Several days later...

Makina was walking around the chocobo farm. She sighed every now and then. Days had passed since she and the boys last saw the Regalia. They had made the chocobo outpost their main base of operation while searching for the vehicle. They even called and asked Cindy for help. However, the car was still missing.

Walking around to the front of the stables, Makina found the boys sitting at one of the tables. She saw their crestfallen expressions and sauntered over. "You guys have some serious storm clouds hanging over your heads."

"And you don't?" Gladiolus asked.

"You could say the chocobos have been helping to keep my storm clouds at bay."

Prompto heard a faint 'kweh' and glanced behind the princess. He smiled brightly at what he saw. "Speaking of chocobos..."

Noctis also saw what his best friend did. "You've got a few fans."

Makina followed their gazes. She turned around to see three baby chocobos were lined up behind her. She blinked owlishly. She had played with the chicks earlier, but she didn't realize they had been following her. They hadn't made a peep until now. She squatted down and picked up the smallest of the bunch. Cradling the chick in her arms, she giggled. "The little ones really are bundles of joy." She looked down at the bird in her arms as it nipped at a snowy strand and began running it through its beak as if it were preening one of its feathers. "They really have lightened my mood."

Prompto whipped out his camera and took a few pictures. "They really do seem to like you, Makina."

Noctis crossed his arms. Unconsciously, he started to pout. "Probably because she's been playing and feeding them for the past week."

"You're just jealous the birds are getting more attention than you," Gladiolus stated.

The prince felt a faint heat rise to his cheeks. He looked away as his pale complexion turned a rosy red. "Shut up..."

Prompto cackled and lowered his camera. "Looks like Gladio gotcha this time, buddy."

Makina smiled and sat down in the vacant seat beside Noctis. She placed the chocobo chick in her lap. "Aw, did I neglect you?" She leaned closer to him and tried her best to keep her smile from morphing into a grin. "Do I need to pamper you as an apology?"

Noctis knew she was teasing him, but he was too embarrassed to point it out. "Knock it off," he muttered.

"Someone's a bit grumpy," she whispered in his ear before kissing his cheek. "Then again, you always are."

The shield held up his hand. "Keep the PDA to a minimum. Some of us don't have girlfriends."

"Then find one," the princess remarked. "I saw the way you looked at some of the women who worked at the citadel, and yet you're still a bachelor. Is that because you're secretly awful at getting the attention of women?"

"Please," Gladiolus scoffed. "I could get any woman I wanted. Almost had you, didn't I?"

"What?" Noctis, who had leaned too far back, fell. His chair tipped over and took him with it. He remained on his back while still in the chair. The shock from the revelation caused his whole body to go numb. All he could do was stare up at the sky.

Makina rolled her eyes at Gladiolus' question. She then glanced down at Noctis. "Guess my father nor yours told you."

"Told me what?" The boy asked as he willed his body to move. He managed to crawl out of the seat and get to his feet. He then picked the chair up and sat back down.

"King Regis and my father wanted to unite Iona and Eos by wedding the two of us. Of course, they discarded the idea when Iona was destroyed. My father then wanted me to marry into a bloodline that served the crown. As you can guess, the Amicitia line was an option. But there were plenty of others who were viable candidates."

Noctis tried to pry. "How many guys are we talkin' about here...?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "No idea. My dad had a list of names and I can't remember how many there were in total. I think there was at least 30."

"What?! At least?!"

"Do lower your voice, Noct," Ignis spoke up. "It is discourteous to raise your voice in public."

Noctis sunk in his chair with a huff. He was in utter shock. "30..." He mumbled to himself.

Makina tried her best to make him feel better. "But he discarded the list after we started dating. He and King Regis were surprised, but they believed it would be possible to unite both royal bloodlines."

"I don't get why they broke up our engagement in the first place," Noctis said.

"With growing tensions between Niflheim and Insomnia, King Regis sought to find an ally that could aid his kingdom against the empire. Seeing as he was close friends with my father and mother, he thought Iona would be the perfect ally. Our marriage would've created a link between the twin worlds and Lucis would have the ally it needed to stand against the empire. Sadly, it never happened. Iona was destroyed and there was no one else to help Lucis fight the empire."

Prompto glanced over at the snowy-haired girl. "Do you think if Iona wasn't destroyed, Insomnia wouldn't have fallen?"

"I think if Riahla was allied with Insomnia, the empire would've been dealt with a long time ago. With the technological advancements from Iona, the empire wouldn't be able to fight back."

"Ah, yes," Ignis said. "The Gala-Z starships."

"Starships?" Prompto parroted.

"Vessels able to withstand the harsh conditions of space."

Prompto jumped out of his chair. "That sounds so cool! How come this is the first time I'm hearing about this?!" His eyes went back to Makina. "Your people traveled through space?!"

"Well, not really. The starships were built to transport people and goods between Iona and Eos," she explained. "I only got to ride in one when my mom and dad took me on a trip around Iona for my fourth birthday. Iona and Eos were both breathtaking."

"Aw, man!" the blonde whined. "Now I wanna ride in a starship! I would have so many photo ops!"

Makina removed the chocobo from her lap and put it on the ground gently. She watched it trot off with its friends before she stood up. "Okay, story time's over. We still have a car to find."

"Indeed, we do," Ignis said. He finished his ebony and stood up as well.

Gladiolus huffed as he got to his feet. "Let's not fool ourselves. The empire has it."

"We still should keep searching," Makina said. "Can't let Cindy do all the work."

Just as Prompto went to gush about the mechanic, he caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw a familiar soot-colored dog and gasped. "Look, it's Umbra!"

Everyone turns to see the canine a few feet away.

As Noctis approaches him, the dog runs off.

"Someone's sending us a message," Ignis stated.

"Let's follow him," Makina said.

Noctis nodded. "Right."

The group chases after Umbra and catch up to him in the tree line just outside the chocobo ranch. There, a woman is waiting for them. Noctis recognized her and muttered her name. "Gentiana..."

Eyes closed, Gentiana spoke. "Hear me, O King of the Stone. By the Stormsender's blessing will the path to the Stone be opened. The Oracle goes hence in her King's name."

"Luna-where is she now?" Noctis asked.

"The eye of the Storm. When the covenant is forged, the Oracle and ring shall await their King at the Walls of Water. Stray not from the path."

"Walls of water..." Makina muttered. "You speak of Altissia."

The woman turned her head in the princess' direction, eyes remaining shut. "Descendant of draconic blood, Queen of Eternity. Remain by the True King and shall you become his liberator. A soul in deliverance of another, a sacrifice guided by innocence." Those were her last cryptic words before she vanished.

Ignis explains to Prompto, who looks confused. "She's a Messenger, a spirit faithful to the Oracle."

The marksman was still shocked. "For real?"

"We're going beyond real now, pal," Gladiolus replied.

With Gentiana gone, Noctis checks the notebook with Umbra to find a message from Luna.

My prayers are with you, Noctis. Do take care of Makina.

Noctis wasn't sure how to reply. He was about to write "got it," but he was stopped by Makina. She seemed to sense what he was going to write before he did. "Don't you dare write what I think you're going to write."

Noctis questioningly met her gaze. "Uh...what did you think I was gonna write?"

"Something short and meaningless," she retorted. "At least try to make an effort for her sake and Umbra's. This poor pup didn't come searching for you so you could reply with something as bland as "got it"."

He chuckled. "It is really weird how you know me so well." After listening to the princess, he wrote his reply.

I received the blessing. Thank you, Luna. Don't worry. I'll take care of her.

The princess smiled after seeing his response. "That's definitely much better."

He huffed out a chuckle. "Glad you approve." He puts the notebook back in Umbra's bag, then speaks to the dog. "Let Luna know... I'm okay, and she won't have to wait much longer."

With a bark, Umbra left.

Makina watched the dog trot away. Once he was out of sight, she glanced at Noctis only to find him zoned out. She titled her head in curiosity and waved her hand in front of his face. She watched him blink a few times before looking at her. "Are you back with us, Noct?"

"Uh, yeah," Noctis answered. "Just remembering the past, is all..."

She didn't pry. If he wanted to tell her, he would've. She fell silent. Her attention was drawn to the sky above when the sun vanished behind a cluster of storm clouds. Within seconds, it started to rain. She held out her palm and allowed a few droplets to splash against her hand. "This rain..."

"Gentiana..." Noctis muttered the woman's name.

"She's speaking to you, isn't she?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I know what we have to do next."

"Then we best get started. Lead the way, Noct."

Summoning their chocobos, the royal retinue departed from the chocobo farm. Their birds trotted through the rain and splashed shallow puddles along the road as they traversed the Duscae region in search of the three runestones of Ramuh.

On their trek to the first runestone, Ignis sparked up a conversation. "Lady Lunafreya has done well to keep the ring from falling into enemy hands."

"All we need to do is hit Altissia," Prompto added.

"That entails passage aboard a ship. Caem may serve us now as it did them then."

Gladiolus knew the perfect place they could find a boat to Altissia. "The hidden harbor... Hmph, just might work. I'll have Iris set it up."

Prompto glanced over at the prince. "So, in the meantime..."

"We head into the storm," Noctis responded.

"Another day, another deity," the blonde sighed. "Man, too bad they aren't as chill as Iona's... Would save us a ton of back ache."

"What do you mean?" Makina pondered.

"Why can't the astrals just happily tag along like the disciples? I mean, it would be sooo much easier! But no! We get stuck doing things like riding in the middle of a storm or nearly killed by lava!"

"The serpents aren't actually gods, though. They're supernatural beings created by Valtreus. Besides that, there's nothing "godly" about them."

"Still, they're way more chill."

"And you probably jinxed it," Noctis chimed in. "Nice going, Prom."

"What?" the blonde gasped. "I didn't jinx anything! Hopefully..."

"Guess we'll see once we find another disciple," Makina giggled.

Continuing to the first runestone, they cross Duscae and eventually discover what they sought. They dismounted their chocobos and made their way to the runestone. Once there, Noctis touches it. He is swarmed by lightning as a memory from the past flashes through his mind. It was of his time in Tenebrae as a child after he was injured.

As the memory fades, Noctis muttered, "I remember... Back in Tenebrae with Gentiana..." His eyes, which were now mauve, fell onto Makina. "She talked about you."

She was baffled. "Me? This is the first time I'm hearing this."

"I didn't realize it until now. She mentioned Luna and me, but...she also kept talking about this Queen of Eternity. That's what she called you back at the farm, right?"

"Yeah, but I have no idea what it means. When you were a child, what did she say?"

"She didn't say much, only that you might be able to alter fate."

She sighed while crossing her arms. "Cryptic as always..."

Suddenly, Noctis heard Gentiana's voice again. He listened to her words closely. When he no longer heard her voice, he pressed his hand against the side of his head.

Prompto saw this and became concerned. "What is it? Another headache?"

Noctis shook his head. "No. I heard her-Gentiana."

"Divine voices in your head again?" Gladiolus asked.

"Hopefully it won't amount to the same headache it did with the Archaean," Ignis remarked.

"Doubtful," Makina stated. "Compared to Titan, Gentiana is rather gentle-spoken. He was just a brute, kinda like Gladio."

Gladiolus arched a brow. "Wanna run that by me again?"

She uncrossed her arms and placed a hand on her hip. "Didn't hear me the first time, big guy?"

"Cheeky," he replied. "You owe me a training session later. We'll see if you're still cheeky then."

"You're on."

Departing from the first runestone, they began their search for the second one. Their clothes were soaked and so were the feathers of their chocobos. Prompto was starting to grumble about his hair while Gladiolus expressed how he didn't mind the rain. Ignis remained quiet as he was forced to listen to the two. Noctis was too focused on the second runestone to even speak.

Makina, who was following behind the prince on her white-feathered chocobo, started to hum her mother's lullaby. Without knowing it, all the boys fell silent to listen as she continued to hum. It wasn't until she was halfway done with the melody did she realize their silence. She ceased humming and wondered why they stopped talking. "You four got awfully quiet."

"We are merely enjoying the melody," Ignis replied.

"It's definitely better than listening to the rain," Prompto added.

"You should do it more often," Gladiolus commented.

"Definitely," Noctis agreed with his shield.

"Glad I could provide some entertainment for you guys," Makina laughed at their honesty. "This downpour kinda is a mood dampener, though."

"Seriously," Prompto groaned. "All this rain is soaking me to the bone and making me feel down. And don't get me started on my hair..."

"You and your hair..."

"Hey, it's hard styling it like this! Do you realize how long it takes me to get it just right?"

"Too long."

Finally, they reached the second runestone. Noctis touches it and is engulfed in lightning. Once again, he hears Gentiana's voice. "The seal has been lifted. Deep within the heart of rock lies the runestone, the portal to power. No other can be allowed to find it."

Noctis' eyes change from mauve back to their normal azure. "The last one's in the cave."

"Let's hurry up and get this over with," Gladiolus said.

"Finally!" Prompto chanted. "Time to meet with the Stormsender!"

"You'd better look your best," Ignis stated.

"I don't even think meeting a god will make him look his best," Makina commented.

"Hey, I can look my best whenever I want to," Noctis remarked. "Not like I packed a suit or planned to meet gods on this trip, anyway."

"I can count the number of times you've worn a suit on a single hand," she said. "A shame, really."

The prince glanced over at her curiously. "Why's that?"

"You look good in a suit," she replied.

Her honesty caught Noctis off-guard, resulting in him becoming embarrassed. He coughed to hide his reddening cheek. "L-Let's find the last runestone."

"Someone's embarrassed," Gladiolus remarked with a chuckle.

"Shut up..."

They returned to their chocobos and headed in the direction of the final runestone.

The rain didn't let up for a second. An occasional roar of thunder echoes throughout the land as they crossed the muddy terrain of Duscae. Whenever they were in the vicinity of Fociaugh Hollow, lightning strikes the ground a short distance ahead of them.

"Whoa!" Prompto shouted, tugging on the reins of his chocobo to slow it down.

"That one was pretty close," Gladiolus commented.

"Which means we must be as well," Ignis said.

"Good, because this rain needs to stop. My clothes are soaking wet," Makina stated.

A few minutes later, they arrived at their destination. The lightning strike from earlier destroyed a large boulder that obscured the entrance to Fociaugh Hollow. They dismounted their chocobos and trusted them to wait for them to return.

Entering the cave, Prompto said, "Here we are-Fociaugh Hollow!"

"No telling what waits inside," Ignis said.

"Stay sharp," Gladiolus warned.

"Always," Noctis replied.

Makina, who had been silent, felt a chill creep down her spine as they ventured into Fociaugh Hollow. "Something feels off."

"What do you mean?" Prompto inquired.

"I can't put my finger on it, exactly. It feels...unsettling. I wonder if it's due to this place having been sealed off, or maybe I'm delusional."

"Kinda hoping you're just crazy," Noctis replied. "Don't mean that in a bad way, but we really don't need any surprises."

The princess looked around with a sigh. "I hope I'm crazy too."