While the sky above Altissia tore itself apart in a cacophony of divine roars and Imperial gunfire, the Road Runner sat idling in a narrow, flooded alleyway.
2B moved with silent, mechanical grace, lifting the real Lunafreya Nox Fleuret into the reinforced backseat.
The Oracle's white dress was stained with sea spray and soot, her breathing shallow from the strain of the covenant.
As the "Ghost Drive" shimmered into existence, cloaking the SUV in a veil of refracted light, the world outside became a blurred, chaotic dream.
Lunafreya blinked, her blue eyes widening as she looked around the interior of the SUV.
Instead of the cold embrace of death or the waters of the canal, she found herself surrounded by strange, high-tech glowing screens and the calm, stoic presence of 2B.
"You... you are the dare devils who travel with Noctis,"
Luna whispered, her voice trembling.
She looked out the window, seeing her own holographic "corpse" drifting in the distance through a sensor feed on 9S's monitor.
"Why? The prophecy... the price was meant to be paid. My life for his strength."
Theodore turned from the front seat, his expression softening.
"The prophecy was written by the same people who turned Ardyn into a monster, Luna. In my world, we don't follow the script if the ending sucks."
Luna pressed her hand against the glass, watching the distant silhouette of Noctis—empowered by the Mark of the Hydraean—weaving through the air in a golden light. Tears tracked through the dust on her cheeks.
"He believes I am gone,"
She rasped, a pang of pure, human grief breaking through her serene "Oracle" persona.
"The pain he feels... it is too much for him to bear alone."
"It's the only way to keep you safe from the Empire's reach,"
9S explained, his fingers flying across the console to keep the cloaking field stable against the massive mana-surges Leviathan was emitting.
"If Niflheim thinks you're alive, they'll never stop hunting you. This way, you're a ghost. And ghosts can move freely."
Luna looked at 2B, then at Theodore.
She saw no malice in them—only a terrifying, calculated kindness.
"You speak of 'your world.' You speak as if the destiny of Eos is merely a choice."
"It is now,"
Theodore said, shifting the Road Runner into gear.
"9S, find us a way to the tunnels. 2B, keep her steady. The Leviathan is about to drop the ocean on this city."
The Road Runner surged forward, its tires churning through the rising floodwaters.
Using the Ramming Prowess perk, Theodore smashed through a line of Imperial barricades that were being abandoned by fleeing soldiers.
"Imperial scanners are blinded by the Leviathan's interference! We're clear to the industrial sector!"
As a piece of debris from a falling dropship plummeted toward the roof, 2B's arm blurred, her blade slicing the metal in half mid-air before it could touch the car.
Lunafreya watched 2B with awe.
"You are... like the Kingsglaive, yet different. There is no magic in you, only... purpose."
"I am an android… or used to be…"
2B replied simply, looking back at Luna.
"I was built to ensure the survival of humanity. Today, that means you."
They reached a pre-arranged "Safe House" in the hills overlooking the dying city.
Theodore stepped out and opened the door for Luna. The air here was quiet, away from the screams of the Tidemother.
Luna stepped out, leaning against the Road Runner. She looked back at the burning Altissia, her heart breaking for her people and her King, yet a spark of something new flickered in her eyes.
"For the first time since I was a child,"
Luna whispered, looking at her hands—which were not fading away into light as she had expected.
"I do not know what will happen tomorrow."
"That's called 'freedom,',"
Theodore said, leaning against the SUV.
"9S has set up a secure line. You can watch the news, see that Noctis survived. But for now, you rest. We have a train to catch in Tenebrae, and we need to make sure the King finds his way to the Crystal without losing his soul."
Luna looked at Theodore, her resolve hardening.
"If you can change my fate, then perhaps you can change his. I will play this part. I will be the 'Ghost' that guides him."
[System Notification: Lunafreya Nox Fleuret's Fate Diverged]
[New Objective: The Hidden Path to Insomnia]