History has its eyes on you
-Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda

The sun was too bright.

Ardyn winced as he opened his eyes. His skin felt-too warm, and too tight, and there was a fog in his mind that was both familiar and terrifying. He risked opening his eyes again and they watered as they slowly grew used to the light. The bark of the tree he rested against dug into his skin painfully, almost like-

-Lances that pierced his body and kept him chained-

"Papa!"

A girl waved at him from beside a lake, giving him a gap-toothed smile. Her tightly coiled curls blew in the breeze.

"Come on, Papa!"

Then Elpis was beside their daughter and holding her hand out to him. "When did you get so lazy?" she called out to him, teasing.

Ardyn smiled. "I've always been lazy, darling. You knew that when you married me."

Elpis laughed, a sound he would never tire of, and lowered the straps of her dress. Suddenly much more interested in the proceedings, Ardyn stood as Elpis took off her dress until she was in her shift and waded into the lake's water.

"Come, my King," she said. "The water's warm."

With a delighted yell, Aurea ran into the lake, kicking up water until she was up to her knees in it. Laughing, Ardyn went to join them-then stopped. Somnus stood at the edge of the lake, watching, his face unreadable.

For a reason Ardyn couldn't pinpoint, fear clutched his heart. He took a hesitant step forward. "Som? What-"

Somnus summoned his sword and, in two steps, was upon Elpis and Aurea. Elpis tried to shove Aurea behind her, but was stopped short when Somnus ran his sword through her chest. Aurea screamed as Elpis fell into the water, dead, and then her scream died when Somnus brought his sword down on her as well. Blood colored the water a dark red and stained the hem of Somnus' robes.

A wordless scream ripped itself from Ardyn's throat as he tried to run towards them, but something held him back, something he couldn't see, and then Somnus was there in front of him, his eyes dark and his expression cold and unforgiving.

"Remember, brother," Somnus said as he rose his blade, "the throne seats only one."

The last that Ardyn saw was his brother's sword coming down, blazing in the sunlight.

Despite the fact that they stopped for the night in Hammerhead, Elpis doubted that anyone of their party actually rested. She'd only managed a few hours of uneasy sleep herself. Nightmares had woken her up too many times to count, though when she tried to recall what they'd been about, she'd come up empty. The only evidence that they happened was an uneasiness in her chest.

She rose before anyone else did and went about quietly making some kind of breakfast, though she wasn't hungry. After giving Vincent some breakfast of his own, Elpis hopped onto the hood of the truck and nibbled at her toast, gaze towards Insomnia. They never covered this in the history books or in stories: How long someone had to wait for something to happen, for things to start moving, to get to the end. If Elpis thought too hard on the fact that things might finally end in a few hours, it stopped feeling real.

Whatever happened today, the world would never be the same.

"Couldn't sleep either, huh?"

Noctis joined her, leaning against the grill of the truck, a cup of Ebony in his hands.

"You didn't too, I'm guessing," Elpis said.

"I've been resting for five years," Noctis said. "Kind of tired of it." He yawned, causing Elpis to shoot him a look.

"Don't," Elpis said, then yawned herself. "Ugh. Why is it that no one mentions how tired you might be before going into battle?"

"Because no one would join the Glaive or the Guard if they did," Noctis said with a small smile. It fell fast, as did his gaze. "Did you think of a plan?"

"No," Elpis said. They'd all stayed up late, trying to cobble together something resembling a plan, and had fallen short. They knew very little of what awaited them in Insomnia, past Ardyn. How were they supposed to get to Bahamut? How were they supposed to solve the problem of Eos and her hatred of her own creations?

"Be nice if someone who got us into this mess were here to tell us how to get out of it," Noctis said at length.

It took Elpis' fatigued mind a moment to unravel that. Then she said, "I haven't seen Alexus in five years. Not since..."

"I know," Noctis said. "Worth a shot."

"I didn't know what they were going to do in Gralea," Elpis said. "They'd been acting weird since they came back from being dead, but I didn't ever expect them to betray us all like that."

Her tone veered into pleading; Noctis had no reason to believe her, and Elpis wanted him to, badly.

"I know," Noctis repeated, then gave her another small smile. "You know you wouldn't be here if I thought I couldn't trust you, right?"

Elpis blinked and sat back. "Um."

"I didn't at first," Noctis said as he finished off his coffee and set the mug aside. "And I definitely still don't trust Ardyn. But you've been honest with me from the start, and you... you gave me a choice, when no one else really would. That would have been enough, but the guys trust you, too. And Libertus told me about you on the drive up. And when you were gone in Lestallum, I heard people talking about you, about what you've done. So, I trust you."

"Oh," Elpis said, at a loss. "Okay."

"Don't sound so surprised," Noctis said, laughing quietly. "C'mon. Ignis is making breakfast. Might as well make the most of it before we leave."

"Yeah," Elpis said, for lack of a better response, and she jumped off the truck's hood to follow him back into the service station. In her wildest dreams, she'd never have imagined being at this point: A trusted companion of Prince Noctis'.

And why should it surprise me so much? Elpis wondered. If she and Ardyn had been allowed to live two thousand years before, Noctis would be her descendant, not Somnus'. He was, in a way, family. She wrinkled her nose at the thought and shook it off; no, it was too weird to consider Noctis family, at least right now.

But a friend? A trusted comrade in arms? She could do that. Maybe the rest would follow, if she lived.

"Whoa," Prompto said as the truck pulled to a halt.

As Gladio parked the truck, everyone got out and considered the scene before them. They'd driven to the city limits of Insomnia while going over what little plans they had. No daemons had stopped them, and even though it felt like an entire day had passed due to her impatience, Elpis knew it had only been a few hours. Before leaving, they'd said their goodbyes to Cindy and Cid, everyone very carefully not mentioning it would likely be the last time they saw each other.

Now they stood before Insomnia, staring at the glowing red wall that encircled the city. Gladio knelt down, picked up a rock as large as his hand, and threw it at the wall, where it ineffectually bounced off and nearly hit Vincent. The dog yelped and ran back over to Elpis, whining.

Elpis grit her teeth in frustration. This wall was keeping her from Ardyn.

"Right," Noctis said. "Any ideas?"

"Maybe if we knock nicely?" Prompto said.

Elpis unhooked her stave from her belt and extended it to its full length. "Only one way to find out," she said, planting her feet and raising her stave.

Something shot past her and landed at her feet, giving off an electric spark. Elpis jumped back and stared at the purple arrow, then turned around.

Her breath caught in her throat.

It had been five years since she'd last seen Laelia, but Elpis knew her immediately.

Laelia lowered her silver bow and gave Elpis a long, unreadable look. She wore light, silver armor and a white dress with sylleblossoms embroidered at the hems, and her hair was done in small braids. Elpis had a momentary flash of unreasonable jealously. She'd always braided Laelia's hair. Who had done it for her the past five years?

What didn't surprise her was seeing Ravus standing by Laelia's side, hand on the pommel of his sword. Elpis was distantly aware of Noctis tensing, but she couldn't look away from Laelia.

"Hey... guys?" Prompto said, clearly at a loss, but his hand twitched as if he wanted to summon his guns.

"Ravus," Noctis said. "Didn't expect to see you here, gotta admit."

"Probably should have," Gladio said with a frown.

"Laelia," Elpis finally said, taking a step towards her sister, hand lifting.

"Elpis," Laelia said, her tone so cool that it stopped Elpis in her tracks. "You're here to free Ardyn, aren't you?"

Noctis glanced at her and stepped forward. "You're planning on stopping us, Ravus?"

Ravus pulled his sword free and took up a fighting stance. Laelia seemed to take a cue from him and shifted her own footing, bringing her bow back up, where a purple arrow made of energy appeared as she pulled the string back and nocked it.

"We're here to kill the beast," Ravus said. "You would be wise to let us do as much."

Whatever was said in reply to Ravus, Elpis missed it. She could only stare at her sister. How much she had grown in just five years! She was twenty-two now, but she looked so much older, so much wiser. It did not escape Elpis' notice that her dress had a pattern similar to the coat Ravus wore, or that Laelia no longer needed her cane. Or that beneath her sleeveless dress, Laelia appeared to be wearing a men's white shirt, the sleeves done up to stay out of her way while she fired her arrows.

When did she take up archery? Elpis wondered. Was it true about her and Ravus? What had she done in the five years since the Long Night began? There were so many things Elpis wanted to ask her.

Most of all, she wanted to fall to her knees and beg Laelia's forgiveness.

Something of those thoughts most have passed on Elpis' face, because she saw Laelia's expression change. She lowered her bow slightly, a furrow appearing between her brow, and Elpis didn't think twice.

She ran forward and had her arms around Laelia before anyone could react. She hugged her sister tightly, gasping in the scent of her shampoo, floral and bright. Laelia let out a small 'oomph'.

"Hey," Laelia said, uncertain at first, then indignant. "Hey!"

She pushed Elpis away, then stopped when she saw that Elpis was crying. "Damnit," Laelia said, "that-that isn't fair! You don't get to cry after five years without ever coming to see me or-or talk to me-and-"

"Look at you," Elpis said, cupping Laelia's cheeks. "You're beautiful."

Laelia blushed and almost pouted. "Ellie," she said in exasperation, "now is not the time!"

"She's got a point," Prompto said, motioning to the wall and the city behind them. "I mean, sorry, but-"

"Oh, shove it," Elpis said with a laugh, bringing Laelia into another hug.

Laelia grumbled, then stopped as Ravus stepped closer. He set a hand on her shoulder. Elpis pulled away enough to watch as the two shared a look, an entire conversation happening without either of them uttering a word, and she knew Aranea had been telling her the truth.

Her little sister had caught the heart of the King of Tenebrae. Well, Elpis thought, and who could blame him for falling?

With a sigh, Laelia set her bow on her back and nodded at Ravus. Ignis seemed to catch on to the shift in the air between everyone, as he gently said, "Let's rest and come up with a plan to get through the wall."

"We're not killing Ardyn," Elpis said, never taking her eyes off Laelia.

Silence met her declaration before everyone shuffled off. That much, at least, they had agreed upon before leaving Hammerhead: Ardyn was hers. She had made each and every one of them promise that no matter what, they wouldn't try to kill Ardyn until she herself was dead.

Laelia rose an eyebrow. "Do you even know how to save him?"

"No," Elpis said. "But I know that you and Ravus can't kill him, either. The prophecy won't allow it."

Laelia crossed her arms over her chest. "So you'll let the prophecy work in your favor, but not ours?"

She couldn't stop a small scoff of disbelief. "If you think this-" Elpis motioned to the dark world around them, "-is the prophecy working in my favor, then you're a little off the mark."

Elpis paused, then said, "I know I really hurt you. And I could apologize forever, but I can't give you what you want. I can't abandon Ardyn."

"Oh, for-" Laelia rolled her eyes and turned away from Elpis. "I'm your sister! You were always supposed to put me first! That guy is a monster, Ellie. He made his choices and thousands of people have died because of it. Niflheim happened because of him!"

"I know," Elpis said evenly. "I know all that. I know what he's done. I've spent so much time thinking these last five years," Elpis said, "as I saw what Ardyn helped bring about, this Long Night, and how people suffered. And I know it's wrong, and that he has done things that are wicked and horrible, but..."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Laelia would never forgive her for what she was about to say, but Elpis knew it needed said. Not only for Laelia's sake, but for Noctis', so everyone knew where she stood.

"But you know what I've decided, after all this time? I don't care. I don't care that Ardyn has been wicked. I don't care if he's done enough to deserve forgiveness from anyone. I forgive him. And I want my husband back."

Laelia stared at her in shock. Elpis gave her a sad smile.

"All my life has been spent putting others before myself," Elpis said. "Not just this life, but my first one. And look where that got me. So this time, I'm being selfish. If that means I have to fight you in order to get past you into the city, then it'll break my heart to do it, but I will. Don't force me to choose between you and Ardyn, Laelia."

"Why," Laelia sneered, "because you'll choose him over me, every time?"

"No," Elpis said. "Because I'd tear myself in two. I'm not just choosing Ardyn: I'm choosing the world. The gods don't get their way this time. I'll save Ardyn and the world."

She hesitated, then took a guess: "You would do the same now, wouldn't you? If it came between someone you loved that you wanted to save?"

To emphasize her point, Elpis glanced over at Ravus, who was listening in on their conversation without shame. He met her gaze steadily before looking to Laelia. Her guess proved true when Laelia's cheeks darkened with color.

"You're choosing his side," Elpis said. "But there don't have to be sides."

"We all want the same thing," Noctis interjected. "We want an end to the daemons and the Long Night. Right?"

"He killed Lunafreya," Ravus ground out.

"I know," Noctis said. "Believe me, I didn't forget. But killing him isn't going to bring her back."

Elpis decided not to mention that Alexus had said bringing Lunafreya back to life was a possibility. She had no way of knowing if that had been a lie, and she didn't want to raise Ravus' hopes only to crush them later.

"Would it not bring you more satisfaction to see Ardyn brought to justice?" Ignis said. "If he lives, that can happen."

Despite trying to keep the emotion from her expression, Elpis winced. Ravus' gaze slid over to Noctis.

"Is that true?" Ravus asked levelly. "If you happen to live as well, would you see him brought to justice for his crimes? For Lunafreya?"

Squaring his shoulders, Noctis slowly nodded, never once looking at Elpis.

"I will," Noctis said.

Great, Elpis thought. If she lived through this, she'd have to fend off Noctis and Ravus. Wasn't it bad enough she would have to deal with Eos and Bahamut?

Laelia frowned and looked to Ravus, biting her lip in contemplation. Elpis didn't dare hope that she had gotten through to her sister. Noctis turned to her. They all seemed to be waiting for some response from her.

Instead of telling them all to go to hell, Elpis took a deep breath. "If we live," she said, "then we can decide what to do about Ardyn afterwards."

"That's not a promise," Laelia said.

"I'm not making promises," Elpis said. "The only promise I swear right now is to make certain that both Ardyn and Noctis live through this. The gods don't get their blood."

"We can agree on that," Gladio said, after having stayed silent and watched the proceedings.

"Which brings us back to the bigger question at the moment: How do we get past the wall?" Ignis asked.

As he, Gladio, and Prompto began making a plan, Elpis approached Ravus as he watched her impassively.

"You were willing to kill a god in Altissia for your sister," Elpis said. "Are you willing to do that still, for the good of the world?"

There was a long pause before Ravus said, "The gods allowed Lunafreya to die for that boy." He shot a glance at Noctis, whose lips thinned. "I have no love for them any longer."

"In that, at least, we can agree and find mutual ground," Elpis said. "Help us defeat Bahamut. We can figure the rest out later."

Ravus glanced at Laelia, who only sighed before nodding slightly. Then he said, "It took an entire Niflheimian army to kill Shiva, and then it was only an aspect of her. Do you truly believe your little merry band will have any better fortune? Against the most powerful god of them all?"

"Honestly?" Elpis shared a look with Noctis and shrugged. "Who knows, at this point? But I'm willing to try."

"We're all mad, perhaps," Ravus noted, as Prompto and Gladio tried ramming a large log into the wall, only for it to shatter. "Madness and idiocy."

"Yeah, okay, that's enough," Noctis said. "Unless you have something helpful to add, keep it to yourself. And," he continued, holding out a hand, "give my father's sword back."

Ravus didn't quite sneer, but he came close. "I don't see a King worthy of it yet."

"Ravus!" Laelia said, putting her hands on her hips. "It wasn't yours to take."

What do you know, Elpis thought tiredly, she does disapprove of some of Ravus' actions. Elpis would never be so cruel or naïve as to say that Ravus had committed his own atrocities under Niflheim's control. But it would have been nice for Laelia to make that connection herself and maybe cut her some slack.

Just then, Vincent, who had long since grown bored with everyone standing around and not paying attention to him, went on point. All six eyes stared off into the distance, his ears alert.

"What is it, Vincent?" Elpis asked, following his gaze.

"Gods," she heard Laelia mutter, "now she has a pet Cerberus. She never even used to like dogs."

Everyone went on edge, hands gripping their weapons, until Vincent's posture relaxed slightly. He went to stand by Elpis' legs with a quiet huff. When nothing emerged from the darkness, one by one they all came out of their fighting stances.

"Back to the matter at hand, then," Ignis said.

With that, they turned their attention to the wall. Just as Elpis was about to speak up, the air shivered, and the wall began to lower.

"That's not ominous at all," Prompto said, giving a nervous laugh.

"Guess we're being invited in," Gladio said, crossing his arms and giving the disappearing wall a distrusting look.

"Why wait to lower it?" Noctis wondered.

Elpis' gaze found its way to Ravus and Laelia. Had Bahamut been waiting for them both to arrive as well? But why? The fact that Laelia might have caught Bahamut's attention made a cold dread shiver down Elpis' spine.

"Should we go in?" Ignis asked.

"This is obviously a trap," Gladio said, though Elpis noted he didn't necessarily argue with Ignis' suggestion.

"We knew Bahamut had been expecting us already," Elpis said. "Let's just go before he decides to force us all in."

She began walking without waiting for anyone to agree, not even Noctis. Ardyn was only a few miles away. She wasn't going to waste a moment more while he waited in chains.

Footsteps hurried to her side. "I'm coming with you," Laelia said.

Elpis gave her a sidelong look. Laelia's chin jutted out, the exact same look she got whenever she was prepared to argue about something to the death.

"Okay," Elpis said, causing Laelia to almost trip.

"Okay?"

"I mean, am I happy? Hell no," Elpis said. "But I can't stand here and argue with you about it. You obviously know your way around a bow and arrow now," she glanced at the silver magitek bow Laelia was still carrying, "and I know you're expecting me to leave you behind again. I won't do that. Just… if things get serious, get out of the city. Save yourself. Don't worry about me or Noctis or anyone else but yourself."

Laelia turned her head back to look at Ravus, who was trailing behind them, keeping himself apart from the group. Lowering her voice, she said, "And—are you mad about Ravus?"

Elpis let out a slow breath. "Why would I be? You're an adult now. You don't need my approval for whoever you date."

"I know," Laelia said, then added in a quieter voice, "But I want it. You're my sister, Ellie, even if you seem to keep forgetting that."

Ouch. Elpis sighed again. "If he treats you right and you're happy, then yeah, I approve."

"Oh."

They fell silent as they all began making their way down the main bridge out of Insomnia. The waves crashed below them and Elpis tried not to remember the last time she'd been near an ocean. She caught everyone else giving the sea uneasy glances as well and was somewhat heartened to know that she wasn't the only one expecting Leviathan to emerge from the depths and swallow them whole.

It took them a while to make it over the bridge, but soon it lowered itself onto the land of Insomnia. Debris littered the road, and the physical wall that had once stood proudly was beginning to crumble and fall away. The worst part was the overwhelming silence. After so long abandoned, nature should have moved back in to take up the space humans had left, but Elpis heard no birds or other signs of life in the ruins.

That was what Insomnia had become: Ruins. Most of the buildings in the outskirts still stood, having come through Niflheim's attack unscathed, but others were nothing but rubble. Saplings grew in the cracks of the concrete and vines were slowly growing over the buildings. Every now and then a streetlamp would flicker before dying back out. The darkness was so thick in places it felt tangible.

Noctis grew quieter the deeper they went into the city. Elpis could only imagine the weight on his shoulders and his heart at seeing his home as it was. They passed by a few places Elpis recognized, shops she had gone to, bakeries and cafes she had taken Laelia and Alexus.

At the moment, seeing the destruction around them, Elpis felt the enormity of the task of rebuilding everything. It would take years for Insomnia to come back from this. It would always bear some scars.

Once they were in the city, some of the tension eased with no longer being near the ocean. Laelia began to tell Elpis of how, over the last five years, she had studied magitek. She'd also had surgery on her leg to help stabilize it, though she'd always need to wear the elaborate brace Elpis saw her wearing then, and her gait was still stiff at times on that side of her body. She had come so far in five years.

Elpis desperately hated that she had kept herself from seeing any of it.

Maybe there would be time to see the things the future held for her sister after the Long Night.

She'd forgotten how big Insomnia was in the last five years. On foot, it took them hours to make it close to the Citadel. All the while, they were completely alone.

"Not to jinx us," Prompto said, his voice hushed, "but shouldn't there be daemons around?"

"They want us to get closer to the Citadel," Ignis guessed.

"To Ardyn," Noctis said.

A sliver of unease wound through Elpis. If they were being led to Ardyn, what was waiting for them at the Citadel? All the most powerful daemons to keep them from him? Or something worse?

"Let's be ready," Gladio said, summoning his broadsword. The others did the same as Elpis, Laelia, and Ravus readied their weapons.

"There's the Citadel," Noctis said, peering around a corner. He frowned. "There's… fire?"

Elpis' stomach dropped. Alexus. Were they waiting for everyone?

"Wait," Ravus said, pulling Noctis back by the shoulder, earning him a glare. "Something is coming out of the palace."

"Something," Ignis said, "or someone?"

Something, she wasn't certain what, drew her forward. Elpis stepped past Ravus and Noctis, past Laelia who reached out for her with a hiss of her name. Elpis knew what she would find even before she rounded the corner.

Darkness, pulsing and angry, trailed behind the creature as it shambled down the steps of the Citadel. Long, black claws left trails in the concrete. Heavy horns adorned his head as Starscourge dripped from the fangs in his overly large mouth.

"Ardyn," Elpis breathed.

The creature paused. His head swung towards the sound of her voice, glowing yellow eyes fixing on her, and he had too many eyes, along his cheek and jaw and his neck. They all stared at her.

"Ardyn," Elpis said louder, heart in her throat, as she began to run towards him.

The daemon that Ardyn had become watched her for only a moment before letting out an ear-splitting howl and lunging for her, claws aimed for her throat.

Well, how about that.

Also: Two Hamilton references! I regret nothing.