Lorelai ran as fast as she could. The forest she was in made it tough. She had to weave around trees and hop over small rocks. She glanced back, seeing the wall of darkness still coming for her. She was getting tired and her legs ached, but still she pushed on. She quickly climbed over a large boulder, stumbling as her feet slipped on the rocky surface. She fell, hitting the ground on the other side of the boulder. The momentum sent her tumbling down a sloping hill. She yelped in surprise, unable to stop herself from rolling. Her body was bumped and scraped by stones, twigs, and bushes. She finally stopped when she landed face-first in a puddle of mud at the base of the hill. She picked herself up, whimpering as she tried to wipe away and sling off the thick mud now caked to her skin and hair.

Unable to get it off, she stood and whirled around. The wall of darkness was gaining on her, moving faster than before. She twisted on her heel only to be met with a face she hoped to never see again. She froze with wide eyes full of fear. The man before her smiled, bowing as he briefly removed his dark hat. He didn't say a word, only pointed behind her. Lorelai turned to see the wall of darkness had stopped right behind her.

Within the darkness, images emerged. Siderum, her people, her mother, even the guardian dragon. Each image shown brightly like a light before fading into the darkness, all while screams of terror resounded around Lorelai, echoing within her head. Tears were now streaming down her cheeks. She brought her hands up to cover her ears but quickly retracted them when she noticed the odd substance coating them. The mud on her skin had now turned into deep, red blood. She trembled, turning to face the man again. He now emitted a black smoke while his skin became pale and his eyes turned black and gold. The smoke from his body rapidly engulfed the girl.

Lorelai's eyes snapped open and she shot up with a gasp. She looked all around, realizing that it was all just a dream. She sighed with relief and wiped the cold sweat that had formed on her forehead. It was still dark, and the men all remained asleep. Lorelai reluctantly laid back down and closed her eyes. It was just a bad dream, she told herself. That was ten years ago, the odds of seeing that man again are very slim. Despite her own words of reassurance, she felt like the man of her nightmares was still out there, watching and waiting.

Lorelai was the first to get up the following morning. After the terrible nightmares that plagued her dreams, it was hard for her to fall back into a deep sleep. But despite her lack of rest, she was wide awake. The black-haired girl quietly left the caravan and went to the outdoor restaurant, getting her breakfast there. She pushed back her fears and worries and hummed as she cheerfully ate her food. The last thing she was going to do was let her friends worry about her. She didn't want to burden them with her problems.

After eating, Lorelai decided to look around in the shop while waiting for the others to wake up and join her. It wasn't long before Ignis and Prompto entered the shop. They immediately noticed Lorelai scanning one of the shelves, her back to them as she hummed.

"Good morning, Lora," Ignis greeted as he and Prompto approached the girl. She instantly turned to face them upon hearing Ignis's voice. "We thought we'd find you here."

Lorelai smiled. "Hey, guys. I woke up a bit earlier so I figured I'd look around until you all got up. I've already had breakfast too, by the way."

Prompto grinned at her joyful tone and expression. "You're awfully chipper this morning. You must've slept like a log."

"That I did," she lied. "I guess I'm also glad to have my locket back, and to have finally taken down that zu."

"Well, we were happy to help," Ignis replied.

Lorelai followed the two men over to the counter where Ignis bought a few ingredients along with some extra elixirs and such. The three then headed back to the caravan where Noctis was still trying to sleep with Gladio urging him to get up. Ignis got to work on preparing breakfast and Lorelai only watched and giggled at the lazy prince. Said man rolled onto his stomach and covered his head with his pillow. Lorelai slowly approached his bed.

"Oh no, it looks like I have nowhere to sit," she said in an overly exaggerated tone. She glanced at where Gladio and Prompto sat, a smirk creeping across her lips. "Guess I'll have to make do. This looks like as good a spot as any."

She calmly took a seat right on Noctis's back. He groaned, squirming a bit at the sudden pressure on his back. "Okay, okay, I'm up." He removed the pillow from his head and looked back at the girl sitting on him.

Lorelai only smiled kindly. "Sorry, Noct, I didn't mean to wake you," she said sarcastically and stood up.

The prince rolled his eyes at her and slowly got up. Prompto and Gladio were both laughing at the two. "Better watch out, Noct, she might sit on you again," Gladio teased, grinning at the two.

"I know how that feels," Prompto added, remembering when the girl had fallen on him after taking down the magitek engine. "Lora nearly crushed me when I tried to catch her before."

"Hey!" Lorelai placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at the blond. She took offense to his comment. "Are you saying I weigh a lot?!"

Prompto quickly waved his hands defensively. "N-Not at all! I didn't mean it like that!"

Gladio stood and approached Lorelai. He wrapped an arm around her waist and easily lifted her off the floor. After a moment, he set her back on her feet. "She's not the least bit heavy."

Lorelai smiled and crossed her arms, satisfied by the tattooed man's judgement. "Thank you."

"Guys, seriously, I didn't mean it like that." Prompto tried his best to defend himself. He really didn't want Lorelai mad at him. "All I'm saying is that when someone lands on you, it hurts."

Ignis let out a sigh from where he stood, cooking. "You should learn to hold your tongue when a woman's weight is concerned."

Prompto finally leaned back, sprawling out on the bed he sat on. He groaned, unable to find the words to defend his argument. It wasn't long before the men were able to fill their empty stomachs. The group talked a bit more until they'd all finished breakfast. Almost right afterwards, Noctis's phone began to ring and vibrate in his pocket. He slipped it out and checked to see who it was. It was Iris.

He answered the call, "Iris."

"Hey, Noct, I've got some good news for you."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well, Talcott and I have been doing a little research, and we think we know where you can find another tomb. There's a hidden cave behind a waterfall southwest of Burbost Souvenir Emporium. Check there."

"All right, way to go. We'll head there and check it out."

"Oh, and Noct? Please tell me you at least saw Lori out there after you left Lestallum."

"She's fine, Iris. Lorelai is traveling with us."

"What a relief!" Noctis could hear her sigh on the other end of the phone. "Well, good luck out there."

Noctis hung up. "So, what'd my sister say?" Gladio questioned the prince.

"To check behind a waterfall near Burbost, said there may be a royal tomb there. Oh, and she wanted to know if Lora was okay."

Lorelai smiled as she gazed down at the floor. "Iris is such a sweet girl, always worrying about me."

"We'll have to visit her in Lestallum again soon," Gladio said. "She really enjoyed your company, Lora. Not everyday she gets to hang out with another girl."

Lorelai nodded and grinned. "Definitely, I really care about Iris. But first thing's first, we've got a tomb to find."