Betrayal
The coast town of Galdin Quay offered, both scenically and architecturally, a welcome change from the dry, run-down towns in the heart of Leide. A pleasant breeze blew in from the sea. The sandy beach and azure waters looked to be perfect for swimming and fishing.
Noctis did not know whether to welcome or lament the fact that the ferry to Altissia was being held on the other side of the ocean, in Accordo, on Imperial orders. On one hand, it was another obstacle on their already ill-fated journey. On the other, it allowed them to spend more time on the beach and at the spa hotel. He could do well without the massage, however, after trying it out and escaping from the lounger with a more than familiar backache. Even after twelve years, the old wound that the Marilith daemon had inflicted upon him still plagued him every once in a while. It was a surprise that he had recovered so well, seeing how Luna's mother, the former Oracle, had been killed in the attack on Fenestala Manor before she could complete the healing.
The Chancellor passed the time by handing out commemorative coins minted with the image of the present Oracle to visitors of the restaurant and waiting travellers. Had Noctis not seen him, he would have never believed how easy it was for him to engage passers-by in friendly small talk. Surrounded by children, Ardyn seemed like a peculiar, yet harmless stranger. Noctis was certain that none of those present knew of his political position. In passing, Ardyn tossed him a coin as well, as a memento of their journey.
In response to Ignis' legitimate question about whether he could lift the ferry's blockade, Ardyn merely let them know that his influence on the Imperial military was limited. Even Noctis recognised the lie as such, but dropped the subject. With all the delays, one day of travel more or less did not matter anyway.
The rude awakening followed the next morning.
Ignis returned to the hotel room with a hot-off-the-press edition of the daily newspaper bearing the headline "Insomnia Falls". It reported on hostilities during the signing of the peace treaty and the death of King Regis. At first, Noctis refused to believe it, but Ignis assured him that all the media could not possibly be wrong, and Noctis' incomprehension was joined by anger.
"Where is Ardyn?" he asked with trembling fists as the four of them stood gathered in the hotel room.
"Haven't seen him today," Prompto replied.
"Neither have I," Ignis added.
"No surprise, is it?" Gladio huffed. "He probably left yesterday to sit alongside Aldercapt in the Citadel now."
Noctis' felt his fingernails dig into his skin. "We have to go back."
Prompto took a step towards the door as if to stop him. "But isn't Insomnia crawling with Imperials by now?"
"It is no longer safe for us there," Ignis agreed, adding to Prompto's worry.
"And what if they come looking for us here too?"
"I need to see it. I need to see if it's true," Noctis insisted. "I have to find out what happened to dad."
Ignis turned to him, awaiting instructions. "What should it be, Noct?"
"We're going back to Insomnia."
They set off in great haste. Ignis drove until the first traffic jam came into view in front of an Imperial control station. Without much discussion, they veered onto an unpaved road that led to the side of the fortifications at Leide's border. Somewhere beyond lay a mountain crevasse, the sea, and, finally, Insomnia. As they made their way past the fortifications, they were attacked by Magitek riflemen and axemen. Noctis found the Empire's soulless robots to be just the thing to vent his pent-up rage on in battle. Almost single-handedly, he cleaved a path through their lines, leaving his comrades in the dust as he warped about the place, throwing swords and spears, and any other weapon he pulled from his armiger. The path that wound around the complex eventually led the four of them to a rocky outcrop that jutted out over a chasm in the mountains at the very edge of Leide's shoreline. In the far distance, beyond the rocks and the sea, rose Insomnia's city walls. The only bridge that crossed over from Leide to Insomnia was blocked off. No path led within.
Airships of the Imperial military in all sizes passed over the heads of Noctis and his entourage. The city before them lay defenceless. Gone was the shimmer of the magical barrier that had protected it for decades. Noctis knew what that meant. The newscaster whose voice came from Prompto's mobile repeated what the papers had announced earlier, but still, Noctis did not want to hear it. He held tight onto the glimmering, fading spark of hope that his father might still be alive. The only thing new about the broadcast was the mention of his and Luna's deaths, but Noctis' burning anger only grew as a result.
Lies. All Imperial lies. From the peace treaty to their so-called escort, the Empire had fooled them all along.
"How terribly rude of you to abandon me just because I had to attend to my political duties for five minutes." The voice that reached their ears had become all too familiar over the past days.
In shock, Prompto dropped his mobile. Ignis picked it up for him.
"Look who's got the nerve to show his face again," Gladio greeted the Chancellor bitterly.
Ardyn approached them from the direction of the fortifications. Another, smaller airship passed over them. - Probably the one which had dropped him off.
"Did you know about this?" Noctis shouted, pointing to the invasion fleet hovering over Insomnia.
"That the treaty was signed last night? No."
"Cut the crap, Ardyn!" Noctis demanded. "Tell me if my father is still alive."
"I was not at the scene, so I don't know all the details, but judging by King Regis' condition, I very much doubt he survived the attack. Especially since Minister Besithia took his latest creations with him." Ardyn circled the four friends at a safe distance until he stood with his back to the chasm. "I beg you! Any man could have seen that the treaty was just a farce. Do you seriously think Regis did not know what he had agreed to? His life had been forfeit the moment he put on that accursed ring. Given his frailty, the Wall would have fallen very soon, anyway – with or without Niflheim's interference. You knew that the magic of the Lucii was burning away years of his life, didn't you? He can consider himself lucky to have been put out of his misery."
The way the Chancellor spoke of his father made Noctis' anger boil over. If there had been any indication that Ardyn knew how to hold his ground in a fight, Noctis would have summoned the Engine Blade by now to point it at his throat. But one last shred of self-restraint kept him from threatening an unarmed man. "You," he said through clenched teeth, "made sure we weren't there to help him when he needed us most." He started towards Ardyn, but Gladio put a hand on his chest and held him back.
"I," Ardyn replied ", have seen to it that you do not fall into the hands of Niflheim, you ungrateful brat. I had you and Lunafreya Nox Fleuret declared dead so that no one would look for you." He took a step closer, seemingly trying to intimidate Noctis.
This was a challenge Noctis gladly accepted. He tried to push Gladio's arm aside, but Gladio would not let him pass and so he simply phased through his Shield. "I did not ask for this!" he continued to argue as he tried to stare the Chancellor down.
Never would he have expected Ardyn's hand to clasp around his throat. Noctis gasped for breath.
In an instant, Gladio summoned his greatsword. "Let him go at once!"
"Don't do something you will regret!" Ignis warned the Chancellor.
The hold on his throat was only just light enough not to choke him, but it caused adrenaline to rush through Noctis' veins all the same. Ardyn looked down at him not with anger, but disgust. For the first time since they had met, Noctis became truly aware that humans were not supposed to have amber-yellow eyes. A kind of instinctual fear mixed into his anger.
"I'm so tired of always being the scapegoat," Ardyn said. "Why don't we end this right here and now? The Bladekeeper will not protect you. In this very moment, he is preoccupied watching Niflheim steal his precious Crystal."
Heart pounding, but will unbroken, Noctis tried to free himself from the taller man's grasp.
"You look like Somnus, but you are not like him." The Chancellor swayed his head from side to side. " You are merely spoiled. A spoiled little prince. Blind to the suffering in the world, and blind to the suffering of your kin."
He opened his hand, unexpectedly freeing Noctis. Noctis stumbled, but Prompto grabbed his arm and pulled him away before he fell. Ignis gave both of them a small push to quickly get them out of the Chancellor's reach.
"Give me a reason not to strike you down right now," Gladio demanded as he stepped between Ardyn and the others.
"Be my guest," Ardyn replied with a chuckle to his voice. "I'd love to see you try."
Despite of the invitation – or, perhaps, because of it – Gladio did not attack him. Noctis saw in the way his Shield tensed that Gladio wrestled down the urge to lunge at the man and end the life of one of Niflheim's most influential politicians, be it for attacking Noctis or what Niflheim had done to Insomnia.
"Let it go," Ignis advised him. "This quarrel with him isn't getting us anywhere." He signalled Prompto and Noctis to escape and thus, they turned to leave while Ignis and Gladio watched their backs. In a way, Noctis still would have liked to take a swing at Ardyn's face, but he did not want to risk getting caught off-guard again.
"I give you one last chance to prove to me that you can escape your fate, O True King."
Noctis stopped to glance back over his shoulder and was about to come back with a snappy reply when Ardyn's form dissolved into black particles, shot towards him – and before he fully realised what was happening, he felt himself grabbed by the collar and yanked towards the outcrop. He stumbled towards the ledge, struggling to stay balanced as he stared right into the dark abyss before him.
"Dammit!" Gladio cursed.
"Noct!" Prompto cried out.
#-#-#
With a kick, Ardyn sent Noctis down the chasm.
Screaming in anger, Gladio lunged at the Chancellor. His greatsword slid through the man's back seemingly without resistance. Although Ardyn stumbled forward, Gladio's blade left no mark on him. A black liquid stained the stone.
The Chancellor turned to face the three of them, spread his arms and dropped backwards into the abyss, laughing.
Oh dear, could this be a cliffhanger?
I know there is no chasm in the original cutscene, but I believe it is not too much of a stretch, given the mountainside surrounding them.
In the past few years all the stories I have written I have carefully planned beforehand. Not this one, though, which is why there is a risk I might abandon it halfway through. And because it is a fanfiction, I am not putting anywhere near as much into effort into beta-reading than I usually do.
It is fun to write however, and that's what we are are here for, are we not?