#yes someone finally reminded Sola that the Oracles can cure the scourge | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

a-world-in-grey · 4 years

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Take My Breath au - Roadtrip (Cleigne II)

-Sola doesn’t immediately leave the Tempering Grounds. No. She takes the time to sit and see to her weapons and to Genji, cleaning and sharpening them and using the repetitive motions to think.

-Noctis will be the Last of Somnus’ Line. Which means Sola will die first, likely at Noctis’ blade, either before or after he slays the Accursed. Their Uncle, no matter how many generations removed.

-And that, Sola will not stand for. If only Sola were to die, she could accept that. But to make her brother kill her? Heap the grief and guilt of Kinslaying upon his shoulders twice over before he himself is sacrificed?

-No.

-You can take my heart, you can take my breath, Sola silently swears to the Astrals, gripping Genji in a white knuckled hand, when you pry it from my cold dead chest!

-She breathes sharply through her rage. Answers first, then plan. Storing Genji in her armiger, Sola pauses to look at the remnants of Gilgamesh’s armor, the Immortal having faded to dust. After a moment, she takes the silver mask and stores that in her armiger as well. She’d leave the decision of funerary rites to Gladio, as Gilgamesh’s descendant and head of the Amicitia.

-The formal words come easily, beseeching for a meeting with the Messenger Gentiana. The threat of drastic action should Gentiana no answer immediately is far less formal and in no way reverent. Sola finds she doesn’t care anymore.

-There is a moment of dead silence, but then magic blooms across her senses like frost abd Gentiana’s voice sounds from behind her, chiding underneath the formal words of greeting.

-Sola asks Gentiana if what Gilgamesh said is true. Of the Healer King and the Accursed. Of Bahamut cursing Noctis to be the Last of his Line, to slay his sibling just as the Founder did. Gentiana tells Sola that she is not of Somnus’ Line, not since she removed herself after Noctis’ birth. By magic and oath, the Chosen King has no sister.

-From the smile curling Gentiana’s lips, Sola realizes that it wasn’t mere chance that Sola stumbled across that specific oath. But Sola doesn’t let herself think on that for longer than a moment - doesn’t let herself wonder how long Gentiana has been looking in on Noctis’ life - because Gentiana hasn’t said anything to deny the rest of what Gilgamesh said. And Sola realizes that it must be true.

-Sola tells Gentiana that she will not let them sacrifice Noctis. Gentiana’s smile disappears as she tells Sola that Noctis already swore to Lunafreya that he would defeat the Starscourge. Sola snarls at Gentiana, because the only time Noctis met Luna was when he was eight, and a child could not be held to a binding oath! Not even Sola’s oath of abdication! She’d reaffirmed it when she swore her Sword Oaths at her coming of age!

-Sola tells Gentiana she’s already broken one curse, pointing at Gilgamesh’s armor, and reiterates what she told the Lucii. If she will not aid Sola, then stay out of her way.

-She braces herself, prepared to defend against divine fury over Sola’s defiance and disrespect. The Astrals are not known for being kind, and Sola doubts Gentiana is any different, no matter how amusedly fond the Messenger is of Noctis.

-But Gentiana merely smiles and tilts her head, pointing out the scourge racing through Sola’s body, and the very limited time she has left. And if Sola didn’t know better, she’d swear Gentiana is offering Sola a challenge.

-Well, real or not, Sola’s never backed down from a challenge. Sola bares her teeth and tells Gentiana that she’s not dead yet. Until then, she has a threat to her King to cut down.

-And Gentiana laughs. Light and airy, wind scattering snow into flurries across the sunlit ice. Gentiana tells Sola to seek out the Infernian who lingers in shadow. Remind him of the sun’s warmth, and perhaps he will aid her. And the Messenger disappers, leaving Sola with the distant death knell and half a hope.

-Sola squares her shoulders and firms her resolve. Half a hope? She’s worked on less before.

-It’s not quite dawn when she leaves the Tempering Grounds. By the time she reaches the haven Cor has taken shelter at, her uncle has risen with the sun, packing up camp to wait for her, no doubt. Ice blue eyes rake over her appearance, and Sola knows she’s a mess, covered in dust and grime. But she’s uninjured, and her clothes are intact. Which reassures Uncle Cor enough for him to finish packing his things before he wraps her in a tight hug, fine tremors of relief in his arms that Sola doesn’t comment on.

-He asks how it went, and Sola produces Genji from her armiger. And Cor smiles, a small proud thing that warms Sola and she can’t help but grin back. Because even with everything, she defeated Gilgamesh. The oath she swore at ten, she kept.

-She splits from Cor there, and heads to Lestallum. And she is so thankful for keeping her motorcycle in her armiger, or she’d be walking. Instead, she gets there in time to take a shower and have a barber even out the hack jobs on her hair from Cor and Gilgamesh before Cindy calls her about helping out Holly at the EXINERIS plant.

-Sola agrees to help, because daemons in the power plant is all kinds of bad, and she’s surprised when later she’s joined by another Hunter. Over the radio she can’t tell who it is, but then the guy whips out magic and the Royal Arms and Sola immediately knows it’s her little brother inside the protective suit.

-Something Sola teases Noctis about, after they’re safely out of the plant. The Chocobros are ecstatic to see Sola, though Prompto asks about the haircut. Sola forgives the curiosity, because her hair used to reach her waist, but now barely brushes her shoulders. And well, Sola may or may not take amusement in the faces they pull when she mentions having to even out the damage that Gilgamesh did.

-That she makes not only Gladio but also Ignis choke on their drinks over dinner? Priceless. Sola admires the spit takes even as Prompto ducks beneath the table and Noctis doesn’t, squawking in offense as he mops up his shirt. Prompto snaps a picture of Noctis’ wet cat glower and tosses Sola the camera for safe keeping when Noctis lunges for it.

-It’s not until they’re back at Cape Caem that Sola tells them what Gilgamesh told her. All of it. It takes Sola that long to decide whether or not to tell them at all, because she knows it will only hurt. She would spare them the pain, if she could. But that would put them in danger, and Sola refuses to allow that.

-So she tells them. Everything. The Prophecy, Somnus and the Accursed, the Starscourge and her own infection.

-Noctis yells at her. Shouts himself hoarse and then wraps her in a hug and buries his face into her shoulder so she won’t see him cry. Gladio storms out of the small house, furious at Sola and furious at himself. Prompto... looks lost, as though he’s trying and failing to imagine Sola not being there for them. Ignis sighs, but says that he’d suspected something was wrong, but he didn’t know what and didn’t want to assume with so little information.

-And Ignis grills Sola for the information she knows, from Gilgamesh and Gentiana. Sola tells him everything, but she does leave out that she is no longer considered part of Somnus’ Line. She knows Noctis, because her brother is so much like her. Between his life and everyone else, Noctis will sacrifice his in a heartbeat. But put the life of a loved one on the line? Her little brother will fight the heavens to save them.

-Sola will not let her little brother give up his life.

-My heart. My breath. Mine.

-Thank everything for Ignis’ genius. Because Ignis already has half a dozen plans and possibilities to investigate, starting with investigating the Rock of Ravatogh for Ifrit when they seek out the royal tomb there. Sola points Ignis towards Iris, and tells him to contact Axis and Talcott - Sola asked Jared to research the Starscourge before his death. And Sola highly doubts her Glaives actually followed her orders not to split their resources to investigate. She knows her idiots. That gets a snort out of Noctis, and a thoughtful hum from Ignis.

-The drive to Ravatogh is somewhat tense, given the way Gladio is still pissed off at Sola. Sola tells the others to keep out of it, because this is something between her and Gladio. They aren’t camping at havens anymore - with Sola’s admittance that she can’t, everyone is willing to shell out the gil for caravans and motels even though they need to pick up a few more hunts to compensate.

-Ravatogh turns out to be a bust. Ifrit isn’t there, Sola cannot feel the well of magic that marked Titan’s resting spot beneath the Disk of Cauthess. They get the Royal Arm though, so it’s not a complete waste. And Ignis and Sola theorize that Niflheim may have found Ifrit’s body in the years they occupied the region. Given Gentiana saying that Ifrit ‘lingered in shadow’, and the rumors that Shiva attacked Gralea several years back... Sola states it’s possible Niflheim demonified the Astral.

-Ignis is skeptical. There’s no real evidence, but Sola cannot shake the idea. She argues that Gentiana said she’d need to remind Ifrit of ‘the sun’s warmth,’ and the scourge... it’s cold. The chill of no sun, no light or warmth, no life. And it’s the gold magic that allows her to heal, to absorb the scourge from others. Sola grimly tells Ignis that Niflheim has been experimenting on daemons for years now - the Kingsglaive fights their daemons all the time, and those are the only daemons she’s ever seen out during the day, out in the sun-

-Sola cuts herself off at that, thinking hard. This is important. She can feel it. But why do daemons avoid the daytime, avoid the sun?

-She glances at her hands. Considers the leather covered skin. Considers the near instant feeling of sunburn ever since the infection set in, the way she cannot bear sunlight without pain.

-And wonders.

-But as Ignis reminded her, Luna was the Oracle. She could heal her without resorting to desperate measures. And Luna might even have more information needed to track down the Infernian, or could contact the Astrals to get the information they needed.

-Sola’s been watching Gladio. She knows he has a temper as bad as her own. That Gladio’s kept a lid on it for the oast few days? Impressive. But it won’t last.

-So when they finish dinner the night before they plan to depart from Cape Caem, Sola follows when Gladio stomps out of the house. A glance at Noctis has her little brother nodding and keeping the others back. Good, Noctis understands that this is a personal problem between her and Gladio.

-Sola finds Gladio running through sword katas. They argue, Gladio not wanting to talk and Sola refusing to leave it alone. Because Gladio’s firmly set the issue aside so it doesn’t interfere with his duties as Shield, but Sola knows that Gladio’s hurting and no matter how much Gladio buries it, it won’t stop hurting.

-Finally, Gladio asks why Sola asked him to protect Noctis. And Sola tells him that Gladio is Noctis’ Shield. Of anyone, Sola trusts Gladio the most in that position. Gladio’s snort is bitter and disbelieving. He tells her that he’s some Shield. How can he protect Noctis from everything Niflheim and the Astrals are going to throw at them if he can’t even protect Noctis from Sola?!

-And Sola abruptly understands. None of the others will consider it, but Sola and Gladio know that they might not find a cure in time. And if they don’t... If Sola turns into a daemon, Noctis won’t be able to strike her down. No matter how dangerous Sola is, because Sola knows if she turns, it’ll be nothing less than a powerful daemon.

-Sola lets her glaive fall into her grasp and tells Gladio to fight her. He’s worried he cannot protect Noctis? Then prove to her that he can, or Sola will relieve Gladio of his duty here and now. And Sola doesn’t have to tell Gladio that by ‘relieve’, she means kill. The steel in her tone and the hard edge to gold flecked blue eyes are hint enough.

-Both of them need to know that if Sola turns, Gladio will be able to kill her. Because if he can’t, the others won’t stand a chance. And Noctis will die.

-Sola doesn’t hold back. Gladio needs this, even more than Sola needed to fight Gilgamesh. And so Sola throws herself at Gladio with lethal intent, and doesn’t shy away when Gladio matches her blow for blow. She doesn’t stop when she grazes Gladio’s head, doesn’t stop until Gladio manages to get behind her and land a blow across her back, cutting from hip the opposite shoulder, even as she tries to dodge.

-Sola hits the ground hard, and doesn’t get back up. Feels her magic begin to knit the wound back together, a wound that would be lethal to anything else. And she cannot stop the laughter that spills from her chest. Cannot stop the grin as she looks up at Gladio’s wide amber gaze, his face pale with horror.

-Sola holds out her hand, and yanks Gladio down to the ground when he takes it. He hits the dround beside her with a grunt. But his irritation and horror fade when Sola congratulates him on beating her. When she tells him just how she beat Gilgamesh. Not through martial might, but through words. By leveraging Gilgamesh’s grief into getting the First Shield to surrender to execution. Sola admits to Gladio that she’s not sure she could have beaten Gilgamesh through strength of arms. But Gladio? She has no doubt he would’ve kicked Gilgamesh into next week.

-Magic finished knitting her spine back together, Sola sits up and calls Genji to her hand. She presents it to Gladio, and she somberly tells Gladio that he has no need to doubt his ability to defend Noctis. Gladio takes the sword, pride warring with guilt. Sola nudges him and sternly tells him that she tried to decapitate him three times. Nearly would have if he hadn’t ducked, and it’s a damn good thing he has a thick skull.

-Gladio grimaces at the reminder, feeling the deep gash she scored across his forehead. He says that the others aren’t going to be happy. Sola winces and weakly suggests not telling them. She doesn’t have to see Gladio’s skeptical look go know her suggestion won’t work. They’ll take one look at the two of them and know. She holds a fist out and says that at least they can face their doom together. And finally, Gladio starts snickering. He suggests they clean up first. Might help.

-Gladio’s right. They get back, and it only takes one look at the new scar on Gladio’s forehead for everyone to start fussing. Prompto asks what happened, and Gladio has a moment to see the smirk on Sola’s face before the redhead nonchalantly shrugs and says they beat the crap out of each other. In the dead silence that follows, Gladio manages to facepalm before Ignis explodes, scolding both of them.

-Noctis frowns, before he cuts off Ignis’ lecture with a flare of magic, and oh boy Sola can sense just how displeased her little brother is. Noctis looks between them and asks if everything has been resolved. Both Sola and Gladio nod, and Noctis purses his lips. He tells them that he expects there will be no repeat of this. His magic flexes, reinforcing the order, and Sola bows her head, murmuring a subdued ‘Yes, Your Majesty,’ alongside Gladio. Because this is not her little brother speaking, but her king.

-Her heart aches. Her little brother is all grown up, and it’s impossible to deny how much he resembles Papa. Especially when he shoulders the authority of his rank. The grief still hurts. The grief will always hurt.

-But as the tension fades and Prompto asks for details of the fight, Sola realizes that for the first time since Papa’s death, she feels hope.

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