FFXV: After the Fall

Chapter 29

They arrived back at the castle in time for a late lunch, and were in good spirits after their recent success. Nyx wasted no time in sharing his current mood with an exasperated Roc, who had been very grateful for the advance warning and exercised his patience as much as humanly possible. They had been successful, after all, beating very stiff odds to complete every single challenge, so he was a tad more lenient with them than usual.
After dinner, however, once they'd all spent some time relaxing with a couple of drinks, Roc decided that it was time they got down to business again, and he presented his findings.
   "Ifrit isn't in the capital." He told them all first. "I wondered about that, but it appears as though they've decided to make him the guardian of Formouth Garrison instead."
   "...what?" Noctis was very surprised by that, as were all of the others. "That big flyin' bastard? No way."
   "As you are all rather fond of saying, yes way."
   "How the fuck are we spose to find that?" Prompto asked. "The F-Type is being serviced right now, I checked."
   "You're still not driving it, you know." Ignis told him.
   "I will one of these days, just you watch."
   "Luckily for you," Roc interjected, "it can also land. It's currently hovering near the volcano, and from what my spies have told me, there's a good chance it'll have to land soon in order to receive supplies sent by the Imperial City."
   "...you have spies?" Nyx was amused.
   "I do now, yes." Roc smiled at him. "I thought it very appropriate, seeing as they're dying to get hold of you all. And the castle too, I'd wager. While I am still responsible for this place, they shall not have it."
   "You sneaky bastard. I like it. Keep it up, it suits you."
   "I wouldn't get too used to these circumstances, Nyx, it's merely because these are desperate times, and needs must."
   "Fuck off. I know you, remember? You're lovin' the excitement right now, you've probably got a hard-on as we speak."
   "That is not a great mental image." Ignis muttered.
   "Don't think about it, then." Nyx grinned at him.
   "Do you mind?" Roc said sternly, starting to lose patience.
   "Me? Not at all, long as you don't go wavin' it around in my face like all your other badges of office. Whatever floats that immortal boat, know what I'm sayin'?" He grinned cheekily at the now pink-faced Steward, then decided to shut up as he'd probably gotten to the point where he was asking for a punch soon.
   "Once it's landed and sunk its ridiculously oversized anchors into the nearby scenery, that would be the best time for you to sneak onboard and do...whatever it is you're going to do. It has to include one thing, though, above all others."
   "And what's that?" Nyx asked, dreading the answer.
   "Securing the Lucian Crystal."
They all reacted with shock; it was on there?
Gladiolus stared at Roc. "Why...is our Crystal even on there? What are they plannin' to do with it, do you know?"
   "Aside from rubbing it in our faces, you mean? I haven't got the faintest idea. What I'm pretty sure of, is that it can't be good."
   "What about the Crystal from Tenebrae, where's that?"
   "At the Imperial City itself, along with their own."
   "That's no good either." Noctis frowned. "At least Ifrit isn't near it...uh, you're sure about that, right?"
   "Positive." Roc said with a nod. "We have a confirmed sighting, as well as a scan of his energy signature. He's on the Fortress. As if that weren't enough, I also have more bad news."
   "...more?" The Prince sighed. "Go on then, hit us with it."
   "You won't know what this means, but...his energy output is steadily increasing, and has been for the past few hours."
Helena looked at him sharply. "How much has it gone up by?" She asked in a severe tone.
   "So far, it's doubled."
   "And it's still climbing?"
   "I'm afraid so."
She closed her eyes, and let out a huge sigh. "Was afraid of that."
   "Afraid of what?" Noctis looked at her. "What's goin' on, what is he up to, Hel?"
   "...he's charging his strongest ability. Hellfire."
Noctis looked confused. "What's Hellfire when it's at home? I'm not so hot on magical terms when it comes to Divines. Is it bad?"
   "Worse. If he lets that off, there's no stopping it. Hellfire creates a huge, flaming meteor in space, then, it...travels towards whatever he points it at."
   "Us." Prompto cut in. "It's us, isn't it?"
   "Not just us, he's probly going for all of Insomnia. Or, wherever we happen to be at the time he's able to cast. Won't matter, though. If it hits, it'll destroy the planet." She shook her head. "Normally, he'd never use it. He was given it in the beginning to help remove nearby threats in space. After that, Bahamut caused him to forget he ever had it, as a precaution...until now."
   "Looks like the Niffs and their magic control caps have helped him to remember." Nyx fumed. "Dammit. Why the fuck can't they leave things alone? Or just be satisfied with what they have, or..." He paused. "There's many people with a lot less."
They all knew which people he was referring to. His own, plus countless others who had suffered due to the Great Wars.