I believe you were promised a chapter within a few days ;) ohhh boy. Not long til the end now. Thank you, everyone! Thank you to Jen as well, for beta-ing the first half of this chapter :)

Thank you to Wolf Strife for your review!

Yes. Chapter title was taken straight from the soundtrack, thank you Florence + the Machine.

Summary: "STELLA!" A female voice rang out. Stella couldn't place who had called her name, but she heard the resounding cracks of gunshots being fired. Somewhere close to her, loud squawks were heard, high-pitched, keening noises.

Her chocobo.

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XV

FINALFANTASYXV

Was this what having friends was like?

Even after the weeks, the months that had passed, she still found it difficult to open up, to tell them anything, and by the Six she was not going to tell them that with each time the pain from her wound came back, it worsened exponentially, that she could feel the darkness reaching into her like thick vines wrapping around her insides, and she was definitely not going to tell them about the horrible, horrible thought that she might die from it, no matter how many times it crossed her mind. Yes, the months had been kind to their relationships- they had been more than welcoming to her, and Stella felt more than a little guilty about not being able to let them in in the same way.

Having the chocobo helped. After it had arrived at the garage, it had followed her everywhere, much to the amusement of everyone at the base. With Prompto's ever so enthusiastic instructions, she had learned to take care of the giant bird and how to read its moods, and then all of a sudden, there had been this rush of emotion for it that Stella hadn't known could even existed. It was as if having the chocobo there took away her sadness and some of her confusion, making her feel as if she had found something inside her she had been missing.

That feeling wedged itself into her chest, nestled inside her ribcage, gaping a little wider each day she saw the big yellow bird, every time she saw children on the base laugh and run up to play with it, every time she looked at the fond smiles on the adults faces as they watched. Recently, it had been wedging that space wider and wider whenever they received a message from Gladio and Ignis down in Duscae, whenever Prompto had that smile on his face like the sun was shining when he thought she wasn't looking.

I will be…

She was finally learning to live, albeit in a world that was stuck in perpetual night, infested by daemons, but it was her life. It was her time to take chances, to make mistakes, and to learn from them. It was her time to run free, far away from the concrete walls that had been her home for as long as she could remember.

Silence will not cover me.

It happened at the worst possible time.

They received news that a group on a supply run had run into trouble going up from Galdin Quay to Hammerhead, and with the amount of supplies they had, the small party was hopelessly outmatched by the enormous and numerous daemons that appeared. There was no way any of them would survive unscathed, and with the supplies they had…they needed backup, and the ones who could get there in time were those stationed at Hammerhead. Prompto, of course, was the first to volunteer- and Stella, surprisingly, who adamantly refused to let him go on his own, in fewer words. A small backup squad had been assigned, but it would take them time to prepare whereas the two blonds were always ready to fight. They didn't even bother with arranging transport- Stella simply hopped onto her ever-faithful chocobo, held out a hand for Prompto, who took it and jumped on behind her, and they were off like a shot.

I will be...

Stella had ridden her chocobo before, but being in the base was nothing like this, with the speed of the bird making her hair fly behind her, giving her an exhilarating sense of freedom to see the landscape that passed them, even when shrouded in the darkness of night. In the back of her mind, she had an image of her hair continually smacking Prompto, and she almost wanted to let out an apologetic giggle. She kept her eyes open for any daemons spawning, should they be attacked, but the daemons were thankfully few and far between, with the chocobo easily outrunning them.

With a jolt, she realized that this was the most she had seen of Lucis since splaying her hands and pressing her face against the windows on Aranea's airship. Being on the ground was nothing like being in the air, and if Stella had to choose, she would ride on the back of this chocobo across the world forever.

I will be…

Of course, they didn't have that luxury.

The duo met the group, surrounded by daemons, just an hour's ride out from Hammerhead. Prompto fired an opening shot, the clear sound ringing through the open area, and Stella drew her rapier, rushing head-first toward an Iron Giant that was about to pulverize a man who was trying to haul a large bag of supplies back onto the truck. Her weapon met the daemon's armor, steel clashing against steel, sending sparks flying. She fought the daemon off barely breaking a sweat as the chocobo ran into the fray, letting out powerful kicks at the smaller daemons.

Months of fighting alongside Prompto had helped them build up their own rhythm and style; while Stella could no doubt hold her own, Prompto also helped with cover fire, and hitting places she might have missed. This time was no different; she would take down one daemon, he would shoot another one coming at her, and then she would kill the next.

A good number of the daemons had been taken care of when a sharp pain shot all over her body from her chest, reaching to the tips of her fingertips and toes, drawing a gasp from her. Stella tightened her grip on her rapier, fending off the swing of the Red Giant's enormous sword. She barely managed to slide the monster's weapon to the side before the pain came again with a renewed burst of energy, knocking the wind out of her and putting her on her knees, her right hand clenched around her weapon. It was pure luck that Prompto looked over at that moment, when the Giant raised its sword, prepared to cleave her in half.

"STELLA!"

He let out a barrage of shots, the Giant falling back onto the ground before disappearing in a black haze. There was still half a battlefield between them, and not enough time to cover her from all the daemons that had started converging around her. From the corner of her eye, Stella caught a glimpse of a colossal shape in the shadows, slithering toward the supply truck where several, less combat-ready people were attempting to load and guard the bags and crates in the trunk. Her chocobo stood guard, kicking at every daemon that came close, but the bird didn't see the shadow coming from behind it, and when the moonlight revealed its pallid face, its talon-like nails and its immense snake tail trailing behind it, Stella was sure that her heart had stopped.

The Naga looked down at the chocobo with wide, excited, predatory eyes, nails curved and ready to send the bird to its death. Stella grit her teeth, scrambled onto her feet and ran to her bird, slashing at every daemon in her way. She made it just when the Naga's claw came down, her rapier slitting open the pale flesh on the underside of its hand. The daemon screeched in pain, angry eyes focused on her now. Stella readied herself for the Naga's next attack, but the pain then increased tenfold, and she momentarily blacked out. She felt herself falling, but the loud 'KWEH!' of her chocobo shook her back to consciousness.

I will be…

Her chocobo needed help. The people who were loading and guarding the supplies for those back in Hammerhead needed help. She wasn't about to let them down, not even with the pain that was making her see spots in the darkness. Shaking her head, Stella blew out a quick breath, mind shoving out the pain and completely focusing on her target, just like the way Ardyn Izunia and General Glauca had taught her all those years ago. She thanked the stars that there was something useful she had learned from them, through all her years of captivity. Her icy blue eyes snapped open and filled with fire when she saw the long, bloody gash on her chocobo's left wing and heard the almost-pitiful kweh it made, watching the way the Naga's pale lips pulled upwards into a grimace-like smile, its pointed teeth sinking into its own flesh as it did so. With a low snarl, she leapt toward the daemon, bringing her rapier down as hard as she could.

Silence will not cover me.

The skin on the Naga's shoulder split down to its sternum, where Stella's weapon had landed its hit. It was a deep injury, and blue blood spurted out onto the dark grass, flowing down to the Naga's already-slick tail. It howled angrily, its long arms and talon-like hands slashing at the air. One of the ends of its nails caught her by surprise, and it gashed her right across her stomach, making her wince. She was sure it wasn't that deep of a cut; Stella quickly weighed the pros and cons of dodging the hits against blocking them, trying to decide which would help her more as the pain threatened to burst from the mental cage she had shoved it into. Her train of thought was stopped short when a man only a short distance away from her blocked one of the Naga's flailing arms, but didn't see its thick tail headed right for him.

"Look out!" She yelled, running over and tackling him out of the way.

She wasn't quick enough.

The man landed in the grass unscathed, but the Naga's thrashing tail smashed into her right in her chest and stomach, and the pain that had been locked behind frail bars burst forth, leaving Stella grasping at the grass where she landed, at her rapier, whatever she could find that would ground her to consciousness through the onslaught that felt like a thousand knives plunging into her body and her head all at once.

"STELLA!" A female voice rang out. Stella couldn't place who had called her name, but she heard the resounding cracks of gunshots being fired. Somewhere close to her, loud squawks were heard, high-pitched, keening noises.

Her chocobo.

Someone's hand was on her arm. "Prompto, you need to get her out!"

Her chocobo had been hurt. She needed to tell someone, needed to get them to take care of it first. The Naga was still loose, and there were people who were going to die if they didn't take down the daemon.

"Her stomach! It's bleeding!"

She wanted to tell them that no, the pain was coming from her chest, from the wound that was marked with black veins. She could feel the darkness reaching into her deeper and deeper, clawing its way deep into her chest and down into her belly. She wanted to scream; her blood felt like it was on fire.

I will be…

Arms were around her the next moment, lifting her up from the cool grass onto another hard surface.

"IRIS! BEHIND YOU!"

A loud clash of metal. "I've got it, we can handle it from here! Meet you back at Hammerhead!"

An engine somewhere roared to life, and then they were moving, each bump on the road agitating her wounds and the ever-spreading darkness, but the night air cooled her heated skin. Whoever was holding her put a hand onto her forehead, and then there was pressure on the wound on her stomach, making her gasp in pain.

"Stella, you need to stay awake."

It was Prompto. Stella bit down hard on the inside of her cheeks, trying to break through the thick, painful haze.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, pressing a little harder and hearing the small whimper that escaped from her lips. "I'm so sorry, I know it hurts. We'll get you help, promise. You just need to stay awake."

A soft kweh was heard, and then there was a feathery soft warmth next to her. Her chocobo was there. It was with her, it was safe. Stella wanted to say something, anything, but it was too much.

The drive seemed to last a lifetime, with each minute she spent trying to force the darkness inside back, trying desperately to fully regain consciousness, to beat the impossibility of opening her eyes.

It wasn't fair. She had just started to live. She had just started to figure out what beauty really was, how big the world was and how much it had to offer. She had just made friends, good friends, even though she had never been able to tell them how she had learned to appreciate them in the months that they had spent together. She had gone through so much. Why was the world taking everything away from her again? Hadn't it taken away enough?

I was meant to be…

At last, it was finally over. They finally stopped moving, and after a bit of jostling, Stella felt herself being carried somewhere, full of frantic voices and running footsteps, and then, finally, quiet. The uneven feeling of someone walking stopped, and she felt herself being lowered onto something soft.

"Stella?" Prompto's hand rested on her forehead again, the other pressing against her stomach. Was it bleeding anymore?

Breathing quickly, both from pain and the enormous effort of forcing her eyes to open, Stella let out a low groan, clenching her fists tightly.

"Stella?"

Prompto's blond head was blurry at first, but she managed to blink a few times, and everything else came into focus.

They were back in her room. Prompto kneeled next to her bed, and her chocobo stood right next to him. He laughed in relief at seeing her opened blue eyes, and if Stella had been able to see clearly, she would have seen that his had been shining with tears.

The darkness was wrapped all around her now; in addition to her wounds, Stella could feel it ravaging through her whole body, constricting and slowly draining the life out of her. There was no pushing it back this time, no way she could fight or win against it. This was what Ardyn Izunia had meant to do, then- give her hope, hope of finally living her life, and then take it all away, slowly as the knowledge and realization of her imminent end ate away at her, drowning her in hopelessness.

Stella let out a dry chuckle. It was now or never

Silence will not cover me.

"Prompto?" she asked softly, lifting her hand with a herculean effort. He immediately took it, lacing their fingers together.

"Yeah?"

"I'm…" Stella choked back the odd sensation of tears that were threatening to clamp up her throat. "I'm glad to have met you," she said, the most she had spoken to him…or any of the others…in a single sentence.

Something must have registered in his mind then, because the unshed tears in his eyes broke through the dam and dripped onto her soiled sheets.

"You're going to be okay," Prompto told her earnestly, forcing a smile. He put his free hand on her chocobo's long neck. "You've still got lots of places to go and see, right? We can do it on chocobo back again, just like we did earlier."

She laughed, a sob rising in her chest. "Thank you…for not giving up…"

On me. Thank you for never giving up on me. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you.

Even though she didn't say those words out loud, she prayed to every star, every deity listening that he knew what she meant.

Prompto's hand shakily came up to brush her bangs back from her forehead. Stella's other hand gripped his hand right when he was about to pull away, dragging it down to her cardigan instead and pulling it aside to reveal the dark veins that had now spread all over her chest, the pulsing blackness that was sucking her life away. His blue eyes widened, his hand in hers clenching.

I was meant to be…

"I'm glad I had the chance to meet you…and Gladio…and Ignis…and…" she groaned in pain. "When…when Luna comes back…please give her my…my rapier…I want…her to have it…"

I will be…

At his nod, she relaxed, her breaths becoming shallower with each second that passed.

Silence will not cover me.

"I think I'm going to…just take a small nap," Stella said quietly, giving up the fight and letting her eyes flutter close.

Prompto's watery hiccup-laugh made her tighten her grip on his hand as much as she could.

I will be…

"I'll ask Ignis for some of that…orange chiffon cake…when I…wake up…"

"The kind you like for breakfast, right? I'll make sure he has some ready for you," she heard him promise, felt his hand on her cheek. Stella managed a smile.

"Thank you," she murmured sleepily. The haze was overtaking her, overtaking the pain, blocking out everything else. She felt the soft feathers of her chocobo against her shoulder.

I will be brave.

Prompto didn't know how long he stayed there, silent tears streaming down his cheeks and with Stella's hand tight in his. It was gradually losing warmth, but if he just held her tighter, if he just tried a little harder, maybe, maybe…

The only companion he had was the chocobo next to him, obviously grieving as well with the small mourning sounds the bird made instead of its usual enthusiastic 'kweh' until he faintly registered the door opening behind him.

"Stella? Stella, are you- oh, Prompto," Iris said, breathing out a sigh of relief as she walked toward where he sat. "How is…"

She trailed off, taking in the scene, and then there was just silence for a while. Prompto heard her breath hitch as she tried to quiet her sniffs and sobs.

"Gladdy and Ignis are on their way," Iris finally whispered after her breathing evened out, much later. She put a hand on his still-trembling form, and though he appreciated the small gesture, he couldn't stop how he shivered when he finally put Stella's hand down.

Gladio and Ignis arrived only hours later, with Iris letting them know what had happened- what Prompto ended up telling her. Even for his brothers, he didn't want to repeat the story ever again. He was busy looking over Stella's things, speaking with someone as they put together long pieces of wood in the shape of a pyre out in the open area behind Takka's Diner when they approached him, and he finally, truly fell apart in the presence of two of his brothers.

They wouldn't talk about it until much later, when the fire from the pyre was burning high in the starry sky, the waning moon in the distance.

"She didn't open up to us like Luna, but I'm glad we could get to know her," Ignis said, his hands folded in front of him respectfully, as if in prayer.

It was strange. They hadn't had the time to know Luna for long, but they had been such strong bonds in the short time that they had together, whereas Stella…she took time, and their relationships weren't quite as close, but she was starting to open up to them. It was an almost-something. It was a could-have-been, a maybe, a there-might-be, but Prompto brushed those thoughts aside as he wiped at the tears in his eyes with his arm.

"So, what now?" Gladio asked gruffly, the flames reflected in his amber eyes.

Prompto stared at the pyre for a while longer, trying to remember the way Stella had smiled, had tried to live in the time that she had.

"Now? Now we wait," he finally said. He thought back to the rapier that rested on the desk in his room, and her last request. This was the time to hunker down and wait, this was the time to rest, regroup, and resupply before the end. He could feel it; they could all feel it, looming like a storm cloud above them. Stella had believed Luna would return, she made that clear with her last words- 'when', not 'if' Luna comes back.

When. Not if.

However long it took before the end, he and his brothers would wait. They would keep the faith for Eos, for Noctis, for Luna, and for the hope of a new dawn, no matter how long it took.

One month passed.

And then another.

And then in the middle of the famed Disc of Cauthess, the Astral Shard all lit up with an ethereal blue flame at night, there was a gust of wind, and then a blonde figure with tattered clothes and a trident in its grip appeared.