Makina regained consciousness a few hours later. She found herself in her tent at Emmelle Haven. Sitting up, she saw Noctis tucked in the corner. He was sitting with both legs crossed and an elbow propped on his knee. His cheek rested in his palm as he slept in such an uncomfortable position.

Quietly, she crawled over to the sleeping prince. She combed her fingers through his messy fringe with a small smile. Her delicate digits pushed a few unruly strands aside, which was just enough to awaken him.

"You really can fall asleep in any position, can't you?" she laughed. "My neck was starting to hurt just from watching you."

Noctis blinked away the blurry sleepiness in his eyes. He hadn't registered it was her voice until the cloud of sleepiness vanished from his mind. His eyes widen at seeing her in front of him. "Hey," was all he could say at the moment.

"Did you find the royal tomb?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, but that doesn't matter. You feelin' okay?"

"Surprisingly, I feel great. I learned a new trick and didn't realize how much it took out of me until I tried it."

"What was that thing you were fighting?" He wondered.

"A camazotz. It's a daemon that once inhabited Iona. I wouldn't be surprised if we ran into more daemons from my world on our travels." She tucked her legs underneath her with a sigh. "I just hope they haven't caused too much trouble for the hunters."

Noctis' eyes fell to her neck, remembering how Ignis told him about the lacerations and red mark that once littered her porcelain complexion. "You sure you're okay?"

His glance at her neck didn't go unnoticed by her. She brought a hand up and grazed her fingertips across her neck. She figured the boys had used curatives to heal her when she felt her injuries were gone. She smiled in reassurance. "Of course I'm okay."

He stared into her eyes to make sure she wasn't lying. When he saw she was telling the truth, he felt his body relax. He didn't realize how tense he was until now. "Good. Now you gonna tell me why you wandered off?"

She heard the small amount of anger in his tone and quickly defended herself. "In my defense, I didn't wander off because I wanted to. When we passed that elemental energy deposit, images started flashing through my head and I lost control of my body. Before I knew it, I was somewhere else and you guys were gone."

"Was it that daemon?" He inquired.

She shook her head. "No. I...think Fel showed me what happened to her after Iona exploded. She crash-landed in Balouve Mine and was severely injured. Her showing me those images using what little of her magic remained in the mine almost felt like a cry for help."

Noctis perked up. He knew just how important finding the serpents were. They were just as important as the royal arms. "Did you find her?"

Makina sighed sorrowfully. "Not yet, but I do know where she went. And this is where I wanted to make a request."

"Whatever it is, it's a yes from me," he promptly replied.

She arched a brow. "You're not going to hear it before deciding?"

"Nope. Already know what you're gonna ask. Just tell me where you need to go and we'll go. So, where to next?"

She was grateful for his understanding. "The Rock of Ravatogh. That's where Fel went. Since it is a volcano, it is the best place for her to recover."

Noctis recalled her saying hunters had located a royal tomb atop the volcano. "Looks like we'll kill two birds with one stone."

"We should depart as soon as possible." Makina set her sights on the tent flap. She was going to tell the others about their next destination. However, she didn't make it far before her wrist was grabbed and she was yanked back. She choked on a gasp as she tumbled into the prince's arms. Her back was pressed against his chest. She felt his hand free her wrist before both of his arms slithered around her waist.

"Hold your chocobos," Noctis said. He rested his chin on her shoulder, tightening his arms around her waist. "No one's going anywhere. Speccy's already declared we're spending another night here. You might be fine, but the rest of us are beat."

Makina sighed. "Okay." She gave in and slumped against him, placing her hands over his as they rested on her waist. With her current comfortable position, she found herself lulled back into a peaceful slumber.

༻──── ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ ────༺

"Daddy! Look!" A seven-year-old Makina giggled excitedly as she ran toward her father. She was playing in the garden of the citadel with Fellux during his break between meetings. With a flower crown in hand, she bounced on her heels in front of the man. She stood on her tippy toes and placed it on his head while he sat on a stone bench. She smiled from ear to ear seeing how well the blue flowers complimented his lilac eyes and snowy tresses. "Mommy always loved it when you wore blue. It's really pretty on you, Daddy."

Fellux chuckled. "Blue was Mommy's favorite color." He smiled teasingly. "If I remember correctly, your favorite color is yellow."

The princess pouted. "No, it's not! It's purple!"

The former king laughed again. "I could've sworn it was yellow."

She shook her head. "You know I don't like yellow, Daddy!"

He patted the top of her head. "I know, I know."

Makina stared into her father's eyes. The reason her favorite color was purple was because of the kindness and love that was often reflected in the lilac eyes of her mother and father. She cherished seeing how much kindness and love she could see just by looking into their eyes. Even when they were angry with her, she only could see how much they cared for her.

Fellux looked away from his daughter when he sensed a presence nearby. He looked up to see the young prince trying to hide behind a tree. He smiled, knowing he was here to see Makina. His heart warmed knowing the two children had gotten close to each other in the past year and were practically inseparable. If Makina was somewhere, Noctis wasn't far behind and vice versa. "Ah, it appears our handsome prince has come to visit."

Makina turned around and caught a glimpse of Noctis before he tried to duck behind the tree. She wasn't sure why he was hiding. "Noct?"

The young prince stiffened at hearing her call his name. He knew his cover was blown and decided to come out of hiding. With constrained movements, he approached the two members of Ionian royalty. He nervously stood in front of the princess, concealing his hands behind his back. "U-Um, I-I...made you something, Makina."

She perked up with intrigue. "Really? What is it?"

Noctis revealed what he was hiding behind his back. It was a flower crown. He too made one. Unlike hers, his was made from purple flowers. He was taught by her how to make them and wanted to try. It wasn't well-made, but that didn't stop him from giving it to her. "It isn't really good, but I want you to have it."

Makina smiled brightly. "Can I wear it now?"

He nodded and placed the flower crown on her head.

Fellux watches the interaction between the prince and princess. He noticed Noctis was glancing between his daughter's eyes and the purple flowers on her head. "Noctis, we were just discussing Makina's favorite color. What's yours?"

Noctis looked one more time at Makina's lilac eyes before answering. "Purple."

The former king smiled, knowing exactly why his favorite color was purple. Of course, he kept his lips sealed to prevent from embarrassing the prince. "I see."

"I love purple too!" Makina smiled. She then grabbed Noctis' hands. "Let's go make more flower crowns!"

༻──── ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ ────༺

The dream came to an end when Makina woke up. Tears brewed in the corners of her eyes as she inhaled shakily. She wiped the tears before they could fall.

The princess, now fully awake from her brief nap, looked to see she was still in the same position from earlier. Noctis, however, wasn't asleep. She wondered how long she'd been out. "How long have I been asleep?"

"'Bout fifteen minutes," he answered. He paused for a second before saying, "You were dreaming about your dad, weren't you?"

"It was more of a memory than a dream," she answered just above a whisper. "You told my father your favorite color was purple. You don't strike me as a person whose favorite color is purple."

"You could say my favorite color changed when we met," he mumbled.

"Why's that?"

"Not saying," he quipped, embarrassed at the truth.

She wanted to press him. Instead, she left him be. She figured she could get the answer later. "Fine, but you better tell me soon. You don't know how curious I am." She peeled herself away from him and headed to exit the tent.

Stepping outside, she saw the sun was setting. She strolled over to sit next to Prompto. She spotted him scrolling through his recent photos and leaned over the armrest of the chair to see them. He stopped on an image of their chocobos playing together. "That's a good picture."

Prompto heard her but didn't realize it was her. "Yeah, it's so cute how-" He lifted his head in realization and gasped when he saw it was her. "You're awake!"

"And before you ask, I'm fine," she said. "Did you take any photos in the mine?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He scrolled to the pictures he took after she disappeared and handed the camera to her. While she looked at the pictures, he glanced at her. "Y'know, you're really good at disappearing. You didn't even make a sound."

"It wasn't my decision to disappear," she said then started to explain what happened with the images of Fel, the daemon, and how she didn't have control of her own body.

Prompto grimaced at the thought of being controlled. "They can do that?"

"They are spiritual beings, after all. Not as mighty as the gods, but they do possess their own abilities. Possession wouldn't be an issue for them."

"That's...really freaky."

"Freaky indeed."

After a few minutes, Gladiolus and Ignis joined them. She told the older boys about what happened in the mine before asking about dinner. Knowing they had been in the mine for a day and a half without any food, the advisor told her he would be preparing nebula salmon teriyaki. It was one of her favorite dishes. She offered to help him when he got up to begin cooking, but he told her she should continue to relax.

Noctis soon joined them and everyone ate dinner. When their bellies were full, they called it a night.

༻──── ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ ────༺

The following morning, Makina woke up and exited the tent. She wandered a little way from the haven to train. She went through the configurations of the Ionus Sphere to familiarize herself with the weapons. She was used to using the chakrams and armor, but she had yet to truly use the bow gifted to her by Aos. Among the other gifts of the serpents, she had yet to use the daggers of Zin. She shifted Rift Cutter into the twin daggers and admired the pure sable blades. The hilt was decorated with accents of silver.

Makina lowered the daggers when she heard Gladiolus' gruff voice. "Y'know, Noct could learn a thing or two from you. Instead of sleeping in, he could get his ass up early to train like you."

"Noct will never be a morning person," she laughed. "You here for an ass-beating?"

The shield huffed out a chuckle. "We'll see who kicks who's ass whenever there's a victor." He conjured his greatsword and slung it over his shoulder. "You ready, cupcake?"

She mentally debated on whether to use the chakrams or to try out the daggers. She decided on the latter and gripped them tightly. "Ready as I'll ever be." She took a fighting stance and called out to the brute. "Come at me, big guy."

Gladiolus dashed towards the princess. Once he was close enough, he swung his greatsword. His movements were slower than hers due to his heavier weapon, but he did have more power behind his attacks.

Instead of trying to block his swings, Makina dodged. She performed sidestep after sidestep to avoid his sword before noticing a small hole in his offense. Switching to offense, she circled around him the moment his blade struck the spot she once stood. Flipping one of her daggers around, she jabbed him in the side with the hilt. It wasn't enough to injure him but just enough to stun him for a few seconds. She tossed the dagger in the air and caught it by the hilt. "Even the mighty Gladiolus has holes in his defense."

The shield yanked his sword from the ground. "Like you don't have any flaws in your own fighting skills," he scoffed.

"Oh, I know I do. Even Cor isn't perfect. No one is." She charged forward with her daggers at the ready. She swung them left and right, forcing Gladiolus to use his greatsword as a makeshift shield. Her attacks were quick in succession and resulted in him taking a few steps back.

Gladiolus braced himself and pushed against her blows. His larger and stronger body easily pushed her back. Seeing a break in her flurry of attacks, he shoved her away with his greatsword and swung. Alas, he missed when she performed a cartwheel to avoid his attack. She easily circled him and kicked the back of his leg, sending him to a single knee. The moment he tries to use his upper body to swing his sword at her from his kneeled position, he felt the tip of a blade resting against his throat. He wasn't mad that he lost and grinned. "Damn, you're quicker than Iggy. You really have been keeping up with your training."

Makina dispelled the twin daggers. "My dad made sure I was prepared." She offered him a hand and helped him up. "But I still have room for improvement."

"Hell yeah!" Prompto chanted, garnering the attention of the princess and the shield. He, Noctis, and Ignis had been watching their sparring match from a distance. "We totally called it!"

Gladiolus glanced unamusingly at the three. "You three makin' bets?"

"You really can't make a bet if everyone bets on the same person," Noctis said.

"We are well aware of Makina's prowess," Ignis stated. "Out of us, she has more specialized training."

The brute guffawed, knowing none of them had betted on him. "Can't argue with that. Cupcake here's got some serious ass-kickin' skills. Good thing she's on our side."

"With our sparring session out of the way, are we ready to head to Ravatogh?" Makina asked the boys.

"With our funds currently low, I advise we either find a caravan or another haven near Ravatogh," Ignis said. "How familiar with the area are you, Makina?"

She nodded. "Very, actually. There aren't any havens, but there's a small outpost called Verinas Mart. It has a caravan we could use."

"Guess we'll be renting that caravan," Noctis chimed in.

"In that case, let us return the camping equipment," Ignis said.

"Once we've done that, I'll make us a rift to travel through," the princess added.

The group returned to the haven and packed up the campsite after having breakfast. They carried everything back to Longwythe via chocobos and returned the camping supplies. They then wandered away from the settlement so Makina could create a rift without drawing the attention of civilians. She created a fissure a little ways from Verinas Mart. They rode their chocobos through the rift and arrived on the other side at their destination.

With the little funds they had left, Ignis rented the caravan. Gladiolus and Prompto were shopping while Noctis and Makina were admiring the hot springs.

"This place could make a pretty gil if these hot springs were safe to use," the princess said, staring down at the boiling water.

"Definitely," Noctis agreed. "I'd blow the rest of our money just to bathe in it. I bet it would feel amazing."

"It would be good for you since you hate massages."

"I don't hate massages," he retorted. "I just don't like it when a random stranger touches me."

"Then I'll give you a massage later. I noticed you were rubbing your back on the way here. You might have a few knots in your back."

He looked her way in wonderment. "You know how to give massages?"

"I'm not a professional masseuse, but I do know how to work out knots," she said.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake. A high-pitched roar echoed in the distance, coming from the volcano. It was a short tremor and only lasted a few seconds.

Confused, Noctis glances in the direction of the volcano. "Another earthquake?" The archaean was gone along with the meteor, meaning the earthquakes should've ended. "What's causing it now?"

Another roar came from the volcano's direction.

Makina gazed at the Rock of Ragatogh with a hopeful gleam in her eyes. "It's Fel."