With everyone in agreement, the stranger smiled and began walking towards the parking lot. "I'm not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction. Please, call me "Ardyn." Come with me to the car park. That's where I left my automobile. She's a dear old thing. Pales next to your Regalia, but she's never let me down. So we take two vehicles-a convoy of sorts. Shall we?"

"Or... Y'know... We could just go by ourselves..." (Y/n) muttered as she walked between Noctis and Prompto.

Noctis didn't like the thought of Ardyn tagging along, but it was the only way he knew how to get through the Imperials that were protecting the Disc. "Sounds great and all, but how do you plan on getting past the gate and the guards?"

Holding up a single finger, the Horseman smiled. "I have quite a deadly touch. They would be ashes blowing in the breeze in mere seconds, and the gate... Well, it'd be added to the ashes."

"That... actually sounds like a better idea than this," Noctis confesses. He liked the idea because it didn't involve their new, mysterious guide and it would rid Eos of a few more Imperials.

Gladio heard their mumbling and couldn't help but make a small comment. "Damn, talk about "dark"."

"What do you mean "dark"? Those are just the normal ideas that pop into my head," (Y/n) admitted as if she were innocent.

"Uh, you really think talkin' about turning people and things into ashes is "normal"? That is dark, (Y/n)," Prompto spoke honestly.

"It really isn't..." The Horseman fell silent, pondering if they truly were dark thoughts. "Is it?" (Y/n) stopped in her tracks, not being able to decide for herself.

Gladio stopped next to her, patting the top of her head. "Don't worry 'bout it." (Y/n) nodded, now following beside the shield.

The six reach the parking lot and Ardyn stood by his scarlet vehicle. "All set?" His amber eyes bounced between the four boys and girl before settling on Noctis.

"Yeah. Let's get this over with," the prince breathed out.

"Allow me to do the honor of assigning your driver..." The man stated as he bickered in his mind as to which person he would choose to drive.

"You must be joking..." The Horseman growled, her eye slightly twitching in vexation.

After what felt like hours, which was only a few seconds, Ardyn gestured to Noctis. "I choose you!"

"Fine by me," the prince nonchalantly replies.

"You drive your car, and I drive mine. With that decided, let us be off."

<------<<<<<<

On the outskirts of Lestallum, two cars were parked side by side. Craning his neck, Ardyn eyed the companions in the Regalia. "Just to be clear, this isn't a race, it is a chase. You're not to pass me. Lose sight of me, and you'll lose your way. And no tailgating. An accident would spoil the trip."

"Oh, now I want to see you rear end him," (Y/n) muttered from the back seat, now being squished between Gladio and Ignis. "Or give him a gentle nudge off the side of a bridge. Either way, we win." She sat forward a little in her seat to create a little room for her to move.

Prompto turned in his seat to glance at Death. "Are you telling us to commit a crime?"

"Oh, please. You four feel the same way as I do. I'm just the only one who's saying it out loud."

Noctis and Prompto snorted with laughter while Gladio and Ignis smiled in amusement. The prince stopped laughing once he realized Ardyn hadn't taken off yet. "Let's hit the road already."

Grinning, the man nodded. "As you wish. Drive safely, now." Ardyn drives on ahead with the Regalia following shortly after.

After a brief silence, the blonde in the passenger's seat spoke up. "First Galdin, and then Lestallum... What a coincidence, huh?"

"Way too convenient to be a coincidence. I reckon he's following us around," Gladio scoffed at the thought.

"But to what end? That question bothers me deeply, as does his origin," Ignis stated, his eyes traveling to the car in front of them.

"Hell, even (Y/n) doesn't like him and she's only known him for ten minutes," Noctis snickered. "And she's one of the most deadly mystical beings in mythology. That's gotta say something about the guy."

Prompto nodded in agreement. "Yeah. It's hard for me to picture that guy in the empire, though."

"But it's even harder to imagine him as a Lucian," Gladio commented.

"I'd sooner not rely on him," the strategist added.

"I agree. We should-" (Y/n) suddenly fell silent, her eyes widening as a chill shot down her spine. Her body went rigid as a few sable locks blew in front of her face.

Noctis saw her face and stiff body, wondering what had her in such a trance. "(Y/n)?" He called out, his eyes glued to her form that reflected in the rear view mirror. The other boys saw her state and Ignis placed a hand on her arm. When he did, he could feel just how cold her skin truly was even through his gloves.

(Y/n)'s head snapped to the right as they passed a small pond. Through the trees that lined the outer banks of the small body of water, she spotted movement and smelt a horrid stench. Noctis slammed on brakes and Gladio places an arm in front of the Horseman to prevent her from flying forward and through the windshield. Not even the force of the sudden stop snapped her back to reality. Ardyn had heard the Regalia's squealing brakes and pulled his car off the road and to a complete stop.

Noctis turned in the driver's seat, trying to snap Death back to reality. "Hey, (Y/n), c'mon." He shook her shoulders as he leaned over the center console. The shaking didn't work and he moved his hands to her cheeks. He grabbed both sides of her face and forced her to look at him. He saw her (e/c) eyes were dilated and wouldn't focus on him no matter how loud he shouted her name.

An idea popped into Noctis' mind as one of his hands wandered down to his pocket and he grabbed the summoning orb he had received from the Horseman last night. Once his hand grasped the orb that was only slightly bigger than his palm, he called out her name one more time. "(Y/n)!" His other hand rested on her cheek as he watched her blink a few times and swallow hard.

"They're here..." the girl mumbled.

"Who's here, (Y/n)? You're not makin' any sense," Noctis stated calmly.

"The Wendigo..."

At the name, the four boys glanced to where her gaze was once glued. From the trees emerged creatures they had never seen before.

"Dear Astrals..." Ignis murmured at the sight of the horrific, lanky creatures. Blood oozed from their decomposed mouths as they made their way towards a herd of Spiracorns. A bloodbath ensued as the Wendigo ripped into the animals' flesh and tore them limb from limb, snacking on whatever they could fit in their mouths.

Prompto felt woozy, turning his head away from the scene. Gladio and Ignis grimaced in disgust at the sight while Noctis' sapphire eyes were wide in horror. Finally snapping out of her stupor, Death pushes Noctis' hand off her cheek and hopped up on the seat. She then proceeded to vault over the backseat and over the trunk to get out. (Y/n) summoned her weapon-a scythe with an intricate design.

"I'll deal with the Wendigo. You four head to the Disc. I'll catch up with you all soon." Death went to charge after the bloodied monsters, but Noctis summoned his engine blade and warped over to her before she could even jump into the fray.

"You're out of your damned mind if you think I'm gonna let you fight these things all alone," he declared, crystalline eyes slightly narrowed.

"Honestly, Noctis, you easily forget who I am."

"I wouldn't care even if you were an Astral. You're someone I trust and I'm not leaving you to fight by yourself."

(Y/n) smirked at hearing the prince's declaration. "Nice to finally have a friend in this unforgiving world. Now," her eyes fell upon the other three boys. "You three go on ahead. Noct and I will handle this mess. It shouldn't take long."

"Understood. We shall proceed forth," Ignis said, climbing out of the backseat and into the driver's seat.

"You two better not do anythin' stupid," Gladio said.

"This is one fight I'm glad I won't be in. Those things are creepy and I don't wanna get anywhere near 'em!" Prompto wailed.

"Do be careful," Ignis said, starting the car and proceeding to follow Ardyn.

Once they were gone, Noctis and (Y/n) exchanged glances. The prince gripped his blade tightly. "You ready for this?"

"I think I should be the one asking you that, Your Highness," Death smirked, laughing as she rested her scythe on her shoulder. "You ready for this?"

"Anything I need to know beforehand?" Noctis inquired.

"They're biters so don't let them gnaw on you like you're a piece of meat. Besides that, nothing comes to mind."

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Noctis and (Y/n) leapt over the railing and landed on the grass. In the blink of an eye, the two reached the feasting Wendigos as a couple of Spiracorns galloped away. The Horseman targeted the monster that was closest to her, swinging her scythe and slicing off one of its arms. The limb fell to the ground, blood spurting from the wound. The Wendigo cried out angrily, its banshee-like wail forcing Noctis to cover his ears. (Y/n) was able to withstand the bloodcurdling howl and raised her scythe once again. In a swift motion, she leapt up and sliced the monster's head clean off. It was silenced and its body fell to the ground. "One down, seven to go."

Noctis sliced both legs off the Wendigo he was facing and it collapsed with no way for it to support its body. The prince had thought that would be enough to kill it, but the monster's crimson eyes were like an eerie beacon as it used its arms to drag its body and close in on the boy. Shocked at how quick the monster was moving while missing both legs, Noctis froze. The Wendigo reached out to grab him, but it's hand stopped inches from Noctis' face. The creature's head fell off its shoulders and rolled across the ground, creating a stream of blood.

"Forgot to mention," (Y/n) said as she raised her bloodied scythe. "Aim for the head. They've no heart which means the head is the only option when it comes to killing these things."

Noctis wipes a small streak of blood from his cheek. "Thanks for the heads-up. These bastards are fast even without legs."

"We've got six more to deal with. Let's get rid of 'em." (Y/n) dashed over to another Wendigo that was chewing on a Spiracorn carcass while Noctis targeted another that seemed to be wandering towards the highway.

As the sun finally set, Noctis and (Y/n) finished off the two Wendigo they were facing. "Now there's only..." Noctis turns around and noticed the remaining monsters have vanished. "Four more..."

"Dammit," Death groaned as she dispelled her scythe. "I was hoping this would be easy. Now we've got four missing Wendigo and I've no clue if they went their separate ways or they'll continue to move in a group."

The prince relinquished himself of his blade, running a hand through his raven locks. "At least we got rid of half of them."

"You're right," the girl breathed out.

A familiar ding was heard and the boy pulled out his phone. On the screen, he saw a text from Prompto.

At Cauthess Coernix Station

It was a simple and short message, but now Noctis knew his friends didn't make it to the Disc without them. He placed his phone back into his pocket with a sigh. "Now that we know where they are, how the hell are we gonna get there?"

(Y/n) smirked as she placed a hand on her hip. "I've got us covered."