Ignis's mind raced as he watched the Wall disappear before his eyes. So many thoughts whirled together, as he tried to piece together how. But as reality fully set in, he realized it didn't matter at the moment. Right now, he had one main concern.
"I need to get to Noct," he said.
Ignis did a quick assessment. The empire would do whatever they could to make sure Noctis was dead. Bringing Valyria along would undoubtedly put her in significant danger. Surely one of the Leviathans was near and could get her to safety.
He turned to her. "Stay here and wait for—"
Ignis cut off in bewilderment when he saw that Valyria was unzipping her dress. Stunned, he couldn't stumble out any words as she slipped the straps off her shoulders and then quickly strode away from him. Ignis only barely had time to avert his eyes as Valyria let her dress slide to the floor, only pausing to step out of it before she disappeared into the bedroom.
He blinked, thoroughly confused. Hesitantly, he followed her, but then stopped at the threshold of the bedroom door, slightly flustered. Ignis glanced out the window at the pulsing lights of the Wall as it continued to deteriorate. He was losing time. But he couldn't just abandon Valyria here without a plan for getting her out of the city. Letting out an exasperated breath, he forced himself to continue inside.
"What are you—?"
Ignis stopped when he found Valyria standing next to the bed, looking completely different. She had changed into a black sleeveless shirt and pants and was in the middle of pulling on a pair of boots. Once they were on, she quickly started yanking the pins holding together her elegant updo out of her head, and then proceeded to pull her hair back into a ponytail.
"I'm coming with you," Valyria said as she finished putting her hair up. Then she turned to an open bag that was on the bed next to her. She reached in and pulled out black fingerless gloves, which she quickly slid on, and then a pair of knives, which she shoved into the sheaths that were strapped to her thighs.
Ignis took in her clothing and tactical gear. A closer look at one of the knives she'd just attached to herself revealed an engraving of the Hydrean on the handle. It didn't take long for Ignis to put it together. But that didn't keep the surprise from his voice as he said it out loud.
"You're a Leviathan."
Kit peeked around the corner and down the hall at the retreating backs of Lady Lunafreya and the two Glaives who held each of her arms. They were moving the Oracle quickly.
He signaled to Dina. Silently, she crossed to the other side of the hallway and pressed her back against the wall, mirroring his position. After she nodded to him, they both raised their guns and were about to step out when they heard one of the Glaives speak.
"What are you doing here, Nyx?"
A hand gesture told Dina to hold. Kit took another quick peek down the hallway and saw that a third Glaive had joined the group. From the dark gray hair and silver antler attached to his hood, Kit recognized him as the Glaive who was usually assigned to guard Lady Lunafreya. He stood in the middle of the corridor, blocking the way of the others.
"I could ask you and Axis the same thing, Tredd," Nyx said to the Glaive on the right. "Crowe and Pelna were the ones assigned to the princess, and she's supposed to be in her apartment for the night."
"The commander wanted us to transport her to a safer place," Tredd said, casually. "He said the Niffs were acting suspiciously."
There was a pause. Kit, having pulled his head back, strained to hear what was going on but didn't want to risk peeking down the hall again in case he was spotted.
Nyx must have picked up that something was wrong, because when he spoke, his voice was suspicious. "Really? Because I just saw Drautos, and he didn't say anything about a change of plans."
There was another pause, uncertain this time. And then, Tredd said, "Screw this."
There was the loud noise of metal clashing against metal, followed by the sound of lightning crackling through the air.
Dina's eyes met Kit's from across the hall. He frowned as they both heard Lady Lunafreya give a worried gasp.
"Nyx!"
"Take her," Tredd said, presumably to Axis. "I'll handle the hero."
At these words, Kit nodded to Dina. They both stepped around their corners, moving into the hallway. Kit saw that Nyx was on the ground near the wall, several feet away from where he had originally been standing. He looked incapacitated. The Glaive on the left, Axis, still gripped Lady Lunafreya's arm, holding her close. Kit only waited for a beat as Dina switched to her throwing knife for more accuracy, before he took aim at Tredd's back. He started firing at the same time Dina's knife left her hand.
The bullets hit their mark, but the Glaive's uniform must have had some type of ballistic protection to it because he remained standing. The impact of them, however, did cause Tredd to stagger forward, his hood falling down to reveal bright red hair. To the left of him, Kit saw that Dina's knife had also successfully landed in Axis's left shoulder.
"What the—?"
The Glaives spun toward them, their hands immediately raised to put up their shields.
"Who the hell are these guys?" Axis asked, his dark eyes glaring at them as he held his shoulder awkwardly, Dina's throwing knife still lodged into it.
Tredd's teeth were gritted in pain, the scar that ran from the corner of his mouth across his left cheek making his expression look more vicious. "I don't know but—" He cut off as Lady Lunafreya, who Axis had been forced to let go of and who had been slowly edging away from the two Glaives, suddenly took off at a run down the hall.
"Shit!" Tredd cursed. He moved to stand in front of Axis, using his shield to cover him. "Go get her. Make sure she gets to the dropship."
Axis grimaced as he yanked the knife out from his shoulder, dropping it to the floor. "You sure you got this?" he asked, cautiously eyeing Kit and Dina, who were advancing toward them.
"Just go," Tredd snapped. "We're dead anyway if we let her escape."
Axis hesitated for a moment, but then took off down the hall after the Oracle.
As Tredd turned to them, Kit scanned for a potential way around the shield blocking their way, but the only weak spot was to the Glaive's back. He tightened his grip on his gun, waiting for an opening.
"Whoever the hell you two are," the redhead said, with a cocky smirk, "you're in over your heads. I've taken down bigger and scarier opponents than you."
"You always were an arrogant son of a bitch," a voice said with a snort.
Tredd's smirk left his face at the sound of a blade whizzing through the air. He let out a gasp of pain as something lodged into his back. His shield disappeared. Without hesitation, Kit raised his gun and shot the Glaive twice in the chest. The man's face froze in shock as he looked down to where the bullets had hit him, one of them lodged right above where his uniform stopped.
The Glaive's body fell to the ground, revealing Nyx behind him who was now sitting up against the wall. He was breathing heavily, still recovering from whatever attack had weakened him. His eyes, which were on Tredd's body, lifted to look at them.
"Dina, the Oracle," Kit instructed.
Dina nodded and swiftly took off down the hall, scooping her throwing knife off the ground before she disappeared around the corner. Kit followed her but stopped to reach down and pull the kukris from the back of the dead Glaive. Then, as he reached Nyx, Kit handed the blade back to him.
Nyx eyed him warily but took the dagger. Then, he accepted the hand Kit offered. "Retrieve the princess first," Kit said, as he helped the Glaive up. Seeming to agree that introductions came as second priority, Nyx nodded and then they both ran down the hall.
It wasn't that hard to find where the others had gone. They followed the sound of weapons scraping against each other and the grunts from both Dina and Axis as they fought. Kit and Nyx had just turned the corner when they saw Axis launch a fire spell. The female Leviathan tried to dodge it by spinning away, but the attack still caught the sleeve of her jacket on fire. Dina struggled to put it out as Axis bore down on her. Although she sidestepped a swipe from his sword, he delivered a kick to her side, sending Dina stumbling into the wall right next to where Lady Lunafreya had pressed herself up against.
Kit ran toward the Glaive, his gun already lifted. But before he could get close enough, Kit saw a dagger fly past him and Nyx suddenly appeared next to Axis. The two quickly locked blades. Dina, who had successfully put out the fire on her sleeve, drew another one of her knives and then threw herself back into the fight.
"Are you alright, Your Highness?" Kit asked, running up to Lady Lunafreya.
She nodded, although her eyes traveled nervously to where Nyx and Dina were fighting Axis. "Yes," she said. "I'm fine."
"Please stay behind me," Kit said. He waited for her to nod until he turned back to the fight, keeping himself positioned in front of her.
With Dina helping Nyx, it was over relatively fast. Axis didn't stand a chance against both a fellow Glaive and a Leviathan. When Dina disarmed him, knocking his sword to the ground, Nyx shoved him against the wall, his kukris held to Axis's throat.
"Why?" Nyx growled.
Axis's face was expressionless as he looked back at Nyx. "They betrayed us first," he said, dryly. "We're just returning the favor."
Nyx glared at him. "Who do you mean by we?"
Axis's face shifted to having the hint of a smile on his face. "Drautos knew you wouldn't join us. You or your friends."
The Glaive's hand moved. It was subtle, but perceptible enough that it had Kit raising his gun slightly. Dina, who was still standing beside the two men, noticed.
"Which is why we killed them."
Nyx's grip tightened on Axis, his dagger pressing deeper into his throat. "You son of a bitch," Nyx said, his face tight with anger.
Axis just passively looked Nyx in the eyes. "For hearth…"
There was the unmistakable glint of metal in Axis's hand. Kit moved, his gun already aimed at the Glaive's head.
"And h—"
Before he could finish, Axis let out a small grunt, his eyes widening just slightly. The hand at his side relaxed, letting the small knife that he held clatter to the floor. Confused, Nyx glanced at the weapon on the floor and then at Axis as his eyes closed and his whole body slumped against the wall. Finally, Nyx looked down and saw the two blades sticking out of Axis's torso.
Dina yanked both her knives out of the Glaive before she stepped back.
"Shit…" Nyx muttered, releasing Axis's body and backing away as it fell to the ground. Kit heard Lady Lunafreya let out an audible breath behind him.
Nyx stared down at the other Glaive's unmoving form. He seemed to be trying to process what Axis had just told him.
"I'm…sorry."
Nyx looked at Dina. Her face was neutral, but her tone had been soft with sympathy. He didn't say anything to her, only looking away, a hard expression on his face.
"We're losing time," Kit said, stepping forward. Although he understood the feeling of disbelief and betrayal the Glaive must be experiencing, now wasn't the time to dwell on it. "We need to get Lady Lunafreya to the evac vehicle."
Nyx, suddenly looking agitated, narrowed his eyes at him. "Yeah? How about you tell me who the hell you two are first?"
"King Regis told me that there were others here who were watching over me," Lady Lunafreya said, before Kit could answer. She stepped forward and looked gratefully at Kit and Dina. "Allies from Accordo."
A look of realization came over the Glaive's face. "You came with the councilman's daughter."
Kit nodded. "We're to evacuate Lady Lunafreya in the event of an attack. Which seems to be the case now."
"What about Noctis?" Lady Lunafreya asked.
"Our other operatives are tracking him," Kit said to her. "They'll meet us at a designated spot outside of the city."
Lady Lunafreya's face fell into an expression of relief. But then she shook her head, taking a step back. "I can't leave yet."
Kit raised an eyebrow. "Your Highness?"
"I must get to King Regis," Lady Lunafreya said, her voice soft but firm. "Those men mentioned that the empire plans to steal the Crystal and the Ring of the Lucii. One of them in the empire's hands is unideal. Both of them is unthinkable. No matter the circumstances, we cannot let them have that ring."
Kit and Dina exchanged glances. "Your Majesty," Dina began, "we really must insist that—"
"It is my duty to help Noctis. If he is to succeed in accomplishing his destiny, he needs the Ring of the Lucii. I am not leaving without it."
"Seriously, you want to risk your life for a ring?" Nyx scoffed. "What good are you going to be to the prince if you're dead? You should listen to them, Princess. We need to go."
Kit was glad that the Glaive seemed to agree with them. But Lady Lunafreya was, apparently, not swayed.
"I do not fear death," she said, her words spoken with absolute resolve. "Only doing nothing and losing everything." Her eyes raised to meet all of theirs. "I would not ask if it wasn't important. Please...will you get me to the king?"
Dina turned to Kit, her face uncertain. "Kestrel's not going to like it," she said, with a frown. But he could see that the Oracle's words had also begun to break her down.
Kit sighed, glancing at Lady Lunafreya and seeing the look of determination on her face. "I'm not taking her unwillingly. Unless this one plans to," he said, nodding his head at Nyx.
"Don't tempt me," he muttered.
"Please, Nyx Ulric," Lady Lunafreya pleaded, reaching out and grasping his hand. "I need your help to get the Ring to Noctis. For the future of all."
Nyx just stared at her for a moment. "The future?"
Right then, a loud explosion sounded in the distance and, suddenly, the walls and floor shuddered all around them. Nyx grabbed onto Lady Lunafreya, keeping her upright, as all four of them struggled to maintain their balance.
"What the hell was that?" Nyx asked as soon as the shaking stopped.
Kit and Dina stiffened as they both looked out the window, seeing what the problem was at the same time. At the expressions on their faces, Nyx and Lady Lunafreya turned around and then froze as they realized what was happening. They all stood in shock, dread overcoming them.
"If we're doing this," Kit finally said, as they watched the Wall disappear. "We need to move." He caught eyes with Nyx, who had looked back at him. "Now."
Valyria didn't look at Ignis as he stared at her.
"Yes," she said, confirming his statement. She pulled her gun from the bag and checked the chamber before holstering it. "You got any weapons?"
"Y-Yes..." Ignis said. He seemed to still be struggling with this new information as Valyria strode over to her closet and dug behind a bunch of clothing. She pulled out her katana that she had hidden behind them and began attaching its sheath to her back.
"You might want to grab them."
Ignis paused. Then he lifted his palm up. A spark of blue light appeared, followed by a dagger materializing in his hand. Valyria blinked in surprise and then she eyed it, impressed. "That's pretty cool."
For some reason, Ignis seemed further put off by her statement. "I don't understand," he said, the dagger disappearing. "Why—?"
"I'll explain in more detail after we find your prince and get him out of Insomnia," she said. "Essentially, King Regis thought it would be best if the least amount of people knew what I was." Finished strapping the katana to her back, she returned to the bag and pulled out an earpiece, which she lodged into her ear.
"Kestrel, it's Val," she said into it. "Do you have eyes on the prince?"
It took a moment before Kestrel's voice came through. "His Shield and a Crownsguard member have him," Kestrel said. He was breathing heavily. Valyria tensed when she heard the sound of metal against metal.
He was fighting someone.
"They're heading for the car. You need to catch up to them."
There was a thudding sound and then a grunt from whoever he was engaged in combat with.
"Be warned, some of the Glaive are hostile."
Valyria stiffened. "The Glaive?"
Ignis's eyes met hers, picking up on the terseness and the concern in her tone. If the Glaive was compromised, there was a chance that the empire knew of the plans put in place for getting the prince and Lady Lunafreya to safety. While specific details had been kept secret, even the smallest bit of information could jeopardize their mission.
There was another brief moment of silence, then Anya's voice came over the comms. She was also panting. "Kes and I are dealing with it. Get to the prince. And be careful."
"Understood. We're on our way."
"What is it?" Ignis asked.
"Turns out the Niffs have some of your Glaives in their pocket," Valyria said, turning to him. "My team is holding them off for now. Prince Noctis is with Gladio and a Crownsguard member. I presume Prompto."
Ignis nodded in confirmation. "It must be."
"We need to catch up to them. Who knows what else they might run into." With all her gear attached, Valyria drew her gun. Then she nodded to him. "Let's go."
"Shit," Gladio muttered, peering around the corner of the hallway. "This place is crawling with imperial soldiers."
"How the hell did they get in?" Noctis growled from beside him.
"From that scuffle outside of your apartment, my guess is the Glaives," Gladio said, pulling his head back. He reached up and pulled off the tie he had loosened earlier, dropping it to the ground. They'd all shed their suit jackets as soon as they had gotten to Noctis's apartment. Gladio wished he'd had thought to change into something more comfortable too.
"Guess they were a lot more pissed off about the king surrendering their homes to the empire than we thought."
"What do we do?" Prompto asked. To his credit, the blonde gunman wasn't as nervous as Gladio thought he might be in a situation like this. When it came to protecting Noctis, he could hold his own. Prompto had certainly come a long way from the first day of training, when just the sight of Gladio had intimidated him.
Before Gladio could answer, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He picked it up.
"Iggy."
"Where are you?"
He sounded like he was running.
"Made it to the second floor," Gladio said. He didn't mention the number of bodies they'd passed. Citadel employees and Crownsguard members slaughtered by the imperial troops…who they'd made sure now laid dead among them. "There's a lot of Niffs blocking our way out front."
"Meet us in the training room," Ignis said. "Might be best to go out the side and sneak around the back of the building. It's longer, but less of a chance we'll be seen."
Gladio raised an eyebrow even though Ignis couldn't see it. "Us?" he asked.
A hesitant beat. Ignis's voice was light when he answered. "I have Valyria with me."
Gladio was surprised. While it made sense that Ignis would want to get Valyria to safety, having her travel alongside Noctis seemed like the exact opposite of trying to keep her safe. Especially considering how many enemies they'd already sent after him.
"Are you sure that's a—"
"You'll see when we get there," Ignis interrupted, his choice of words confusing Gladio. "Just be careful. Some of the Glaives are with the empire."
"Yeah, we've already run into that issue." But Gladio sighed. If only some of the Glaive were hostile, that just added another layer of complexity to the situation. It meant they wouldn't know who was on their side until possibly too late.
"I'll inform Cor," Ignis said. "Just—" He cut off and there was the unmistakable sound of gunshots in the background.
Gladio's grip tightened on his phone when it was followed by silence. Noctis and Prompto exchanged nervous glances at Gladio's sudden shift in demeanor. "Iggy?" he asked, barely remembering to keep his voice down so that the imperials down the hall wouldn't hear him. "Are you okay?"
"Everything's fine," Ignis finally said, his voice calm. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Just be careful," he repeated.
Gladio blew out a breath of relief. "You guys too," he said. "See you soon."
He hung up and turned to Noctis and Prompto. "Come on. We're heading to the training room."
"Almost there," Ignis said as they hurried down the hall.
Valyria nodded as she followed behind him. She didn't bother to mention that she knew exactly where the training area was, having memorized the entire layout of the Citadel, just as the other Leviathans had. As they got nearer, they heard gunfire. At the sound, Ignis ran faster, and Valyria quickly followed behind him, her gun gripped in her hands.
When they turned into the training room, they found Noctis, Gladio, and Prompto standing in the middle, the bodies of imperial soldiers littering the floor. The three men raised their weapons when Ignis and Valyria entered, but quickly lowered them when they recognized Ignis. When they saw her, surprise and confusion ran across all their faces.
Prompto's eyes widened as he finally recognized who she was. "Hey, isn't that—?"
"She's one of the Leviathans," Ignis explained, at their expressions. He threw a sideways look at her. "Something we'll talk about later. After we get out of Insomnia."
Noctis straightened, looking between them. "What about Luna?" he asked.
Valyria reached up to touch her earpiece. "Kit, Dina, do you have the Oracle?"
"We've got her," Kit's voice came through. "We're traveling with one of the Glaives who's still a friendly."
"Get everyone to the evac point," Kestrel's voice said in response. "Val, Anya and I will catch up with you. Get moving."
"Copy that. See you soon." Valyria turned to the men in the room. "Lady Lunafreya is being escorted by one of your Glaives. Two of mine are providing support. We're to meet at the designated transport vehicles."
"What about my dad?" Noctis asked.
She shook her head. "There's been no word on the king. Our mission is to evacuate you and the princess. King Regis was adamant that was our first and foremost priority."
Noctis's face darkened and his fists curled. "We can't just leave him!"
"Noct," Ignis said, stepping forward. "Your father planned this in case of an attack. He wanted you and Lady Lunafreya out of the city. You have to trust that he knows what he's doing. Going to him now will only put you and other people at risk."
The prince's teeth were gritted as he processed Ignis's words. Valyria's eyes traveled to look out the window where she could see that the Wall was now completely gone. In the distance, there was movement in the night sky. Small specks of light getting larger as they converged on the city.
Imperial dropships.
Valyria's jaw clenched slightly. The longer they stayed, the more enemies they'd have to fight through. Her eyes moved to look at Ignis, but it seemed that the advisor didn't think any further urging would be effective. Or, Valyria thought, as she turned back to the prince, he just knew Noctis well enough to know he didn't need any.
Her theory seemed to be confirmed when Noctis finally said, "Fine." He was still scowling angrily when he started walking toward them. "Let's go."
Valyria gave a nod and then led the way out the door. No one seemed to question when she also led the way out and around the back of the building. Since Ignis provided no objections, she assumed that she had chosen the same path that he'd had in mind. Instead of taking the lighted walkway, they stuck closer to the wall of the building. Trees and bushes helped hide their movements as they hurried along in the shadows.
They reached the other side of the building undetected. But when they stepped out into the courtyard which they needed to cut across, Valyria froze, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up as she felt eyes on her.
"Get back!"
She turned around and shoved Gladio backwards, before barely managing to jump away and avoid the curved sword that appeared right where he had been standing. Seconds later, a woman dressed in the Glaive's uniform materialized in the same spot. When another Glaive also appeared to her left, Valyria didn't have time to react before she felt a sudden presence at her back and then was grabbed from behind. Her gun was knocked from her hand and a blade appeared at her throat.
"Let her go," Ignis demanded, stepping forward, his eyes burning with anger.
"Drop your weapons," the Glaive behind her warned, his dagger pressing against her neck.
Valyria locked eyes with Noctis. "Don't."
The blade cut into her skin, deep enough to draw blood. She bit down the urge to hiss at the stinging pain.
"Noct."
Just from that, Valyria couldn't tell which way Gladio was urging him to decide. She just saw the Shield move closer to the prince. Ignis and Prompto also tightened in around him.
Noctis glared at the Glaives. And then, to her dismay, his sword disappeared from his hand. His three retainers all glanced at him, their expressions uncertain, but then they followed suit.
Valyria clenched her jaw. This was not good.
But then, out of the corner of her eye, Valyria saw subtle movement in the darkness. The Glaives didn't notice the shadowy figures that had snuck up behind them until it was too late. Valyria waited until the two Glaives standing on either side of her fell.
The Glaive who held her tensed in confusion. "What the—?"
At his distraction, Valyria grabbed the wrist of the hand that held the dagger to her throat and twisted it as she spun away from him, locking his arm out to the side. As soon as she was clear, she heard the Glaive let out a grunt as a knife was thrust into his abdomen. For good measure, Valyria wrenched the blade he'd held to her from his grasp and then rammed it into his neck. The Glaive made a choking noise and then his whole body sagged. Valyria waited for Kestrel to pull his knife from the body before she dropped it to the ground, not bothering to remove the Glaive's dagger.
"You okay?" Kestrel asked, wiping the blood on his knife off on his pants.
Valyria nodded. "I'm good." She raised an eyebrow at him. "You?"
Kestrel was looking worse for wear, having obviously gone through an intense fight. His lip was split and there was a minor cut above his left eye. His clothes looked like they had been sliced through in several places, with some of the places stained red. Overall, though, he didn't look like he had suffered any major injury.
"Just peachy," Anya said from behind her. When Valyria turned to look, her friend was in a similar-looking state as Kestrel, although her face sported a thin cut along her jaw and a bruise forming on her cheek. Anya grinned at her as she handed Valyria her gun back. Despite the situation they were in, Valyria couldn't help but smirk back.
Kestrel walked closer to the group of men who had been watching their exchange. Valyria stood beside him while Anya automatically moved to stand behind the men, her eyes scanning the area to Kestrel and Valyria's back.
"Prince Noctis," Kestrel said, bowing his head, opting for an abbreviated formality. "Allow us to escort you and your party to your car."
"What about Luna?" Noctis asked.
"Our other operatives are with her and will get her out of the city."
Noctis stepped forward, pushing past Gladio to stand in front of the Leviathan leader. "I want to go get her."
Kestrel frowned. "No," he said, bluntly. "You need to get out of the city while you can."
The prince bristled. "I'm not—"
"Your Majesty, I promise you, on my honor, I will not leave Insomnia without Lady Lunafreya under my protection," Kestrel said, fixing Noctis with a serious look. "But you are too important to risk staying here any longer. If others fall, you are the only one who stands a chance at avenging them."
Gladio put a hand on Noctis's shoulder. "He's right, Noct. We need to go."
Noctis glared at Kestrel, but he just stared back at the prince, unmoving.
"Noct, this is why they were brought here," Ignis said, his voice sharp. Valyria could see the impatience and frustration lining his usually composed face. "Let them do their job."
At the words from his friends, Valyria saw Noctis's face fall into an expression of turmoil. She understood why he was conflicted. It couldn't be easy, leaving both his father and his betrothed, who he clearly cared deeply for, behind. But if he was as important as everyone said he was, going back for either was not an option. Not when leaving now was their best shot of escaping, before the full might of the empire came down on them.
A few moments passed, but eventually, the prince reluctantly nodded. "Okay."
Suddenly, Anya's body shifted, and her eyes flashed. "Magitek troopers!" she yelled.
They all heard the hum of an imperial dropship as it quickly descended over them.
"Get to the car!" Kestrel yelled.
They all took off at a run, only making it halfway across the courtyard before the MTs dropped down, quickly surrounding their group. Valyria turned around, aiming for the enemies behind them just as Kestrel and Anya had. But then, the Leviathan leader yelled to her, "Val! Cut a path to the door!"
Valyria gave a nod. She was about to turn away when suddenly, she saw an MT drop down in front of Anya. The blonde Leviathan quickly drew her knife and rammed it into its metal chest. Successful in hitting the core, it collapsed instantly.
But, as the machine fell to the ground, it revealed another MT that had been standing right behind it. By the time Anya realized it was there, its arm was already raised, its hand folding back to reveal a gun. Before Anya could react, it shot her straight in the chest. Valyria's blood ran cold as she saw Anya's body jerk violently.
No.
"Anya!" The sound of her own scream was muffled by the sudden rush of blood in her ears. Anya's body dropped, almost as instantly as the MT she had taken down only a few seconds before. Everything around Valyria became distant as her vision focused on her friend who was crumpled on the ground.
Valyria ran. Raising her gun, she shot at the MT, fury causing her to empty her magazine even though four shots had disabled it. She felt no satisfaction when it fell. Only emptiness and despair.
She was almost to Anya's body when, suddenly, Kestrel appeared in front of her, pushing her back by her shoulders. "Val," he said, his voice firm as he gripped her tightly, keeping her from pushing past him. "There's no time. You need to get them out of here."
Valyria breathed heavily, a mixture of grief, shock, and anger making her tremble as she looked down at Anya's still form. Her eyes were closed, the red on her shirt seeping out from the gunshot wound in her chest. There was no indication that she might have survived.
"Val," Kestrel said, urgently. "You have to go now. It's what she would have wanted."
He was right.
Shutting her eyes, Valyria tried to push the sick, empty feeling inside of her down. When she opened them again, Valyria let out a steadying breath. There was nothing she could do for her friend. And they still had a mission. One that Anya would want her to finish.
And so, even though pain had gripped her chest so tightly it was hard to breathe, she forced her mind to focus on the people she could help. On what she and all the others had come here for. When Valyria met Kestrel's eyes, she gave a resolved nod.
Right then, the door to the Citadel across the courtyard burst open, and imperial troops flooded out from the doorway. Alarmed, Valyria reached up, grabbing both of Kestrel's wrists. She gave them a desperate squeeze.
"Go," she told him. "May the Tidemother be with you."
His hands on her shoulders squeezed back. "You too."
Valyria waited until Kestrel had dashed down the side of the courtyard, his new objective to assist Kit and Dina. Then she yelled to Gladio, who was cutting down the last of the MTs beside her. "Let's move!"
They both sprinted toward the door to the stairwell leading to the garage below, which the others were already heading for. Out of the corner of her eye, Valyria caught sight of two Glaives entering the courtyard from the side. Gladio and Valyria stopped when they saw them. With her gun empty, Valyria moved to draw her knife. But before she could, both Glaives disappeared and re-materialized behind where she and Gladio were standing. Facing the imperials that were advancing toward them, the Glaives quickly threw up their shields, blocking the enemy gunfire.
"We'll hold them off. Get out of here!" one of the Glaives yelled to them.
Relief rushed through Valyria as she gave the Glaive a grateful nod. Then she dashed after Gladio, following him through the door to the stairwell which Prompto held open for them as he provided cover fire. She grabbed his arm as she passed, pulling him inside. They let the door shut behind them.
Ignis quickly led them down the steps leading to the garage. As soon as they reached the bottom, Ignis headed for one of the parked cars while Gladio ran for a statue situated in the wall beside it. He reached behind and under the concrete ledge at its feet and then tossed the keys he'd pulled out to Ignis. Once the doors were unlocked, Gladio opened the passenger door and then, looking at Valyria, gestured for her to get in. She obeyed as the others got into the backseat, Noctis sandwiched in between Prompto and Gladio.
Ignis had just started the car when, suddenly, a bunch of MTs burst through one of the doorways nearest to them.
"Iggy?" Gladio growled, looking out the back window as the machines headed in their direction.
"Working on it," Ignis said, seemingly unfazed as he put the car into reverse and swung out of the parking spot, running over an MT that had been racing toward them. He promptly switched gears and then they took off, leaving the magitek infantry behind. The car shot out of the garage, onto the streets of Insomnia.
"That's...not good," Prompto said, looking up out of the car window.
The sky was flooded with imperial dropships. Several buildings around them were destroyed or on fire. Valyria blinked, slightly stunned at how different it looked from only a short time ago when she and Ignis had been looking out at the city through their apartment window. The empire had descended upon them swiftly and furiously.
Valyria reloaded her gun with her last magazine as Ignis drove. She recognized the path he was taking. It was the fastest way out of the city...normally. "You'll have to turn off the main street at the next intersection," Valyria said, remembering the last time she and the others had driven the route. "The way through has been blocked off this week for construction."
He glanced at her. "Where should I turn back on?"
"After Vista Boulevard. We should clear it by then."
Ignis followed her instructions. As they raced through the streets, they caught a glimpse of several imperial dropships flying into the city with enormous creatures hanging from them.
"What—?" Noctis growled.
"Daemons," Valyria answered, grimly. She only hoped that they wouldn't run into any of the large monsters themselves.
Ignis continued to speed along the roads, occasionally maneuvering around the few other cars they saw and swerving to avoid the rubble that flew off from buildings as the empire assaulted the city. Just when they were getting close to the ramp that would take them to the highway leading out of Insomnia, Ignis brought the car to an abrupt stop.
"Shit," Gladio muttered under his breath.
Blocking the way to the highway was a large group of MTs as well as several large magitek armors. The machines all stood still, lying in wait.
Ignis quickly pulled off down a side road before they could be seen, taking them away from the huge blockade.
"They probably have every exit blocked," Gladio said, sticking his head in between the two front seats to watch where Ignis was going.
"Possibly," Ignis said as he drove. "But we might be able to find one that's not so heavily guarded and be able to break through."
"Try one of the entrances in the lower district," Gladio said. "On the southwest side."
Valyria realized what he was getting at. That area was where most of the refugees and other immigrants were housed. If the Glaives were the reason the empire was able to sneak in, maybe that area wouldn't have as much imperial presence. At the very least, the empire might not expect them to take that route, considering it was out of the way.
"That's a good idea," Valyria agreed.
She reached out and grabbed the dashboard as Ignis made a sharp turn. As he navigated them to the lower district, Valyria prayed that Gladio's hunch was correct.
Ignis brought the car to a slow stop this time. Gladio had been right. While there was still a group of MTs standing in the middle of the road, at least there were no signs of any other imperial troops or heavy MAs. The number of machines standing guard, however, was still concerning.
"Can we just run them over?" Noctis asked.
"Perhaps one. Not all of them. There'd be too much damage to the car," Ignis said dully. "Which we will need if we have any hope of getting out of the city."
"Guess we'll have to fight our way out," Gladio said.
"Hold on," Valyria said. She looked around, scanning the area before she turned to them. "It'll draw too much attention if we're all out there. On top of that, there could be more of them that we just can't see."
"What do you propose?" Ignis asked.
"Stay here," she said, opening her car door. "I'll try to draw them away from the road. And lure out any potential enemies in hiding."
Ignis was disconcerted. "Wait. You shouldn't go by your—"
"I'll be fine," Valyria assured him, already halfway out of the car. But her eyes flashed with a thought. "If you run into a problem before I'm back, just go."
"Valyria—"
"The prince is your priority," she said, her tone assertive and unyielding, sounding just like the Leviathan leader. It was strange coming from her. "You spot trouble, you take off." She didn't wait to see if he agreed to it before she closed the car door and then slipped in between two buildings, the darkness swallowing her.
"Are we really letting her do this?" Prompto asked nervously, after she disappeared.
Ignis was conflicted. His gaze met Gladio's in the rearview mirror. The Shield's face was grim looking. "I'm sure she knows what she's doing," Gladio said. But Ignis could tell that even he wasn't happy about this idea.
They didn't have to wait long. In the distance, two of the MTs that were closest to them suddenly fell to the ground. Ignis blinked, not even seeing what had taken them down. Then, Valyria stepped out of the shadows to the right of where the machines were standing. In a series of quick shots, she took down one more MT before she holstered her gun and then drew the katana from her back. Swiftly, she shoved her sword through the back of another one of the machines. When she withdrew her blade, the MT immediately fell to the ground.
"Holy shit," Prompto said, awe in his voice. The magitek soldiers had all fallen within seconds of each other.
All three passengers in the backseat leaned forward to get a better look as they watched Valyria take down the MTs. Ignis felt himself sit up straighter as he observed her in action. Valyria's movements were fluid, almost graceful as she fought. Not to mention, she was quick with her blade. She'd already taken down three more enemies as she swept around them, whittling down the troopers while evading the blades and bullets that were aimed at her.
Ignis noticed that Valyria was strategically aiming for a certain spot inside the MTs chest, right where the heart would be if they were human. When she was successful in hitting it, which was almost every single time, the MT would crumple instantly. Based on this, Ignis realized that she must have fought enemies like this before. And had determined their exact weak spot to disable them in the quickest way possible.
After taking down several more enemies, the rest of the MTs suddenly turned toward her. The sight of all of them focusing their attention on Valyria had Ignis's heart pounding uncomfortably in his throat. His jaw hardened and his grip tightened on the steering wheel as they all started to swarm in her direction. Valyria suddenly turned and dashed back toward the buildings, disappearing from sight. Everyone in the car was silent as they watched the MTs follow her.
"Ignis," Noctis said suddenly. His voice was low and dark. "We're not leaving without her."
The advisor tensed even more. "Noct—"
"I already left Luna and my dad back there, I'm not leaving someone else behind," he argued.
"She said to leave if we run into trouble," Gladio said flatly. "She was the one who told us to go."
"I don't care," Noctis growled, clearly angry and frustrated. "We should be out there helping her."
"Yeah," Prompto piped up. "Between the five of us, we'd have been able to clear those guys out super-fast. Especially considering…" He waved his hand at the remains of the ten MTs that were on the ground, which Valyria had taken out by herself.
"As much as I would like to agree," Ignis said, his eyes meeting Noctis's in the rearview mirror, "she was right. Our priority is getting you to safety. And considering the situation, running or staying hidden is the better option. Fighting when we don't have to will only bring more attention to ourselves, which will hinder escape for any of us."
Noctis, while still looking unhappy, didn't say anything to this.
Despite his words, Ignis was relieved that he wasn't the only one who didn't want to leave Valyria behind. It was obvious from their faces that the thought of doing so didn't sit right with any of them. As the last MT disappeared from view, leaving the ramp to the highway open, Ignis scanned the space between the buildings near them, looking for any sign of her. But there was no movement in the darkness. Suddenly, a tight feeling in his chest appeared as he thought about the MTs catching up with Valyria, and her having to fight all of them alone.
"Iggy!" Gladio's voice snapped him out of imagining the worst-case scenario for Valyria, only to pull him back to their own not-so-great reality. "Magitek armor!"
It appeared that Valyria had been right about another thing. The MA appeared soon after the MTs had cleared the area, apparently lurking off to the side where they hadn't been able to see it. The armor immediately moved to block the way to the highway. Dread settled in Ignis's stomach when, unlike the MTs, the large piece of machinery seemed to notice them almost immediately when they came into its view. The two launchers on top of the mech shifted, locking onto them.
Escaping via the ramp no longer an option, Ignis quickly threw the vehicle into reverse. The car shot backwards. "Hold on!" he yelled as the missiles flew in their direction. They all grabbed onto something as Ignis swerved, backing the car onto a side street and successfully avoiding the warheads that flew past them. Ignis shifted the vehicle back into drive, and they shot forward, cutting across the road.
Shortly afterward, the mech turned onto the same street in pursuit of them. Two more missiles were launched. While Ignis used evasive maneuvers, the missiles detonated close enough that the explosions jerked the car, slowing the vehicle down. The MA began to gain on them.
"Iggy," Gladio said, gripping the headrest of the passenger seat. "We can't let that thing destroy the car. We need to take it out."
He was right. Even if they did make it to the highway, the open road would only make it easier for the machine to hit them.
Ignis nodded. "Agreed."
"Lead it to those warehouses," Gladio said, pointing. "There shouldn't be people there this time of night."
Ignis did as Gladio directed. He floored the gas pedal, trying to put as much distance in between them and the MA before he pulled around the back of a building. As soon as Ignis parked the car, they all quickly piled out.
"Any ideas how to take this thing down?" Gladio asked, summoning his greatsword to his hand.
"Not in the slightest."
Gladio frowned at the advisor's words. "Guess we're going with brute force then. Noct, you ready to warp?"
Noctis conjured his sword, his eyes hard with anticipation. "Born ready."
"Let's go."
They all ran around the corner, coming face to face with the MA. Without hesitating, Noctis aimed a warp strike at the machine's head. Gladio rushed forward, targeting the machine's right leg.
"Prompto," Ignis said, his eyes trained on the launchers that had already fired at Noctis. Thankfully, the missiles missed, hitting the walls of the empty warehouse buildings instead. "Can you take out the—" He cut off as suddenly, MTs started to appear from between the buildings to their right.
"Change of plans." Ignis gestured at the magitek infantry. "Hit as many of those MTs as you can."
"You've got it." Prompto opened fire, riddling the machines with bullets as they advanced toward Gladio.
Ignis quickly summoned a flask into his hand. It was a guess, but he didn't have time to think through his choice. He threw the container into the middle of where the MTs grouped together. Their armor weakened from Prompto's bullets, the lightning that emerged from the flask shot through them, a string of charged energy connecting the MTs and making them shudder uncontrollably before they fell to the ground.
"Hell yeah!" Prompto yelled.
"Nice job. Now just—watch out!" Ignis pulled Prompto back as a missile hit the wall beside them, sending bricks and other debris flying where the gunman had just been standing.
"Yikes," Prompto said, examining the wreckage beside him. "Thanks, Iggy."
Ignis frowned as the MA continued to launch missiles at Noctis who was dodging them in mid-air. At the same time, the mech stomped one of its feet at Gladio. While he managed to avoid getting stepped on, the force sent Gladio stumbling back, and he had to conjure his shield to block the bullets the machine fired at him.
"Prompto, the launchers," Ignis instructed as he summoned his daggers into his hands.
"Sure thing, Igster," Prompto said, and started firing.
Ignis ran forward, sprinting to the left leg. Finding the spot with the least amount of plating, he sliced at it with his daggers. His blades began to wear away at the metal and after a moment, there was a hissing sound from the machine. It gave a slight shudder. Taking that as a good sign, Ignis worked faster until he could see more of the large black wire that he'd already managed to nick. He was about to force his dagger through it when the MA lifted its leg.
"Ignis!"
He was shoved away right as the foot came down where he had been seconds before. The impact knocked both him and Noctis to the pavement. Gladio barely reached them in time to shield them from the subsequent gunfire aimed at them. A single shot cracked through the air and, from his position on the ground, Ignis saw Prompto's bullet pierce the remaining launcher on top of the machine. It was only because of this that Ignis's eyes caught movement in the building behind the MA.
Standing in one of the holes that must have been caused by one of the stray missiles was Valyria. She was on the second floor of the building, looking down at the machine in front of them. Suddenly, she took a few steps back.
And then, she jumped.
Ignis's eyes widened as Valyria leapt through the air. If she had timed it a few seconds later, she would have missed entirely, but instead, Valyria landed on the MA, using one of the disabled missile launchers to hold on. Then, kneeling on top of it, she drew her katana and brought the point of it down at an angle, stabbing the sword into the back of the machine. She withdrew and then stabbed it again, several times before the MA shuddered and then froze. Slowly, it began to fall backward. Valyria scrambled to stay on top of the mech, climbing down the front of it, as it pitched to the ground.
Suddenly, the machine started to twitch, and an ominous, suspenseful noise started to emit from it. From the way the MA began to tremble, Ignis deduced that Valyria had struck something volatile inside. She had apparently come to the same conclusion as her eyes widened, and she rushed to clamber off of it.
"Run!" Valyria yelled at them.
Noctis and Ignis scrambled to their feet. Gladio positioned himself behind Noctis as they rushed away from the machine. Ignis quickly followed, but when he glanced behind him and didn't see Valyria as the ominous noise started to build in warning, he turned back.
Right then, the machine exploded, sending fire, smoke, and metal shards through the air. The detonation sent Valyria, who hadn't been able to clear the blast zone, flying forward. Her body hit the pavement several feet away from him.
"Valyria!"
Ignis ran to her. A pit of worry formed in his gut when, at first, she didn't move. But when he got closer, he was relieved to hear her start coughing. Valyria let out a pained groan as her arms shifted slowly, struggling to push herself up.
"Don't move too much," he said, kneeling down beside her as the others also came up to them. "We've got you." Gladio knelt down on her other side, helping to turn her over into a sitting position. Valyria grimaced at the movement.
Ignis frowned as he surveyed the extent of her injuries. Her arms and the left side of her face were skinned from where her body had scraped across the pavement. Bits of gravel were pressed into her wounds, stuck to the blood that was trickling out in certain places. In addition, there were several nicks on her face and a cut on her left arm with blood trailing out of it.
Quickly, Ignis pulled a potion from the Armiger. Looking slightly dazed, Valyria blinked at the sudden appearance of it in his hand.
"Hmm, that's convenient…" she said. For how disheveled she looked, her voice was surprisingly level. The words were spoken in the tone of casual observation. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"
Ignis gave a wry smile as he pressed the potion into her palm and then closed her fingers around it, applying pressure. The vial broke, and he saw relief rush over her as the wounds on her face and arms closed up.
"I'm not the only one," he replied.
At his words, Valyria's gaze raised to meet his. Their blue-green color seemed more vivid now, with his arm wrapped around her back and her hand still clutched in his. The serene glow of her eyes was a stark contrast to the flickering flames that licked at the wreckage surrounding them, a point of calm amidst the sound of shrieking metal and buildings still crumbling apart. It seemed to help steady the rapid thudding in Ignis's chest and lessened the feeling of discontent he'd felt since the moment she'd asked them to leave her behind.
"You alright?" Gladio asked her.
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," Valyria said, as they pulled her to her feet. She wiped the gravel and the stray pieces of hair from her face. "We should move quickly. That explosion will likely draw their attention, if it hasn't already."
Ignis nodded in agreement. "The vehicle is this way."
They were all silent as the car sped away from the city.
Ignis glanced at Valyria beside him, who was staring out the window. While she seemed fine, her posture relaxed as she sat in her seat, her hand was on the handle of her katana, which she had taken off and placed in the floorboard beside her. Her thumb had been rubbing over the engraving of the Hydrean over and over again, the only indication that her inner thoughts weren't as calm as what she showed on the surface.
"Uh, guys?" Prompto suddenly asked from the backseat. "Am I the only one who sees that?"
Ignis looked in the rearview side mirror. A large form was flying through the air above the city. At first, he thought it was one of the large daemons the empire had brought. But then, it collided with an imperial dropship before continuing on its trajectory through the sky. Ignis realized that the ship it left behind had been cut in half. Seconds later, another gigantic form appeared in a spark of blue light on top of another dropship. A weapon of some kind, too difficult to make out at their distance, was plunged into the ship. The imperial aircraft spun through the air, and the large figure disappeared in the same blue light, only to reappear on another ship nearby.
As the dropships fell from the sky, Ignis realized what the large forms must be. The enormous statues that were scattered throughout Insomnia, come to life. Gradually, more of them began to appear, engaging the imperial air fleet and the large daemons on the ground.
"No shit," Gladio said, slight awe in his voice as he looked through the back window. "The Old Wall."
"It's real?!" Prompto squeaked in disbelief. "I thought that was just a legend."
Noctis was silent as he watched the kings of old fight the imperial forces. Ignis knew that he was aware what the summoning of the Old Wall meant. And that he also knew that King Regis had been too weakened by the new Wall to command it. If the king had tried to summon it in a last stand against the empire…
Noctis turned back around in his seat. Ignis recognized that far off look in his eyes, the same one he got every time he withdrew into himself. Ignis frowned slightly, but didn't say anything, instead turning his attention forward. He guided the car along the long, empty stretch of road, away from the only place they'd ever known, and into the night.