A/n: A request from TonickaKennedy. She has asked for me to use her OC, Kiira. I seriously wanna murder Wattpad. Stop deleting my messages and drafts, Wattpad! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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~3rd Person POV~

"You sure Kiira isn't with Iris?" Prompto asked as the four of them exited the Regalia. The royal retinue was currently at Meldacio, searching for any leads anyone had on Kiira.

"If she was, she would've responded to my messages by now. Kiira isn't one to wander off and not tell anyone."

"Did she mention any hunter by name?" Ignis asked.

"Yeah, she said some hunter named Perci asked for her help."

"Was the hunt that difficult he couldn't handle the monster himself?" Noctis inquired.

"Guess so. She didn't give me details 'bout the hunt. All she said before she left was she was goin' to be helping a fellow hunter and would be back in a couple of days," Gladio answered.

"And it's been an entire week. Something's definitely up," Prompto mumbled.

The group found Dave relaxing nearby and asked about the hunt Perci accepted a few days ago. The man raised a brow in confusion. "Perci hasn't done a hunt in months. Why do y'all ask?"

"He contacted Kiira and asked for her assistance on the matter," Ignis replied.

"I don't like this..." Noctis confesses.

Dave got to his feet and stormed over to the store. When he exited, the man was pulling a young boy with him. "You've some explainin' to do, son."

"W-What have I done wrong?" The frightened boy asked as he saw the group. Dave didn't answer and released him when he was in front of the friends.

"You're the last one to have seen and spoke to Kiira. Where is she?" Gladio asked, keeping his anger at bay for the moment.

"I've no idea who you're talking about," Perci denied, crossing his arms and trying to act tough.

Seeing him lie through his teeth was enough to send the shield over the edge. Gladio grabbed the boy by the collar and hauled him closer, glaring sharply at him. "Where is she?" His tone was more deeper and threatening than anyone had ever heard before.

"Son, we know you're lyin'," Dave frowns.

Perci swallowed hard, his fear causing his body to shake in Gladio's grasp. "A-A man paid me a million gil to bring her to some abandoned facility in Leide."

Galdio's grip tightened on the boy, having a hunch of who already was behind this. "What did he look like?"

"H-He had red hair, amber eyes, a-and a hat. I-I didn't get a name."

"Ardyn," Noctis growls.

"What would he want with Kiira?" Prompto asked.

"He only said something about a 'vessel'. I can show you where the facility is. The door's hidden and I was only able to find it because he gave me the location," Perci offered.

Gladio released the hunter. "I'm gonna kill that bastard."

"Just follow my truck. We should be there by noon," the hunter exclaims.

"Make sure you bring Kiira back safely. She's one of Lucis' best hunters," Dave said.

"Her safety is my top priority right now. We'll bring her back," Gladio reassures. The boys returned to the Regalia and followed behind Perci's truck.

With only a single stop for both cars to be refueled, they made it to their destination just a little past noon as Perci promised. They parked their cars and walked the rest of the way through the blazing sun and blowing sand. Just further north of the royal tombs, a door was covered in a strange array of dead vines, blocking the view of the door almost entirely.

"Maybe the lab connects to the base," Prompto ponders.

"Do you know what's down there?" Noctis asked Perci.

The boy shook his head. "No, I only dropped Kiira off this far. I never went in."

"Let's go," Gladio said as he opened the door.

"With no plan of attack?" Ignis asked.

"We're wingin' it." The four friends entered the facility while Perci decided to hang back and watch to see if anyone tries to enter behind them.

As they entered, a drowning and eerie silence filled the air. No sound whatsoever greeted them, neither did any soldiers or magiteks. "Perci was right. This place does look abandoned," Noctis said as he turned on his flashlight.

"There are no lights. What's the deal? Why bring Kiira here?" Prompto wonders, flipping on his own beacon of light.

"I assume the 'vessel' Perci mentioned must refer to Kiira," Ignis states.

"We're gettin' her out of here and away from that twisted bastard. He's been a thorn in our side for too damn long," Gladio hisses.

With their flashlights acting as their beacons through the damp and dark hallways, they didn't leave any room unturned. It had been almost an hour since they entered and they've only found empty rooms filled with magitek corpses.

"This place has nothing!" Prompto shouts, his voice echoing off the walls.

"We've found no sign of Kiira. Are we even sure Perci took us to the right place?" Noctis asked.

"I do believe so. He was quite frightened," Ignis said.

"If he was lyin', I'm gonna-" Gladio was cut off when the lights suddenly flipped on above, illuminating the entire facility.

"It seems a few pests have scuttled their way inside."

The intercom turned on, a familiar voice taunting them. The boys glared at the speaker when they knew it was Ardyn on the other end.

"What brings such a visit at this hour?"

"You know exactly why the hell we're here!" Gladio's deep voice bellows.

"Ah, the lovely Kiira. I'm afraid you will be leaving empty-handed."

"Like hell we are!"

Just then, the boys heard a sound from down the hallway. When they shut off their flashlights and stared down the bright corridor, they spotted a silhouette of a young woman. She had red and white locks, the ends drenched in blood. A wound was seen across her collarbone, a deep cut that oozed blood.

Gladio's eyes winded in horror as he recognized the girl. "Kiira..." She placed a hand over the wound desperately trying to stop the blood. When her eyes were vacant of life, she crumpled to the floor in the pool of her own blood. Gladio ran as fast as he could to her, but when he reached her, she vanished.

"Such a shame her body could not handle the Starscourge. Poor girl didn't even survive the first day."

"Where is she?!" Gladio demands.

"Dead."

The others stood by Gladio's side as he fell to his knees. Noctis placed a hand on his shield's shoulder. "He's lying."

"If she were dead, the chancellor would not be taunting us as such," Ignis states.

They waited for a response from the man himself, but all they received was silence. Prompto tried to liven the atmosphere just a smidgen. "We'll find her. We still haven't checked a few rooms down the hall."

Gladio stood up and led the way to the other rooms. During their search, they didn't hear Ardyn once. When they arrived at the final door, Noctis opened it and they cautiously entered. Inside, the room smelt of sterilizer and blood. The heavy smell of iron almost drowned out the chemicals as they searched further into the room.

Prompto felt a chill shoot down his spine at the sight of all the blood. "What did they do here?"

"I can't believe there's so much blood," Noctis said below a whisper.

"Most dry yet some is still fresh," Ignis states, stepping around a puddle that was by his feet.

Gladio imagined the worst, but decided to bury the dark thought. He was completely silent as he reached what seemed to be a small chamber within the larger room. Peering through the foggy glass window, he was able to see someone laying down on a examination table. Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis joined him and also looked through the glass.

"It could be Kiira. We need to find something to break the glass," Noctis said, looking around the room. With luck, the prince found a piece of metal that was the size of his hand. "Step back."

"Give it to me," Gladio said. Noctis didn't argue and handed the heavy metal over. The shield waited for everyone to back away before throwing the metal. When he did, he threw it hard enough and the glass shattered easily. A waterfall of shards fell to ground and revealed who was inside the room. The boys' eyes widened when they saw Kiira strapped down on a metal examination table with needles stuck in her arms, legs, and neck.

Jumping into action, the four vault over the shattered window and ran to the girl. Noctis and Prompto carefully pulled the needles out of Kiira's legs while Gladio and Ignis took the ones out of her arms and neck. With brute force, the shield broke the iron shackles and freed Kiira.

A small groan escaped the girl's lips as her eyes slowly opened. Her vision was foggy, but she could make out four people who were surrounding her. Gladio placed a hand on her cheek, gently stroking it to keep her from panicking. The familiar warmth calmed her as she sat up with help from Ignis. She placed a hand against her head, a sharp pain surging through her skull.

"Kiira, what do you remember?" Ignis asked.

"A-All I remember is sitting in Perci's truck and then we were here. Someone grabbed and drugged me. Everything else after that is completely blank."

Kiira tried to get off the frigid metal table, but her legs gave out underneath her. Gladio caught her as she fell and scooped her up in his arms. "We're gettin' you out of here."

"It seems my message did not reach you," Ardyn said as he appeared before them. Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis summoned their weapons while Gladio held Kiira tighter in his arms. "The vessel shall remain here."

"Gladio, we'll handle him. Get Kiira out of here," Noctis said over his shoulder.

He knew he shouldn't leave Noctis, but his first priority right now was getting Kiira to safety. He found the door opposite of the window they had shattered and kicked it open, refusing to drop the girl for a second. He ran down what he thought was a desolate hallway, but a horde of magiteks shuffled down the corridor and towards him.

"Gladio, I'm fine. Put me down and we can take care of these monsters together," Kiira begged in his arms.

"You're too weak, Kiira. I could-"

A gun was fired multiple times, silencing the shield. A handful of magiteks fell to the ground and revealed who had killed them. "I've got your back!" Perci shouts, killing another daemon in disguise. He created an opening and Gladio followed the boy out of the facility.

Outside, Gladio handed Kiira over to Perci. "If I'm not back with the others in fifteen minutes, you get her out of here, understood?"

"Yeah, I understand," Perci said, placing one of Kiira's arms around his neck to keep her from falling. She watched as he ran back to get the others in silence. "I'm so sorry for what I did."

Kiira turned her head towards Perci. "Hey, it's not your fault. I heard what Ardyn promised you if you brought me here. Anyone who needed the gil would've done the same thing."

"Thanks, Kiira. I'm glad you understand."

"I hope your mother gets better."

"Yeah. Me, too."

Ten minutes passed and the duo saw four boys emerge from the facility. They all appeared exhausted and had a few cuts here and there. Luckily, none of them were seriously injured. Kiira unhooked her arm from around Perci's neck and hobbled on weak legs towards them. When Gladio reached her, he embraced her tightly.

Kiira felt tears, but she only let a few escape. "When Ardyn told me no one was coming for me, I was so scared. All those needles..."

Gladio held her closer, running a hand through her red and white locks. "We should've been here sooner."

Kiira shook her head. "You being here at all is a miracle. I thought... I thought I would've died in there with all the stuff he was pumping into my body."

Gladio pulled away a little to peer down at her. "How do feel?"

"I feel weak, but besides that, I'm fine," she beams softly.

Gladio leaned down to her height a gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Let's get you far away from here."

Kiira nods and rests her head on his chest. "Please, do."