~Selphie~

I shake Squall's shoulders violently, my vision snapping over to Rinoa who is doing the same to Ellone. "Squall! Wake up!" I shout into his ear, relief spreading through me when they both finally begin to stir. Ellone stares at Rinoa through her slit eyelids, the haze still heavy on her features. Rin slowly helps the girl to her feet, whispering something into her ear. Squall's eyes now begin to flutter open, his lips slightly parted. "Squall! We gotta go! Irvine said the mobs are outside the palace again!" That hastens his recovery, his eyes snapping open and scanning over my features. He quickly scrambles to his feet, checking on Ellone briefly before he turns and faces me.

"Get to the front of the palace. Text Quistis and tell her to do the same. You two," He points two fingers at Ellone and Rinoa, "get back to your rooms and wait for me there." Rinoa scowls at the man barking orders at us, releasing her hold on Ellone to thrust her fists against her hips.

"Excuse me? I'm not going to sit back and hide while a mob tries to attack us Squall! I can fight, remember?!" her stubbornness hits home, reminding the man of arguments from the past.

"Whatever you two want to discuss about Rinny and her fighting abilities, do it later! We gotta move!" I scream, stopping any further arguments between them. Squall stares at Rinoa for a few moments before turning toward the door, throwing a hand over his shoulder to shrug her arguments off. Rinoa scowls at the back of the fleeing man, taking in a deep breath to begin her tangent. I press a finger against her lips after moving quickly to stand right in front of her, our noses maybe an inch apart.

"Not the time Rinoa. If you want to help, then help. Save the dramatics for another time. You good?" I question her with wide eyes, hopefully showing her I don't mean to upset her. I just want her to get into the right headspace. The girl eyes me as she exhales, her eyes dropping down to the ground when she nods. I nod as well with a huff, tugging my phone out of my pocket to text Quistis to meet in front. Typing the orders out quickly, Rinny turns and sees Ellone standing near the couch, watching the two of us mentally prepare for whatever may come. I slide my phone back in my pocket and grip Rinoa's arm, jerking it lightly. "Alright, Quistis knows what's going on. She should meet us there. What do you want to do Rin?" Now is the time to make a decision, and I watch her nod her head without hesitation.

"I'm coming with you. I asked Squall if Seifer and I can help, and that's what I intend to do." She briefly turns toward Ellone, holding her hand out toward her. "You coming with us Ellone, or staying behind?" Ellone's eyes widen, the three of us knowing she doesn't have an ounce of a fighter's spirit in her body, despite the internal strength she holds for her own mysterious abilities. Still, she should be allowed the same opportunity to decide.

"We can take you back to the lift to the conference room if you'd like, but we gotta get up front with the others," I tell her, stifling any pressure she may have felt to participate in the potential battle. Ellone glances between the two of us before nodding and gripping Rinoa's hand in her own. "Alright, let's go!" I yell, thrusting my fist in the air to get ourselves pumped up. I lead the girls out of Ellone's room and head toward the lift, seeing it through the glass windows coming to a stop and Quistis stepping off, racing for the entrance of the palace.

"Quistis is there," I point out as we round the corner and head toward her. The girls break away from behind me, Rinoa leading Ellone to the lift and releasing her hand. "We'll be right up, Ell, don't you worry!" I insist, easing her mind as Rinoa and I jog away from her to meet the others. Chanting can already be heard from this far into the building, raising awareness in us of how many people must be outside this time. Doesn't matter how many, I tell myself as I grip my nunchucks between my fingers. We'll stop it from getting out of hand.

~Ellone~

I witness my two escorts fleeing out the front entrance of the palace, already taking the defensive stance and holding onto their weapons before they've even seen what's waiting for them outside. Muffled yelling filters in through the open doorway and I strain to hear what they are saying. Before I know what I'm doing, I make my way toward it, straining to hear what they are screaming. It seems there must be thousands of them when their words become clearer.

"Unite the Men Before the Return of Adel! Unite the Men Before the Return of Adel!" they chant repeatedly almost in unison. Peering out, I see a sea of bodies all standing together and dripping wet, their fists in the air jerking and punching whenever they hit one of the words of their chant. The sky is darkened by storm clouds while heavy rain pelts against everything below it relentlessly. Squall stands in front of me just outside the entrance, gripping the handle of Lionheart. The others are spread out evenly across the front of the building, all holding their weapons and staring angrily at the mobs of people, waiting for someone to make the first move. The scene before me looks vaguely familiar, only taking a moment to finally click as to why. I rush to Squall's side, gripping his arm between my hands. He turns to face me, surprise written on his face that I am standing out here with the others.

"Squall! This is it! This is the vision I had!" I scream over the pounding of the rain and the chanting of the people. Squall narrows his eyes at me, unable to hear my words over everything else. I tug at his arm and repeat what I said, but he shakes his head at me mid-sentence.

"Get back inside Ellone, you don't belong out here!" he demands, shoving me off of his arm and quickly turning back to the mobs of people to keep them from advancing. I trip over my own feet and land in a puddle, drenching me completely. My vision catches a new movement that brings my gaze upwards toward the crowd, and I see the men at the back of the chanting mobs holding banners attached to wooden poles. Letters scrawl across each of the sloppily crafted signs with periods after each one, appearing to be an abbreviation of some kind, but that's not what I focus in on. My eyes widen, rain drops pelting my cheeks and attempting to get into them, I read the abbreviation out loud.

"U-M-B-R-A. Umbra?!" The sound of the voices around me slowly come back into focus, syncing with the letters of the banners and clicking with what Gentiana had shown me before.

"Unite the Men Before the Return of Adel. Umbra!" I say aloud, glancing back to Squall and the others. They couldn't hear my words over everything else, and they keep focused on the people in front of them. This is it. This is what Gentiana told me.

"Soon child, you shall have a visitor of an unusual kind. This visitor will forcefully gain the attention of many, but only truly seeks the attention of you…" Her words rush back into my mind as I stare at the backs of the others.

"When the time is right you must leave the side of others to follow the visitor and find the answers you truly seek…" I wish I could connect with them so they could hear me, but know they need to stay focused where they are.

"You must follow Umbra, child, or the chance will be lost…" That's it, I decide, standing quickly back on my feet. This is my part to play in all of this. I rush off toward where the men holding the banners stand, the rain practically bruising my cheeks as I go. Ducking and dodging between the bodies, I slowly ebb closer to the Umbra banners. My senses are heightened while my body tingles, scanning over my surroundings to see where my next sign may be. I know I'm on the right track, since every inch of me is practically vibrating with... excitement? With fear? I'm not sure. All I know is I need to get to the banners as quickly as possible. The sound of shattering glass silences the masses behind me, but I focus on the people holding the banners. They stand still before me, watching and waiting for me to get closer.

Once I am a few feet in front of them, they turn toward each other, the banners flicking the accumulated rain off of their fabric. Between the two signs and a few yards behind them sits a dog staring at me with golden eyes. It's an average sized dog, the longer fur a mixture of white on the lower half and black on top, but a small stripe of white lines beneath the gold eyes and over the snout. I take a few steps toward it, watching it carefully to make sure I don't agitate it. The dog slowly stands before me and turns away, trotting down the path in front of the palace. Am I supposed to follow it, I wonder briefly, but my feet make the decision for me.

Jogging lightly behind it, I notice the sounds of the masses I slipped through are no longer present, the surroundings we briskly move through now all appearing calm and serene. The sun shines down on our backs, the storm clouds seeming to have dissipated. The dog leads me to an overpass that is well known for having an amazing view of the entirety of Esthar. It stares off down the path in front of us, but stops moving. I stop a few feet behind it, glancing around to see what may come next. Before long, the dog in front of me lets out a bark, snapping my eyes back down the path it stares at. Another dog appears, slowly trotting toward us. This one is mostly white with a few spots of off-white mixed in along its hind quarters. The closer it gets, the more I notice two stripes of gray lining beneath each of its own golden eyes. Once the second dog approaches the first, they both stand before me, about two feet apart and staring into my gaze.

It is time, child.

A chillingly familiar voice rings through my mind as a female figure slowly appears between the two dogs. As Gentiana's body fully materializes, the two turn to face each other and sit, looking up where the woman's face is forming.

"Gentiana," I breathe out, my eyes widening at her when she emerges. The woman releases her clasped hands in front of her and stretches them toward me, her eyes remaining closed and her lips staying sealed in a soft smile.

Quickly child, take my hands.

Her orders surge my body into movement. A blindingly white light begins to tangle around each of her outstretched arms when I reach out and grasp her hands, wincing at the sudden coldness wrapping between my fingers.

Umbra! Pryna!

Her voice screams through my thoughts and I watch the two dogs simultaneously jumping up on either side of her, resting their paws against her hips. As soon as the three connect, the lights spiraling around Gentiana's arms envelope over our hands before it engulfs us completely, my eyes losing any shape or shadow to it before I clench them shut. The cold skin of the woman's hands leave my own, now pressing tightly to either side of my face, focusing in on my temples. Power is draining out of my body, the little I still had after going back to Noctis and the others with Squall, but I fight to keep myself upright. As much force that leaves me, that much is also returned through my connection with Gentiana, like a flowing cycle given and taken by each of us simultaneously. The flow suddenly stops, fading as fast as the blinding white light around us before I hear heavy breathing.

"G-Gentiana?" a familiar voice moans in front of me as I suddenly hear others groaning. My eyes snap open, my jaw gaping while I fail to take a breath.

"Prompto?" I whisper, gaining the man's attention. He glances over his shoulder at me, a hazy curiosity growing in his eyes. In slow motion, my head droops down to my feet, where I see the other three familiar faces all sprawled on top of each other on the ground, gripping various limbs or their heads, their wincing eyes flickering between Gentiana and myself drenched in confusion. I slowly drop to land beside them, my hand shielding my head from the harsh collision before my vision fails me as I faint.