Veni Vidi Vici

by saber007

Imperatrix Tellus Aldercapt. Destiny did not have a plan for her, but the people of Eos would remember the empress that led them through the darkness. (Written before the DLC releases and therefore Semi-AU)

28. Chapter 28

Things are crazy right now in the world. Everybody try to stay safe and calm.

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XV

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"I am unsurprised to see that you are the first one awake, Scientia."

Ignis startled out of his inspection of the soldiers cooking. He found the princess behind him and immediately shifted his gaze from her person. It took an absurd amount of self-control to not reprimand her as he'd instinctively do for Noctis.

It was highly inappropriate for Imperatrix to be dressed in a training bra and loose pants, a light sheen of sweat sticking to her skin and causing her hair to curl around her face. She absolutely shouldn't be walking around like that. Nor should she have approached him in her state.

"Usually…" Ignis started off slowly, focusing his thoughts on a line of conversation and not on the princess's lack of attire. "I cook but I am out of a job currently."

The soldiers were in control of the morning meal and it would seem odd for him to interfere. He'd met his daily quota for organizing the Armiger. So, the advisor had chosen to observe the men in lieu of having nothing else to do.

"May I join you?"

"If it pleases Her Highness." He responded politely, wishing otherwise.

She sat next to him on the crates, taking a meditative pose to regulate her breathing. There would be no chance of ignoring her now. Ignis withdrew his notebook, determined to pretend the princess wasn't present. Though without realizing it, he'd turned to the page of recipes left to him by Imperatrix. Some of them he could decipher and some he couldn't.

Was this meant as a test of his intelligence? A crafty maneuver and one he would meet. Some of the recipes sounded appetizing.

"I tried to give you a meal from each country. They are favorites of mine." Imperatrix peeked over his shoulder. "But I see now that I did not translate them into English."

"That is the case. Was it intentional?"

"You look so irritated with me." Ignis corrected his tense posture and scowl as she talked. "I did not do it to insult you, Scientia. You give off such an air of acumen that I forgot myself. It was presumptuous of me to assume you were avid with languages."

The advisor couldn't control the jaunty leap his heart did at the compliment to his intellect. He worked diligently to be worthy of his position, to be worthy of his house's name.

"Were you ever going to ask for a translation?"

"Was I…meant to?" Ignis dared a glance at the princess and found it difficult to look away. "You wanted a reason to speak to me. Why?"

"There are a few reasons why." Imperatrix admitted, wanting to tease him but she didn't go that route. "You are close to the prince; it makes sense for me to make your acquaintance. And if I wish to have a conversation with him, I need your approval."

This fair-haired advisor was extremely protective and paranoid. She wouldn't get anywhere with Noctis if Ignis was firmly against her.

He nodded in agreement to the princess's reasoning. Court manners transcended the court. One could never know when a diplomatic opportunity would present itself. For this reason, Ignis was always prepared to serve in any capacity for the prince. Anyone with functioning eyes could see that.

This form of interest made sense to him.

"But I confess to having a more personal fascination with you." Imperatrix leaned on her knuckle while contemplating Ignis.

The princess was perplexed by the sense of familiarity she felt around this man. Not just him but Noctis as well. These connections tickled the back of her mind with secrets. She wanted to know why.

Why was her world changing so much since stepping foot in Lucis?

"P-Pardon me?" Ignis straightened his tie, braving a chokehold over blushing.

"You asked a personal question of me before. I believe I am owed one as well." Rather than just continue admiring his appearance, Imperatrix studied his features. "Are you Altissian? Your fair aspects and Italian accent draw more from there than Lucis."

His blood went from flaming to freezing but Ignis carried on speaking in a smooth fashion. "You never answered my question. So, why should I answer yours?"

"Fair enough." The advisor's reluctance on the matter was enough a hint for her. "I will say that I have an idea of your secret."

"Speaking of such, why not divulge the secrets of your writing?" He deflected with the notebook thrust between them.

"I suppose I could teach you while we wait for the others to awaken."

Side by side, the two discussed the mechanics of language and their shared pursuit of achieving mastery in the subject. They both understood the usefulness of being able to communicate with anyone from any corner of the world. Although their manners in reaching this goal differed.

Ignis attended college to double major in political science and linguistics. Knowing how difficult it was to finish one major made his effort of mastering two even more impressive to Imperatrix. And he was still young! On top of his scholastic efforts, Ignis still managed his duties to the crown.

Amazing! Ignis Scientia had the exact kind of mettle that Imperatrix loved to see in her subjects. If only Tempesta and Nebula could shine so brightly. She would like to do that as well. Compared to Ignis, the princess wasn't as academically gifted.

"Well, I…I am a bit...mortified to admit that a high school diploma is all I have. And a military influenced one at that." Imperatrix sighed into her cup of coffee, slumping forward on the table. "As much as we advocate for education, there simply is no time for it when we live in this violent and fast world."

Some days she wished her life had taken another turn. When presented with the choice of living as a traditional princess, deferring her responsibilities to a suitable husband, Imperatrix had declined. She decided to pave the path towards equal precedence for princes and princesses. But what if she had accepted?

Things like high school and college, hobbies and outings and sublime simplicity would have been her norm. Plus, she could have married a lot sooner and had a family. She'd wanted her own for a while...

Ardyn almost granted her wish six years ago. How different would her life have been if she had nurtured a life within her? Ahhh, so many what-ifs!

"Credentials aside, you still have set a new precedent. As far as I know, you are the only royal in history to be capable of speaking the language of all their territories. That is noteworthy."

Imperatrix stared at Ignis, flooded with the serenity of his voice, eyes and words.

Ah, Goddess Venus, sprinkle her eyes with rose-glass! This man was revealing himself to be the princess's type. However, he was so very unreachable. The advisor to the Lucian prince would never turn his gaze to the imperial princess.

She couldn't steal him as she did with the glaive. What a waste!

"Your Highness, are you sure you don't want anything to eat?" The same soldier from before asked her.

His and a few other worrying faces almost persuaded Imperatrix before but her stomach didn't agree. Unfortunately, she had to reject him again. The coffee Wedge provided them was sufficient.

"It is not wise to deprive your body of nutrients. Unless…you are fasting?" Ignis handed off his utensils to a soldier, contending with the urge to follow the man and clean the dishes himself.

Imperatrix's face of shock made him wonder if he crossed a boundary. An apology was halfway out of his mouth but her happy exclaim made the rest of it fade out.

"Wow, you are wonderful, Professor Scientia!"

He ducked his head out of embarrassment, flicking his glasses back up his nose in the process. "I am no such thing."

"I think you were in another life. Evidently, it has carried over into this one. There can be no other explanation for how worldly you are." Imperatrix lolled her head to the side, daydreaming of a fantasy that felt closer to a memory. "How strange…"

Unknown thoughts and feelings continued filtering through her mind. She could see him as a scholar dedicated to learning, throwing his all into reaching the level of a grandmaster magus. His flames would...

Where had that train of thought come from?

The chancellor's tales were invading her rationale. Her reality was re-shaping itself to accommodate all the things she once closed her eyes to thanks to Ardyn's upheaval of truth. Add Nyx's crazy imaginations to the equation and Imperatrix was bound to start thinking farcical things herself.

"Returning to your question…no, I am not fasting." The princess began the process of braiding her hair. "My appetite has been off lately."

Footsteps and groans alerted the two of their companion's arrival. Nyx was the most aware of the three, looking as though he didn't sleep. The glaive did still possess an air of morning crankiness though as he stopped in front of the princess.

"I thought you would never wake, Nyx."

He wasn't in the mood for her teasing and jabbed his hand in front of her face. "Let's train."

Imperatrix balked at his abrupt demand. He positively loathed morning training. Out of concern, she took his hand and rose with his help, following the glaive outside of the haven.

"What is wrong, my darling?"

Ever since they retrieved him from Galahd and the glaive got the grand idea of fatherhood into his head, he'd frequently refused to spar with her. Was he finally going to start having real conversations with her and not tantrums?

She'd been waiting for this. Let him bear his soul to her for once without alcohol. She would cherish him and renew his spirits.

Nyx glared at the princess once they stopped a fair distance from camp, instantly dampening her burst of affection.

"What slight have you now contrived in that wild mind of yours?" Imperatrix mentally braced herself, committing herself to be level-headed.

They were in a dungeon. Discord between party members could lead to death. As much as he was doing everything in his power to aggravate her, the princess wouldn't permit a consort of hers to die.

"I couldn't sleep at all last night, or morning, or whatever the hell time it is outside. Noctis snores, Prompto cuddles and Ignis…" The glaive dragged his hand down his face to tug on his growing beard.

Whatever else he planned to say, Nyx decided not to. He paced a few steps away from the princess, then he swung back around to stand dangerously close to Imperatrix. She checked to see if people were watching but the glaive grabbed her chin to make her focus on him and focus on him she did.

Oh, how the princess wanted to both strike the glaive and kiss him. He was so audacious!

"You know he has a crush on you because I told you. And you've been flirting with him this whole time."

"I will not deny that but compared to my initial flirtations with you, my current efforts are a trifle." Her jaw flexed in irritation but she didn't try to move out Nyx's hold. "First Ardyn was the cause of your ire and now it is Ignis. You must stop throwing tantrums like this. It is unbecoming of a consort of mine."

"How can I not flip out about them?!"

"Stop it, Nyx." She pushed him off. "You knew of my tendencies well before we became entwined. And I have spoken repeatedly of polyamory in the empire. Do you understand nothing I say?!"

The glaive mussed his hair, unable to refute her words because Imperatrix was right. From day one she told him about how harems still functioned in the empire's royal families. In her eyes what she was doing was normal, expected even.

Was it an asshole move of him to assume the daughter wouldn't follow in the father's footsteps? But was he being that dickish? A harem for an empress? It sounded absurd!

Goddammit, so what if he was being a misogynist! Nyx didn't want to accept this!

"Sometimes I wonder why my heart chose you, Nyx Ulric. You are the aggravating sort I do not like." Imperatrix dabbed at her eyes, resolute in not breaking into irrational tears. He was the cause of her terrible emotional highs and lows. "And you keep picking fights with me."

It was becoming clear how Ardyn's gambit would end. This reunion would end in a departure.

"I couldn't sleep because…" Nyx growled, hand roughly scratching at his head.

Where did the princess get her guts to blurt out mushy stuff? If he wasn't using it as a sexual overture, honesty was damn hard to lay out in words. There was also the fact that he wasn't even remotely close to being as eloquent as her. Shit, she could seduce a man fast and hard with all that flowery flirting.

"Because?"

Nyx mumbled out a response.

"Please speak louder. Jupiter knows you do about everything else."

"You weren't there!" The glaive spat out heatedly. "You weren't next to me and I couldn't take it! There, happy? You stuck-up princess."

Imperatrix clenched her hands together to stop herself from acting. Two reactions wanted to play out: one urge would have her slap Nyx for his ongoing rudeness and the other urge would have her embrace him. At present, neither was appropriate.

"Why must you express yourself so barbarously to me?" She bemoaned her fate. "You are worse than Tempesta. There is a word Izzy uses to describe this paradoxical behavior but I cannot recall it."

Nyx shrugged, refusing to look at her. "Don't compare me to that crazy chick."

"Ugh, you are irksome!" Imperatrix grabbed at the bow strapped to his back. "We are going to train now because I am sick of seeing you waste this weapon's potential."

"What're you talking about?"

"The manual that I have persistently told you to read."

"Oh, that." Nyx pulled the pamphlet out of his coat pocket. "How am I supposed to read this when it's in Latin?"

"The second half is in English."

He flipped through the pages and there in the middle, gibberish turned into words. Woah!

"Also, you could have asked me and I would have read it to you." Imperatrix held the bow aloft, prepared to demonstrate. "For someone so demanding of my attention, you do not seek it out nor utilize it well."

Stupid man only wanted to touch her body and not her mind.

Nyx ignored her tirade and read the book. "You know how to use that?

Imperatrix pulled the arrow back. A sudden flicker of light drew her arm in that direction. The arrow's impact caused a minor explosion of dust. Nebula and Aranea emerged out of the cloud.

"Dude, for real?! You threw a smoke bomb?!" The glaive flicked his book around to clear the air. "Who does that?"

"I'm with him." The commodore's voice was muffled as she spoke through her shirt. "That was extra."

With his girlfriend admonishing him, Nebula crossed his arms and issued out an apology.

"Whaaat? You're a softie for your girl?" Nyx playfully elbowed the gunman. "I'd have never guessed with how homicidal you are, Neb."

He twitched from both the gesture and the familiar use of his name.

"You don't have a lick of self-preservation." Aranea squeezed her boyfriend's arm, preventing him from pulling out a gun.

"He does not." Imperatrix pushing in between the men to steal her retainer's other arm that was steadily reaching for a weapon.

Restrained by both females, Nebula could only impart a warning. "Don't call me that. We're not close."

"C'mon man. I think we've leveled up to a first name basis. Hell, even a nickname basis." Emboldened by his safety due to the female's grip on the gunman, Nyx pressed on. "I've heard all the insulting ones you and Tempesta use for me. It's only fair that I get to call you in a way that bugs you, Neb."

Both women tightened their grips.

"Geez, you're as bratty as Tempesta. No wonder you get under his skin." Aranea tugged the gunman forward with her, leaving the glaive and princess to bicker on their own. "Let's eat before you commit murder, Sunshine."

"It wouldn't be murder if no one found the body."

She snickered, covering his stutter in step from them crossing the haven's barrier. "You're so dark and broody for a blonde. I bet you've already got places ready, huh?"

"Many. And I wish Her Highness had permitted me to use one."

They made it to the table where the Lucian retinue was groggily eating their meal. Aranea took a tray from Wedge and sat down so he could debrief her on the teams in the lower regions of the dungeon. Nebula was left with the unfortunate circumstance of sitting across from Prompto. The boy paused eating to address him.

"Um, aren't you going to eat?"

"Don't feel like it." He unlatched a gun and began dismantling it to take his mind off his body's current discomfort.

The haven's magic was already stinging him badly. Added onto his misery was the piece of shit light-user at the table. This blue-haired zombie was a million times worse than Lunafreya. After being around her for months, Nebula could brush off her magic's painful presence. There was no way he could do the same with Noctis.

If the oracle felt like the soft moon, then the prince felt like the punishing sun. The late king misnamed his son. Should've called the brat Sol Lucis Caelum or Solis Lucis Caelum. Freaking punk.

"Another faster. I hope those rituals won't affect you all in the field." Ignis took a moment to observe Nyx and Imperatrix outside of camp.

"They won't." Nebula found himself doing the same.

Imperatrix's movements had gotten sloppier and she tired faster than usual. He noticed the same when she was training earlier. What was up with her? She'd gotten lazier this past month. It couldn't be the anxiety of returning home messing with her flow. The princess was all too happy to get back to her duties in the capital and see her family.

It had to be him. If only she'd give the order; Nebula would snipe the useless glaive in a nanosecond.

"You're pretty good with a gun, Nebula. How long have you been using them?"

Prompto's question made the gunman face him and he noticed the boy's flinch. "From infancy."

He laughed. "No wonder you're so good. You're like a super-soldier."

"I am and it's nothing special."

"Dude, you're wrong. You saved me a bunch of times! Thanks, by the way. You were all-" Prompto imitated the man's shooting style and made the necessary sounds to go with the performance.

While the gunner had made light of the talk, his companions were far more aware of how unlikely it was that Nebula exaggerated his answers. Noctis and Ignis were noticeably tense the more and more Prompto praised their enemy.

The prince pushed the remainder of his food onto his advisor's plate. Ignis sighed but dutifully ate the rest, noting how the imperials had eyed the habit with sharp looks. The advisor knew it was a rude habit for a royal but it didn't merit the level of disdain he saw from them.

"Noct screamed like a girl, which I don't get." Prompto's comment caused Noctis to snap out of his daydreaming. "I would've loved to take a nap on a girl's lap. I wish Cindy would do that for me!"

His cheeks burned and the prince shoved the gunner. "Shut up! Why do you keep bringing that up? It never happened!"

"It so did! I've got proof."

"Oh, you mean this?" Noctis held up the phone.

Prompto gasped, patting down his pockets but they were empty. "Dude, not cool! You agreed to stop pulling my stuff into the Armiger without my permission."

"And you agreed to stop taking embarrassing photos and videos of everyone and posting them online." The prince's face went into a deadpan as the phone in his hand was seconds from dropping into a portal, never to be found again. "An agreement you've broken multiple times."

"But, but, but that's what friends do!" The blonde's face crinkled in horror the closer his phone got to oblivion. And he wasn't being dramatic about that. The storage capacity of the Armiger was vast and things often got lost in it. Even Ignis with his out-of-the-world organizational skills hadn't cataloged every nook and cranny of the Armiger. That thing was a black hole.

The two went back and forth about the phone, passing over any mediation attempts from Ignis. It was Nebula's dry —as dry as a robotic voice within a mask could sound— words that shut down the argument.

"Ehh, you boys are as stupid as the idiots in my group."

"We're not stupid and we're not like you." Noctis denied, slamming the phone into Prompto's hand after finally listening to his advisor.

"You're not? Then it must've been someone else that eradicated a bunch of imperial bases and left the towns defenseless."

A cold silence followed.

The Lucians were huddled together on one side of the table and the imperials on the other. The tentative rope of balance was tugged. Both sides wouldn't allow the other to gain the upper hand.

"You gonna go there?"

"Why not? I don't like you nor do I serve you. I'm under no obligation to be kind to you." Nebula cocked his head in a challenge to the boy. "And you feel the same way towards us."

Noctis trembled with anger and it was only Ignis's whispers of caution that kept him in check.

"This is all pointless. My liege is wasting her time with you."

Aranea was shocked at the amount of hostility her boyfriend was continuing to let slip. He'd completed rebuilding his gun and his fingers were near it, twitching with anticipation.

She'd taken all his complaining in stride. Nebula was a big-time whiner about everything and practically a year-round grinch. However, the commodore now wondered if his grievances were serious. Was he going to fight the Lucians?

"It's a good thing we finally defeated those Lucians! They were greedy and arrogant."

She rubbed her temple, lamenting how their conversation had spurred the soldiers into a mad rant. Once the anti-Lucian talk started, everybody jumped on the bandwagon.

"What?! How?!" Noctis demanded, almost out of his seat but Ignis pulled him down.

"They hid behind that wall while everybody else struggled to survive!" One man yelled.

"They've got all this good land and resources while all we've got is frozen lands infested with daemons! I bet the King was the one that unleased Shiva on us." Another one shouted. "The Caelums were chummy with the Astrals after all."

"Yeah, they were losing the war, so they played a dirty trick. Just couldn't go down gracefully, could they?"

"Now they know what it's like to have their home fucked up beyond reasoning."

On and on the defaming went, jumping from insults in English to Latin, which Ignis was cajoled into translating for his prince.

Noctis lost his earlier steam, beginning to panic under the torrent of accusations. He was surrounded by people that hated him. They were all making up shit. Niffs didn't get to complain after all the messed-up destruction they caused in Lucis. If their land sucked then that was their fault. They deserved their shitty fate.

Who did these people think they were?! A bunch of greedy murders should shut the hell up!

"The Lucians invaded us first and took our land. We just returned the favor."

"The Lucian kings were tyrants!"

"Why should Niflheim fall while Lucis rises?!"

Aranea listened and watched her soldiers howl out their grudges. She was conflicted about her stance on the matter.

She understood and sympathized with them to a degree. Life in the empire was tough. The population took a huge dip eleven years ago and the living environment became unsuitable. Between daemons, regular creatures and barrens lands, cities collapsed. Their nation was down to nine cities and even now that number was going down by two. Their economies couldn't hold so Egypt and Fellfin were being assimilated by their neighbors.

It made strategic sense to take Lucis, to take their resources and money to supply the empire. But Aranea couldn't live with the cost of surviving. They had to destroy a city for theirs to thrive. It didn't feel right. And was Gralea even worth saving?

The once shining-jewel capital of the empire had become a citadel of death and darkness. On the outer rim, people were still frozen, still cursed with living in purgatory. They were pretty statues that no one was willing to let go of. Inside the city, people were being experimented on by Verstael and he was still making clones.

How could her home make Aranea feel both protective of it and disgusted by it?

"Did you put them up to this?" Noctis was barely able to keep his voice down as he interrogated the princess once she and the glaive joined them.

She frantically shook her hands upon hearing all the topics still circulating through camp. "Not at all! I guaranteed your safety. That includes both the physical and mental sense. I have no reason to harm you."

"From the sound of it, you've got plenty."

Imperatrix gave him a long look of understanding. "It is uncomfortable, yes? To be on the receiving end of fear and hatred? Listening to people condemn your name and blame you for actions that go beyond you?"

He hated how much he clicked with her words. He hated how she knew and could voice what was curling inside his chest. Noctis didn't want any kind of connection with her, the enemy, the destroyer of his home.

Raising her hand and speaking in her native tongue, the princess ended the chaos. Ignis's hand on his shoulder steadied the prince. He wasn't alone.

"That was intense." Prompto mumbled, somewhat standing on top of the blunnette with how close he was to him.

"Tell me about it. This is why I prefer to stay asleep." Noctis sighed bitterly. "And we're not even done with this place."

No, the next portion of their adventure was beginning on a bad note.

Since Noctis's group didn't require much preparation, they waited at the edge of camp for their escort. Nyx went with them, judging that the kiddies would need some cheering up. Imperatrix ushered her retainer to the temporary armory. Nebula got some more elemental rounds for his guns. The princess retrieved her sharpened sword embed with new stones.

"You taught him how to properly wield his bow?" Nebula finished strapping on his gear.

"I did but he finds the method childish and humiliating. We will see how that pans out."

As Imperatrix walked to join the company, he trailed behind. His crass ramblings were for his ears only.

"Hopefully, he dies. Along with every one of these intruders."

Why were all these people messing up the status quo? Nebula was fine with the way things were. Why did things have to change?

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XV

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"I don't know what's worse. Trailing after Luna as she goes all sweet oracle on the refugees." Tempesta was so drained, she could only move her glare from Lunafreya to Genius instead of pelting them with something. "Or, sitting here watching my brother tinker with his toys."

Her day was all kinds of dreary, reminiscent of Imperatrix's jaunts through Gralea when she acted like a princess and not a commander. If the princess were present, she would say that it was a great service to the citizens and how proud she was of Lunafreya for catering to them. After all, the imperial family served the people and should care about the lives of both the nobility and commoners.

Tempesta was a bodyguard, a hired fist. The humanitarian aspect of princess duties bored the shit out of her. This was a mindset, she and Nebula shared and they always found a way to excuse themselves from them. Did that make them terrible people? Probably.

Lunafreya needed to get some other flunkie to follow her around for her charity walks because Tempesta wasn't spending one more day on this bull.

"You're fine watching me tinker if it's for something you want." Genius wriggled his fingers and passed off the completed weapon to a subordinate, calling into a walkie for the next item to be delivered to him.

He was being worked to the bone to finish all these weapons and armor requests and with no explanation for why. His father even had sent his set of elite engineers over to assist him with work on the new generation of magitek weaponry. Soon, very soon they would have commanders outfitted with the same class of armor and weaponry as General Glauca. What a fearsome army the empire would have then.

The scientist couldn't figure out the reason for all the haste towards this new goal but his gut was pointing towards the bad side of the meter. The incident with his sister also hadn't helped his nerves. He kept expecting to get a call about a daemon gone mad in camp. A daemon that the high commander wouldn't hesitate to annihilate. Ravus had made his feelings clear on Tempesta's lack of control.

Leaving his father's lab was doing all kinds of harm to his health. No wonder Nebula complained so much about Tempesta, she was a hassle. A horrible one that kept trying to indulge in vices just because she had super-healing. If Genius had the strength, he'd punch her, too bad the action would hurt him more than her.

He was the scrawniest of the bunch of Besithias. Knowledge came at the cost of brawn.

"What is all this stuff? It's like you're prepping for war." Tempesta's eyes bounced around the room, catching all the flashes of gold and silver from the blacksmiths and engineers at work. "At least you're putting all those materials we gathered to use."

"But why? There's no one else to fight." Lunafreya's ears rang from all the noise.

"My guess is…to combat the Astrals. Everyone knows about Operation Godslayer." With a free moment to himself, Genius wiped his face with a towel and tossed the now blackened object. "We're still a long way from recreating the miracle of eleven years ago. If we don't step up, we're toast against another attack."

"Pardon? I thought you all defeated Shiva with magitek?"

"That's the propaganda. From what Father told me, the Glacian was taken down by hellfire."

"That's impossible!"

Seeing as no one would be delivering anything to him soon, the scientist rolled his chair over to the table occupied by the girls. Up close, without his glasses and mop of hair, they could see how severely sleep-deprived Genius was. Not to mention smelly.

"Gods, Izzy, you raccoon-faced loser! How many times do you need to be reminded to shower?!" Tempesta slapped her hands over her nose. "Screw my enhanced senses!"

He lifted his arm and noticed the stain over his armpit. A whiff of the area left him confused.

"Is it that bad? I don't smell anything."

"Of course you wouldn't recognize your own scent! I'm telling you it's bad!"

Genius checked with Lunafreya. She nodded with a tight-lipped grimace.

He groaned for a full minute, head sinking with the weight of his robotic birds nesting there and mimicking his groan. "Why do humans need to shower so much? Animals are good for days."

Tempesta whacked her hand on the table, laughing at his unexpectedly childish pout. "That's gotta be the most boyish reaction outta ya yet. Ah, you're killing me too, Izzy!"

"I like robots but I'm not one, Tempy." Genius puffed out.

He was re-evaluating himself and trying to make amends. She didn't need to constantly diss him. He should at least get points for effort. Stupid Tempesta!

"Not a robot!" The birds chirped out.

"These are amazing." Lunafreya held out a hand and was delighted when the green bird landed on her palm. "What led you to make them?"

Genius stared at the interaction of a human and an AI.

"Uh, hello? What's up?" The fist-fighter flicked her silent brother on the head.

He remained unresponsive.

"The hell? Did he short-circuit?"

Lunafreya waved her unoccupied hand in his face. "Genius?"

"Umm…" He finally said, rubbing at his eye and smearing some grease underneath. "The Glacian was burned to death in a huge explosion of fire. But it wasn't any of the airships that did it and no bomb could've done it either. And Father says the fire was as bright as the sun and just as hot."

Both females were gobsmacked by the abrupt non sequitur. The boy went on talking, not allowing either to get a word in.

"Her corpse is this gruesome, charred-looking popsicle of a body. Yet it's still freezing to touch and generates a snowstorm." Genius rubbed more at his eyes, wondering why it was starting to sting. "The Astrals defy logic. And how many times do you have to kill them for them to stay dead?"

"I don't like this line of conversation." Lunafreya managed to interrupt his lengthy jabbering.

"Why?"

She blinked at his dull expression. "What do you mean, 'why'?"

"Why do you dislike what I've said? It's the truth."

Lunafreya avidly wanted to disagree but with the way the goddess had been behaving towards her, she was on the verge of gaining doubts. Shiva had spurned her for most of this journey, appearing only when the oracle's duties were needed. She didn't know how to handle this sudden form of abandonment.

"I don't want to believe any of the Astrals are capable of ill will towards humanity." Lunafreya admitted, grasping at the locket around her neck. The ring inside pulsed with magic.

"But you've seen the contrary. You were present at all the awakenings." Genius was boggled by how stubbornly blind the oracle could be.

No scientist would disregard hard data presented to them. This must be human fallacy at work. Nebula warned him but he was prepared for Imperatrix to do it not Lunafreya.

"There must be a reason for it all. They care for us."

He made a noise, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. The boy turned his garnet eyes on his sister.

"Any symptoms?"

"Other than cold soberness? No." Tempesta sneered. At his unrelenting leering, she added. "The heightened senses you already know about. And obviously my features. What else are ya expecting from me?"

"I have no idea what to expect because what Lunafreya did is groundbreaking. Which is why I have to take notes."

"Oh, so I'm you're latest lab experiment? Go figure."

Genius's throat swelled at her bitterness. He couldn't decide if it was luck or misfortune that the next set of armor was brought to his workstation. Unable to deal with his sister's contempt, the scientist wheeled his chair to his safety zone.

She kept giving him "F's". His stupid sister.

"Let's go, dollface. I'm sure the Valeria Legion is hosting fights right now. Those damn spartans."

Tempesta zipped up her jacket, hiding the bandages around her stomach. She didn't need those assholes refusing to fight her. Being on recuperation was agonizing. Since the fist-fighter couldn't drink or take drugs and sex was off the table, she was damn well going to bust open someone's head.

"I'm eager to meet those that follow Imperatrix." Lunafreya walked with her companion out of the airship and into the military section of the encampment.

Those that knew of the middle Besithia exclaimed upon seeing her new hair color and would haggle her for details or tease her. The pair were frequently stopped in this fashion. After the eighth time, the fist-fighter grew tired of chatting and snapped at the next people to approach her.

"Damn, sometimes I forget how annoying it is to know so many people. Geez, I'm too ingrained in the Shitty Princess's circle." Fed up, Tempesta bunched a portion of her hair into a cap and then pulled her hood over it.

Lunafreya recognized the beret from her borrowed memories. Tempesta carried Cor with her at all times.

"Lady Besithia!"

She growled, ducking her head but the person continued calling her name. The squeaky nuisance of sound got louder and louder. Tempesta whirled around to give it to the bastard but completely lost her edge upon sighting the target.

Why the heck was there some cherub-looking child beaming at her?

"It's you, Lady Besithia! I'm so happy I found you."

"Huh?"

The girl smiled some more, including the oracle in her jubilant babble. "Oh, I've been trying to see you both since Loqi told me you were here."

Tempesta still had no clue who this child was or what she was talking about. Based on her fair looks and the palla draped over her dress, the kid had to be Gralean. Maybe one of the noble's brood.

Just as she was about to put a stop to the gushing and ask for a name, Lunafreya provided an answer.

"Aquila, it's so nice to see you. Are you well?"

Okay, that name still didn't ring a bell.

"Very well! Loqi, the brigadier general, has taken very good care of me since we left Saxham." Aquila blushed, speaking a touch more reservedly. "I'd be worse off without him."

Ohhh, right! The kid from that tiny, depressing village and its fat senator-father. Gods, the only good things about that side note were reuniting with Imperatrix and the wine. Ardyn still owed her a favor for that. The bastard should actually owe her double because he got to hook up with the princess while she did all the work. She'd been too drunk to enjoy listening to them and Nebula dragged her out the room.

Ahhh, when were they going to let her join?!

"And your father?" The oracle inquired gently.

"They caught him and brother and they're imprisoned on the Nautilus." She shared with little remorse.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not. They weren't very nice."

There was nothing to say to that.

"Sooo…did you want something? Or, were you just here to catch up?" Tempesta prodded, ready to ditch the kid.

Lunafreya frowned at her but that silent admonishment wasn't working on the fist-fighter. She had things to do.

"If it isn't too much trouble, could you both stop by Loqi's regiment? I've something to give you all."

At the mention of a gift, Tempesta became a lot more accommodating. "And where is that?"

"Oh, sorry!" Aquila pointed to the place. "Or, I could take you there now?"

She weighed the options in her head. Tournament or gift? Mystery or routine?

"Fine. Lead the way, duckling."

The girl squealed and took charge with a hop in her step. The walk seemed to take forever with Aquila asking a bunch of questions about their missing members. Another fangirl for the imperial princess's humongous harem of admirers. She needed to decrease this one and increase the spousal one. More material for the fist-fighter to gawk at or spy on.

Tempesta needed alcohol for this. Sobriety was killing her! It may have only been days but with her body's fast heal-rate, it felt like weeks.

"Is this how Neb felt?" Tempesta muttered to herself, close to submerging her face in the inside of her coat. "Damn, withdrawal is rough!"

Harassing her elder brother over his nicotine withdrawal didn't seem as funny now that she was experiencing the same.

They made it to the section hosting Loqi's small brigade of failures. Compared to the other big, decorated tents denoting the different legions, this place was a major level of pathetic. How far the pretty-faced brigadier had fallen.

Tempesta wished Furia had ended up with Loqi just so she could watch the bitchy, pretentious princess scream her lungs out from being married to a disgraced soldier. Oh, wait, the pink-haired whore was just about there on the misery level due to Ravus's loss of his arm.

Served her right.

"Loqi look who I found!"

The brigadier sighed at length, further hunching over in his seat. A bottle of cheap liquor was in his hand.

"How many times must I tell you not to address me so casually?! For the time being, I'm still a man of office!"

The other soldiers were used to his sullen outbursts and didn't react to the scene going on in the middle of camp. Why should any of them care about their superior's mood? They wouldn't be his subordinates once the fleet set sail.

Loqi Tummelt wouldn't be anything then.

"I'm sorry." Aquila cleared her throat and repeated her greeting. "Hello, Brigadier General Loqi! I have brought Lady Besithia and Lady Lunafreya."

The title isn't the issue!" Loqi then registered the rest of her words and leaned over to view past the girl blocking his vision, choking as a result. "O-Ohh, gods!"

A reflective shine of metal caught Tempesta's eye and she moved forward. "Woah, what was that?"

"F-Forgive my impertinence, ladies but I'm in no state to be in your company." He scrambled up and away from the females, keeping his face hidden through a deep bow.

"Hey, hey! What's the matter?" The fist-fighter chased after him, more interested in the alcohol than his weird behavior.

This depressed shit wouldn't have gotten Genius's order of a ban of spirits for his sister. She could finally get something good in her body.

"B-Besithia, stop it!" The brigadier twisted and twisted away from the woman, unaware it was his bottle she wanted and not a glimpse of his face. "Unhand me! This is inappropriate!"

"Stand still, dammit!"

Lunafreya scoffed. She had hundreds of incidents of harassment such as this within her mind. Additionally, she had her own misfortunes to weigh in as well. Tempesta was a scoundrel, always grabbing at her breasts, hips and bottom. Her exasperation towards the pervert could now match Imperatrix's.

"I'm filled with bitter shame to be seen like this."

The oracle appraised Loqi and saw what haunted him. Gone were the heavy wrappings around his face and in its place, half of a mask. Although the item couldn't conceal all the man's burns. Some of them peeked out past the barrier.

The sight of ruined skin brought to mind two men for her. Ravus had lost his arm to flames and Nyx's face was scarred from flames. Life left scars.

Loqi turned his head so only his good portion showed. "If I'd known Lady Ortho was bringing company, I'd have made preparations."

"Dude, calm down. You don't need to make a fuss." Tempesta took a nice whiff of the wine and was on cloud nine. "We'll be in and out."

Not like he could host them anyway. This unit was going through a budget cut. She had some manners and wouldn't impose on them.

Aquila led the females to her tent, offering refreshments, which Lunafreya accepted on Tempesta's behalf. The fist-fighter stuck to her bottle of liquor. Her act of kindness prolonged the affair into a lady's teatime. Over tea and crackers, the two aristocratic-born females chatted.

Aquila was so excited to be returning to the capital. She hardly remembered it, being a child when the ice froze over Greece and her family was among those that migrated to Lucis. Going to an actual school instead of being tutored was one of the things the girl was looking forward to most…and making new friends.

Her cheery mood petered out.

"What if..I don't fit in because I'm more Lucian than Greek now?" The child sniffed, horrified by the thought of rejection. "It took so long for the kids in Saxham to accept me and now we're all going to different places."

Lunafreya didn't know what to say, never having experienced this issue. There was a time when she would have gladly embraced being labeled more Lucian than imperial. Now, the oracle wasn't sure if one was better. Should it even matter in the first place?

People were people…and shouldn't be defined by their origins.

"If you're that worried, I'm sure Impera would be your friend. And with her comes a bunch of people." Tempesta gnawed on a cracker and swiped off the crumbs from her jacket. "And I'm positive she'll introduce you to Euphie, who's as good as fifty friends with how whacky she is."

"That's so nice of you to say! Does that include you, Lady Besithia?"

She gaped uncomprehendingly, cracker slipping out of her mouth. "What?"

"This is a perfect segue to commemorate our new friendship." Aquila bounced up, rummaging around in a nearby suitcase. She dropped a stack of books in front of the women. "These are for all of the princess's retinue. I handpicked them myself as thanks for the assistance in Saxham."

It was on the tip of Tempesta's tongue to decline the gifts. One, she didn't want to carry them. Two, she didn't read for fun. She barely tolerated any kind of reading. Hence, why Nebula did all the paperwork for her duties as a retainer. He took care of all her household stuff too and...the incident reports she occasionally caused.

Lunafreya reached for the pile before the fist-fighter could speak. Tempesta flared her nose. Ever since the mind invasion, the oracle managed to anticipate everything she'd do or thought.

The stuffy nun mindfucked her! How was that even a thing?!

"I'm an avid reader. These will help me pass the days." Lunafreya browsed through the selections, unsurprised to see romance novels and fairytales. What did take her by surprise were the books on the different pantheons of the world. "Ah, Aquila… Why do you have this?"

In particular, she held up a crimson book covered in gold lettering and with pictures of warriors and beasts.

The girl fidgeted, realizing that she was speaking to a holy figure and the item bequeathed to her could be considered heretical material. "His Radiance, the emperor, has decreed a return to the Roman Gods. I thought it might be of use."

Most people only knew of the Astrals and prayed to them. However, before the Lucian crusades, religion in the empire had been far more diverse. Gralea and the minor city-states followed the Twelve, in either their Roman or Greek counterparts. Daneinar and Fellfin paid homage to the Norse Gods. Persia was devoted to the Hindu Gods and Egypt to the Egyptian ones.

Guang Guo…confused Aquila. There didn't seem to be an official stance for the country. The Zodiac and Cardinal Dragons held equal popularity but then, they'd also adopted figures from Hinduism. Very much a hotpot country.

Yasu…was just as perplexing as its neighbor island, especially with it conforming to Guang customs. During dinners, her father complained so much about the two countries' messy situation.

The easiest countries to remember by their religious states were Tenebrae and Kazimir. Both gave tribute to the Astrals. She never got those wrong on her history exams.

"Is he forcing this change on the people?" Lunafreya dropped the book as if it could burn her.

An entire country turning from the Six?! Those poor lambs!

"N-No. The Edictum Mediolanense affords all citizens tolerance regardless of what faith they choose." Aquila dusted at the book and set it nicely back in the pile. "Just because the emperor has chosen the Twelve Romans doesn't mean everyone else has to. Though I heard on the news that a lot of people have visited the re-opened temples."

"Is this true?" The oracle looked desperately at Tempesta.

"I don't watch the news but I have heard the soldiers saying the same." She replied, disinterested.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Are you going to convert?"

"Temple, you know I don't care about that stuff. The only times I've attended mass were when Impera forced me to. She gave up on that quick though." Tempesta snickered. "I was too sinful and disruptive for the palace priests so they begged her to stop bringing me."

Lunafreya shook in silent rage. That was not something to brag about.

"This will probably mean more to Impera. She's always been a fanatic for the whole Tellus legend and his connection to Jupiter."

The oracle was so lost and Aquila chipping in new information just continued hurting her soul. Why? Why was this happening?!

"Did you know? The late Empress Valeria not only changed her name but also converted to Twelvism when she married the emperor. But her manner of prayer still followed the ways of Persia." The child was just bursting with information. "It must've been strange for the first princess to grow up with all those conflicting ideologies and cultures from both her parents."

"Holy cow, your teacher must be hammering in his lessons." Tempesta gagged. "You're making me feel like I'm in class with Neb and Impera. And that was awful!"

The one good thing about being her father's lab rat and hired fist were that she never had to attend school. Wasting hours of her days in a classroom would've driven her insane.

At the sound of horns, the fist-fighter jumped up. "Ah, no!"

"What is it?" Lunafreya reached for the staff component strapped to her leg.

"They're heading out. Nobody's gonna be there now." She stomped her foot, causing the books to topple over. "Whatever. I'll find a way to amuse myself. Beat down some captains. Raid the food. Something."

Tempesta picked up the collection of books, uttering gratitude to the girl before she left. Lunafreya hurried after the fist-fighter, scrambling to catch the books lobbed at her by the irate violette.

"There ya go, bookworm. Get some muscles on those arms before you hit the spartan training."

"What're you talking about?"

"We did your thing, now we're gonna do mine. I'm gonna watch you get your ass beaten by a bunch of cadets."

That would surely have her laughing so hard her belly hurt. Plus, it was perfect payback for the mindfuck. Tempesta wasn't letting that slide another day.

---

XV

---

"What's up Wedge? I only left two hours ago. There shouldn't be any fires." Aranea hung back from the fight to talk on her communicator.

Leave the creepy Lich daemons to the prince and princess. Those two were in full-throttle competition mode. That tension from the anti-Lucian rally was coming out now.

"I've lost contact with Third Officer Gusev and his team." The first officer replied.

All her languidness vanished and the commodore wound up, on the precipice of a snap. "I told them to wait for me."

Those imbeciles! Clear a dungeon floor and they suddenly think they can handle the floor boss on their own? She'd skewer them for this!

Wedge took her silence to slam right into the bad news. "Before the line went dead, I heard screaming. I'm assuming they won't last long."

"Dammit! How far am I from them?"

Her group hadn't killed off all the daemons yet. This swarm would take too long.

"Turn on your tracker, Lady A."

"Right, right." Aranea flipped the switch on her gauntlet. She had to get over her paranoia and leave it on.

The tracker was for safety.

"It would take fifteen minutes if you avoided all battles and used your thrusters to reach the bottom."

"You've got to be kidding me. I can't manage that!" The commodore stabbed her spear into the wall. "Even if I could, they'd be dead by then."

She couldn't avoid the daemons because they would later attack the retreating soldiers. Not to mention these corridors weren't wide enough for her to fly in. She'd hit the walls with every turn.

"Go as fast as you can. I'll send down another team to safely retrieve them." Wedge's voice stayed calm to the point of indifference but she knew better. He was sending men despite the possible futility.

What was with the company she kept? Either the person was emotionally constipated or emotionally jacked. Where were normies in her life?

"Re-establish communication with Team Three and keep me updated. Out." Aranea thanked her lucky stars that the last daemon just puffed out of existence. "Hey! At attention!"

The imperials were immediate in their response, standing at the ready for her as the commodore approached. The Lucians huddled closer, understanding something grave was afoot since Aranea had been mellow from the beginning.

"This is no longer a leisure training expedition. My men located the treasure spot but got too eager and are under attack now. I need to reach them, pronto." Aranea announced, head swiveling to the person she trusted most.

"And you want somebody to clear out the stray daemons." Nebula surmised, moving his head toward his liege.

"I will be fine. Do it." Imperatrix patted his arm.

"Plus, I'll be there." Nyx provided, leaning on the gunman's shoulder.

Nebula jostled him off. "Like it matters. She doesn't need you."

"We'll see about that. I've saved her plenty of times."

The princess blew air out of her mouth. "Yes, please continue belittling me."

"You don't even have to ask, princess. I do it freely."

"Alright, move it!" Aranea insisted before the two flirts could get carried away.

While the others went, the commodore gave her boyfriend a side-hug. She knew it bothered him to leave Imperatrix.

Nebula bumped his helmet against hers. "Fly on."

One more second. She squeezed him closer.

"I can handle soloing these weaklings."

"Sure you can, Sunshine. But a team is on its way, so you don't have to work too hard."

He nudged his helmet against hers and Aranea let go. She took off running.

From that point on, every minute was a life. Despite the hellish toll on her ankles and shoulders for each landing and bump, the commodore jetted through the hallways, yelling for the people on foot to keep up. It was so tempting for her to ditch them and plunge ahead but that mindset was what got Team Three in trouble. Aranea couldn't be responsible for endangering another group.

"What is you guy's problem? Just get outta my way!" The commodore speared through the reapers blocking the door, momentum carrying her forward to burn the flock of daemons.

"Aranea look out!"

A blast of green hit her and with her momentum, Aranea spiraled into a wall. Even without a hand to guide it, her spear continued on its destructive path until it stopped midair. Red and green crackled around the weapon as a daemon took control of it.

"It's a Lich! We cannot escape it." Imperatrix charged, knowing the danger of this creature's magic. "Nyx, cover me!"

They were the closest and least fatigued. The prince's group could handle the spawning skeletons and blob monsters.

"How did I end up with Nebula's job of cover fire? I'm an action guy!" His griping aside, the glaive shot the small-fry that lunged for the princess.

"Dodge!" Imperatrix warned after she used the thrusters in her boots to flip over the incoming spear.

"How is a daemon using magic like this?" Nyx was now putting his lessons on magitek equipment to test by jumping around to evade the spear.

His moves would've been impossible for a regular human to execute but insane acrobatics were now possible. He almost felt as invincible as before. The hero was on the way to a comeback.

"Ah, shit!" He spoke too fast. "That's cheating!"

Nyx reared back from the spear, instead, letting it slice along his arm than his neck. Imperatrix blocked the next attack with her shield, barely keeping her ground against the enhanced weapon. The shield couldn't hold and she flew back into the glaive.

"This…is not how I want you on me." He groaned out from beneath the princess.

"Shut—" She swung her arm up, this time activating the shield's barrier against the torrent of magic crashing down on them. "I can't believe an imperial weapon is being used against me like this!"

"I can't go out like this!" Nyx declared.

The ground was cracking and melting under them. At the sight of Imperatrix's arm trembling, Nyx aimed his bow at the Lich focused on controlling the spear.

"Nor can my kid!" He took a clear shot at the bastard.

The daemon flailed about in the air; half of its side was blown off. Payback, bitch.

Using the shield, Imperatrix flung the spear off them and it clattered to the ground, no longer under possession. She collapsed back onto the glaive, clenching at her numb arm.

"Let's stay like this." Nyx offered jokingly, hand covering her stomach.

"Not a chance."

Imperatrix rolled off him, collecting her sword and used it to stand. Another sword struck the ground near her and she waited for the loud pop before turning to face the prince.

"Done with the reapers?"

"Yeah, it's just this guy now." Noctis affirmed, unlodging his blade to fight. "Ignis healed Aranea."

"Good." Imperatrix bent forward in her stance. "Let us conclude this!"

The two royals rushed forward, double-teaming the half-formed creature. Balls of green floated around the Lich, striking at the pair in tandem with the rags of its clothing. This daemon was full of tricks, which included summoning another of its kind.

"This sucks!" Noctis sliced a ball of magic in half with one blade and cut through cloth with another. "Why're they busting our asses now?!"

He coughed upon being blasted with toxic gas. A mighty swing of Imperatrix's sword ejected a gust of wind, dispelling the cloud. The prince dropped to his knees, impaired from the poison.

"Ignis." Noctis called weakly, weapons flickering out of existence.

"He's preoccupied. Stand and fight!" The princess tugged the boy to his feet, stabbing a dart into his arm.

The prince screamed out a curse. "Why'd you do that?!"

"It's an antidote."

He'd have to take her word on it. Looking inside the Armiger for one would take too long and he couldn't think straight. Maybe Noctis should stop relying so heavily on his advisor…

Nah, that'd make him feel bad.

"Keep it together, kids." Nyx taunted, shooting down the orbs. "Kill those zombie-freaks already!"

Noctis clicked his tongue, using the new opening to sling his lance into one Lich, warping up to it, withdrawing the weapon and slashing at the other. Imperatrix finished off the first daemon with a blade of fire. She raised her shield to cushion the prince's fall. He used that as a springboard to stab the second Lich, ending the battle.

The Lich screeched, bursting into a green light that threw the prince back a second time. He landed on his butt and squirmed around from the pain and the mess of green on his clothes.

"Did you get poisoned again?" Imperatrix rubbed a handkerchief against the boy's face.

After swatting her away, Noctis replied petulantly. "I'm good."

Nyx came over to check the princess. Before he could get out a cocky reference to their stellar battle, Aranea was on them and cracking the whip. The group hit the ground running again.

"These bastards keep getting stronger." The commodore hissed, sour as shit from getting blindsided.

"You don't say." Prompto coughed, holding his stomach from how taxed his muscles were from their endurance run.

P.E. class didn't prepare him for any of this.

"Does anyone require healing while we have the chance?" Ignis suggested once they stopped for a minute. He passed along an ether to Noctis and a potion for Prompto.

Nyx looked at the princess. "You good?"

"I am but my sword is not." She slid her fingers over the empty jewel slots in the blade. "For the monster below, I would have preferred to have a full selection."

Out of five elemental gems, Imperatrix had used up three since entering the dungeon. At camp, the soldiers managed to scavenge enough ingredients to replace the fire and ice of her blade. She'd used up the wind, fire and lightning. Earth and ice were left to her now. And of course, the light runes were activated…but would that be effective against a regular monster?

"That sword is using elemancy as a component?" Ignis asked, pushing his glasses up to better inspect the blade.

Imperatrix's lips curved up. "Yes."

"In light of the situation, I could spare our flasks to replenish your sword." Even as he said that the advisor still didn't look very willing to share.

"Are you sure?" She teased.

"Yes." He ground out clinically.

"Hurry up and take care of that. In fact…everybody do last minute prep." Aranea clicked on her helmet, talking with Wedge while the others did as she said.

Imperatrix sat down with her sword in her lap. She waited for Ignis to do the same but he hesitated.

"Scientia, your suit is already dirty. The floor will not make it worse."

He scowled but lowered himself down to be before her. She then went into an explanation of where the ingredients should go. Not that she needed to with the color-coding of the gem slots and Ignis's natural intellect.

It was as the advisor poured from the flasks that the princess poked him in the arm. Ignis hissed and stopped pouring.

"Why have you not taken care of that?"

"It's nothing." He intercepted her next poke. "Why are you even paying that much attention to me?"

Of all people, did she have to notice his injury? The swelling had gotten worse from yesterday and it hurt to move his arm but he could still fight.

"How can I not?" Ignis inhaled at a forcibly slow rate, resuming his task of pouring while the princess analyzed him. "You are the most dangerous of your group."

"You consider me a threat?"

Why did that bother him? Being acknowledged by the enemy meant he was doing his job as a protector.

"In many ways." Imperatrix glanced over her shoulder, so very tempted to smirk at the eavesdropping glaive nearby. "And I am not the only one to think so."

Was she being mean to her darling hero? Maybe a little. If only Nyx didn't push her buttons, she wouldn't retaliate like this. Ardyn's pettiness had rubbed off on her more since he whined about how awful her habit of ignoring people was. With how haughty the glaive was, he'd throw a massive fit if she ignored him.

"My thanks Scientia. Oh, and here." Imperatrix gave him a mega potion. "Equivalent exchange is all."

The curtness of her departure left Ignis bothered. As did her overly generous gift. How had that been equivalent? It took minimal effort on their part to gather ingredients from deposits. They actually had an overabundance of material, Ignis just needed to process them.

"Everybody ready? Swell, cause down these stairs is the boss." Aranea ushered them down, taking care not to get overrun by tunnel-vision again.

The tranquilness of the waterpark dungeon tapered out as the group came upon a giant doorway. Guns fired nonstop, ricocheting off the walls. Dozens of voices melded together in a frenzied chorus. The wailing of a creature preceded a torrent of wind of assailing the newcomers.

"There's soooo gonna be a big nasty in there." Prompto blinked his eyes to hydrate them and popped his ears.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Aranea argued, sweeping into the spacious room in a flurry of red.

She saved one idiot from being crushed by a rainbow-colored bird.

"Are you outta your mind, brat?!"

"Commodore Highwind!" The third officer screeched, jerking out of her grasp. "I know what I'm doing! Everything's under control!"

His expression, eyes and movements were wild. He was scared as shit.

"Oh, really? Then what the hell is this, Ivan?!" She punctuated the accusation by pointing her spear at the fallen soldiers. "You're a third officer, not a commodore! You can be stupid and risk your life but not those of your subordinates, jagweed!"

The little shit! Aranea hated his cocky attitude from the minute he entered her unit. It was guys like him that screwed everything up.

Eight were dead, six injured and two still fighting. How was this situation any kind of "under control"? And it was her damn fault for not keeping the kid in check! She shouldn't have let him keep his rank when he transferred in.

"I can fix this!" Ivan insisted, his crazed expression not lessening. He picked his gun up and re-entered the fight.

Aranea had no choice but to follow him.

With the avian foe in the air, only the long-range fighters could target it. They kept the beast busy while things on the ground were cleaned up. The princess dragged the injured soldiers into the corridor and those that could walk, she directed to head up the stairs. Ignis surprised her by lending a hand with the ones that couldn't walk. After they deposited the last one to safety, she stopped him.

"Heal your arm now. You could barely help a second ago."

"The odds are against us. I cannot waste a curative."

Imperatrix grabbed him by the shirt, pressing the man against the wall. "How are you supposed to help your liege when you can't lift your arm properly?! That's a Quetzalcoatl we're up against!"

Ignis was too flustered to respond. The shockwave of the bird's landing made the duo tumble to the floor. Heavy with her gaze, the princess gave the hardhead one last warning.

"Fix it or stay out of the way."

Imperatrix rejoined the fray, rolling out the way of a claw. Prompto was captured in the other and Noctis warped into the claw, freeing his companion. Their combined attacks on the appendage did minuscule damage.

"This isn't working!" Noctis kept swinging at the beast, alternating weapons for different damage results but nothing was making a huge difference. "Our attacks aren't hurting it!"

He needed Gladiolus and his monstrous strength. The guy was their tank, not him. Plus, Quetzalcoatl was huge! They couldn't focus on a single area to cripple it.

"What is that?" The prince inhaled and his sense was triggered by a taste…or a sensation?

It was familiar…

The answer came in swift ferocity as the beast's mouth expelled lightning, striking everyone within the chamber. Prompto and Nyx went down, prone bodies shaking with aftereffects of lightning. Aranea gaped at the two royal figures still standing. Beyond their charred clothes, they were fine. She was wearing magitek armor and still took ample damage.

How were they unaffected?!

"C-Commodore." Ivan wheezed out, struggling to stay conscious.

She managed to protect him and a few other soldiers by sticking them to the wall with her web shooter. The downside was that they were stuck there now.

"At least your dumbass is out of the way. Shut up and rest, Gusev." Aranea turned her back on him, readjusting her spear. "I'm gonna have to fully activate it for this enemy."

Resolved on upping her game, the commodore stepped into the battlefield, holding her spear up for its activation. Her hands twisted the handle. Setting off the customary red glow of energy. The glow built and built the more she pushed it to maximum output.

"Weave your web, Arachne." Aranea proclaimed.

The spear rumbled out a cry as it rotated, further twisting the massive energy around it. The commodore soared into the air, streams of red spun around her in a spiral. Her following plunge at Quetzalcoatl ripped open the skin of its neck.

She wasn't done.

Aranea followed her spear into a complicated weave of attacks that lit the sky in a red web. This was her hallmark as a commodore, the height of her technique and that which allowed her to dominate the skies in battle. She didn't reach this high in her career to lose to a bird!

Arachne fluttered out of its awakened state, entering the cooldown period. Aranea descended to the ground, spinning to a stop on her heels. Quetzalcoatl laid wounded behind her.

Flashy moves like that were one gimmick tricks for their magitek. She would be stuck using Arachne like a regular spear for half a day. Worth it though, the bird was a step in the underworld.

"With me, Noctis!" Imperatrix urged, combining her fire attack with the flask of magic thrown at their stunned enemy.

Quetzalcoatl let out a whine, swinging its wing at the oncoming pair. Dodging the attack still left them open to a powerful gust of wind. The prince warped to safety while the princess maneuvered herself through the air by the burst of her sword. Landing on her feet, Imperatrix swung her blade, releasing the last of the flames towards the beast.

Bigger…

They needed to use one more large-scale attack to finish the creature off. Aranea's damage output had greatly helped but they couldn't continue to use a whittle-down strategy.

"Noctis, do you have a skill that could finish it off?" Imperatrix struck at a claw, deflecting it from reaching Ignis, who was administering Phoenix Downs to their companions.

The prince phased away from the avian's beak, slicing at its face and warping to a new area to escape being eaten. "Hell no. Can't you do that move again, Aranea?"

The commodore grunted under the weight of a claw, spear embedded into the bird's flesh and going deeper the more Quetzalcoatl tried to smush her.

"Not a chance! Arachne is out of juice. How about you, Impera?"

"This is a prototype. It pales in comparison to Borealis's output. But I shall try." The princess moved her hand to engage the switch and button, the activation phrase nearly roared out. However, Quetzalcoatl's head lurching to the side from Noctis hitting it with a greatsword, distracted her.

That luminous shade of blue foretold a lightning attack and thanks to the prince it was on a new path. A path that led straight to Nyx.

Imperatrix couldn't tell how one moment her stance was that of an attack and then suddenly that of defense but she put all her effort into being an unbreakable defense. She would be the aegis of ancient lore for this man she had claimed.

The stalemate between her shield and Quetzalcoatl's ball of lighting wore on for an eternity or maybe an instant. The princess couldn't tell because everything felt strange. She burned and tingled but the pain wasn't painful.

What…was happening to her?

"Imperatrix? Snap out of it!" Ignis yelled, shaking the unresponsive woman in his arms.

What kind of fool would try to stop lighting nearly on par with Ramuh's?!

His heart had died twice in the span of a minute! Once from Noctis unintentionally endangering them and a second time when the princess took a shield towards an attack she couldn't hope to block. And yet, the woman had.

Imperatrix survived a head-on encounter with deadly lighting. Magical resistance was the only answer to that. But there was no way magitek could harbor that high of a resistance.

Did Imperatrix…have magic like Noctis? It was thanks to Ramuh and Titan's blessing that the prince had magical resistance to their elements. How could the imperial princess achieve the same result?

"Get your hands off her!"

The princess was almost ripped out of Ignis's grasp but out of reflex, he held on. "This isn't the time for this!"

"Exactly! So, let her go!" Nyx didn't relent, couldn't relent because he was terrified and needed to feel Imperatrix breathing with life.

"Do you have medical knowledge to help her?!" The advisor managed to push the glaive back, readjusting his hold on the princess so that her head was no longer being rocked around and instead rested on his chest. "Why don't you focus on fighting instead of losing your head?!"

Ignis wasn't one to snap but ever since things went awry, he'd lost his calm in increments. Nothing about this endeavor had gone according to plan. Astrals above, this whole mission was a blot on his spotless record.

"Heal her and nothing else, Ignis." Nyx ordered, grabbing his bow and sprinting off to battle.

"And what else would I do, considering the situation?" He snarked to no one, uncorking a High Potion and putting it the princess's lips.

A gigantic bird stomping around and causing shockwaves very much prevented him from making any passes. Furthermore, why would he even want to make one on her? Ignis should be defending his prince, not helping an enemy princess.

Imperatrix coughed up the curative from almost choking. Ignis recoiled, alarmed by his misconduct.

"Princessa?! My apologies!" He held her up, patting at Imperatrix's back as she finished coughing.

She then gazed at him. Ignis's hand twitched and before the woman could speak, he used his sleeve to wipe at the mess around her mouth. That action completely brought her back to reality.

"W-What?!" The princess covered her mouth, blushing strongly.

Ignis willed himself not to react with a red face and fixed his sleeve. "That was… I couldn't…"

He sprung up and directed her back to the battle.

"Finally, we can hammer on this thing." Noctis shook his head, clearing away the sweat. "Prompto, blind it!"

"Gotcha." The gunner shot the flare.

Unfortunately, Quetzalcoatl went airborne, knocking into the ledges and walls as it couldn't see. Chunks of rocks and architecture fell. Noctis pushed himself like never before to warp himself and his friends out of the way of each instance of danger. He was ready to collapse from both physical and magical exhaustion.

"Noct!" Ignis rammed into him and once they were safe, he clutched at his arm.

"You're hurt." Noctis's hand trembled too much and he couldn't navigate through the Armiger in a timely fashion.

"Never mind me!" He guided the prince through the wreckage, pulling them down when both the glaive and princess flew overhead.

The pair landed safely and Nyx fired an extensive arrow at the bird, halting its aerial bumbling.

"Stop playing around and use that bow correctly!" Imperatrix had half a mind to take it and use the bow herself.

Weapon and owner sanctity be dammed, they were in a deathmatch with a legendary avian.

"Are you kidding me? Does it look like we're in a videogame?" The glaive moved the weapon out of her grasp. "I ain't shouting out those cartoonish words! Why don't you use yours?!"

"Fine, Nyx Ulric." She once more prepared the blade for activation. "Then you must finish it off."

Second-guessing himself after seeing how ragged she looked, Nyx pulled the princess back. "No, no, forget it. I'll do it. You've had your hero moment."

Her shield was fried and her arm looked singed but Imperatrix felt fine. She looked worse than she felt.

"Are you two going to assist or keep arguing?" Ignis hurled daggers at the airborne Quetzalcoatl.

Noctis was taking a moment to catch his breath. Prompto and Aranea were linking their attacks surprising well against the foe. Just a little more and they would prevail.

Nyx clicked his tongue, mildly glaring at Imperatrix. "You better not make any jokes about this."

His body moved into a hunter's stance, mind emptying to that of a professional. Hitting the buttons and shifting the gears were no problem. He started to feel like before…to feel like Nyx Ulric the Hero.

This was a familiar sense of anticipation, just like the seconds before he called on magic. That was gone though. Now he had to bend to the ridiculous rules of Nephilim magitek to be great again. How the mighty fell…

Nyx could see now how much of a battle addict he was.

"Nemesis, deliver justice." The invocation sparked a slew of arrows to rain down judgment on Quetzalcoatl.

Down to its last leg of resistance, the beast pitched downward, firmly grounded for the rest of the battle. Together, the seven converged for a final assault. Quetzalcoatl fell to them, rainbow feathers fluttering around the room to hail the seven as victors.

During their respite from the great clash, Nebula and Wedge arrived with a fresh team. They took care of the clean-up. Aranea berated Ivan the entire time took it took her to unstick him from the wall, ordering for the boy to be detained once free.

The ass-checking was on.

"Still shining, Sunshine?" Aranea asked Nebula.

"I'm fine. You?"

"Beyond pissed and extremely sore." She removed her helmet and some of her armor, passing it off to a lurking Wedge. "Thanks for killing the strays."

"It was nothing." That was a lie but since it was his girlfriend, the gunman would let it slide. "You managed to take that thing down? Glad I wasn't involved."

Never mind. Soloing a bunch of low-ranked daemons was preferable to facing a Quetzalcoatl.

"You lazy bum." Aranea jeered.

"Ehh, I'm reaching that age."

"Don't say that. I'm your age and I'm not old."

Nebula could've pointed out how her silver hair was typically associated with old age but that was a dumb move his sister would make. No, he was the smart person and on top of that, a smart partner. Unlike a certain primate that wouldn't disappear into the hole he crawled out of.

"Fenrir's glare must feel something like Nebula's." Nyx aired out casually.

Imperatrix looked over her shoulder. "Wow, you can sense him now."

"Yeah, I might even be able to dodge his darts, too."

"Now, now, do not get ahead of yourself." She beamed most radiantly at the glaive. "But I shall praise how majestic you looked upon releasing your bow."

He squinted his eyes at her. "Really?"

"Yes, I was in awe! You have never looked more like a hero than in that moment." The princess snapped her head up, eagerly adding. "But of course, I have not forgotten your unparalleled magnificence in Insomnia! That was equally…no…it surpassed…" She crossed her arms, genuinely thinking upon the two occurrences. "Oh, this is just like the trading cards. It is so difficult to choose!"

Seeing how absorbed Imperatrix was in overpraising him made Nyx grin foolishly. Were she not preoccupied, the obnoxiousness of it might've annoyed her. He couldn't help himself at the moment though.

His girl thought he was cool. Her acclaimations sort of made up for the lame theatrics the glaive was forced into for a victory.

Yeah. This should be how she looked at him; like he was a hero. And only him.

"Hey guys, check out over here!" Prompto waved from up the stairs.

Everybody went up and there was the glorious prize they all sought.

"Mythril!" The gunner sang merrily, phone out to capture pictures of the shiny wall.

"Wedge, tell me you brought the drills?" Aranea wanted to hightail it the dungeon as early as possible.

He nodded and spoke into his walkie for the men to begin the excavation.

She sighed in relief. "Why can't I have more trustworthy subordinates like you and Biggs?"

Wedge shrunk into his high collar.

The commodore addressed the prince's group. "It's gonna take some time to get the ore. You got two choices, either wait here or wait at camp. What's it gonna be?"

Noctis looked at Ignis.

"It would be best for us to remain here." He gave a furtive glance at the Mythril.

Leaving the site would make it easy for the Niffs to render some excuse as to why they couldn't receive the ore and then use force to expel them from the dungeon. He would do the same to keep an enemy from obtaining a valuable resource.

The prince sighed and reluctantly said. "We'll stay put."

"Suit yourself. I got military matters to handle, so I'm heading up." Aranea gave some final orders to Wedge and left him in charge.

Nebula groaned. "I just got down here."

"Then stay. You don't have to follow me." She took some pity on the bum and pushed him towards the princess. "Get a nap in."

He was torn but his tired body won and the gunman went to sit with Imperatrix instead of trekking back up to the haven. The daemons along the path were culled by him, his girlfriend was safe to go up.

"My darling Nebula, your safe arrival is most welcome." Imperatrix greeted him with a smile, offering him her water or rations but he turned those offers down to request something else.

"Can I take a nap?"

"Of course." She stretched out her legs and let him rest his head on her lap, placing her hands on his helmet and chest.

The perfect ease with which they settled in positively pissed Nyx off.

"What the hell? The guy has a girlfriend. Why are you doing that?!" He pointed to himself next. "More importantly, why didn't you make that offer to me?!"

"I have always done this for my retainers. And Aranea has expressed no qualms about it." Imperatrix beckoned the glaive nearer. "If you are tired then come. Lay your head on my shoulder and be at ease."

"No. I should get to lay on your lap."

"But Neb is already there. Do not disturb my poor darling, who fought on his own."

Nyx stewed more and more while the gunman remained relaxed in his comfortable place.

"You're so damn fickle and you don't even notice!" The glaive stomped away.

Imperatrix watched him go and then saw Ignis surveying everything while his companions zoned out with their phones. She then looked down at her masked guardian.

"Am I so, Nebula?"

"By our customs, no. But by his, probably."

"But I have explained my upbringing and inclinations to him numerous times."

"Knowing and understanding are two different things." He should know, to this day humans could still confuse Nebula. "Just get rid of him."

"Stop saying that." She poked him on the head. "He stays. I have plans for him."

Nebula turned his head. Another him was present. One so very different but so very similar to the original "Nebula".

"I don't want things to change."

"My darling Nebula, that is life."

Yeah, their new life had to include this exasperating glaive ramming his way in and demanding acknowledgment and acceptance. Godamm prick.

"I changed my mind." Nyx announced, dropping next to Imperatrix to do as she bid before.

He straight up didn't care about Ignis's admonishments and squeezed closer to the princess's side to annoy the ever-observing advisor in the distance.

Imperatrix hummed, always content to be close with those dear to her. "You both did well. Rest now. Your princess will indulge you."

They would all get used to each other in time and their lives would be fuller for it.

---

XV

---

"Oh, god, Temple! You're gonna kill me!" Tempesta couldn't stop laughing. She was choking at this point.

Lunafreya's face scrunched up and reddened more with each crescendo of her friend's laughter.

"Tempesta, it's really not fair to laugh at her. You set Lady Lunafreya up." The mild reproach from Imperatrix's lieutenant did nothing to calm the onslaught of jeering.

"N-Naw, s-she had it c-coming!"

"I doubt that." He set a cup of tea before the oracle, grimacing at the bruises adorning her fair skin. "Don't worry, my lady. Ilse will tend to you. She's the medical chief for this unit and has a magic touch."

"Ah, thank you…" She trailed off, blinking at the man that had rushed them out of the sparring ring and towards a low table.

"Forgive me. You require introductions." The elder man smoothed back his greying dark hair and displayed a gentle smile. "I'm Markus Gavazzi, lieutenant commander of the Legio Valeria Victrix and subordinate of Commander Aldercapt."

Lunafreya blinked some more at him. "Isn't that…backwards? You're older than Impera."

"Age does tend to equate experience and talent but as anyone here will tell you, I'm completely useless in combat!" Markus said this all with no diminishment of his smile. "Therefore, it's impossible for me to be a commander. I could never pass the placement test. My spot as a lieutenant is more of a special case."

"Yeah, even you could beat this guy in a fight, Temple." Tempesta agreed with the man, nibbling on the snack he gave her.

Markus talked her out of punching out any captains since they could be called away for missions at any time. Freaking spoil-spurt. He saved his ass though by offering up food.

"Based on how she held against Makoto, she certainly could."

The fist-fighter wanted to sneer but she couldn't fault a sheep for knowing its place. "How the hell have you survived in Glauca's legion?"

"Charms and brains."

She shook her head, mocking gaze back on the loser. "You still got a long way to go, Temple. You couldn't even land a hit on Makoto and he's the weakest of the batch."

Lunafreya sipped her tea, ruminating over the last disastrous hour. Tempesta had thrown the oracle right into a ring of fighters, telling the ringleader to spar with her.

Makoto…that was his name. He appeared foreign to her with his raven hair and dark eyes. The armor he wore over his uniform was even stranger. She'd been so taken off guard by his looks that Lunafreya hardly put up a challenge in the beginning. Not that things improved later on.

The man disarmed her so frequently and so easily that the blonde now pondered how skewed her matches with her group members had been. She'd felt like her lance-work had come a long way under Imperatrix's tutelage and Nyx helped her with reflexes.

So how could the oracle have been trounced like that?! How would she be able to face Leviathan?!

"I recognize that look of total defeat. I see it so often when our great general is training his students." Markus's words caused Lunafreya's expression to darken. "Don't be discouraged. Keep trying and you'll eventually reach your goal." He topped off his speech with a laugh. "Besides, it'd be bad news for Makoto if you did win."

"Why is that?"

"General Glauca would definitively skin Makoto alive for losing to someone other than himself or a student of his. He's territorial about those things." The lieutenant scratched at the strip where once his eyebrow fully connected until he accidentally cut through it with his razor. "And you're the oracle. Your role isn't to fight."

His son, the goofball, had started copying his mistake and now a cut-through-eyebrow was becoming a fashion trend among the younger cadets. Ah, to be youthful and foolish.

"And what is my role?"

Markus recognized that tone and blank face, it was a final offer of surrender before things went bad.

"Oh, no. Please don't make that face, it's scary." He shivered despite how hot he found this climate. "I meant no offense, Princessa. I was alluding to the supportive abilities your family is known for."

To that, Lunafreya's emotions eased back and she turned over her palms, feeling the warmth of her magic.

Thanks to Ravus sealing off their library, healing Starscourge had been the extent of her abilities. On this journey so far from home, the oracle had discovered new hymns from the land of dreams. It was a little suspicious how all this marvelous guidance came to her now and not in her childhood.

During those dark days of her youth, Lunafreya would have loved to hear her mother's voice, even if only in a dream. The Astrals could have also spoken more often to her. Shiva very rarely visited her and those visits were to encourage the oracle to not lose faith.

Only now had Lunafreya become important.

"Thanks for coming, Ilse. I know you like following procedure but we don't need to get on the high commander's bad side any more than we already do." Markus kissed his wife on the cheek in greeting and lead her over to the troublemaking blondes…well, minus one blonde.

Tempesta's new hair color was a strange transition to accept. Ah, kids.

"Yes, I understand."

"Here's your patient."

"Hello, Lady Lunafreya. I'm Medical Chief Ilse Ziegler. May I tend to your wounds?"

Markus whined a little. "Can't you add Gavazzi into your introduction just once? We've been married for years."

She pretended not to hear him.

Lunafreya found herself tongue-tied under the scrutiny of sharp glasses and the woman's heavy way of speaking. She had to ask the chief to repeat herself due to Ilse's accented Latin. The oracle nodded once she finally understood.

The chancellor was right, she needed to also improve her speaking and listening skills.

Ilse didn't speak much, concise with her examination and subsequent treatment. This permitted the oracle to study the married couple. They were very comfortable with one another. Markus would hand things to his wife before she could ask for them and often answered her questions before she could ask them. Ilse glared at him for it but the look was weak, mostly exhibiting exasperation. This was indeed a bond of many years.

Marriage, an alien concept to Lunafreya. When Regis spoke to her of it in Lucis, she couldn't imagine herself living with Noctis as he envisioned. Maybe that was the realistic side of her preventing unnecessary heartbreak. Forging all the covenants on the prince's behalf would kill her. No need to have him waste his heart on someone fated to die.

Besides, Tempesta's memories had revealed the final mystery that could occur between two people. Those intimate actions…and those feelings…were obscene! Vulgar, dirty and sinful! She couldn't do any those things with Noctis.

Lunafreya could hardly imagine Tempesta doing those things…and Imperatrix had also…

No! Perish the thoughts!

Astrals help her. No amount of praying or cleansing was going to free Lunafreya of her vile thoughts inherited from Tempesta. What had she subjected herself to?!

But…she did it to save her friend.

"Yo, Alfred! Finally getting some muscles, huh?" The fist-fighter ribbed, grappling with the young man.

"My name's Alwin! How do you keep messing it up?!" He groaned, utterly unable to break her hold and called to his parents. "Help me out!"

"Sorry, son. Nobody here can beat Tempesta at wrestling." Markus fanned himself with his hat while Ilse took his temperature. She was fearful of the soldiers getting sick from the distinct change in climate between Niflheim and Lucis. "You'll have better luck asking Commander Bai to avenge you."

"I'll be dead by the time he shows up!"

The lieutenant went on talking as if his son wasn't being abused right in front of him, leisurely checking his watch after his wife released his arm. "He'll be here soon. Though I'll have to give him the same answer as usual."

"He's very insistent on seeing our imperatrix. Do you know why?" Ilse picked up her supplies.

"Maybe he just wants to spar. She's the next best opponent for him after Glauca."

"No, Bai wouldn't be so anxious about her absence if that were the case."

"We'll find out when the commander returns."

Alwin raised his voice, reminding his negligent parents of his existence. "Pops! Ma! I'm still dying here!"

Ilse stood up, glasses catching the light as she began walking towards them. The fist-fighter immediately dropped the cadet, hands up in response to the dangerous needle held by the chief. This she-devil was the one to set Nebula on the path of his pain-inducing darts, enhancing his sadistic methods.

Now on his knees, Alwin was in sight of the oracle and he pointed at her, crying out. "You! It's your fault, woman!"

Lunafreya had no clue what was going on. His strange two-toned mohawk was enough to confound her. "What?"

The empire had…peculiar people.

"It's your fault Second Captain Murakami is upset!"

"Who is Mura-Murakami...and why is he upset?"

He slammed his hand on the ground. "Captain Makoto Murakami! The guy you fought!"

Oh. Well, what did he have to be upset about? He won their match.

"He feels like he dishonored himself by beating up a weakling girl."

While Tempesta laughed, slapping the oracle on the shoulder, Lunafreya sulked. Alwin moved his dissatisfaction onto the fist-fighter next.

"Why'd you put him up to it, Besithia?!"

"Al, don't be rude." Markus pulled his son up, massaging his shoulders to get some sense back into the boy and keep him in place. "The captains can get away with mouthing off but you can't." He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Remember what she did to the last cadet?"

The message was received loud and clear for the hyperactive adolescent. He deflated with no more intention to fight. Ilse chose that moment to pinch her son's ear and tug him off for a medical exam, uncaring of his embarrassed cries for release.

Tempesta slung her arm around the oracle's shoulders, leading her around the legion's campsite. They toured the squads, inspecting them practice. During this, the fist-fighter would bring up techniques she thought were helpful for Lunafreya. Once the lance drills began, Tempesta tossed the newbie in with the other green cadets.

Now the dummy could sharpen her skills. Imperatrix babied her too much.

Her nose twitched from a familiar smell and Tempesta spotted Makoto before he could surprise her. "Wazzup stud?"

He made no move to unfold his arms and accept a hug from the rambunctious female. Which was a shame since the blunnette clamored for the attention of cute girls.

But, but, but! She crossed the line!

"C'mon, it was a joke, Makoto."

"Whatever your problem is with her, that's between you two. What you did was petty and has tarnished my honor." He still wouldn't give in to those big blue eyes…wait…gold?!

Hell, her hair was different too! What happened?!

"You freaking samurai and your honor." Tempesta's lip curled in a hiss.

A broken sword lay like a treasure in her suitcase. Looking at it made her want to cry. Cry for the man she wounded and cry for the…innocence she lost? There wasn't another word she could think of to describe it. Tempesta lost it that night…to the darkness of her soul.

"I'll forgive you for a beer, Tempy." Makoto capitulated to the woman's sour mood. "And an explanation for your new features."

She punched him in the stomach, chuckling. "You've become so cheap. And what's wrong with my looks?!"

"Nothing at all! You're still cute!" He cradled his crying stomach. "Don't hit me again, it hurts."

Their banter was interrupted by the arrival of another captain and Makoto huffed upon sighting the scroll in his hands.

"Mehmet, no! This is harassment, I tell you!"

The first captain nodded his head in agreement. "I know but we can't disobey the high commander."

"That bastard. Just because General Glauca is missing, Ravus thinks he can spit on us." The second captain wanted to throw the mission scroll but he passed it off to Tempesta at her nagging.

"Why are there so many monsters popping up anyway?! This is Lucis, not Niflheim. I thought this was gonna be like a vacation!"

Mehmet patted his fellow soldier on the back. "I feel you. I wanted to relax on the beach and pretend like I was in Persia."

They were just supposed to be protection for the refugees and transport for the princess. No one expected their military services to go past that. However, Galdin Quay was swarming with monsters by the day.

The beach had been closed off by the resort for the safety of its guests. The fact they had been forced to close down their greatest amenity was troubling. Why had the sea become their enemy?

"Nobody knows why but this surge of sea creatures is abnormal." Mehmet brushed his sandy-blonde hair out of the way after a strong breeze blew past them. "Goddess Leviathan must be displeased with our offerings. Or something set her off."

For some reason, Tempesta's eyes were drawn to Lunafreya. The oracle was connected to the gods. Did she know something?

"This is why we should abandon all sea travel and stick to the air."

Makoto laughed at the frantic man. "Yeah, you Persians prefer land over the sea. Us Yasugi are fine with a little boat ride."

"We made the airships for a reason; therefore, we should use them to fly." Under more teasing from his comrade, Mehmet rambled off in Persian.

"Hey quit that. You're making me nervous." Makoto started his own prayer motions in his native tongue.

"Ugh, you two chicken-wusses. What's praying gonna do for you?" Tempesta saw Imperatrix doing the same motions as Mehmet at different periods of the day.

She thought the whole process was pointless. Gods didn't care about humans; they were too powerful to care. And why should they?

The strong didn't concern themselves with the weak. However, the balance of strong and weak was about to be redefined by the emperor's order. Tempesta couldn't wait to see that amazing transition.

---

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