Stand By Me

Prologue: Kingsglaive

"Ha! A hairpin? I didn't think you were into that kinda thing?"

"Maybe she's finally getting in touch with her inner female, heh!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." With a quick roll of her eyes, the brunette retorted, "It's not for me, it's for the princess. But keep that quiet, no one is supposed to know about this mission."

Before the other two could tease her any further, a quick series of beeps from the van's horn changed the atmosphere. As if on cue, all three soldiers grew somber, knowing what was next to come.

"Well, that's me." Flicking her thumb at the vehicle, Crowe shrugged casually with a small smile, "I'll see you guys around."

"Watch your back out there. We'll be waiting."

"Look, I know you're sick of hearing this, but you're like a litt – " The brown-haired man started, just like he always would when the woman went on a solo mission.

"Like a little sister to you, yes, yes I've only heard that one billion times." Giving Libertus a light whack on the shoulder, "I am sick of hearing it." Knowing that it was time to go, she nimbly climbed into the back of the van, checking her gear to make sure she didn't forget anything.

"As long as you come back in one piece, you can hit me as much as you wish." Still worried for his 'little sister', Libertus couldn't help but repeat himself.

Crowe took one look at his fractured leg and snorted, "Says the guy in two pieces."

Next to Libertus, the other guy shook his head in amusement, "Come now, you know he's just taking Leader's 'we're all one big family' thing very seriously."

"Sigh… don't even get me started on that. When was the last time we've even seen him? Hmph." Apparently, that was not a good subject to broach, and the brunette swiftly shut the doors to the van, signaling for the driver to go.

"Wow Nyx, surely even you know better than to talk about that." The raised eyebrows on the man spoke volumes of his disbelief.

With a wry grin, Nyx simply shook his head and answered confidently, "That's where you're wrong. Crowe misses him the most out of all of us. By reminding her of him, it'll make sure she focuses on her mission. The last thing she wants is for Leader to come back and see a 'failed mission' on her record."

"Erm… you're sure she won't just be pissed off the whole day?"

"Well, that's a side-effect that the driver will just have to endure."

"Ho ho, psychological warfare in play eh? Sadistic much, Mr. Hero?"

"Hey I learnt from the best." Nyx gave his childhood friend a playful shove, "If only you paid attention in his classes."

"Oh heavens no. No thank you." Shaking his head, Libertus propped himself properly on the crutches and proceeded to limb down the streets, "I'd rather not eat for a day."

Considering how the man loves his food like no one else, that's saying quite a lot.

Staring up at the sky momentarily, Nyx thought quietly to himself, Things are getting crazy back here Leader… I promised you I would protect our 'family' with my life, but sometimes, I just feel so helpless… This peace treaty from Niflheim just doesn't feel right. I wonder what you would do in times like this…?

"What's wrong Nyx? I thought we were going to get a quick bite!"

"Huh? Oh, right." Shaking himself out of his reverie, the young man jogged towards his friend, a small smile gracing his lips as a familiar saying crept into his mind.

"You just gotta believe!"

"Whoa, that's one creepy smile. What's wrong with you?" Libertus couldn't help but get one last dig in as he ambled towards the restaurant.

Shaking his head in exasperation, Nyx simply ignored the chortles coming from the brown-haired man, instead choosing to focus on the road ahead.

We're all waiting for you, Leader. Don't let us down now.

~ ***** XV ***** ~

This was the first time Nyx saw the famed Oracle, Princess Lunafreya. She was the youngest Oracle in the history of the world, with the ability to talk to the Gods. Adored and revered by all, she seemed to fit the image Nyx had perfectly. With flawless, long blond hair, she looked the perfect image of an angel in that white dress of hers.

Interestingly enough, it was just as the rumors said; a crimson fox draped itself over her left shoulder, with its tails curled lazily around her neck, almost protectively in its own unique way. People say that her pet has been with her since she was young and it has never left her side wherever she goes. Someone even said this animal was a present from the gods, for what fox has more than one tail?

The fox aside, what mostly intrigued Nyx though was the strength behind those cerulean eyes; something almost akin to resolve burned in those orbs, which led the young man to further confirm his fears – This treaty is not what it seems.

They've received news a few days ago, that Crowe was declared MIA when her location tracker suddenly went offline. They had been expecting her to return earlier than the ETA seeing how Lunafreya was actually in Insomnia already, but it was not to be. The worst thing was, they didn't even know if she was alive or not, and that itself scared the rest of the squad to no end. In this current world, if you went missing on a mission, two possibilities come to mind. One, you've been killed, be it by the enemy, by daemons or by accidents. Two, you've betrayed your country, and have sided with the enemy.

Libertus almost got into a big fight with their fellow glaives as a few had insinuated the above. Neither of the two possibilities give ringing endorsements to your safety, so it was no wonder the brown-haired man felt like breaking a few jaws for them.

The big man knew that Crowe was probably dead, but he didn't want to believe it. After all, a similar event had happened just a few years ago. The question had also been raised: Why would someone go MIA in a simple escort mission? In the end, Libertus had stormed out of the room, cursing under his breath as he left. This incident, added on top of the fact that he already had doubts of the King, had been the final straw.

"Damn it, it's happening all over again! First Leader, now Crowe! Go back to the castle and tell the King that we're not just tools that he can throw away as he pleases! I'm going to go find Crowe! If they're not going to tell us what is happening, then I'll go about things my way!"

"It has been a long time, your Majesty." A soft, gentle voice echoed through the room, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Yes. It has been far too long." The esteemed King of Lucis greeted her warmly, with a bittersweet smile on his face. "I see that you still take him with you on your trips?"

"Yes, your Majesty. As you can see, he is still quite the lazy fellow." Giving the fox a light scratch behind the ears after she received a disgruntled growl at her comments, she continued, "He never greets people properly though, so you'll have to excuse him."

King Regis chuckled at that, "Ah yes, I still remember how he bit me right on the hand when I tried to pet him." To that, the Princess smiled, "And I remember how Noctis-sama and I spent the whole afternoon chasing him, attempting to 'punish' him for doing something so evil."

Polite laughter came from both parties for a few moments, before Lunafreya quietly asked, "Noctis-sama is no longer here, is he?"

"No, my dear, he is not." As the princess gave a sigh of resignation, he continued on, "I'm too old to fight this war. I have no choice but to receive the Empire and accept their peace treaty."

Thinking back to how he had bid his son farewell just a few days ago, the old King shook his head in regret, "Even so, I had hoped to hold the wedding elsewhere, somewhere safe." Looking directly at Nyx, he quickly followed, "I can send you to him, with one of my glaives. He'll make sure you reach my son safely. Please, go to my son."

Imagine Nyx's surprise when the Oracle thought about it for a moment, before silently shaking her head, "No, I'm followed by the emperor wherever I go. If I were to go to him now, it would only place the Prince in greater danger. It is my duty to protect the Prince and make sure his destiny is fulfilled without fail. These twelve years have not changed anything."

King Regis too, could see the resolve in the girl's eyes, "And what of your happiness?"

Lunafreya returned the question with a confident smile, "Being of help to the Prince is my greatest happiness. My duty is my destiny, your Majesty. I'm prepared to accept whatever may come to pass."

A sudden weariness seemed to overcome the King as he could only watch on with grief in his eyes. It was as if he was made to relive the sense of dread he had felt when he first discovered the fate of his son many years ago. Flashes of flames and death raced before his eyes as he recalled the horrific scene that happened in Tenebrae.

Though the King never uttered a word, Nyx could almost feel the hidden words in the King's actions as he dropped his head in a bow, before sitting back on the throne.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive this old man."

~ ***** XV ***** ~

Betrayal hurts like no other emotion. The loss of a beloved one is painful, the feeling of failure is dreadful, but there is no worse feeling than having your comrades turn on you. It was quite evident at this point what had happened.

Being preyed by S-class daemon creature Ultros was nothing compared to seeing the King cut down by General Glauca of the Empire. Being shot by hollowpoint bullets was nothing compared to hearing that son-of-a-bitch proclaim that he was surprised Crowe had escaped considering he shot her too.

"You never were too smart." Luche had mocked with a cocky smirk on his face, "You could have had a new future with the empire, a prosperous one. The days of the Flash are over! You old glaives cling on to your glorious days, forgetting the rest of us out there still live the lives of dogs with our home bound and shackled by Lucis! Where is your esteemed leader now, hm? Oh that's right, he died!"

Needless to say, Nyx didn't even pay him much attention as the idiot was tactfully dealt with by the Princess. There was a slight sense of satisfaction as Luche screamed in agony whilst being burned to death. Fitting.

But now learning that General Glauca was actually their captain of the Kingsglaive all along? Even for him, this was a bit too much. The man that was practically his mentor for the last three years! Granted, no one could replace the Leader, but the captain had treated him well and taught him quite a few tricks.

It was all coming together now. When their Leader, the Flash as they called him, had left on a mission, he had already been warned about this.

"Things are going to start getting rough pretty soon. If the worst were to happen, I might not be here in time to protect you guys. Always remember to trust your instincts and do as your heart says. I'm counting on you Nyx, take care of the guys for me."

"Nyx!" A desperate yell broke him out of his reminiscing as he stared Drautos… no, General Glauca right in the eye.

"It's over. The daemons have been unleashed. Lucis is fallen." The man in armor slowly made his way towards Nyx and the Princess, his sword slowly raised as everyone knew what was next to come. "Surrender the ring."

Lunafreya bit her lips, understanding that she really didn't have any other choice but to put the ring on herself in an attempt to try and ward off the enemy general, was surprised by the soldier when he placed a hand over the ring instead.

"Hey hey hey, don't you have a destiny to worry about? If you want to give those kings a piece of your mind, here, let me do it for you." Snatching it from her before she could attempt what was equivalent to suicide, he grinned as remembered the Leader's final words before he left on the mission.

"Besides, didn't anyone tell you? I'm the hero around here!"

As soon as he put the ring of Lucii on, time slowed down instantly, with world slowly fading into darkness. The next thing he knew, he was on the floor, trying to readjust himself to the eerie atmosphere as he came face to face with the old Kings of Lucis.

"So long do you guys plan on letting Insomnia just burn? Get that wall of yours up and running, I don't care if it's New or Old." Holding his hand over the gun wound, it was all he could do to stay conscious at this point.

"Silence mortal, you do not command us when you're not even of Royal Blood. We are the wards of the future, and it does not fall upon us to guard the city."

Shaking his head in disbelief, Nyx let the old Kings continue, "Man is a fool creature, clinging to his past and cowering from his future, wasting his strength on bygone days."

"So what future are you wards of?" Unable to resist a sarcastic remark in the face of the Kings' Holier-than-thou attitudes, the young man was getting weaker by the second.

"So short-sighted, and cursed never to rise above it."

"Wait, He is the one the Sage has taken under his wing. I've already seen what this brave young man has prepared to do. He, too, seeks to safeguard the future, not for his sake, but for everyone else."

That voice… Your Majesty… What does he mean by the 'Sage'? Is he talking about Leader?

"Oh, is that so?" The old Kings murmured in interest for a few seconds, before concluding, "Very well, young King, we shall weigh this warrior's worth. But our boon does not come cheap, the cost is a life." As if on cue, smoky illusions of the Princess and Libertus sprung to view. "Now choose."

"To hell with that! I didn't come here for your power!" Swatting aside the images, he stared defiantly at the Old Kings, "I only came to tell you, that you're no kings!"

Silence reigned for a few moments, before the voice sounded once more, "Your worth has been weighed and found wanting. Now burn."

In an instant, his left hand was set ablaze. Searing pain shot through his nerves as he fell to the ground, clutching at it in agony. But even so, he refused to let them beat him, "Sure, sure. But at this rate, you're going to lose your precious ring. It's not too late for me to save it though."

"You mean to barter for your life?"

"No. No, no, no. My life was, still is, nothing. I would have been nothing but daemon fodder had Leader and the King not taken me in. I understand that, I understand that very well." A wry smile grew on his face as memories flashed through his mind of the teachings he got from them, "A wise man once told me, it's ok to remember the past, but not to dwell on it."

Ignoring the blinding pain that was in his hand, he forced himself upright, somehow managing to catch his breath as he continued, "He also told me that focusing on the future is great, but not to do so blindly."

"There is nothing worse than being fanatic about something just because you feel like you need to. You say you live to protect, Nyx, well then, I ask you of this, what is it that you're trying to protect? Yourself? People precious to you? The city? The Royal Family? Which is it?"

He had been stunned to say the least, when he was asked that question. He hadn't given it much thought. He knew that he wanted to avenge his sister and to make sure no one else had to go through what happened to him. Sure, he would protect the people as well with his actions, and it was his duty as a glaive to protect the Royal Family. But deep inside, what did he actually want to protect?

"What is your goal in life, Nyx Ulric? What do you hope to accomplish in this life? What do you want your proudest achievement to be when your precious people speak of you?"

Back then, it had taken him a few days before he got a smile from the Leader with his answer.

Now, he did not hesitate, "Giving a future to those who want to see it… is everything!" The conviction in his voice was almost physical and palpable as the Old Kings contemplated his reply.

"Even if the future is doomed, do you not fear?"

"Ha! Like that guy always says… You just gotta believe!" It could be his imagination, but did the soul of King Regis actually chuckle?

"If that sentiment is not false, perhaps you are worthy." As one, they nodded, "We shall grant you our light, but know it will set when the sun rises, and the price for it will be your life."

"Heh heh, I laugh in the face of death! Because heroes never die!"

Feeling the burning sensation in his hand slowly fading away, he stood up tall in front of the Old Kings, "You guys drive a hard bargain… So where do I sign?"

I hope you're proud of me, Leader…

~ ***** XV ***** ~

In the end, it had all come down to conviction. He did have magic back, but his injuries weren't magically cured. General Glauca was extremely formidable in his magic armor, and just kept coming back for more. Not to mention Diamond Weapon was literally raining missiles over the entire city.

"How did you… what did you…" Blood gurgled in his throat as he tried to express his disbelief.

Huffing in exhaustion, Nyx couldn't help but give his enemy a victorious smirk, "Hope you know what it feels like to be stabbed by that sword now."

It was quite obvious to most who have seen the glaives in combat what they did. Sure they had some prowess in close combat, but their most famous trademark was the ability to warp to their weapons using the King's magic. Because of that ability, they were quite feared for a long period of time.

However, things changed when the magitek soldiers had a sensor installed in them. After all, the glaives weren't of Royal Blood and more than a few felt extremely disoriented right after the warp, meaning it took time for them to regather their bearings every time they tried the technique. Nyx had it better than others but it still took him about a second or two to recover from that nauseous feeling. In that second, a magitek soldier would easily be able to react and gun you down.

That had been the turning point of the war. Daemons started causing more havoc because there just weren't enough glaives to counter them when you had to pay attention to those blasted robots.

On top of that, once the enemy got used to the warping, it was actually their most glaring weakness. Since they weren't of Royal Blood, they weren't able to perform the perfect warping that the Royal family were famed for, and instead, there was a slight lag that proved exploitable. Whenever the weapon was thrown the enemy would be able to almost predict the incoming attack because of it, and hence the glaives were further pushed to the brink, as their most recent battle before the treaty had shown.

General Glauca had expected the warp. He just didn't expect it to actually be to the blade Libertus had stuck into his armor ages ago and what he thought was a frontal assault had turned out to be a backstab. Worse, because he was so focused on taking the hit head on, he didn't even have time to react to the spectacular reversal performed by Nyx where his blade was directed right into his own stomach.

The pose he stood in right now was eerily similar to that of the King when he died.

"King Regis did what he could for the future. It is because of him, that we still have hope for our homes."

It had been a glorious battle, one that he would never forget. The Old Wall had activated the towering statues across Insomnia, spurring them into combat and what a fight it was. Sure they were outnumbered, but when that final fist smashed right into the core of the Diamond Weapon, the hideous daemon that wrecked the entire city, a burst of exhilaration coursed through Nyx's veins.

Staring at his slowly burning body, he gave a wistful grin, "Well, not the worst way to go."

Remembering Lunafreya's words about how she promised to help the Prince save the future, he whispered, "Rule well, Young King."

Leader, Libertus, Crowe… Goodbye.

~ ***** XV ***** ~

The Oracle was currently rushing out of the city as fast as she could. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she eyed the devastation that was left in the wake of the attack. She knew this was coming all along, yet she could do nothing to stop it. The road was only going to get much grimmer, but she had to hold her head high. The starscourge was coming and her magic can only hold on for so long. She needed to awaken the Astrals and help Noctis-sama gain their approval.

"Calm yourself. It is what it is." A gruff voice sounded around her neck.

Peering down, she could see that the fox has finally awakened, "What…?"

"That idiot made a promise and he never breaks those."

"I know that but…"

"But nothing! This world has been caught up in war for the past fifteen years. When I first got here I can't even begin to describe the horrible feeling the energy this place dissipated gave me. It was like dead people crawling all over the land!" Standing on his paws, the fox stared right into her eyes, "Never forget that you're not alone in this, Luna. We're with you every step of the way."

Blinking back her tears at the words of encouragement, she kept up her pace as she could see Umbra and Pryna in the distance. She needed to know how Noctis was. She couldn't even begin to imagine how he was taking the news about his father being dead as well as the entire city of Insomnia being overrun by the Empire. He had always been a carefree boy, completely unaware of the grim fate that awaits him, so this would have been the first major tragedy that he faced.

"Is he alright, Gentiana?" The gruff voice spoke again.

Giving her beloved dogs a final pet, she peered up into the emerald eyes of the mystical woman. Wearing a formal black and gold dress, with her luscious jet-black hair flowing down to her waist, she looked the perfect image of beauty and grandeur.

"Noctis-sama and co are currently on their way towards Lestallum, ready to meet up with Iris-sama." She pulled the girl into her arms as the fox hopped off of Lunafreya, "You did well today."

"Gentiana… I…" Feeling the kindness in the Ice Queen's arms, the tears that had once stopped threatened to emerge once again.

"God damn it woman, stop making the poor girl cry!"

"Crude as ever, aren't we?" Gentiana tilted her head towards the fox, "I would have thought you would help the poor soldiers in Insomnia fight against that beast, but I guess it was too much work for you."

"Keh, I had to make sure Luna was safe. If I had joined in the fight, there literally wouldn't be a city left once I was done with that blasted daemon. Besides, it all worked out in the end, right?"

The Ice Queen lightly stroked the hair of the Oracle as she replied, "I guess our definitions of 'worked out' are different then. I believe you owe that young man an apology."

"What?! I do not!" The indignation that he would owe anyone an apology was clear as day.

"If he hadn't worn the ring, Luna –"

"Would have been absolutely fine and you know it. If this girl isn't worthy of power, then no one is. Heck, she's doing all this to save their pathetic asses."

"So letting an innocent young man burn to death was a good choice?" Gentiana teased even though she already knew the answer that was to come.

"Bah, that brat is already on his way to sort out the kid. He'll be fine. Just think of it as a test of sorts from me to see whether or not he was worthy."

Lunafreya gasped as she heard this and turned back to the fox, "Kurama-san, does this mean…?"

With a wide smirk on his face, he replied in the affirmative, "Oh yes, he's back."

~ ***** XV ***** ~

Interesting, this burning business sure is taking its time…

Nyx was seen lying on the ground, spread-eagled as he was trying to figure out what to do. It was a silly thought because he knew he was going to die, but… it was just taking so long.

The Old Kings said sunrise right? Well damn, the Sun is pretty damn high up in the sky already! Not that he wanted to die or anything, but if it was going to happen anyway, he wanted it to be swift and painless, not this whole burn your insides out while you wait patiently situation!

"Libertus should have gotten the Princess out of the city by now. That idiot better not get caught by any Empire soldiers." Sighing, the young man closed his eyes for the umpteenth time, "Any moment now…"

Silence reigned in the area as he continued his wait for death. Very anti-climatic.

Until of course, it was broken by a very familiar voice, "Nyyyyyxxxxxx!"

His eyes sprung open at that, "Libertus?!"

Sure enough, his childhood friend was rushing towards him. Yes, rushing on that fracture leg. Before long, he was by his side, muttering in disbelief, "Oh thank goodness you're alive. Wait what is happening?! Why are you burning?! He said you were fine!"

"Geez Libertus, calm down." For some reason, his friend's typical reaction brought a smile to his lips.

"How can I calm down when you're burning?!"

"It's fine. It's the price I had to pay to get rid of that stupid daemon." Suddenly realizing something, Nyx frowned, "What do you mean he said I was fine? Who said?"

The brown-haired man suddenly whacked himself on the head as he frantically stood up, waving at someone else in the distance, "Leader! He's over here, I've found him! He's still alive!"

Wait, what? Leader…?

Right on cue, there was that man with the same playful smirk he wore just before he left on the mission many years ago, with his spiky blond hair billowing in the wind.

"You found him? Good job Lib!" With practiced ease, he leapt to their spot, gracefully landing beside Nyx, who was still staring at him with utmost disbelief, "It's been awhile hasn't it? What, cat got your tongue?"

"Leader… you're… you're alive!" To say Nyx was shocked would be an understatement.

"Geez, thanks for writing me off, ye of no faith." The blond playfully ruffled the hair of his subordinate, seemingly completely oblivious to the fact that the brunet was on fire. Literally.

"Wait, wait, Leader, do something about this, he's going to die otherwise!"

"Oh shush, he's fine. I've already spoken to the Old Kings. The negotiation was a bit tough but I managed to charm them enough to lighten the 'sentence' so as to speak."

Nyx stared at the man incredulously, "Charmed them?! Wait, before that, how did you even speak to them?!"

"Heh, don't worry about it."

"Leader!"

Laughing at Nyx's reactions, the man winked at him before continuing, "Alright, I know you have questions but we're still technically in enemy territory, we need to get back to base. I'll give you a proper rundown of what has happened and what our future missions will be. By the way, Crowe has been worried sick about you guys, so I'm giving you a heads up."

"Crowe?! She's with you?!"

"Yeah, funny story that. I'll tell you later."

This sudden turn of events was enough to get anyone confused, and needless to say, Nyx Ulric is completely flabbergasted at how his Leader still had that ability to make absolutely no sense whatsoever and yet act as if everything made perfect sense.

"Just so you know, we're going to have to go my way, since you can't use magic ever again."

Nyx blinked, before responding with a very eloquent, "Huh?"

"Yeah, those old farts insisted that you get some form of penalty if you were to be spared, so I suggested they remove your magical abilities. So the burning will probably need to continue just a bit longer."

Did… did his respected leader just say that he bartered away any possibility of him using magic in the future in exchange for keeping him alive? Why was he saying it like it was a common occurrence?!

"Don't worry about it." Again, a nonchalant reply to answer his ever-growing pool of questions.

"You know what… I'm not going to." He was originally ready for death anyway, so what was losing the ability to use magic compared to living.

"I've heard that you did quite the heroic act today, adding more accolades to your records hm?"

Rolling his eyes at the typical tease he would always get, he retorted, "Well if you were actually here to help out, I wouldn't have had to do any of that now, would I?"

The blond simply laughed as he gathered Libertus and Nyx into his summoning circle that he had drawn up awhile ago, "Hey, I thought I told you this before. A hero is always fashionably late," With his right hand in a seal, the circle glowed green as a torrent of energy rose to enclose them in an orb, "And who am I to disappoint?"

With a flash, all three figures disappeared from the battleground, without a single trace they were here in the first place.

Five years ago, famed general 'The Flash' had left on a top-secret mission for Lucis, with the intent of breaking down the Empire's production of daemons, and if that was unsuccessful, he as to assassinate Empire Chancellor, Ardyn Izunia. He was later declared MIA two years later by the Royal Family, leading to dismay and despair across the country, for he was beloved and adored by all. His might and charisma were legendary for someone so young, and many mourned the loss of such a wonderful person.

Fellow general "Immortal Shogun" Cor Leonis had then set off on a journey, by order of King Regis himself, to see if he could find any information about The Flash's whereabouts. Many would later wonder if the outcome of the 'Battle of Insomnia' would have changed had both generals been participating in the war.

Said Empire Chancellor was currently enjoying himself some good wine in his room on his personal airship, quite happy with how everything was going according to plan. He almost couldn't wait to meet the 'Chosen Prince' at Galdin Quay. There really wasn't much to worry about now that the first domino had fallen.

At that moment, he felt that familiar discharge of energy, the complete opposite of the daemon essence within him, the power that came quite close to eliminating him more than a few times over the last few years, "Ah… looks like I spoke too soon."

Placing the glass down, he moved to the window and gave a vicious smirk, "So you've finally made your move… Well then, shall we dance once again? Uzumaki Naruto."

~ ***** XV ***** ~

Whenever you're in trouble, won't you stand by me?

~ ***** XV ***** ~

A/N: It's been a long time, guys. I'll elaborate more on my profile if you're interested. Read & Review guys, as always. Cheers.