Terminal Extras

by rain0205

Extra chapters, deleted scenes, q and a's, what ifs?, alternate endings, mini stories and reader requests all neatly wrapped up here. let the adventures continue! WARNING: read Terminal State before approaching.

7. The Rock of Ravatogh

welcome! I've been very busy editing and tracking down a second set of eyes to help me along. I've got 50 chapters done! definitely, go have a read or re-read in Terminal State because there are a few minor changes so far. honestly probably so minor that they aren't even noticeable. anyway, here is the lost chapter that I never put in, the Rock of Ravatogh. Enjoy!

...

It was a good day for a drive. The sky was clear with the sun beating down on a perfect summer day. There was a nice breeze that blew through the air and provided a certain sort of relaxing atmosphere that only it could do. Cor drove with ease, the windows only open a crack so as not to disturb his passenger. Athenacia was reading beside him, her face focused and intent as it always was. Her level had advanced much higher than normal thanks to her undying thirst for learning medicine. She was only eight but understood a lot about common ailments that fluttered around the Crown City. When she was inside of a book nothing around her seemed to exist. The one currently in her lap she started when they left the motel earlier that morning and was nearly finished already. It was smaller than the last but she was a fast reader. He kept an eye on her while he continued his journey.

They were on his way to Lestallum though he took the long way for her sake. It was the first time she had ever left Insomnia and he wanted to make the experience as long as possible. A little hard for her to appreciate the countryside while her nose was in a book but when she was into something she didn't stop until she had her fill. Athenacia closed the book with a frown on her face, finishing it off and tossing it aside. Cor raised a brow at her, glancing over briefly before turning his attention back to the road. She brought a lock of her long, dirty blond hair up to her teeth and began to chew it. He sighed, reaching over and pulling it away. That was a bad habit she developed while in the orphanage and he was having trouble breaking her of it. She didn't react, still within her own thoughts. He was about to ask what she was thinking but she brought her gaze out the window and then her frown deepened.

"What's that?" she asked, pointing out in front of them.

"The Rock of Ravatogh," he answered.

"Huh."

Her eyes narrowed and she winced at a pain she seemed to be feeling in her head. He caught her rubbing her forehead in his peripherals, her eyes glued to the volcano in front of them. She shut her eyes tightly for a moment and Cor kept watch on her as best he could while driving. When she opened her eyes again she was still staring at it, still in deep thought.

"You okay, kid?" he asked.

"Just a headache," she answered.

Cor didn't respond but he was sure it was more than that. She groaned in discomfort here and there while they were still coming up to the giant mountain and she still didn't take her eyes off it unless she had to close them. Glancing at her, he tried to get a read on her while she was still within her own thoughts. Even at her age she had an amazing mind and unique way of processing things. He was curious as to what she was thinking right now.

"I've never been outside the city, right?" asked Athenacia suddenly.

"No."

"Hm."

"What is it?"

"It's just... I feel like I've been there before."

Cor kept his face neutral, "Oh yeah?"

She nodded, "Yeah..." she trailed absently.

"What else does it make you feel?"

"Um..." she thought hard about it, rubbing her forehead again, "Angry and scared."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess because it's really hot and I don't want to be stuck there. Does that make sense?"

Ordinarily, he would laugh but not this time. He caught her rubbing her head once more and internally sighed. Having her see the volcano in which the dormant astral was once buried was part of the reason he came this way. Three years ago she had detonated and he still didn't want to believe that she really was the Infernian. There really was no denying it anymore. Cor was hoping that maybe she could live a normal life but given how she was reacting to the Rock he knew what he had to do. If there was any hope of having her face her destiny then he was going to have to start training her. She had to know how to fight or else there would be no way for her to do so when the time came. He had to turn her into a warrior so that the rest of Eos had a chance of surviving. Probably best to get started while they were out.

"You never make sense to me, kid," he smiled at her.

Athenacia huffed, crossing her arms but still keeping her gaze on the Rock. He gave her a small nudge and she finally smiled back at him. Cor sped up so that they were out of sight from the volcano, keeping his eyes distant and his heart heavy at what would come to pass for this innocent girl beside him.

...

Athenacia kept picking at the fruit in front of her, trying to ignore the large hand on her thigh. She was trying to focus on the paper in front of her, one of the wanted bounties in the area. It was surprising that the one she was looking at had managed to make it this far out, but then the creature itself was able to move much faster than most. She studied the pitiful drawing of the monster despite her attention waning. Actually, she was trying not to be bothered by her distraction in the first place but it wasn't working, especially when the hand moved a little too close to where it shouldn't be right now. Her cheeks were flushed while trying to avoid any eye contact with Prompto, Ignis or Iris while they spoke.

They were sitting at a table in Old Lestallum, waiting for the Prince to grace them with their presence. It was the day after they had stormed an Imperial base and Athenacia had a run in with the Chancellor. It was the first time she had seen him since she found out that he was the one chasing her this entire time around the country since the fall of Insomnia. Instead of getting any answers she was only faced with more questions, including ones she had never wondered before like the fate of her mother. He had given her a strange necklace with some words scribbled on them but until she met up with Cor none of that was going to make sense to her. Not like she could really think about that right now anyway. The hand on her thigh was still caressing her in such a slow and agonizing way. She was nearly mortified at it, hating that she couldn't do anything. Because every time she tried to move it, she was countered with it going closer to a place she'd rather it didn't be here in public. What was worse is that Gladiolus was doing it on purpose, knowing that it was bothering her. He was punishing her. Earlier in the day the two of them were sharing a very intimate moment against her truck, only to be interrupted by Prompto. She wasn't exactly sympathetic to his annoyance but she still didn't see why she was the one being punished for it. It's not like she was the one that stopped them, she was almost ready to go with him out of sight somewhere so they could be alone.

"Anyone else catch that giant smoking mountain on the way here?" asked Prompto.

"That's the Rock of Ravatogh," answered Iris, "I'm like, 90 percent sure."

"Not a hundred?" Gladiolus teased, raising a brow.

"She's right though," Athenacia spoke, looking off into the direction it was, "It is the Rock of Ravatogh."

"Is it really?" asked Prompto.

"Indeed," replied Ignis, "Legend has it that the Rock is the final resting place of the Infernian."

"Jared's notebook did mention that," said Iris.

Athenacia kept her eyes distant, recalling all she knew about the mountain. She hadn't the chance to read the notebook yet but she was sure she would whenever they got to Caem.

"So he's dead to huh?" asked Prompto.

"He was killed by Shiva," said Athenacia, her voice as gone as her eyes were, "After he turned on his own people and was labelled the Betrayer."

Her fist tightened in her lap, her face contorting into a scowl. She closed her eyes as images came to her head of a fiery nightmare. It was one she often had when near the Rock, ever since she was a child and had first seen it. They were hazy but always there. She was sure it was just a side effect of the residing magic there but sometimes she wasn't so sure. Not like there was any explanation as to why they came to her in the first place.

"You okay Doc?"

Athenacia snapped her attention to Gladiolus, not even noticing him squeeze her thigh in order to get her it while caught up in her own thoughts. Ignis was looking at her curiously as well and she flushed slightly. She looked back at the man beside her who had ceased his teasing of her for the moment, allowing her to release the tension in her body.

"Yeah," she forced a smile.

...

A long journey later and Athenacia found herself at the top of the lighthouse alone in Caem. It was another one of those clear sunny mornings and she was happy that it wasn't cold. She had Jared's notebook with her, was reading it before the ordeal she just went through. Not only had they managed to kick their way through the Malmalam Thicket but Gladiolus had gone to take on the Blademaster, Noctis and the other three acquired Mythril and she was revealed to the four of them as the true monster she and Cor had been hiding, the bastard daughter of the Emperor. Surprisingly they didn't turn their backs on her, not even Gladiolus who not only insisted they stay together but declared his love for her. She smiled absently as she thought about it, her eyes going back to the book in front of her.

The old man, Jared, had acquired a lot of information in his lifetime. Athenacia was sad that he wasn't here to explain further the things she was reading about the Rock of Ravatogh. According to this the Infernian was disturbed in his slumber and sealed away, again by Shiva. She couldn't recall anything she had read or researched on the manner. Generally, she didn't look much into astrals, was more concerned with things she could actually see and touch. Cauthess was always somewhere in her travels and the presence of Titan always filled her with mixed emotions. And since she had never been outside of Lucis she never knew what the Glacian looked like. Cor had read to her all the legends while she grew up but there was more to the story that appeared to be missing. She wondered if there was any record of it anywhere, in an ancient civilization hidden away from the world.

"Yeah, I heard of it."

Athenacia looked down below her curiously. She saw the image of Cor down there on his phone, his voice carried up by the wind and unnatural hearing ability seemed to catch it. Her heart was heavy as she watched him, tears wishing to fill her eyes once more. After he had stood by her when the others found out about her father she ended up fighting with him in a drunken stupor. Awful things were said that she didn't mean, taking out all her hatred and pain on him. She finally pushed him away for good and the taste was still bitter. Of course, she had run away from him when he came into the house earlier. She wasn't ready to face him just yet after she had screwed up so badly.

"They're missing?"

Frowning, she couldn't help but wonder who he was talking to. She knew that Gladiolus and Noctis had stepped away but she was sure that they wouldn't go somewhere dangerous on their own. Not after the shit they had just gone through getting her out of yet another Imperial base.

"How dangerous?"

That perked up her interest. There was no way he was talking about the Prince and his Shield. He wouldn't be this calm if that were the case. He was still bound by his duty to them and wouldn't just sit around if he knew that they were in danger.

"I can't leave just yet. I've gotta deal with a brat."

She scoffed. Of course, she was always a brat according to him. Cor was right at the moment but whatever he was waiting for could happen any time now. Probably would help if she wasn't trying to avoid him.

"Something that big shouldn't be hard to track."

Athenacia raised a brow, knowing exactly what he was talking about now. Chewing her lip absently in thought, she watched as he hung up the phone and then went back to the lighthouse. Probably headed to the bottom of it since he was aware that she was hiding from him up here. She just wondered when he planned on "dealing" with her. or how. As far as she knew he said she was on her own now. Which meant that he likely wasn't going to be dealing with her anymore. She sighed heavily, hating that she was the reason this issue wasn't dealt with. If only there was something she could do to help matters along and fix one of her many mistakes.

...

Gladiolus arrived back at Caem with Noctis about mid-afternoon. He had a smug smile on his face though his charge didn't quite understand what he was so proud of. The Shield had dragged them away in the morning for what seemed like a silly errand and it took up most of the day. One day Noctis might understand but for now, he was clearly oblivious. Not that it mattered, the person that Gladiolus was looking for was not in the house.

"Wait," Gladiolus reached his hand out toward Noctis's shoulder.

"But-"

"I wanna find Cia first."

Noctis grunted, "Do what you gotta do."

They stowed their items away and the younger man walked into the house. Gladiolus figured the doctor would be up hiding at the top of the lighthouse like she usually was. He made his way over there, riding the elevator up almost impatiently. Once he reached the top he walked toward the nest she had made for herself but she wasn't there and he found that odd. Coming back down he continued into the house, wondering if maybe she was there instead. As he walked inside he was again faced with her not being there at all. The bathroom was vacant and it appeared that there was no sign of her anywhere.

"You guys see Cia?" he asked his friends that were sitting at the table.

"Not since she bolted away from the Marshal earlier," answered Prompto.

"Did you check the lighthouse?" asked Iris.

"She's not up there," answered Gladiolus.

"Sometimes she's at the dock."

"She won't go there if she's avoiding Cor."

"The Marshal left a short while ago," said Ignis.

"She wasn't with him?"

"No he was alone," answered Iris.

Gladiolus frowned, walking out the door and back to the lighthouse. He rode the elevator down this time but only found Cid and the boat, no one else. This was getting a little annoying. She was elusive as always but he figured after everything that happened she wouldn't still be hiding from him either. The Shield walked into the house and toward the storage area where she often kept her things. Most of it was there but her med bag and weapon were missing. He hadn't seen them in her nest either which mean that she had them with her, wherever she happened to be. A troubled look creased his face as he came back to the main room, all eyes on him once more.

"No luck?" asked Noctis.

"Curious," mused Ignis.

"You don't think..."

Prompto didn't finish that sentence. They didn't want to think that she once again was taken by their enemies. Caem wasn't exactly as hidden as they would have liked and it was slowly becoming common knowledge that Athenacia was an Imperial Princess and wanted back home by her father. But Iris didn't know that, nor did anyone else here. That was information that was best kept to themselves and why Prompto did not finish what he was saying.

"She has caused quite a commotion as of late," said Ignis.

"What is it?" asked Iris.

"Nevermind," said Gladiolus, "We'll figure it out."

Without even asking the other three men got up and joined him outside. Iris looked very confused but didn't bother to go with them, she knew that this didn't involve her and wasn't going to argue with her brother when it came to Athenacia. Gladiolus had his arms crossed over his chest, obviously disturbed by the fact that his girlfriend was not where he left her. After everything that happened, he really wasn't interested in another fight with the Empire to get her back but he certainly wasn't going to walk away either. Knowing who she was only meant that the danger around her was much more serious than before and it was also a fact that the others knew as well.

"There's no sign of her anywhere?" asked Prompto.

"No," replied Gladiolus, "But wherever she is, she's armed."

"And definitely not with Cor?" asked Noctis.

"What even happened there anyway?" Prompto thought out loud.

"Doesn't matter, she's not with him," said Gladiolus firmly.

"Perhaps she has gone out hunting," mused Ignis.

"Alone? And without telling anyone?"

"Or she just took off," shrugged Noctis, "Not like its the first time she tried to avoid us."

"That's true," agreed Prompto.

Gladiolus shook his head, "Her stuff is still here and she doesn't have a vehicle to move around fast enough."

"Indeed. If she truly was headed off the radar she would need to move with great haste," said Ignis.

The Shield frowned. Something about this didn't sit well with him. Why would she just take off like that? After all that happened between them last night? She opened herself up completely to him, told him everything about who she was and how she came to be here. He was sure she wasn't going to just up and leave after that, especially without taking all of her things. But if she did finding her would be extremely difficult. When she had gone into hiding after the Crown City fell even Cor couldn't find her. At least if he wasn't able to then neither were her enemies.

"She was last seen at the top of the lighthouse," said Ignis.

"Might as well look for clues," offered Prompto, beginning his trek in that direction.

The other three followed suit, riding the elevator to the top again. Gladiolus went to the nest that she had made for herself and looked for any sign that she was around. But all he found was Jared's notebook, open on the last page she must have been reading. He picked it up, looking at it curiously and wondering what she found so fascinating. A folded paper fell out of it and he caught it before it blew away in the wind. He frowned as he opened it, seeing that her writing was all over it. It was her own notes to go along with Jared's. Athenacia had pieces of things he was missing like the Vesperpool all neatly interacting with what he already had. She had been all over the country as a Glaive and the old man was a faithful Amicitia steward. It was easy for her to fill in the gaps that he didn't have. The large man sighed as his eyes came over it.

"Find something?" asked Ignis.

He carefully took the book from Gladiolus's hand and looked over at the page she inadvertently marked. He narrowed his eyes at it, noting how it was worn on the few pages she seemed to be fairly intent on.

"Curious..." he trailed.

"What's up specs?" asked Noctis.

"I believe I know where the good doctor has run off to."

"Yeah?"

"Indeed. The Rock of Ravatogh."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Prompto began to walk.

Gladiolus met the eyes of Ignis briefly before the book was placed back in her nest carefully. They went down the elevator and toward the parking lot where the Regalia was parked. As soon as they got down there Gladiolus noted that there was a light blue chocobo feather on his seat. Whether it was placed there on purpose or not he finally knew how she managed to get away without a vehicle. He remembered that the one she used last time had some accented feathers and probably called the same one. He just hoped that they found her before she got herself into trouble.

...

They arrived at Verinas Market not too far away from the mountain. The heat rose as they got closer, something very noticeable. What wasn't obvious was the presence fo the elusive doctor. They asked the tipster if the young woman happened by, but he hadn't seen her. That was concerning and since they weren't completely sure that she had come all this way then there was no sense in going to look up the mountain. They hadn't seen her on the road either but that wasn't exactly to be expected. No one knew when she left so she may even have not come this far just yet, she was only on a chocobo after all. Ignis went to ask other patrons while the younger two decided on eating while they were waiting. Gladiolus didn't have much on him for information but he was hoping that they could find something.

"Think she'll be okay?"

He was passing the camper van, looking for chocobo tracks. Two hunters rested there, heavily beaten it looked like. Paying them no mind, he kept his eyes on the ground.

"You saw the way she handled those spiracorns," the other hunter spoke.

"Yeah. Never seen a doctor move like that though," the first one replied.

That caught Gladiolus's attention. He stopped walking and cocked his head slightly, eavesdropping on their conversation.

"Patched us up good though. Be dead without her."

"Or dead fighting her. Those chains just came out of nowhere."

"She was really something wasn't she?"

"You got that right. Flexible too, I'd like to-"

"Fellas," Gladiolus interrupted.

He most definitely did not want to hear the end of that sentence. It worked, both men looking at the Shield curiously while he sat down at their table uninvited.

"Couldn't help but overhear," he continued and then held up his phone, "This the girl?"

It was a picture of Athenacia he pulled up. This was the most recent one he had, of her with her flaming hair smiling as she looked out into the ocean. Her hair was blowing in the wind but he managed to get this when it wasn't in her face just as the sun was beginning to kiss the horizon. That light in her eyes that he loved so much about her shining brightly while she appeared to be lost in thought. Whatever she was thinking about he didn't want to interrupt while he captured this moment. Then, of course, he teased her mercilessly about it afterward and enjoyed watching the smile on her face while he did so.

"Yeah that's her," confirmed one of the hunters.

"But her hair's different," said the other.

"You're sure?" he asked.

"Yep."

"Can't forget a face like that," the hunter nudged his partner with a grin.

Gladiolus swiped to the next picture, one of the two of them. This was something Iris had sneaked on them shortly after he had returned from the Tempering Grounds. The two of them were walking back from the lighthouse and Athenacia had managed to trip on something along the way. Gladiolus was quick to catch her, his arms around her shoulders while she was dipped down. That's when Iris managed to snap this with her phone at the perfect moment. Athenacia was in pure shock though her cheeks were flushed while Gladiolus looked down at her in near amusement. He remembered that moment, the night after he realized he was in love with her. It showed on his face though she had no idea given that she was embarrassed about nearly falling over in the first place.

"Take another look," said Gladiolus.

Immediately both hunters seemed very uncomfortable right now. It seemed to dawn on them that they were talking about the woman in a very disrespectful manner and the man before them was not happy about it. At least this information was not going to cost anything now that he had their full attention. The Shield smirked smugly, taking his phone and closing the screen before putting it back in his pocket. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned back for more of a dramatic event while continuing to scrutinize his company.

"Look, man, we didn't-"

"Just tell me where she went," he cut the hunter off darkly.

Gladiolus listened to their tale of how they were hunting a bounty but was forced to retreat and ended up getting lost. Athenacia managed to track them down and save them from a couple spiracorns before patching them up and sending them back here with her chocobo. She was going to take their abandoned hunt which meant he now had a direction to go on. He didn't even bother to thank them before he got up and left now that he had everything he needed. Taking a look over at the mountain, he frowned in thought before wiping sweat from his forehead and going to find the others.

It wasn't hard to gather them up. Noctis and Prompto had managed to almost put themselves into a food coma with a disapproving gaze from Ignis. The Advisor didn't end up finding out anything but Gladiolus shared the information he had. It wasn't too much longer they had set out, hoping to find Athenacia before it got dark. It was evening and the Shield was impressed with how fast she could move. She'd probably be halfway up the mountain by now and they would be lucky to catch up to her at all. They drove to a closer spot on the mountain and then mounted chocobos to try and catch up to her. She was on foot thanks to her generosity in helping out the hunters. The only solace was that she was slower on foot than on a bird or driving. Gladiolus was getting a little uneasy about knowing that she was alone out there hunting the bounty she agreed to take over. What was she thinking?

But he was put to rest when they did catch up to her. Athenacia hadn't entered the mountain yet. Instead, she was on top of a large rock staring out into the distance. She was crouched down, almost as if she was waiting for something to happen. The four of them stopped and Gladiolus held out his arm to keep them from calling out to her. He knew that look on her face, had seen it before when she was deep in thought. Following her gaze, he wondering what exactly she was looking for. No, what she was tracking. She rose to her full height shortly after and it was then he knew that she was about to move.

"Hey Doc!" he yelled up at her.

"Yes?" she answered back without even turning toward them.

"There a reason you're all the way out here without telling someone?"

"Last I checked I wasn't a child."

"I ain't sayin' that."

"Then what's your point?"

"You're at the top of the snatch list, Princess, maybe you shouldn't be by yourself out in the open."

Athenacia turned toward them, jumping down from the rock effortlessly and landing on noiseless feet. She raised her brow at him, crossing her arms over her chest and clearly not impressed with what he had just said. Gladiolus noted that her long hair was braided but hanging at her back in order to stay out of her face. She had healed herself of whatever sort of damage done to her at the base, all except that giant bruise on her cheek given to her by Ardyn. Her braces were on her arms and thighs, wearing a black tank top and white shorts with brown boots on that covered more of her legs right up to her knees and her gauntlet was on as well. She was completely prepared for a fight with her weapon sheathed at her back and her med bag over top it like usual.

"Remember when I was off the grid and none of you, including the Empire, knew where I was?" she replied with an edge to her voice.

"Okay ladies, you're both pretty," Prompto jumped in before the fight continued.

"What are you doing out here anyway?" asked Noctis.

Athenacia sighed, turning back to the mountain, "It's personal."

"Unpersonalize it," said Gladiolus.

She snapped her head toward him, ready with a retort. However, it seemed that she wasn't going to deliver one the way that she wanted.

"You weren't really going to climb that thing... were you?" asked Prompto.

"Of course I was," she shrugged.

"By yourself?"

"Do you see anyone else around?"

"Dr. Virum," Ignis cut off yet another word from Gladiolus, "If I may, perhaps it would be best to utilize our services. For peace of mind."

She looked over at all of them. The way he spoke, she knew that it wasn't a suggestion and that the fact that they were here meant they were going to go with her anyway. If anything, she could use the help to speed things along. Sighing, she uncrossed her arms and gathered her thoughts.

"The monster terrorizing the skies is sort of my fault," she said.

"Your fault?" asked Noctis curiously.

"Yeah. Back in my early Glaive days myself, Crowe and Nyx came across the beast when it had just hatched. The mother was nowhere to be seen but we decided not to kill it despite its size. It didn't even look like it would get too big but because of that now it's a problem in these areas."

"And you feel obligated to remedy the situation," supplied Ignis.

She nodded, "Lots of hunters have had trouble with it. Those lives are on me. It's about time I finished what I started."

No one spoke. Not at first while they listened to her tale. The birds didn't seem to care at all about anything she was saying.

"I'm game," shrugged Gladiolus.

Athenacia met his gaze and then had no choice but to let out a little laugh. Figures he was up for it. The decision was fairly unanimous after that. Gladiolus scooped her up and had her ride with him on his bird while they continued their journey up toward the mountain. His proximity made her flush, especially with the way he decided to tease her on the way there. She was in front of him which was not ideal nor really her choice. Because his hands were on her she was forced to lead the bird on the right path and had to stay ahead in order to make sure that no one saw what he was doing. His lips came to tease her neck as well which was easy given the braid sort of kept it exposed. He was such a jerk. But as they came closer toward the mountain trail they dismounted the chocobos and she wished her hair was down so that she could hide her face right now. She did her best to compose herself and thanked the Six that no one was paying any attention to her.

"Well, it's an uphill climb," said Gladiolus.

"Looks pretty insurmountable to me," said Prompto.

Athenacia began the trek upward, already knowing that she was in for quite a journey. She just wished she didn't waste so much time with those hunters, wanting to have this done by nightfall. The beast was not up there just yet but was sure that it would return soon. If she was lucky it would come back to sleep before the night and she could take care of it quietly. Not that it mattered, she'd be lucky to get to the top before nighttime now with these guys trailing behind her. She was much faster alone. The heat had also increased but it didn't bother her at all.

"Just think about what's waiting at the top," Gladiolus tried to encourage the younger man.

"Let me guess: one aching back and two very sore feet," replied Prompto dryly.

Athenacia smiled at their banter, falling in step with the wayward Prince as it were.

"Like you couldn't use some meat on those legs of yours."

"They work for me."

If he thought Prompto was small then she could only imagine what he thought of her. She was even smaller than the gunman, abnormally small in fact. She knew why of course but felt it was unnecessary to share that piece of information with them. It was a very uphill climb and rocky though not steep thus far. The heat was definitely rising as they came higher though she wasn't really affected by it. She was wearing the least amount of clothes anyway, she felt bad for the boys all dressed leather. It wasn't like they expected to climb up this thing though. As they came higher they encountered their first round of creatures, saphytail. There were only two so she let the men deal with it since she wasn't really needed. It was a quick battle and they pressed onward without anymore issue.

"Little out of our comfort zone," mused Ignis.

"Why do I even leave my car seat?" whined Prompto.

The rock walls along them finally opened up a little and Athenacia could hear more monsters in the distance. She was in the lead, basically scouting ahead since she was better suited to the task than any of the others.

"Heads up," warned Gladiolus.

She didn't need to be told, stopping when she came across a couple of spiracorns fighting off some saphytails. Unsheathed her gladius from her back and attaching the armband to her wrist before taking a firm grip on it, she was ready. Noctis was first to initiate, followed closely by Ignis. Prompto stayed behind with his gun and Athenacia decided she would go where the other three men were not fighting. She took out the saphytail with ease before coming to another. The last spiracorn was charging at her and she launched herself into the air, slashing at its neck before she landed on her feet. Noctis finished it off with one of his warps and she blanched at the sight before turning to find something else to fight. As it turned out there was nothing left, nothing but a fork that is. The boys had decided to go left which only led them into another pit of saphytails.

"Come on, I got a date with a cup of noodles," said Gladiolus as they fought.

"Well excuse me then," said Athenacia dryly.

He grinned, catching her arm and pulling her from harm's way. She gave him a disdained look while he held her against him, blocking the attack that would have come to her unprotected back. Squirming out of his grasp to finish off the one on his nine, the fight was over. They continued on only to be faced with a slight problem. They were at a dead end and while Athenacia could clear that with no issue it became obvious that the others were not interested.

"Yeah! We reached the end," declared Prompto happily.

"Nice try. Let's double back and go the other way," said Gladiolus.

There was a groan from the younger man, knowing exactly what that meant. They came back down the pass only to ascend up more rocks and a bit of a higher incline. Athenacia kept going, trying not to think about how much further they possibly had to go. She let out her own little huff as the trail not only became much steeper but also was no longer rocks beneath her feet. They began and it wasn't long before the commentary started.

"Killer climb dude," groaned Prompto.

"It's killing me," agreed Noctis.

"Feeling a steep pain," said Ignis.

"One false step and you won't feel anything ever again," Gladiolus spoke.

Ever the beacon of reality he was. Athenacia was really starting to feel out of it about halfway up, noting how hard this really was. She couldn't blame them for complaining she was having trouble with it herself. Her weapon was sheathed in order to use her hands to help her up and it only got worse the higher up they got, she had to be very careful about her footing. Not like it helped, she managed to slip and was starting to fall very fast. She cursed, unable to steady herself at all. Just as she was reaching her arm to grab her weapon she was stopped abruptly by a large, sweaty hand on her wrist.

"You ain't gettin' away that easy," said Gladiolus.

"What about your noodles?" she smiled wryly, "Won't they get jealous?"

"Don't worry Doc, I made sure they knew you were coming."

She shook herself from his hand, pushing past him.

"What a gentleman," she rolled her eyes as she continued on.

Athenacia could almost see the top. At least, she hoped that's what she was seeing. The weight of her own body was tough on her and she had no idea how the rest of them were fairing since they were much bigger than she was. She exhaled deeply and kept going. There was no way she could stop now.

"I think my legs are gonna give," Prompto spoke her thoughts, "Don't even wanna think about how sore I'm going to be tomorrow."

But just as he was finished they finally reached some more solid ground. Athenacia breathed a sigh of relief but didn't stop. She didn't want to lose her momentum though she was a bit slower to allow them a small rest. She had an agenda and that window was closing quicker than she would have liked. They weren't straying too far behind and for that she was thankful. The rocky steep path was a breeze after what she had just gone through.

"The hell's with the heat?" Noctis grunted annoyed.

"As we climb so does the temperature," said Ignis.

"I'm no geologist but I'm pretty sure this is a volcano," said Prompto.

"It is," supplied Athenacia simply.

Prompto did not seem happy to hear that, "What are the chances of it erupting while we're here?!" he cried.

"Fairly high since the last one was hundreds of years ago."

"Dude!"

"Bright side, you won't suffer long if it does," replied Gladiolus.

She smirked at their banter, coming to have a look at the curious plant that Ignis had found. But it wasn't actually the plant she was interested in, something else had caught her eye. Along the rock wall above it was a flower she had never seen before and was sure only existed up here. There was little time to admire it before they left and continued to go higher. They came through another pass and managed to find a nice fork. One path was monsters, the other sweltering heat. Of course, the best way to go was to follow the creatures. She wasn't in charge here though despite this being her escapade in the first place.

"Noct, do us all a solid and choose the one that's not a dead end," advised Prompto.

They ended up going the way of the sweltering heat. There was a small chance that what she was looking for could have nested that way so she didn't argue. She was in the lead again and a quick look behind her told her exactly why. The four of them were practically melting with all the heat rising around them. She could only feel small beads of sweat at her hairline but otherwise was fine.

"We'd best make haste through the hot spots," cautioned Ignis.

"Any more of this and I'll melt!" cried Prompto.

As they climbed higher it became very obvious that they weren't alone.

"Hate bastards that fly," grumbled Gladiolus, summoning his sword.

He was referring to the thunderoc flying all around the path they had to walk. Noctis warped up to one of them and Athenacia launched her gladius into another, calling her spikes and gathering two more as she pulled them down to the ground. That at least enabled Gladiolus and Ignis to fight a little easier. The Prince was still in the air and Prompto had a long-range weapon already. They felled the birds with ease and then continued on their journey upward. Thankfully they didn't have to travel too far to come to another dead end.

"Now this is scenery," said Gladiolus.

"That looks like lava so we definitely don't want to go down there," said Prompto.

Athenacia came to look upon the scene for herself. Above her was what looked like a tunnel that allowed a nice steady stream of lava to flow all the way down to the hole she was standing over. The river of magma was going on without a care in the world to its own destination that she didn't know. She frowned as she watched it flow, feeling a chilly wind reach her. Her eyes widened then, noting that everything around her was grey. The voices of her companions were far away, her ears only filled with a sinister laugh. She turned to look for it, her heart thumping in her chest. But she was only met with a man, an evil one that was not laughing. His face was shrouded in shadow as he came to stand next to her, completely oblivious of her presence. He thrust his hands to the heavens, calling for something that wasn't actually there. The sky began to glow red, the clouds above swirling into a fiery inferno up above. Athenacia screamed as she heard the roar of a monster come to life from the lava pit below. The image of a daemon it looked like began to rise, the laugh turning into a wail as it reached out toward her. She let out another cry, shutting her eyes tightly and preparing for impact.

"Seen all there is to see here," said Gladiolus, bringing her out of her reverie.

Athenacia gasped lowly, startled at his voice all of a sudden. Her fists were clenched at her side and her breathing slow. No one had noticed that she was lost there for a second, all of it a vision of her nightmares. She hadn't one like that before but she was sure that she had seen it before. It was probably the residual magic left here from the Infernian's death, feeling the same thing whenever she was near Cauthess even now without Titan there.

"Doc?"

Gladiolus put an arm around her and she immediately slid away. Literally.

"You're drenched!" she cried.

"Well we are standing next to a river of lava," he raised a brow.

"Come to think of it, why aren't you sweating?" asked Prompto curiously.

It was an honest question since the four of them were glowing with how hot it was up here. But it wasn't really bothering her that much, only at the top of her head a little.

"It's not that bad," she shrugged, "I've always like heat."

"That explains a lot," said Noctis.

"Yup, totally makes sense now," agreed Prompto.

"What?" she frowned at them.

"Big guy's kind of a hot head."

"And you like heat so..." Noctis left it hanging.

She laughed when Gladiolus decided he was done listening to any of that sort of nonsense. Ignis just sighed in exasperation and Athenacia kept the smile on her face. Needless to say, the trek back down was a lot quicker than coming up despite the sweltering heat getting to them.

"Hey, this path looks promising!" said Prompto happily.

And he was right. They were no longer on the ground that had hot magma flowing beneath it and Athenacia actually breathed a sigh of relief. The sand was much cooler beneath her feet and they were surrounded by rock walls again. They kept going, the path steep still but not as bad as before. Athenacia had her weapon unsheathed still and gripped firmly as she managed to be scouting ahead of them again to find any threats along the road. Her ears were strained and her eyes kept to any sort of exit they might need should the creature she was hunting manage to catch them up here off guard.

"I'm burning up in here," whined Noctis.

"And I'm sweating buckets," grunted Gladiolus.

"Out of the frying pan..."

"And into the volcano," Prompto finished for Ignis.

"It's really not that bad," Athenacia called to them from where she stood.

"You were hatched here weren't you?"

She only laughed, continuing to lead them down the tail. They came down and that's when she stopped completely. Once they caught up with her they noted the threat before them, thunderoc and wyverns waiting in the pit below. Athenacia followed the pattern of the ones in the air, looking for her opening. They were basically waiting for her to move before they drew attention to themselves. She finally had it figured out, longer than usual which she internally cursed herself for. The gladius was launched, allowing the chain to come free and once it stuck firmly into a thunderoc she allowed her body to lift off the ground. The spikes came out and she moved so that she was getting everything she could on her way down before landing on noiseless feet. Noctis had also plunged into battle and the others weren't far behind him. The beasts were felled quicker than if she was alone and she was happy about that.

The sun was going down and she knew that her bounty would plant roots for the night. They would need to get somewhere safe for the night themselves and she knew that this wasn't the place for that. There was no way they were going to make it back down the mountain in time and truth be told she wasn't interested in starting that climb all over again. She internally sighed, looking over at the only place they could go on. They came to a rock wall and the only direction to go was up.

"Time to face the cliff head on," said Ignis.

"By 'face' you don't mean 'climb'?" groaned Prompto.

"You got a better way up the rock?" asked Gladiolus.

"Yup," replied Athenacia, "I am not climbing this."

He looked over at her with a brow raised and she took a few steps back. She allowed her weapon to dangle slightly and then she began to wind it up. Her face was focused as she looked for the best spot and then launched it as high as it would go, sticking firmly into the rock face. Flicking her wrist, the chain retracted and her body started to lift off the ground.

"Bye boys," she smiled at them.

They watched, Gladiolus in amusement as she practically ran up the cliff while attached to her chain. Just as she was about to reach the top she grabbed her weapon, pushing her feet off and then flipping so that she was at the top. She looked down at them smugly, sitting down and waiting. She wasn't at the top but they could see that halfway up there was another ledge for them to at least catch their breath.

"Show off," Gladiolus muttered though with a smile on his face.

"That is the best idea you've had all day!" Noctis yelled at her.

He threw his own weapon up to where she was, warping there instantly and joining her up there.

"No fair!" Prompto called up after them.

They ignored him and Ignis was the first to begin his ascent. He was annoyed as well but knew there was really nothing he could do about it. Gladiolus followed next and Prompto begrudgingly brought up the rear. When the three men were about halfway up Athenacia felt better about it and decided to once again launch herself up to the very top. Noctis wasn't far behind her and she sat there with him waiting. Once she saw them all safely reach the first ledge she decided to go scout the area. The stars were starting to make their appearance and she wanted to make sure that they would be safe for the night. As she came toward the only path available to her before it split off she ended up finding a haven. Perfect.

Athenacia had a look at the scenery, trying to figure out where her next move was. Straining her ears, she knew that there were beasts not too far away from where she was standing. As more stars came into the sky she knew that they were definitely grounded here for the night. Footsteps sounded behnid her, noting that it was only Noctis. She opened her mouth to ask about the others.

"They're almost up here," he said, stopping her.

She nodded, going back to her musings.

"I never got a chance to tell you," he began, clearly uncomfortable, "That no one really cares where you came from."

She scoffed, having avoided the conversation as much as she could.

"Even though my purpose in life is to kill you?" she raised a brow, smirking and crossing her arms over her chest.

"You can try," he laughed, "But somehow I doubt you'll really bother."

"Not my style."

"You'd have your hands full with Gladio anyway."

"He's not that tough."

"Don't let him hear you say that."

Athenacia laughed, both of them did. She bit her lip nervously, keeping her gaze down. Some of the tension she felt around him seemed to melt away and she was happy about that. The bounty was just another way for her to avoid the situation entirely and she was actually shocked he was coming up here with her in the first place. She just assumed it was a favour to Gladiolus but despite the heat, he appeared to be actually enjoying himself. Sighing, a small smile played on her lips. The mood came down again and she was lost in her own thoughts once more.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

"Woo! Finally a spot to rest," said Prompto, out of breath and interrupting anything she was about to say.

The Royals turned, seeing the gunman sprawled out like a starfish on the ground and breathing heavily. Ignis seemed to a little less composed than usual and Gladiolus wiped sweat from his forehead as he came to the haven. He looked up at her and she met his gaze with a smile on her face.

"What took you so long?" Athenacia asked innocently.

He grinned, "Gimme a hug," he replied, coming at her with arms outstretched.

"No!"

Her voice carried over the empty air and she immediately ducked behind Noctis, grabbing his jacket and using him as a shield to keep the larger man away from her. Needless to say, he was not happy about being forced in between them nor being dragged around the entire campsite. He was having trouble getting himself free of her grasp, shocked at the death grip she had upon him. Finally, he just phased out of it and she gasped when she was left defenceless. Gladiolus engulfed her in his massive arms and she screamed her protests and disgust, echoing into the uncaring night as she did so.

Later on that night the fire was going though it was low because of the heat already in the volcano. Athenacia was still unhappy about being covered in Gladiolus's sweat and they were patiently waiting for Ignis to be done the triage she was doing on him. In the meantime they were hungry and the Shield was swiftly taking care of that. She ignored him completely though, keeping her back to him as he worked. Ignis wasn't too bad and she patched him up quickly before turning to her next patient. Prompto wasn't in too much of the action so he was fine with just a potion. Noctis was much the same way, his magic taking its course thanks to the break that they had waiting for the others to climb the rock wall. Gladiolus was next though he seemed to be otherwise occupied. Turns out he was making noodles and she crossed her arms.

"I'm sorry I guess you two want to be alone," she said.

Athenacia didn't even give him a chance to respond but did note that he tried to swat at her before she walked away. She sat in her seat then, deciding he could wait until after she ate since he obviously wasn't in dire need of care. Releasing a breath, she leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes briefly before letting them fall over the starry sky above her. The sound of footsteps interrupted her and she brought her gaze toward them, Prompto coming over to bring her a cup. She forced a smile and he looked at her a little weirdly before he sat down beside her. Noctis was on her other side and she felt a little strange being in the middle of the two of them. Looking down at her food she gave what she thought was an inaudible sigh.

"I hate noodles," she muttered under her breath before taking a bite.

But it seemed her comment didn't go unnoticed. Prompto looked over at her with horror.

"You hate noodles?!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

The girl flushed, "Yeah..." she answered in a small voice, looking down at her lap.

"You hearing this big guy?"

Gladiolus shrugged, "I already knew."

Prompto looked at his friend like he had two heads. Gladiolus came to sit in front of her, leaning his bare back on her legs.

Noctis laughed, "Gladio must really like you. Anyone else would have been dumped pretty quickly."

"Anyone else sure," said Gladiolus casually, "But she's special."

Athenacia flushed further, refusing to raise her head at any of them. He moved to look at her, that grin on his face that she was accustomed to seeing. She smiled warmly at him, biting her lip nervously before he tore his gaze away. His shirt was off and she was faced with his tattoo that was absolutely loving the moisture of his skin. Skin that was pressed up against her and still beading his sweat all over her. She shuddered in disgust.

"You do realize there's a seat just over there?" she pointed out to him.

"Sure Doc," he replied, "But then I can't do this."

He rubbed his bare back all over her legs, causing her to squeal unhappily.

"Gladio!" she seethed at him.

The doctor was only met with his laughter as he continued to slide across her skin. She groaned in frustration, pulling her chair back which caused him to almost fall backward. He caught himself on his elbow, not even managing to spill his food while continuing to chuckle despite how angry she seemed to be at him.

"You're so gross!" she whined.

"Can't handle all this manliness around you?" he raised a brow smugly.

"Handle this!"

She dumped her noodles on top of his head, leaving the cup there before pointedly going into the tent and ignoring his laughter.

"Thin ice big guy," warned Prompto.

"She likes it," replied Gladiolus arrogantly.

"I do not!" they heard her shout from inside the tent.

That only caused him to laugh harder and an outward groan of exasperation came from the rest of them. Athenacia did not come out of the tent, not even when dinner was ready.

...

The night progressed and eventually the boys were making their way into the tent. Gladiolus cleaned himself up as best he could but until he got a proper bath he knew it wasn't going to be all that great. He was at least able to get the food out of his hair and off his body however the sweat would stay as long as they were up in this volcano. He was the first one to retire to bed, having not seen the young doctor since she went inside there to avoid him. Using the torch from his shirt was the only way to ensure he didn't step on her while coming inside. Turns out she was dozing and while he found that a little odd, the stiffness in his shoulder reminded him that they didn't sleep much last night. She was all the way at the edge, taking up as little space as she possibly could. A small smile came to his face at seeing her all curled up before she turned her back on him when he ran the light over he face. He came to lay right beside her, reaching his hand to her hip before letting it run slowly over toward her navel and pulling her against him. That scent invaded his nostrils and he placed a kiss on the top of her head before burying his face in her hair.

Athenacia stirred, her eyes opening lazily and noting the new weight upon her hip. She smiled when she noted the outline of the large arm there and the less sweaty chest she was pressed up against. Though he was like a furnace and she was sure she was going to start sweating herself if she stayed like this. Rolling over so that she was facing him, she couldn't help but notice that he winced when her hands came up his chest near his ribs. Frowning, she poked at them again and gauged his reaction. It was then she remembered that she had never gotten to examine him and felt guilty about it. She placed both hands flat against him, closing her eyes and concentrating. Those golden lights stretched out of her palms and began to soothe his weariness, just as it always did for her patients. When she was sure it was over she let out a sigh, her eyes drooping and head falling heavier.

"Don't push yourself," he told her lightly.

The doctor smiled weakly before pulling him close and allowing his feeling to take over her body. His warmth always seeped into her core, much different than the heat of his body. She inhaled his scent, of smoke and sweat and let it intoxicate her which caused her to sigh contently. His arm came back around her, his hand absently toying with her braid. Others had come into the tent but she was sure that they didn't pay her any mind since she was on the end and hidden by the mountain of a man she was pressed up against. He chuckled lightly when he felt the rumbling of her stomach. That's right, she didn't eat after hiding herself away in here.

"Hungry?" he whispered to her.

"It's your fault," she said, her voice low as well.

"No one made you dump those noodles on my head," he reminded her.

"You know there's a cliff not too far away from here that I'm sure I can push you over."

He grinned, "Not unless you want a flying lesson."

"What?"

"It's you and me, Doc. If I go over the cliff you come with me."

"Absolutely not!" her voice was a much louder whisper than before.

He kissed her deeply then, surprising her and causing her to release a little squeal while against him. Her mind completely forgot everything around her, her arms going to pull him closer as she practically melted in his arms. She could only think of him and how he was holding her right now. Athenacia was reminded of the night previous and how he had blatantly told her that he was going to be here and that he loved her. He wasn't even deterred about her not reacting to that and it made a tear leave her eye. Even if she wasn't sure of the depth of her feelings for him, he was right about one thing: if he was going over a cliff she was surely coming after him without a second thought on the matter. When he pulled away she was breathing a little heavier, his hand on her cheek to hold her in place.

"Okay," she conceded.

Her eyes clouded over as she tried to make out his face in the dark. She was sure he was holding that loving look he often did whenever they shared moments like this. He ran his nose over hers before capturing her lips again, positively thrilled at the fact that she would follow him without question. His hand slithered down her body, pulling her as close as she could be and she was completely enamoured with him. A small moan escaped her and she wanted to go further but there was something nagging at the back of her mind.

"Not alone in here!"

It was Prompto's voice that broke her out of her reverie. Athenacia gasped, her cheeks burning and eyes widening before she buried herself in Gladiolus's chest. She was completely mortified at what just transpired here and the fact that the large man was laughing while holding her close was not helping her. If there was somewhere else to go she certainly would.

Athenacia was the first to wake up. For once it wasn't a nightmare that had her shaking awake but rather the large pool of sweat she was lying in. She cringed at it, grabbing her things so that they didn't get wet and then carefully got out of the tent that needed better ventilation. Breathing a sigh of relief, she found some water to clean herself up a little before having a look at the edge of the haven. So far it didn't look like anything was disturbed which meant that the beast was not here just yet. She frowned at that, hoping there were some clues as to whether or not it truly nested here or not. Maybe she could track it on one of its escapades. At least they had somewhere to stay until it came back.

She turned her head to see Ignis vacating the tent. Biting her lip and raising a brow at his untamed hair, she quickly turned her back so as not to react, the heat not agreeing with him either it seemed. Athenacia was still not sweating herself, none of it bothering her whatsoever. Her ears caught something and immediately she turned back to what she hoped was the nest of the beast. As the sun continued to rise so did the other occupants of the tent. Athenacia didn't move from her post, keeping her ears strained in order to hear anything that might indicate her hunt had returned. No one disturbed her, seeing the intent look on her face while her gaze was to the skies. That was only until breakfast was ready and she ate more than she ordinarily would thanks to the lack of food she had the night previous. When they were finished and ready to go, she led the way down the only path left to go.

"Watch your step kids," warned Gladiolus.

Like he was the oldest here or something.

"No room for slip ups, Noct!" Prompto teased.

"I'm not the clumsy one," the Prince retorted pointedly.

They continued walking, the path narrowing thanks to the rock walls that formed around them. It seemed that they were still faced with some obstacles and most of them were flying around. Athenacia smirked when Gladiolus groaned, summoning his sword. Noctis and Athenacia went to the air, forming a sort of pattern since they came in here. She launched her gladius and he assisted her with his warps, bringing the fight to the ground for the other men. The killer wasps and wyverns were not very happy about the intrusion to their habitat but they were in the way and had to be dealt with. Thankfully the group was well rested and it ended up being just a minor annoyance before they carried on. As they came back upward on their trek they found two more killer wasps.

"This is all you two," declared Gladiolus.

Must be annoyed if he wasn't even willing to fight. Not that it mattered, Athenacia was gone before the words left him, Noctis hot on her heels. She didn't even have to leave the ground, just let her weapon dig into her enemy before she pulled it back and it sliced the bug in two. She gave her own smug smirk to Gladiolus once it was back in her hand and he gave her a swift smack on her backside, causing her to blush. Plunging ahead to avoid another, Noctis finished his own kill. They came to a dead end, only one option presented before them.

"Nowhere left to climb," said Prompto, "Should we check out the area below?"

"I'm down if you are," said Gladiolus.

Athenacia began her descent quite easily, the ledge wasn't that far down after all. What she was faced with was the exact thing she was looking for. There was a nest here, and three large eggs in it. Noctis walked over toward them and she could have sworn she heard something in the distance. The Prince seemed oblivious as he was looking around, not really sure what they were doing here. Athenacia's eyes widened when her ears pinpointed exactly what she had been looking for.

"It's here," she spoke.

The large shadow that rose overhead only confirmed that. She looked up, her weapon gripped tightly and ready for a fight. But Noctis wasn't paying any attention and Prompto seemed to notice that.

"Noct there it is!" he cried, running over to the Prince.

"There what is?" asked Noctis before grunting.

Prompto had run over and effectively pulled the other man to the ground by his ankle, having fallen over himself.

"GIANT BIRD!" screamed the gunman, looking over his shoulder, "And its coming right at us!"

Athenacia had her eyes trained on it. She knew that she couldn't stop it from swooping in and both men were in the way.

"Get away from there!" Gladiolus bellowed from beside her, getting ready to do his duty.

"Let go!" Noctis tried to break himself free of Prompto's grasp.

"I can't!" the blond was in a state of shock.

Eventually, they had detached before trying and failing to get away but it was too late to make any moves. Gladiolus growled but Ignis was much faster than him.

"Get down!" shouted the bespectacled man.

He lunged forward, pulling Noctis down just as the bird was coming at them with its talons to defend its home. It narrowly missed, continuing to fly away despite the devastation it caused. Everyone had taken cover and when it was safe to do so took the chances of having another look.

"Seems we arrived at feeding time," mused Ignis, getting to his feet.

"We're not staying for the meal, are we?" Prompto was shaken as usual, pushing himself up.

"And it's circling in for another peck!" Gladiolus warned.

"We might not have a choice," said Noctis.

"Looks like its either him or us!"

The Shield kept his eyes on the large bird, noting in peripherals that both Noctis and Prompto were on their feet. The large bird was not going to fight this close to the eggs, that much the big man knew. He took a look around to make sure everything was okay but the noticed something very crucial.

"Where's Cia?!" he demanded.

The bird roared and their attention was immediately snapped to it. Gladiolus growled when he realized there was something there before that wasn't the first time.

"She didn't..." said Prompto in disbelief.

"It appears so," replied Ignis gravely.

The shine of the chain caught in the sun and at the end of it was Athenacia, letting it pull her up toward the tail feathers.

"What is she thinking?!" he gritted between his teeth, "Noct!"

"On it!"

The Prince waited until the bird was close enough and then warped so that he was hanging onto one of its talons. He reached for Athenacia and she graciously took his hand, allowing him to get her the rest of the way. She pointed to the body and he immediately knew that she was aiming for. Both of them had stuck weapons into the bird in order to keep themselves from being whipped around in the wind. She led him to the left wing, carefully as the bird was very unhappy about its passengers right now. Once they were in position she nodded at him. Immediately he summoned another sword and Athenacia forced her gladius into the bird as hard as they could. The creature screeched its displeasure, especially when the hook pulled out a lot of damaged muscle with it. But the plan had worked nonetheless, and it was headed downward instead of having the advantage of flying.

The problem was, they were going to have a crash landing it was probably best that the two of them weren't on the bird when that happened. Noctis grabbed hold of the doctor, running with her until he jumped off completely. They were very high in the air, free-falling alarmingly fast back toward the mountain. While he could easily just warp out he had to make sure that she wasn't going to plummet to her death. He was sure that Gladiolus would not forgive that one. She was already looking for her opening, her arm still within his grasp. thankfully it wasn't her weapon arm and she was able to throw her gladius back into one of those rock walls once they were low enough. He looked at her and she nodded at him, allowing him to warp to safety. The bird had gone down to the open area and she watched its descent, deciding there was something more she could do from where she was.

Athenacia flicked her wrist in order to get the chain to stabilize her body. Once she was flat foot against the nearby cliff she grabbed her weapon and then pushed off with all of her might, beginning yet another descent to the ground. But this time she wrapped her arms around herself, jerking her limbs and allowing the chains on her arms and legs to come to their full length. Limbs jerked again and the spikes that laid flat came to life and then she began to spiral. She was falling at a very fast pace and the bird cried out in pain as she finally met it in mid-air. Feathers began to fly and she followed it all the way to the ground, ripping away at it as much as she could before she was forced to retract the spikes. She landed on the creature briefly before pushing herself off and flipping in the air toward the solid earth of the volcano that was not going to kill her as suddenly as before. Gladiolus was the one to catch her, seeing already that she was going to botch her landing completely. She grunted when she felt his solid arms beneath her.

"You and I need to talk about that," he said angrily.

"Can we do it when the rooms not spinning?" she asked, very dizzy at her earlier actions.

That wasn't a lie, her face almost green while she held her head. He lowered her gently to the ground and kept a hand on her arm in order to steady her when he noted she was having trouble standing on her own feet.

"Sit the rest out, you've done enough," he instructed.

"Does that sound like me?" she replied.

The doctor used a potion on herself and immediately was able to see straight again. She shook free of his grasp, taking the braces off of her arms and legs before plunging back into the action. Thanks to the heavy damage she and Noctis had done the bird was unable to fly away, grounded to the spot it had landed. That didn't make it any less dangerous, however, the talons still razor sharp and another wing able to blow them away when needed. On top of that, the thing was able to poison them and Athenacia found herself more on the defensive keeping them going rather than doing any actual fighting. It was waning though, weakening with every strike it took and eventually the other wing was no longer able to harm them. That made it much easier for them to continue their hacking away and eventually it let out one last thunderous cry before falling over lifeless with a loud crash.

Athenacia breathed a sigh of relief as she let herself fall to the ground. She kept her knees up, her forearms resting on top of them with her weapon still held in her hand as she looked over at the creature. Breathing heavily, a large weight lifted off of her shoulders at knowing her mistake was not going to cost any more lives. Ignis was salvaging what he could for food and she couldn't help but smile at that. The other three had managed to make their way over to where she was sitting, weary on their own after that.

"You were going to take that thing on by yourself?!" cried Prompto in disbelief.

She shrugged, "I was petty sure it didn't get that big."

"Good thing we were here then," said Noctis.

"Thanks," she nodded, smiling up at him, "Oh!" she was on her feet in an instant, a little too quickly as the potion was starting to wear off. Athenacia grabbed his arm and started to pull him the opposite direction, "I saw something while we were flying you might want. Come on!"

"How did you see anything up there?" he asked incredulously.

She stopped, turning to face him, "You have to appreciate the little things," she told him seriously, "Even when you're on top of a monstrous flesh-eating bird, take the time to appreciate the view."

He openly gaped at her, trying to figure out if she was serious or not. She smiled, pulling him along in the direction she was headed. The other three men followed along and she eventually let go of the Prince. She led them up another path out of the way and on the edge of the mountain. It wasn't as long as the last one nor as steep but finally, they came to the very thing she was talking about. To their surprise, a royal tomb tucked away here.

"Score!" yelled Prompto happily.

"Nice," said Noctis, the two boys running up to it.

"Good eye," complimented Ignis as he walked by her.

Athenacia smiled, turning her back and having a look at the scenery before her. She let a calm come over her as the wind blew in her hair. She closed her eyes and let relief sweep over her before she let her eyes open up again. Gladiolus was watching her, his arms crossed even as the others had gone into the tomb. He came to stand beside her, looking out over Lucis from the vantage point they were at. He was still sweating but the breeze up here was cooling his skin. Scolding her for the reckless behaviour she had earlier came to mind, but as his eyes gazed over everything in front of him the tension left his shoulders. She was right, there always had to be time to appreciate the little things.

"Hell of a view," he said.

She shrugged, "Was better on top of the bird."

He sighed, putting an arm around her, "You're an idiot," he said.

"I didn't-"

"You did good," he cut off her retort, looking down at her and putting a finger to her lips, "But maybe next time you give me a little warning?"

It was her turn to sigh, her eyes glued to him while his finger still kept her quiet. She smiled slightly, nodding and he took his hand away, feeling better about the entire situation.

"Next time huh?" Athenacia inquired with a brow raised, "I doubt there's any more of those left."

"Next time you plan on being an idiot," he replied.

"No promises."

Gladiolus grinned, pulling her in for a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, the breeze hitting them at the perfect moment while they could enjoy the view from up here. Even if it was spent focusing on each other.

"Get a room!"

Prompto had once again come to interrupt them, causing Athenacia to flush. That only got worse when she saw that his camera was in his hands and she hoped that he hadn't snapped that. He was so good at getting her at the worst possible times.

"We had a tent," replied Gladiolus pointedly.

That was mortifying and she shoved her face into his chest in order to avoid anyone seeing her right now. She heard Ignis sigh one of his familiar exasperated ones while Noctis shoved his friend on the by. Gladiolus laughed, his body shaking while she was against it and holding her in place. If she could die of embarrassment she was sure she would have many times over by now.

...

Not surprisingly, the trip down was much quicker and happier than the journey up. Athenacia took the time to gather her braces that had scattered with the wind during the fight and then they were back down by mid-afternoon. The birds were scattered all around and Noctis had called more so that they could have an easier time getting back to the car. She was extremely happy that there were enough for all of them so that she didn't have to share again, almost excited to see the one that she managed to get on her way here. It wasn't long before they got to the car in which she bid her friend farewell and crammed into the back seat. She was thankful that she was small while being sandwiched between Noctis and Gladiolus. The drive back to Caem wouldn't be an abnormally long one but she still allowed herself to doze while resting on the massive arm of her boyfriend. When she did open her eyes here and there she smiled at the fact that he was reading yet another book. He ate through them almost as fast as she could and she couldn't stop herself from sneaking her tiny hand into his own. He absently squeezed her hand while still focused in front of him.

The lighthouse came into view and she decided it was probably best to wake herself up completely. They had been gone for an entire day and she a bit longer. There was no doubt going to be questions about their little escapade and she had to mentally prepare herself to be around people. Well, person. Athenacia was sure that Cor would wonder what they had gotten up to. Well, the others at least, he said that she was on her own from now on so there was no sense in him worrying about her. Chewing her lip in thought, feeling guilty at the fight she had with him before. The car stopped in the parking spot and she waited patiently for a moment to get out. She grabbed her things before coming to step out and then begin her trek back to the house.

Athenacia noticed that Noctis and Gladiolus took off a little ahead and she found that curious. But only briefly as she saw Cor looking at her with complete disapproval. She shrunk beneath that gaze, absently grabbing at her braid and bringing the end into her mouth. Her body froze when he began to walk toward her, his arms still crossed and a scowl on his face. There was no doubt that he knew where she just was, the others having a phone to let him know where they were. She gasped when he pulled the hair from her mouth, just like when she was younger. The chance to speak was not given to her, his back instantly before he walked away. Her heart sank and she kept going in the direction of the house, wishing she was quicker to act than that. She owed him an apology that was for sure but she had absolutely no idea how she was going to deliver one. The two of them were not good with emotions. Not like it mattered anyway she was distracted completely when she walked into the house.

Immediately Gladiolus had pulled her toward him, putting a hand over her mouth to silence her. Athenacia frowned at him but a quick jerk of his head had her eyes following and she understood completely what was happening right now. She nodded once and he removed his hand, turning his head slightly to have a look. Athenacia watched curiously, not caring that she was openly watching a scene that she probably had no business watching. Noctis was standing in front of Iris with a lovely wrapped bouquet behind his back. Athenacia raised her eyebrows, looking over at the large man questioningly for a moment before going back to the scene.

"Hey Iris," Noctis called for her.

"Oh, hey Noct! What's up?" she asked happily.

"Oh you know... nothing," he replied, obviously uncomfortable.

Athenacia smiled and Gladiolus turned his head to look once more. The Prince wasn't making a move and thus making things a little awkward. The doctor's smile grew, liking that she wasn't the only one that was easily embarrassed by this sort of thing.

"Noct has a little something he wants to give you," said Gladiolus, turning toward his sister.

"Wait, what?!" he looked at the Shield in alarm, "I do?"

Gladiolus nodded with a grin on his face, turning back around.

"Something from Noct?" Iris frowned, "For me?" she couldn't hide the excitement in her voice.

Obviously, the Prince was still in shock because he hesitated. He was waiting for something to happen that never was going to occur and that became increasingly more evident the longer he stood there awkwardly.

"Here," he sort of grumbled a bit.

He brought the bouquet from behind his back and then handed it delicately to the teen in front of him. Athenacia watched the young girl's eyes light up as her arms came to reach for the gift she was receiving. The doctor looked back at Gladiolus, the light smile on his face while listening to what was going on. She gave him a pointed look but he was ignoring her at the moment.

"It's beautiful!" cried Iris happily, "I love it Noct, you're so sweet!"

"I'd say you made her day buddy," Gladiolus chimed in smugly.

"Yeah. All's well that ends well I guess," replied Noctis, running a hand through his hair nervously.

Athenacia, however, was not nearly as happy as the other girl was. She grabbed Gladiolus by the arm, dragging him outside so that no one had to hear what she had to say to him. As soon as the door was closed she let him go and then turned to him with a glare.

"You're mean," she said flatly.

"What?" he asked, feigning innocently.

"You're a mean older brother."

"Me?"

"You're mean. He's engaged."

"It makes her happy."

"How little you understand of women," she replied dryly.

"Understand enough to keep you don't I?"

"Don't push it!"

"Is this just because I didn't pick you any?" he raised a brow.

She blushed, sputtering before she finally found her words.

"That is completely beside the point!" she said hotly.

Athenacia growled before crossing her arms and turning her back to him. He still held that smug smirk, reaching for her and then placing something in her hair where the braid began. His other hand came to rest in front of her, arm resting on her shoulder and she gasped. There in his hand was a volcanic flower, one that only bloomed in the early morning. Her eyes softened as she looked at it, fixated while her own hand came absently to reach for it. She took it, holding it by the stem in her hand gingerly with a smile on her face.

"I could never forget about you, Doc," his voice was light in her ear.

She let out another gasp, leaning into him as his other arm pulled her against him. His hand grazed her shoulder, his fingers travelling lightly until they were at her hands that were still gentle holding the flower in front of her. Her gaze came to him and he was so in love with that light in her eyes right now. Completely drawn to her he began to lean into her, ready to claim those lips with that pensive hazel stare upon him the entire time. He was grazing her skin, his own desire just begging for her sweet taste. His efforts were greatly rewarded, a dreamy sort of sigh releasing from her while against him still. Athenacia was locked into his gaze as they came apart slowly and he noted that she was breathing a little heavier than before. He gave another smug sort of grin and that's when she seemed to wake up from her haze.

"This doesn't change anything," she said, pushing away from him.

"Okay," he kept the smirk on his face.

"You're still mean."

"Uh-huh."

She lacked the edge she once had but he was trying very hard not to laugh at her.

"Seriously, you're a terrible person."

"Sure, Doc."

She swatted at him and he could see she was putting all of her energy into not smiling at him anymore. Gladiolus watched her storm away to the house, the flower still clutched in her hand. Stopping to give him another pointed look, he only held that gentle smile on his face. He laughed as she flushed before groaning in frustration and disappearing from sight.

Athenacia didn't stop until she was in the bathroom, trying to keep the heat from her cheeks. She closed the door firmly and made sure that it was locked before coming to look at herself in the mirror. The first thing she saw was the large contusion left to her by Ardyn the other night and she sighed. Running her fingers over it, she winced slightly before tearing her gaze away and looking down. A smile came to her lips again as her eyes found the flower in her hand. She placed it down gently, keeping her focus on it, reaching behind her to pull the tie from her hair. She carefully began to undo the braid only to find something that wasn't there before at the top of it. Frowning curiously she reached for it and then let out a small laugh. There was another flower, somehow placed there and she didn't notice. This one was different from the first, one of her favourites that Gladiolus happened to see while they were up in the Rock. The petals were almost rose looking, completely purple and barely open with pink at the top of it. She didn't even think that he noticed her admiring them and she was unable to stop smiling.

Despite all the grievances he seemed to cause her, he truly did go out of his way to make her feel special. Maybe one day she could come to love him just as much as he did her.

...

thanks, guys! so initially after this they would sleep a night and then chapter 66 would have happened. originally I was going to have this happen and then she gets snatched by the empire and all that stuff happens but because I took this out completely I had to do things differently. I cut it because obviously, it's very long but also because I didn't want it to reveal too much of the ending before I was ready to put that bombshell on you. anyway I'm going to get back to editing. see you next time!