After Gentiana's visit and the prince's pronouncement, the meeting seemingly dissolved. Aulea approached Noctis, his friends, and Cor. Luna wavered between going to her brother or to Noctis. Crowe made a bow towards Noctis before leaving the room with Nyx. Andromeda trailed behind them without telling anyone she was leaving, giving them distance as she felt she was imposing. Their reunion did not need a strange interloper. Wanting to avoid Cor and the other men, Andromeda went off in search of Solara and Monica.
The sunlight was dampened by the gray clouds above; Andromeda still found it so odd how little sunlight the world saw now. Though it was enough to see the surroundings for at least a couple more hours, the large spotlights of the military base remained on, shining both within and without the walls.
Andromeda had been in this base before, both physically and while dreaming. Without all of the constructs of the Imperial Army all around, it looked completely different. There were various piles of scrap metal pushed off to the side, but she didn't believe they were enough for what used to be in the base.
Without Imperial clutter, the base was largely empty. It made it easy to see the armored vehicle that the women had arrived in. Monica and Solara were pulling boxes out of it, then carrying them into one of the smaller buildings to the north side of the base. Andromeda remembered that building housed the kitchen and barracks. Cor must have already expected to stay awhile here.
She went to the vehicle first, picked up a box containing food, and followed after them. The kitchen was large and industrial, left much the same as it was when the base housed human soldiers. Monica smiled towards her way when she noticed the extra help. Solara stopped pulling things out of her box on the counter, paying more attention to Andromeda.
"Where is everyone else?" She asked when no one else came through the door.
"They're still inside." Andromeda told her as she set her box on the counter next to the others. "Aulea and Noctis need a bit more time together first."
Solara looked disappointed, but she nodded. Aulea had promised her that she could meet the prince soon. Any kid would be excited for that, Andromeda supposed. Thankfully, the Empire hadn't villanized the Lucis Caelums for Solara.
"What did you all talk about?" She asked next.
Understandably, any kid would want to know what the adults had to talk about in private. Andromeda thought her answer over carefully. "We were catching up. Why don't we get more boxes for the kitchen?"
It was a nice way to avoid Solara's questions. Andromeda had forgotten how children could ask uncomfortable, nosy questions too.
"That's a good idea," Monica agreed. "I'll sort these out."
She appreciated the extra help. Cor hadn't been around yet to fill Monica in on the details, and Andromeda wasn't about to tell her the base was technically under lockdown. She suspected Monica's decision to stay in the kitchen was her way of assuring everything would be organized her way. She was thankful someone showed her a little trust.
Despite having so many questions, Solara seemed eager to help out, which was surprising for a princess who must have had everything done for her. If Andromeda assumed Luna had been pampered, Solara must have been even more so. But she never complained about being asked to do things, or the pauper clothes she now had to wear. Without much talking, Andromeda felt she liked this princess more than she did the other one.
It was after they deposited the second round of boxes in the kitchen that Solara asked another question: "What's that knife on your back?"
"It's called a kukri," Andromeda clarified. Now that she thought of it, it was surprising Cor hadn't demanded all weapons be handed over when the women entered the base—it would have been a stupid order, considering most people here were magic-users.
"May I see it?"
Turning to face the girl, she glanced around. Seeing no one nearby immediately, she pulled the blade from its sheath on her lower back and offered it to Solara. "Be careful."
Andromeda didn't think most people here would appreciate her showing off a sharp weapon to a little princess. Like any other eight-year-old, Solara understandably was curious about things she didn't recognize.
She took the kukri gingerly in her smaller hands, looking over the blade and handle. "Crowe has one, too. Are you a Glaive as well?"
"No," Andromeda answer was quick. It was amusing that Solara asked that, but she kept that to herself. "I was given it in Galahd. It's a very popular weapon among the people there."
"What's Galahd like?"
"It's small, remote. Mostly jungle," Andromeda said.
"My tutor told me there was a lot of conflict in Galahd," Solara mused.
"There was," Andromeda couldn't deny that. "Niflheim had a very strict rule over the islands."
The princess looked up at her. "The Empire's rule was a good thing. Galahdians just didn't appreciate it."
Her loyalty was clear, even though by now Harper must have told Solara that the Empire was no more. Of course whatever tutors and attending adults Solara had had before would have ingrained in her that the Empire was all-good and glorious. At her age, there was only good and bad.
Andromeda didn't know how to handle the subject with her, except to be honest. "I fought against the Empire in Galahd."
She spotted movement from the corner of her eye: they were being approached. Looking in that direction, she realized it was just Crowe and Nyx, and relaxed. It would be perfectly acceptable to them to let a child handle a large knife.
As Andromeda had looked up, she also noticed Cor and Ravus had come out of the main administration building, and seemingly were making their way to the vehicle. They had yet to see what supplies had been brought.
"Here," She took the kukri back from Solara and placed it back in its sheath. She had a hunch that both men had already clocked what she was doing, though.
"You got out of the room fast," Crowe commented when she and Nyx were close enough.
"You did too," Andromeda countered with a smirk. She hoped that the other two would stay away while she was talking to two Glaives.
Crowe grinned for a moment. "This is Nyx," She glanced at him. "This is Andromeda, and Princess Solara. You heard about her inside."
The girl gave a cute curtsy, and Andromeda had to hold back a laugh. At least she hadn't minded that Crowe trailed off on her name, clearly forgetting both surnames. Andromeda didn't quite understand why she had two.
"You still have that bag of rocks," Nyx noted of Andromeda.
She didn't recognize him, but she did recall one Glaive referring to her bag of crystals as a "rocks". He had been the other Glaive, along with Pelna, to escort her out of Insomnia. Had he not made the assumption, she wouldn't have remembered him at all.
"Now you know why," Andromeda said. Nyx had been in the room; he had heard everything.
"She helped a lot when it came to escorting Luna and Aulea," Crowe told him.
Whatever his thoughts were on the return of the queen, he kept to himself. If she trusted him so much already, he must have felt the same way towards her. Her mission hadn't gone at all like it was supposed to.
"So you shared in princess duty," Nyx joked.
"It wasn't fun," Andromeda commented.
"It wasn't that bad," Crowe was only slightly exasperated. "It turned into double duty now."
"Where did they find you?" He turned to Solara.
"The palace," She answered, remaining close to Andromeda's side.
She didn't seem to have any more questions like she had before, and mentioning the palace only made her clam up more. Perhaps she had been taught that the Kingsglaive were bad, but the curiosity on her face couldn't be mistaken. She was surrounded by enemies of the Empire—something that she seemed to be processing.
"Are you a Glaive too?" Solara asked, though the answer was obvious by his uniform.
"Yes, Your Highness," Nyx confirmed, seeming to remember to refer to the princess appropriately. Even though Andromeda and Crowe did not.
"He's the hero of the Kingsglaive," Crowe elaborated. "He's guarded Luna, too."
Solara's face brightened a little with curiosity again at that. Bad guys weren't referred to as heroes.
All three adults noticed the footsteps approaching them and looked. Aulea soon joined them. Most everyone seemed to have left the administration building now: Noctis and his friends were still lingering near its door, entertaining Luna somehow with banter.
Aulea glanced at Andromeda first. "You snuck off as soon as you could."
Crowe laughed, having just said the same thing. Andromeda felt annoyed at both.
"I didn't leave that fast," She replied peevishly. "Whatever happened next was not my business."
"How did it go?" Crowe asked gently.
Aulea thought for a moment. "There's a lot of questions that need to be answered, and not a whole lot of trust. I'll tell you later."
Andromeda and Crowe understood, even if she was being vague. Whatever had happened, Aulea didn't want to discuss it in front of Nyx and Solara. They couldn't trust Nyx wouldn't say anything to Cor, and Solara didn't need to trouble herself knowing that the adults around her were at odds with each other.
"Anyhow," Aulea quickly changed the subject, turning to Solara with a smile. "I did promise you could meet the prince. I can take you to him now."
Solara hesitated a moment, then stepped away from Andromeda's side. "Okay."
"He's fine," Andromeda assured. "He's very laid back."
The girl glanced back at her in confusion as she followed Aulea across the large base.
Crowe waited until the two were some distance away from them. "It couldn't have gone too badly, if she's taking Solara to meet Noctis already."
"She had Luna with her, and Cor must recognize her," Andromeda added. In hindsight, she felt a little terrible about leaving Aulea in a room alone with those men.
"How's Solara holding up?" Crowe asked, turning away from watching them.
"She's brave, and smart," Andromeda said. "And a diehard Imperial. It's kinda awkward."
Both Glaives frowned at that. Nyx gave a slight shrug. It wasn't something they could take personally: Solara was a child, and she was raised that way. She would quickly learn better in a different land.
"Lockdown is going to last awhile," Andromeda assumed, letting her disappointment come through in her voice.
Ravus and Cor had since moved off somewhere else; unfortunately, she hadn't seen them leave to know which direction they had gone in. It was a relief that they were out of sight, but also concerning that she didn't know where they were. She didn't look forward to answering questions—she had been trapped in a room with Cor before.
"Hopefully not too long," Crowe said, perhaps agreeing with her. "If Nyx is alive, then Lib definitely is."
"He got out of Insomnia with Lady Lunafreya," Nyx confirmed. "We were supposed to meet up in Galahd, but the call was already out when I woke up, so I answered that first. I don't know if Lib will. He more or less left the Glaive."
Crowe looked at him in surprise. He hadn't told her that before. After a moment of thought, she nodded, looking downcast.
"I've been thinking about leaving the Glaive too, after everything," She admitted. "My magic is now my own—I don't know if I can still be a Glaive. It's the same, but so much more than what the king gave us."
Nyx only nodded, accepting the possibility that both friends would become ex-Glaives. He did not voice any consideration of following them.
"Etro never said you couldn't. Bahamut hasn't said anything, either," Andromeda added, although this part of the conversation didn't involve her. "It's your choice."
"Still, I want to track down Lib and drag his ass here," Crowe surmised. "The three of us stick together. He's the only other family I have left."
"We'll find him," Nyx assured.
"She told me a lot about the two of you over the summer," Andromeda mentioned, trying to brighten the conversation again.
"Oh yeah?" He asked. "Good things?"
She shrugged. "It's a matter of opinion—there was a bit of name-calling."
They all laughed a little at that—even Crowe. Andromeda was grateful to turn her mood around before she spiraled too deep. Reuniting with Nyx must have helped a little with that.
Two people came out of the barracks then. Cor made directly for the three of them, while Monica walked to the vehicle, still full of supplies. He must have told her about the lockdown now. Andromeda braced herself, but did not move from where she stood. It would have been too obvious.
"Ulric, Altius," Cor called them to attention when he was close enough. They stood straighter. "A word. Inside."
With only a glance at Andromeda, he led the two Glaives to the administration building. She understood that she was not to follow. As they stepped away, she went to the vehicle and picked up a box, resuming the busywork she had been doing before she stopped to talk. It would look better if she kept herself busy.
Monica was about to leave the kitchen again when Andromeda stepped in. Her brow rose as help had returned.
"Where's Solara?" She asked.
"Aulea took her," Andromeda answered, placing the box on the counter. She turned around to go get more, just as they had been doing before.
Rather than stay and unpack, Monica followed her and helped unload the vehicle. They both did a couple rounds of carrying boxes while she thought. Andromeda appreciated it.
"How did you find the other women with you?" Monica finally asked.
The younger woman stopped in her tracks, about to leave the kitchen. She thought of a realistic explanation, then concluded that if they were all supposed to be transparent with each other and work together, she couldn't lie anymore. With Aulea and Luna promoting a new goddess, what more was there to lose to the Lucians?
"I was just told to look for them. Crowe was looking for us, so that made it a little easier one time. It's a long story," Andromeda explained. "I guess Cor told you about the big meeting?"
"He told me the main details," Monica said. "There's a seventh Astral?"
"Long story."
Monica nodded, letting it go at that. "The Marshal will have more questions for you about it."
Andromeda had almost hoped that she would be in charge of that interrogation, but said nothing. The Crownsguard couldn't have forgotten her evasiveness when they had escorted her in Insomnia.
They resumed working quietly to put everything away in the kitchen. Once those supplies were put away, there were other supplies meant for the armory. Monica did not shoo Andromeda away for that, so she kept helping her. They were also joined by one of Noctis's friends—the one that was his Shield. Andromeda still could not recall his name, and didn't want to embarrass herself by asking again (she hadn't asked the first time). Whatever hope she had to work together silently was immediately squashed.
"I guess Ignis was right: we were going to cross paths again," The Shield brought up, showing off by carrying a much heavier load than Andromeda.
"I didn't think it would happen like this," She replied.
She hadn't thought much of it at all. It was going to happen eventually for Aulea and Luna; Andromeda and Crowe would just tag along. Had they revealed themselves before going to Altissia, it might have gone that way. Yet Aulea and Crowe kept their true identities secret when they unfortunately crossed paths with Noctis and his friends too early. Aulea had lamented for a long time that she hadn't been able to say anything during their previous encounter. Andromeda had found the injured hunter way more interesting.
"Well, I'm glad you all made it here safe and sound," Gladio—that's what his name was—said.
"It doesn't seem like you guys have," Andromeda noted. The one with glasses must have been Ignis; she knew who Noctis and Prompto were by now. She didn't think she had been completely oblivious before to not notice that Ignis was blind—it had to have happened sometime after their first encounter.
Gladio nodded. "It happened in Altissia. I'm not really sure what happened. But Ignis gets around fine, and he's still capable in combat."
Andromeda had seen him very briefly in Altissia—he couldn't have been blind then. She remembered finding Caligo dead by a fallen mech with Aulea. Both women had assumed it was Ignis's doing, as he had been the only one of the four men they had seen after the city was evacuated. It was the most amount of interaction any of them had had with Ignis.
"Speaking of Altissia, we must have just missed each other," Gladio spoke up again as he placed another box of ammunition on a shelf in the armory. "Same thing in Gralea. You four must be pretty capable fighters to get through those places."
"We had to follow along with some of the prophecy, because Noctis needed to make most of the covenants, I guess," Andromeda shrugged. "We had to avoid you guys, but also follow you to Altissia. Before Gralea, Luna was our main goal. Honestly, I was just following Aulea and Crowe."
She hadn't wanted to be bothered at all with fighting against a prophecy. Etro gave her the choice not to, but warned that it would effect everything she knew. With the dark days finally here, Andromeda saw what she had meant. At the beginning of the summer, she had already cared enough about Aulea and Crowe that she would help them, whatever their goals were. Besides, after Bahamut had almost killed her a few years ago, Andromeda was more than willing to defy him.
"No hard feelings here," Gladio assured with a dismissive shrug. "I'm just happy we're all going to work together this time."
Andromeda did not express the same sentiment as she left the armory for more supplies. Gladio followed along, but the longer she remained silent, the more he seemed to understand that she just didn't want to talk. Perhaps she had already revealed too much to him. He wasn't someone she had to worry about, though.
When she returned to the vehicle after a few more loads and found it finally empty, Andromeda slipped away while Gladio was still sorting things out in the armory. She wandered, not sure where to go next. She presumed to find the other three women. If Cor wanted to talk with Crowe, he had to have finished by now. Aulea and Luna were most likely still with Noctis, or Ravus, and it was probably best to give them the time and space they needed. Yet Andromeda was curious to know what they had picked up from speaking to the men.
She spotted Crowe first, and the other woman was already walking towards her. Nyx wasn't anywhere in sight.
Andromeda met her halfway. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah," Crowe said, although she still seemed a little distracted. "Cor wanted to know about the betrayal in the Glaive. Who was involved, and where they are. He's in charge of the Kingsglaive now. He wants to set up watch shifts, too. He wants me and Nyx on the first shift. We need two more, one for each wall. I wanted to ask you before Cor starts picking other people."
They both knew he wouldn't willingly pick Andromeda. Despite what suspicions he had of her, she would not let daemons into the base any sooner than anyone else.
"I'll go," She agreed. "But are you feeling up to it?"
"I'm fine," Crowe asserted.
Andromeda frowned. "You think Aulea and Luna will be okay on their own while we're up on the wall?"
"No one is going to hurt them, whatever the gods say," The Glaive reminded her. It was a weak argument.
"What kind of impression did Cor give you? Does he believe us?" She asked after some thought.
Crowe shrugged. "It's hard to say. I think he's withholding judgment for the moment. He wants to hear what everyone has to say first. C'mon."
She led Andromeda back towards the administration building. They had to tell Cor Andromeda would be on the first watch. She assumed Nyx was off finding their fourth.
The Marshal was leaving the building as they approached, which saved the women the hassle of tracking him down. He seemed to be going off somewhere, but stopped as they walked towards him.
"Sir," Crowe reported. It was a stiff side of her that Andromeda hadn't seen before. "Andromeda volunteers for the first watch."
He observed them for a moment, then nodded. "We'll start in ten minutes, on the hour. I'll take the last wall. Excuse me."
Cor continued on this way. Andromeda felt dread in the pit of her stomach at his decision. She should have known he was going to say that.
When he was far enough away, she tried switching to Galahdian to speak, but the words did not come easily to her as they had done so a year and a half ago. She would have used it more with Crowe, if Aulea and Luna hadn't been around so much. They couldn't be excluded from conversation.
"I think we're the ones being watched," Andromeda stammered through the Galahdian as best she could.
Crowe hesitated, then spoke much more smoothly in her native tongue. "Yeah."
"I don't trust them either."
"They're just being cautious. They're not a danger to the four of us."
"Do you really believe that?" Andromeda asked. She switched back to common; what she wanted to say was too complicated for her to try in Galahdian at the moment. "Even after being killed by other Glaives, you saw your mission through. Not only did you bring the princess to the Lucians, but also their long-dead Queen Mother, another princess no one knew about, and a person of interest. And it still isn't good enough for Cor. He still suspects you of doing something wrong."
Crowe frowned as she switched as well. "Yeah, and to do all of that, I had to lie directly to Cor's face and run from him with those people first. Of course he isn't happy with how I handled it."
They were both aware that their voices had risen. Crowe's was defensive. Andromeda glanced up and noticed Aulea and Luna walking towards them with Solara. Their casual gait suggested they had just been close enough to pick up on the tone of the conversation.
"I'm sorry. I overstepped," Andromeda mumbled quickly as the other three came up to them. Things were going to be much more complicated between the four of them with so many other people now involved. The last thing she wanted was an argument between them.
"There you are," Luna remarked, as if she had been looking for Andromeda and Crowe instead of flirting with her fiance all afternoon.
Andromeda smiled at Solara. "What did you think of the prince?"
"Prince Noctis and his friends are really nice," The girl answered, the hesitance completely gone. "He doesn't act like a prince at all."
Her observation amused both Andromeda and Crowe, and they both forgot their argument. Noctis wasn't much of a prince to begin with.
"I told you he was no big deal," Andromeda reminded her.
"There's an airship coming in," Aulea announced, then glanced up at the sky.
Crowe and Andromeda turned and looked up. A single Imperial airship was approaching, steadily becoming larger and louder.
There was suddenly movement around the base as everyone came out to watch the airship land. The men knew better of what area it would land, and kept clear of it. Together, the women cautiously approached it.
Andromeda remembered that Ravus had earlier said more Imperials were on their way. She wondered if the Lucians' claim would be a problem.
"Any idea who it is?" She asked.
"Ravus said it was Lady Aranea Highwind," Aulea said.
Andromeda frowned. It was skeptical that this woman also had the title of Lady. She couldn't help but think the ship was somehow familiar as it lowered itself into the base.
Once the ship landed, the hull door lowered. A woman in Imperial armor led the way out—she was also familiar to Andromeda. Aulea glanced at her, silently suggesting that she also recognized her.
The armored woman wasn't alone. She was closely followed by a short, young man in heavier armor, glancing around at the spectators like he was cornered. On the woman's left, a girl kept close behind her. She looked so much like Luna—the resemblance so striking that Andromeda wasn't the only one taking glances at the princess to confirm what she perceived.
Two other men followed after the trio, but brought far less attention to themselves. They did not appear to rank as highly as those at the front. Andromeda recognized the white jacket of one of them.
Ravus came forward as they stepped onto solid ground. "Report."
"First off, I've resigned. I don't work for the Imperial Army anymore," The armored woman began. Despite their past encounter, Andromeda immediately liked this woman even more. "That goes for my whole corp. We pulled as many people out of Gralea as we could before Ardyn released the Diamond Weapon on the city. A lot of people didn't make it out. I found these two along the way."
At being referred to, the young man in armor knelt before addressing Ravus. "I'm sorry, sir. I was specifically tasked with escorting the Imperial princess and Stella out of the city, but I lost Solara when we were attacked by daemons."
"Stella!"
The general's sniveling was interrupted as Solara ran from Aulea's side. The older woman called after her—they didn't know exactly who these Imperials were, and if they could be trusted. Before anyone else could react, the young princess clashed with the new girl. They clung to one another, giggling in relief. Everyone else looked on in some confusion.
"Solara was thankfully found by others and rescued," Ravus explained coolly. "Get up."
The general stood carefully, yet still had that cornered expression. The other man's tone suggested that his blunder was not completely forgiven. Whatever punishment would come would be postponed at the moment.
Aranea remained cool as she glanced at the two girls. "Stella and Loqi both told me a bit about Solara, but by then it was getting too dangerous to stay. Her full name is Stella Nox Fleuret."
It was even more of a surprise for everyone, and only confirmed the resemblance between Stella and Luna. Even Ravus appeared jarred, despite his expressionless demeanor.
"There's some interesting reports to go along with them," Aranea held up two folders, bringing attention to them.
Ravus glanced at them. "We'll discuss those inside. Now."
He turned sharply to lead the way into the main building. Aranea followed after ordering the two men to watch over the girls. The other general followed them at a distance. Cor joined the retinue. He glanced over towards the women, who had yet to say a word to each other, and beckoned. Aulea looked at the other three before following him, along with Noctis.
It was quiet once the group went into the building and the doors shut behind them. Luna looked justifiably put out as she looked after them. Nox Fleuret was her family name, but she was excluded from whatever conversation was about to happen.
The sun had already set during the encounter. It was much too early for it to already be gone.
Monica came over to Crowe and Andromeda. "I will take the Marshal's place on the watch. Crowe, take the north wall. Andromeda, the east wall."
"See you in a couple hours," Andromeda told Luna. Neither woman knew exactly what to say to her in the moment. It was a good thing they were going on watch.
The Oracle merely nodded to them, then smiled as she approached the girls, both filling each other in on their adventures since their separation.
Crowe and Andromeda departed from the scene, going to the northeast corner of the base to climb a set of stairs onto the wall. Nyx and Monica went in the opposite direction. As interesting as the new development was, it was a better idea to get away from it for awhile. Andromeda was relieved something came up that prevented Cor from participating in the first watch. She preferred Monica much more. Whatever came of this secret meeting, Aulea would tell her, Luna, and Crowe.