Hearing the princess' name, Loqi maneuvered the mech around. He gaped in shock at the sight of the girl. "You?! You are supposed to be dead!"

Makina simply smirked. She vaulted over the railing and landed on the ground. She stood her ground as she felt an immense power flowing through her veins. Summoning Rift Cutter, she wielded her blade. Taking a few steps forward, she mumbled, "Ionus Sphere: sixth configuration." A circular, violet-colored rune appeared behind her. There were six slots with only two being filled with strange symbols. It moved like a dial and landed on one of the strange emblems. Her blade morphed into a pair of chakrams.

Loqi stood strong and attacked her. He fired missiles but gasped in shock when the princess tossed the chakrams and created two rifts. The missiles entered the void in front of him and excited the one behind him. The mech was struck with its own projectiles. He screamed in anger and pain as the missile hit the outer shell. "Damn you!"

Makina caught the chakrams and sealed the two rifts. She dodged the mech's attacks and slowed downtime. Throwing her chakrams a second time, she sliced off the arms of the mech. Time resumed and the two arms fell to the ground.

Loqi tried to take control of the mech, but the controls were emitting sparks. He wasn't able to control it like he wanted to. He tried to access the missile reserves but shouted in annoyance when the buttons weren't working.

Becoming bored, Makina decided to wrap things up. She aimed her chakrams at the missile reserves on the mech. With precision, she sliced through the explosives. It was the beginning of a chain reaction.
The missiles exploded and caused other components to destabilize, resulting in more explosions.

Loqi screamed as he was caught up in the explosions. It wasn't long before he and the mech were blown to smithereens, leaving nothing behind.

The princess dispelled her weapons with a huff. She focused her slit eyes on the marshal as she walked over to join the others.

Cor was impressed even though it was hard to tell with his stoic expression. "Excellent job, Makina. What is the condition of the Ionus Sphere?"

She held her hands out in front of her chest. A faint violet glow started to emanate from her body. Slowly, an intricately detailed sphere emerged from her chest. Like the circular rune, it had six slots and only two were occupied by emblems. The silver artifact floated between her hands as it radiated with a violet hue. "All is well. It will take some time getting used to it, though."

"I can only imagine. Don't push yourself." Cor then glanced back at the boys. He noted their flabbergasted expressions but doesn't acknowledge them. "And you, Your Highness. I am impressed. Seeing you in action puts my mind at ease. It's clear I don't need to worry anymore. I'll return to watching the Niffs. 'Til next time, take care."

Cor and Monica leave.

With them gone, Makina stood awkwardly in front of the boys. She cleared her throat and immediately sealed the Ionus Sphere back in her body. "Well, uh..." She looked around and tried to think of what to say. "I... This is harder than I—"

Her sentence came to an abrupt halt when Noctis stepped forward and embraced her. Her eyes widen as his arms wound around her in a tight embrace. Her body stiffened from the sudden contact, but all the tension was released a few seconds later. She leaned against him and hugged him back.

Noctis didn't care who was watching. He buried his face into the crook of her neck and whispered, "Thank the Six..."

Makina trailed her hands up and down his back to soothe him. "I'm sorry for leaving all of a sudden. I also want to apologize for not contacting you. All hell broke loose and—"

"I don't care," Noctis remarked, silencing her. "The broadcast... It said you were dead. They said they found your body. I didn't want to believe it, but..."

She pulled away and placed a hand on his cheek. Her thumb gently caressed his cheek as she smiled up at him. "I'm right here, and I'm not going anywhere."

With a shaky exhale, Noctis leaned forward and pressed his forehead against her. He peered into her lilac eyes and watched her pupils return to normal. "You better not, or I'm dragging you back whether you like it or not."

She snorted with laughter and lowered her hand. "Haven't you learned your lesson yet? You'll never be able to catch me. I'm too quick." She stepped away from Noctis when he released her and addressed the others after seeing they hadn't said or done anything. She saw they all wore the same shocked expression. "You guys look like you've seen a ghost. I assure you, I'm real. You can even poke me if you need confirmation."

That was all Prompto needed. He was the next to hug her. It wasn't long before Ignis and Gladiolus joined, making it a group hug. She giggled as she was the center of the hug. "It's only been a couple of days, but I missed you guys."

"We've missed you too!" Prompto wailed.

"Looks like not even the Niffs could stand in your way, cupcake," Gladiolus said.

"They put up a worthy fight, but I still came out on top," she confidently claimed.

"We're relieved you are safe," Ignis stated when the hug dispersed.

"I had some help getting out of the city," she said. "Some members of the Crownsguard escorted me out of the city. It's thanks to them both the Ionus Sphere and I were able to escape."

"So that round thing from earlier is the artifact?" The marksman asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, at least the empire didn't get their hands on everything, right?"

She placed a hand on her hip. "Even if they did, they wouldn't be able to use it. The Ionus Sphere can only be used by those of the Valtreus bloodline. If anyone else tries to use it, it'll kill them."

"Then we better let you carry it," Noctis said.

"That would be the wisest course of action." She placed her hand over her chest. "It also is safest in my care."

Prompt pointed to the area just below her collarbone. "Does it like...hurt?"

"Not at all." She spun on her heels and started walking in the direction of the Duscae region. She was eager to explore more of Lucis. When she realized the others weren't following, she turned back around. "What're you guys waiting for? Let's go!"

The boys smiled at the princess. Ignis retrieved the Regalia, driving slowly beside the others. Gladiolus had his greatsword resting against his shoulder. "Ain't so bad out here once you get used to it."

"Still a lot we haven't seen, though," Prompto said.

"And a lot for us to do," Ignis added.

"Yeah."

Gladiolus smirked. "Buckle up. We're just getting started."

"We're gonna get into some serious trouble, aren't we?" Makina asked.

Noctis grinned as he walked beside her. "You know it."

༻──── ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ ────༺

At the Alstor Coernix Station, Ignis parked the Regalia in front of the gas pumps. The car needed fuel before they could set out deeper into the Duscae region. While the strategist filled the gas tank, Noctis, Prompto, and Gladiolus entered the convenience store. Makina remained outside with the bespectacled man to keep him company. Seeing as there was no one else around, she spoke about private matters. "Cor told me about the royal tombs. Since we plan on searching for them, there is a request I want to make."

"You only need to ask and it shall be done," Ignis replied.

"So you won't have to run this by Noctis?" She asked.

"I've known Noct for many years. He is rather smitten with you and will do anything for you. As will myself and the others. You are a cherished friend of ours, Makina."

"Thanks, Iggy. You and the others mean a lot to me and I trust you all. That is why I want your help," she smiled. "You may not have seen clearly, but the Ionus Sphere has four empty chambers. Each chamber serves as a sanctuary for the six disciples. My father managed to find Zin and Zen, but the other four serpents remain unaccounted for. As the last remaining Valtreus, it is my sworn duty to find the serpents before their presence shifts the balance of Eos. They must return to the sphere at all costs."

"You really think we'd leave you out to dry?"

Hearing Noctis' voice, Makina turned around to see the others had returned. "It's not that. You guys already have tons on your plate and I don't want to add to that, but I fear I won't be able to reunite the disciples without you." She then smiled with a faint blush. "And I'm kinda tired of journeying by myself..."

"Aren't you the one who said there never is enough time for one to be alone with their own thoughts?" Gladiolus remarked.

"Being alone with one's thoughts and being alone in a physical sense are two different things," she sighed.

"Regardless, we are more than willing to extend our support," Ignis said. He glanced at the prince. "What say you, Noct?"

Noctis gazed at his advisor before looking towards the princess. "Even if you didn't want our help, you're stuck with us."

Makina giggled. "Thank you, everyone."

"Don't thank us until we've found the other disciples," Gladiolus stated. "Any idea how King Fellux managed to find two of them?"

"Sadly, no. We're on our own."

"Eh, no biggie! We'll find 'em!" Prompto cheerfully said.

Just then, Noctis's phone rang. He fishes it out of his pocket to see an unknown number calling him. "Who could this be?"

"Popular as ever," Makina commented teasingly.

Noctis answers. "Hello?"

As the prince chatted on the phone, Makina felt a wave of nausea course through her stomach. The nausea was then accompanied by a painful head throb. She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose with a feeble sigh. She felt someone put a hand on her shoulder as her symptoms subsided. Looking to her left, she saw Gladiolus. "You're lookin' pale. You feelin' all right?" He asked.

She inhaled deeply then exhaled before replying. "Yeah, I'm okay." She glanced toward Noctis. "Who was that on the phone?"

"Iris," Noctis replied. "She's waiting for us in Lestallum."

"We're still gonna visit the chocobos first, right?" Prompto eagerly inquired.

"You want to visit Wiz?" The princess asked.

"You know the place?" Gladiolus questioned.

She nodded. "Yeah. I know Wiz quite well. I've done some hunts for him in the past."

"You've been this far from the city?" The marksman asked.

"Much further than this, actually. But I'm only familiar with certain areas in the Duscae and Cleigne regions. There are still many parts I have yet to explore." Makina glanced out at the highway. "The chocobo farm isn't far from here. Just follow the signs and we'll be there shortly."

"Then that's our next stop," Noctis said.

"Yes!" Prompto cheered excitedly.

The five piled into the Regalia and departed from the station. They headed toward the chocobo farm, which wasn't far just like the princess said. The moment they arrived and the car came to a stop, Prompto was the first to hop out. He immediately dashed to the pens with his camera in hand.

Makina, once out of the car, looked around the outpost. She tilted her head in confusion when she didn't hear a single 'kweh'. "It's quieter than usual."

"Think there's something wrong?" Noctis asked.

"Not sure. Let's look for Wiz."

Makina easily spotted the man as the outpost wasn't as busy as it usually was. She walked up to him with a bright smile. "It's good to see you again, Wiz."

The man was surprised when he recognized her. He smiled jubilantly as he adjusted his hat. "Well I'll be a behemoth's uncle!" He chuckled. "Heard what happened in the big city. It's good ta see yer safe, darlin'."

She noticed the empty pens in the distance. "It's oddly quiet. Did something happen?"

Wiz sighed dejectedly. "I'm 'fraid so. We can't permit our birds to leave the post. Not while Deadeye's still about. He's an uncommonly ferocious behemoth that's taken to prowlin' these parts of late. His scent makes our birds nervous, an' to prevent accidents an' tragedies, we have no choice but to suspend rentals."

She winced. "That definitely can't be good for business. My friends and I could help you."

He cackles. "You always have been one ta take up a challenge. If you could bring the beast down, there'd be a reward in it for ya. But knowin' the danger, I wouldn't blame ya for sayin' no."

Makina turned around to face the boys. "We could always use the extra gil. What do you say?"

Noctis glances at the hunting poster and noticed the large sum of gil being offered to whoever slew the behemoth. He turned back to Wiz and crossed his arms with a confident smirk. "We'll do it."

Prompto blinked rapidly in shock. "We will?!"

"Yeah," Noctis replied. "We need the money, anyway."

The blonde jabbed his finger at the image of Deadeye. "That thing is huge! Do you really think we can kill it?"

"Only one way to find out."

Wiz nodded, respecting their decision. "I appreciate it. Be careful out there. Deadeye ain't no joke."

As they walked away, Prompto swallowed nervously. His hands shook as he held his camera. "Are we really gonna try to take down a behemoth?"

"We're not gonna try, we are taking one down," she corrected him. "It'll also be nice to get some training in."

"This is a training exercise to you?!"

"Don't sweat it, pipsqueak," Gladiolus slapped him on the back. "If you're too chicken, leave the big nasty monster to the grown-ups. Just make sure to get our good sides with your camera."

"I'm not a chicken!" Prompto denied. "I'll help!"

"There is no shame in being afraid," Makina said. "It's only natural to be frightened by a beast as large as a behemoth. Even some of the smaller monsters and daemons are scary."

"So you get scared too?" He asked. "You sure don't act like you do."

"We all get scared. I just know how to hide it. It's just one of many emotions. Even the gods themselves experience fear." She smiled kindly at him. "Let's go take down a behemoth. We're gonna need our resident sharpshooter to help."

Prompto felt a small amount of courage from her words. He would use that to stand alongside his friends to face off against the behemoth. He followed after the others as they left the outpost. Their destination was the Nebulawood, the only known location where Deadeye had been spotted.

As they crept closer to their destination, the sound of trees snapping in half and slamming into the ground caught their attention. The ground shook with each tree that was destroyed, but everything soon became quiet. A few seconds ticked by and the group was startled by a vicious growl coming from the Nebulawood. The group froze at the threatening sound.

"The hell?" Gladiolus murmured, brows furrowed together in confusion. Looking up, they witnessed more trees snap and collapse against the ground.

"Something's amiss," Ignis stated calmly.

The shield gestures for them to keep moving forward. "C'mon."

The royal retinue cautiously enters the Nebulawood, their eyes scanning over the numerous trees lying on the ground. They step over the snapped trees and head deeper into the den in search of the behemoth. Eventually, they enter a clearing where they're met by a pack of voretooth fleeing from the other direction. Prompto gasped in shock at the sight. "Whoa! Look at 'em go!"

Continuing to make their way deeper into the Nebulawood, the area becomes blanketed with mist. They soon make their way to an abandoned stone structure with an opening large enough for them to pass through if they crouched. Noctis begins to lead the way in when they heard another menacing growl.

"Noct!" Gladiolus grabs the prince and gently pulls him back before stepping forward, turning back, and holding out his hand to indicate he would be taking the lead. Crouching down, he entered the small space. The brute slowly and quietly makes his way forward a few feet, then turns back to motion for the others to follow. Halfway through the crawl space, Gladiolus heard a growl from close by and stopped. "Hold up!" Noctis, Prompto, Makina, and Ignis halt as they listened to the sinister sound.

The snarling continued as Deadeye comes into view through the holes in the structure. Prompto shudders at the sight of the behemoth and clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from whimpering. This was the first time he'd seen a behemoth and abhorred the close proximity. His cerulean eyes watched the creature closely as its nose wiggled, signifying it detected their presence. Due to its missing right eye, it was unable to see them.

Gladiolus looks at his friends, holds up a finger, closes his right eye, and taps it. "Deadeye"-the name says it all." After a few more seconds of observing the massive animal, the shield motions for the others to follow him. "Let's move."

Prompto calmed his racing heart and evened out his breathing as he followed his friends further into the crawl space. Morosely, his calm demeanor shattered when the behemoth snapped its head in their direction.

They press themselves against the ground to avoid Deadeye's snout as it shoved it through one of the holes in the metal structure and into the narrow passageway. The five remained silent as they froze. The behemoth's nose twitched again before releasing a thunderous roar. A few seconds pass and Deadeye gives up. It raises its head and roars again before retreating.

The five friends continue making their way through the passage and soon come to the exit. Gladiolus spotted it and quickly made his way out of the crawl space. "Here we go."

Proceeding forth, the royal retinue kept their focus on their target as they trekked through the Nebulawood. "It's weak on the right-no eye, no horn," Gladiolus stated.

"We'll stay in range until we can exploit its blind spot," Ignis replied.

Continuing on, the group crouch under a fallen tree blocking their path, and proceeded forth. Before going much further, they come to a fence and jump over it. The five landed in a mist-filled clearing of the Nebulawood where Deadeye was prowling.

"We've got the beast in our sights," Gladiolus whispered, staring at the behemoth.

"But no plan of attack," Ignis added. "The behemoth should be headed back to its lair, where we can catch it fully off guard."

"Yeah, as long as we stay on guard ourselves," Noctis said before looking back at Makina. "Any pointers to share with us?"

"This will be my first time fighting a behemoth so my knowledge will be useless," she replied.

"B-But you've fought something this big before, right?" Prompto nervously questioned.

"I've fought a bandersnatch before, but they are smaller than behemoths."

"We'll come up with a plan later," Noctis said.

Using their surroundings, the group stalked after the large beast without being detected. Due to the mist, it was difficult for them to locate Deadeye at a distance and they had no choice but to follow on its heels.

Eventually, the royal retinue followed the behemoth to the ruins of a building. They stared at the remaining framework of the building as they hopped down a cliffside and landed in Deadeye's den.

As they round the corner of the destroyed building, the behemoth is visible through the mist on a small cliff across the way. Ignis promptly grabs Noctis' hand and pulls him to the ground before he could be spotted by the beast. Gladiolus, Makina, and Prompto join their huddle and discussed their strategy. Once they were all informed of the plan, they emerged from their hiding spot and faced off against Deadeye.

Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis summoned their weapons and attacked the beast, acting as a distraction and luring it towards a single oil drum. Once it was close enough, Makina froze the beast using time manipulation. This gave Noctis the opening he needed to toss a magic flask filled with fire at the oil drum. The drum exploded and the oil splashed on Deadeye as it ignited with flames. The beast howled in pain as it rampantly ran around and tried to extinguish the fire. When it neared another oil drum, Noctis didn't hesitate to throw another magic flask.

The process continued until there were no oil drums left. Deadeye managed to survive the flames and extinguish the fire from its body. The behemoth snarled, slobber dripping from its sharp fangs. Due to the previous attacks, the beast was consumed by anger and roared.

Noctis clicked his tongue in annoyance when seeing the behemoth was still standing. "Dammit..."

"This thing's still alive?!" Prompto shrieked. He aimed his pistol at Deadeye and pulled the trigger. The bullet left the chamber and pierced the beast's leg.

Once the behemoth was no longer in pain, it set its sight on the blonde. It charged at him with a thunderous roar. Prompto tried to run, but the beast was too fast. He stumbled over his own feet and fell to the ground on his back. Deadeye leaped through the air towards him. Noctis and Ignis shouted his name as the beast went to crush him. He closed his eyes and prepared for a world of pain, but it never came. Hesitantly, he opened his eyes to see the behemoth was frozen in midair. Glancing towards the others, he realized everything but them was frozen. The scenery was still just like the beast.

Prompto looked around in awe, forgetting he was in danger. "Whoa..." The once bright scenery had a slightly faded tint. The leaves and birds in the sky were frozen.

Noctis was also astonished. He looked around and his eyes fell on Makina. "So this is what time looks like when it's frozen."

"We don't have time for this. I can't keep time frozen for long." She held Rift Cutter and commanded the Ionus Sphere to rotate to the fourth position: the symbol of the serpent of time, Zen. Her blade transformed into chakrams. She tossed them and sliced open Deadeye's flesh.

Gladiolus knew time was limited and he dragged Prompto to safety. Ignis and Noctis delivered a few critical blows to the beast before time resumed. The behemoth slammed onto the ground as it bled.

Noctis saw how vulnerable Deadeye was and didn't waste a second. "Makina, let's do this!"

She smirked. "I'm right behind you." The moment Noctis threw his sword and warped, she slices through reality with a single chakram and opened a rift. Throwing her second chakram, she created another rift high above the collapsed behemoth. The prince traveled through the rift she created by performing a warp-strike. Using his weight as he fell through the sky, he impaled his sword deep into Deadeye's neck. The beast let out a final gurgle before stilling. It was dead.

Noctis yanked his sword out of Deadeye's corpse and returned it to his arsenal with a wave of his hand. "Finally... It's dead."

"Now that my life's flashed before my eyes, can we leave?" Prompto whimpered.

"That would be wise as Makina appears to be feeling unwell," Ignis responded.

All eyes fell on the princess. The boys could tell she was paler than earlier. It almost appeared as if she would collapse any second now. She feebly smiled in an apologetic manner. "Sorry, I think I pushed myself too hard. I'm not used to the sphere's power yet. I didn't realize it would take so much out of me."

"When was the last time you received proper sleep?"

She looked away, unable to make eye contact with him or the others. "When we were staying at Longwythe..."

Prompto gaped in shock. "Dude, that was three days ago!"

"And you say I'm the careless one..." Noctis grumbled.

Her apologetic smile morphed into a sorrowful frown. "It's not easy falling asleep after having your father die in your arms."

The boys fell silent. Seeing it was her fault, she tried to change the subject. "Let's get back to the outpost and tell Wiz."

In silence, the royal retinue depart from the Nebulawood.