"Well," Gladio stares up at the volcano. "It's an uphill climb."

"Looks pretty insurmountable to me," Prompto comments as they approach the pathway up the Rock of Ravatogh. He glanced down at rocky path up ahead before looking at the white-haired girl's feet. "You really sure you don't need shoes, (Y/n)?"

She shook her head. "I've made this trek before. I'll be fine, Prompto."

Stepping onto the uneven, jagged path, the boys all watched as the Horseman didn't even wince as her bare feet made contact with it.

"That's gotta hurt..." Noctis mumbled.

"Not one bit," she grins.

"How's that even possible? I can feel the rocks digging through the soles of my shoes," Gladio said.

(Y/n) lifted up one of her feet and showed them. They gasped when they saw the bottom of her foot seemed to be made of ice. It was translucent and gleamed in the sun like ice. "Mana is even helpful outside of battle. You'd be surprised how versatile spells can be."

"Whoa..." Prompto muttered. "You're like...one-sixth ice sculpture. Can you turn your entire body into ice?"

"If I so desire, yes."

"Enough chitchat. Time to see what's waiting at the top," Gladio interrupted the two.

"Lemme guess: one aching back and two very sore feet," the blonde said.

"Like you couldn't use some meat on those legs of yours."

"They work for me."

Further up the path after defeating a couple of saphyrtails, Ignis spoke up. "Little out of our comfort zone."

"Why do I ever leave my car seat?" Prompto whined as he could already start to feel the toll of the climb.

"Only the most intriguing and rewarding things happen away from your comfort zone," (Y/n) remarks.

"You can say that again," Gladio chuckled.

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

On the steepest incline of the path, the group could feel the strain of their muscles with every step. They lowered themselves to the ground in order to keep themselves from losing their balance. Prompto stumbles forward, but he grabbed a rock before he fell. "Killer climb, dude."

"It's killing me," Noctis whines, watching his every step closely.

"Feeling a steep pain," Ignis grunts.

(Y/n), being the one in the lead, glanced over her shoulder at the tactician. "Was that a pun, Ignis?" All he offered in response was a small grin. She giggled at his expression before continuing up the sloping path.

Halfway up, Prompto stops to catch his breath when he spots a glint in the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he spotted something on the ground. "Hey, what's-whoa!" His foot slips on the rock and he stumbles forward. When he thought he was going to topple over the edge and plummet to his death, two hands shot out and grabbed the back of his leather vest. His descent was halted and he looked back to see who his savior was. "T-Thanks, (Y/n)."

"Do tread carefully, Prompto," she warns, pulling him back and away from the ledge. Once he was steady on his own feet, she released him and continued on ahead. As she hoisted her body over one of the larger stones on the path, Gladio released a huff. "How the hell is the smallest one in the group beating the rest of us?"

"Don't...know..." Noctis sighs in exhaustion.

"(Y/n) is rather nimble," Ignis comments as he watches her beat them to the top. "A training lesson with her would be quite intriguing."

"Might just have to see what all the little lady is capable of in combat besides those fancy spells," Gladio huffs with laughter.

"Indeed," Ignis responded.

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

"The hell's with the heat?" Noctis groaned, trudging up the path a few feet behind (Y/n).

"As we climb, so does the temperature," Ignis stated.

"I'm no geologist, but I'm pretty sure this is a volcano." Prompto uses the back of his hand to wipe the beads of sweat gathering across his forehead and cheeks. "Hey, what are the chances of it erupting while we're here?"

"Bright side-you won't suffer long if it does," Gladio answered.

When Prompto stepped forward, his arm brushed against (Y/n)'s and felt a small chill down his spine. He reached out at placed his hand against her arm to see if he was mistaken. "You're freezing! How're you not sweating like the rest of us?"

"My little secret," she smirked while placing a finger over her lips.

"Does it have to do with your magic?"

"Maybe...Maybe not."

"You couldn't-oh, I don't know...cast an ice spell and help us cool down?" He smiled innocently.

"Wuss," Gladio's deep voice teased.

"It's hot!" The sharpshooter protested.

"Just shut up and keep moving."

Prompto groaned and threw his head back, mumbling incoherently to himself. (Y/n) stepped past the blonde and led the boys further up the Rock of Ravatogh.

After defeating a few wyverns, they glanced up at the ledge above. Noctis placed his hands on the cliffside and searched for a place to anchor his hands and feet. Ignis adjusted his glasses, eyeing the cliff above. "Time to face the cliff head-on."

"By "face," you don't mean "climb"..." Prompto mumbled in hopes to avoid scaling the cliffside.

"You got a better way up the rock?" Gladio questioned.

"W-What about (Y/n)? She knows tons of spells! Maybe she can teleport us up there," he rebuttals.

Gladio smacked him on the back of the head. "Stop tryna worm your way out of every situation all because she's taggin' along."

"I'm not trying to get out of everything because (Y/n)'s here! It's just...I'm still exhausted from that other place."

"It's alright, Prompto. Morosely, I do not know a teleportation incantation," the snowy-haired girl told him. "Seems we all will have to ascend the cliffside without any shortcuts."

"Then what did you do last night? You just...vanished."

"That form of teleportation only works for a Horseman. It has a limitation of one person."

"That kinda sucks, but it's also cool! It's almost like Noct when he warps." He looked up at the cliff above and pointed to it. "Can you reach that far?"

(Y/n) gazed to where he pointed and vanished into a puff of smoke. Prompto glanced at the spot she once stood before looking back up the cliff and finding her staring down at them. "Whoa! Noct can't even warp that far!"

"Hey!" The prince yelled.

Pestilence watched from her perch as the boys climbed up the cliffside. When she feels a familiar hostile presence, her eyes widen and she spins around just as the thing tackles her over the edge of the cliff. She gasps as she felt her stomach drop and stares into the foggy eyes of one of her targets-the draugr.

She struggled against the monster, hearing the boys scream her name as she fell. Immense pain surged through her entire body as they landed, creating a large crater. The draugr, being the one on top, tore the blade from its chest and raised it above its head.

As it swung the weapon down to strike the Horseman, she fought through the pain and used both her feet to kick the creature away. She used a healing spell and briskly recovered, summoning her staff. She went to cast a spell, but she was interrupted by the draugr and forced to use her staff to block the sword. Seeing an opening, she kicks it in the side and jumps back.

With a deep breath, (Y/n) tapped her staff against the ground. Sable tendrils surged through the ground toward the draugr, bursting through the surface and wrapping around its undead body. It hissed as the tendrils tightened around its body before breaking free and charging at Pestilence. The tentacle-like shadows whipped around the Horseman, creating a protective shield and blocking the rustic blade from penetrating her body.

A single tendril knocked the blade out of the draugr's grip and lashed out, piercing through the corpse's chest and lifting it up into the air. With a powerful throw, the tentacle slammed the creature's body into a cliffside. The entire area shook and small spurts of lava sputtered out of the cracks created from the impact.

The same tendril wrapped around the corpse's spine and snapped its body into two. As the black tentacle-like appendage was about to pierce through the draugr's skull, it vanished, leaving behind its lower body.

(Y/n) sighed as the tendrils dissipated. She stared at the draugr's lower body before watching it decay into nothingness. Dispelling her staff, she placed a hand over her heart with a heavy sigh. "So close yet so far."

With another sigh, she teleported back up to the top of the cliff where the boys had made it safely up during the battle. She pulled at a few of her white locks, tugging ash out of her hair.

"Dude," she heard Prompto gasp. "That was like something straight out of a video game!"

"Are you injured?" Ignis questioned.

The Horseman shook her head with a minuscule smile. "I'm fine."

"What was that thing?" Noctis grimaced, the image of the terrifying monster seeded into his mind.

"A draugr-an undead warrior," she explains. "The being I sensed the previous night."

"You think it's been following us this entire time?" Gladio asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Alas, it vanished before I could finish the job," she admitted in defeat.

"Speaking of battles," Gladio started, crossing his arms and nodding toward the haven not too far ahead. "You think you could handle a round against me or Iggy?"

"Uh, I don't think now's the right time, Gladio," Noctis spoke up.

"It's the perfect time," the shield retorts. "You and string bean can sit on the sidelines while the men fight."

"Hey! I'm not a string bean!" Prompto shrieks while glaring at the brute.

(Y/n) intervened before the arguing could escalate. "I accept your challenge, Gladio. I'll let Noctis and Prompto decided who I shall fight."

"Definitely Iggy," Prompto said, erasing his memory of what Gladio has called him a minute ago.

"Specs is difficult to beat," Noctis added.

(Y/n) turned to the advisor after hearing their decision. "Shall we, Ignis?"

"Yes. Let's," the tactician responded.

Once at Owlyss Haven, Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio stood around the carved, glowing slab of stone while Ignis and (Y/n) summoned their weapons. What the boys didn't expect was for the Horseman's staff to morph into a pair of chakrams.

(A/n: If you've followed me for quite a while, you'll know my favorite weapon is a chakram. That's why I use the weapon a lot in my stories.)

"Since when...?" Prompto's voice trailed off, staring at the gleaming, curved blades of the chakrams.

"I would prefer to make this an even fight," she said. "I rarely use blades in battle due to my immense knowledge on incantations."

"This just got ten times better," Noctis smirked in amusement.

Ignis was the first to make a move. He gripped his daggers tightly and closed the distance between him and Pestilence. His blades clashed with hers, both fighting against each other's strength. Ignis wasn't utilizing all his strength, which the Horseman swiftly took note of before pushing up on his daggers and sidestepping, causing her chakrams to slip from Ignis' daggers.

The advisor stumbled forward slightly when (Y/n) sidestepped. He quickly swung around to the side to strike, but he was flabbergasted to find she wasn't there. When he located her position behind him, he briskly dodged just as she brought one of her chakrams down. Putting some distance between them, Ignis grasped one of his daggers and threw it with pinpoint accuracy.

(Y/n) tossed one of her chakrams at the same time, causing both weapons to clash and ricochet to the side. She tossed her other blade and watched it soar through the air toward the strategist.

Ignis blocked it with his other dagger and saw how the chakram circled around him after deflecting it before returning to the Horseman's hand. Her other blade appeared in her hand and she rushed at him just as the man recovered his second dagger. He went to swing but froze when he saw she had already anticipated his action and slid between his legs. Before he could spin around to face her, she swept his feet from underneath him and sent him to the ground.

He kept a strong grip on his daggers as he fell, but before he could even recover from the fall, a sharp and rounded blade was pointed at his neck. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he realized how heated the battle had truly been. He dispelled his daggers and stared up at (Y/n), who held a serious expression. "I believe this is your match, (Y/n)."

Pestilence backed away from Ignis and ridded herself of her chakrams. "Well fought, Ignis." She offers him a hand and helps him to his feet, healing him in the process.

"(Y/n)'s super badass!" Prompto cheered, camera in hand.

"Now that's settled, let's find this tomb and get the hell outta here," Gladio said.

"You're the one who wanted to see (Y/n)'s skills," Noctis groaned.

"And now I have. Let's get our asses moving."

As Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio walked down the narrow path ahead, (Y/n) crossed her arms behind her back and glanced at Ignis apologetically. "I must apologize for any injuries I caused."

"Only minor bruises and cuts. Nothing more," Ignis reassures the gentle girl. "No need for apologies, (Y/n). The minor injuries have mended all thanks to you. I must compliment you on your fighting technique."

"Thank you. War taught me hand-to-hand combat alongside how to use chakrams. She insisted on the lessons if I was ever in a pinch and couldn't use my spells."

"Hey!" Gladio shouted at the two when he noticed they weren't following. "You two done flirting or what?"

Ignis sighed with a small eye-roll at the shield's question while (Y/n) blinked owlishly in confusion. She wasn't sure why he asked such an absurd question when they clearly weren't flirting.

The royal advisor saw how the girl hadn't picked up on Gladio's teasing and placed a hand on the small of her back. "Don't overthink it, (Y/n)."

She nodded and they followed after the other boys.