" Solis asked the prince.
"Her ancestors were voyagers before one of my ancestors saved her ancestor's life. That ancestor then vowed their family would always serve the King of Lucis and left the voyaging life. The sea's never left their blood though." Noctis explained.
"How…do you know that?" Solis asked.
"Uh, Nova and I go way back. I've known her since she was born." Noctis answered, looking away. Solis nodded, taking that answer.
The party reached the end of the dock when a voice cut into their conversation.
"I'm afraid you're out of luck." A suspicious stranger said.
"Are we?" Noctis asked, wary. Almost unconsciously, he stepped in front of Nova.
"The boats bring you here." The stranger said.
"What about 'em?" Prompto asked.
"Well, they'll not take you forth." The stranger answered.
"And what's your story?" Gladiolus questioned.
"I'm an impatient traveler, ready to turn ship." The stranger explained as he began to walk away.
"Not much of a story." Solis stated as he crossed his arms.
"The ceasefire's getting us nowhere." The stranger said, ignoring the escort. He turned then and flipped some kind of coin at Noctis, which Gladiolus caught.
"What's this? Some sort of souvenir?" The shield questioned.
"They make those?" Prompto asked eagerly.
"What? No." Noctis denied.
"Not the time for this." Nova ground out between clenched teeth.
"Consider it your allowance." The stranger smiled.
"Yeah, and who's allowing us?" Gladiolus questioned as Solis slowly reached back, just in case. The stranger shrugged.
"A man of no consequence." He answered.
"Yeah right." Noctis muttered under his breath as the party relaxed and the prince turned to the woman only to have her punch him in the shoulder. "What was that for?!"
"For trying to protect me." Nova answered.
The next thing they knew; she was hugging Noctis.
"What's this for?" Noctis asked softly as his arms wrapped around Nova, pulling her closer to him.
"For trying to protect me." She answered back just as softly before she pulled away entirely and the men all shared a confused look before they continued on to see if the ferries really were out.
And sure enough, they were.
"Aw, not a boat in sight. What gives?" Prompto asked.
"According to my sources, the empire, giving strict orders not to let any vessels leave the docks of Altissia." A man cut in, "A real shame if you were late to your own wedding-right, Prince Noctis? Name's Dino, by the way. Pleasure."
"What do you want with His Highness?" Nova demanded as she stepped forward, pushing Noctis behind her in the process, and glared down at the reporter.
"The crown prince of Lucis, bounty hunting in his fancy car…surely you didn't think it'd go unnoticed-at least not by this reporter?" Dino grinned.
"What do you want with His Highness?" Nova repeated, her clenched fists starting to shake.
"Lucky for you, this reporter has integrity. If you wanna remain incognito, I'll respect your wish, in exchange for a favor." Dino smirked.
"What is it you want with His Highness?" Nova asked for the last time.
"What do you want?" Noctis asked, coming up from behind Nova.
"Dino marked on our map where he wanted us to go, saying if we did it we'd get a ship. If not, the papers would run out of town. Like we have a choice, besides calming Nova down that is."
"What was that all about?" Prompto asked the still fuming Nova.
"It's my job to keep Noct safe and his cover's already been blown." She answered.
"We weren't taking that much caution to begin with." Ignis admitted.
"Outside of with Nova, yeah." Gladiolus nodded in agreement.
"Let's just get this guy's jewels and be done." Noctis said.
"Why are you taking more caution with Nova?" Solis asked as they piled into the car.
"Because she's less recognizable and less powerful at the moment." Ignis answered.
"Oh gee, thanks." Nova snapped sarcastically.
"What do you mean?" Solis asked.
"You'll find out when we get in a fight." Nova waved him off.
They got to the mineral deposit just fine…until they reached the area where the minerals actually were and found the giant bird from earlier.
"Oh em gee." Prompto whispered in fear. "We're supposed to get near that thing?"
"Pipe down before you wake it up." Gladiolus warned the gunman.
"Relax, I'm prepared." Nova assured, holding her hand out towards the bird, to do what, Solis had no idea.
Quickly, the party snuck past the bird and grabbed the stone. However, as they were sneaking back, the bird woke up and flew away with a great gust of wind.
"Off it goes." Ignis stated.
"And no need for me." Nova smiled slightly.
"Oh, we made it out alive." Noctis sighed in relief.
"Barely! I seriously thought we were at journey's end." Prompto contradicted.
"But that feat was fit for a king." Gladiolus smiled.
"Indeed." Ignis agreed.
"Not king yet." Noctis called back.
The party returned to the car laughing like old friends, even Solis.
They reached Galdin Quay by sunset and ran to give Dino the stone he asked. As they reached him, Nova stood in front of the prince to protect him.
"Nice work, kid! Sorry for giving you such a hard time. I just had to get my hands on this, even if it meant blackmail. You understand, don't ya?" Dino said.
"Wow, what a good moral code." Nova rolled her eyes.
"Y'see, I'm a reporter by day and an amateur jeweler by night. This elusive little beauty's gonna become a masterpiece." Dino explained with a grin as he examined the stone. "To make it up to you, I'll share a little scoop. That special coin you got-it commemorates the Oracle's ascension. That guy was tossing 'em out to everyone. Musta picked 'em up back in Niflheim. And speaking of freebies, here's one from me. Come back if you wanna buy more!"
Dino took out a garnet bracelet and passed it to Nova.
"Pretty bracelet for a pretty lady." He grinned.
"I doubt a souvenir like that could make its way into the hands of an ordinary citizen." Ignis commented.
"Well, it's our pocket change now!" Prompto grinned.
"Let's learn from history and book a place this time." Gladiolus commented.
"Good idea." Solis agreed as began to play with the pendent he wore.
"Dino promised us a ferry by morning so we made our way to a hotel to stay the night."
Nova was standing on the dock, staring at the sunset, when she felt his presence beside her.
"What is it, Noct?" She asked.
"Nothing, I just wanted to watch the sunset with you." Noctis answered. Nova turned to him with a skeptical eyebrow raised before she turned back to the sunset.
"Okay…isn't it beautiful?" She sighed happily.
"Yeah…" Noctis answered, his eyes on Nova and not the sunset though.
"Dad used to take Mom and I on vacations to the sea every year so he could sail and I could learn. I remember I loved watching sunsets but sunrises are always my favorite."
"I can see why…"
"…..Please don't stare at me, Noct."
"Why?"
"You know why…what you have to do…"
"I'm not married yet." Noctis tried to reach for her hand but she ripped it away before he could.
"You aren't married at all, all the more reason to leave me alone in that way!" She turned away from him, hiding her face.
"Have you forgotten everything we've been through?"
"Of course I haven't!"
"Then why do you insist on it?! I'm doing my duty; I was always going to!"
"Because it'll only hurt worse if I don't do this!"
"What about Chiara and Dante then? What are you going to tell them?"
"….They'll understand when they're older…"
"Nova…"
"Noct, please…just…remember me, okay? Please…I'm sorry!"
With that, Nova ran down the long dock and went into the water near the other dock and began to dance with the water, singing the song of her people.
Noctis sighed and turned back to the sunset.
Ignis and Prompto shared a look from the hotel room, watching the two from a window and hiding them from Gladiolus at the same time.
Sitting on the beach, Solis looked down at the picture in his open pendent. The sun shaped pendent had a picture of a little girl with pale blonde hair and green eyes with her own star shaped pendent around her neck.
And all throughout Galdin Quay, the song of Nova's people was heard.
"Tatou o tagata folau vala'auina
Le atua o le sami tele e o mai
Ua la ava'e le lu'itau e lelei
Tapenapena
Aue, aue
Nuku i mua
Te manulele e tataki e
Aue, aue
Te fenua te malie
Nae ko hakilia kaiga e
We read the wind and the sky when the sun is high
We sail the length of the seas on the ocean breeze
At night, we name every star
We know where we are
We know who we are, who we are
Aue, aue
We set a course to find
A brand new Island everywhere we roam
Aue, aue
We keep our Island in our mind
And when it's time to find home
We know the way
Aue, aue,
We are explorers reading every sign
We tell the stories of our elders in a never-ending chain
Aue, aue,
Te fenua, te malie
Nae ko hakilia
We know the way"
"But don't they get to be happy?" Lucy asked.
"Of course they will be, this is a fairy tale!" Mia grinned.
"No it's not, it's a legend!" Ben argued.
"Yeah, that means it's not a mushy love story!" Matthew agreed.
"It's not mushy!" The girls cried.
"Love stories are always mushy!" The boys argued.
"What about the rest?" Grandma smiled.
"Don't you want to hear it?" Grandpa added.
The children fell silent.
"The day that followed was the worst day of my life."
"Heya, morning." Prompto greeted Noctis as he woke up.
Noctis got up and looked around the room.
Prompto, Gladiolus and Solis were staring at him, waiting, while Nova was actively avoiding his gaze entirely.
"Where's Specs?" Noctis asked.
"Should be back any minute now." Gladiolus assured.
Sure enough, Ignis walked in with a newspaper in hand, his eyes on Noctis and Nova the entire time.
"What's that look for?" Noctis asked. Ignis passed the newspaper to Gladiolus.
"It's in all the papers." He said sadly.
"What is?" Noctis asked.
Gladiolus was silent as he read but Prompto read over his shoulder.
"'Insomnia…falls'?" He read, shocked. Noctis and Nova's heads shot up, even Solis looked utterly shocked.
"This your idea of a joke?" Noctis demanded.
"What's going on?" Nova whispered as she stood up.
"How can Insomnia fall?" Solis added as he adjusted his backpack.
"I need you to calm down so I can explain." Ignis stated.
"I'm as calm as I'm gonna get!" Noctis said.
"Noct!" Nova cried as she grabbed his arm to hold him back, just in case.
"There was an attack. The imperial army has taken the Crown City." Ignis explained.
"'As treaty room tempers flared, blasts lit the night sky. When the smoke about the Citadel had cleared, the king and the Enchanter were found…dead.'" Gladiolus read.
"No!" Nova gasped as she released Noctis and walked towards the window.
"No, wait, hold on…" Noctis said.
"We had no way of knowing." Ignis said, his voice thick with regret and defeat.
"What? Knowing what?" Noctis demanded.
"That the signing was last night, that Insomnia-" Ignis started.
"But the wedding! Altissia!" Noctis protested.
"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 said rhetorically.
"…Lies." Noctis gasped. Suddenly, he felt like he couldn't stand and was leaning on the chair for support.
"…If only." Prompto whispered. Noctis moved to sit in a chair, his gaze shooting towards Nova. He remembered when her mother died…would she react the same way now?
"What…do we do now?" Solis asked as he looked at Ignis and Gladiolus. Despite being the oldest at 24, Solis felt so out of his debt and younger in that moment.
"What else do we know?" Gladiolus asked as he finished reading. Ignis shook his head. "Then we can't be sure until we see it with our own eyes."
"And that means we go back to Insomnia." Prompto stated.
"Might not be safe for us there." Ignis protested.
"Might not be safe for us here." Prompto argued.
"Turn back?" Gladiolus asked.
"It's your choice, Noct." Noctis looked up to see Nova standing behind him, her hands on his shoulder and her face completely dry.
He remembered when her mother died, she had been a mess. Now, she was completely calm, for him.
"We'll follow you." Solis added as he sat in the chair in front of Noctis.
Despite having only known him for a couple days, Noctis knew he could trust the escort and now here was the proof.
Noctis looked at the rest of his friends.
Ignis, who had helped take care of him for years.
Gladiolus, who trained him for this life.
Prompto, who had seen him as Noctis, not the prince.
"Yeah."
As they drove through the rain, they were mostly silent.
"I hope everyone's okay…" Prompto broke it.
"Lotta good hoping's gonna do." Noctis snapped, voice bitter.
"You mustn't lose faith." Ignis reminded.
"Really? Can faith stop a fleet of imperial dreadnoughts?" Noctis asked sarcastically.
"Give it a rest." Gladiolus said, voice tired.
"My old man had plenty of faith!" Noctis snapped.
"Enough." Ignis cut in.
"It'll be okay, High-Noctis." Solis tried to comfort the prince.
"And how would you know?" Noctis snapped.
"Stop, Noct." Nova cut in. "My dad's gone, just like yours is. But getting angry at your friends isn't gonna help our situation, okay?"
"The empire lied. They betrayed us." Prompto said, changing the subject.
"Conjecture gets us nowhere. We're searching for truth." Ignis stated.
"And we'll find it at Insomnia…" Solis said.
"Correct." Ignis nodded.
"All you'll find are lies-like that ceasefire." Noctis stated.
"Look at the size of those things." Gladiolus commented after a minute as he looked out the window.
"Imperial dreadnoughts, they transport soldiers-namely, the magitek infantry." Ignis stated.
"The robots?" Gladiolus asked for confirmation.
"Mass-produced humanoid weapons of warfare, to be more precise." Ignis explained.
"I've seen them in Tenebrae. It's awful when they come through." Solis said.
"Doesn't look like they'll be signing that peace treaty." Prompto shivered.
"They hurt so many people…it's awful and sick!" Solis stated, anger at the empire showing.
"Up ahead!" Prompto cried and the car stopped suddenly.
"What is this?" Nova whispered.
"They've set up an inspection point." Ignis answered.
"If the road ahead's blocked, then we'll find a way around." Gladiolus stated. Ignis nodded and turned down a side street until they stopped.
"Let's make a detour. There ought to be a decent vantage point up ahead." Ignis said as they all got out of the Regalia.
As soon as she was out of the car, Nova removed the leather jacket she wore. Underneath, her bright sky blue shirt had one long sleeve on the right side that was tucked into her motorcycle glovelett. The left side had no sleeve, however. And underneath the right sleeve, you could just make out an Enchantress tattoo that was identical to her father's.
The party ran up to the makeshift fortress and found a bunch of Imperials. As soon as she saw them, Nova held her right hand out.
"Fire." She whispered. Suddenly, the tattoo on her right arm glowed and fire left her fingertips, only to catch on the Imperial.
"Whoa…" Solis whispered.
"I'm the Enchantress, magic is in my blood." Nova whispered as Noctis used his warp strike to take another Imperial out.
The battle was on.
Finally, the party defeated the Imperials and reached the hill overlooking Insomnia.
"As to ceasefire discussions between the two nations, all provisional terms have been suspended in light of recent developments." A newscaster's voice said from Prompto's phone. "Moreover, in the wake of the news of King Regis and Enchanter Alexandros' deaths, we've now received word that Crown Prince Noctis, Enchantress Novalee and the Oracle Lunafreya have also been pronounced dead."
"Keep it on!" Gladiolus ordered.
Nova suddenly began to shake.
Prompto dropped his phone.
"Don't bother!" Noctis shouted, grief seizing his voice.
"Noct…" Nova whispered. The prince was instantly looking at the Enchantress. "Chiara and Dante…our…our children…what's happened…to them…? Oh gods…what if they're…they're…dead?" Suddenly, Nova began to sob as she fell to the ground on her knees, the rest of the party staring at her in shock.
"Don't worry…I'll find out what's happened to them." Noctis promised as he took his phone out. Solis and Gladiolus followed, each dialing different numbers. Prompto knelt beside the sobbing Nova as the rain continued to fall and all Ignis could do was stare at Insomnia as the dreadnoughts flew above them. "H-hello? Cor?" Noctis said.
"So, you made it." Cor sounded relieved.
Noctis' thoughts were running wildly.
"The hell's going on?" He asked.
"Where are you?" Cor asked.
"Outside the city, with no way back in." Noctis answered.
"Makes sense." Cor stated.
"'Makes sense'? Are you serious? What about any of this makes sense!?" Noctis demanded. "The news just told me I'm dead-along with my father, my former father-in-law, my ex-wife and Luna! And I don't even know what happened to my children!"
"Listen. I'm heading out to Hammerhead." Cor said. "About the king and the Enchanter…it's true."
Noctis' eyes widened and he turned to look back at the city, his city.
"If you're looking for the whole truth, you know where to find me." Cor said. "Get moving."
"Right." Noctis agreed, his voice catching in his throat. He lowered his phone and stared at the city.
"What did the marshal…have to say?" Ignis asked cautiously.
"Said he'd be in Hammerhead." Noctis answered.
"And the king?" Gladiolus asked.
"And my dad?" Nova asked softly as Prompto helped her stand up.
Noctis was silent.
"What about our children…what about Chiara and Dante?!" Nova screamed.
"I don't know…" Noctis looked down.
Nova bit her lip before she let out an ear splitting scream. Tears fell down her cheeks before she straightened up and wiped them away.
"Okay…we'll find that truth together than." She whispered.
Solis stared at the group as he hung up his phone, his own relief bringing guilt to him.
"I'll come with you." He said, "I made a vow…I'm going to keep it."
"Very well." Noctis nodded as the six stared at the ruins of Insomnia before they slowly made their way to the car.
"That was a day I will never forget…it was the day my life was set on my path."
"Did the children make it out?" Mia and Ben asked in unison. Lucy and Matthew matched their desperate expressions.
"You'll find out." Grandpa winked cheekily.
"Oh stop it, big brother!" Grandma hit her brother before she picked the journal back up again.
The children noticed they were avoiding the question but were sucked back into the story without complaint.
And here we are, chapter two! Man, this was a long one. I started writing this at 7:00 AM! It's over 7,000 words and 29 pages on Microsoft! Anyways, thanks to Stoto (I hope I didn't disappoint you with the romance parts of this, it's just the underlying angst between the couples is something I want to explore a lot.), deathwing17 (Is this long enough? Lol), Guest (Your wish is granted!), Mikaelsonlover808 (Oh, actually I loved them in the game. I'm just doing this because the angst was too good of an idea to pass up.), Levalune (Thanks!), EmeraldWings1992 (I'm glad, and in case you didn't catch it, I did add another row.), sorax33 (I'm glad you're enjoying it! Hopefully you like both OCs!), LightCamellia (Thanks!), Vampuric Spider (Thanks!), all 24 followers, all 17 favorites and all 260 readers!
Oh yeah, there's a prequel to this story, a one shot titled Red so go check it out!
I hope you all enjoyed! Leave a review please! Later!