Happy February! I have a (short) chapter ready to go. Real life has kept me away from writing for a bit, so not sure when I will have the next chapter ready, but I haven't forgotten about it :) Let's get to it, shall we.

How long had Noctis been here? It was hard to tell due to the cosmic sky outside that made it endless night, again. Although, this was different from the last time. He had the feeling that he wasn't on Eos at all. Was he, dead? Trapped in a dream or some other cliché like that? He couldn't remember how he got here, or where "here" was.

At least he did have creature comforts. There was plenty of edible food and a clean bathroom. It was still a prison, but it was a gilded one. There were no weapons, not even a kitchen knife. And it would take a powerful weapon to take down an armored being like Odin.

He could use the ball and chain again, especially now that it was no longer attached to him. Noctis had never thought of himself as an expert locksmith, yet the gold brooch that held his black cape on made an excellent lock pick. It hadn't taken too much effort to break the lock and remove the ball and chain from his leg. He supposed it would do, except that Odin would be prepared for it.

When would he return? And could Noctis escape by then? He peered out the window at the endless night sky. If he jumped out the window he would fall into an endless abyss. Escape was impossible. This left him with no choice but to wait for his captor.

Noctis refused to just sit there and wait. He had time to prepare. He would do all he could. He eyed a glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. He had not noticed it in the pitch darkness, but now that Odin had turned the lights on, it was shining in all its glory. Glass was sharp. And it wouldn't hurt to have a backup weapon.

Could the ball and chain reach it? He had to try. He grunted with the exertion of lifting the heavy ball and chain, waving his arms in a windup, then tossing the ball up as high as he could. It was only after he tossed it that he realized that what went up must come down. He leaped aside just as the ball crashed into the floor where he had been standing, leaving a few inch crater in its wake. If it had been Noctis's head…he didn't want to think about it.

He hadn't even made a dent in the chandelier, he thought with rueful annoyance. It still hung there in all its garish glory. He didn't want to try again. He may not be so lucky in avoiding next time. If he could warp, that was a different story, but it was still denied him. What had Odin and his sister done to him?

Noctis examined the crater, feeling around it for a lack of something better to do, only to wince as he sliced his hand on something. As he jerked his hand back to nurse it, he studied the hole more deeply to see what had hurt him, and he saw the jagged tile. Broken tiles could be sharp too. Wrapping his hand in his cape to protect it, he dug in the hole and emerged with the tile. Just for grins, he tried to place it in the void with all his other usual weapons, not expecting anything, but still trying anyway.

To his surprise, his access to the void was back. All his weapons were there, evidently rendering his whole enterprise moot. He couldn't celebrate though. The door to the hall crashed open, kicked in by equine feet as Odin and his horse galloped in, both staring down at Noctis in baleful menace.

"Draw your sword," Odin commanded.

Big armored hulks deserved a greatsword, Noctis decided, drawing one from the void.

Odin chuckled in triumph. "Looks like Sis really did listen to me. Let's begin." His own greatsword, easily as big as Noctis himself, slashed down with the force and weight of an anvil.

Noctis leaped aside, clumsily. He hadn't had a chance to check if he could warp again, so had done it the old fashioned way to ensure evasion. He heard the whinny of the horse as Odin wheeled it to charge in Noctis's direction.

"Isn't a mounted rider attacking an unmounted person a bit unfair," Noctis called out, jumping aside yet again.

"Hah! There is no fairness in battle. You fight with what you have to win. Nobility in battle is a myth," Odin replied, charging again.

"I imagine it's boring though, winning all the time," Noctis returned, managing a blow that clanged on Odin's stirrup.

"It doesn't matter as long as I win," Odin returned, preparing another attack.

"Really? Then why did you have your 'sister' return my weapons to me," Noctis replied coldly. "You stood a much better chance of leaving me with nothing."

Odin pulled sharply on the reins, causing his horse to rear and whinny for a moment before Odin had it under control.

"Very clever of you," Odin stated, tossing his reins aside, dismounting from his horse with great agility considering his clunky armor, slapping his horse's rear to get it to run outside; leaving Odin and Noctis alone in the chamber.

Noctis wasn't going to be fool enough to rush him now. He had to bide his time now that Odin had taken one of his advantages away.

"You already know the first lesson of fighting for the light," Odin stated. "It's not always about physical strength. One must be able to use their wits as well to win a battle. A true victory for light is to outwit one's opponent without drawing blood at all."

Noctis blinked. "Then, you won't fight me," he asked hopefully.

Odin laughed, a reverberating rumble from within his armor, his only warning before lunging again with an intent to kill.

Noctis parried, using all his strength to block the blade, catching them both in a riposte.

"If you are trying to train me for fighting for the light, you should know I've already done that," Noctis said in rushed desperation.

"Hmph. Maybe, but you have strayed from that," Odin returned.

"How," Noctis replied, totally clueless.

"You let Ardyn live," Odin countered, breaking free of the riposte, pushing Noctis back. "I will shed every drop of your corrupted blood until all that remains is the light. Then you are fit to reign in mother's world."

"Who is your mother," Noctis demanded.

"Why, Cosmos, of course," Odin returned as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Cosmos, Noctis thought, then memory returned. The wedding, the beautiful blonde woman who had sent him and Luna to Besaid. Wait, Luna!

"Where is Luna," Noctis demanded.

"Don't worry. My sister is taking care of her," Odin stated calmly, the very calmness sending chills down Noctis's spine.

"Your sister, is Valefor," Noctis stated, finally piecing it together.

"Oh! So you broke free of her spell, huh. You are farther gone than I thought. I'll have to spill even more of your blood then," Odin replied, raising his sword and lunging again.

The fight was in earnest now, Noctis realized. His instincts told him the purposefulness of his foe's movements. He felt the strength of the blows that were even stronger than before. The previous moves had been feeling him out. It was as though Odin had Noctis's number now and was going to pummel him.

For the first time in a long time, Noctis felt real fear.

Agneya was gone, Cosmos thought in annoyance as she found the rear entrance to Ramuh's cave. It really was cleverly hidden as a trick of forced perspective. The rock walls lined up in such a way that it looked like a smooth wall. It was only when one reached out to touch it that they realized there was a gap there.

Ramuh had graciously shared its secret with her. It really did pay to have friends, she thought smugly, ignoring the fact that it was her hypnosis that had revealed the secret. Regardless, Agneya had left the cave. Cosmos could find no sign of her. She supposed Ramuh's warning word had triggered the little girl to run, but there was no use crying over spilled milk now.

Cosmos would curse her own weakness though. If she hadn't needed to rest after "befriending" Ramuh, she could have quickly caught up to the girl and added her to her list of allies. Now she would have to start all over again with finding the little girl. The girl needed to be protected by the light. She needed Cosmos's warmth and comfort, especially since the poor thing had no mother of her own.

Cosmos thought of her own children. They had been her one solace in her relationship with Chaos. Even if they had been conceived in hatred and fear, she had loved nurturing them after they were born. Being spawned from both darkness and light, they embodied facets of both in their own unique way.

Valefor represented nothingness, forgetfulness, everything that was "gray" in the world, the true balance of darkness and light. Cosmos's son Odin embodied combat itself. Combat itself was evil and destructive, which Chaos had been. Yet, combat was also needed to keep the peace or to defend oneself against evil, giving it a connection to the light.

Her children loved her in return—doing her bidding to return Noctis and Luna to the cause of light. The royal couple had lost their way. If they had been truly devoted to the light, they would not have questioned or resisted Cosmos. They would have followed her unconditionally as the others had. The fact that they had not made them liabilities.

Cosmos hated the necessity. They had fought so hard for the light. They did not deserve the torture that her children would bestow upon them. However, she knew full well that there were times one had to suffer for the light. Noctis and Luna would emerge from their experiences stronger and more fit to rule in the new world of light. Fit enough to know who the true leader was. They would just need to follow her lead in all things and Cosmos's dreams of a light utopia would come true.

The fact that Ramuh had questioned her intentions were disturbing. Why would he think she wanted to return Eos to the ball of light it had once been? The planet she had birthed on her own without pain and fear. The innocent planet devoid of darkness and Chaos…

Cosmos had to eradicate all darkness on the planet. If there was even a speck of it left, one person who had even a drop of darkness in their hearts, her utopia would be ruined. In that case, the only remedy would be to turn the planet back into a star. It would be better that no life existed at all than having darkness existing.

She didn't want to resort to that though. She didn't want to shed blood. She would much prefer to vanquish darkness through peaceful means than through destruction.

However, if she had not been in hiding all these years, she would have been forced to do that. She could have stopped the Starscourge and The Usurper in one blow. The Usurper may have been immortal, but even he couldn't do anything if the planet became a star.

That is, if her consort had let her, she thought with a flash of remembered fear. Chaos had no doubt reveled in the darkness and evil that the Starscourge and its Accursed Vessel had wrought upon the planet. He was no doubt eating up that darkness himself to gain power. Cosmos would not have been able to prevail against that.

He was gone now though. And the light was sustaining her, strengthening her.

The problem was that the Usurper was still alive. He had cheated death yet again, and Noctis and Luna, devoted to the light, continued to let him live. They had to pay for that. And now he dared call himself Ardyn Lucis Caelum, human being. She should take care of him herself. However, she could not shed blood for the light. She would have to rely on others to take care of that for her. It would happen soon. Her allies were lining up to serve her. The Usurper's days were numbered.

For now, she had to focus on finding Agneya. The poor girl was out there, motherless, doubtless alone and scared. Cosmos had to recover her and take her into her loving arms. Shiva would have wanted it.

"I, didn't think you'd actually do it," Wiz Junior gasped upon seeing Ardyn return, riding an untamable black chocobo with a parade of females in tow.

Ardyn smirked, satisfied by the look on the man's face. It had been all he could have hoped for. The man looked like a fish on the dock, wriggling uncomfortably, gasping. Ardyn reveled in it for a moment before returning to business.

"I held the World of Darkness in the palm of my hand. Did you really think something like this was beyond me," Ardyn reminded him.

Wiz Junior's hand clenched a moment, but he subsided. "I suppose, I can take this as a gesture of good faith that you aren't going to destroy the world again," Wiz Junior asked tentatively.

"Look around you," Ardyn commanded. "You and the chocobos are here, having lived through the darkness. Even at my full powers I was, unable, and unwilling if you can believe it, to destroy you. And since light has returned, I can do even less now," he added with a touch of bitterness.

Wiz Junior heard the sincerity in Ardyn's voice and was mollified. "I, suppose I treated you badly. I grew up with that, you understand. We blamed you for everything."

Ardyn shrugged. "Well, you weren't wrong. However, if you are apologizing now, perhaps I can ask for that car you promised?"

Wiz Junior looked sheepish. "Yeah. It's ready. But, it might not be a car you want to use."

"I'm sure it's fine," Ardyn stated. "Lead on."

Wiz Junior did as he was bid, getting more and more uncomfortable as they approached the garage. Ardyn soon saw why. It was a truck made out to look like a chocobo. There was a fiberglass chocobo head and beak on the front, and a tail on the back. The sides were emblazoned with the words "Wiz Junior's Chocobo Post".

"I, call it the Chocobo Mobile," Wiz Junior commented awkwardly. "I, use it for promotions and events and things. I, can make some calls to get you a better car if you care to wait," he added.

Ardyn shrugged, resigned. "I am somewhat in a hurry. This will do."

"Er. Ok. You, saved my ass with those chocobos. If you ever need a place to stay or a place for supplies, I hope you think of us. I'll give you a good discount," Wiz Junior added earnestly.

Ardyn should have laughed derisively at the man's abrupt changing of his tune, yet somehow he could not. The man was letting bygones be bygones, which was something Ardyn had never been able to achieve. The man was willing to forgo revenge and bitterness for a mere handful of chocobos, and was willing to move on with his life.

Ardyn could appreciate that. "Good to know," was all he said before clambering awkwardly in the motorized chocobo and setting off on his way.

He couldn't help thinking though that, back in the day, his allies had been emperors, scientists, soldiers, and monsters. Now his allies consisted of chocobo farmers. How the mighty had fallen.