"The insolence of that up-jumped mercenary..." Caligo marched through with several soldiers following him, and many more stationed throughout the area. "And there is still no word. This cannot be borne. Such behavior besmirches His Radiance's good name."

"That's our target," Ignis whispered. He and Noctis were watching from their hiding place. "Let's follow him. Sieze him on my signal. Stay hidden till then."

With that, the two began tailing him from the darkness. Caligo was an arrogant man full of pride, this was evident through his incessant grumbling and whining to his troops.

"What is that chancellor playing at? I'm no man's fool. He sent Highwind to watch me. It's no mere coincidence she and I meet wherever I go. Claims to 'trust her as a person'." The general clicked his tongue. "Hollow words from the man behind the magitek movement. I may have acted in haste with that impudent steward back in Lestallum, but my mission remains clear. And I'll be damned if that mercenary gets her grubby hands on the prince or the Guardian before Caligo Ulldor."

Noctis furrowed his brows in thought. I'm not the only one they're after? Is Ryella a target as well? The black-haired boy was now above the general, tailing him from overhead. Ignis hung back just a bit, but was still following closely behind.

"I'll give Highwind one last chance to respond." Caligo glanced at the couple of soldiers still at his sides. "Stand guard here. If the commodore arrives, send her through."

Caligo continued on his own, separating from all the troops. "Now's your chance, Noct," the advisor said in a hushed voice. "Close in from behind. And remember---we need him alive."

Noctis got into position. Caligo was still unsuspectingly walking onward, unaware of the danger. In the blink of an eye, Noctis warped to him, tackling him to the ground and simultaneously knocking him out.

Ignis was quick to hurry over. "You're in fine form," he complimented. "Keep it up." A sudden explosion erupted from the area near the generator. "Looks like they've set to work. I'll escort him off the base." He nodded toward the unconscious general. "You regroup with the others. I'm certain Ryella will do the same."

Noctis smirked lightly. "Time to let loose."

~~~~~

Ryella boredly gazed up at the stars. She huffed, growing impatient. But she knew the plan, and would wait until her turn arose. As if on cue, an explosion caught her attention. Her eyes focused on the place it came from, seeing smoke rising from the area. The dragon unfurled her wings and took off, heading to the spot where the others were sure to be. Along the way, she caught sight of Noctis down below, sprinting in the same direction. Ryella swooped down and scooped him up in her claws.

The prince looked up at her. "Was wondering when you'd get here."

She grumbled in response. The two quickly found where Gladio and Prompto were battling against soldiers and a magitek armor. She glided down, dropping Noctis off into the fray to join his friends. Ryella growled, her focus on the large mech. She swiftly flew around, latching onto its back. She clamped her jaws down on its left arm, using her strength to rip it off. She then dug into its back, pulling chunks of metal off along with the wiring inside. Her onslaught finally caused the armor to crumple to the ground in a heap with oil spewing forth from it. Ryella was quick to jump off and put space between it and herself. She shielded her face with her wing as it blew apart. Fortunately, while she'd been destroying the mech, the boys had been taking down all the soldiers and even deactivated the generator.

With the fight over, they suddenly noticed Ignis approaching. "Glad to see you lot were successful."

"Does that mean you weren't?" Noctis inquired.

"I placed our captive into the hunters' custody, but I've just been informed he's fled. He lives to die another day."

"And I'll gladly help him with that," the prince replied.

"Well, at least we took the base," Prompto added, trying to be hopeful. "And Ryella was as awesome as ever!" The beast tilted her head to the side and purred. The boy laughed lightly. "That's right, I saw you rip apart the magitek armor with your bare teeth. It was super cool!"

Gladio chuckled and shook his head at the blond. "C'mon, let's not keep Iris waiting."

Just as the group was on their way out, Ryella jerked her head up with a snarl. Noctis looked just in time to block the blow of a lance that had come hurtling toward him. He came face-to-face with a woman clad in dragoon armor.

"Hey, pretty boy," she greeted in a mocking tone. She swiftly jumped back away from him, laughing at his attempt to knock her off him. Her gaze immediately went to the white beast growling and preparing to fight. "So, this is the beast I gotta tag." She spun her lance and readied it. "Let's see what you can do!"

The woman abruptly jumped high into the air before flying straight down at Ryella. The dragon prepared to retaliate, but was confused when the mercenary stopped midair and changed direction to the side. It seemed unreal to see a human seemingly soaring like a bird. It was Noctis who warped up and dueled with the woman, keeping her from geeting too close to Ryella. The commodore managed to knock the prince out of the way and zoom past him. She zipped up and around, finally shooting toward the dragon. Caught off guard by her speed, Ryella was unable to move in time as the woman landed on her snout and pressed something onto her forehead.

Ryella suddenly felt a numbing, slightly burning sensation in her head. She snapped her jaws at the woman, but she easily leapt away out of reach. A slow aching overtook the dragon's mind, and her thoughts steadily began to blur together. What's...happening? I can't...think straight. I have to...catch her... Ryella started to give chase, trying to catch the woman. Unfortunately, she couldn't seem to focus on that task and found herself watching, in a daze, as the boys confronted the mercenary instead. The light throbbing in the Guardian's head was beginning to drive her crazy. What am...I doing? What's...going on? I am...a beast. A predator...that must kill... No! Wait! I'm not some monster! But...I want...blood. It was like a voice in her head was trying to command her, and it was taking control, whether she liked it or not. She twisted around, shaking her head and stumbling a bit. Something was wrong, and she couldn't stop it.

The mercenary suddenly jumped high up onto a wall. "Aw, is it quitting time already?" she said. "Sorry, but this girl doesn't work after hours. I could, but there wouldn't be a single gil in it for me. I did my job anyway. Have fun with your big beastie. Hope we can play again sometime, pretty boy."

With that, she disappeared into the night sky. "Who the hell was she?" Noctis thought aloud.

"What did she mean 'have fun'?" Prompto questioned. He looked over at the dragon. With her back turned, she appeared to be absentmindedly sniffing at some random bits of debris. "Did she mean Ryella? Wait, what is she doing?" They all looked at the Guardian, confused by her actions. Prompto walked over to her, wondering what she was doing. "Uh, Ryella? Fight's over." He placed a hand against her back leg to get her attention. Ryella snapped her head around, her lips peeled back in an aggressive snarl. Prompto held his hands up defensively, stepping back. "R-Ryella?" She turned to face him, growling like a feral animal. He began backing away as she crept closer, her head lowered to look at him. He could feel her breath hit him, and for once, he couldn't see any emotion in her eyes. "Wh-what's going on?! What's wrong with you?!"

The others were already summoning their weapons if need be. "Get away from her!" Ignis shouted. "Something's wrong!"

Before Prompto could react, the dragon shoved him down. He landed on his back with her hand on top of him, trapping him. "Ryella, stop! It's me!"

At the angle, the others could see an object on the Guardian's forehead. It was small and barely noticeable, but its metallic surface caused it to glint when the light hit it. Prompto struggled under her claws, trying to maneuver enough to escape. But Ryella didn't budge, and instead, growled down at him. The others were hesitant to jump in, afraid of hurting Ryella or Prompto. The gunman managed to free his arm, and reached up to touch the dragon's snout.

"Ryella, please," he pleaded, "it's me." The beast paused briefly at his touch, but then jerked back. She lifted her claws and stepped back, shaking her head. Prompto hopped to his feet and went over to her again, clutching onto her nose. "Talk to me. What's wro-"

The blond was cut off by the violent shaking of her head. Her snout hit him hard, forcefully knocking him flying back into a wall. He yelped as his back hit stone before he crumpled to the ground. He laid there, his back aching, unable to get up. He was certain he'd have bruises from the impact. The guys rushed to his side with Ignis helping him sit up slightly. The boy groaned in pain.

Noctis turned his gaze to the Guardian. "Ryella, stop!" he ordered. "I don't wanna hurt you! But if you're gonna attack us, then I'll have no other choice!"

Ryella looked at him. Her mind was trying to regain control. The internal conflict made her whine and squeal as she stumbled around, scratching at her head and dragging her face against the ground or whatever surface she could find, trying to relieve the throbbing of her head.

"Noct!" Ignis called. "You need to remove that device on her head! Whatever it is, I believe it's the reason she's going berserk!"

With Gladio's help, Prompto struggled to his feet. "Noct... Help her..."

"Easy, champ," Gladio told him. "You've taken quite a beating."

"Don't worry, I've got this," the prince assured.

With Ryella going on a small rampage, he waited until he saw an opening. Once he saw one, he warped on top of her head. He grabbed hold of the metal device attached to her forehead and yanked it off. Ryella completely froze, her eyes wide. Her mind was freed, and she slowly looked around at her surroundings. Noctis, still atop her head, leaned down into her view.

"Ryella, you back with us?" She purred in response. "Good. You worried us there."

The prince jumped down and went running back over to his friend. Ryella looked to where he was going, immediately stiffening up. Her friends surrounded Prompto, who leaned heavily on Gladio. He seemed to be injured, and Ryella knew why. It's...It's my fault. Why did I...? How could I hurt him? What have I done? She slowly moved toward them, lowering her head in shame. She whined apologetically, watching as all of them looked up at her. They could definitely see that she was back to normal. She couldn't contain a couple of tears from slipping from her eyes. She felt awful about her actions.

Prompto smiled up at her though, wobbling toward her. "Ryella..." He surprised her by collapsing against her chest, hugging her as best he could. "I'm glad you're okay."

The Guardian purred lightly. How could he be so concerned about me...when he's the one who's hurt? How could he forgive me for what I did? His selflessness warmed her heart, but at the same time, it made her feel that much worse. She whimpered and gently wrapped a hand around him, returning his hug. Noctis held out his hand to Ignis, showing him the device in his palm.

Ignis hummed in thought. "So, this is what caused all this. That woman placed it on Ryella. If I were to guess, I'd say it's some type of mind control, or something similar."

Noctis clicked his tongue in annoyance, dropping the device on the ground. He stomped his foot down on it, crushing it. "Damn them, trying to turn Ryella into a weapon or something?"

"Let's just get back to the motel," Gladio said. "We're done here. We could all use a break, and we've kept Iris waiting long enough."