After the Light (FFXV)

Chapter 18

  Gladio leaned against the regalia, staring up at the very bright star in the night sky. He held a closed bottle of beer between him thumb, index and middle fingers, and was slowly rotating it back and forth. He looked at his left hand, thinking about the red crystal. Ignis joined him with a cup of coffee. They were silent for a moment, listening to the cold, howling wind that disheveled their hair. Gladio rested the bottle on the ground, and tied his hair back.
        "Couldn't sleep?" Gladio asked.
        "I slept fine, until I heard you tossing and turning." Ignis sipped his coffee. "Which is unlike you. What happened?"
        "...I saw my father." Gladio picked up the bottle from the ground and began to rotate it between his fingers.
        Ignis raised an eyebrow. "Your father? In your dream?"
         "More like...the afterlife. Or somewhere between realms."
         Ignis nearly choked on his coffee. He looked at Gladio, who continued staring at the star. "Are you saying that you-?"
       Gladio nodded as he opened the bottle and took the first sip. "Now there's this...star, I guess. I've never noticed it, and I can't understand how, given how damn bright it is."
        "...It's the gateway to the afterlife. Your experience allows you to see it."
        "Can you see it?" Gladio took another sip of his drink.
        "Yes. After Noct went into the crystal." Ignis pushed his hair out of his face. "How are you holding up?"
"I feel...reborn. I know, it sounds like a lot." Gladio chuckled, and then drank.
"It doesn't. I understand what you mean. Have you told Iris?" Ignis took a sip, realized his coffee was getting cold, and then took a gulp. He didn't want to waste it.
"Not that I saw him. She can't know right now. Gotta keep an eye on her." He raised the bottle to his lips. "And Noct."
Ignis gave him a puzzled look, and Gladio nodded right before he drank.
He lowered the bottle and said, "He's giving off this...vibe towards my sister. I could be wrong, but I know I'm not."
Ignis chuckled, while Gladio grinned as he brought the bottle back up to his lips.
"That's usually the next step. The King needs an heir at some point." Ignis teased.
Gladio glared at him. "Not funny."

     
        Staying in Cartanica for about a week gave everyone a chance to gather their thoughts, and make the necessary preparations towards their plan to find more royal tombs.
       Noctis ran his fingers through his hair and then plopped down on his bed in the motel room. He was too tired to deal with anything that afternoon. He didn't even shave. I don't want to. No one could deny it. Deep down, he missed being that lazy twenty-year-old Prince who just wanted to play video games, and sometimes he would let him out. I wanna play King's Knight. He gave in to his body's desire to close his heavy eyelids, and fell asleep.
About twenty minutes into his nap, there was a knock at the door. Noctis groaned and curled up on his side. The door opened slowly and Iris peeked in. She quietly entered the room and rested a to-go box from the diner on the coffee table. She took a step towards the door, but stopped to look back at Noctis. Don't watch him sleep, you weirdo. She carefully approached the bed and folded the blanket over him. He looks so peaceful. Blushing, she smiled warmly and then quietly left the room.
An additional ten minutes into his nap, Prompto entered the room.
"Noct. Wake up, Noct." He said.
Noctis continued sleeping soundly. Prompto crouched down beside the bed and started poking Noctis' rosy cheek.
"Oooh! That's the fourth time this week! Who are you dreaming about?!" He teased loudly.
Noctis' eyes popped open, and he immediately shoved his hand into Prompto's grinning face, pushing him away. He sat up and looked at the blanket in confusion. Too tired to worry about it, Noctis shrugged and shook his head.
Prompto chuckled. "You okay there?"
"No." Noctis was aggravated. He laid back down and rested his arm over his eyes.
"Don't go back to sleep. We just heard from Cor. He's waiting for you at the station." Prompto leaned forward onto the bed.
Noctis groaned. "Why can't he come here?"
Prompto grinned. "I get it. You wanna get back to that dream, don't you?"
"I'm going to hit you." Noctis threatened.
"Who was it about? Was it Stella?... Aranea?... Iris?"
Noctis grabbed the pillow beside him, and threw it at Prompto, who was making a run for the door.
"His highness is so naughty!" Prompto teased.
Noctis jumped out of bed and chased Prompto out of the room.

       The rest of the group stood near the regalia, and were soon joined by Noctis and Prompto.
       Stella smiled. "Afternoon, sleepyhead."
Noctis buried his eyes in his hand and groaned.
      "Who's going?" Prompto asked.
       "We all don't need to go. My ship stands out, and only five people can squeeze into the car." Aranea answered.
        "Just take one or two people." Gladio said, folding his arms.
         "Who are you going with?" Prompto asked as Noctis turned away and yawned.
          The group was silent. They watched Noctis, who didn't seem to be paying attention.
          "Are you good?" Gladio asked, nudging Noctis' arm with his elbow.
           "Huh?!...What's up?" Noctis responded.
            Ignis removed his right glove and placed the back of his hand on Noctis' forehead. He didn't have a fever, so Ignis let out a sigh of relief.
            "Who are you taking with you?" Prompto asked.
            "Iri-Ignis!" Noctis lowered his head and rubbed the back of it. "And Gladio."
        Avoiding eye contact with everyone else, Noctis climbed into the passenger's seat. He was embarrassed, and just knew Prompto had a dorky grin on his face, ready to tease him. He propped his arm up, and rested his head against his fist. Ignis took the driver's seat, while Gladio sat in the back.
         "Oh! Did you get a chance to eat?!" Iris asked.
         "No, it's fine. I'll be fine." Noctis kept his eyes on the windshield.
         "Don't be ridiculous, Noct. You need to eat." Ignis said.
          Iris ran back to the motel, and soon returned with the to-go box. Handing him the box, she smiled, and in her sweet tone of voice, she said, "Be careful."
         Noctis shifted his eyes and caught her gaze. He blushed and looked away again. "Th-thanks."
"We'll be back later." Gladio said, moments before Ignis drove away.

          The station was relatively empty. Cor stood by the fence, admiring the warm view of a desert under the evening sky.
         "Cor!" Noctis called out.
          Cor turned around, and watched the trio walk towards him. Noctis reminded him of Regis, and for a brief moment, Cor wanted to just walk away and get on the train to go back home. After everything they'd all been through just to get Noctis to that particular point, it wasn't entirely crazy for them to want to just put their King in a protective bubble, and protect him from all danger. But he's not like that.
          "You made it. Good." Cor said.
          "What'd you find?" Noctis asked.
          "Before we get to that, I need to be sure you're ready for this, your highness. These tombs were supposedly lost, and there's no telling what you'll find around them." Cor warned.
           "We can handle them. Don't worry." Noctis assured him.
            Cor folded his arms. "Based on what you told me over the phone, I encourage you to be a little more cautious and really think this through. We don't want to lose our king, and you don't want to permanently lose any of your companions."
          Gladio held back from speaking. Their entire team would die for their king if it was necessary. He and Ignis sensed that Cor was fully knowledgeable on the lost tombs, and was playing dumb as a means of protecting Noctis. They weren't going to encourage him to pursue the tombs, or drop them. Whatever he decided, they would support him.
The King crossed his arms and genuinely took Cor's words into consideration. He came way too close to losing Gladio, and could have lost Iris. He contemplated going to the tombs alone, but knew it was out of the question. He glanced at the ring on his finger and felt a sense of peace.
He looked Cor in the eyes, and spoke. "My throne rests in a city that was once protected- no, hidden behind a barrier. Isolated. I may be king, but my place is not in that chair, it's out in the world with my people. I won't make the same mistake as my father, and weaken myself to protect people that I would later sacrifice."
"It wasn't that simple, your highness." Cor said.
"This is nothing against my father. I wish it all worked out differently. I want to increase my power, and be strong enough to take on anyone who dares to threaten my people. It only lasted a year, but we had peace, or at least what we thought was peace. We were careless in that last tomb, but that won't happen again. We need to prepare for the worst, and if getting to these tombs is a step towards living in peace again, we need to take it." Noctis spoke confidently, with his head held high.
Cor admired the King's confidence and desire to protect his people. He smiled and nodded his head, fully supporting Noctis' plan.
"I've sent the coordinates to Ignis. If you need anything, I'm just a phone call away." Cor said.