Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XV or any of its characters. I also don't make any profit from this piece of fanfiction. If I did I would have a lot more time to write more chapters instead of going to work…

Author notes;

1) This is my first Final Fantasy XV fic because I got the game for Christmas and only just finished it, but I guarantee there will be more to come in the future…

2) If you like what you see please leave me a review and subscribe to the story (and me) so you get to see the rest of it as soon as the chapters are published which (hopefully) should be every Thursday going forward (don't hold me to that, I'm bad with promises).

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"Well," Prompto sighed, "I don't see anything, let's go."

Gladiolus grabbed his collar as he started to walk away, "Oh, no you don't," he pulled him back into formation, "We don't leave until the job is done."

"Quite right," Ignis remarked, pushing his glasses up his nose, "We simply need to look a bit harder."

"All this looking is making me tired." Noctis yawned and stretched his arms skyward.

"Everything makes you tired." Gladio grunted.

"Except sleeping." Noct quipped, flashing a royal grin.

"Might we focus on the task at hand and not the prince's fatigue?" Ignis asked ever so politically.

"Yeah, let's get this over with." Prompto nodded and walked forward reluctantly, scouring the dry ground for signs of burrowing.

Noctis hung back, as the others continued their search, and pulled out the wanted poster from his pocket. Red-Tipped Crawlers were the hunt of the day, giant insects with seven pointed legs with red coloured tips, hence the name. They were desert creatures, forcing the party to hunt in the heat, much to everyone's disdain except for Gladio.

The prince pulled off his jacket and threw it into the back seat of the Regalia, rubbing his forehead under his fringe. Why did it have to be the desert? No shelter from the shade and nowhere to sneak in a quick nap while the others are preoccupied. Just a lot of good-for-nothin' dirt.

Ignis studied hard, squinting at the ground and stalking along at a snail's pace. Every detail matters, he would tell the others if they teased him, and they must take their time if they are to do things the right way. His attention to detail would be rewarded far sooner than expected as he spotted a peculiar star-shaped crack in the ground, about the size of a car tyre. He stopped and crouched down to examine the mark closer. The click of Prompto's camera distracted him for just a moment before he reached down and pushed the dirt with his finger, testing its density.

Prompto viewed the image he had just captured. Ignis down on the ground with a studious look on his face. It was good, but nothing he didn't already have. He saved the photograph nonetheless and then glanced around to see if there was anything else worth getting a picture of. Noctis looking bored, Gladio looking annoyed at Noctis for looking bored. Same old. A selfie would have to do then. He grinned wide and pointed the camera at his face, squinting hard against the brash sun.

"Found anything yet, Iggy?" Gladio called, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Perhaps." Ignis muttered.

The dirt was soft here, easy to dig into. It could be an entrance to the nest, Ignis thought. But it could also be an empty hole where the creatures once hid but have now vacated. Only one way to find out. He started to dig gently with a dagger, moving the dirt aside to see what lay beneath. He moved slowly and precisely as the others started to make their way towards him.

The dagger caught on something hard under the ground and Ignis froze, careful not to cause a disturbance to whatever could be under there. He swapped the dagger to his other hand and began to brush the dirt away, revealing a dark insect-like appendage.

"Looks like our guy." Gladio remarked, smirking at the ground.

"Indeed." Ignis murmured.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Gladio summoned his weapon to his hand and swung it up onto his shoulder.

"We should form a plan."

"We should get this over with." Gladio pushed Ignis aside and swung his great sword down onto the appendage, slicing it clean in two and eliciting a high pitched squeal from beneath them.

"Uh, guys," Noctis cleared his throat, staring hard at the poster in his hands, "Did you see how big this thing is?" he held up the poster and Prompto took it from him, studying the details.

"Around twenty feet tall at adolescence." Ignis answered, glaring at his heavy-handed friend.

"So he's big," Gladio shrugged, passing his sword between his hands in preparation for battle, "nothin' we can't handle."

Long spindly legs rose out of the ground like tent poles, dwarfing the party as the big bulbous body of the creature hung in the air. Tens of eyes blinked at Gladio, pincers snapping in his direction

"You guys are worried about one overgrown bug?" Gladio chuckled in the face of the creature.

The ground began to shake and crumble as several other creatures of the same species made their way out of the ground around them. One climbed up from under Prompto, lifting him into the air and throwing him aside like a fallen leaf. It let out a threatening shriek as Prompto hit the ground, landing square on his face.

"Prompto!" Noctis' blade flashed to his hand and he leapt at the creature, slashing at it and sending it backwards away from his friend. He rushed to his side and grabbed his hand to help him up, "You alright?"

"Yeah," Prompto scrambled to his feet and brushed himself down, "No harm done."

"Less talk," Gladio growled at them, swinging his sword, "More action."

Bright red blood started to roll down Prompto's face and Noctis felt his anger swell, "Right," He said turning towards the rest of the creatures with a scowl.

The battle commenced, blades clashing against hardened exoskeletons and throwing sparks into the dry air around them. The bodies of the creatures were lightweight, but well protected by a thick layer of exoskeleton which took a lot of force to cut through or break. The creatures dashed around, ducking low and then lifting up high on their legs to dodge attacks.

Ignis took a hard shot to the ribs, as one of the creatures head-butted him, and hit the ground with a dull thud. He stayed down longer than Noct was comfortable with and the prince rushed to his aid, warping straight to the creature, which was preparing to strike Ignis once again, and slashing at it with his blade. The creature squealed before it fell, succumbing to its injuries while Noct ran towards Ignis.

"Iggy, you alright?" he knelt beside him.

"Just a scratch." Ignis grunted, taking Noctis' extended hand and allowing him to help him to his feet.

Gladio cried out and the two looked over. A deep gash had been opened up on his arm, but he continued fighting, getting almost instant revenge on the creature that hurt him by cutting it in half, right down the middle.

There were five left now. They were still outnumbered, but progress inspired confidence and they felt the chance of victory linger in their grasp.