Watch past near silently in a couple of hours. With one person assigned to each wall, they were spread too far apart for conversation. No excessive talk was allowed on the radios they were given—a given rule that Andromeda assumed, and was proven correct.
She watched the land from the east side of the military base. For much of it, she gazed at the faint white glow where Meteor had once been. The large spires that had glowed blue in the night were gone, leaving the Disc of Cauthess a shadow of what it once was. That the Meteor was gone was probably a good thing, but it took away a telltale landmark of Duscae.
Andromeda wasn't put on watch to observe the Disc. She took note of any signs of life out in the plains. She spotted a couple of sparse herds of grazing animals, one of which was chased off by a pack of sabretusks. What was more noteworthy were the daemons scattered about the area. The larger ones were thankfully far off, and the smaller ones gave a wide berth to the lit areas around the base. Sometimes, it seemed as though they were observing the base as well. Andromeda had to wonder if there would come a time when the lights weren't enough to keep the daemons away.
When someone came to the east wall, she assumed her shift was over. No one had specified how long it would last before she had agreed to it. She was surprised to see Noctis approach her.
"Hey, your shift's up," He said, glancing at her awkwardly. "Ignis and Luna made dinner."
"Nice," Andromeda commented, assuming both were competent cooks. "There isn't a whole lot going on over here. It'll be an easy watch."
The prince nodded, looking out towards the Disc. "So, I guess you know my mother pretty well."
For a brief moment, she had forgotten that Noctis and Aulea were related. "Yeah. Though when she first told me and Crowe, we both thought she was crazy. But we couldn't leave her behind."
"I can't blame you for that," Noctis chuckled. He had needed Cor to verify Aulea for him. "Thanks for looking out for her. And for helping Luna."
Now Andromeda felt awkward. She hadn't stayed with the other women because they were important to him; if it weren't for the other three, she and Noctis would not be speaking to each other at this moment. Now that they were all supposed to work together, Andromeda supposed she could try to warm up to the boys. They had been through a lot in one summer.
"Sorry the Crystal didn't work out," She said. She wasn't really sorry about it: Bahamut had once imprisoned her inside the Crystal, nearly killing her. But she knew he must have been counting on it to go all the way to Gralea for it.
Noctis shrugged it off. "We'll find another way to purge the darkness. Without sacrificing anyone. More than enough people have already died for me. I'm willing to put faith in Etro if Luna has. I guess there's a lot about our history that my dad and I didn't know."
"I met him once, too."
"Yeah?"
"He had some Glaives track me down and drag me to Insomnia. He realized that I knew of the prophecy, and there was a seventh Astral. I told him that I wouldn't help him. Since then, it seems like that's all I did," Andromeda told him, somewhat rueful. It was difficult to believe that had only happened in the previous year. "He was trying to find another way to prevent all of this, but he was a helpless pawn of Bahamut. I think this part couldn't be avoided."
Noctis thought it over, then looked at her. "He could have helped you."
"Funny, he said the same thing," She did not laugh. She remembered how Regis had insisted that, and couldn't get it through his head that they were supposed to be enemies. She shook her head. "Anyway, I'm going to see what's left of dinner."
He didn't say anything as she walked away. He took after his father well enough; Andromeda couldn't see any resemblance to Aulea yet.
There was still plenty of food left in the kitchen when she arrived. Luna was thankfully gone already, as was Ignis. The other three from watch had already arrived and were claiming one of the two tables. It seemed that dinner would also be done in shifts: there wasn't enough seating for everyone at the base. Andromeda fixed herself a bowl of stew and took the last chair at the table.
"You guys see anything?" Nyx asked.
"I think there's more daemons out there than there has been all summer," Crowe said. "They're keeping away for now."
"Sunlight might not be enough anymore, but artificial lights still work against them," Monica agreed.
"The hunting looks good," Andromeda mentioned. It was unlikely that she would be allowed to hunt anytime soon, though.
"You hunt?" Nyx raised a brow at that.
She nodded. "Crowe and I did a lot together over the summer."
"And Aulea, too," Crowe added. "She did her part. She hated the royal treatment. Luna joined us too for a little while before we went to Gralea."
Monica frowned, but said nothing. She would save whatever she gleaned from this conversation and tell Cor later.
Andromeda decided to change the topic from hunting. "Crowe said you're the hero of the Kingsglaive. Is that an official title or something?"
"It was in the papers," Nyx shrugged. "But it's not an official rank, if that's what you're thinking. Everyone just picked up on it."
He didn't seem proud of the nickname. Once again, Andromeda wondered why he couldn't have been the one Luna prayed for. He was the exact opposite of Ravus.
"Did she tell you we joined the Glaives together?" Nyx asked, glancing at Crowe.
Andromeda nodded. "Yeah. With Lib."
"He was so mad when I came into the briefing room on our first day," Crowe chuckled, clearly remembering that day.
"I had to play referee between you two," He joined in, shaking his head. "It was not a good first few weeks."
"I proved myself just as good as everyone else there," She said. "He was stubborn."
"He was worried," Nyx corrected. "And you did get killed like he thought you would."
"But I came back," Crowe countered.
"Did you know she would?" Monica spoke up, looking at Andromeda.
She had been enjoying the Glaive banter, hoping to hear more stories between Crowe and Nyx. She frowned. "No. I didn't know what was going to happen."
"So how did you two meet up again exactly?" Nyx asked.
It was less intimidating when he asked questions—he just wanted to know what Crowe had been up to. Monica would doubtlessly report to Cor everything she heard. She was required to, so Andromeda couldn't hold it against her too much.
"I woke up in the morgue, like I told you. I found Aulea in the old holding cells and took out the Imperial medics with her. She seemed fine when I got there," Crowe shrugged.
"She gets migraines occasionally. I think going to the Citadel helped her remember everything," Andromeda supplied.
"Yeah, so then we searched the upper floors for Andromeda. We found her in one of the galleries. First time I saw Etro while awake, too. All of the Imperials were already taken out, and she changed the paintings," Crowe finished. "We fought out way out of the city. Aulea told us who she really was the next day."
Nyx nodded, then looked to Andromeda. "What were you doing in the Citadel?"
"Aulea and I were captured," She explained simply. "We entered the city to get my family out when we heard the treaty fell through. We were caught on the way out. Everyone else with us was able to get away, and we decided that if we surrendered, the Nifs probably wouldn't go after them. And it worked out that way. Aulea really wanted to see the Citadel for herself, too."
"What about you? You said you saw Etro when you woke up," Crowe said.
"Yeah. Not long after, either," He confirmed. "She seemed surprised to see me. She didn't stick around for long—just told me to find you four, and you all would explain everything. I went to the Citadel, then picked up the call on one of our channels, so I made my way to Lestallum."
"What was the city like?" Andromeda asked.
"A big mess. With Gralea fallen, the Imperials are losing control. It wasn't hard to get around them at all," Nyx replied.
The rest of dinner passed with little small-talk of what they had seen since the Crystal had shattered. Crowe and Aulea's time at Etro's Well in Lucis hadn't been exciting at all, just as the two had told Andromeda and Luna. Nyx found the latter two's escape from Old Lestallum amusing—Monica a little less so.
Afterwards, they cleaned up the kitchen, assuming that anyone who was going to come for dinner had already done so. The industrial kitchen was a nice change from the rugged dinners at camp that Andromeda and Crowe were used to. It was one thing that wasn't so bad about staying in the military base.
The barracks still needed to be set up; without human soldiers to house, they had largely been used for extra storage space. The four set to cleaning them out and setting up beds for everyone, dividing the four rooms by gender. There was enough space for four beds in each room.
As she helped move beds around in the women's rooms, Andromeda found her situation odd. She had spied on this base in her dreams a couple of times through the summer, and had broken into it in the previous year with Hank. It was strange to see it emptied of any Imperial Army equipment and repurposed for whatever the Lucians had planned. It appeared that after Altissia, the Empire hadn't designated a replacement for Caligo, thus leaving the base abandoned. Crowe was much quieter after dinner as well.
Before Andromeda could ask her about it, girlish voices became louder in the hall—sounds that were very out of place in a military base. Luna came into the doorway and spotted exactly who she was looking for. Solara and Stella followed her into the room.
"There you are," Luna repeated for the second time that day. "I heard the watch changed, but I couldn't find you two. I want to introduce Stella to you both." She turned to the girl. "This is Crowe and Andromeda."
The younger version of Luna gave a slight bow towards the two women. She was much older than Solara: a teenager. Crowe's smile came more naturally than Andromeda's; the resemblance was so very similar.
"It's nice to meet both of you," Stella said. "Are you the ones who found Solara with Luna?"
"We did. Along with Aulea and Harper," Crowe replied.
"Harper stayed in Lestallum," Solara informed her friend, who she now seemed attached to at the hip. "They're both Galahdians."
"I'm actually Tenebraen," Andromeda corrected casually. She hadn't thought to specify that earlier when speaking to Solara.
"Like Lady Lunafreya and Stella?" The girl asked.
"Sort of. More northern," She said. She understood why Solara assumed otherwise: Morrigals tended to look more Lucian than southern Tenebraens, who were the only faces of Tenebrae the world knew.
"I'm afraid I don't know much about Tenebrae. I grew up in Gralea," Stella admitted. Andromeda had suspected as much.
"Luna can fill you in," She assumed. Stella wouldn't know what a Morrigal was. "Where's Aulea?"
The older woman had been the one to sit in on the meeting following Stella's arrival. Luna hadn't, and Andromeda wondered if anyone had told her the story behind the girls. There were very few Nox Fleurets in the world. Whether she knew or not, and whatever the story was, Luna seemed happy to take the girl under her wing. She was good-hearted like that. The excitement coming off of all three of them was a little too much for Andromeda.
"I saw her last in the kitchen after dinner was made," Luna said, thinking it over. "That was about an hour ago."
Aulea's disappearance troubled her as much as it did Andromeda. With all they had gone through to get here, she assumed Aulea would be close by, catching up with Cor and Monica, or getting to know Noctis and his friends. It was strange that she wasn't with Luna.
"We'll go look for her," Crowe decided. "We're done here."
"Should we come along?" Luna asked.
Andromeda shook her head. "It's fine. She'll be easy to find. Nyx is next door."
They all left the room, going to the adjacent one where Monica and Nyx were setting up beds for the men. The men's rooms had been messier with Imperial clutter.
Luna was just as eager to introduce the other two girls to Nyx, who was similarly surprised to be bombarded by them, but handled it better than Andromeda.
"The other rooms are set up. We're going to find Aulea," Crowe told Monica.
"Is something wrong?" The Crownsguard asked, concerned.
"No. Just checking up on her. Have you seen her?"
"She was around here awhile ago," Monica answered.
"It's probably nothing," Andromeda assured. She really wanted to tell her not to alert anyone, but felt that would be too obvious. "She wants to be here."
She and Crowe left the room and walked through the hall. It was much quieter again as they moved away from Luna and the girls—more like a military base again. It was a different sort of unsettling for Andromeda.
"Seemed like you needed a break," Crowe mentioned as they went up the stairs.
"Do you think they told Luna what they talked about?" Andromeda asked.
"I dunno."
"Aulea will know."
They searched through the upper floors of the barracks, but all of the other rooms were empty. No one had come up to these floors because the space was unneeded. They even went up to the roof, but a quick search around the place showed that Aulea was not there either. Crowe and Andromeda used the vantage point to look down in the open base below, but no one was out while it was dark like this—not unless they were on watch.
Finding Aulea was proving to be more difficult than they had assumed. They became a little more worried as they decided to try the administration building next. It was much the same as the barracks: most of the rooms and floors were void of people. About halfway up, they heard two male voices in one of the rooms. As they listened a moment, they didn't hear a woman in the conversation, so backtracked to the stairs and continued on. Whatever was going on was meant to be private, and neither Crowe nor Andromeda wanted to be caught snooping around as they were.
They climbed the stairs until they made it to the roof. It didn't seem like Aulea to hide on a roof, yet there was a shuffle of movement when the door loudly opened. The older woman suddenly came around the corner, startled by the intrusion. The other two were likewise surprised to actually find her there.
"Oh," Aulea sighed. "Is something wrong?"
"No. We were just looking for you," Crowe said. "Luna and Monica said they haven't seen you in awhile. What are you doing up here?"
She relaxed a little. "I just needed some space. Did you both get dinner?"
"Yeah," Andromeda replied. "Watch was uneventful. We just talked a little with Stella."
Aulea nodded slowly. "So you want to know about the files Aranea brought?"
"It can wait if you want," Crowe suggested. She had said she was trying to get some space.
"No, it's fine," The queen assured, motioning them away from the door. "Cor and Ravus are hesitant to let everyone else in on everything. They don't think it's appropriate. It looks bad. It was enough that Noctis and I were trusted enough to be involved."
"Why do you think you were?" Andromeda asked.
"Perhaps because I've taken Solara in. I'm not going to question it," Aulea began. "Solara is the Emperor's granddaughter. In Niflheim, heirs are not featured in the public eye until they've taken the throne. As it was, Iedolas renounced his son for eloping with an outland woman. He took Solara in after her parents' deaths, but she was kept secret. Nothing said that she was next in line. It was noted that he stopped visiting her a couple of years ago, leaving her completely in custody of her caretakers. They're the same ones behind Stella.
"Solara's caretakers were part of this small group within the Imperial Army. They called themselves the Second Age. They were troubled by the lack of control the Empire had on Tenebraen rulers. When the MT clones were a success, this group came up with the idea of creating a Tenebraen heir. It was a very secret project. Apparently, no one in the army knows of this group or this project. Stella isn't an identical clone like the MTs, but the same process was used. She was born a few years before Tenebrae fell. Sylva wasn't very cooperative with the Empire, and her children were expected to be the same, so this Second Age planned on disposing of them at some point and placing Stella on the throne. Someone they've had control over from the very beginning. She was also a test to see if she would have the same magic as the Oracle. She does not, thankfully. I suppose it's because of her unnatural birth.
"As Iedolas deteriorated, this group took full control over Solara as well. Both girls were both raised in Gralea by members of the Second Age. They were kept very secret and very isolated, except from one another—they planned on their friendship to strengthen the Empire's control over Tenebrae. They're both well-educated for their roles, but neither actually know they're heirs. When they were going to be put on the thrones is vague—for Solara, it was just a matter of time before Iedolas passed away. Second Age waited to see what the Nox Fleurets would do. They didn't plan on Ravus's cooperation with the army."
Andromeda and Crowe listened closely as Aulea told them everything she had heard in a hushed tone. It was bad. The chill Andromeda felt did not come from the rapidly cooling night. She shook her head.
"That's awful," Crowe said after a moment of silence. "And a lot."
"Does anyone know what happened to this Second Age?" Andromeda asked, frowning.
"Loqi believes none of their members made it out of Gralea," Aulea answered quietly.
"Does Luna know?"
The older woman nodded. "I believe Ravus explained it to her. I told him to, anyway. She's taking it very well. Him, not so much. But he won't harm the girls. For now, the plan is to keep them here at the base. We don't know what people will do if the truth gets out. I'm not sure I'm supposed to tell you both."
"I don't think any more secrets around here is going to make everyone any chummier," Crowe pointed out.
"It's not my decision to make," Aulea countered. "It's a lot to take in. It sounds hard to believe."
"No. Anyone who's seen the clones in the production facilities would find it very easy to believe," Andromeda said. "Niflheim was up to so many wrong things."
"Could you imagine if they captured Noctis?" Crowe asked.
"I don't want to, but I'm sure it was on the agenda," Aulea concluded. "But we can't hold their origins against them."
"I'm not. It's just... a lot," Andromeda crossed her arms, repeating Crowe's words. "They seem happy to be together again."
"And with Luna," The queen agreed. "They know very little of the Oracle. Stella thinks she's Luna's cousin."
Crowe nodded to that. "So why are you really up here?"
She had a point: if that was all that was bothering Aulea, she wouldn't isolate herself. She would be with Luna, getting to know both girls and making sure they were okay. Instead, she had snuck off to hide from everyone. It was something Andromeda would do. She certainly didn't mind the little bit of privacy they were getting.
"I did need some space," Aulea repeated, giving a fleeting smile. "I'm glad to speak to Noctis at last, but it's a lot to take in at once. It's not how I imagined it happening—not that I had any expectations."
She didn't sound happy as she trailed off. Crowe and Andromeda exchanged a glance.
"How is he taking it?" The latter asked carefully. He had seemed fine to her.
The older woman gave a shrug. "He's struggling with it. He just came to terms with Regis's death. He can't even remember me. He was just an infant when I died. If it weren't for Cor, I don't think I would have been able to convince him that I really am his mother."
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy," Andromeda reminded her. "For anyone."
"He's all grown up, although he's dependent on his chamberlain," Aulea noted. "There's no place for me."
"Yes there is," Crowe asserted gently. "This will work itself out. We aren't allowed to go anywhere, so there's plenty of time."
As logical as her suggestion was, a tear still fell down Aulea's face. She wiped it away quickly, but the other two women had already seen it. She turned away, crossing her arms tightly.
Of the four of them, Aulea had always seemed to be the rock of the group: the one who kept calm and level-headed. Even when she did fret about running late or being too late, she never gave into emotions like this. Andromeda felt the dread build up again; if Aulea was this unsettled, their stay here wouldn't bode well for any of them.
"When Etro told me that some had been brought back by the Crystal's shattering, I guess I let myself home that maybe I would see Regis again," She explained. "She wouldn't let me speak with him when she was visiting me in a dream. So I thought there was hope he was alive again."
Andromeda hadn't given thought to who the Crystal had brought back. She had been so focused on one step at a time: first, find Aulea and Crowe; then, find Noctis. Only after that would she have worried about whoever had come back to life. They didn't have Etro's Blessing, so she wasn't concerned, nor had any expectations. It was at Aulea's revelation that she remembered the older woman was a widow now. She had lost her husband just as she remembered that she had one.
Stepping closer, Andromeda wrapped an arm around her and put her head on her shoulder. It wasn't much—it wouldn't fix anything.
"I'm sorry," She offered, and meant it.
She had seen Aulea with Solara and Luna more during the day than she had seen her with Noctis. Granted, Andromeda had made a point of not seeing what happened. Still, she understood that it wasn't what Aulea had imagined or hoped for. Andromeda knew what it was to be rejected by family.
Crowe came to Aulea's left side, but said nothing. Her reunion with Nyx had been entirely unexpected, yet had gone without a hitch. Both were supposed to be dead, and neither had been that way for long.
She placed a hand on her shoulder. They stood there as Aulea let the tears fall. For a moment, they weren't anything more than just three women. There were no other expectations of them. Andromeda found it difficult to believe she had found Aulea only a year ago—back then, she had been a different person.
Aulea finally gave a sigh. "We haven't been so close in so long. Ever since we went to Insomnia."
"We've been close all along," Andromeda assured as she took a step back to give her space again.
The other woman shook her head. "You became distant over the summer. At least with me."
"It's late. It's been a long day," She reasoned. She did not like where this conversation was going.
Crowe dropped her hand. "Yeah. A lot's happened. We should get some rest and just sleep on it."
"Alright," Aulea resigned. "I hope Luna has gotten those girls to bed. It really is late. It's been an exciting day for everyone."
The three of them descended the stairs all the way to the ground floor. Crowe and Andromeda were alert for others as they had been when searching for Aulea. They did not try to avoid detection this time as they had before; Andromeda thought she heard shuffling in a room as they passed, but all three looked ahead and walked quickly. It had to be enough of a hint that whoever it was did not stop them and ask what they had been doing in the building.
Most everyone seemed to be in the barracks when the three arrived. Luna, Solara, and Stella were still there, and had taken up one of the women's rooms. They had claimed their beds, but from their excited chatter, weren't ready for sleep yet. The last bed of the room seemed to be claimed as well: Aranea stood by it at least as she fielded questions from the girls.
"You found her," Luna noted as Crowe and Andromeda entered the room with Aulea. The room felt a little cramped with all of them. "Did you plan on sleeping in here?"
"Not at all. It's fine," Aulea assured.
Aranea looked the three of them over. "Didn't I try to capture you last year?"
"... Yes," Andromeda admitted slowly. So she did remember. It wasn't something to bring up in front of Solara and Stella.
"You threw an airship at me," Aranea stated, deadpan.
Andromeda glanced at Aulea. She remembered the two airships crashing near where Aranea had been standing, but didn't recall who caused it. Andromeda had unleashed her chaos, and Aulea had used Ultima.
"It was a group effort," Aulea concluded.
"What?" Crowe gave a laugh.
"We'll tell you tomorrow." She said, then turned to the girls. "Get some sleep soon. I doubt you've ever been allowed to stay up so late before."
She ushered Crowe and Andromeda out of the room. The latter understood why they were split up like they were, and why Aranea was placed with the princesses: it was organized that way. That left just Monica to take the last bed. Andromeda didn't mind at all. She did not want to share a room with two young and excited girls.
Luna followed them out into the hall. "Wait."
"Is something wrong?" Aulea turned back to face her.
"No. I've only been thinking," The princess frowned. "Do you all truly think I'm the Chosen One Gentiana spoke about?"
"You must be," Andromeda answered quickly. "Etro has been focused on you since your Ascension, just when I was getting my magic and coming into contact with her. We had to go to Altissia to personally receive you. We went through a lot for that."
Crowe had come back after promising to protect Luna. Aulea's goal in her return had been to save Noctis, understandably. Andromeda understood that if she had any task from Etro, it was to work alongside Luna, as loathsome as the job sometimes seemed. Everything suggested that Luna was Etro's Chosen One. Why would it be anyone else?
Luna nodded in resignation, but still looked troubled by it. "You're right. Thank you again, for everything you've all done for me."
"It was no problem," Crowe smiled. "Like the prince said, we won't let anything happen to you."
"If the Astrals have already come to a decision, we should hope that Etro will reach out again soon with more information," Andromeda concluded. They all knew by now that Etro reached out in dreams more often than not.
"Yes," Luna agreed. "Good night."
She went back into the first room. Monica was already in the second room when Crowe, Aulea, and Andromeda entered. A lot had happened for all of them in one day, and very little of it had been pleasant. Andromeda was exhausted, yet there was a lot to think over. She suspected the other women felt the same way. She dreaded what the following day would bring for them.