A/N: For how short this chapter is (for my stories anyway) I do apologize for how long it took to get out. But this is probably my most heavily edited/revised chapter. I even had another friend review it since I really wanted this one to be good. There are some moments in here I have been waiting and waiting to write, and I wanted to be as satisfied as I could be with the end result. So I'm happy with how things are, I hope you all enjoy it too!

XIV

Lost In Chaos

Osana tilted her head as she stared at Noctis. It was strange to see that small action that looked so familiar, and yet so different at the same time. Noctis tried to swallow his nerves away, but that proved to be a futile effort. He still stood there, rooted to the spot being unable to bring himself to speak or move. The last and only time that he had seen Osana before had been in the Underworld. She had been on that ship that ferried the worthy souls from the green fields to the isles beyond. While she looked the same at a glance, it was different to see her alive before him. It was like there was an aura of power around her—one that Noctis could not fully comprehend.

"May I present Noctis," introduced Gentiana with a graceful bow. For a decent amount of time, Osana merely looked at Noctis, not moving. In return, Noctis watched her, growing more nervous with each passing moment.

"I must say," began Osana, breaking the silence. She studied Noctis, and her discerning gaze caused a small shiver to crawl up his spine. "This is not at all what I expected. You... You should not be here."

"I-I know," he replied. Noctis paused, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "That's because I'm from the future. I've travelled ba—"

"No." Noctis bit back the rest of his words. She had not been harsh with her interruption, yet he still felt himself taking an involuntary step back. Compared to when he had seen her in the depths of the Underworld, she seemed more stern now. Not that it surprised him. She was alive now. She had a life to fight for—lives to defend. That would make anyone stern. After having shaken her head, Osana's unnerving gaze focused back on Noctis. "You should not be," she repeated. "You who have been to the Underworld and back...several times."

"I..." Noctis' words failed him. He had never thought of his life in that way before. When he was a child, that was the first time he had slipped through the Gates to the Underworld. No clear memories from that visit could easily be recalled. That time, however brief, left only an echo—that sense of familiarity whenever death came. It was that glimpse into the Underworld that had allowed him to see The Light. The second time had been of his own choosing. Willingly, he had walked into those familiar yet foreign lands. It was only by the grace of Etro that he had been able to return, otherwise he would have remained there. And then, the most recent journey to the realm of the dead—his soul passing through the Gates one more time—he had only been able to return thanks to Niveus' soul taking the place of his own.

Noctis cast his gaze to the side. So many times... He should have never returned. Should he even exist? The world seemed a little too keen on sending him past the Gates, to be embraced by The Light. His mind began to wander, wondering how different things would have been had he remained beyond those Gates. That world that mirrored their own—or was it their world that mirrored the Underworld? Feeling an urge to confirm his existence, he flexed his hands and tapped his foot on the floor. It helped his mind to settle.

"Maybe..." he sighed, bringing himself back to look to Osana. Her expression was still the same. She had not said her words to be spiteful or malicious, they had been the simple truth, and her gaze reflected that. Part of him wanted to look away. It unnerved him to be under such a weighing gaze that gave no answers in return. "Maybe that's true," admitted Noctis. He broke his gaze from Osana and instead looked down to his hand. "Maybe...I shouldn't be here at all... But I am here. I'm here to ask for your help." He looked once more to Osana, and then to Gentiana before explaining everything.

Noctis began from when he last returned from the Underworld, and told them of the events that followed. It was tiring, to retell the same story again and again, to explain what was happening, but he did so once more without leaving a single detail untold.

"And that is why I have come," he finished, feeling drained.

Osana clasped her hands together. "How is it, then, that you believe that I will be able to make a difference?"

Noctis' shoulders fell at her words. "I-I'm really not sure... Evacuate your people? Save...!" He sighed. "...Save yourself." Even if they were to win, even if they were to stop the Sleeper from awakening, he could not bear to have her shattered again. Protecting their future be damned! It was his duty to protect their fal'Cie! He may have been unable to do so in his own time, but he had a chance to try once more in the past. Noctis reached up and touched the crystal necklace that still hung beneath his shirt. Fighting for such a future may mean that Niveus would not exist; it may mean that they all would not exist, but it would fulfil his duty not only as a Protector, but as ruler of his people as well. If he stopped their war before it even began, his people would not have to suffer.

Osana's expression softened at his words. For a moment, he could read her. Even she was scared of a future without fal'Cie—a future where the Crystals were gone. Noctis let out a low sigh. His resolve to not alter the future truly was wavering.

"Well, he at least sounds like a l'Cie of yours," mused Gentiana in the silence. She smiled lightly, holding back a chuckle. "We would each want to see you safe, Osana."

"A l'Cie who is mine, and yet not. It is truly strange." A small huff escaped Noctis at her words. At least it was better than being called a Cie'th who was not a Cie'th. "Tell me, how did the Gates open?"

Noctis' brow furrowed in confusion. He had not spoken of the Gates opening.

"For the Seeker and Sentinel to have sought to awaken the Sleeper, the Gates must have been opened. Do you know how it happened?"

He felt the blood drain from his face. Had that event...truly been what started all of this? Part of him wondered if they had been connected, but to then have it be confirmed... That meant everything was their fault. Noctis shivered. After licking his lips nervously, he told Osana of how the Gates had been opened. He remembered those tolling bells that had reverberated throughout his entire body far too clearly.

Osana's eyes widened as Noctis finished. "She alone opened the Gates?"

"Yeah."

"An Agito?" whispered Gentiana, looking to the fal'Cie in amazement. "I did not think it would be possible."

"Clearly it was," replied Osana.

"Wait, what?" asked Noctis. "What is an Agito?"

"There are two ways believed capable of forcefully opening the Gates. One would be to sacrifice a near countless amount of lives. The influx of all the souls dying at once would force open the Gates, and the Seeker and Sentinel could act. The other way, that few thought even possible, would be for one soul of sufficient worth to pry open the Gates. That soul is the Agito. For it to have been a fal'Cie, though, even only a fragment of one, she must have obtained a heart." Osana's gaze drifted down for a moment, and Noctis knew where she looked: His necklace. She walked forward, reaching out a hand. "Tell me about your Crystal... About Niveus..." Her gaze sombre, Osana placed her hand over his chest, and over the crystal necklace. Those pale eyes captured his blue ones. For a moment, he felt his heart ache for he wanted them to be the pale eyes that recognized him. "Tell me about her."

Noctis' throat went dry for a moment, at a complete loss for words. Where should he start? Did she truly want to hear everything? Osana continued to stare at him, patiently waiting. To help start his story, Noctis slipped the necklace up from under his shirt and held it in his palm for both of them to see. The necklace no longer glowed like it once did, but it still held a warmth to him. It was...it was all that he had left of her. He closed his hand around the necklace and held it next to his heart.

"One night," he began, "people tried to steal our Crystal, and it shattered to defend itself."

And so he told Osana everything that had happened after that shattering. He started with retelling of their journey, the search for the scattered shards. He told her of how they had met the woman that they would come to know as Niveus. But the more he recounted their journey, the more he found himself not speaking of the events, but rather of...her. He spoke of her strengths. Of her sorrows. Of her burdens... Memories of her countless scars arose. If only he had known the truth sooner. If only he had been able to figure it out... Maybe he could have done something more. Something different. Rather than dwelling on such moments for too long, Noctis instead remembered the happier times. The memories that he had kept alive in his mind and heart before falling asleep. He told of her smile. Of her laughter. He told of everything that had made Niveus...Niveus.

By the end, when he had exhausted everything that he had to say, he found himself looking down at the necklace that he still held in his hand. Without him knowing, or meaning to, he was smiling. Before, he had been afraid of telling anyone else about Niveus, not only to protect her existence, but because a part of him never wanted to share his memories. But it was...liberating. A small weight had been lifted from his heart.

"That was...is our Niveus." She may have been gone, fighting to stop what was going wrong in the Underworld, but she still lived on in his heart and the hearts of his friends. He had to believe that there was a way to bring her back. He knew more than most that it was possible to return. There had to be a way to get her back. He would find it.

There was a silence that followed. It was not an awkward silence, but a silence nonetheless, and one that took Noctis a moment to notice. When he did realize it, he looked up, and was surprised to see Osana smiling. She tilted her head slightly and regarded him with such warmth.

"You love her."

Noctis gasped under his breath. Did he...? Did he love Niveus? He had asked himself the same question now and then, and he still had no certain answer. To then be confronted with an answer from someone else sent him aback.

Was there someone else you had your heart set on?

His father's words rang in his mind. Any time Noctis found himself thinking about it, he only ended up making himself confused over the feelings that he felt. Perhaps it was the confusion itself that was the answer. He may have loved his family and friends, but he did not know what it meant to be in love. It was just a shame that he had no more opportunities to discover his answer with her.

"I..." Noctis swallowed, his throat having gone dry. "I don't know." A weak, almost bitter laugh, escaped him. "Though...it would make a lot of sense..."

Noctis tried to recall the few, faint memories that he held of his mother. Over the years, they had grown fainter and fainter. It was only thanks to the few paintings that hung on the walls back home that he even remembered her face. The memory of her voice, however... It pained him to realize that was completely gone, and had been for some time. He remembered her grave far more clearly than he remembered her. That fateful accident had taken his mother away from him at far too young an age.

His memories then shifted to that of his father... Noctis clenched his hands, angry at himself. While he had many memories of Regis, it was only the distant ones that held warmth—the ones that were also beginning to fade. Of course it was only now that he regretted not having sought to reconcile their relationship sooner. Now, when there were no more chances to do so, he wished that he had done more. Memories were all that he had left, and the image of seeing his father's dead form on the ground would not be fading any time soon...the one memory that he would rather forget.

And then his thoughts found their way back to Niveus. In the span of only a few months, enough memories had formed for Noctis to play over in his mind again and again. How he wish he could go back and change things... Change how he had treated her back at the beginning. Change what he had said. What he had done... In the end, he had to say goodbye to her as well, long before their time should have ended. He stared down at the necklace. The warmth in his heart when he looked at it, when he remembered her... That was the answer he needed. And yet he felt his heart ache more rather than be joyous. To realize and accept how he felt only after she was gone...

"Everyone I've ever cared for...has been taken from me," he finished.

Osana said nothing. Gentiana said nothing. Silently, Noctis slipped the necklace back under his shirt. There, it would be kept safe. There, she would remain with him.

"Do as you will with your people and yourself, but I have one more request." Noctis looked up to Osana then took to a knee before her. "Grant me your blessing and make me a l'Cie again. I can't... I can't be of any help while I'm like this. I'm...useless."

"Then why would I make you a l'Cie again?"

"What?" Noctis gasped out. While part of him knew that he may not receive her power so easily, he had expected it. He had already been a l'Cie of hers, to a degree. Why would she refuse? When he looked up, he saw that Osana had turned her back to him.

"I do not choose people who are nothing to become l'Cie. I doubt even a mere fragment of me would become that desperate."

"She is not merely a fragment! Not any more!" Noctis bolted back to his feet. "I don't know why Niv chose me, but I will not let that faith be in vain. Even without my powers, even lost in time, I will make sure that the Sleeper is not awakened. And once I am done here, I will not rest until I get Niveus back. Things would go much easier with your help, yes, but we can manage just fine without. We will find a way. I've made it through not having powers before, I can do so again."

When Osana paused to turn back around, she was smiling. Her smile caused Noctis to forget his venting and he faltered. For a brief second, he could see where Niveus had come from.

"Now there is someone who could be my l'Cie." Striding back towards him, Osana outstretched her hands and held his face gently. It was in that moment that Noctis felt at peace. It had been a long time since he had felt as such... He held her gaze before closing his eyes, ready to accept whatever amount of power that she saw fit to bestow. Even a fraction of the power that he once had would be a great help. In turn, Osana closed her eyes and rested her forehead to his.

He had only felt such power once before. When Niveus had first left his side, returning to a Crystal, she had bestowed upon him the full power of his kingdom's Crystal. All that power. All that strength. It had been every ounce that Niveus had to offer. It had been everything. What Osana bestowed upon him then... It was that amount of power, yet only a fraction of what she could spare.

It hurt. Receiving such power was more than his mortal frame could take all at once. Parting open his eyes to a squint, he saw Osana's face right in front of him. Her eyes were open now, and her expression was no longer readable. Those white eyes stared at him, glowing from the use of her powers.

White.

White began to bleed across his vision. A ringing rose up in his hearing. Before him, Osana's face blurred, blanching out until he saw only white. His mind could no longer withstand it, and Noctis' senses abandoned him in the light.

Through the silence...

Through the light...

He heard a voice.

You are not alone.

Admiral Neita, General Ivar, and Emperor Hinrik entered Dr. Visindi's lab. "Well? What is it that you have to show us?" asked the General while the Admiral hung back. She never enjoyed being in the Doctor's lab. Her eyes darted to the various screens. This was where the the majority of the Obruo and Trucido technology had been developed. That technology that blurred the line between machine and organic... It caused her to shiver.

Ahead of her, the Emperor stepped towards the Doctor, his grey hair seeming white in the bright, sterile lighting of the lab. That stark lighting made the massive test tubes before them all the more disturbing. The Doctor stood beside three, each one holding the initial stages of the new experiment that he had wanted to show them. The creations were starting small, but she could only wonder what their final size would be. The specimens looked akin to the Trucido that they created in their factories—as though a Trucido had somehow managed to have a child. Admiral Neita grimaced. Having a handful of the machines was bad enough, she did not relish in the notion that they would be creating something more. Unlike other Trucido, or even Obruo, the three new specimens were distinct colours from each other: red, green, and blue.

"While we lost the opportunity to study those from the anomaly further," started Dr. Visindi, shooting a glance to the Admiral. She crossed her arms and scoffed under her breath. The truth of her actions had not been discovered, but she knew there were those who were suspicious. Dr. Visindi, to no surprise to her, was one. "I was able to collect enough data to be of use in the war effort." He clasped his hands together gleefully and looked to the new specimens within the test tubes.

"Is that truly necessary?" questioned Emperor Hinrik, stopping before a tube to stare at the ruby specimen. He tapped at the glass, sniffing lightly in contempt. "We already have the Trucido to deal with their false gods. While I appreciate all you have done for the Empire, such projects are expensive."

Dr. Visindi sighed. "The Trucido, while powerful—naturally, for they are my creation—merely levelled the playing field. Our Obruo to their l'Cie. Our Trucido to their fal'Cie. We could win the war, but we could also lose. With these, the scales shall be tipped in our favour."

"And so, what are they? More powerful Trucido?"

"Oh no, dear Emperor. With your approval, I would seek to create something new. With you permission, of course, these bio-mechanical creations shall become our new Weapons." Dr. Visindi grinned as he looked upon his new creations. "And, if these three are successful, I would like to propose creating an ultimate Weapon."

Her feet were heavy, aching for how long she had been walking. They dragged along, sinking down with each footfall before she managed to pull them back up to take another ragged step. One by one. Step by step. Turbulent winds tore at her body, sending her stumbling off her path. Shivering, she gritted her teeth and tried to return to her course. Was she even heading in the same direction? There was no way for her to know. Forward. She had to go forward. When she had entered the storm of Chaos, that was all she had known to do: keep moving forward in the raging storm.

The Chaos proved to be far more destructive than she could have anticipated. It clouded her mind, trying to break her consciousness as it tried to break her body. The Chaos pelted against her like a harsh sandstorm—coarse, abrasive, and never relenting. So she steeled her mind and protected her body as best she could. In the darkness, she trudged onward. In the darkness, she had to find the light.

She kept a fading arm above her face to guard it, though her efforts were for nought. Since she first stepped into the Chaos that encroached upon the Underworld, it began to eat away at her, piece by piece, little by little. Nothing she tried slowed the inevitable erosion. Body and soul alike, the Chaos consumed all.

What remained of her body stumbled, not for the first time, and not for the last. She grunted, her voice being torn away from her before she could even hear it. Pausing for a moment, she tried to gather what was left of herself. She peered past her arm, and was met by only more darkness of the unending Chaos.

"Where is She?" she asked to no one else. She only knew she said it thanks to her thoughts, though even those grew faint and distorted as specks of it were nipped away from her. How much longer would she last? The Chaos...it was too much for her to withstand forever. But she had to try. She had to find Her, or else the efforts of... Of...

...Of whom?

She stopped. She looked down to her hands that were fading away. Her memories... They were slipping away from her. Who was she trying to help? She tried to hold herself together, to keep her memories with her, but everything was slipping from her grasp. She cried out into the Chaos, hoping to be heard, but there was no one as her voice was torn from her lips. Shaking her head, she started to walk again.

The winds and grains of Chaos surged around her, tightening, turning from sand to rock. She could no longer push onward. It was in that moment that the remnants of her form seized up, her feet twisting over one another and caused her to fall.

She stayed there, no longer moving, no longer trying. What was the point of even trying? There, in the storm, she allowed the Chaos to consume her body.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

Every fibre of her being hurt. It ran deeper than a simple ache or a devastating wound. Everything...everything about her was becoming nothing. Becoming void. Becoming part of the Chaos. It would be so easy...to just slip away and be consumed...

In that storm of Chaos, she curled up what was left of her form. Collapsing into herself, she tried to escape from the Chaos around her. Where she went, it followed. She cast her mind deep within herself. To keep her safe. To keep her sane. Even within the depths of her mind, the Chaos followed. She tried her hardest to flee from the Chaos, but every attempt was futile. Where her mind fled, it was there to meet her. Feeding off of her despair, the Chaos grew, suffocating her. Her light...it was fading out of existence. All alone. Losing herself...

"No future... And no past."

A memory. It stirred within the Chaos, her fragmented mind trying to make sense of it.

"What does that make me...?"

She saw someone there, his face forming in the darkness that surrounded her mind. Dark hair framed his features as blue eyes regarded her sombrely before he cast his gaze away, uncertain of how to respond. She felt a new ache rise within her, his face beginning to fade before it had even fully formed. All alone... Even the straggling fragments of her memories were leaving her all alone. She gave in. The Chaos... She could no longer hold it back.

"You... You're you..."

A light.

It flickered in the darkness. Though small and weak, it pushed back the Chaos before the void consumed all of her. That light faded and grew at a steady rhythm, like a pulse. She regarded it, forcing her way free from the Chaos inside of her to settle by its side.

"You may have no known past at the moment, or no future...but that doesn't stop you from being who you are right now."

It was a heart—her heart.

The light within her spread, warming her chilled essence. And in that light there grew a tree. It was a lone tree, small and young, that sat atop a snow-dappled hill. To see that tree calmed her. It was hers; something that the Chaos could not touch.

"What is your name?"

She shifted. A new memory trickled in through the Chaos. It was like a gentle rain that nourished her tree.

"I don't remember."

"Well! This won't do at all. What can we call you? You can pick whatever you like!"

"How 'bout Leucothea?"

In her mind, she saw new faces. Or rather, old faces. A scarred man with dark brown hair who smiled warmly at her, chasing away any fear. A man with styled brown hair who wore glasses, a look of curiosity in his eyes that let her know that what was lost could be found. A blond, freckled man who wore a wide smile that made her want to laugh in joy. And that black-haired, blue-eyed man who watched her with confusion. Those eyes that did not yet know her...

"Too long, man,"

"Aw, but it suits her!"

"Did it look like she liked the sound of it to you?"

"She just has to get used to it!"

It was a meeting. A first meeting. A meeting with those who would forever change her life. They were there, inside of her heart. They were with her even of the darkest of times...whoever they were.

The rains of her memories helped the tree to grow, pushing back the Chaos and giving her a chance to breathe. Warming her, the pulsing light helped to soothe her regenerating form. She could move again in the safe haven that she had created. Daring to move, she reached out her hand...

And gently touched the face of the black-haired man.

The memory trickled in before her like the haze from a rainstorm. Such sorrow... Such pain... He looked to be on the brink of tears.

"No... Please... Please don't go..."

She smiled, unable to tell where her memory ended and herself began.

"No matter what...becomes of me...I will always be...your Niveus..."

"Niveus..." she whispered.

The tree grew, its branches stretching out and the leaves unfurling, shielding her from the Chaos.

"I am Niveus..."

"...Niveus?"

The memory of the others returned. Their first meeting. It had been...Noctis, that was his name! It had been Noctis to first suggest the name to her. He had only been able to hold her gaze for a moment before looking away in embarrassment for even suggesting a name in the first place. But even then, it had fit. Even then, it had suited her.

"Niveus... Niv..."

She could remember being uncertain of the world. She could remember not knowing anything. But they had been there. Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, and Gladiolus. They had been there every step of the way. They had been there every step she had taken to become herself. She could remember laughing. She could remember being happy. She could remember the life she had formed. Her life. Her heart.

"I like it."

"No future... And no past..." she repeated the fortune teller's words. A weak laugh escaped under her breath. "I'm afraid you were wrong." Grunting, she pushed herself up. Her limbs were weak, but she could stand once again. "My future, my life, is what I make it.." She took a step forward, through the light, past her tree, and towards the Chaos. "I am here...because I chose to be here...!" She was the one who could brave the Chaos of the Underworld. "Though... Though it may have been my fault..."

The Chaos tried to break her defences with the regret of that memory, but she would not allow it. She had been the one to open the Gates. The imbalance that now enveloped her, tried to break her, was because of her doing. That thought, that regret, had allowed the Chaos in to begin with. It had found the chink in her armour, and had not held back.

But not now.

She would not let it.

It may have been her fault, but she would also be the one to fix it. She had to, so that the efforts of her friends would not be in vain. They all had their role to play. The awakening of the Sleeper had to be halted in the world of the living, just as the Chaos had to be contained in the land of the dead.

"I will see this through. I will succeed. We will succeed!" She stood before the Chaos, at the edge of the shelter of her heart. The winds of Chaos howled in front of her, trying to gain its hold on her once again "And I can do this because of who I am, because of what I am. I am me." She held her head high, and carried her light with her. "And I will not be consumed by this Chaos. I will not lose myself again!

"I am Niveus!"

Niveus' light shone through the darkness of the Chaos. Taking a step, she set back out to right what she had wronged. The Chaos tried to weaken her, its storm unrelenting as ever, but she would not let it. For she was Niveus, and she was not alone. Her heart, forged from the friendships and the bonds she had made, could not be extinguished.