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Veni Vidi Vici	By : Saber007 Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy XV Views: 1504 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XV, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
I'll say it now before anyone points out canon errors. This story was written before the DLC episodes came out. I'm not rewriting or changing my plot to correlate with any them unless it fits to my established lore. Same thing goes for the newly released Ardyn Prologue and then the episode when it releases.
This story is now considered semi-AU…probably totally AU if I'm being honest. It already takes a lot of time making sure things are correct with the information already given by the game, let alone managing all these patch updates, episodes, and anime shorts. Sorry but no, I'm not keeping up with all these changes and modifying my story.
I also posted new character art for the OCs on my deviantart page. Extrasaber on DA and beware spoiler alerts for story ships.
XV
"What was up with that disk thingy" Tempesta kicked some rubble out of the way, throwing up her arms in glee upon reaching a more open spaced room.
This place was making her claustrophobic. Not as bad as Lunafreya though, who's skittishness was funny to watch.
Princesses were a hoot.
"Not sure. It gave off magical readings but didn't react when I touched it." Genius did a quick scan of the area. "Daemons incoming!"
Ereshkigals materialized.
"Far more variety than our last venture." Imperatrix side-stepped sharp claws, jamming her shield into another daemon to fling it in the range of Lunafreya's trident.
They'd already killed Gelatins and Galvanades. The sludge monster was messy and smelly while the glowing ball of doom was loud on the ears.
Daemons just had a measure of unpleasantness to them that monsters lacked.
"Stronger as well." She noted when a jab didn't terminate the foe.
"Get ready to find your limit and then push them, Lunar Temple." The fist fighter beat on her opponent, a berserker of punches. "You too, Savage."
"Would it kill you to use my name?!" Nyx whirled fast with his daggers to keep up with the teleporting Ereshkigal.
"Sure. When you earn it!"
Genius left the fighting to the specialists, inspecting past the debris for a way onward. They were two options, crossing over an unstable fallen column, or crossing over an unstable thin ledge.
How annoying the infrastructure became over the centuries from degradation.
"Time ought to stop ravaging things."
Only the princess would be able to balance her way across the column. She was the acrobat expert in the group. His sister's stupidity would result in her falling off. The fall wouldn't kill her…he believed.
Even among the clones their female counterpart held the greatest regenative capability. Was this due to her gender? The daemon infused with her?
Too bad Tempesta despised tests, getting her to come to the lab was impossible. Their father was too busy to be concerned with her so no one could force the issue. Not that Genuis would, his sister would pulverize him and Imperatrix would be enraged.
Tranquil people tended to be the most hazardous when angered.
The ledge it was then.
"That doesn't look like it'll hold." The glaive lifted his foot and a piece fell off the ridge, shaking everyone's resolve a little. "Nope, nuh-uh."
Tempesta snickered. "Maybe you're just fat. You have gotten thicker since I met you in Saxham."
"Sure, that's what you call this." He hauled up his shirt, revealing toned abs achieved by hours in the training the room.
Like the glaive would ever let himself go like that, not even when he was depressed as shit after Galahd's fall. He drank himself into some blackouts yeah, but didn't eat his feelings like Libertus. Self-image was very important to him.
Plus his mom did all the cooking and would have beat the shit out of Nyx for wasting food on sorrow. Eating was for survival and nothing else for Thea.
Such a hard-ass that woman. It would kill him to bring her to tears.
Why was Imperatrix making him go there? Why was the world doing this to him?
"You got something good going on there, I'll give you that." The fist fighter conceded, nodding her head at the free showing of skin. "I can see the appeal for her...are those Neb's clothes?"
The turn-around in compliment threw Nyx and he didn't stop the girl from pulling his shirt up more, which made no sense if she was trying to examine it. "Yeah, he let me have some of his stuff so I didn't mess up my few clothes."
He let the obvious ploy for feeling him up slide.
Nebula gave the glaive a pile of his spare activewear for workouts and non-important outings. Pretty helpful of him and wholly not what Nyx anticipated from the violent psycho.
The gunman had a strange aura of caretaker about him, almost reminded the hunter of Ignis's methodical "mommying" of Noctis. A much harsher version of it.
Although...the bipolar smoker was a helluva lot nicer to Imperatrix than everybody else. The guy wasn't lying when he said he loved his liege.
Maybe Nebula wasn't a psychopath...possibly a sociopath from the nuggets of care he showed.
Ugh...these damn confusing imperials.
"More like he gave those clothes to you to have an excuse for not training." Imperatrix huffed, exasperated with how flip-floppy her senior retainer could be.
His lament over the knock-out at Cauthess didn't last long. Nebula was back to excusing himself from physical conditioning.
"He's sly then but I still got some comfortable sports-wear out of it."
"Can we move on? We're on a time limit." Genius reminded them. "The lightest should go first, which is me."
"Hold on!" Tempesta jabbed him in the chest, finger digging into bony flesh with each prod. "Don't you mean me? How do you even know who's the lightest?"
The other two females made subtle noises of disgruntlement.
"What? It's obvious I'm the slimmest out of us." She addressed both objections, crudely gesturing to their bodies. "Your both tits, hips, and curves. There's no debate."
Nyx laughed and coughed at the same time. Lunafreya covered herself, red overtaking her face. Imperatrix raised her hand in the opposite direction.
"Just go across." The princess demanded before she kicked the girl to the other side.
The middle Besithia stuck herself to the wall, inching over with the youngest following as soon as she was clear.
Before the oracle took her turn, she looked to the two it all started with and asked in complete seriousness. "I am not...a proponent of lust...am I? I am modest in my apparel."
The glaive felt like a Sabertusk in headlights. He snuck a peak at the princess.
"Tempesta is crass, you are fine." Imperatrix assured her. "Be ashamed of nothing for which you were blessed with."
Tenebraen customs were stuffy with those priests and cardinals in the charge. The city would be set back to the Dark Ages for women with their puritanical mindset.
How in the world did past Fleuret matriarchs coexist with them?
"Yeah, kid. Noctis is a lucky man."
The blonde went a deeper shade of scarlet, escaping the embarrassing situation by shuffling across the ledge.
"I count myself one, too."
The white-haired woman squealed as her ass was grabbed. She spun around to punch Nyx a dozen times. "Behave like a gentleman, would you?!"
"Worth every hit." He grunted out once she stopped.
"You just love aggravating me."
"You know it."
"Fool."
They joined the others.
The next obstacle was tying a cord around a rock for them to slide down a hole in the ground, versus jumping down and potentially breaking both legs. The glaive had the honor of first-go this time to catch the others as they came down.
The group did this again for the next broken end of the walkway.
"Shit! It's the Shinigami again!" Nyx fell backwards when the daemon stepped out of the shadows, blocking further advance.
"Tis not the same. He is Yojimbo!" Imperatrix flew forward to defend the man from a strike.
The kimono was different, half dark coloring and half bright coloring. Smaller than its brother but no walk in the park for its lower level.
The princess chuckled, twirling her sword for a better grip once the adversary jumped backwards. "Am I to eventually face all the Daemon Five of Yasu?"
"Here she goes with the monologuing bullshit." Tempesta muttered, making no move to help.
Not that the girl could assist in this narrow hall, at risk of being tossed over the banister to the pits or trampled on by the freakishly tall daemon.
"Face me then! Aramusha was an excellent challenge for swordplay, just like Tonberry." She got another strange reaction from her battle cry.
The creature tipped its straw hat, stance readying. A speedy lunge blew the others back.
Metal clanged dangerously.
"Well, damn. That's what you'll faced in Balouve?" The fist fighter screwed her visor on right, tilting her head mockingly at Nyx, who tried to catch a glimpse during her adjustment.
"Yeah and he was at the lowest level." He scratched his head. "Now I'm a little worried about this place's boss."
Yojimbo was warm up? What the hell would they find?
A cry later and the match was over. Imperatrix stood victorious, hand resting on her ground-lodged sword, observing the kneeling swordsman fade to miasma.
"My thanks for the worthy duel."
The daemon lifted its head, gaze freezing the princess.
Amber.
"Ard-"
The fist fighter latching onto her back killed the name on Imperatrix's lips. "Good job, Shitty Princess! Bonus EXP for you."
"Tempesta, you did not help at all." She side-eyed the feline, mildly displeased.
"Naw! I can tell you're getting indestructible." The middle Besithia squeezed around her liege's neck. "Man am I glad to see you getting back to your old self! I'll take your preppy weirdness any day. Leave the stoic bull to Neb."
She patted the metal covering her friend's head. The princess enjoyed behaving openly and as much as her retainers teased her, Imperatrix wasn't embarrassed to be ridiculous with them.
So what if she was almost thirty? The teenage years weren't the final period for being fun.
They walked around the stairway with no stairs, finding a door with golden murals and no knobs, handles, or buttons.
"There's a confusing door...how do we get through it?" Tempesta searched for a hidden component while Nyx Nyx tried pushing on it. "Yeah right, dude. If I can't push this, you definitively can't."
"What makes you so strong?" He leaned against the door, eyes dragging down the shorter girl's length.
When she hit him it hurt to the point he wanted to ball. This barely five-foot-three chick had the strength of a bulldozer?
How?!
"My genes. Neb's got senses. Izzy's got brains. I got brawn." She showed off with a flex of her arm, craning her neck to the spy the scientist. "Put that head to good use and figure this out, Short-Stack."
"I'm almost as tall as you." Genius corrected, demonstrating his point by standing next to his sister, head at her shoulder. "In a few years I'll be Neb's height. You, however, won't grow another inch."
"Don't be cocky! He's got a totally different workout and diet from you, that's why he's big and tall." Tempesta waved her hand derogatorily at the albino. "You're going to be a boneless knee-knocker all your life from living in a laboratory."
He might the one of the few clones to actually enjoy being in the lab. The rest of them reviled and avoided Verstael's man-cave.
Poor kid needed a life...and some meat on his bones. The nerdy school-boy clothes were hanging off him.
At least his hair was in better shape after Nebula sheared it off. Look at Genius, a proper-looking teenager thanks to his elder brother.
"What are you doing?" The albino questioned, head blaring in pain from the sharp fingers scraping against his scalp.
"Checking for fleas. Not like I care about your scrawny ass, just don't want any infections." Tempesta continued ruffling her brother's short hair.
"I'm not that neglectful in self-care to obtain head lice."
"I dunno about that. You purposely eat poisoned produce from outside the city."
"I do that for research and finding alternative methods for food production. We don't exactly have the widest selection anymore with the land frozen." He clicked his tongue and jerked away from his sister since she wouldn't stop scratching him. "That also has nothing to do with you killing my hair follicles and peeling off my skin."
"This is touching and all but can we return to the door?" Nyx spoke over the next comeback, fist knocking against the slab.
Dysfunctional to a tee these people.
"Right. Lady Lunafreya, if you would?" Genius beckoned her forward.
She approached, placing her trust in the boy and laying a palm on the stone as directed.
"Pulse some magic into it."
The slab lifted, paused as if stuck, then slammed down. Lunafeya stared at her hand.
"Not enough." The scientist adjusted his beamers, reading the numbers. "Try again and I'll calculate the amount required."
She did so, generating more of her energy. This time the slab rose halfway before closing. Her lip twitched down and her nails dug into the painted etchings.
The oracle could feel the judgement and pity.
"Try using double the amount used for the staff light you were doing." The youngest Besithia provided, pointing at the lack of enchantment on her weapon.
"Why is this harder?" She mumbled lowly.
For the third time, magic was called forth, churning hot and bright in a trail that needed to be carefully maintained. The release of this fountain triggered the correct result.
Lunafreya stumbled back as the golden ray door rose.
"Woah, kid." Nyx steadied the blonde by the shoulders. "Dad's gotcha."
"I-I'm fine." She jolted forward, a forced air of collected in her steps. "Stop joking around."
The glaive shook his head, murmuring out. "Stubborn princesses."
Turned out to be a dead end with Galvande daemons waiting for them. Tempesta did find an accessory inside. She now had two pieces of treasure to stuff in her jumpsuit.
Jumping down levels by hooks and wires seemed to be the theme in the ancient tower with collapsed bridges, missing stairways and dead-end doors.
The daemons of the lower levels featured an encore appearance from Bussemands, reminding Imperatrix of their first cooperative mission and she shared that nostalgia with everyone. Nyx snarked about this memory since he didn't get a good impression of the retainers and his mindset mostly hadn't changed. Lunafreya spoke of her first demonstration of power, lowly growling at her luck.
The oracle went tight-lipped at the sight of another mural slab.
"It shouldn't take three attempts this round." Genius stated, staring expectantly at her.
The chancellor was right about the Fleuret. Lunafreya didn't have a good handle on magic, instinctively using it in dire situations. When it came to manipulating magic without adrenaline and threat of death, she fumbled with basic control.
"I can do this in one." Lunafreya stepped up, gathering the requirement, not noticing how she was lighting up like a glow stick.
"No, no, stop!" The albino swore, covering his eyes and clenching at his chest.
"Luna!" Imperatrix grabbed the girl's shoulder when the brightness increased to a blinding degree.
She gasped and the magic flow crumbled.
"That's way too much! Are you trying to blow the door off?!" He panted, vitals all over the place from his agitated daemon.
Now he understood what Nebula grumbled about. Lunafreya's presence could be ignored but when she used her powers like this, it was agony for people bearing a darkness affinity.
She was toxic to them.
"Brute force isn't the only way. Try synchronizing with the door's wavelength." Genius calmed his breathing, sliding the glasses back over his frightening eyes.
No doubt they tinted gold in transformation. A common sign of a night creature merging with the host and in some cases outright taking them over.
The chancellor was the one anomaly that didn't appear to be consumed despite his eyes taking on the amber hue. The youngest Besithia saw full conversions but Ardyn showed no signs of it.
Did the red head's magic keep him human? Was he that powerful?
Chastened by the outburst and her friend's disorientation, Lunafreya took another approach to opening the path. She closed her eyes, focusing on the slab, sensing the threads of magic in it.
Like Genius said, the wall had it's own wavelength, different from the previous one. Thrashing power at the obstacle would solved the problem quicker but that wasn't always the best course.
She almost blinded her companions in her frustrated outpour of light magic. Lunafreya could have hurt them…
Sometimes the longer, trickier path produced better results. Taking her time would harm no one.
The tide of magic presented to the mural split open the door. Ereshkigal waited for them in a circle.
"More small-fry. My knuckles are bored." Tempesta jumped right in, kick to the face stunning a foe.
Lunafreya suffered from a bout of exhaustion, unable to participate in battle. Her predicament didn't exclude the girl from a daemon's assault.
"I got it."
Four colored-birds transformed, latching onto Genius's arm, forming a crossbow. He fired off shots, adding sound effects to the action.
"Elemancy?!" The oracle gasped as fireballs formed midair, scorching the enemy.
Slowed down and wobbling towards them, the Ereshkigal was half done.
"Switch to blade mode, ice-style." The teenager commanded his birds.
They chirped out affirmatives, dislodging from his arm to flap into a new formation. Genius caught the rainbow sword, combating the opponent. Where fire burned the creature, the limbs shattered upon contact with the chilled weapon, double damage inflicted from the opposing elements.
The youngest followed his siblings in terms of competence, he emerged victorious from the mini battle. His beamers settled in Lunafreya's direction.
"You are no ordinary boy." She said with a trickle of ingrained aggression.
The empire stole the innocence of everything.
"Green, heal her." The albino let go of his weapon as it splintered into the birds.
The AI flew over the oracle's head, lathering her in dust. She coughed.
"W-What are y-you-" The blonde sucked in a breath at the soothing caress of a Cure spell, tilting her head to look at the green mechanical wonder.
Imperatrix wasn't joking about the toys.
"Thank you..." She startled at the bird responding in turn.
Genius found it intriguing that Lunafreya showed appreciation with how hostile she just looked. Undoubtedly a case of natural manners.
Why else would she be nice to him? Ravus wasn't.
The oracle was a known to be anti-imperial. The whole of Tenebrae stuck out in the empire, a forced piece of Lucis they put up with for old treaties.
"I saw that, Pip!" Tempesta wrangled her brother to her side, pinching at his cheek. "You trying to emulate Impera? Thought you didn't like close combat?"
His garbled response was hard to make out. She nodded along, arriving at her own conclusion. The fist fighter numerously smacked the teenager on the same cheek.
"Yeah, yeah. She's decent for a Shitty Princess. It's cool for you to copy her, just no katanas."
"What a weird stipulation." He rubbed his bruised face.
"No katanas." She repeated.
Screw Cor Leonis.
"Yeah, okay, whatever, Tempy." Genius gave in, skimming over her and then the princess and glaive. "Green."
The bird already knew what to do. Wings flapped vigorously to expel more of the healing dust over the party, restoring their vitality.
"You nifty Niffs." Nyx joked, stretching out rejuvenated limbs.
Tempesta laughed. "Good one, Sav."
"I would still prefer to never hear that slur." Imperatrix flicked her blade to clean off the black blood, handkerchief getting the leftover residue.
"Why do you keep doing that after every battle? Just wait till we finish." The glaive finally said something about the woman's neat-freak habits, finding it redundant and useless.
"I favor a clean blade."
"She's OCD." The middle Besithia explained, scratching at her back. When she couldn't reach the itch, the girl got her brother to scratch for her, slightly purring in relief. "Always harping about shit being clean."
Sucks for Imperatrix that the people in her company were the opposite, messy and uncaring.
The group went down the first structure of stairs that wasn't destroyed, finding the third mural slab. They nearly died from the combination of Bussemands and another Yojimbo.
Maybe the doors were some form of prison for the daemons. A bunch of dungeon-fanatic travelers shouldn't open them.
Tempesta's bloodlust and Lunafreya's desire for growth were motives to keep opening the sealed rooms regardless of the dangers behind them. The oracle could sense if there was something truly treacherous and would inform the rest.
Curiosity wouldn't kill these cats and they would come out of it bigger and better.
"This is so adorable! How did it end up here?" Imperatrix cooed over the Moogle Charm her retainer located and gifted to her.
The princess thoroughly hugged the middle Besithia for the present. She absolutely adored Moogles and Tonberrys and nobody would turn the woman off them!
"That's not cute. Why do you like it?" Nyx snatched the item, tempted to chuck the creepy thing into the fire crystals Genius was mining from.
These ores were everywhere. Everybody's bags were getting heavy from storing the different flasks and alchemy materials.
Nebula's warning to not be in here all night was starting to make sense. Who knew all this supply work could be so time-consuming?
Shit, all this dungeon stuff took forever. He could understand playing video games about this kind of adventure but living it out wasn't all that hyped.
Nyx needed to quit getting involved in everything.
"What do you mean? How do you not see?!" She retrieved her prize, cradling the charm to her chest.
"All I see is a tiny daemon plush that you're fawning over."
"But it's puffy and the pretty wings and its beady eyes!"
"Nothing you said convinces me." He flicked her on the forehead. "Lady, do you hear yourself?"
"The color scheme, the pudginess and..." Imperatrix took a breath, holding the toy to playfully mimic talking through it. "Kupo!"
"Oh, my god...stop!" Nyx pushed the charm from his face, not buying what she trying to sell. "I don't know you."
"How can you not like it?"
"That's like asking me how I can dislike garbage."
The princess wailed, protectively holding the Moogle. She huffed, twirling away from the glaive. "I can't believe you. How awful."
"She's peculiar, right?" Tempesta inserted herself into the chat, leaning on the hunter to watch a grown woman whisper to a toy.
"Yup." He agreed effortlessly.
"Doesn't detract much from her likability though."
"I guess..."
"The crazy ones are the best, ya know?" She roughly nudged the glaive, almost knocking him over.
"The best at screwing up a guy's sanity." Nyx grumbled, falling into line with the party.
"There's nothing sane about emotional attachment so why worry?"
Nyx faltered at how serious of a discussion he was getting into with the most volatile chick he'd ever met. Not to mention how smoothly they could talk when insults weren't flying.
"You're making that face like Neb does. I'm not stupid, alright?! I got insights!"
"I didn't say anything." The glaive put up his hands to block any incoming hits.
Imperatrix could punch him because she didn't put any gusto into it...she really did give him lovetaps. Tempesta was a no-no. Her fist couldn't touch him.
"You were thinking it." She snorted, lowering her arms. "Dumbass."
Was it just him or was one of the crazies being nicer to Nyx? Did she know about him and the princess? Did Imperatrix go blabbering about his condition?
Something was up.
"Do not fall behind, Moogle-Hater."
The glaive chuckled. Think of her and she appeared.
"But I like seeing you walk. The effect looks better with your pants."
"Nyx." Imperatrix shoved him forward. "Don't be crude!"
"Don't be a distraction."
"I seem to distract you merely by existing."
He had nothing for that, flatly leering at the princess.
"Oh, I like you speechless." The coyness of her whisper over his shoulder was downright underhanded.
"Baby…I'm going to do bad things to you."
"I will do worse to you."
Things were entirely too heated between the glaive and princess.
"Get a room, you two." Tempesta pretended to choke. "I can't breathe with your pheromones in the air."
"They cannot. They are not supposed to." Lunafreya asserted, red-faced at understanding the innuendo.
The fist fighter cackled. "Is somebody jealous?"
Were they about have a triangle in the making? Somebody get her some popcorn.
"No! They are not married. Don't tempt them!"
"Oh, shit. Oh, shit!" She couldn't stop laughing. "What century do you think we're in, Lunar Temple? Damn, I gotta work on you!"
"Adults are gross." Genius said.
"We are. Stay innocent, Darling." Imperatrix hugged the boy, lowly informing him. "Do not allow Tempy to corrupt you."
"For sure."
Winding stairwells filled with Bussemands and Gelatins led to a hallway niche where the scientist found unexpected bits of mythril. The amount was minimal and barely useful but he collected it anyway.
The deep descent into the depths of the tower and across a long bridge made the group realize how big the dungeon was, gearing them into a more somber air now that they entered the second portion. They had to be mindful of their time limit, mucking around on the upper floors cost five hours.
No one wanted to be trapped for an entire day with little food and no sleeping gear.
It was at the bottom of the staircase in a large open square that Genius found the orichalcum in some odd jigsaw walls. The prize glowed blue in the architecture.
The albino found something else. "How interesting. This disk is radiating magic, unlike the one at the entrance."
The gold disk shined red in a circular pattern.
"Izzy, please do not touch it." Imperatrix captured his curious hand, stopping the boy. "We do not know what could happen."
"Okay." He yielded easier than she predicted, moving onto the orichalcum to begin digging.
The youngest Besithia wasn't the only one the princess needed to caution but being the minor, he was her focus.
"What's up with these bricks?" Tempesta crouched to poke at the blue lining.
Lunafreya followed her example since nothing happened. However, unlike the fist fighter, the oracle naturally gave off magical energy. When her delicate fingers came upon the bricks, the floor lowered.
The princess and glaive chased after their screams, flashing lights down the hole. They saw nothing and could no longer hear the girls.
"Ah, shit!" Nyx kicked some stones, helplessly looking at the gauntlet on Imperatrix's arm. "That wire long enough?"
"Not enough." She answered after a rock tossed down never produced a sound of impact.
The princess moved on to the next option, checking her phone for a signal. No bar meant the earpiece was her last shot.
"Tempesta? Do you read me?"
No response.
"Luna? Come in! Can either of you hear me?!"
The silence made her heart drop. Ravus would be livid.
At Nyx beginning to panic, Imperatrix stopped him from blindly dashing for another flooring like the one the girls fell down.
"Don't! Izzy should investigate the space before we do anything." She reasoned, not wanting him to fall into a trap as well.
"Where is the damn kid?" The glaive didn't see the teenager anywhere in the room.
It was dead silent too when the clanging of tools should've been making a song. They searched the room, finding only two remained.
"That boy..." Imperatrix hissed under her breath, knowing exactly what went on behind their backs.
Genius most likely messed with the disk, getting dropped somewhere.
She tuned in on the comm. "Izzy are you there?"
"Yes."
The snow-haired woman covered her chest, expelling a relieved sigh. Nyx joined the line.
"What happened?"
"When I stepped on the disk it teleported me to the entrance of Costlemark. I have to try it again, take some notes, figure out the mechanics!" He paused to catch his breath. "Did the Caelums build this tower? They're known for warp capabilities, so it must've been them!"
The rest of his words were complicated science terminology that neither princess nor glaive understood.
"Darling, Darling..." Imperatrix interrupted nicely. "Just go back to the ship. You cannot come back here on your own."
"No way! I haven't found something so fascinating in months. I have to study it!"
Nyx groaned, pawing at his ear from the loudness level the boy could reach since his vocal chords were still at that squeaky stage. "Damn, he's Tempesta's brother for sure."
His joke went ignored.
"It is too dangerous and we cannot backtrack to get you." The princess found herself in the role of "strict parent" at the moment, arguing for five minutes with the youngest Besithia.
The glaive stayed on the bench for this match, doing his own search of the rigged floors.
"Then I'll get Neb to escort me." Genius hopped off the line making Imperatrix tug at her bangs, jaw clenched absurdly tight.
The insurrection knew no bounds!
"It's up to us to figure this out, Mom-In-Training." Nyx teased as the princess sank next to him.
"Will you stop that?!"
"Why? That's basically what you are now. Nine months later you'll be ready after dealing with all these nutjobs."
"What are you talking about?!" She smacked her hand on the slate, glaring at the grinning man.
"We've been over this, babe, you might be preg-" He fell backwards before finishing the sentence.
"Nyx!" Imperatrix latched onto his sleeve, pulling to keep him from sinking with the floor.
Seeing the possible danger, the hunter made a split decision, yanking his arm out of the princess's grip before she was dragged down with him. The swift look of betrayal and horror cut Nyx to the core.
She cursed him out heavily in Latin, to which he smirked, yelling back. "Don't worry, Princess! A hero always comes back!"
Imperatrix's throat seized up. Alone, she felt the darkness encroaching.
This was one of her nightmares materialized.
XV
"You've got to be kidding me!" Tempesta hollered.
Before her and Lunafreya were a swarm of Flans and one Red Iron Giant. The jigsaw floors moved up and down, left and right, leading them to some temple-styled room.
Together, she and the oracle wiped the floor with the other enemies but now they were in trouble.
"This daemon...is more powerful than anything I've ever sensed." The blonde trembled, unconsciously moving back.
"You better find an escape route while I hold them off." Tempesta cracked her knuckles then adjusted the settings on her gauntlets and boots.
Time for those crystals to go to work for her! Hello wind and lightning attributes and goodbye annoying drecks standing in the way.
She could stomach a loss from one person only and he wasn't here, bell tinkling with every movement of his katana. This Red Giant was going down!
Lunafreya's palms were sweating and she wanted to listen for once but the girl knew that was intolerable. "Are you mad?! You cannot face these odds alone!"
"I don't run from jack-squat." She declared, wind whistling around her as the fighter trudged on. "Just cause things are against me doesn't mean I give up! I'll make the impossible a lapdog with my very own fist!"
A huge boom went off from the girl's launch into battle, whirlwinds from each of her punches and kicks.
"Eat my Aerora skills, bastards!"
The noise level overwhelmed Lunafreya's senses. She could see her comrade valiantly fighting hordes of enemies, not an ounce of despondency in Tempesta's aura.
This fight couldn't be a solo. To survive a duet was a necessity, problem being...the lead singer lost her voice, lost her confidence.
Fear.
Imperatrix called it, Lunafreya learned the uncomfortable sensation of losing all reason and logic when presented with a situation where life hung in the balance.
Insomnia, the city she dreamed of visiting for so long...
Her reckless confidence towards every problem that popped up in the besieged kingdom slipped from the young Fleuret trickle by trickle after setting out into the real world. Living so long in safety from the highs of Fenestala Manor did no favors for her and the gods showed their overconfident messenger how fragile she was.
The power she took pride in hadn't measured up in the trial. The previous oracle bestowed true power onto her to change the tide.
Lunafreya could die like anyone else...
"Quit standing there looking dumb!"
The rebuke slapped the blonde into reality, eyes widening at the proximity of a Flan. The blue blob melted into two pieces before its attack could hit.
Staring at the sludge on her spear, the Fleuret saw how steady her hand was. "I cannot die here."
Nor could her friend.
"Temple, I told you to run!" Tempesta screamed, sending a burst of air at a group of Flan then slamming her fist down to create a shockwave of lightning to delay the approach of the Red Giant.
"I am not abandoning you to die."
At the stubborn announcement, the middle Besithia saw Imperatrix for a second. She huffed through her mask.
Great. Another bleeding-heart princess.
"You better not croak then. Ravus and Impera will never let me hear the end of it!" Tempesta slapped her partner on the back. "Are you ready, boots? Start walkin!"
"P-Pardon?"
"It's a song...oh, just come on!"
With two girls working in tandem, the flans were demolished, leaving the boss for them to walk all over.
"I'm so winning our game." The fist fighter puffed out her chest, flicking off the sludge on her uniform. "Maybe I'll make the Shitty Princes kiss a frog instead... Nah! Shouldn't miss out."
"T-Tem…p-pesta." Lunafreya heaved for air, leaning on her staff. "We can win…if I sing."
It would take the last of her magic and there was a chance of the spell overtaking her...
There were no other options. Better she go comatose for a few days than eternal sleep into the arms of Etro.
"There's no guarantee I can keep the Giant distracted. You'll be a sitting duck."
"Give it your best and I will do the rest."
"Fine, Temple. Lets see a limit break."
The oracle took her place at the outskirts of the daemon's range, gathering what little energy she possessed.
Wasting so much on the doors proved to be her downfall. Lunafreya swore that after this she would stop taking her gifts for granted. The girl would practice and learn, no more relying on matters to work themselves out.
The hubris of youthful confidence would no longer be her guiding star.
Lunafreya sang a simple song to start, one that would weaken the Red Giant, decreeing the name at the end. "Barfire."
Light filled the ominous temple, orbs flying towards the lamps, settling there to illuminate and pulsate magic around the daemon.
Tempesta hooted at the diminishing heat of the enemy. The metal of the gauntlets didn't burn anymore and she could repeatedly hammer into the monster's thick skin, miniature craters forming in each spot. As strong as she was, the hits were just a nuisance.
This lug was testing her patience!
The thing was resistant to lightning and wind increased the flames of the daemon's sword. A win wouldn't be earned with a normal skillset of a human.
The fist fighter spared a glance for the singing oracle. "Am I gonna have to go dark for this guy?"
Lunafreya didn't know what the Besithia were because of her obliviousness but after the muck up with Ravus, recently she began flinching around certain people.
At least those were Nebula's conjectures.
Seeing Tempesta go baddie would definitively tip her off. How would the goodie-two-shoe react to her kind?
Girl already scorned imperials. Would she go around trying to purge the daemonic imperials in the company?
Blow a secret or die. Pretty easy choice.
"Got damn it, that hurt!" A choice made extra easy by the Red Giant bashing her into a column.
The cut into her stomach should've spewed blood but it was immediately cauterized by the flame-licked sword.
How many assholes would do major damage to her internal organs?! First Cor and now this.
"You piece of shit! This is gonna scar." Tempesta laid immobile, weakly reaching for the injury. "Screw you."
The marshal was her worst enemy and he never left a scar on her body. She wished he did…wished for the changed body…
What would their kit have been like?
"Ugh, I'm getting delirious...I can hear the bells..."
Without a feisty girl to fight, the Red Giant turned on the one damaging it with light magic.
Blind to the danger, Lunafreya sang on, first spell weaving into something greater with the next verse of chorus. The orbs grew, pulsating with more magic.
The fist fighter blinked rapidly, struggling to her feet, tilting between conscious and unconscious.
Not the damsel princess she initially swore to protect...but one that needed her help.
"Don't you dare, Flame Moron!"
An axe-like sword was thrown off course from cleaving an oracle in half by a powerful, energized arrow knocking it from the owner's hand.
"The Great Hero descends!" Nyx broadcasted himself, taking a defensive position in front of Lunafreya.
"You?! How?!" Tempesta threw her hands up. "Whatever! Is Shitty Princess with you?"
"Nope, just one handsome guy." He switched the bow into twin mode. "And that was my ace so we got to come up with something new."
"I don't know whether to be happy or mad."
They were all going to die down here.
Imperatrix would live though. She'd get Tempesta's revenge on Cor in her stead.
The fist fighter and glaive pressed on the Red Giant, holding out hope for whatever song magic was in the works. Nyx couldn't feel the oppressive light increasing like Tempesta could and it was making her sloppy.
What was supposed to be a trump card for the daemon was also a kill strike for their masked companion. She couldn't keep up, getting drawn in from a Gravity pull and then tossed aside.
The world went dark as her head crashed into stone.
"Fight on."
Tempesta knew that purring voice of destruction. For so long it was the only voice she heard outside of Verstael's.
"Fight or die."
The daemon sounded exactly like her...
Maybe it was her? They entered this world together.
Were they one?
"We are one."
"Fenrir's fur! What's up with you?!" Nyx would forever deny it, shrieking from Tempesta rising off the ground into a crouch with eerie black energy coming off her.
The gauntlets shattered, revealing the murky mist transforming human arms into something more inhuman. Claws for nails, black skin with violet markings...
"What in hellfire?!"
If he thought Tempesta's punches were strong before, they were insane now, throwing back the massive enemy and swallowing its flames with mist.
"I-I literally...don't understand." Nyx stayed on the sidelines, flabbergasted.
Lunafeya's song reached the pinnacle. "Luminohelix!"
The orbs converged, morphing into a blade in the form of a spinning helix. Bright and warm, it surged forward.
The Red Giant blocked the blast with its weapon but light prevailed, magical sword impaling the beast. Tempesta finished the daemon, punching straight through its heart.
Once the foe dissolved into nothing, the middle Besithia sank to her knees, rationality returning.
"Get stronger."
Her arms gradually returned to normal. The nefarious feline receded to the inner quiet, weak from the exposure to its reverse element.
"I killed it..." She giggled then full out guffawed.
A Red Iron Gian. Cor was on her horizon. He could be reached!
One day she'd defeat him.
"It's dead!"
"You're way too cheerful." Nyx slowly advanced on the girl, eyes glued to pale arms. He didn't image them looking like an animal's limb.
They were cat arms!
"Dang it. Izzy's going to bitch me out again for the equipment. I just got these repaired." Tempesta leaned back, picking at her bloody clothes. "My uniform's ruined too."
The sleeves were gone and the stomach area was shredded. A lot of skin was on display and normally she didn't give a fly about nudity but there was a big issue about this instance.
"I thought you were injured?" The glaive leaned closer, eyebrows furrowing at the thick pink line on the girl's stomach.
The wound shouldn't look like a healed scar, not from all the blood on her outfit.
"This isn't normal. What are yo-"
"You got bigger things to worry about, pal." She cut him off, motioning to the zombie-like Lunafeya wobbling near them.
"Nyx..."
The oracle toppled forward.
He caught her, sighing as his hand patted blonde hair. "Why did I get myself into this?"
Was Nyx the only regular human around? What was going on in the world?!
XV
"This is a terrible idea." Nebula reiterated, among the five surrounding the giant golden globe with blue patterns.
"Whatever is beneath our feet is stronger than previous bestiary information. I must know what could cause these readings." Genius held no fear, taking pictures of the objects in the room and writing memos of his observations.
This place was a science goldmine! He could spend days doing research here.
The energy mechanics of the platforms, the seals, the warp panels. So much to learn and play with!
"I didn't think Izzy could get this lively over architecture." Ardyn chuckled at the boy sprouting off numerous topics to him at breakneck speed, skittering someplace else when a new idea entered his head, then running back to repeat the process.
The boy gave him too much credit. The chancellor didn't have as profound an understanding of old Solheim technology as he thought.
All the red head did was retrieve some papers and hand them over to the empire. Studying gave Ardyn insight but not keen understanding.
"This no task for a boisterous child. He will get in the way." Ravus sneered at the boy and his fluttering birds, swiping at one that flew too close.
The high commander specifically told them not to bother him and what do they do? Bother him. He specifically told Imperatrix to guard his sister and what did she do? Let her get lost and injured.
Failures! All of them!
Lunafreya wasn't critically wounded. Tempesta was in worse in shape of the two when they retreated to the Setzer. His sister was unconscious from magic depletion while the second retainer slept off a gutted stomach.
He was both impressed and horrified that they faced down a daemon that even Noctis couldn't defeat.
How powerful the Fleuret song magic was. A shame that he couldn't inherit the family birthright. To ascend as Nox's successor would have been an honor.
"We'll need him for support if we're doing this." Nebula surmised, gripping the excited scientist by the head. "Got it?"
The albino nodded, back to a placid temperment. "I will be the primary healer with Lady Lunafreya out."
Two members of the original party were swapped out for Ravus and Nebula after everybody convened in the square.
Imperatrix smacked Nyx so many times when they met up, continuing the assault at his insistence to venture on rather than withdraw.
No one expected to see the chancellor at the end of the puzzle maze, leaning on the wall in infinite boredom. He got separated from Genius's group and they assumed he returned to the ship.
Surprise, surprise.
The man's appearance reinforced the scientist's theory. Ardyn was a magic user since only they could move the slab floors.
What blew the middle Besithia's mind was the princess's ability to activate them as well!
Her report of Nyx's fall led him to test if anybody could move the blue-tile floors. Trials proved only Imperatrix and Ravus could.
The princess was the one to guide the new lineup through the lower floors. So many questions to be answered!
Illumination at its finest!
Maybe leaving his laboratory wasn't such a hindrance. Best outside expedition ever!
"I know you do not plan to join us." Imperatrix moved closer to the red head, fingers lightly touching the tips of his.
He tilted his head, smirk answering for itself.
"This is not a game, you clearly heard of the danger. Don't be foolish!"
"The Jabberwock is indeed a ferocious foe." Ardyn shared, twining their fingers into a loose hold that she could run from if the fancy fit the princess. "I'm impressed you all reached this place."
He came inside after sensing Imperatrix near the seal. She managed to conquer the other daemons guarding the path.
His little lover was growing in prowess and as he hoped so was her magic. However, the Jabberwock might kill her.
"How do you know what dwells beneath? Have you been here?"
Ardyn hummed. "A very long time ago to satiate my curiosity."
The monster failed to kill him.
"What is the creature?" Imperatrix wouldn't hold on to her shock, better to go with the flow.
"A large lizard...last I saw."
The way the beast felt to his sense was different now. It might have evolved while trapped underground.
"In fact...I wonder how it shall affect you."
Her stomach turned at the discord of maliciousness and sincerity clashing on the chancellor's face. "What do you mean?"
"Be careful...my Dearest."
The adventure of being lost in amber was broken by males calling for Imperatrix to join them. She swallowed down the desire to hold on longer to Ardyn's hand and speak more, fingers slipping from his as the princess left.
Ravus activated the globe by placing a hand on it, his magic acting as the key. The platform lowered.
If the Jabberwock prevailed, the chancellor would intervene.
Watching Imperatrix fight a losing battle against the Red Iron Giant was excruciating. Sitting by her bedside and knowing that he could've helped and didn't was unbearable. He basically hurt his lover.
Looking back, leaving her in Insomnia was possible because Ardyn wasn't by the woman's side, wasn't even in the city for longer than needed, stealing the Crystal and departing. The distance in their relationship made maneuvering her unproblematic.
Things were changing again.
His shriveled heart bled for Imperatrix, there was no escaping that. Hurting her was hurting himself.
"I can't lose her..." Ardyn admitted to the emptiness of the chamber, head bumping into a column and heart thumping so painfully in his chest that he slid to the floor clenching at the ache.
His eyes stung with black liquid.
"I tried not to. I can't help falling in love again…"
The daemons were in an uproar.
The swiftness of the platform and neon color of the inner machinery made most the party uncomfortable. Unaffected, Genius recorded the scenery with his phone. Nyx wanted to throw up from the ride, looking down made it worse.
"Stop looking." Nebula droned, pulling the glaive in since abrupt movement might tip the platform.
"I'm trying..." He covered his mouth, counting to take his mind off vomiting.
Ravus glared at Nyx. "And stop that heaving."
His actions were making the high commander nauseous, mental fortitude helping him keep a straight face.
"Get off my case both of you!" The dais rocked a little from the glaive's eruption of irritation.
"Quit it all of you!" Imperatrix instructed, arm wrapping around Genius, who almost fell off from not paying attention to his feet.
The alpha males went silent, arms crossing and refusing to look upon anyone.
Nebula shrugged his shoulders. "This nonsense is your fault, Imp."
"How? I am not the preparator of every misfortune." She replied into the communicator.
"Beauty is a cruel mistress."
"Really, Neb? I am more than that."
"You are and you string along so much trouble for it."
The princess gave up, scowling at nothing.
It was in a darkly-lit chamber the ride concluded. The platform clicked into place, setting off other lights in the room.
"Is that...what I think it is?" Nyx croaked out, waving his hand at the high commander. "Hey, hey, make this thing go back up."
Genius's jaw dropped and before he could breathe a word, Nebula's hand veiled his mouth.
"A dragon?!" Imperatrix whispered, both awed and terrified.
The giant creature rested, breathy snores loud like the running machines in the background.
"I never imagined I would get to see one in my lifetime..." She dropped to her knees, head dipped down and fists clasped together in prayer. "Oh, great ancestors of the Imperial Aldercapt House, I am honored by this blessing."
The princess payed tribute to the old gods of Gralea and Persia, bowing at the end of each. A mere mortal like her got to witness a mythical beast thought to be extinct!
How glorious!
What other wonders still existed on Eos? Would she uncover them?
Even one as traveled and learned as the imperial princess could still be mystified by discovery. Imperatrix was humbled.
Oh, how she couldn't wait to tell her father and sisters! Wait…she must get a picture otherwise they'd never believe her.
"Impera, come on. What are you doing?!" Nyx hissed at her, unable to get the woman out of her delirium of wonderment.
"High Commander we ought to leave." Nebula's gun was trained on the Jabberwock.
The snores were still coming and he'd like it to stay that way.
"Do you not see me trying?" He smacked at the unresponsive globe.
For whatever reason the machine wouldn't accept his magic.
A break in the snore pattern got the humans to freeze. Nyx pulled Imperatrix to her feet, squeezing her to his body. Slowly, carefully, the group tip-toed closer to the platform.
Unfortunately, sound wasn't the issue.
The Jabberwock's nose twitched, inhaling new scents unfamiliar to it. Dreams could wait, dinner presented itself.
The dragon woke, belting out a deafening wail and unfurling its wings.
"It is majestic! Please do not make me do this..." The princess whined, dismayed that she signed up for killing an endangered species.
Worse...this creature was the representation of her house! The family crest was literally twin dragons.
The shame and misfortune she would bring on the Aldercapts!
"The lizard must have developed wings for hunting, else it would die in this room." Genius deduced from the information provided by the chancellor. "The ability to adapt is such an exciting subject."
"This isn't the time for a lecture. Get back!" Nebula shoved the boy to the rear, riffle primed to maximum output. "You know what to do, Izzy."
"Right, right, support. Green, enhancements!" The teenager ordered to his crossbow.
The bird dislodged, flying around to expel a dust on the group.
"You guys get Defense Up!" He snapped his finger for the next and Green obeyed. "And Attack Up!"
Those without a helmet coughed a bit but felt the supplements shooting through them.
"If you all get wounded, we'll heal you but Green can't do more than the effects of a mega. It's limited so don't go crazy."
"This is not reassuring. But that's okay, I've worked with worse." Nyx settled in the middle of their formation, prepared for close combat or ranged support.
The princess and high commander were on the front, first line of hard-hitters. They would engage the Jabberwock.
"What is the matter? No rally cries or taunts? You barely even look willing to fight." Ravus noted how miserable his fellow commander looked, sword hanging from her hand and shield covering her front, like she wanted to hide behind it. "Do you wish to run?"
Cowardice wasn't her style, even though she actually appeared the part of flighty princess in her getup.
He sometimes forgot Imperatrix was a woman and had moments of vulnerability. The episode with the Hundlegs being one.
"My friend..." She groaned, tightening her grip on the sword. "This battle brings no joy or prestige to me. Murdering this creature is sure to bring bad karma on my family."
Ardyn warned her and she didn't listen. Hearing treachery in his words was a habit the princess must overcome.
The trust in their relationship had to be repaired.
"Do not be superstitious. Focus on the battle." Ravus said, not knowing how else to assuage her.
"As you say… My blade will swing with yours."
If their roles were reversed, a Unicorn their enemy, Imperatrix would know what to say to lessen his burden of butchering the Fleuret's sacred animal. Alas, this wasn't the case. She would have to settle for his blade at her side.
Actions trumped words. That was how he operated.
The Jabberwock swung its tail at the oncoming humans, wind knocking the flying birds out of the air. The sword wielders slid on the floor, evading the first attack. They went for the legs, dancing around the heavy stomps cracking the metal floor.
The support group fired lasers and arrows at the wings, concentrated efforts causing burn spots. While the tail-whip failed on the nimble sword-swingers, it worked on the stationary bowman and gunman, knocking one off their feet and interrupting the other's shot.
Nebula tossed a grenade at the returning tail, shooting it for immediate effect. The dragon howled, curling its appendage close to home.
"Get up. You just got grazed." He was about to yank the glaive up but stopped. "Izzy!"
"Coming, coming." The scientist slid next to Nyx, beamers sending him information. "Your vitals are all over. What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing..." Nyx clenched at his head.
Where the princess and high commander were fighting, he saw them disappear, replaced with a tall figure in armor wielding a greatsword. The mountain of a man was no match for the Jabberwock.
The scene returned to the present.
His scars stopped burning and the migraine became a dull throb.
"I'm going to throw up."
"I'm not wasting a curative for motion sickness. He's fine." Genius diagnosed, holding up his arm for the birds to join. "Crossbow mode."
"I told Impera we should have sent you on your way." Nebula uttered, raising his rifle for a combo with his brother. "You should've stayed in Galahd, Ulric."
"Blizzara incoming!" The albino tugged on the trigger for the flask to eject.
The eldest Besithia shot the glass right as it was above the beast, icicles raining on it instead of freezing their allies. "Your aim is off. Work on it."
"Impossible. My AIs calculate for a perfect shot."
"Computers make mistakes just like humans. The shot came up short."
"Liar!"
"Then why did the area of effect only include the back portion of the dragon and not the entirety?"
Genius clicked his tongue. "I'll recalibrate their systems."
"The problem is you. I'm saying you need to practice." Nebula fired at the feet, making the Jabberwock stand up in shock. Imperatrix slashed the beast where it was least scaled.
The attack hurt her more than it did the opponent. He wanted to hit the princess over the head but his vow prevented the gunman from hurting her.
Steel up already.
"Being told to practice from my lazy, older self is irony of the highest level."
Genius had no vow in his bank, thus Nebula felt nothing when popping him in the head. "When you reach my status, you can afford to be lazy. Until then, shut up and listen!"
"Ow, ow, ow! Friendly fire isn't allowed!"
"The battlefield doesn't have rules. Neither does life."
The battle dragged on in the Jabberwock's favor. The story of its might wasn't exaggerated.
Scales protected it from regular attacks, forcing the party to rely on elemental assailments which drained the magitek equipment. Often one the members would fire off a strong attack that weakened the dragon and then were put on defensive while the weapon recharged.
The uncoordinated method of one-at-a-time wasn't cutting it.
"We need a linked strike!" Imperatrix pronounced, eyeing the members who could execute the maneuver. "Ravus and Izzy, hit it with lightning!"
"Violet to the front." Genius ran closer, swinging his arm for the birds to reconfigure. With the right one forming the bow, he tugged. "Thundara coming up!"
The high commander pulled back his metal arm, gathering the element and thrusting his hand forward to shoot lightning. "Thundaga."
The enemy couldn't take the supreme electric bombardment, slumping into a vulnerable state.
"I am loathe to do this...but I must." The princess loaded a new gem into the slot on her blade, hitting the button to power the attribute function.
Lightning blade in hand, she stabbed the Jabberwock, dragging the blade across its length. Blood seeped out onto her dress. The scream made her want to sob.
"I'm sorry, forgive me." She pleaded, shaking her head to be rid of the tears.
The dragon leaped up, jaw opening wide to exhale out a cloud of grey.
Imperatrix got hit first, body seizing up. Her warning didn't reach Ravus and he too fell to the paralyzation.
"Why are you standing there, Impera?! I know you think it's cool but get a grip!" Nyx shouted, running to her as the foe regained its senses.
"They're petrified! Get them away so I can cure them!" Genius dug through his kit for the right items, yelling out orders for the birds to distract the Jabberwock.
Status ailments were so rare in monsters that the scientist didn't stock Green with those components. He had to administer the solution by hand.
The glaive struggled to haul two bodies with flasks dropping by the second, flipping the battlefield through storms, fires and blizzards.
Nebula provided cover and moved to assist in distraction, handguns springing into his hands from the brace under his sleeves. "I hate close-quarters, that's Tempy's gig."
The visor alerted him of the bomb drops so the gunman used them to dart around, stealthily avoiding the dragon in the confusion.
"But at least I get to use real bullets for this. Nothing like a round in the chamber to thrill me."
Genius coated the bullets in elemental ores, making them deadlier. Between the birds and him, the Jabberwock flailed around in agony at the constant blitz.
"She's okay, right?" Nyx asked, patting Imperatrix's cheek to get her to concentrate.
"Yeah, give it a minute." The scientist replied, busy with conducting Ravus's dosage.
At the princess blinking and somewhat registering him, the glaive grinned. "You've got some weird fetishes, Princess."
"It is not a fetish..." The woman groaned, leaning into the hand on her cheek. "Dragons are our sigil. How can I kill it without killing a part of myself?"
For a moment he didn't understand, then realization came. If ever Nyx went hunting and found a wolf that wasn't hostile, he didn't dare kill it, lest the man incur the wrath of Fenris.
For Imperatrix, this creature was mythos associated with her family. Some old tales bragged that the Aldercapt were descended from dragons and gods.
Superstitions were hard to let go. Of course, that was why she was bugging out.
"I'll kill it for you."
She laughed.
"I'm serious. I already planned to anyway. How else am I supposed to win the game?"
More importantly, there would be no cosmic consequences for her.
"Nyx!" Imperatrix sprung up at him seizing on the opportunity.
The glaive zipped by Nebula, red energy dagger cutting off the tip of the dragon's tail. "What do you know, I got good luck now."
"That's rabbits." The gunman rectified. "And you're supposed to get the feet."
"Same thing."
"No. It's not."
The Jabberwock had enough. Its belly expanded, bulge rising up the throat to burst out. A huge cloud of gray filled the area.
Nebula saw the move coming and blasted himself out of range with his gun. He was safe.
Nyx must have garnered some luck despite the inaccuracy of his boast. He suffered no status ailment, rolling out of the fog.
"Are you crazy?! You saw what happened to Impera!" The glaive yelled in vain as the gunman dove right into the smoke.
Beams of light went off, penetrating through the thick haze. The dragon cried out, finally taking to the skies for the remainder of the battle. Beating strong and repeatedly, the strokes of its wings dispelled the cloud of petrification.
"How are you not paralyzed?"
"My visor." Nebula responded so simply that Nyx felt stupid.
Breathing in the gas was the most apparent way to get pinched. The attack wasn't a guaranteed affliction from his escape of the ailment.
"What you should be thinking about is how to get that thing out of the air."
"We hit it together, might be enough to take out its flight mode."
The gunman nodded.
In the sky the Jabberwock was supreme, cocky of its superiority of those below. It didn't pay heed to the predator above.
Ardyn held up his hand. A red sword materialized, singing the tune of shattered glass and ancient power.
"I try and try but you simply have me wrapped around your finger, Musa. My love is vengeance."
A flick of his wrist and the weapon flew.
"The only consolation here is this dragon does not breathe fire." With his rapier, Ravus clipped a talon that came to close to his face.
"Well it breathes smoke." Imperatrix retorted, growing aggravated with their airborne foe.
Combined, an arrow and laser beam tore a hole into a wing, reducing the Jabberwock's flight. They could reach the enemy occasionally when it attacked.
At this rate the battle would never end.
"Ugh, it's getting blood everywhere!" The high commander complained, shaking out the wetness in his hair. "Raining blood, how repulsive."
He was distracted, not noticing the trick of light that Imperatrix did. Her eyes enlarged as a crimson streak split open the flesh of the other, uninjured wing, completely burning away the appendage.
The Jabberwock fell.
A shockwave rocked the room but everything went mute for the white haired woman. She couldn't look away from the pulsating sword stabbed into the ground.
"Ardyn..."
He showed her that item but right now it gave a completely different impression. She could feel it radiating more energy than any magitek equipment, more than even a core.
It felt so familiar.
Before Imperatrix knew it, her hand wrapped around the pommel.
"I...know you..." With no prior knowledge and no understanding where the words came from, she proclaimed. "The Sword of the King!"
The blade which wouldn't budge a second ago, slid out like it was meant to be drawn from stone.
Up above, Ardyn placed a hand over his chest, acknowledging the tug he experienced from the Armiger.
"Oh...I haven't felt this in eons..." Leaning forward on the ledge, he dreamily gazed on as his treasured Divine Arm recognized a previous contract, accepting a new wielder. "You are there, aren't you?! My Musa, My Janan?"
Two millennium ago the chancellor shared the contents of his Armiger with the Alder siblings as they traveled alongside him. Maybe there was still a chance for her remember him.
"You are my wife! How else could Excalibur know you?"
But did he want her to remember him?
He wasn't the sage anymore, no longer the man that stole her heart and gave his in return. All his sins, all his failures would be laid bare.
"What is this feeling?" Imperatrix blinked, eyes watering from how intense everything appeared.
So much...there was so much energy poking at her senses.
The battle with the dragon moved in slow motion. Ravus charged the creature, believing it docile but its jaws would come for him.
The danger was known to her before it would happen. Did time stop? Was she moving too fast for it to flow?
Nothing made sense...
Yet her body moved in motions she'd drilled into herself like breathing over the long years as a fighter.
Imperatrix raised the sword, a name on the tip of her tongue. "Ex...calibur?"
Time moved in standard formation. The princess didn't follow this theme.
In two steps she was in the thick of the fight, cutting off the Jabberwock's jaw, cutting through its remaining wing and cutting through its neck. Three attacks proceeded at once, magic exuding from the strikes in an eruption of crimson and violet.
The beast convulsed with the last remnants of life.
Ravus lost his momentum from swinging at nothing, almost tripping over his feet. Baffled at the defeated monster, he stepped closer, gasping at the wetness in his shoes and the noise of splashing.
"This is beyond repugnant!" He gagged at the smell of charred flesh he was too familiar with.
His pants were stained red from stepping in a puddle of blood.
By the gods what happened?!
One moment he was facing down the Jabberwock and the next it collapsed into this mess. Why was it burning?
"Those flames look like the Lucii's..." The high commander shivered at the crimson petals still eating at the dragon's flesh.
Blue flames ate his arm.
He clenched the prosthetic, pain emerging in the stump area where the metal connected. The sight of a bloody princess took his mind off the phantom pain. "Imperatrix?"
She walked on, seeing nothing. Her body tingled.
Something...something was there, beginning to branch out like an ink spill on parchment.
"What is wrong with me?"
"Impera!"
The princess grabbed onto the hands shaking her, one hand colder from touching metal. "Ravus?"
"Are you hurt?"
She followed his eyesight to her dress, a ruined shade of burgundy. "I am...fine. The blood is not mine."
"You look awful. How foolish of you to dress up for this." He sniffed snobbishly now that his worries were for nothing. "Silly woman!"
For once Imperatrix didn't fret over her appearance. She fixated on her empty hand.
The sword was gone. Was it ever there?
It couldn't have been an illusion. She felt the power, felt herself in three places, slaying the beast three times over.
The Sword of the King. She pulled it from the stone and fought. She knew its true name.
Why? How?
Ardyn! He would know.
He had to know, it was his sword. Once the man offered the item to her should she need it and the sword arrived at her hour of trouble.
Why was this man the center of all mysteries?! Imperatrix couldn't deal with his secrets anymore. All or nothing, he must give her the truth.
Answers were the key.
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