Being on the receiving end of anger did nothing to faze Ardyn most of the time, Lunafreya had noted. But she had a far greater weapon to use against him that would be much more effective: disappointment.

She pinned him under her look of silent judgement, letting him suffer in the quiet between them as the last of the others left the room.

The door shut with an awkwardly loud click, leaving them alone.

Lunafreya crossed her arms, still saying nothing. She was going to let him stew for as long as possible.

He didn't speak either. He just looked at her expectantly.

Inwardly, she scoffed. He was not going to win this game against her.

He took a slow breath, snagging his hat from where he'd left it on the end of the table when he'd whisked everyone away.

His fingers drummed on the brim as he took a seat and leaned back to prop his feet on the table. His usual mirthful disposition was fading by the moment.

Lunafreya leaned her against the table as well, still keeping her expression exactly the same.

Ardyn sighed. "…Honestly, Lunafreya, I don't know what you expected."

There it was. He'd cracked first, just as she'd expected.

She made sure to leave just a moment more of a pause before she finally spoke up. "I expected you to be able to discern the type of help I would and would not want. There was no reason to kill these people when they had already laid down their weapons."

"Oh, now there I rather disagree–"

"I did not ask for your opinion," Lunafreya snapped. "You offered to help, and you knew the types of things of which I would and would not approve." She looked down, hoping her next words would really make him think. "I had hoped… that I could trust you with that much."

Silence.

Then a bitter chuckle. "Trust me? Oh, dear Lunafreya… No matter how much you strive to pull my humanity back to the surface, you know what I am. You know what I will eventually cause you personally."

Lunafreya almost flinched. Almost. She forced herself to steadily raise her gaze to meet his. "Will you?"

He frowned, clearly taken off guard. "Of course I will."

"Will you?" she repeated. "Because it seems to me that none of us are too certain on the guarantee of the prophecy anymore."

Lunafreya didn't know if Ardyn's blood still ran like a normal human's, but he paled all the same.

"No," he said darkly. Almost scared sounding. He sat up, feet dropping back to the floor as his shoulder went rigid. "The prophecy will be fulfilled! I have waited–"

"I know, Ardyn," she interrupted forcefully, but as kindly as she could. "I know what you want. But why do you think you are choiceless? Especially now when things may have… changed?"

Ardyn shook his head with a scoff. "Your beloved Draconian made the path to which I'm tied quite clear–"

"You made your own choice to turn to the darkness, Ardyn. Long before you ever spoke to Bahamut, you crossed that line." She grew tired of his blame shifting. His story was tragic, yes, but it had not been blameless. "What your brother did to you was terrible, but you chose to channel your pain into a quest of revenge against those who never knew of the fault of their ancestors."

Ardyn looked ready to snarl in protest at that, but Lunafreya held up a hand for him to wait. He did so.

She was lucky. Were she anyone else, she'd likely be dead.

"And you also chose to save me. Perhaps the man in the prophecy was never Ignis to begin with. Perhaps your end is set in stone, along with Noctis'. But an end is merely a point." She stepped closer to him, taking one of his hands in her own. "A story with points can waver much along the way. You don't have to be the monster to which you've become so accustomed to playing. Somewhere beneath all your rage, you have enough compassion to care for me, and if you have enough for me, then there must be more." She smiled softly at him. "And I would be so delighted to see that brought to life."

Ardyn's expression had slackened from anger to… pity. "You fight for a lost cause, my dear."

She smirked then. "I rather disagree."

Ardyn rolled his eyes. "Of course you do."

"Won't you be willing to even try?" she pressed.

Ardyn sighed, seeming so, so tired. "What have I to lose?"

His question was clearly rhetorical, but she answered it anyway. "Nothing. But there is so much you can gain."


Evan may have been young, but he was already enough of a creature of habit that it was easy for Aranea to track him down.

If Loqi was at the hospital, Evan was going to be as close as possible. So, back to the hospital lobby it was…

She found him – them, because the other Argentums were there as well – just as she expected.

Echo was curled into a ball on one of the waiting sofas, asleep by the look of it. Dino didn't seem to mind him taking the full seat, though, but he was perched cross-legged on the armrest as he scribbled away in his drawing book.

Aranea spared a moment to wonder what would be done with the bracelet Dino had made for Fita. She also wondered what unique designs he'd put on hers. Aranea had never actually seen Fita's, but she knew Dino had made one for all the city leaders, and that they were all characterized according to the individual.

Aranea shook her head as Dino's tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth while he concentrated.

Kids, the lot of them. Except… not so much in other ways.

Prompto's maturity level now amazed her, and she didn't just mean his toned-down haircut. Sure, he was still goofy and hyper a lot of the time, but he carried so much more confidence within himself compared to before. It was clear to see in the more militaristic set of his shoulders and steady gaze.

There was a time he would have been lounged over a chair in some weird position. Not now. Now he was the one sitting perfectly upright and alert. Like a silent guardian to his family.

And then there was Evan – legs folded in his chair as he literally twiddled his thumbs.

Aranea smiled softly before speaking up. "Hey, Evan."

Evan glanced up sharply with a blink, fingers pausing their movements. He made eye contact with her, but didn't say anything.

She gestured to the door. "Walk?"

Evan hesitated.

"Hey, go on," Prompto encouraged. "You heard the doctor. Loqi, Petra, and Cor will be fine. Nothing you can do here but sit and wait anyway."

Evan gave a small nod, unfolding his legs and sliding off the chair back onto his feet.

Aranea waited for him before she slowly started walking. She had no idea what she was doing. How was she supposed to start this? What was this?

They walked in silence until they were out of the hospital altogether and back into the usual humid streets of Lestallum.

"So… Prompto mentioned that Loqi will be fine. That's good." There. That was as good a start as any.

Evan nodded. "I wish the same could be said for Fita…" He bit his lip, staring at his shoes as they moved.

Aranea sighed softly, laying a hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing you could have done, kid."

"There never is," Evan said sadly. "I thought… I thought that if I finally got the chance to fight, maybe I could stop someone else from leaving…"

If only things were that simple.

But she was not going to have him thinking he wasn't doing a good job. "You are saving lives, kid. The work you're doing with Loqi is good. Just because you don't see the everyday impact on those you're helping doesn't make it any less important."

"But I still keep losing!" Evan stressed.

"But you're gaining too!" She pointed out. "You made yourself a family."

Evan glanced at her, hurt in his gaze. "I thought I had a family before them. But I lost that too."

…Well if that wasn't a kick in the gut.

But here was her chance. She'd couldn't have asked for a better opening.

Aranea swallowed. "Ignis may be gone, but you haven't lost me, Evan." She stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm not great at the whole family thing. I'd never even really considered it before you and Ignis. I should have been looking after you more with what happened. But I am here for you if you need anything. Anything at all."

His eyes were big and watery as he looked at her. "I thought… you might not want me around since–"

"No!" Aranea felt tears welling in her own eyes at that. "Oh, kiddo, it was never that. I'm just an emotionally stunted idiot."

Evan choked on a laugh. "I used to think you all knew everything. That everyone but me understood… feelings."

Aranea snorted. "What are those?"

Evan grinned sheepishly. "I've missed you. Loqi is… he's my friend. Almost an elder brother, I suppose. But he's not Ignis. And Delilah isn't you. No one could replace you two."

…Shit. There were the waterworks. About time, she guessed. When was the last time she actually let herself cry? Gladio had been right about her holding too much in, no matter how much she tried to convince him and herself otherwise.

She yanked Evan into a hug, both of them dampening the other's coat.

"I've missed you too, kiddo," she murmured into his shoulder.