Chapter Two: From the Beginning.

'So you're telling us... That Eos is doomed?' Prompto said, a little unsure. Nobody knew what to believe after Eleanor just told the four men about her memory of before she woke up.

After Insomnia's fall, Ardyn and his army took over the Kingdom Of Lucis. He ordered Ravus - Luna's brother, to abduct the upcoming King, Prince Noctis; so that Ardyn would become the next king instead. He was so obsessed with becoming the king that he even promised Ravus he would be his right side once he'd possess the crown and the ring.

Ardyn got what he wanted and as he sat down on the throne, he put Luna in the dungeons far underneath the kingdom and killed Ravus. He did it so that the people of Lucis believed it was Noctis. He couldn't show his face to anyone anymore and was forced to stay hidden while trying to find his friends.

Year after year went by and Ardyn's army got bigger and bigger. The nights became longer and Daemons showed up a lot more often. They'd even attack before sundown. People started losing hope, but some still believed in Noctis and for him to come back and fight for them. A small group of Glaives, which Eleanor was part of, tried to go in against Ardyn's wishes behind his back, and tried to fight for their freedom. They wanted to find Noctis and get him on the throne, where he belonged.

But once they managed to found him, so did Ardyn.

'That's all I can remember. Darker days lie up ahead and we ought to prepare for that. Although, I still don't know how I wound up back in time.' Noctis had been sulking a few feet away from the group. He put his head on his knees and his hands lifelessly on the ground. His face showed only sorrow and hopelessness.

'Are yer gonna sit there moping or do you want to change fate?' Gladios shot him a glance and crossed his arms. 'You know Luna is still waiting for ye in Lestallum, we oughta look for her and see if she's safe. Maybe she knows more aswell.' Noctis looked up and sighed. He knew Gladios was right. He was a bit rough on the edges, but had a good heart.

He reached out to the tall muscular man who helped him off the ground. Noctis sighed deeply once more and crossed his arms.

'So, what's the plan?' Prompto asked, still looking at Eleanor. Gladios eyed Prompto and grinned slightly. Normally Prompto would be trying to flirt it up with any woman he sees, but this time, he seemed laid back, almost... Intimidated.

'Well, as Gladios said, we should head to Lestallum and from there on, we need to try and gather information about Ardyn's whereabouts.' Eleanor shrugged and made her way to the car.

'We should camp here, it's too dark to drive with these daemons lurking about,' Ignis said. Prompto got out his camera and commented.

'But pictures in the dark are always so beautiful, besides we can fight them off if needed. Right, Noct, Gladdy?'

'Don't call me that... It's bad enough Iris calls me that.' He said moping, but he nodded to his question.

'Exactly, we can fight, good pictures aaaand... I'm a good driver,' Eleanor said, winking at Prompto. He flushed red, not expecting such a bold but cute move. He almost started thinking she had a thing for him.

'Ha, as if.' He thought to himself.

'Ye can drive?' Gladios asked, a bit concerned. Probably for his own safety. While she felt the concern in his voice, she decided to ignore in and hop in the driver's seat. She turned on the radio and sat back.

'You coming or what?' The four men made themselves comfortable in the car. Once they took off, the car ride seemed less quiet. Prompto managed to sneak some snacks in his bag. Ignis, who was in the front seat, insisted that seat because of his great vision and reaction time. Unfortunately, the backseat was a little less comfortable, with Prompto in the middle, Noctis on the right and Gladios on the left. Prompto was eating and singing at the same time, while Gladios groaned about his horrible Chocobo song. Noctis just sat in silence, trying to analyze what Eleanor had said earlier. He was convinced there was more behind the story and that someone must've gotten her back in time. Not only that, but it almost seemed like he knew her from somewhere.

They checked into the hotel that was located in the midst of the town of Lestallum. With close to no rooms available, they were all forced to stay in the same room.

'I'm sorry we couldn't get you your own room, with you being a lady 'n all,' Gladios said apologetically. Eleanor started laughing and twirled around.

'It's fine, seriously. I've never slept in such a fancy hotelroom before. Plus, I got my own bed, so it's all good.' She put down her bag next to the bed she had already claimed, which was located next to the window. They had a beautiful view, well, in her opinion. She unpacked her backpack and took a nightgown with her to the bathroom.

Once she came out, all eyes were on her. It wasn't like she was wearing anything fancy, her nightgown was slim and fitted to her body. It reached just above her ankles, had a bow on her lower back and short sleeves. Around her left arm, she had a bandage wrapped up to a little over her elbow, and a small rosegold bracelet around her right wrist. She had taken off her thigh highs and walked around barefoot. Gladios turned to look at Prompto who seemed in awe. He nudged Noct, who also half-noticed it.

'Can you guys not?' Noctis went back to playing King's Knight and Gladios cleared his throat, before helping Ignis with (a very late) dinner. Prompto was still staring, so Noctis poked him in the side. He shook his head, while also trying to focus on King's Knight again. He was still bright red. His heart was pounding so hard, an earthquake was set to happen.

Once dinner was prepared and all of them were dressed in their nightclothes (shorts and a tee), the five of them dug in. Until a familiar voice reached all ears and bounced into the room.

'GLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDY!' He jumped up, gulping.

'I-Iris, hi!' She pretended not to hear his fake-happy greeting and swung around his neck, hugging her brother.

'Noctis! Prompto! and Iggy!' She seemed very happy to see them again.

'Iris, hey!' Prompto replied. Noctis wasn't phased, he waved at her, then continued eating his dinner.

Eleanor dropped her fork and gasped. She just remembered something from the era she came from. Iris was dead... But in this era, she was still very much alive. Iris helped her escape from a prison... Or was it a lab... She still didn't remember everything. She closed her eyes when her head started pounding.

'Eleanor, promise me... You find Noctis and... Return the crown and the ring to him... Promise me, please, Eleanor.'

She got up and wiped away tears, she didn't know what to say or do, except to run to the toilet. The mere bites she just had, ended up in the toiletbowl she just managed to reach. She felt like her memories were scattered all across and she had to find the missing pieces and fit them back together.

Iris had gotten back on her feet as she saw the lady run to the bathroom.

'Who was that?'

'Eleanor... It's a long story. We'll save it for another time. She's helping us with something important.' Gladios said in a serious tone, she knew not to ask further if he used that tone of voice.

'Eleanor... Eleanor... Where have I heard that name before? It seems so familiar.' She shook her head.

'Can you tell us if Lady Lunafreya is safe?' Ignis asked. Iris smiled and nodded.

'She's on her way to Altissia, to give her speech there.' Noctis sighed. He had hoped to see her before she left. He always missed her just by a few days, sometimes hours. Well she was the Oracle, so a busy schedule wasn't exactly rare.

Iris had waved them goodbye and left the room. Ignis had already made his way to Eleanor, who was crying on the bathroom floor.

'I keep remembering things... I think, but my memories aren't in the right order...' Ignis stroked her back, an attempt to cheer her up.

'Earlier you said "We can fight", what did you mean by that?' Noctis said, who was now standing against the doorframe, with his arms crossed.

'You could say... I was in the military before I was a Glaive.'

'What's the bandage for?' He said looking at her left arm.

'I-I... Prefer not to talk about it.' She washed her face and sat down on her bed.

'It's been a hell of a day, we should get some sleep before heading out tomorrow morn'ng,' Gladios said and dropped down on his bed.

While Eleanor's bed was next to the window on the right side of the room, Prompto's was fairly close to hers and Ignis' was on the other side of the room. Noctis' was on the South side, with a bedside table next to his. Him and Gladios shared a bed as the room only had 4 beds.

Eleanor put up her hair. She had her back turned to Prompto, who was secretly looking at her. He eyed her from her back to the top of her head. His eyes stopping at her neck, he looked a little closer to notice two dark bruises and what seemed a mark of a string of some sort, just under her hairline. He looked away just before she turned around.

'Are you okay?' She asked him with a tilted head.

'Y-yeah, I just... Thought this would be a pretty photo.' She smiled and held that particular pose. She sat on her bed, one foot on the ground. The right leg bend on her bed. One hand leaning on the bed and the other resting on her belly.

'Go ahead.' He turned three different shades of red and held up his camera. The moon was shining through the window, the light covering the right side of her face. She was stunningly beautiful.

He shot four photos. Then turned to see the others already sound asleep. They must've been tired.

'You got your photos, now let's get some sleep.' They both laid back, Eleanor almost immediately falling asleep. She was breathing softly as a stroke of her hair fell into her face. He bit his lip, somehow he felt something he'd never felt before. He tried to shake it off and stared at the ceiling. He wondered what those bruises and marks were. That couldn't have been the fall she made yesterday... He kept pondering and worrying, which kept him from falling asleep for a good three hours.

When he finally managed to fall asleep, he started dreaming about his past.

'Magitek,' he mumbled in his sleep.