FFXV: After the Fall

Chapter 31

She made it back to the others at just before twelve-thirty, and she gatecrashed their plan-making to let them know about Diabolos and his potential to talk to her at any given moment. She also gave them sketchy details of her conversation with Hades, but nothing that would cause them to overly worry. And lastly, she assured them that her gamble would succeed, leaving Hades empty-handed and the planet as it should be. She then flopped into a nearby chair afterwards, as if half-exhausted, and watched as the last few plan details got hammered out between Roc and the others. She then heard from Roc himself, and wasn't really surprised to learn that he'd also been drafted to the Light side.
   "We did need more military experience." She said. "And with me holding Diabolos, it could also be that the Light side needed another person to help balance him out."
   "...that's true." Roc smiled. "One thing worries me, though. Now that he's in there, with you, will he end up reporting everything to Hades, and will that affect us in any way? I wouldn't want any of our plans to be ruined by that."
   "That's...a good point, actually." Noctis agreed. "Maybe you should ask him about it?"
Helena nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Excuse me." Her face then went curiously blank-looking as she sought to get the Daemon's attention once more.
   "...you are already a nuisance." He said after a few seconds.
Probably as close as she'd ever get to a decent greeting from him.
   "Just wanted to ask a question." She said to him. "Will you be relaying information about what you may see and hear?"
   "Sometimes, if I think it's in his interests. Don't expect me to say what those interests are, however."
   "I wasn't going to ask. Will your relaying interfere in our plans, or will he seek to interfere somehow?"
   "No. Your affairs on this planet are of the least concern to him. Unless you start affecting the balance, he couldn't care less. I can scarcely believe you think yourself so important."
   "Fine. Thanks." She rudely cut him off, largely to get back at him for when he'd done it to her not long ago, then she looked back at Roc. "He'll only relay stuff he thinks would interest Hades- which is probably none of it- and no, they won't interfere."
Roc looked relieved. "Good. One less thing to worry about."
   "What's it like?" Prompto asked her curiously.
She shook her head. "Right now? Fucking annoying, that's what. We don't agree on anything so he's constantly putting me down and ridiculing me over the stuff humans do and say. He's very quick to criticise, and just as quick with his insults. If he gets too much of a pain, I'll just cut him off like I'd hang up on an idiot who pranks my phone. He does it to me often enough."
   "Hardly the glamorous image that the wizards of old would have led us to believe." Roc smiled.
   "Nothin' glamorous about it, I'll be glad when he's gone. At least he won't drive me mad. Not like that, anyway." She then paused, and looked at the large map on the tables. "How's all this goin', then? I need to know what I'm doing. Also might help to distract me from his dickish observations."

Roc nodded. "Yes. I believe it's time to put it all together." He moved over so that she could see the map, and started running through the entire plan from start to finish. "The Garrison has landed, and as we speak, they are refuelling as well as delivering lots of supplies to it, ready for take-off much later tonight. A steady stream of vehicles, laden with goods, has been pouring out of the Capital with that in mind. To have the easiest time of getting into the Garrison itself while bypassing a lot of the very thorough checks, the Ninja team will need to sneak onboard one of those vehicles, then climb off when at a safe hiding spot."
   "Old-school shit." Nyx grinned. "I'm likin' this part. See, they won't even know we're in there. Those trucks get scanned on leavin' the Capital, then they get scanned when they pull up in the Garrison to discourage thieves in their number. People still try, always will, so they get caught red-handed. Long as we bail out before our chosen truck comes to a stop, we're golden."
   "At the same time," Roc then continued, "there'll also be a steady stream of trucks going the other way, back to the Capital. Bravo team would be in one of those, again getting out before their truck stops for the scanning. That puts both teams inside their target areas with minimal effort, and maximum safety. I'm rather proud of it, myself."
Nyx rolled his eyes. "See what I mean?"
   "You're only saying that cos' you wish you'd thought of it first." Roc smiled at him pleasantly.
Nyx grumbled very quietly for a few seconds.
   "Naturally, the difficult part will be getting back out again, on either side, and with a Crystal as well. Hopefully, we can use the trucks again- but if not, it may be necessary to create some sort of distraction that'll divert enough forces to a distant part of the area, allowing for an easier escape. After that and once you're clear, you can then rendezvous somewhere on the Great Plains, or maybe even one of the large clearings in the Duscae Wetlands. Either place will give you lots of room to tackle Lord Ifrit, who will almost certainly be sent after you once he realises the Crystals are gone. Out there, you can technically make as much of a mess as you want."
Helena paused. "That all sounds great, but...what would the, uh, diversion involve, exactly? Something big, right?"
Roc sighed. "I'm against it myself, but you may need something like a rather large explosion, one big enough to cause lots of damage to nearby structures. If enough of them collapse, that would prevent even more hostile forces from blocking you."
   "...oh. Okay, then. So what's the problem?"
   "I'm just not fond of having to resort to such barbarism. It's...tacky, it's wilful destruction of property as well. We might have to foot the bill for it."
   "Hope you got a large wallet, Your Highness." Nyx winked.
Noctis looked puzzled. "Roc...how much do we have, exactly?"
   "Several million, as I understand it." Roc told him. "It's not been used for some time, so it naturally keeps piling up. But I don't want it all used on repairing any damage caused by your little romp in the countryside. It's there for contingencies, in case of emergency and such. It is not a green light to blow things up."
   "...but I like blowin' things up." He smiled.
   "Just keep it to a minimum, that's all I'm saying. The Niffs will be laughing out of their backsides if they end up slapping us in the face with a monstrous bill."
Nyx laughed at that. "Roc, you are one of a kind."
   "Maybe that's why I've been 'hired', so to speak."
Helena smiled. "You never know."
   "Haha, that's about right." Nyx grinned. "Roc; inventor of plans and keeper of the Royal Purse-strings, never wanting to open them in case any moths get in."
   "You'll thank me when this is all over." Roc insisted. "And so will any people who may lose homes after your miniature war game."
   "We won't be targeting innocent buildings." Gladiolus told him. "Not unless we have to. We may even need to slip through some of those to help with a retreat. Gettin' stuck into the burbs is a great way to lose several hundred angry guards."
   "...you have an idea, then?"
   "Several. Just need to find some loose change." He then saw Roc's puzzled look, and decided to explain further. "It's no secret that the average population over there has been pretty hard-up for a while. Lot of that money went to wages, other parts are always needed to keep the sea of robots tickin', and that's a constant job. If we break into one of the safes and steal some of those hard-earned wages back, I think more than a few people would help us when we throw it into the middle of the road."
Roc stared at him. "But...you're talking about mutiny. You actually want to incite a mass riot on the streets?"
   "You bet I do. It's their money, after all. And while they're all busy with that, we can just slip away from the crowds and leave through a back door. Guards will be too busy containing the people to follow us. Job done."
   "Fuck yeah, bro." Nyx gave him a brofist. "That's poetry, if I ever heard it sweeter. Kinda wish I was on your side now."
   "Oh, thanks!" Helena joked. "Drop us real fast, don't you?"
   "Relax, you ain't gettin' rid of me." He winked at her.
Roc listened to them, then shook his head. "Just...do whatever you've got to do and get out." He fumed. "And no heroics."
   "Can't promise that, pal. That's no fun at all."
   "You'll need to get going at roughly six. One of the F-Types has been cleared for duty, so I can at least drop you all off. Then later on, we can pick you back up."
   "Wow, we even get a lift home. Is there an in-flight movie? Or any snacks and booze? Gotta have some booze."
   "...best of luck." He said genuinely to them all, then turned and left to return to his study.