FFXV: After the Fall

Chapter 30

After showering and applying more healing balm- which she really needed to get some more of fairly soon as it was being hammered on a regular basis- Helena met the others at just after ten, apologising for her lateness and then gathering toast and coffee before sitting with the others.
   "Hate it when I'm late for anything." She said.
   "Don't worry, we won't spank you for it." Nyx grinned. "After all, we're more or less in charge of things now, when you think about it. We're the Agents of Light? What we say goes. I kinda like it."
   "You would." Noctis smiled. "Try doin' it every single day with thousands of people like I'll have to soon, then get back to me."
   "Ooh, our King is pretty fiesty today, huh? Let's save it for Ifrit, big bastard's gonna wish he'd stayed at home once we think up a plan to get the Niffs out of his head."
   "Guess we'd better get started. Time don't wait for anybody."
   "Except the Divines." Prompto said slyly.
   "They've got it easy, I think. It's us that needs to save what they created all those millions of years ago. Hopefully we'll only need to do this kinda shit once."
They all noticed that Noctis was...slightly different in some of his mannerisms and speech. Prompto then remarked upon it, as one of them was bound to sooner or later, and Noctis smiled.
   "Everyone grows up." He said. "For now, I've got to as well."
Gladiolus nodded. "Alright then. Shall we make a start? We'd better check every single thing. Don't wanna miss it."

So, they began. They worked in a very methodical manner, checking ideas off and exploring them thoroughly when each one was thought of, before moving on to the next. They also took regular breaks to make sure that nobody's brain got too frazzled.
Despite everything, nobody could thing of a single good idea that didn't involve a Divine and didn't result in possible death. Elemancy was also ruled out; despite Helena being able to create magic that was similar, it wasn't the same and nobody wanted to take that kind of risk with it. They only had one chance.
They were on their third break, which was a lunch break as they'd gone past noon, when Helena finally gave a huge, long sigh and pulled the piece of paper out of her pocket.
   "...what's that?" Prompto asked.
   "Something I was hoping I didn't have to use." She replied glumly. "This is something that was in that prophetic book. I'm...really against this, but it looks like we have no choice."
   "I hate to ask, but..." Noctis began.
   "One of you has to. I'll read it out." She then looked at the paper and read in a slow, clear voice. "When the Pale Lady waxes full, and baptismal flame hungers beyond its confines, all would be lost if that fire reaches the world. No green shall remain, and the blue will boil away as if it never existed. Seek compassion in death's cold embrace, wielding the Light in one hand and the Dark in the other, and hope shall be born from the unholy union."

She expected reactions of shock, and that was exactly what she saw. They all grew more and more pronounced as she continued to read, and after the entire verse had been spoken and she put the paper back into her pocket, she joined in as well.
She also predicted who'd be first to react.
Gladiolus shook his head. "No."
Noctis looked at him. "Gladio..."
   "No! How is this shit okay? Who the flyin' fuck wrote this stuff, what sick and twisted pony are they on?"
   "I agree." Nyx fumed. "That is not, fair. Not fair at all. Am I hearin' this right, or is it just me? Is that thing tellin' you to give up and go to Hades?"
Helena nodded. "That's how it looks to me, too."
   "That is not happenin'." Gladiolus stated, stabbing one of his fingers into the table they were sat at. "Over my dead body."
   "Maybe there's a way around it?" Noctis offered. "Maybe... I dunno, some kinda compromise that can be worked out?"
   "Hades doesn't compromise."
   "Well he's not sposed to be compassionate either, but that verse apparently says he can be."
   "...yeah. That's true. How accurate are these things?"
   "So far, flawless." Ignis told him.
   "Hm. Okay then." That calmed him down almost as instantly as he'd first gotten angry, much to everyone's relief.
   "So we go to Hades." Noctis then looked at Helena. "What exactly do we need to persuade him for? Have you figured it out?"
   "Yeah." She nodded. "He's got the one thing I haven't. Remember when I told you about all the Divines and their elements? How they were created and stuff?"
   "Uh...yeah, vaguely."
   "I told you that fire can only remain where it's got a fuel source to burn, and oxygen as the catalyst. All we need to do is take one or both of those away...and he's powerless. He'd be greatly weakened, maybe even incapacitated. That's the best time to strike, and when he's down, the link to the Niffs breaks."
   "...that's fuckin' genius!" Nyx said. His face then instantly reversed when he saw that she still looked sad. "But...why are you still upset? Is there somethin' more?"
   "...in order to get that effect, I'd need to use Gravity against him. That Dark element is presided over by Hades' second-in-command, the Dark Lord Diabolos. I'd need to summon him."
   "...so that's why." He frowned. "So if Ifrit gets hit by Gravity, it'll...what, cut off his oxygen?"
She nodded again. "You've got it. After roughly a minute of that, he'd fall unconscious. Link breaks. But it's..." She paused. "It's a real shitty thing to do. I'm not sure if I can."