Chapter 14
Velcia made her way to the sandy dunes across the road from the Substation, and, once there she crouched down and ran her fingers in the sand. It seemed deep, and she did not care to dig down to find the harder earth underneath - she was satisfied that the sand would help to dampen the blasts of her mines. There were some boulders around as well, and she supposed that once she had learned to make the mines she should try to see how effective they were against rock. She pulled out her Gummi Phone and found the spell's entry once more, studying it carefully and gently motioning with her other hand as she practiced tugging at the different magical elements she would need to combine together.
Once she was assured in her familiarity, she put the Gummi Phone back in her satchel and held out her hands, twirling and twisting them slowly as she brought the energies together. The magic crackled together with a pop, and a small but densely packed wafer of magic plopped down into the sand. Velcia quickly took several steps backwards, watching it in high anticipation as she awaited the blast. It was only a couple long seconds until the mine exploded, shaking the ground and launching a cloud of sand into the air.
Velcia waved her hand in front of her face to try to clear the air, nodding to herself. As the ringing left her ears, she could hear enthusiastic cheers from Prompto some distance behind her. Encouraged, she continued practicing.
First, she practiced making the mines until she felt she could do it quickly and without much thought. Casting relatively simple spells such as this was a skill that came easily to her, and it was not long until she felt ready to step up to the next phase.
Now, she brought out her Keyblade and began again. The Keyblade made casting spells nearly effortless already, and for spells with which Velcia was familiar she found she could cast them with a greater power and effectivity when aided by her Keyblade. The mines created this way did indeed seem to have a more robust blast, but thankfully Velcia was also learning to have a greater control over their placement and could position them further away from herself.
Her attention now turned to one of the boulders, and she felt that it was time to see what damage the mines could do to solid rock. Before she began, however, she turned to face towards the others and found herself surprised at quite an unexpected sight.
Across the tops of the power lines, high above and behind the others, Velcia could see a lanky, cat-like Heartless carefully slinking across the wires towards the Substation. This Heartless had several incredibly long, tendril-like whiskers that seemed as if they were writhing and moving individually to aid in the monster's balance.
The others noticed her perplexed stare but were not sure what she was looking at, but just before Prompto was about to call out to her Ignis spotted the monster's shadow sliding across the terrain and motioned towards it quickly. Noctis stood up and brought out his sword, holding it blade-down towards the ground. Velcia watched this with curiosity, and Noctis nodded towards it before dropping the blade to the ground. The moment he did, she was able to faintly sense the distant spark of Warp Strike magic; and realizing what Noctis intended she connected with the enchantment and warped over beside them.
She turned towards him, panting gently with an amused exhilaration. "That was rather quick thinking, Noctis," she said quietly.
Noctis nodded. "Yeah, same to you," he said softly.
The group crept along to the side of the boulder, peering from underneath it as they watched the cat-like Heartless continue on its journey. The Heartless was quite a bit larger than most felines, and its tail sparked with electricity. It paid them no mind in the slightest, and though it was surely aware of their presence it was focused and confident in itself.
"I guess that's why the fences aren't damaged," Prompto said as he watched it cross the wires towards the next pole.
Noctis looked towards the others. "Come on, let's see if we can knock it down and stop it before it makes it to the Substation. Prompto?"
Prompto summoned his guns to hand with a twirling motion, nodding in an eager anticipation as he and Noctis began to sprint after the Heartless.
Velcia began to follow, but Ignis called out to her suddenly. "Miss Velcia, before we engage I must warn you - the mechanical systems of this Substation are both vital and incredibly susceptible to your magic attacks. I must recommend great caution in this engagement, and for safety would avoid any electric-based attacks entirely."
Velcia nodded. "Thank you, Ignis. I would hate to be the cause of unnecessary damage."
Gunshots rang out, grabbing their attention. The Heartless was quite nimble and seemed to have avoided Prompto's shots. It picked up its pace and rushed across the wires ever quicker, not so much from a sense of fear as impatient annoyance.
Velcia and Ignis ran up beside Prompto and Noctis, who were trying to open the fence gate so they could enter the Substation. The Heartless jumped from the wires down to some of the electrical boxes, then slunk over on top of a structure that seemed to be somewhat central to many of the power lines. It reached out with its many whiskers, wrapping each one around a set of conductors, and a surge of electricity flowed through the whiskers and into the Heartless.
It growled in a disturbingly self-satisfied and pleased fashion as it absorbed the high-voltage current, but after only a few moments there was a loud, chunky thud as the Substation's surge protection switches kicked in and cut power.
The Heartless roared in frustration and set its mind to expressing its disappointment through a rather violent physical interchange with the onlookers, leaping to the ground and charging towards the just-opened fence gate.
Prompto now regretted having removed the lock, but it was too late to put it back and so the group scattered away from the gate as the Heartless burst past them in an electric streak.
They turned quickly to face it, drawing their weapons as it jumped up against a boulder and kicked off, twisting to face back towards them. The Heartless scowled and growled, its whiskers waving up and down like tentacles as it sized them up.
Prompto opened fire with a quick salvo of shots, but the Heartless dropped to a lower stance and charged towards them again. They leapt away from it, but its long whiskers lashed out with whip-like cracks and managed to hit both Velcia and Prompto as it passed, sending them tumbling into the dirt.
Noctis had quickly dodged aside with a short warp, and immediately threw his blade after the beast as it ran; the sword sticking into the ground just behind its haunches as the Heartless jumped up and off the fence of the Substation.
"It's coming for another pass!" Ignis warned, and no sooner did the words leave his mouth than the creature made another charge at them.
Velcia, still on the ground but making her way onto her knees, held up her Keyblade defensively and cast a barrier around herself and Prompto, and with no second to spare as the Heartless immediately jumped atop the shield and vaulted off of it.
"How do we hit this thing?" Noctis asked after avoiding another swipe of the whiskers.
Ignis jumped back quickly as the Heartless ran past once more. "Let's see if we can lure it further from the Substation, so we can safely use our magic!"
Velcia and Prompto made it back to their feet. The moment Velcia dispelled the barrier Prompto resumed his assault, but the Heartless jumped into the air with a twisting leap and rolled over the projectiles.
Next, they tried their best to move away from the Substation in hopes that they could lure the beast out into the open, but the Heartless' charges were so quick and frequent they ultimately found themselves being boxed in and quite unable to lure it anywhere, and they were running out of room to dodge.
Velcia stepped out in front of the group, holding her Keyblade flat against her arm and locking it into place on her gauntlet. The Heartless charged straight towards her, but pivoted at the last second towards Noctis. He warp-stepped away and it instead sprang up onto the fence and back into them from behind, whipping them all with its electrically-charged whiskers.
The crackles of jolting electricity filled the air as the group tumbled to the ground and the Heartless turned around for another pass, its proud eyes twinkling with pride as it lined up another charge. Velcia recovered her focus quickly and cast another barrier, this time encompassing all of them, and the Heartless ran forward and leapt from the top of the barrier and back onto the Substation.
The four returned to their feet and turned to look at the Heartless. It sat across the top of the relays with a tauntingly contented expression, whiskers swaying gently but sparking with power.
Ignis nodded slowly. "A stalemate. It knows we won't attack it there."
Noctis scowled. "So what do we do then?"
"Look at it sitting up there giving us that eye!" Prompto scoffed.
Ignis held his hand to his chin. "We must find some way to surprise it and catch it off-guard."
"If only there were some way we could make it leave that space," Velcia said, looking at all the components that surrounded it.
"It does not have much reason to approach us," Ignis mused, shaking his head. "And I am not entirely sure what we could do to encourage it to do so."
The group backed away, closer to the road where they had plenty of room around them, but the Heartless just sat atop its perch on the Substation, seemingly as content as ever. It knew they would not leave it be, and it was amused by their struggle.
"This should be far enough away, for now," Ignis said, holding out his arm.
"What're you thinking, Iggy?" Prompto said, keeping an eagle-like focus on the cat.
"Simply that it would be better to strategize and regroup at a safe distance," Ignis replied. "It is clear we need a new approach."
Noctis stuck the end of his blade into the sand and crossed his arms, eying the smug monster. "Wonder if there's something we can do to provoke it."
Velcia held her hand to her chin. "Prompto, could you shoot it from here?"
"Yeah, I mean, maybe, but at this distance I might hit something else, too," Prompto replied with a frustrated sigh.
Velcia nodded slowly, looking down to her Keyblade. "Would wind magic cause damage to the machines?"
"Sure, it could," Noctis told her, "But they're designed to stand up against some pretty serious wind storms. It would probably take some pretty powerful gusts to cause too much damage."
Velcia gripped her Keyblade tightly and stepped forward slowly. "I see. If this works, be ready to hit it when it lands."
She began to walk slowly, but firmly, towards the Substation. The Heartless watched her with a mixture of curiosity and denigration, flicking the ends of its sparking whiskers. Velcia made it very near the gate, and quickly thrust her hand forward, a great gust of wind magic flying out and twirling the Heartless back off its perch with an infuriated but nonetheless surprised yowl. Velcia backed up and took a firmer footing, the Heartless quickly resituated itself and lined up to charge at her in retaliation.
Velcia's jaw clenched and her eyes narrowed as she focused on the beast's lithe body, waiting for it to attack. A spark shuddered across its back and in the blink of an eye it leapt forward with a renewed fervor, bounding across the tops of the transformers and relays, then dropping to the ground and growling as it picked up speed for the final stretch.
Velcia yelped in surprise at its speed, but reacted quickly and surely, swooping her free hand from the ground up in a rising motion, a powerful gust of wind spiraling out and sending the Heartless twirling wildly and uncontrollably through the air, arcing high overhead towards Velcia's awaiting companions.
Prompto and Ignis wasted no time, a flurry of bullets and throwing daggers crashing into and ripping through the Heartless as it spun in a frenzy to try to land on its feet. It screeched with rage as it found its footing, but the moment it raised its head towards them it was met with Noctis' flung sword which impacted the side of its head. This strike was the first of many, as several more crushing blows as the teleporting terror appeared by its side and unleashed a flurry of follow-up attacks.
The Heartless screeched and suddenly began to course with electricity, bolts blasting off in every direction as it roared angrily. The group stood their ground, and the Heartless eyed them with a great hatred. Velcia came running up from behind it, which it noted with visible frustration. Everyone braced themselves for its next attack, but instead the Heartless darted quickly between them and up onto the nearest power pole, scrambling up it and onto the wires. It grabbed these tightly with its paws, and wrapped a whisker around each power cable.
Electricity shot out across the wires, blasts of lighting raining down and striking the ground. Small Shadow Heartless began to appear from the locations struck, and these began to amble towards them.
"How do we get it down from there?" Prompto asked, firing towards the rapidly-growing crowd of Shadow Heartless.
"I'll try the wind magic again, once we get close enough," Velcia told him, swinging her Keyblade at the nearest Shadow.
Ignis, threw his daggers into the approaching swarm and let out a sigh of exasperation. "If only Gladio could be here to assist with crowd control."
Noctis ran ahead, vaulting up off a boulder, and threw his sword at the cat-like Heartless on the wire. His sword hit true, but when he appeared beside it to strike again a jolt of electricity surged from the beast and sent him flying back to the ground below. He quickly scrambled to his feet, warping away as quickly as he could muster.
Ignis scowled. "What were you thinking, Noct?" he demanded.
Noctis shivered, and Velcia quickly cast a spell to neutralize the remaining electric energy that afflicted him. "We gotta try something," Noctis said weakly, before clearing his throat and re-engaging the oncoming hoard of Shadows.
"Well don't try that!" Ignis ordered, looking back up to the Heartless. "At this juncture, I dare say damage to the wires is something we must accept. Miss Velcia, if I clear the crowd with an Elemancy-"
"Yes, I'm ready," Velcia said, swinging repeatedly at the crowd of Heartless that were now beginning to circle them.
Ignis pulled a potion bottle from his pocket, throwing it out ahead of them. The Heartless in its path moved out of the way quickly, but when the bottle hit the ground and shattered open a frigid wave of frost erupted out and sent a chilling shockwave through the group, freezing many of them solid.
Velcia quickly burst into action, sprinting ahead through the area as the mist settled. She spun her Keyblade around in her hand, changing her grip to hold it forward. She swung it low over the ground and swooped upwards, a mighty gale screaming into the sky from underneath the Cat Heartless.
The feline-esque beast yowled and bobbed as it fought against the winds, but its grip held true. The wires strained and flexed, the poles began to lean inwards towards it; creaking as though they could buckle at any moment. Several other nearby Shadows were sent flying in the maelstrom, some of them crashing up against their master as they were flung away. When they did, surges of electricity enveloped and ignited them into plumes of flame as they soared into the distance.
"Miss Velcia, enough!" Ignis called out.
Velcia swung her Keyblade around, gripping the handle with both hands. She closed her eyes and swung wide, spinning around and pulling the remainder of the wind in tightly around her. This concentration of air created a small microburst, which blew away the remainder of the nearby Shadows.
"What now?" she asked, panting for breath. "I'm dreadfully short for Magic!"
The Heartless yowled, and the electricity around it began to spark ever more furiously. Bolts of lightning rained down from it, and Ignis watched in horror at the sight of electric bolts leaping across the stretch of wires towards both the Substation and Meldacio.
"We must cut the power lines before it damages the Substation!" he called out.
Prompto jammed his hand into a pocket, fingers searching for and quickly finding one of his specialized ammunition. He pulled back the slide on his pistol, ejecting the current cartridge, and force-loaded the single shot manually before raising his arm and firing it. A sharp blast rang out and a pulsing shockwave trailed the supersonic projectile, shredding through the power lines leading towards the Substation.
Ignis watched this with a sense of relief, and called out quickly. "Good, Prompto! Other side!"
Prompto was already on task, and almost simultaneously to Ignis calling out the instruction the sharpshooter opened fire with an identical shot, severing the set of lines that ran to Meldacio.
"What now?" Noctis called out over the cacophony of thunder.
"Hit it with everything you have!" Ignis cried out.
Ignis and Prompto began their ranged assault on the Heartless once more, and Velcia quickly grabbed a mana potion from her satchel. It was in one of the new vials Ignis had given her. With an uncertain wince, she crushed the bottle firmly, but as Ignis had explained the glass did not cut her. The mana potion burst over her in a refreshing mist and she gasped gently as the energy surged through her body. She opened her eyes with a confident smile and cast a fireball at the Heartless.
The Heartless roared and yowled through the assault, and the fire spread across the lines. The beast, knowing now that it could remain here no longer, jumped to the ground. It sparked and sputtered, nearing the end of its resilience. It began to charge at them once more, but its electrical powers had run out.
The Heartless tackled right through Velcia, knocking her into the air over itself and it snared Ignis' leg with a whisker as it passed, tripping him into the dirt as well. Velcia gasped as she hit the ground, the wind knocked out of her, but she quickly did her best to scramble back to her feet.
The Heartless, now quite exhausted itself, turned to face them. It eyed them with malice, shuddering with rage as it decided which to target with the last of its power. Velcia lowered her Keyblade, her free hand shimmering and glowing as she collected the energies for another magic spell.
The Heartless knew its heading now, and charged straight at the Keyblade Wielder; but this time she swung her hand out wide in front of her and several glowing orbs of magic scattered across the ground between the weary battlers and the charging beast. At such great speed, the frenzied Heartless could not stop itself in time and it tumbled straight into the field of magic mines; which quickly detonated and tossed the beast back and forth between them as they blew it apart into quickly-fading chunks of darkness.
The four watched in shock and disbelief and the smoke and dust settled, slowly looking towards each other and smiling nervously as they processed the events of the battle.
Once the dust was gone, there was nothing left to see but small craters where the mines had been laid. Prompto was quite interested to run over and look at these, but the others slowly turned back towards the Substation.
Noctis shook his head dejectedly as he eyed the mangled wires. "Damn, I was hoping we could avoid that."
Ignis sighed. "With any luck, our actions prevented damage to both Meldacio and the Substation itself."
Velcia walked over towards the damaged infrastructure, looking at the melted, hanging wires. She wasn't sure how much work it would be to repair these, but hoped it wouldn't be too difficult. That these cables could transfer electricity all the way to Meldacio had seemed like a great blessing at first, but the fact that they could also be used to convey damage to a distant target was a startling revelation.
Not long later, a crew from Meldacio arrived in a work truck. They seemed flabbergasted at the damage to the wires at first, some of them very irate until Noctis and Ignis explained to the foreman what had happened. One of the electricians ran quickly to the Substation to inspect it, and the foreman walked over towards the damaged cables with Noctis and Ignis in tow.
"That cat Daemon must be what's been knocking this place offline then," the grizzled man said as he inspected the damage. "Every time we've come to look, we've only ever found some sort of small, round, bug-looking things. You say this larger one was making them?"
Noctis nodded. "Yeah, that's what it looked like."
Velcia turned towards them. "I'm very sorry we destroyed your power wires."
The foreman huffed, hands on his tool belt. "Given the circumstances, I'm glad of it. A few stretches of wire's easier to replace than the Substation. There was quite a power surge back in Meldacio that blew out a couple older machines, but I'd wager the damage would have been worse if you hadn't cut the lines when you did. All said and done, it's a small price to pay if it means this Substation stops getting knocked out every day."
Velcia bowed gently. "I'm very relieved to hear that."
There was a loud clack, and a deep hum began to rumble through the air. The foreman turned with a surprised smile towards the substation to see one of the Electricians waving cheerfully towards them.
"Guess the Substation's fine after all. It's getting dark soon, so we'll have to come out and repair the lines in the morning," the foreman mused, then shook his head and returned his attention to the group. "Thanks again, fellas," then, with a quick glance to Velcia, he added, "And ma'am."
"No problem," Noctis replied. "Just happy to help."
Velcia sighed with relief, and looked back up at the wires once more. She shook her head, and turned towards Ignis and Noctis. "Shall we make our way back, then?"
"Indeed," Ignis said with an enthusiastic nod. "It is well past time we began our dinner preparations."
Prompto jumped into the air, pumping his fist and humming a triumphant tune. "Aw yeah, the best kind of reward!" he exclaimed once he'd finished his jingle.
Velcia couldn't help but laugh at this display, and as they made their way back to the motel she found her spirits well-lifted.
Velcia's green eyes opened softly and she sighed deeply, preparing herself for what she suspected was going to be an emotionally trying journey. These dives into her heart had come to feel almost natural to her now, the unique atmosphere and saturation of magic energies of the realm now quite familiar. The distant rumble of what she suspected to be the Bear shook the station gently, and she knew she must make haste and climb to higher ground before it could entrap her again.
The shimmering, twisting staircases were readily apparent and glowed powerfully, a fact that she hoped to be a sign that the hearts they connected were strengthening. The first of the Stars was certainly still in a considerable amount of danger and peril, she thought, but thankfully her efforts did seem to be helping to reinforce the light inside its heart.
As she climbed the first set of steps, her thoughts returned to the Bear. If this beast was truly the source of the rest of the Darkness she'd seen in this place, then she hoped dearly that destroying it would help to free all three of the intertwined hearts from its dark influence. She found herself praying desperately under her breath that Lunafreya would be able to help provide a solution, and soon.
Velcia reached the top of the steps and once more the luminous body of the first Star was plainly in view, lying flat in the center as usual. She summoned her Keyblade to hand and ran over by its side, crouching down and looking over the glowing figure. The shape was becoming more defined now, the surface of it wisped and rippled like a shimmering cloud. It was difficult to focus on any specific details, but Velcia felt sure that she could occasionally, momentarily, see flashes of a face. The same face she'd seen cry out to her for help through the darkness… a face that she found herself feeling more confident she was familiar with, in some way, outside of this realm.
The ground began to rumble again and Velcia returned to her feet. She held her Keyblade aloft and began to cast a set of spells, first the most powerful Purge spell she could muster followed by a magic barrier imbued with the Holy attribute. She wasn't sure these would be powerful enough to keep the Bear at bay, but she prayed they would help.
Once the spells were completed she ran quickly to the next set of steps and began to climb up them, a chilly pain in her heart as she struggled internally. She paused her ascent and looked back towards the Star's light, clutching a hand to her chest as she replayed her conversation with Ignis in her mind, and with a heartbroken sigh of resignation she resumed her journey.
A familiar, excited chiming filled the air as she reached the top and Velcia couldn't help but laugh in delight as the second Star flew up towards her and proceeded to bob up and down, spinning around her in a twirling motion. She held out her hands gently towards the Star, as if to try to brush her hand across it, and came to float around her left hand.
"I'm so glad to see you doing well," she told it, summoning her Keyblade once more into her right hand. "Are you ready for your healing spells?"
The little Star chimed and floated back a bit from her, staying still as it awaited her magic. She cast a pair of Purge and healing spells for the little Star, and watched with keen interest as the little Star began to grow in size. It seemed much less like a tiny star now, and was beginning to take a cloudy form of light like the other Star down below.
Velcia put away her Keyblade and considered this for a moment as the Star bobbed up and down. "Does this mean that you are going to sleep soon, too?" she asked it curiously.
This particular Star's chimes had always been notably deeper than the first's, but it seemed as though they were perhaps just a tad deeper still now as it shook back-and-forth, a motion Velcia interpreted as an attempt to say 'no'.
"Well, if you do need to sleep to recover properly, please do so," she said. Velcia tilted her head thoughtfully. "I suppose the other Star is having so much more trouble because of that bear, isn't it?"
The Star shuddered, and the two of them walked over to the edge of the platform to look below. Darkness had already covered the platform, waves of the goo swirling ominously around the perimeter of Velcia's barrier. She grit her teeth and turned away, walking back towards the center of the platform.
"I'm sorry, I just… I can't bear to watch," she told the little Star. It bobbed quietly beside her, the soft body of light feeling almost calming to look at. "I'm trying to find a way to deal with that Heartless, but right now… it's just too powerful for me."
A roar called out from the station platform far below, and Velcia fell to her knees. Memories of the nightmares that Bear had inflicted rushed through her mind, and she began to cry softly as she worried for the poor friend below.
A warmth began to fill her chest, and she looked down to see the second Star pressed up tightly against her, as if in an embrace. She smiled tenderly and wrapped her arms around it tightly. "We'll make it through," she told it, closing her eyes tightly.
There was another great roar and a brilliant flash of light, and the next thing Velcia knew she was lying flat on her back in the dark.
She shuddered from a deep chill, a wet coldness gripped her body firmly. She slowly began to sit up, fearing to see what sort of Darkness was grasping at her now, but she could see nothing yet. There was a great, continuous crashing noise that reminded her of being at the base of a waterfall. She crossed her arms and rubbed her hands along them, shivering terribly as another great flash of light broke out with a thunderous crash.
The light let Velcia see just long enough to realize that she was still in her motel room, but she couldn't understand why she was so cold until a giant, heavy water drop plonked down on top of her head. Instinctively, she glanced up towards the ceiling just in time for another of these large drops to plop down right in her face; and with a startled sputter she sprang off the bed and fumbled for the light switch.
The flickering old bulb solved all her mysteries at once. In the roof above her bed Velcia could clearly see a sizable crack through which rainwater had been dripping, and not only were her blankets thoroughly soaked, her night robes were too. She shivered again and began to peel off the frigid, dripping clothing, listening to the great tempest of a storm that blew violently outside. Velcia wasn't sure she'd ever heard a rainstorm so heavy as this.
She quickly dressed herself once more in a dry set of robes, then looked over at her increasingly watery bed with some bemused consternation. She wasn't sure what to do about this.
As she stood thinking, a small gentle clatter from the main room caught her attention. Someone else was up too, she realized, and she couldn't help but wonder if they had also had a leaky roof in their room as well.
Velcia turned off her light switch and, once her eyes adjusted to the dark once more, opened her door and made her way out into the main room. Small lights placed periodically along the base of the walls lit the building enough that she could navigate down the short hall and into the main room; which had both a kitchen and a small living space with a couch and a TV. Prompto was sound asleep on the couch, head hanging back off the armrest in a position that Velcia wouldn't have assumed to be comfortable for any living creature save perhaps a cat.
In the kitchen, responsible for the small noises she'd heard, she saw Ignis warming some water for tea. His back was turned to her, and he hadn't yet noticed her.
"Hello, Ignis," she whispered quietly.
Ignis startled subtly, and turned to greet her. "Ah, Miss Velcia. I hope I did not wake you," he said in a low tone.
Velcia shook her head. "It was the storm… it seems to have found a way into my bed!" she told him with an amused chuckle. He gave her an inquisitive look, and she clarified. "The roof is leaky, I woke up completely soaked and cold."
Ignis tutted. "That won't do at all. Well, we'll have some tea together to warm up, and find some new sleeping arrangement for you afterwards."
Velcia nodded, and glanced over towards Prompto. "I hope we won't wake him up."
"So long as we keep quiet, there is little fear of that," Ignis assured her.
The two stood quietly, listening to the thunderous roars of lightning outside as waves of rain crashed against the sides of the building. Even inside, the sound of the rain was very loud, enough so that by time the tea kettle began to whistle they didn't notice it for a couple of seconds. Ignis smirked wryly, shaking his head as he cast a glance towards Prompto. "Assuming the storm doesn't see fit to wake him itself."
Saying so, he took the kettle and poured the hot water into a pair of waiting cups, one of which he'd grabbed for Velcia as they'd waited. He covered each steeping mug with a light cloth and turned to his companion. "Where shall we sit?"
Velcia glanced around ponderously. "I suppose the kitchen table would be fine, so long as we don't wake Prompto. Though, if he can sleep so tightly through the storm we may have little to worry about."
Ignis nodded, and the two made their way over and sat down. Ignis reached over towards the nearby window and opened the shades, and the two looked out at the great wall of water outdoors. The flashes of lightning dancing through the sky played against the blowing rains beautifully and, although ferocious, the two enjoyed the beauty of the storm.
Velcia took the cloth from the top of her cup and took a careful sip. "Did the storm wake you, too?"
"No, I…" Ignis trailed off, shaking his head. "It's nothing you need concern yourself over, Miss Velcia," he said quietly, taking a sip of his own tea. He decided that it was not near ready enough for him, and set it back down on the table with the cloth across the top.
Velcia looked over at him. He seemed tired, but beyond that there was an unmistakable weariness and concern. She turned back to the window quickly so as not to stare, smiling when another crash of lightning lit the sky.
"You may not believe it, but I've always found lightning storms comforting in a way," she told him. "I mentioned it once to Sam and she thought I was trying to trick her," Velcia said with a chuckle as she remembered.
"It is a rather unique sentiment," Ignis said with a curious nod.
"I suppose it comes with having a benevolent god of thunder and lightning, really," Velcia said. "Zeus' great bolts of lightning were used as displays of his might and righteousness, protecting our lands from evil. Even in the wildest storms, the lightning of Olympus never harmed an innocent person… or so the stories went. For us, it was a reminder that we were protected and cared for."
Ignis nodded softly. "I see. That does explain it rather nicely, doesn't it?"
Velcia looked back over to him from the corners of her eyes, holding her cup silently to her lips as she took a careful, breathy sip of the steaming beverage. Ignis sat still, looking out into the rain quietly, and she wondered what was wrong.
He lifted the cloth from his cup and took another sip, and with a resigned shrug set the cloth down upon the table top. "I apologize for my dour state, Miss Velcia. I will be fine again in the morning."
"You don't need to apologize, Ignis," Velcia said softly. "But after you've helped me so much the past week, if there's anything I can do to return the favor please do let me know. Even if all you need is for someone to listen."
Ignis took a deep drink of his tea, and nodded. "Thank you, Miss Velcia…"
She nodded thoughtfully. "I'll leave the subject be, if you'd like. I'm quite content with quiet company, myself."
Ignis hummed in acknowledgement, then set his cup down gently. "I am not accustomed to open conversations regarding my own personal issues…" He trailed off thoughtfully for a moment. "Nor, I suppose, were you. Of course, it is not that I feel I must hide these troubles from you, it is simply that there is very little to be done for my current mindset other than to push through."
"That's alright," Velcia said reassuringly. "Still, I would be happy to listen and encourage you, if I can."
Ignis nodded, an appreciative smile flickering across his face. "Truth be told, tonight I am simply grappling with the enormity of the task before us. After our rather ineffective campaign against the Adamantoise yesterday, I am finding it rather difficult to see a path forward."
Velcia nodded slowly. Her eagerness to support her friend had led her head-first into her own personal insecurity, and she swallowed hard. "I've been quite anxious about it, as well."
Ignis laced his fingers together. "By no means did I expect it to be an easy task, but I was not prepared for it to go as poorly as it did. This trouble with the Adamantoise, the Heartless… it could not have come at a worse time for us."
"I understand. Noctis told me you all had been just about to make the final push towards reclaiming the Crystal and stopping Niflheim. With such a heavy burden already on your shoulders, and then to have the Heartless come down on top of it… I am so sorry," Velcia told him, wringing her hands uncomfortably.
Ignis nodded, eyes locked vaguely into the distance. "Of course, it is not a burden I bear alone. I am very grateful to have the support of Noctis and the others, and am thankful for the opportunity to help them in turn. It is the sort of responsibility we trained and prepared for, but none of us expected it to drop so suddenly."
Velcia gripped her warm cup tightly. "For what it's worth, I think you are all doing a very good job."
"Thank you, Miss Velcia," Ignis said with a reluctant shake of his head. "But at times, it is hard to agree. We have made so little progress over the last year in our futile struggle against the Heartless, a task which itself is a sizable roadblock to our original problem. Our struggle against Niflheim is only the latest in a complex history between our Nations that goes back centuries, and I can only wonder how much more difficult our task has become now." He stopped for a moment, sighing deeply and leaning back in his seat, looking upward. "And now, with the looming possibility that Bahamut may intervene should we not solve this crisis in a timely fashion…"
Velcia reached over and rested a hand atop one of his. "We won't let it come to that. I will do everything in my power to help free Eos from the Heartless, I promise. And, if there's anything else I can do to help while I am here, please do let me know."
Ignis smiled softly, but didn't move otherwise. "We are all quite grateful to have your support. With your assistance, I feel very encouraged that we may yet destroy the Heartless," he said, a warmth finally beginning to break through his gloomy demeanor. "The situation with the Imperials will be difficult, but it is a subject we must take a day at a time. For the time being, I must do my best to cast aside my own insecurities to focus on my duties, though there are times-" he paused for a moment as a great clash of thunder roared outside, "where it is more difficult to do so."
Velcia turned in her seat, folding her legs up underneath herself as she did. "You're just… going to ignore it?"
Ignis tilted his head. "Not precisely. I do not ignore our duties or my worries, but in service to my King I must make sure that these concerns can be used constructively. As Noct's advisor and tactician, it is imperative that I keep a clear focus on our goals. I cannot do this if I ignore my fears… but I cannot let them guide me, either."
Velcia nodded, a look of understanding crossing her face. "But some nights, it's hard to get past the self doubt…"
Ignis sighed. "Indeed. I will admit that simply talking with you has helped clear quite a bit of the turmoil from my mind… I am sure that in the morning, once I've had some rest, I will be quite ready to perform my duties once more. Thank you for your support, Miss Velcia."
She bowed her head graciously. "Of course, I am happy I could be here for you." She took another sip of her tea, as did Ignis, and thought for a few moments before speaking up again. "Ignis, if you don't mind me prying…"
Ignis shook his head. "Not at all."
"It feels as though, when we talk, you seldom speak about yourself as an individual. Even at a time like this, are you truly so disciplined that your first thought is of your royal duties?"
"I understand how it may come across," Ignis said softly, adjusting his glasses. "As it stands, my duties leave very little room for any amount of devotion to myself. My life's work is in service to another, and not just to an employer, but to my best friend. In times such as these, knowing what's at stake, how can I approach my duties with anything but the strictest of dedication?"
Velcia frowned, looking back down into her cup. "I understand… but is every avenue of interest filtered through what is useful in service to the crown? Surely, you must have hobbies, passions, loved ones?"
Ignis sighed, averting his attention in a rare display of discomfort. "Very little, I'm afraid. It's something Gladiolus has pressed on me about many times. Still, I have a difficult time understanding how these other sorts of distractions could be of value."
Velcia picked up her cup and sipped up the last few cold drops. "You should try, even if you don't understand it at first. There's something good for the soul in it."
Ignis' mouth split into a half-smile as he considered this. "Our current conversation does seem to be a demonstration in your favor, Miss Velcia," he said, the tension in his voice cracking into an eased relief as he did. "It is something I will try to take into consideration in the future."
Velcia smiled happily. "If you do decide to look for a hobby, I could teach you about potions!"
Ignis chuckled quietly. "I'm not sure we shall have time for that, but I do appreciate the offer."
Velcia's face scrunched up in a flustered disappointment. "Well, not all of it anyway, but if you want to learn some of the basics…"
It was all Ignis could do not to laugh. "Very well. I seem to recall an offer to document some local plants and natural components that may prove useful in such an endeavor - if such a resource is still on the table, I believe it should be as good a place as any to start."
Velcia clasped her hands together with twinkling eyes. "Oh, you'll be so good at it! I have so many notes I can share with you already!"
Ignis smiled with great amusement at her excitement. "Quite tempting, but it is rather late and we have a long journey back to Lestallum in the morning. Shall we tend to your situation, and then return to sleep?"
"My situation…?" Velcia asked, quite lost as to what he could mean.
"Ah, perhaps it was presumptuous of me to assume that you were displeased with the water that was inundating your bed?" he asked in a teasing tone.
"Oh!" Velcia exclaimed, sticking out her tongue. She shook her head as she caught herself doing this, chuckling at how tired she knew she was. "Yes, I need to find somewhere else to sleep. Even the floor was beginning to pool a bit!"
Ignis looked back to the storm outside. "I do hope the roof holds well enough through the rest of the storm. It would do no good to have it flood the entire unit." He shook his head and turned back to her. "Nevertheless, I would be happy to offer my bed to you as a replacement."
"I couldn't!" Velcia exclaimed, then glanced over to Prompto's still-sleeping form with some embarrassment at her outburst. "Where would you sleep, Ignis? Not in the water?"
Ignis waved his hand dismissively. "Not at all. We've got sleeping bags, and I can sleep on the floor."
Velcia nodded surely. "I can sleep on the floor, and you may keep your bed!"
"I must insist. With your room flooded, there are no longer enough to go around without doubling up. I am accustomed to sharing rooms with both Noct and Prompto, and would be content to do so and let you have your privacy," Ignis told her.
Velcia's brow furrowed in consternation as she thought. "You must be well-rested for the drive back tomorrow," she countered. "I will sleep on the floor, either in your room or out here. I won't accept no for an answer."
Ignis looked around the dining room-living room area. The area was so small that he feared that anyone who slept on the floor here would almost surely be trod upon in the morning. "My floor it is, I suppose, if you are certain."
"Absolutely! I can always sleep in the car tomorrow, if I need to. Let someone else take care of you, for a change," Velcia insisted.
Ignis hummed uncomfortably. "Very well then."
In her tired delirium, Velcia couldn't help but giggle. She thought back to her childhood days with her cousin, staying up late for sleepovers and talking all through the night. It was an experience she hadn't thought about since traveling with Hinata and Sam, and one she found she missed. She shook her head. There must be no more conversation tonight, she thought, or the whole point of insisting Ignis got the bed would be wasted.
