Smiles were not something that came naturally to Ravus. Chrome prodded his cheeks as he sat at the pier, a sour expression still on his mouth. "Oh come on, it's hilarious!"

"I am not amused by your antics." He frustratedly glanced away at her still trying to stick the remora to her leg. The poor thing was suctioned to her skin, making a loud noise. Chrome could not help but laugh, flailing her bare leg up in his direction, "Look! I did it!"

Ravus made the mistake of obeying. She looked utterly ridiculous. With her black tank top, baggy shorts and sandals. Now complete with remora stuck to her leg. First it came into his eyes, then down his nose and into his cheeks. A grin. A laugh. Deep, mysterious, gentle. Chrome finally pried the fish from her body, gently lowering it back into the seas as Ravus wiped away a few tears.

She returned to the bench next to him. He reached over, leaning into her and she naturally fell into his underarm, "How's Luna doing?"

"I suppose she's fine. Our meetings are brief. And highly regulated." He curled his still flesh hand against his chin in thought, staring out to where the sea met the sky. "Still…it worries me. I am afraid for her. Forging the covenants will not be easy on her. I pray that this Noctis is worthy."

"Are you really thinking about calling off the attacks to Lucis?"

"It was never my intention to be an enemy to the Crown. But to survive, we did what we could." He came back to his natural state, a frown, "When this is all said and done…no…"

"What is it…?" She pried, shoving her finger into his side.

He winced, rubbing it down. The ocean's call fell around them. As the sun was beginning to set, he stood, opening his palm, "Perhaps the Oracle will not be the only bride to be."

Chrome's face became pale, then rushed over with heat, tenderly taking his hand in her own. She stood, the two facing one another alone at the end of the pier. "Are…you…?"

"We shall see." He pressed his lips to her forehead.

A memory, a lifetime ago. Chrome lingered on the altar, staring at the stain of red against its dark surface. She kneeled, touching its fading color.

Days melded nearly into weeks.

Gladio, Chrome and Prompto joined the efforts in cleaning the city's debris and bringing back its citizens to a sense of normalcy. Ignis remained alongside Noctis, both still reeling. A strange lull had formed between their forces and the Empire's, as if both knew what was at the end of this long journey.

The sun was beginning its descent, casting an amber glow over the bustling harbor. Waves lapped gently against the stony piers; their rhythmic sound opposed to the clatter of a city being reborn from rubble. Seagulls wheeled overhead, their cries mingling with the shouts of workers hauling supplies, mending boats, and erecting scaffolding. Gladio winced as he fished out another bloated corpse from the edge of the river way. A medical team followed close, tagging and bagging each body to be sent to examination rooms.

Chrome watched the horizon as she hauled chunks of buildings with her magic, still picturing Titan's mass within the waves of the den. Her eyes drifted over to the altar, staring deep into its stones.

Gladio crashed against the couch, eying the still silent prince. Noctis had completely shut down. Most nights, he remained still with the Ring in his unfurled hands. Chrome sat at his bedside, running a brush gently through his hair. "Are we eating today Noct?"

"I'll try."

Gladio rolled his head with a grunt, Chrome shot a glance his direction.

"You must stay strong." She encouraged, "We must retrieve the Crystal."

Ignis, now with sunglasses covering his recent injuries, had slowly retrieved his skills. He toiled away inside the kitchen. Prompto was never far, studying his movements carefully. A pregnant silence enveloped the room, heavy and suffocating.

Gladio waved her over quietly.

Nervously, she approached. The aura was tense. "What's wrong…?"

"I just need to ask you something. You sure your feelings for Ravus are done with?" He didn't mean for it to come out so raw, so blunt.

A snippet of anger pinged in her voice, "What do you mean?"

"I just…" He looked away, "I…"

She lightly kicked his foot and growled. "You're an idiot. And a brute. Maybe think it through a bit. Then you can come to your own conclusion. If it's not obvious who I'm loyal to now, then you might as well send me back now."

He winced, a hurt expression coating his features, "Chrome, no…I…"

"Just be quiet." She demanded, staring daggers down at him. "You've been nothing but frustrated and angry with Noctis. You yelled at him again yesterday. He's lost…a lot. The Oracle is gone."

She heard Noct's breath hitch behind her.

Her shoulders dropped, "We're all on edge here, Gladiolus. Not just you. I promise. Try and show some kindness, and patience for once."

His jaws clamped shut, bowing his head to his chest in defeat.

"There's a ship…" Ignis mentioned as Prompto guided him in, the two carrying platters of hearty soup. Not that any of them had any appetite. Chrome politely sipped its broth, watching as her brother guided Ignis to a seat. "Making way to the Home of the Empire. The Crystal resides in the base there. From the sea town, we will take the train close to one of the royal tombs to stack Noct's arms. We will then arrive in Tenebrae…hopefully to make amends with what remains of Lady Lunafreya's family…then make way for our final destination. The last chance we have against the Empire…"

"I guess it's all we can do for now." Noctis agreed weakly, finally sipping away at the soup.

Chrome pat her hands rhythmically against the table, baking in the heat of the desert sun. It was hard to think in just a few miles, they would be entering the area of Shiva's fallen corpse. Chrome recalled it too well, an expanse of frozen wasteland with little life within.

Gladio was on thin ice. He had to separate himself from Noctis this morning on the train car. She could hardly believe his behavior, telling him to pull his head out of his ass. They had all suffered and lost so much.

But they were all exhausted, beyond the point that any human being should be. The past few weeks had been torturous. Gladiolus' kindness still would shine through in rare moments, mostly with helping Ignis shuffling through the learning stages of his new injury. The tactician was resilient, but there were dark moments between his shining beacons of hope.

All of them had been fighting a lot more lately. Prompto and Chrome did not bicker amongst themselves, but often with the others. Gladio's beefed up attitude would often amplify even small tasks. It hurt her heart, watching them as they struggled. Brothers, now fighting amongst one another for the pettiest of reasons.

Had she been to quick to declare her love to the Shield? A grief surrounded her even with that thought, trying to sip it down with the cold beer in front of her. She'd been drinking more…it was a bad habit now. But the booze helped stop parched thoughts. Two became three, three became five.

Four in the afternoon, and the sun was already setting. Whispers came from nearby customers at the train station's entrance, worrisome and woeful.

She pried open her novel, trying to lose herself within the words. The boys were still out. Distracted, she opened her phone. No messages. Not even from Iris. A frown crossed her lips. Try as she might, no words could express her sorrow or her fears. Her anger.

'Miss you. Keeping an eye on the big guy for you.' She typed, praying it would send with the awful signal here.

She mindlessly sketched. Her mother's nose finally came through. All that was left was her mouth.

Her fingers started to shake. She breathed out. Focused on the power within her heart. The Armiger. Noctis. Titan, fighting to save him from peril. A spark of confidence returned. She continued to draw.

Back on the train. Back towards Tenebrae. Chrome stiffly watched the windows, the changing scenery. Her breathing nearly ceased, seeing the cascade of snow tumbling down, stretching out into desert wildlife.

"Everything okay?" Gladio nudged her softly, returning with Ignis at his side.

"Yeah…" She distantly responded. A commotion started in the train car behind them. Something felt wrong. The world was undulating with pockets of pure energy. Without warning, she saw Prompto. Just a flash, and Noctis was behind him. "What…?"

Noctis was swinging his blade, his angry words reverberating through the cabin. "Why wouldn't I?"

She had never heard him growl like that. Prompto panicked, trying to get away.

She held her head. Shadows were growing in the corners of the train. Ignis huffed, "Something's here."

"The engine room…" Gladio pointed ahead, noting the collection of dark figures within. "We can't let them hurt the driver. C'mon!"

She glanced back to Noctis. He was standing next to Ardyn, just for a split second. Then he faded back into a hazy mist, dancing about and swinging as if something was attacking the train outside.

And then, he was in front of her. Glowering down. The world had become distorted, strange. As if in a vacuum of blue and white.

She instantly rose her hands up to fight, and he flung them out in protest. "Chrome, what are you doing?"

"Funny. You think you can catch me with that parlor trick of yours." She leaned in on her hand-axe and sneered, "As if I didn't spend six years of my life smelling your rotten corpse."

"Not easily tricked. Damn. This will be difficult then."

Gladiolus and Ignis were busy toiling away at fighting daemons near the front of the train. She watched them move slowly, like a scene from a bad dream.

"I'd be a fool to try and fight you. I saw what you did at the capital." She stepped back, "I'm not going to kill you today. That's not my job."

"Coward!" Ardyn threw his hand towards her. Chrome attempted to dodge, but her body was already in motion. He managed to catch a few strands of hair, enough to tug her into a grapple. She relentlessly beat against his form to no avail, it was as if she was elbowing through shadows.

Gladio rushed from the edge of the train car, fists clenched with a desperate expression. His feet pounded against the metallic floor, roaring as he approached.

"I should have done this a long time ago." Ardyn hissed into Chrome's ear. He shoved her chin aside, revealing a syringe in his palm.

Chrome felt the sharpness and then the fluid enter her veins. A white-hot sensation began to flash over her. First in her head, in her ears. Her brain swam, pounding as if everything swelled. She tried to reach out but only fell to her knees.

"Now. Kill them." Ardyn's icy laughter faded into her mind, as his body dissipated into darkness.

Her heart hammered against her rib cage. She felt like she was constantly falling through a void, nothing above and nothing below.

Gladio's voice pieced the veil, trying to reach her. She extended her hands, only to find that they were bending and shifting. Thick, black nails with tufts of orange-blonde hair now fused at the end of her fingers. Her freckles grew and darkened.

A piercing pain filled her lower back, sizzling and excruciating like the Astrals themselves were tugging out her spine with a spool of thread. A primal roar emerged from her mouth, teeth aching and stretching. She tasted the metal of her own blood, bubbling and flaring through her veins. Sparks of electricity were beginning to rise from her body, straining and arching into thick bolts.

Tears flowed down her cheeks, begging and praying for the horrible sensations to cease. Try as she might, she could not close her eyes despite the blurry edge of unconsciousness gripping at the sides of her vision.

Gladio watched as her chest fluttered up and down, her body contorting and flailing on the floor. He was frozen with terror. Ignis stepped in, lowering himself to her.

Chrome felt something soothing entering her neck. A hand. Ignis had taken off his glove. He drew out the tension of her skin, and the spasms began to quiet. Her eyelids felt heavy, her body winding itself into a fetal position. She clutched at her knees, subdued by the waves of slumber.

The train had stopped when she woke. She had dreamt of the lab again, alone in a sea of white snow.

Her senses were swimming. Everything sounded way too loud. A sniff and all smells hit her at once. The lingering of snow. The sweat of a brow. The blood of a wound. The tears of the prince. All mingling with an odd, ozone-metal tinge, like the crowning of a storm on the horizon.

Her eyes pried open. She was alone in the train car. Nobody around, save for Gladiolus. He crossed his arms, staring down at her.

He blinked, face still contorted with a grimace, "You're up…"

"Yeah…" She reached up, holding her head. Her hand felt heavier.

"Chrome…don't…!"

She looked to where his eyes landed. At her own hand. It was like that of a beast. Her fingers curled unnaturally, five digits now bony and raw, coated with a fine layer of spotted fur. Concealed within, she could feel claws where nails once were. "What…What…"

She stood suddenly, almost too quickly. Her body jolted, moving to the window. She desperately looked, gazing deep at the reflection staring back.

Her ears were now jutting out the sides of her head, flexing and fuzzy. Her eyes had changed. They tinged with violet, with dilating slit pupils. She stared down and watched as a tail swiped back and forth from her backside. She began to breathe rapidly, "What…! What!?"

"Easy…easy…it's okay…"

"No, it's not! This is a dream!" She laughed, holding her face with her new hands, "This is a dream. I'm dreaming."

Ignis interrupted by entering the cart. "Chrome. This is no dream. The Chancellor…he had a genetic sequencing serum…he injected it into you…"

Prompto was not with them. Noctis lingered behind his mentor.

"Then why…?" She snarled, "Why do I look like this…?"

"I believe it was his intention to turn you into a daemon. But something must have interrupted the process. And now…" He adjusted his darkened glasses.

"But…but…I just don't get it. Why a couerl…?" Her now padded fingers smoothed over her scar. A realization filled her mind. "Oh, by the Six. My scar."

Gladio grumbled, "Perhaps there was leftover DNA from that scratch?"

Noctis piped in, "Or it was a reflexive memory, something that your innate senses distracted you with. A subconscious power…"

"Did I hurt anyone…?"

"There was a lot of lightning. But Iggy managed to get you under control before it got worse."

"How…how am I going to go out like this?" She begged, staring desperately at them.

"Gloves…" Gladio offered, "The ears…we can use a hat. Something to tuck them into. And the tail…that's probably the easiest one."

Ignis lowered his chin, "I was able to stop the process, just a bit. I'm sorry I did not act faster."

Her face shadowed, "Was this what the Empire meant to do with me…? Is this why I was made…?"

"Chrome…no…" Gladio inched closer. She collapsed into his hands, feeling the flood of her tears break through. She screamed into him and the train continued along.

"Our train car is different." She noted as the vessel began its journey. She had come in and out of sleeping, still recovering from her transformation. "We stopped already?"

"Yeah. Noct made his peace in Tenebrae. There's someone we met a while back, Aranea. She's been helping us on the sly." Gladiolus leaned into his book, feeling Chrome sinking against his back. She leaned onto him, half-awake.

A smile found her, "She…helped me too. When I was stuck in and out of that lab. She's a good egg…but I just can't pin her down."

"She and her cronies…Biggs and Wedge…? They're helping us get to the crystal on our private train."

"She really does think of everything. Did you carry me in here?"

"Yeah." He restrained his giddy.

"Have you guys figured out what happened to Prompto?"

"Not yet. Aranea was gonna try scouting for him."

She adjusted herself. Licking her sharpened fangs with a slightly rougher tongue. Her back arched, claws extending as she stretched out and stood. "This is going to take getting used to. Especially this thing…" Her tail flicked back and forth. It was odd, like an extra arm just in a wrong spot.

"Hey, if anything else, I think you look really cool."

She found her way into his lap, her back against his abdomen. A few strands of his hair tumbled down, she reached up to fiddle with them.

"Is Noctis okay?"

He scowled, "Probably not. But he's managing. Surviving for the moment."

"Are you still mad at me…?"

"Yes…and no." He held her cheek, "I'm just happy you're here. With me…I…"

They were interrupted by the train's scream, a creaking wail then motion ceased. They quickly stood up, making their way back out to Ignis and Noctis, as they glanced out to the daemons surrounding them.

"You rested enough to help out…?" Noctis addressed her.

"I think." She scrunched her nose, intaking the scent of darkness. It smelled of rot, decay and death. Fear incarnate. Frost coated the windows, cracking the inner glass.

The five rushed out, onto the outer tracks. The train's sleek metal frame stood stark in the subzero temps. Dark magic had seized the locomotive, leaving it stranded on the tracks, a perfect target for the demonic horde. Mindflayers, imps and a looming Iron Giant. The ground trembled as they emerged from the shadows, their grotesque forms twisting and writhing.

Noctis held his blade aloft, screaming in a rage-induced panic. He warped, striking the beasts from behind and swiped at them, his form sloppy and inaccurate.

Chrome was not far behind, tumbling into the snow as a daemon launched onto her frame. She swiped at it with her paws, rending its flesh easily. Black ichor dripped from her claws, and she sunk her axe into its form to finally dissipate it into nothing but slimy mush. She grunted, launching the polearm into the snow. It vibrated, resonating. The smell of ozone deepened.

A few imps stopped dead in their tracks, as she whistled and commanded them in a booming tone. One imp fell to the charm, taking its bony fingers and wrapping them around its former friend. They went to work on destroying each other, clawing and snarling. She unfurled her hand, allowing electricity to flow through her weapon. The magic was coming easier, like opening a siphon.

Gladio never strayed far from Ignis, who was still parsing out the details of the battlefield. She noted him swinging his walking cane, thrusting it into the skull of a nearby mindflayer. She missed hearing the gunshots echoing far into the distance, the battle did not feel right without her brother close.

All the while, Noctis roared. A deep, primal scream that pulsated throughout them. He stabbed and stabbed into fallen mindflayers, reducing himself to pounding them into the snow with his fists. Ignis, Chrome and Gladio approached him from behind, watching as he coiled over and pressed his face into dirtied hands.

Cold, soaked in daemon blood, they helped Noctis to stand again. He faltered but nodded silently. Gladio became pale, pointing to something in the train car. Chrome felt an odd presence coming over their heads once more, a vortex-like pool of confusion.

Then the hands wrapped their way around her body. She felt the pull of the back of her top, grabbing her by the scruff as if she were some lost cat. She already knew who it was before the name was uttered on her lips, "Ardyn!"

"Shhh." He instructed, and Chrome began to feel a freeze enter her like never before. Colder then Shiva's corpse. Every part of her stopped moving. Somehow she was still alive, watching as he stepped in front of her. She felt his smile as he cloyingly touched her cheek, "Don't worry yourself, little kitten. You'll be with your brother soon."

The world became blank.