Day 4:

Well. That had been… crappy. No other way to say it. They'd all been sitting around for four days waiting for Rei to wake up. If he'd thought she was different the first time, that was nothing to her waking up tonight. Noct had never seen her so scared before. She could hardly even speak. Usually it was him sitting in bed while she went around and turned on all the lights. And also that had been twelve years ago.

Hell. He didn't even know what to think about it. Dad had her and he'd do whatever he could, but what about tomorrow and the next day and the day after that? Whatever she'd seen in that Dream was going to keep following her around. What was he supposed to do? Fight nightmares of the future with his bare hands?

He left when Rei and Dad went to bed. He needed to walk and think. Or talk to Ignis. Or something besides sitting up there wondering what she'd been through that she couldn't even talk about. She'd seemed fine four days ago. Sort of.

He rounded a corner and nearly ran head-on into Luna.

"Noctis." Her eyes widened and she took a step back automatically.

"Uh. Hey."

"I meant to speak with you, if you have a moment…" she said.

Noct sighed. A week ago, if Luna had popped up out of nowhere and asked to spend some time with him, he would have leapt at the opportunity. Now he wasn't sure he wanted to listen.

"I'm not really in the mood… sorry." He added the last because it seemed like the right thing to tack onto the end. Not because he felt any sort of regret. Why would he? She had heard what her precious Astrals were up to behind the scenes and all she could do was claim Reina was lying or brainwashed or some shit. And before that she had tried to convince Noctis to stand with those same 'Gods' and let them kill his sister. Fat fucking chance.

"You have a great many things on your plate," Luna said. "But this is as important as your duty to Lucis—more so, perhaps. Your greater destiny transcends your duty to the kingdom. You are the King of Light. You must—"

"Sacrifice my life for the greater good?"

Oh yeah. Also there was that little detail that had slipped out tonight. For some reason no one had thought it was important to tell him before.

She hesitated. "We must all sacrifice for the good of the future."

So she'd known too. Just peachy.

"Did fucking everyone know except me?"

"No… I believe it was a well-kept secret."

"Great."

"Noctis, please, listen to me—to give your life for the good of Eos is not the darkness you imagine. I, myself, expect to do much the same. The Oracle must summon the Astrals and form the covenants for the Chosen King—those rituals and the bonds formed will tax my soul to the limit."

"Oh, cool. So we were just supposed to die happily ever after, huh?"

"That is our destiny. And our duty."

"Fuck your duty. And fuck your stupid Astrals and their fucking destiny! If you want to kill yourself for them, you go right ahead. But I'm not gonna die on the throne for the same fucks who created the Starscourge."

"You cannot possibly believe—"

"My twin sister over someone I haven't seen in twelve years? My best friend—who happens to see the future—over someone the Astrals have been grooming since birth? Uh. Yeah. Sorry. But I do."

"She has been corrupted by the darkness, Noctis, you must see that. She took the Starscourge inside her—she controls the daemons and has made a pact with the scourge incarnate. You cannot trust her."

"Really? Because as I see it, Rei's darkness saved Insomnia. What the hell did your Astrals do when Niflheim was trying to kill my father and take my kingdom? Fuck all, that's what."

"The Astrals do not meddle in the affairs of humans—"

"Ri-ight. Unless it includes forcing us into a covenant and demanding my life. No thanks."

She wrung her hands. Noctis almost felt bad for a second. Then he remembered she wanted Reina dead—hell, she wanted Noctis dead too. Real healthy start to a marriage. Thank hell the treaty had already burst into flames. Had Rei to thank for that, too.

"The price of your life will buy peace and prosperity for generations to come," Luna said.

"Oh yeah? Then how come my sister just woke up from living that future so fucking traumatized that she can't even talk to her friends without breaking down?"

"Your sister is not a good person, Noctis. Perhaps she was once, but you cannot deny that she is different since she awoke. My brother tells me she threatened to kill me in cold blood if he did not protect your father."

That was news. Noct opened his mouth to deny it—Reina would never do something like that—and stopped himself. She wasn't the same Reina he had grown up with, anymore. That much was true. But it didn't matter. As he saw it, she was still trying to protect his life—and Dad's life and everyone else in Lucis.

"And you want her dead, too. So what's the difference? At least Rei doesn't want me dead."

"I don't want you dead, Noctis!" Tears built in her eyes. Noctis surprised even himself by not finding a single fuck to give for them. "If we could all live peacefully on this earth—if you could be seated on Lucis' throne and never have to fear the encroaching darkness—nothing would make me happier. But we cannot."

"I don't believe that. I don't know what else Rei saw, but I know I didn't die. She did. So I guess your Astrals' plan isn't so set in stone, is it? We're just going to find the other holes." And if there weren't any, they were going to make some.

She shook her head. A few of the tears broke loose and streaked down her face. "I cannot believe that."

"I guess you can't. They brainwashed you your whole life." Noct sighed and turned around.

And he walked away. He didn't want her dead, but he didn't want her standing on the opposite side, either. Why couldn't she just see what was right in front of her? It was so simple. So fucking clear.

But the Astral's had torn her eyes out and put little lenses in the sockets so all she could see was what they wanted.