Noctis, Gladiolus, and Makina reached the end of the path and found themselves face to face with the empire. The MTs set their sights on the three and attacked. They were easily disposed of.

With the enemies defeated, Noctis shouted at the astral. "Hey! I'm here!"

Hearing the prince's voice, Titan's piercing gaze fell unto him as he began to speak in the language of the gods.

Noctis couldn't understand what the Archaean was saying. All he knew was when the astral spoke, his head ached. He grabbed his head and glared up at the god. "What the hell is it you want? Quit screwing with my head!" He realized Titan has swung his fist and it was coming towards him. "You gotta be kidding me."

Titan's fist crashes into Noctis and sends him skyward. He point-warps back to the ground, where Titan's foot begins descending toward him now. "You serious? Looks like I've got no choice."

He swings his sword into the sole of the god's foot to parry the attack. He manages to deflect it, but only for a moment. Titan attempts to stomp on him once more. "Oh man..." He prepared to perform another parry. However, the god's foot missed as he was tackled out of the way by his shield.

The two begin to get up.

Gladiolus checks over the younger boy. "Are you all right?"

Noctis nodded. "I owe you one."

"This ain't gonna work. We gotta run."

"Best advice you've given all day." It was at that moment he realized the princess was missing. "Where's Makina?"

"She's dealing with her own scaly problem right now. C'mon." Gladiolus and Noctis begin running away while Titan repeatedly attempts to punch them. "We're sitting ducks here. Hurry!"

"Yeah, don't need to tell me!" The prince retorted.

The two of them come to a rock wall that's too high for Noctis to leap up to reach. Gladiolus gave him a boost to the ledge above and followed by pulling himself up beside him. They quickly run and leap out of the way as Titan's hand comes down and smashes the ground. The shield gets back to his feet in a flash. "Don't stop! Run!"

Noctis gets back to his feet and runs. "He just won't quit."

Titan's open-palmed hand chases Noctis as he runs, ripping up the ground. Gladiolus steps forward with his sword at the ready. "I'll hold him! Get clear!" His sword clashes with the deity's stone hand and manages to halt its advance.

"Gladio!" Noctis shouted.

"Hurry up!" The brute bellowed with a grunt. "I can't keep this up!"

Reluctantly, Noctis point-warps down to Titan's feet.

Gladiolus felt his grip beginning to waver and gritted his teeth. He used all his strength to block the hand, but the god was clearly stronger than him. Just as he thought the hand would bat him away, a figure rammed their body and sword into the astral's wrist.

Titan retracted his hand, allowing Gladiolus to regain his footing and grip. He lowered his sword, eyes falling onto the figure in front of him. They were cladded in silver armor with gold and purple accents aligning the edges of the shoulders, neck, boots, and breasts. A lilac cloth hung from the waist and cascaded down the back of their legs. A helmet with horns and a narrow slit for the person to see concealed their face.

Recognizing the sword they wielded, Gladiolus spoke to them. "That you, cupcake?"

The helmet shattered into shards of silver glass, but the rest of the armor remained intact. Snowy locks spilled down as the face of Makina was revealed. "The one and only."

The shield admired her newly-acquired armor once more. "Looks like you wrapped things up on your end."

"Eko was more than willing to rejoin his brethren and made it quite easy to integrate with the sphere." She clasped her free hand over her chest where the Ionua Sphere resided. "But now isn't the time for casual conversation. Noct's gonna need our help."

"Lead the way."

Makina swung her blade and created a rift. She and Gladiolus traveled through the fissure and found themselves at the god's feet. They saw Prompto and Ignis had caught up with Noctis and were helping him fight against the archaean. They also noticed how the imperial forces were firing harpoons at the divine being.

"Are we all right?" Gladiolus asked as he summoned his broadsword.

"Gettin' by," Noctis replied, his attention still focused on Titan. His concentration slipped for just a second as the god's hand came in contact with his sword. His foot slid and he lost his footing.

Just before the hand could crush him, Makina was the quickest to come to his aid. Still wearing the armor of the earth serpent, she surged forward with her blade at the ready. The silver armor radiated a faint gold as she deflected his hand with ease.

Noctis stared at her form as she stood before him. He regained his footing, eyes never leaving her. "Nice armor."

"Thanks." The helmet re-materialized and concealed her face. "Ready to take down a god?"

He smirked. "Hell yeah."

"Good, because here he comes again."

The archaean swung his fist down on the group. Noctis was the one to deflect the appendage, which caused the god to stumble a little. Everyone took advantage of the moment and attacked his arm.

The five fought against Titan. They dodged his attacks and dealt some heavy damage to his arm. Finally, they were able to knock the god off balance. He collapsed and used his arm to support himself.

Noctis activated the Armiger and attacked alongside his companions. They dealt blow after blow to the god's arm, but it wasn't enough. That was when Ignis hatched a plan. He tossed a blizzard spell to Prompto and Gladiolus while quickly explaining his plan to everyone.

Noctis approved, knowing it was the best and only course of action they had. "We're all here. Let's do it."

The group causes more damage to Titan's arm after he recovered. Ignis then hurls a blizzard spell at the god's appendage. "The game's up!"

Gladiolus and Prompto follow suit, hurling yet more blizzard spells at Titan's arm.

"You're out!" Prompto shouted.

The archaean's left arm freezes from the elbow down. Noctis glances over at Makina and grins. "Don't hold back."

"Don't have to tell me twice," she chuckled.

Harnessing the power of the wind, she swung her sword and created a wind blade. The arc of wind sliced through the frozen appendage and severed it from the god's body. Titan collapses, signaling their victory.

Makina dispelled her blade and deactivated the Ionus Sphere. The armor vanished and she was now back in her normal attire. She stretched her arms when she felt how stiff they were after wearing the armor for the first time. She wasn't used to wearing heavy armor.

"Hey," Noctis' voice grabbed her attention. "We all still here?"

"Yep, still here," Gladiolus answered.

"If a little battered," Ignis added.

"For who our opponent was, a little battered is pretty good," Makina chimed in.

Gladiolus eyed the princess. He saw she was pale. "How're you holdin' up?"

"I'm okay. Just a little exhausted, though."

Prompto glanced at the downed god. "Does this mean it's over?"

Just before anyone could reply, the tremors suddenly resumed in intensity. Noctis looked around in confusion until he saw the archaean was recovering. "What-what is it now?"

Ignis' eyes narrowed as he too watched the god. "What is he doing?"

Prompto gasped as the deity seemingly prepared to attack again. "He's winding up!"

"For the big one!" Gladiolus shouted.

Unlike the boys, Makina didn't prepare for the attack. All she did was watch as Titan roared. A gold light begins to emanate from his body, some of which coalesce around Noctis. Her eyes fell to Noctis, wondering what happened. She saw the flabbergasted look on his face and spoke up. "What is it, Noct?"

"A vision..." Noctis muttered. He then gazed up at the archaean. "That was...Luna. You spoke with her. That's why..."

Titan and the Meteor suddenly discorporate in a powerful flash that sends all the imperial ships in the vicinity crashing to the ground. Lava spews from the earth as the Disc of Cauthess crumbles around the group.

Makina quickly sidestepped to avoid being burned by a gas bubble that threatened to spew lava onto her. "Seems the temperature is rising and the ground's cracking."

"Doesn't get much worse than this," Gladiolus said.

"What do we do?" Prompto asked. "We're trapped!"

"I can open a rift and get us to safety," Makina stated. She held out her hand to summon her blade, but Noctis stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"You're in no shape to do anything. There has to be another way," he responded.

"There isn't," she quipped. "Let me-"

The low humming of an engine silenced her. She looked up to see an imperial dropship descending towards them.

"The empire! Now?" Ignis inquired in shock.

The dropship hovered overhead. The hatch opens to reveal none other than Ardyn. He wore a smirk as he shouted over the engine. "Fancy meeting you here!"

The boys stare at him in stunned silence while Makina glared. Her eyes dialated into slits as they began to radiate a brilliant lilac.

Ardyn continued. "It occurs to me I never formally introduced myself. Izunia. Ardyn Izunia."

"Imperial Chancellor Izunia?" Ignis inquired.

"At your service. And more importantly, to your aid."

None of them move.

Makina felt an unnerving yet rage-inducing emotion rising inside her. She wasn't sure where these emotions were coming from and tried to calm herself down.

"I guarantee your safe passage. Though you're always welcome to take your chances down there," the chancellor said, but he only received silence in return. He disregarded the frustration of the boys and the anger evident in the girl's expression. Receiving no response, he asked, "Buried among the rubble, is it?"

Ignis turned this attention to Noctis. "Dying here is not an option. We have no choice, Noct."

Noctis met the tactician's gaze. "I know."

Reluctantly, the five boarded the imperial dropship.

Being the last aboard, Makina was stopped by the chancellor. Her pupils remained in slits and continued to glow menacingly when she felt him place a hand on her arm. She immediately grabbed his wrist and squeezed tightly. Her nails dug into his flesh as she yanked his hand off her arm. "Do not touch me," she hissed, eyes narrowing in a sharp glare.

Ardyn, without the princess noticing, admired her eyes. He could sense the power coursing through her body. He fought back a smirk and offered an apologetic smile. "Do forgive me, my dear."

She walked past him without another word. She tried to take a few deep breaths to calm herself as she approached the boys. They have huddled together a couple of yards away and weren't comfortable with Ardyn. She saw Prompto was staring at a gash on his arm. Seeing he was about to poke the skin around the wound, she stopped him. "Don't mess with it."

"I know, but it hurts and we're out of potions," he grumbled.

"I can help." Wielding the healing power of wind, she healed his wound within seconds. The marred, bloody skin mended with a green radiance before disappearing to reveal the wound was healed.

Prompto gasped in awe. "Whoa! When did you learn healing magic?"

"When Aos merged with the Ionus Sphere. He is not only the disciple of air but the serpent of healing. It is said in Ionian mythology that the breezes of the seasons brought remedial energy with them that healed the land and the people," she explained. "I'm still not used to healing, but hopefully I'll improve. And once I do, we won't have to spend so much gil on curatives."

Noctis, along with Ignis and Gladiolus, witnessed her heal the blonde. "So that's what you did to help me with the headache."

The shield crossed his arms. "Looks like we got ourselves a private nurse."

"Healing will prove to be quite beneficial," Ignis said.

Makina sighed. "Just try not to get too injured. Healing has limits just like curatives."

"Um, Makina?" Prompto gently spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"Your eyes..." He stared into her slit, glowing eyes.

She pressed her left palm against her left eye with a huff. "Give me some time to calm down."

"Y-Yeah..."

Leaving the boys, she turned and walked away. She isolated herself in a corner of the airship in an attempt to calm herself. After a few minutes, her eyes returned to normal. She eventually sat down and hugged her knees close to her chest. She buried her face into her knees with a huff of exhaustion.

A few minutes later, she felt someone sit beside her. It was Noctis. "Hey."

The princess lifted her head at the sound of his casual greeting. "What's up?"

"We're gonna stop by the chocobo farm before we get the car," he said. He wanted her to rest, but he didn't trust Ardyn to drop her off somewhere safe while they were dropped off near the area where they left the car. Instead, he and the others decided to ask the chancellor to drop them off at the chocobo outpost. There, she could rest while he and the others reclaimed the car.

Makina didn't need an explanation. She understood why Noctis was doing this. She wanted to help them get the car back, but she would only be a hindrance in her current state. She needed to rest and refused to be a burden. "I think I'll leave the car to you and the others."

Noctis was perplexed but pleased. "Well, that was easy. That means I don't have to come up with some speech on the spot to try and convince you to stay behind."

"I'd be dead weight if I tagged along. Between Titan and Eko, I'm exhausted..." she sighed. "The Ionus Sphere's power is slowly being restored, but adding another disciple and using their abilities wipes me out."

"Need another piggyback ride?" He smirked lightly.

She grinned back. "I'm not on the verge of collapsing like before. I can walk."

"The moment your nose starts bleeding, I'm carrying you."

She blinked in wonderment and ran her finger under her nostrils to check. When she didn't see any blood, she sighed in relief. "No nosebleed this time. Then again, I pushed myself too hard that time. The Ionus Sphere really is a powerful artifact, but I may have underestimated it..."

Noctis looked away. He thought about the royal arms and felt they were similar to the Ionus Sphere. "Guess we both underestimated our legacies."

"Definitely," she weakly chuckled.

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at Wiz Chocobo Post. The royal retinue exited the imperial dropship further down the road from the outpost. Ignis, although reluctant, thanked the chancellor for his assistance since the others refused to speak to him. Silently, they trekked down the road and made it to the chocobo farm. Wiz greeted them as they rented the caravan from him.

Noctis followed Makina into the caravan while Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus went to rent a few chocobos. He watched her as she sat down on the small couch with a huff.

She smiled through her exhaustion at him. "You're like a lost puppy following me around."

"Just worried, is all," he muttered.

"I'll be fine while you're gone. Knowing Wiz, he'll come to check on me soon."

Noctis wasn't sure why, but he felt uneasy leaving her behind. He wondered if it had anything to do with Ardyn or if he was simply overthinking. Alas, he trusted Wiz to keep a watchful eye on her while they were gone. He rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh. "If you need anything, you know how to reach me."

She could read him like a book. "I'll be here when you get back. You've nothing to worry about, Noct."

"You have a bad habit of wandering off..."

The princess grabbed a pillow and tossed it at him. She smirked in amusement when it smacked him in the face before falling to the floor. "If you take your precious time with the car, I just might have to go on my own adventure."

"Like hell you are," he remarked.

She laughed. "Then make it quick, Your Majesty."

He threw out his arms with an amused smirk. "As you wish, Your Majesty."

Makina watched him leave before curling up on the couch. She thought about moving to one of the bunk beds, but she was already comfy on the couch. It wasn't long before she fell asleep.