Game of Insomnia | ✓

Chapter 23: Attack

Nightfall has come, and Cloud knew that that would be the signal— the signal to attack.

Onagers lined up in a semi-circle outside the walls of Niflheim. Dusk was now fading, and soon as the moon shines brightly, they will attack. And no matter how a bazillion of magiteks would defend, Lucis would continue to get in until they wiped out every magitek that would go in their way.

The airships landed a mile away from the enemy's territory, but luckily they had a good place to see sign of any threat.

The plan was settled. Nyx and his fellow glaives planned to distract the daemons, while the rest of the Lucian soldiers fight off the magiteks. The Avalanche was in charge of getting in, and made sure that they would maim the enemy. Even if it was as simple as that—get in secretly and safely, kill the enemy, and then save Noctis and the Healer— it actually turned out to be difficult.

    The engines finally stopped, and after a few seconds all of the glaives jumped off. They had warped successfully and easily to the nearest hiding spot. It was a silent war in the outside, however, they were not sure what was happening inside.

    "I doubt they're still well alive," Tifa muttered and sighed. She knew that (Y/N) was very brave. However, Tifa had never got the chance to fight a million. Since Gaia, she only managed to fight a few with her fists and most specially, she would be fighting an enemy holding guns. Well, that sounded pretty tragic right?

    "Hey guys," Prompto grinned and stood beside her. The guy had been frequently checking his magical gun, making sure it was fully loaded with real bullets this time, not arrow toys. He had really messed up when they traveled to Altissia. "Loving the cold air, milady?"

    Tifa raised an eyebrow, "Calling me a lady? Please refrain from addressing me that."

    "Be quiet, Prompto." Gladiolus chided as he passed by. "This is a war zone, so cut out chatting." He placed his sword back into its sheath which was on his back.

    Tifa immediately recognized the sword. No wonder it was quite similar to the one Cloud has. "It's a buster sword, isn't it?" She asked Gladiolus.

    "Yes; indeed it is a buster sword. I see that you can identify weapons easily," Gladiolus remarked, completely had no idea why she knew it. And to Tifa's part, she was grateful he did not ask.

    "You do not have any weapons?" Prompto asked, raising his gun a little. "Ignis can lend you a—"

    "I do not need weapons," Tifa stopped Prompto from talking. She was clearly irritated at people questioning her how she can handle enemies without any weapons.

    "So how will you fight them?" Prompto asked and stopped in a trance. Realizing he was left alone in the airship, he felt embarrassed but quickly followed after Ignis, since he was the last one running. He saw Tifa further from him, who was running. The sight of Vincent Valentine made him shiver. The guy was flying, with his feet stepped on the machine.

    That guy is totally a creep, Prompto thought as he ran as fast as he could, trying his best to keep running along with Gladiolus.

    Prompto barely knew about battle skills, and it was a miracle that he survived only with a few knowledge of it. A gun in his hand, and he had poor agility compared to Noctis, Ignis and Gladio, since they trained in their young age; Prompto on the other hand, had a childhood catastrophe. Sometimes, he felt like he was out of a society— whatever it was. He tried to make friends with Noctis when they were kids but it was in vain. Since going to highschool, he did his best befriending Noctis. If it weren't for Luna, Prompto guessed he wasn't here now. He might've been one of those disgusting robotic minions of Niflheim.

The war was filled with relentless and deafening gunshots. In less than a second, there were blazes around the walls of Niflheim. Prompto's eyes gazed towards the huge flames reflecting to his blue eyes. The smoke slowly hurled skyward, making himself drawn into it.

The fight was going great, only if Prompto wasn't disturbed at the flames. But he was, and now he got knocked off at his back, sending him down to the ground. "Nasty toys!" He groaned as he turned around to look who it was. He was about to glare at the person, but he stopped as he soon realized it had been Aranea standing behind him.

The blonde in black dracon armor pointed her sword towards Prompto's chest. Her eyes squinted, and freckles splashed across her nose. Prompto somehow thought a young innocent girl holding a fiercely armor and deadly weapon against him; well, it did not help at all. "Enjoying your time watching those explosions while you're at war? How reckless, boy." She spat and rose her sword high, and was about to slice him into two.

If Tifa wasn't there, Prompto could've been a living broken piñata. The tall girl instantly jumped into scene. She held on tight onto Aranea's helmet and punched the side of her head. Yet, Tifa only caused a minor injury. Aranea turned swiftly and sprinted away from Tifa, drawing her sword back again after massaging her head. "You've got fists, lady. Who are you?"

However, Tifa was not on the mood for introductions. She rapidly warped towards Aranea, and to Aranea's part— she was expecting for an answer, and the answer would be a great punch on the nose, a quick kneeing and a judo-flip from Tifa.

Prompto remained lying on the ground as he watched the two females fight. He was definitely amazed, and at the same time embarrassed since he actually would be the loser if he handled Aranea on his own. Soon, Aranea passed out after that kick, and was now brought to Ignis and Gladiolus at the corner of the field.

Prompto dusted himself off as he stood up, thanking Tifa and most likely, complimenting her. He softly chuckled.

"Hey, for once I agree with Aranea. You've got fists!"

The girl looked back at him with a blank face.

"Oh and," he scratched his head.

"Questioning me about my fighting abilities without weapons?"

"Yeah, well. . . sorry 'bout that."

Tifa formed a slight smile. "It's alright. Actually, I do not really like that. But anyway, it's just a light matter to argue about," she looked around. "We've got little time. We should be heading in there."

Prompto gaped towards an enormous arched opening. The smoke probably went inside that dark opening. Without hesitation, the two of them ran towards it. Prompto figured that Tifa— a female could run faster than him. It was the third time a girl defeated him in terms of physical abilities.

Tifa dusted herself off. "The way is cleared. The others will take care of the onagers left."

"Won't those machines explode soon?"

"They will. But I guess your friend can take care of that."

"You mean Iggy?"

"Yes, your friend Ignis."

Prompto shortly nodded, stopping right after Tifa stopped. He summoned his gun and swallowed, but right now, he was certain that he was prepared. They would now save Noctis. Prompto suddenly had a strange feeling, but he knew that it was good. He felt confident and brave. Saving Noctis, his best friend, would be the most important thing he will ever do.

He then followed Tifa and made sure he was just close behind. He could hear the girl's heavy breathing; maybe because of the fight she had with Aranea earlier.

He knew he could trust Tifa.

Somehow, he realized that he just made a friend, and he owed his life to her.