A/N: Omg, it's the final chapter! Or as I should say, the final countdown! Well, onto the chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 30: Why Did it Have to Be Her?

(Dorian POV)

Dorian angrily leaped into the battle. These machines would never destroy her home again. She would make sure of that. Dorian caught a panicked look on Ardyn's face, that was when she remembered what night it was. They only had about thirty minutes to win this battle, or who knew what would happen?

Dorian began running faster and slicing faster than the eye could see. Her blade slashed soldier after soldier, Magitec after Magitec. She had such deadly precision that her enemies had no opportunity to attack. Ardyn was visible going a little slower than Dorian, but, he was still being productive in his fighting.

Finally, Dorian met a foe head on who actually managed to block her. Dorian smirked and pushed the enemy back. Before he could recover, Dorian stabbed him. He collapsed and Dorian moved on, still having the same rhythm as she fought. Suddenly, Dorian felt something grab her by her hair. She struggled to see who had caught her.

When she turned around, she was shocked to see the Masked Emperor smiling at her. "Hello, little princess," he said menacingly. Dorian gasped and struggled in his grasp. "You'll never escape me, Dorian. Your time for the Trial is up. And now, it's time for you to do your part."

"What are you talking about?!" Dorian asked, grappling at his hands.

"You're role in this whole little " trial" is for you to die at my hands. So I'm going to fulfill that destiny," the Masked Emperor said, he began squeezing. Dorian cried out in pain and tried her best to escape from his grasp. The man only squeezed harder.

(Ardyn POV)

Ardyn fought enemy after enemy, unaware that he had failed to pass the Trial. But when he turned around, he saw a sight that he had hoped only to see in his dreams. The Masked Emperor had Dorian by her hair and was laughing while doing it. Ardyn gritted his teeth and raced towards her. He was stopped by a familiar face.

"Bahamut," Ardyn snarled angrily. "You sick bastard."

"Ardyn, you have failed the Trial. As a punishment, you will have to watch your companion die to the hands of the Masked Emperor. Congratulations, you are the reason that she is going to die," Bahamut said.

Rain began to fall and Ardyn felt something streaming down his face. He touched it and realized it was not rain, but tears. He was helpless and all her could do was watch as Dorian was slayed to the hands of a monster.

"Why? Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been me?!" Ardyn cried. He leaped at Bahamut, who easily dodged. "WHY?!"

"You failed, so there's a price for that," Bahamut replied simply, oblivious to the rain falling heavily from the sky.

"HOW DARE YOU PUNISH DORIAN FOR SOMETHING SHE DIDN'T DO?! THIS IS NOT HER FAULT, NOW LET HER GO, YOU MONSTER!" Ardyn shouted. Prompto and Stark looked and there was a look of awe as they saw Bahamut. Then horror as they looked around and saw Dorian in the hands of the Masked Emperor. "PROMPTO! SAVE HER!"

Prompto didn't need to be told twice, he raced forward. Suddenly, he was pushed back by an unseen force. Ardyn glared at Bahamut and saw his hand raised in the signal. Suddenly, Ardyn remembered the day his mother died.

(Ardyn Flash back - His Mother's Death)

"I'll let you two lovebirds sing together for a few minutes," his mother sang.

"Mom, shut up!" Ardyn said, laughing.

"What did you say, Ardyn?" Ardyn's mother laughed.

"I said, 'shut up', get over it," Ardyn giggled.

"You monster!" his mother laughed. Ardyn then laughed, and ran around in circles. "Come back here!" she laughed.

Ardyn giggled and ran faster. Suddenly, a powerful wind grabbed his mother, and flung her in front of a carriage. Ardyn couldn't say anything before she was run over by the carriage.

"Mom!" Ardyn gasped, he then ran to her. "Mom? Mom, are you okay?" Ardyn whispered.

"Oh my God! Mrs. Caelem! Oh my God!" Daisy shouted, running towards her.

Ardyn felt tears streaming down his face, but he didn't care. Daisy hugged him and cried with him. "MOMMY! PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME!" Ardyn screamed.

"Ardyn, what happened?!" Somnus called running from the side of the garden. His eyes stretched wide when he saw his mother's body. "Mom! Oh my God, Dad! Dad, where are you?!"

"What's wrong?" their dad called. He ran up to them and froze as soon as he saw his wife. "Maron? Maron, please answer me!"

Ardyn looked for who would ever want to hurt his mother and spotted a beautiful creature flying away.

"You have already taken enough from me. You've taken my throne, my mother, even my brother. And now you want to take away my friend. I saw you the day that you killed my mother. When I saw you I didn't think that anything so beautiful could be so cold-hearted. But I thought wrong," Ardyn said angrily.

"What?! No, you weren't supposed to see me leaving!" Bahamut gasped.

"Well, guess what, I did. And now, you will pay," Ardyn said, unsheathing his sword and charging. Bahamut let out a screech of shock and barely dodged out of the way of Ardyn's fury. "Now you're going to feel the pain that all of your victims felt!"

Bahamut dodged out of the way and sped like a bullet, hitting Ardyn quickly on the head. The enraged warrior only stood and charged again. Bahamut glared at him and hit him with his powerful tail. Ardyn barley dodged out of the way. That only made him fight fiercer. He managed to get a few hits on the God, but not enough for serious damage.

He just hoped he could get to Dorian in time.

(Dorian POV)

Dorian struggled in the Masked Emperor's hands angrily. She smiled when she managed to make him grunt in pain. The Masked Emperor, however, was not having it. He moved his hand from her hair to her throat. Dorian gasped in pain as the breath was sucked out of her. She then smirked, a confused look overcame the emperor's face.

Dorian opened her mouth and bit down hard. She was satisfied to feel that it somewhat broke skin. The Masked Emperor let out a shocked, pained gasp, and threw Dorian to the ground. While he recovered from her "crushing" blow, Dorian recovered quickly. Before he could react, Dorian did a roundhouse kick, sending the emperor's mask flying.

Dorian smirked as he turned to her, his face revealed. But, her smirk changed to a look of fear as she found out that he had been hiding a massive burn that went down from his hairline to his neck. Dorian fought back a gasp of disgust. There also seemed to be tiny bits of metal stuck in his head. He had light blue eyes.

She looked to Ardyn and was shocked to see that he was battling Bahamut. The God looked both confused and furious. Ardyn looked just plain enraged. She wondered what had happened. But there was no time to wonder, as the Masked Emperor was charging at her. Dorian dodged out of the way and struck his ugly face with her sword.

The Masked Emperor angrily unsheathed...a royal glaive. Ardyn seemed to notice that too, as he looked in the direction of their battle. Shock lit up in his eyes, changing to pain as Bahamut stabbed his leg with his wing. The Masked Emperor leaped at Dorian and began a barrage of fire spells and stabbing motions.

Prompto also looked shocked by this revelation, but he quickly focused back on his battle. Dorian began to charge at the Masked Emperor. Before the emperor could hit her, Dorian sliced his cheek. He let out an angry shout and glared at her. Suddenly, Dorian felt a sharp pain in her chest, going through her heart.

She gasped and looked back at the wielder of the weapon. It was a normal soldier that had managed to sneak up on her and stab her. Dorian felt her whole world spin and she fought back tears of pain and fear. Her breath quickened and she collapsed.

(Prompto POV)

Prompto fought foe after foe, until he heard a shrill gasp. He spun around and gasped in shock, a sword had been pierced right through Dorian's chest. No, Dorian, no! Prompto thought, fighting back tears.

(Ardyn POV)

Ardyn heard a shrill gasp and turned around to see Dorian sprawled out on the ground. He felt even more rage.

"How dare you, Bahamut?! How dare you?! I'll ask this again...why her?!" Ardyn shouted. Before Bahamut could respond, Ardyn pushed past him and quickly reached Dorian. The soldier and the Masked Emperor stepped back. Dorian looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. "Dorian, please no!"

"Ardyn...is that you?" Dorian whispered, coughing.

"Don't worry, Dorian. You'll be fine," Ardyn said, grabbing a piece of cloth off of his torn pants. Dorian shoved his hand away before he could clean the wound. "D - Dorian, what are you doing?! I need to save you!"

"Ardyn..move on. You need...to look past this," Dorian murmured. Ardyn felt tears of agony trickling down his cheeks, but he didn't care. Dorian feebly lifted her hand to touch his cheek. Ardyn grabbed it gently and put it to his face. Dorian feebly moved up and kissed him. Ardyn fought back the lump rising in his throat. After a few seconds, Dorian lost her breath and fell back. "Good bye... Ardyn," she whispered, then she fell still.

"Dorian! No, please don't go!" Ardyn shouted, lifting his face to the sky. Ardyn closed his eyes and let the tears fall. "Dorian. I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!" Ardyn shouted, pointing at the Masked Emperor and his army, then at Bahamut.

"Well that's a pretty productive claim," a soldier muttered. Before anyone could say anything else, Ardyn charged forward and stabbed the soldier. "Ardyn...the fuck?"

"Do you need anymore proof," Ardyn asked, rising, "or do I need to spell it out?"

Shock was clear on everyone's face. Ardyn charged forward and killed troop after troop, using his rage to fuel his strength.

(Prompto POV)

"He's going to kill himself!" Prompto gasped to Stark. Stark nodded worriedly and tried to stand. Only to cry out I'm frustration and slump back down. "I'll try to stop him! I hope I make it in time."

"Yes, you need to hurry if you're going to stop him. He's in a blind rage right now. We need to find a way to calm him down," Stark said.

Prompto nodded and ran at Ardyn as fast as he could. He stopped in horror as he recognized the affects of starscourge. Prompto shook his head and ran up to him. He tried to think of the right words to say.

"Ardyn! This is not what Dorian would want!" Prompto shouted. Ardyn turned around and glared at him. "Dorian would not want you to attack these people like a - like a mindless brute!"

"You don't know what Dorian would want, she's gone!" Ardyn shouted, his voice cracking.

"Dorian is not gone. She's always going to be in our hearts. That's all that matters," Prompto said.

"Is it though?! Because of these - these freaks, Dorian will no longer talk, laugh, or do anything. You don't understand how much she meant to me!" Ardyn said.

"Ardyn, that's not true. We all miss her. But, we have to continue doing what is right, for her. Killing an entire army is not a deed, it's genocide. So please, Ardyn, continue on, for her," Prompto said.

He was shocked to see tears glistening in Ardyn's eyes. Prompto could see the grief and hurt in his otherwise angry eyes. Prompto smiled at the thought of managing to get through to him.

"You're wrong, Prompto. This isn't genocide, it's justice. And if you don't see that, then you have no business talking to me," Ardyn said. Prompto's eyes widened with dismay. It didn't work. How did it not work? Prompto thought. "Good bye, Prompto."

"Ardyn, no, please!" Prompto called as his newfound friend began to charge back into the battle. He sighed as Ardyn went back into the sea of soldiers. Prompto sighed and ran back to Stark. "It didn't work. I don't know what we can do to help him now."

"There is nothing we can do. Ardyn will have to face them alone, unless you want to join him in the battle?" Stark replied.

"I don't think he would welcome my help after what I said. If anything, I think he hates me. Too bad, because I was actually starting to view him as a friend," Prompto said.

"If you really value Ardyn's life, I advise you go in there and save his life. Fight beside him, do something," Stark said.

"Y - Yeah, okay. That's right, I'll go and help him," Prompto said.

Stark nodded and closed his eyes. Prompto sighed and got out his gun. He then charged into the battle. Dead bodies were everywhere, covering the ground in dark red blood. What a brutal way to die, Prompto thought. He noticed that Ardyn and the Masked Emperor were locked in a deadlock with their swords.

A soldier was quietly coming up behind Ardyn, causing Prompto to shoot him through the chest. Ardyn and the Masked Emperor turned around in surprise. A small smirk overcame Ardyn's insane features.

"So you chose to join us after all?" Ardyn called from his battle.

"Of course, I can't leave you here to have to deal with the threat of any soldiers sneaking up on you!" Prompto called back.

"Thank you for your service, it's deeply appreciated!" Ardyn called playfully, then his expression got serious. "Let's best this bastard, together, no matter what it takes!"

"Yeah! I'll keep a lookout for any people trying to kill you!" Prompto replied.

"Thanks. I'll fight the Masked Emperor. Then we can move on to the true prize," Ardyn said, looking past Prompto. Prompto turned and saw Bahamut. Prompto gulped, hoping that he didn't mean Bahamut. "Bahamut," Ardyn said bitterly, glaring at the God.

Prompto nodded and prepared for the battle. Ardyn and Prompto nodded and got into their fighting stances. They both knew that this could be their final battle. They then broke off and began charging at their enemies. Prompto went for normal enemies, while Ardyn went for the Masked Emperor.

(Ardyn POV)

Ardyn smiled as he turned back to the Masked Emperor. He had made the perfect plan with Prompto. They could do this if they continued fighting as hard as they could. He and the Masked Emperor were evenly matched, so Ardyn had to seriously rethink his stradegy. Bahamut was a little bit stronger than the Masked Emperor, putting Ardyn at an average chance of defeating him.

He turned around to Bahamut, who was watching him emotionlessly. Ardyn smirked, flipped Bahamut off, and turned back to the emperor. Ardyn smirked and began a barrage of powerful strikes on the Masked Emperor's sword. He saw the emperor smirk. Good, make him think he has you desperate! Ardyn thought, smiling.

"Why are you smiling? I killed your girlfriend," the Masked Emperor said. Ardyn's smirk faltered and he replaced it with an angry glare. "That's the face I wanted to see. Come on, cry if you want. I won't judge."

Ardyn felt a rising anger at the teasing note in the emperor's voice. He wanted to kill this man. He wanted to squeeze the life out of him. But he needed to make sure it was painful and slow. The Masked Emperor smirked and charged. Ardyn blocked the blow easily and struck a blow to the emperor's hand, nearly cutting it off.

He screamed in pain and clutched his hand. Ardyn frowned and kicked his adversary. "Is that the best you've got?! You should be ashamed for even trying to touch Dorian! She deserved to die at the hands of a worthy adversary!" Before Bahamut or the emperor could respond, Ardyn cut off his hand completely. The Masked Emperor cried out in agony and held the place where his hand used to be. "You think that's pain? Then your in for a whole world of pain!"

The Masked Emperor looked up at Ardyn, his eyes wide with fear for a moment. Ardyn only responded with a frown, that quickly changed to a smirk. He had managed to cut off the emperor's dominant hand. Ardyn thought back to Dorian and fought back tears. His eyes must have been glistening with them because the emperor smirked.

"I knew the girl's death would distract you," the emperor said, a smug look in his eyes.

Ardyn felt rage boiling in his blood as soon as he heard those words. He stabbed the Masked Emperor in the stomach quickly. He gasped and clutched his stomach, though, he had begun to laugh. Ardyn angrily began slashing at his back.

"I'll never forgive you for what you did to her!" Ardyn shouted, striking harder. The emperor, however, was now shaking with insane laughter. Ardyn couldn't take it anymore. He stabbed the man right through his chest. The emperor gasped and his laughter went down to short gasps. "Enough of your laughing. Now, I have put you to rest. Now, go burn in Hell. That only leaves Bahamut."

He smiled as he looked down at the Masked Emperor's dead body. Ardyn turned around to look at Bahamut and saw that he still wore an expressionless face. He gritted his teeth angrily as he glared at the God. Bahamut sighed and flew up to Ardyn. He wore an expression now of pity.

"Are you sure that you want to do this?" Bahamut asked.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for for my entire life. I always dreamed of getting revenge on whoever had killed my mother. And now you killed my best friend. You're going to pay for all the pain you've caused me. But tell me one thing, who is the Masked Emperor?" Ardyn said, curiosity brimming in his eyes at his last sentence.

"The Masked Emperor was Somnus disturbed from his grave. The thought of being woken up drove him insane. People tried burning him, but it didn't work. So he forced the Magitecs to work for him. So, I gave him a deal. If he promised to behave once he died again, he would be able to take one of his family members with him. He chose Dorian, the daughter of King Noctis who is now dead," Bahamut said.

"I've heard enough, let's fight," Ardyn said angrily.

Bahamut nodded and got into his graceful fighting stance. Ardyn charged and sliced at the God's wings. It hardly made a scratch. Bahamut hissed and grabbed Ardyn's body in his talons. Ardyn was shocked by the amount of pain came with the God's talons. He closed his eyes and fought back the pain.

Bahamut looked shocked as Ardyn gritted his teeth and managed to unsheath his sword. He struck at his talons and Bahamut dropped him, anger burned in his eyes. Ardyn spun quickly, his sword out. Bahamut let out a screech, signalling to Ardyn that he had managed to hit him. Bahamut roared and slapped Ardyn across the face.

Ardyn gasped at the force and flew into a building. Bahamut took off a piece of his wing and held it like a sword. Ardyn dodged out of the way of the first one, but felt the second one manage to tear his flesh. Ardyn gritted his teeth and held his side. His hand turned red, Ardyn shook off growing fatigue and stabbed Bahamut's talon with his sword.

Bahamut screeched and lashed his wing. Ardyn felt the force of the wind and tried to stay on his feet, a vain attempt. Ardyn was flung full force into Prompto, who was battling a normal Magitec. He looked at Ardyn in shock. But when he looked up at Bahamut, his face changed to one of absolute terror.

"Ardyn, did you just start battling with Bahamut?" Prompto asked. Ardyn nodded and backed away from the angry spirit. "Oh shit!"

Ardyn nodded and looked over at Dorian's limp form. Tears formed at the corner of his eyes as he remembered the strong young woman she had been. She had such a life ahead of her and would have made a wonderful queen with her pure heart. Bahamut didn't take the moment to attack, causing Ardyn confusion.

"Why aren't you attacking me?" Ardyn asked.

"You have felt enough suffering. So I have decided to give you your humanity back. I will not attack you when you are grieving the loss of your best friend," Bahamut said.

Ardyn took a deep breath as he felt the starscourge leave his body. He touched himself and realized that he felt... different. Almost pure, not as pure hearted as Dorian was, but, he used to have a pure heart. Then a dark thought clouded his mind. What was the point of this humanity if he couldn't share it with Dorian?

"What is the point of this humanity? If I can't share it with Dorian?" Ardyn whispered. He felt tears rising in his eyes. "You can revive her, right?"

"Unfortunately, my powers do not stretch that far. I'm sorry, Ardyn, you'll just have to live on without her. I offer you my condolences," Bahamut said sadly.

Ardyn sighed and sat down heavily. "I wish you could have brought her back. I can't believe this shit has been happening to me."

"I wish I could have helped her too. But, I've decided that she can visit you one last time," Bahamut said.

Ardyn spun around and saw Dorian smiling at him. Tears rose in Ardyn's eyes as he ran up to her and they kissed.

"Oh, Ardyn. I'll miss you so much. Please don't lose control like that again. It pained me to see you like that," Dorian whispered once they had broken apart.

"I - I won't. I promise," Ardyn said, crying into her dress. Dorian hugged him close. Ardyn felt her breath whispering in his ear. He felt her skin on his. Her hair in his hand. "You're actually here! I thought Bahamut had put me in some kind of a trance but you're actually here!"

"Of course, I'll always be here for you. I'll be in your dreams and your heart. Never forget that," Dorian whispered.

"There's another person who has been dying to talk to you," Bahamut said, stepping aside to reveal an all too familiar woman.

"Mother!" Ardyn gasped, running towards her and embracing him.

"Oh Ardyn, I've missed you so much," Maron said, hugging him back.

Ardyn felt tears slipping down his cheeks, but he ignored them. Maron sighed and held Ardyn to her chest. Dorian and Bahamut watched in a happy silence. Finally, the two of them broke apart. Bahamut sighed and led the two of them away. Ardyn watched them leave, fresh tears in his eyes.

(2 Days Later - Dorian's Funeral, Ardyn POV)

Ardyn sighed as he entered the castle funeral home. As the only member of the royal bloodline left alive, he was required to rule over the kingdom. Though, a heartbroken silence filled the air as everyone remembered their fallen princess. As the king, Ardyn was permitted to see Dorian first. He took a deep breath and looked in the casket.

Dorian was beautiful, she was wearing her best dress and her best jewelry. They had even put her best make up on and had brushed her hair out to perfection. Her eyes were closed and all of the blood had been washed off of her face. Her hands were cupped together, holding a necklace with Leviathan on it.

Ardyn gently touched her hand and noticed that it was cold. Fresh tears trickled down his cheeks. He sped walked away, quickly, yet gently placing a rose he had bought on the casket. He took out the wedding ring he had bought the day before. He decided that he would give it to her at the foot of the grave, instead of with her.

Ardyn quickly decided against it, worried that someone would try to take it. He fell in line behind Prompto and waited for his turn again. Prompto looked back at him, tears in his eyes. Ardyn signaled that it was his turn to walk forward. Prompto sighed and walked forward. He gently touched her hand and walked off quickly.

Ardyn sighed and placed the ring gently on her finger. The priest looked down at it and gave him a sad smile. Ardyn nodded and went to sit down.

"Today, we honor the life of Dorian Lucis Caelem. Son of King Noctis. If anyone wishes to speak about her, you may," the priest said solemnly. Ardyn rose first. "His majesty will speak first."

Ardyn grabbed the microphone in shaky hands. "Dorian was the best woman I have ever met. She was brave, kind, and never quick to judge. She would have made a wonderful queen and I honor her life today as one of the people. This funeral is not something to loom over us, it is for us to celebrate the life of a strong, independent young woman.

I speak here today as Dorian's best friend. I loved her with all of my heart and I hope all of you here today do as well. I know some of you probably have better things to do. But this is something we have to do as a community, as a kingdom. This will always be a day to remember the life of Princess Dorian, not to grieve.

She would want us to look to the future, not to stay stuck in the past. And as sad as this makes us feel, we must try to push past this, for our future, and for Dorian. Thank you and have a wonderful rest of your day."

Ardyn felt tears trickling down his cheek again and he sat down quickly. The rest of the funeral went by in a quick blur. Before he knew it, he was heading back to the palace. Ardyn looked at the empty ring case in his pocket. He imagined Dorian's smile and smiled through tears. This is what she would want. She would want them to remember her, but move on.

Ardyn entered the castle slowly. He found a room labeled Dorian. Taking a deep breath, Ardyn turned the knob. Pictures of her and Noctis were everywhere. He could hear her voice in the back of his mind saying, "Get out of my room, Ardyn! Geez, don't you know what privacy means?" Ardyn smiled once again through tears and sat down on her bed.

He could imagine her sleeping soundly on her bed, smiling as she looked up at the roof. Ardyn closed his eyes briefly, cherishing the memory. He knew that this was not a dream, this was real and he accepted that.

A/N: I - I'm done. *sniffles* Poor Dorian. I can't believe I did that. Such a sad chapter. Also, like super long. Still, so sad. Remember to review, favorite and follow. See you in the next story. ~Nerd