Yay cliffhanger last chapter! Boo shorter chapter...this chapter. But yay for plot moving! Boo for this fic to start coming to a close...

As promised, I now have a new oneshot up! It's a cute ficlet full of puns and bad jokes, set in the everyone's alive!AU, which was a good, light-hearted change of pace from this story, so if you haven't seen it, feel free to check it out :)

Thank you guys for being so patient with me and for sticking with this story the past few months. You all have been so incredible and supportive. Thank you.

Guest: We're super close to the end! I actually need to go back and re-watch some of the end scenes to make sure I have all my details right, but yes, it's drawing to a close :(
Wolf Strife: Thank you! You have been a constant supporter since the beginning of this fic, so thank you so much!

Summary: "It is time, Oracle Queen. The Astrals stand ready."

Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XV

FINALFANTASYXV

Iris was used to seeing strange occurrences all the time, especially now that the world had been completely run over with daemons. She crept silently along the streets of Lestallum on her patrol shift in the perpetual night, the light wind enough to invigorate her senses a little. Never ending nights meant weird sleep schedules, and her body had taken the longest time to adjust to the darkness, her circadian rhythm completely and utterly messed up. She looked down at her watch, reading 10:43PM in bold white numbers, and allowed herself another sigh.

Another shift with nothing happening. Lestallum was generally one of the better spots because of its natural defenses, with an enormous cliff on one side and fences on both sides of the town, barring any entrance from the tunnel to the east and from the mountains in the west. The fence that had already surrounded the power plant became the back fence of the city, and they had reinforced it best they could to keep out the daemons that would have snuck around the power plant to get to the rest of the city. Making it out of the backroad, Iris turned right onto the main street and crossed to the outlook, where the Disc of Cauthess glowed an unearthly blue, the flames slowly, serenely rippling up and fading into the stars above. Leaning against the rocky wall, she rested her elbows on top, dropping her chin onto her arms to admire the sight. It was her favorite place to go to, as often as she could. She had already spent hours upon hours just standing or sitting there, looking out at the Cleigne landscape.

What she didn't expect that night as she stood there was for the Astral Shard to burst into a brilliant orange-colored flame instead of the blue, the change happening so abruptly it put all her senses on high alert, and she immediately drew her katana without a second thought. Her heart smashed against her ribcage as she watched with wide eyes the flames that burned higher and higher, and then a loud roar, louder than any daemon she had faced in the past year, sounded all across Cleigne. The Disc shifted then; she could see every single movement that happened in the bright light as the Astral Titan rose from the earth, still bearing the enormous meteor on his shoulders. Titan let out another loud roar, and a bright flash of light made Iris shield her eyes with her arm, lowering it slowly when it faded.

The Astral Shard still burned orange-gold, the light from its flames not fading. Tires screeching on the road pierced through Iris' shock and grabbed her attention- one look at Cor's face and the waiting squad in the van had her hopping in without a second thought.

FINALFANTASYXV

It didn't feel real, even with the wind dying down around her, the dust and dirt settling onto the ground. She looked down at her hands, hands that were scraped and dirtied with blood and grime, her left palm-up, her right clenched around her trident. Looking down at her shoes and attire, her black combat boots were covered in mud, her white top now streaked with dirt and sweat, her black hoodie well-worn and ready to tear at any moment.

This time, she had no problems remembering what had happened. She knew, more certain than ever before, what she would have to do. Curling her left hand into a fist, she surveyed her surroundings, knowing instantly where she was. She closed her eyes as she tapped into the well of powers inside her- there was no longer a barrier in between her and the Power of Kings, the power flexing and curling and joining with her Oracle's Powers into one, both bending to her will as Master. The command flowed seamlessly and easily, just like water, and her magic reacted with barely a single push, barely any effort at all.

One instant, she was alone in the enormous crater of the Disc of Cauthess. The next, a rumble shook the earth, and then the meteor bearing the Astral Shard rose as she called forth Titan, the Archaean, who roared as if announcing his coming. His orange-yellow eyes stared right at her, into her when he roared again.

A gust of cold wind blew past her, and she turned to find a single person walking toward her from the shadows.

Gentiana, dressed in her traditional black kimono dress, made her way across the crater with her eyes closed, her white wrap and long black hair flowing behind her. Her lips barely move when she spoke aloud.

"It is time, Oracle Queen. The Astrals stand ready."

Lunafreya Nox Caelum lifted her head and looked at the waning moon in the sky.

The Imperial gates leading to the Disc had long been trashed, granting the small party and their car (really, it was more like a small tank with how Randolph had modified it) access to the Disc itself. They moved slowly, cautiously; up close, they could see the summoned Astral, who was paying them no mind- and, as far as Cor was concerned, it should stay that way. He had no idea how an Astral would react to a group of mortals without the Oracle there.

It turned out that he didn't have anything to worry about.

They had barely made their way to the Disc proper when Titan turned to them, all of their hearts momentarily stopping in their chests as the Archaean's gaze settled on them, and he lifted his enormous hand.

No matter what he had come up against, Cor didn't often feel intimidated. In fact, he found that there were only two moments in his life where he was completely helpless- the first being the fall of Insomnia and of the King, and the second being now, up against an Astral who looked ready to kill. He wasn't going down without a fight, of course, as he slowly put his hand on his katana, noting Iris was doing the same.

To their immense surprise, Titan put his hand down, palm-up, right in front of them, to reveal what he had been carrying, a small, blonde figure who slowly walked off onto the Disc, barely a hundred feet in front of the tank. Titan withdrew his hand and, in a flash of light, he disappeared, the Astral Shard burning blue instead of orange once again.

Cor didn't even have a chance to assess the turn of the situation when he saw Iris practically fly out of the car, her harsh footsteps resounding loudly on the stone beneath her boots as she ran to the figure, flinging herself at them in a bear hug.

"LUNA!"

The Marshal's eyes widened. Was it-? Could it really…?

Luna wasn't sure who it was or what she was expecting when Titan very obviously wanted her to climb onto his hand and lifted her, high above the ground, only to set her down in front of extremely bright lights. She brought an arm up to shield her eyes, but as soon as she did, it was knocked out of the way when something- someone- barreled right into her, yelling her name.

"LUNA!"

That feminine voice sounded so familiar, but it felt like forever, and before she knew it, the person pulled back enough for her to see-

"Iris?" her voice came out hoarse, the vibration testing her rusty vocal chords though it had been mere moments before when she had been talking to Noctis and Ardyn and Bahamut. Her throat felt dry, parched, and her limbs more than a little stiff.

Iris gave her another quick hug before letting her go, her eyes searching for answers when she shook her head, as if trying to re-focus herself.

"Questions. Lots of questions. Can wait," she muttered, tugging gently on Luna's arm and guiding her toward the light.

"Wait, Iris," Luna said, clearing her throat several times. "Wait. What happened? How am I here? The others?"

The look Iris gave her made her stomach sink even before she heard the girl's answer.

"Luna," she replied patiently, with urgency and slight panic in her amber eyes. "You've been gone a year."

A year. A year. A year.

Iris' words echoed in her ears, long after they arrived back at Lestallum and they had set her up with a room in the Leville. She lay on the bed in fresh clothes, trying and failing to fall asleep, too many thoughts running through her mind. To her, only hours had passed between waking up from the dream to seeing Noctis, and then from that to appearing at the Disc. How could it have been a whole year?

Fury began to bubble in her chest as she glared at the ceiling. Did Bahamut know, when he was busy telling her things she already knew? Did he know and didn't tell her? How dare he take away a whole year of her life?

Or was he being merciful, knowing she didn't have much, if any, time left at all?

Luna huffed, grabbing the spare pillow and putting it over her face. The world was now overrun by daemons. It was never ending night. The time has come for the Abomination to face his judgment, and she was the one to deliver it. Iris had refused to tell her much else, waving her off and saying she needed her rest, and that everything else could wait until later. Before taking her to her room, she had called Gladio to tell him the news, and received instructions to meet them at Hammerhead the next supposed 'day,' and then Luna had been left only with clean clothes and a towel.

The shower helped a little bit as the hot water ran over her skin, Luna never noticing how sore her muscles were until that moment. She felt like a cat in the water, kneading the aches and stretching out as much as she could, washing the grime and grease out of her hair before toweling off and putting on the loose, comfortable clothes she had been given while Iris tossed her own clothes into the wash. Now with everything done and nothing else to focus on, she had tried to sleep, but it just wouldn't come. Luna turned to the bedside clock, reading 1:36AM in red numbers. She put the pillow over her face again. She turned to the side, and then rolled back onto her bed.

Nothing. Nothing until she heard scratching at her door, and then she was instantly alert, rolling out of bed and Engine Blade in hand before she even had a conscious thought. Cautiously, she approached the door, and opened it a crack to reveal the last thing she expected to see.

Her white dog stared up at her, tongue out and panting as her tail wagged happily. Luna immediately dismissed the blade and flung the door wide open, dropping onto her knees.

"Pryna!"

Pryna let out a soft bark, and Luna felt the tell-tale sign of the impending tears. The dog nuzzled into her neck, giving her, for the first time, an anchor in the middle of everything that had happened and everything she still had to face.

FINALFANTASYXV

Despite the lack of sleep the night before, Luna felt just a little bit better, that much more confident as she put her own clothes on that Iris brought up to her that 'morning.' Pryna lay on her bed, silently watching her mistress move around the room- not that Luna had much to do; really, it was just busy work with her tidying everything she had touched and used the night before. Everything she had before she disappeared a year ago, she was told, had been taken to Hammerhead, where Cindy and the others kept for her.

The small company flew through the Cleigne landscape a mere half an hour later, with both Cor and Iris leaving Lestallum to accompany her to Leide. She had tried to explain the situation, but the Marshal only gently- as gently as he could, anyway- stopped her and told her to wait until they arrived at Hammerhead, something Luna was glad for. She felt that she should explain out of respect and in light of the situation, having been missing a whole year without her knowledge, but she was far from able to gather her thoughts enough to be coherent. The drive would help her figure out what she needed to say, when she would be reunited with Gladio, Ignis, Prompto, and Stella.

Dear the Six Astrals, was she wrong. The familiar scenery only managed to pry open the hole in her heart even more with its bare hands; she could feel the ache as it intensified, trying to drink each sight in before it was too late, and not paying nearly enough attention to the words that needed to be said. Her dread grew, and even with Pryna's warm body on her lap, she couldn't help but shiver, wrapping her worn black hoodie even tighter around herself.

The drive itself took several hours, but when Luna saw the Hammerhead sign, it was as if she hadn't left. Someone opened the gate for them, a gate that hadn't been there when she was last there, and she was altogether unprepared for the moment her three closest friends came out and stood in the floodlights to meet her.