A/N: HEY GUYS! So sorry for the delay! I'm still sick as a dog! Haha! Turns out my gallbladder is only acting at 11% efficiency, so it's gonna have to come out. I've got a referral with a surgeon in a couple days, and I'm not sure when the surgery will be, or how long I'll be out of commission afterwards (though I hear if it's done laparoscopically, I can go home the same day, fingers crossed!) but yeah, I've lost 32 pounds in a month and can't eat, which is fun... so usually after my 10 hour work days I come home and pass out! I apologize that it's interrupted all my writing progress! But you're the best readers, and I hope to still make content you enjoy. We're nearing the fall of Insomnia :3 I'm way excited. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 24:

"Nyx?" She removed his hand from her mouth, a little taken aback. "What's the meaning of this?"

He towered over her even though he was hunched, sharp eyes darting back and forth as though looking for someone over her shoulder. He looked antsy and on edge, and kept his voice low and quiet. Only then did she notice his eyes were a little puffy - almost like he'd been crying.

"They killed Crowe," He murmured anxiously, not missing a beat.

"What?" She gaped at him, forgetting to keep her own voice calm. "What do you mean? Where's Lunafreya!?"

"Relax," He stiffened his grip on her arm — only then did she notice his other arm held hers in his own, keeping her steady — and pulled her in a little closer. She tried to breath, try not to fly off the handle at all the ways Luna could have been dismembered by the enemy — she had spoken to her only just this morning. Breathing slower, she could smell Nyx at this point, they were so close to one another; he smelled like rust and leather. It was a comforting smell, in its own way. "Luna wasn't with her."

"So… where is she?" Inertia whispered hurriedly.

"No idea," Nyx shook his head. Well, that was both good and bad. She didn't know where Luna was; but neither did the enemy.

"Shit," She cursed under her breath.

"I need your help, Inertia," He blinked at her, emotionless. "I've got a bad feeling about this… I have to figure out what happened to her. I can't do this without you."

"You know I'm here for you," She assured him quietly. "And I'm sorry you had to lose another little sister."

"Thanks," He managed a small smile. "She was a pain in my ass, but I'm gonna miss the hell out of her."

"She was something else," Inertia recalled fondly, reminiscing of the little time she'd spent with the Altius girl.

"Look…" He cleared his throat. "That's not all. Libertus went AWOL."

"No shit?" She tried not to wear the shock on her face. "Because of Crowe?"

"That was the first little sister he's ever really lost," Nyx frowned. "He's angry. He's blaming Lucis, instead of the Empire. I get it. He's wrong, but I get it."

"Damn shame," She fingered the edge of her shirt, quiet and thoughtful. "Looks like it's just you and me, Ulric."

"Just promise me I won't lose another little sister, okay?" Nyx asked, pulling her in for a hug.

"I don't know if I could ever make that promise," Inertia mumbled weakly into his chest, trying to forget all the ways in which this life had meant to remove her from it.

It was unlike any other part of Insomnia she'd seen so far.

Instead of impossibly tall skyscrapers kissing the clouds or immaculately shiny surfaces in which she could see her own reflection, Nyx led her down into an underground part of town, a gritty, graffiti-filled, dingy little array of apartments and food stands and small clubs that were put together vertically like puzzle pieces. The smells of fried foods and slime from the sewers and sweaty, heated bodies all together made her dizzy, and she tried not to lose track of Nyx in the crowds.

"Hey!" She heard Libertus before she saw him. Poor thing was in a cast to his hip, knocking one back. He was a bigger guy, a hulking frame and a little bit of a belly, but even he had needed Nyx's heroics that day in their fight against Niflheim. "Rough day on the gate, huh, Glaive?"

Nyx readjusted the jacket he had slung over his shoulder, bristling a little, though not seriously. Inertia was content to hide behind him for the moment, observing the Glaives before her. They were all seated at a table in front of another food stand — Libertus, of course, and the beautiful, shapely Crowe, with dark hair and chocolate eyes she'd always dreamed of having herself, if only not to resemble Ardyn. There was Luche, too, a slimy looking guy that had hit on her one too many times back at the Citadel, and another Glaive she didn't know with dark skin and dark hair. They were laughing, tossing them back, and for a moment, a small moment, she thought maybe this was what it was like to be normal, to have friends and no worries and go out just because they felt like it. It was a nice feeling - though it quickly disappeared.

"You jerk!" Crowe chided Libertus. "It's your fault he got stuck there!" She punched him right in the injured leg, the one with the cast on it, and he grunted in pain. Inertia couldn't help but laugh — it's what she would have done too.

The Glaives had been sent to fight the Empire, and although they'd begun to turn the tide, the daemons Niflheim weaponized proved to be too much for the King's forces. Captain Drautos had ordered their retreat, but when Libertus's leg had been pinned under an enormous stone pillar, Libertus had gone back for his childhood friend, lest he perish at the Empire's hands. Having disobeyed orders, he was now to play babysitting duty as a glorified guard, a demotion from his usual post, though Inertia knew he didn't regret a thing.

While she and Nyx had grown close, he was also introducing her to the gang so that she might get to know Crowe a little better - and audition her for guard duty to her Lady Lunafreya back in Tenebrae.

"Not a very nice welcome for a big hero," Nyx stepped forward, and Inertia followed suit, a little unsure how to introduce herself. Crowe stood from her seat, fronting up to Nyx, unafraid of his bad boy attitude.

"Not a very nice outfit for one, either," She grabbed at his sleeve, disgust evident on her face. She didn't think he looked too bad - though his jeans were a little ratty, his T-shirt a little on the older side. He shrugged.

"Brings out my eyes," He smirked.

"And what pretty little thing do we have here?" The dark skinned Glaive she didn't know eyed her up and down, and she tried not to flush under his stare.

"You don't know?" Luche stepped forward, elbowing the first Glaive in the side. "That there's Lady Lunafreya's royal Lady-in-waiting, Inertia Izunia," He licked his lips, and her skin crawled. "Officially proclaimed Insomnia's diplomatic envoy to Tenebrae."

"At your service," She offered a bow, playing off their lewd looks as though she didn't care. If she wore her skin like a shield, then nobody could hurt her — least of all men.

"Ew!" Libertus interrupted all of them, making a face at the food he had just taken a bite out of. Nyx had made himself comfortable across the table, leaving Inertia standing awkwardly to be ogled at by the two lecherous soldiers on the side closest her. "What'd you put in this?" He demanded of the gentleman in the food stand. "Tastes like a chocobo turd!"

"Shut your trap!" The employee hollered back. "This ain't Galahd! That's the way folks around here like it!"

"Oh, well," Libertus feigned surprised while Inertia tiptoed over to touch a finger to his food, curious at whatever it was that was on his plate. "I'm glad you're willing to sell out our heritage for a few extra gil!" She licked her finger where the sauce had been, and was pleasantly surprised by the taste. Sort of sweet, sort of sour — it wasn't nearly as offensive as Libertus had led her to believe.

"Way to help yourself, Inertia," Nyx shook his head with a laugh. She shrugged.

"He wasn't gonna finish it," She sighed, taking a seat beside the argumentative Libertus.

"Hey, Libertus," Crowe cut in. "You thank Nyx for saving your life yet?"

"Oh, come on Crowe!" He groaned, rolling his eyes at her. "Nyx and I are too close for that! He helps me, I help him. That's the way it's always been."

Meanwhile, Inertia had reached into the pocket of Libertus's jacket, draped lazily over his chair, to examine the pill bottle sitting there. Nyx shook his head when he saw it, taking it from her fingers.

"Looks like you've got a little help from somethin' else, huh?" Nyx waved it in his face, a small smirk on his lips, though it didn't reach his eyes. Inertia could tell he genuinely cared for his friend's well being, and didn't wanna lose anyone else, least of all to addiction.

"Hey, I need all I can get!" Libertus snatched it back, along with his jacket.

"You and me both," Inertia nodded enthusiastically. "Grab me an Old Fashioned, will ya?"

Libertus laughed, a real, genuine belly laugh.

"I like this one! She's got spunk," He beamed at her. "Would that I could, sweetheart, but this cast makes getting up and down a real pain in the ass."

"I've got it covered," The dark skinned Glaive was already heading over, drinks in hand, placing one in front of her. Wearily she thanked him, raising it to her lips, sniffing it before taking a sip. She could never be too careful.

"Don't worry, he won't drug you," Nyx mumbled. "That's Luche."

"Shut the fuck up, Nyx," Luche laughed, punching him in the shoulder. The first Glaive was handing out drinks all around, grinning at the table.

"For Hearth!" He cheered, handing one to Nyx.

"And Home!" Nyx finished, raising his glass. Inertia, though she knew that was the Glaives' mantra, was still lost, and missed her opportunity to raise her glass and clink it with the others. Oh well.

"So… Nyx the Gatekeeper!" The only Glaive whose name she didn't know - and at this point she didn't think she'd get an introduction - taunted him a little. "How's the new post treatin' you?"

"Oh, it's amazing," Nyx explained; he seemed almost sincere. "You guys would love it. Gate watch are real sweethearts."

That elicited a laugh from all of them, even her. She remembered the way they nodded at her and never even said a word whenever she came to and from the Citadel. Real charmers.

"Yeah, right," The Glaive-with-no-name added. "We all know they hate us outsiders more than anything. So bored they got nothin' better to do."

Was that why they hardly ever acknowledged her at the gate? Because she wasn't Insomnian?

"Eh, boredom's not so bad," Nyx shrugged his shoulders, taking a bite of food. "There's peace, at least."

There was a sadness in his eyes that Inertia couldn't help but notice — as much as he played the hero, the selfless martyr, the action star, all Nyx really wanted was to end the fighting that had claimed the life of his little sister all those years ago. It was admirable, and it made her heart hurt to see it. She looked up from her glass to see Crowe looking at him with an empathetic face, and knew she saw it, too. Smart girl.

"I'd fight a hundred more wars for Galahdans to know boredom," Nyx murmured quietly, dipping his food in some side sauce, acting like it was no big deal.

"Fight all you want," The Anonymous Glaive continued. "Just don't go dyin' yet!" He raised his glass in Nyx's direction once more. "I still owe you. A lot."

"Where would the Glaives be without its hero?" Libertus teased, a little bitter in the eyes, Inertia could see.

"Can you not talk like this while we're drinking, please?" Crowe begged, throwing her hands up in exasperation. "Especially not in front of the new girl!" She smiled at Inertia, who smiled back. "Besides, we just sent the Niffs running with their tails between their legs, right?" She asked, looking around.

"They weren't running from us," Luche rolled his eyes. "They were toying with us."

"Stop being such a buzzkill, Luche, we all know what happened," Nyx sounded tired, then, and Inertia watched as something unspoken passed between the two men. There was tension in the air, and the atmosphere around them practically bristled. What kind of shit had gone down between them that she didn't know about?

"Well did you know that they sent an envoy to the Citadel after that?" Luche raised his voice, visibly angry.

"What for?" Libertus chuckled. "To offer their surrender?"

Inertia laughed wryly — obviously not. Here she was, an envoy of Tenebrae, drafting their terms of peace. The Glaives were only still fighting these pockets of Niflheim militia forces due to the face that the peace treaty had been under negotiations for so long, King Regis hadn't formally even accepted it yet.

"To demand ours," Luche crossed his arms, displeased.

"Demand?" Libertus scoffed. "My. Ass!"

"No?" Luche glowered at him. "Think about it. The Empire's got Lucis on its last legs. It's the perfect time to make demands."

And then it hit her.

None of the Glaives knew about Regis's intention to accept the terms of the treaty.

This whole time, she'd been helping draft their negotiations, accommodations, Noctis's marriage to Lady Lunafreya — and Insomnia's people didn't even know about their own surrender to Niflheim. Not yet, anyway.

She eyed Nyx, hurt, confused, and he nodded without saying a word.

He knew, and hadn't told anyone, either.

She'd played a part in the biggest deception of a people she'd ever been a part of.

Bigger, maybe, than when she'd killed Iunius Aldercapt.

"So, Crowe—" Inertia stirred her drink, shifting in her seat. "Nyx says you're one hell of a martial artist."

They were walking back to her apartment as she reminisced on her first time meeting Crowe with the full intention of mourning her loss.

But something sat uneasy in her stomach as she recalled the veracity of Luche's words, the way he glowered at all of them, the way his eyes lingered on her, and on Crowe. His resentment towards the King after Insomnia announced the ceasefire…

"Nyx…" She hesitated, stopping in her tracks.

"Yeah?" He stopped too, cocking his head at her. "What is it, kid?"
"I think I know who did this," She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, hurrying off before he could catch up.

"What?!" He demanded chasing her. "Well, tell me who, Inertia!"

He put a hand on her arm and spun her to face him, but the sadness was still fresh in his eyes, and she would hate to be wrong again, and cost another innocent their life.

"Is her body still in processing?" Inertia wondered aloud, ignoring his question, scurrying off once more towards her place.

"Of course," Nyx sighed — he knew she wouldn't tell him. Not yet. "But not for long, probably. Drautos gave me her personal effects earlier."

Inertia stopped at her door, placing a hand on the knob.

"I'll need to get over there to see her body before they dispose of her."
"Got it, boss," Nyx tousled her hair. "But you gotta tell me who did this soon, okay?"

"Nyx…" She offered him a sad smile and held his hand, if only for a moment, to ease his suffering. "We'll make them pay dearly for what they did to Crowe. You have my word on that."

"Drautos, you can't keep me from going in there."

It was the next morning, and she hadn't even waited for the sun to fully rise before grabbing her coat and hurrying over to the medical wing of the palace. The morgue was a depressing place, one she'd never actually set foot in before, but no one would deny Lady Inertia of Tenebrae directions to any location in the Citadel. And here was the Captain, always forever in her fucking way. He was giant of a man, which made his uselessness supremely more massive.

"Milady Inertia, she's been fully autopsied, and she's set for cremation within the hour—"

"Drautos—" for she wouldn't give him the dignity of using his title, "—Crowe was deployed to Tenebrae on my authority, you can't expect me not to examine the body," Inertia stood at least a foot shorter than him, but she crossed her arms and puffed her chest and wasn't anywhere near backing down from his towering frame. He glowered down at her, jaw clenched, eyes on fire. "And as envoy of Tenebrae, this could implicate us in a diplomatic incident, or worse, indicate harm that may have also come to Lady Lunafreya. I am obligated to investigate." She raised a brow at him. "Unless you're hiding something from me?"

He hesitated only for a moment before sighing.

"You have ten minutes," He instructed dutifully, stepping aside so she could let herself inside the autopsy room. "Not a second more."

"How gracious of you," She spat at him with a wry smile. She hoped he could tell she was being sarcastic.

It was a cold, dark, steel room, full of sanitation stations and cool metal and smooth tables. The tables were empty, which she figured would be the case. The autopsy was last night - and if she truly was headed for cremation, then there was no reason to keep her on the table. Nyx and Libertus had seen to it to identify her. As far as the Citadel was concerned, they were done here.

It didn't take her long to find her body.

She was marked "Altius, Crowe" along one of the many racks along the wall, and since her name started with A, she was toward the very beginning. The second cadaver Inertia came across.

With a sad sigh, she opened the door to her rack, rolling her out to get a good look at her.

Her eyes immediately caught her attention.

They were wide open, and they didn't look scared, or sad, or wounded.

They looked… surprised.

Shuddering a little, she ran her fingers across the wounds in Crowe's body. Curiously, she hesitated at what she could only imagine was the killing blow - the enormous laceration running across the left half of her thorax and abdomen. But its edges weren't clean, as though from a blade. They were rough, and rugged, and intermittent, as though by magic.

Almost like she'd been shorn in half by lightning itself.

And there was only one group of people capable of using magic like King Regis.

"Dammit!" She kicked the wall of doors in front of her, pain immediately searing her toes where it connected with the cold steel. But she didn't care. It was a welcome distraction from the sickness that suddenly overtook her gut.

She thought she'd stamped out the insurrection with Barrick.

She'd made a terrible mistake.

And it had cost Crowe her life.

"Inertia?" Drautos came storming in, the head of the morgue behind him. "Are you alright in here?"

She didn't even bother answering him. Instead, she forced herself past him through hot and angry tears.

Luche Lazarus would pay for this.

She didn't get very far once she was out of the medical wing.

She was headed for Barrick's family's house, and not a damn thing was going to stop her.

Except for Prompto, Ignis, Noctis, and Gladiolus on the front steps of the Citadel's entryway.

She should have been strong. She should have told them she didn't have time to talk to them, needed to look into something urgent while being careful not to alarm any of them, least of all Noct, about the signing ceremony.

But she wasn't a strong person.

"Inertia!" Prompto waved excitedly when he saw her, and she did her best to wipe her angry tears away and wave back.

"Hey, guys," She sniffled a little, swallowing the lump in her throat and shoving her phone in her pocket. She was halfway through dialing Nyx to join her to go to Barrick's and try to get some answers about a possible plot against Insomnia — one orchestrated by the Empire that involved Luche Lazarus, her top suspect at this point — but she didn't even know if he'd be allowed away from Glaive duties to do so. Either way, it didn't matter. Nothing seemed to matter when that peppy little blonde showed up.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Ignis inquired seriously. He was concerned — she knew he could tell she'd been crying. Damn it all to hell. Today was not her day. Only then did she realize they were due to set out for Altissia today. Shit. Would she ever even see them again?

"I've got something to take care of in the city," She replied with a wave of her hand. "Shouldn't you all be on the road by now?"

"His Highness wanted to see me off," Noctis shrugged. "About damn time."

"Don't be like that, Noct," Prompto whined a little. "Your old man is a good guy. He's just been busy. Right, Inertia?" The youngest of the four looked to her with such sparkling, hopeful eyes that it was hard not to smile. So smile she did. And laugh.

"Absolutely," She grimaced. "Yesterday was probably the most grueling day yet."

"Need someone to give you a massage after such a rough day?" Gladio taunted her. They all laughed.

"I'll leave it to the professionals, thank you, Gladio," She twisted a strand of hair around her finger, uneasy.

"Are you taking care of yourself?" Ignis wondered. She looked up at him - she always forgot just how tall he was - and almost melted into that searing green gaze of his. He looked genuinely worried for her. "You look to be exhausted."

"Are you saying I look bad?" She deflected with a laugh. Soon all the guys were laughing except Iggy — he looked flustered.

"O-Of course not—" He floundered, trying to find the words. "I merely mean that, I suppose that you—"

"Relax, Specs," Noctis slapped him on the back. "She's messing with ya."

"You see right through me," She winked at Noct, who grinned back. Why was it so easy to talk to the Prince she once thought to be the biggest brat in the world? Now he was like an old friend or a brother or something.

"Come on guys, we've gotta hit the road soon," Gladio was checking the time on his phone. "This one," He grabbed Noct around the neck, choking him as big brothers were wont to do, "Has got a date to keep."

"Yeah, a wedding!" Prompto enthused with a laugh. "Hey, Inertia," His eyes fell sad then, and it damn near broke her heart. He raced up to her, shuffling his feet a little, messing with his hands, avoiding her gaze. "You'll stay in touch, right? Maybe text us once in awhile out on the road?"

They all looked to her expectantly, then. Even Ignis's interest seemed to be piqued. She swallowed hard, and she could feel her heart in her ears.

Tell them the truth.

"Of course," She lied through her teeth, conjuring up the best smile she could. "Go have an adventure. And I'll be here when you get back."

They saw themselves off then, looks from Prompto and Ignis lingering a little longer than they should have, butterflies dancing in her stomach, but she pushed them away, turning to go her own way then, and she wondered to herself why she was so at peace with lying to them about her being here when they got back.

Quite frankly, she was damn near positive the city would burn down around her during the treaty signing. And she would be at Regis's side when it did. She had no idea where Lady Lunafreya was — maybe she'd gotten to safety, she hoped in vain — for she hadn't heard a thing from her, Gentiana, or even Griseo. And in the absence of her loyalty to her lady, she would be loyal to Regis, the rightful King of Lucis, the strongest, most important leader of the world. She had no intention of abandoning him, even if Niflheim or traitorous Insomnians surrounded him and brought upon him his demise - and, though he'd asked her to be there for Noctis when things turned to ruin, she fully expected to be a part of the ashes that remained in Insomnia's wake.