"Noctis-"

"Now," Noctis commanded, glaring at the man. "Ignis Scientia."

"Yes, sir." Ignis knew from his tone that it was the King speaking to him now, and not his friend. Carefully laying Amara fully on the floor of the tent, he took only a few moments to make sure she seemed comfortable before emerging from the tent and closing it behind him. The man walked over to his friends and sat in one of the chairs after a look from Noctis. The younger man was sitting straight in his own chair, ankle crossed over his knee as he fixed his advisor in a questioning glance. He was taking his time to figure out just what words to say, trying to figure out how to get what he needed this time.

"Ignis, first and foremost, what is your real relationship with Amara?"

"I don't know, and I have yet to try and discuss anything with her."

"If the two of you aren't together, why do you keep running after her? And don't try to tell me it's because of the Arms. She hasn't had a bad reaction to them in a while now."

"Yes, she has, more than you know, but that's not for me to speak about." Ignis shook his head and stood again. "I'm sorry Noctis, but this line of questioning you want to take isn't one you need to subject me to. Amara is the only one who can give you the answers you want."

"But you know something!" Noctis was on his feet now as well, and the glare had returned. "Damn it Ignis I need to know what!"

"I can't say."

"That's a lie and you know it."

"No, it's not," the others gasped and looked over at Amara, watching as she struggled to come out of the tent under her own strength. Ignis was at her side in an instant, wrapping an arm around her and supporting her as she walked over to the King. "I ordered him to not say a word."

"And who are you to order him to do anything?"

The woman sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, they were a blazing red. The others were left to stare at her in when she snapped closed her connection to Noctis, leaving the guys reeling in shock from the force she put behind it. Gently pushing Ignis aside, the redhead stood straighter and stared Noctis in the eyes as she summoned the Royal Arms to her side.

"I am Amara Lucis Caelum, born 2000 years ago - before the ascension of King Somnus Lucis Caelum to the throne - to his brother and the first oracle Aera Mils Fleuret. Cast through time by my mother during the spread of the Star scourge, I was brought into this time by Bahamut to aid you in completing his prophecy, Chosen King." Amara allowed the arms to continue to float around her for another moment. Her friends looked like they had been struck by lightning, and though even Ignis also looked incredulous, he was the first to speak.

"Okay, that I didn't know."

"I didn't either. Every time another arm is gained, a bit more of my original memories are brought back. The Pious granted me a bit more as well." She admitted, still looking at Noctis. "If you don't believe me, reach out to the old Kings and ask them yourself. I'm sure Uncle Somnus would be more than happy to talk to you about it. Or, you could wait until we get to Altissia and ask Luna – she knows about me from my mother – the ghost woman you helped find me."

"You… wait what?" any trace of his Kingly self was gone as he gaped at his friend. "You're a Lucis Caelum?!"

"And a Fleuret, yeah." She allowed herself a shrug. "The reason the Arms were taking so much out of me though, is because my father was infected with the Star scourge when I was conceived. As a result, I was partially infected, but since my mother was the Oracle, it was prevented from spreading and was instead contained. The Scourge is a daemonic plague though, so the Arms, being weapons of light, were slowly clearing it away. My collapse today, and the magic I showed are a result of the plague being fully cleared from my system by the new Arm."

"And you knew about this?" Gladio looked more than a little peeved as he looked over at Ignis, who suddenly went on the defensive. "You knew she was sneaking around getting the Arms and… And doing this to herself?!"

"I knew she was also gathering the arms, yes," Ignis nodded, placing a gentle hand on Amara's shoulder. "And I knew part of the reason why, though the fact that it was the Scourge was not yet known, nor was her heritage. As you heard from her – even she didn't know."

The redhead nodded. "All I knew is that the day King Regis connected me to his Armiger as a Glaive, the old kings found me. Uncle Somnus knew who I was immediately and attempted to eradicate the Scourge – which is why I was in so much pain, and why I took to the magic so easily. But because I was unable to contain the amount of magic actually needed to heal me, not even gonna talk about the memory part 'cause I mean damn those aren't even fully back yet, I didn't know what was going on and fought him."

The advisor looked to their friends, then directly at Noctis. "She told me about some of it on her birthday, but since she hadn't unlocked her enough of her memories, she was scared to talk to you about it. I believe that had she not collapsed so spectacularly today-"

"I would have brought it up tonight, and let you figure out how to handle it," she confirmed. "But I'm not gonna stand by and let you interrogate my boyfriend when he can't answer your questions."

"Boyfriend?"

"You're not running off after Lestallum, Scientia, don't even think it's an option. Noctis, I can't answer all of your questions yet, but I'm willing to try and answer what I can now."

Noctis nodded slowly, taking a moment to look over her still drained stature. She hadn't even regained the color in her face, but the blue that was taking over the amber of her eyes and pull of familiar magic were more than enough to make him sigh.

"Fine but take a seat first. You look like you're gonna fall over."

And so, it began. For three hours Amara sat in a chair and told her friends the truth about everything, from the memories she had of her past, to how she was cast through time and how it had been Ardyn that placed the first blow in her need to find the Arms, as well as her suspicions that he was also a plague victim. There was only one issue that she was staying clear of for the moment, and when asked directly about it, she admitted her own concerns.

"What about your father, Amara? He was a Lucis Caelum, right?" it was Prompto who brought up the subject she was trying so carefully to avoid, and it made her hang her head in shame.

"I know who he is, but it's not something I'm ready to admit even to myself. He may be a Lucis Caelum, but he didn't keep himself on a good path," she paused, then looked up at her King. "He's caused a lot of problems that span even into this time."

"Did he travel through time as well?"

"Not quite. My father, well, he's so deeply infected by the Scourge, so much a part of it, that it's made him basically immortal, a monster." She listened to their gasps. "Noctis is the only one who can end him and the problems that follow him, but it's not going to be easy and it's not going to happen anytime soon."

"Amara, I know you said you didn't want to admit it, but…" Noctis looked unsure for a moment, glancing at Gladiolus in particular before he leaned over to rest a hand on Amara's. "Ardyn?"

The woman began to shake, digging her nails into her thighs until they thought she would make herself bleed. "Not quite. Ardyn," she paused for a moment and swallowed hard. "Ardyn Lucis Caelum, he is my father. But, Ardyn Izunia on the other hand… Izunia is what's left of him after the plague destroyed his mind and corrupted his body. He's nothing more than a puppet to the plague at this point, not my father. And I'll be damned if I let him get away with everything he's caused."

The King buried his face in his hands for a few minutes, trying to process everything that she had told him. It was quite the revelation, and one he had never expected. "What does that mean for… for us?"

"I'm sorry Noctis, but I really don't know what it will end up meaning," she sighed, and couldn't help but give him a shrug when he looked at her again. "Now that I am free of the plague, I will likely be able to wield the Arms properly, as you can, and I doubt that Izunia's spies will fail to let him know. Unfortunately, he's a smart man, so he'll know what that means, probably even before we really do."

"So, all we can do is stay on guard," Gladio growled, still clearly unhappy with what was going on.

"Wait-wait hang on a second guys!" Prompto was on his feet like he had suddenly thought of something. "Amara, you said you're half-Fleuret?"

"Yes."

"And Lady Lunafreya knows that?"

"Yes, where are you going with this?"

"Is it possible that Ravus guy knows too?"

The redhead started to reply but paused – thinking back over the way Ravus had treated her when she was being held on the Niff base, the way they had interacted, though their encounters were brief. "He… He might. And if he does, that would explain why Izunia left him in charge of me while I was unconscious. There's no way Ravus would harm a fellow Fleuret, even if it was only the first time we had met. The Fleuret bloodline wouldn't allow internal strife without repercussions."

"Neither would Ramuh," Noctis nodded slowly, looking at his friends. "Just like Bahamut is the Patron of the Lucis Caelum line, Ramuh has been seen as Patron to the Nox Fleuret. He's… not really a fan of feuds."

Amara nodded, thinking about the way, even now, that the god's power was interacting with her own. It felt oddly familiar like it was supposed to have been there. "But I don't think that's something to think about right now. We have to finish gathering the Arms before we take off for Altissia, and that's not going to be easy."

Iris seemed hesitant to speak in light of what was going on, but when she locked eyes with the redhead, she gulped down her doubts. "So, you guys really need to plan everything as carefully as you can, but you said it was Ar- eh, Izunia that gave you the map to the Arms. Isn't it possible he placed a trap at least one of them?"

"Unlikely. The magic barriers repelling the Daemon may have weakened for him to be able to approach them, but as far as Izunia is concerned I'm gathering the Arms as a part of his plan. If he wants me to gather them, he's not going to make the job any harder than it already is. What we should be worried about is whether or not he was aware that the Arms would be actively healing me. If he went out of his way to teach me how to unlock powers similar to his, I don't think he knows – and if he doesn't know, that could mean he wanted the Scourge to eat away at my mother's powers to make me more like him."

"That's a concern all its own," Ignis agreed, though he didn't look too hopeful about whatever was on his mind. "But I agree with Iris – we need to plan everything extremely carefully."

Gladiolus nodded but wouldn't look at them. Something outside the realm of their conversation was clearly on his mind, but with everything she had just divulged, Amara didn't feel quite right asking him. Instead, she focused on Prompto and Noctis, both of whom were eyeing her with varying levels of their own concern as Ignis put out the map of the Arms in front of them.

The others seemed unnerved by that sentence, summoning their weapons and urging Iris to stay closer to Noctis where she would be better shielded. It proved to be a good idea too when they came face to face with a surprised Mandrake just around the first bend in their path – and although it was quickly felled, it still put them a bit further on edge. The Thicket was a place that was undocumented, even to hunters if you went by the "No Hunters" signs they had seen on their journey to the Thicket entrance (though it begged the question of how the hunter had documented a tomb in its deepest part for the map given to Amara) so to have Iris is tow was suddenly becoming a bit worrisome for the adults.

"So is the kind of stuff you guys usually have to do to get the arms?" Iris was bright and peppy despite the situation, making Amara have to fight a chuckle.

"Yeah, but usually Amara has a bit more info on what we might come up against," Gladio huffed, clearly a bit tense.

"So, it's more of an adventure this time!"

"That's a good way of looking at it," Amara called back, slipping on a bit farther ahead of them with Ignis bridging the gap. Up a grassy slope slick with what she hoped was moisture from the damp air, she found a pair of Mandrakes for them to cut down, and then a third not far behind. The group was just beginning to step out into the wider area the path was funneling them into when the woman looked up and groaned, her eyes landing on a large Soldier Wasp that left Prompto squealing in disgust.

"What is up with the giant bugs around here?!"

"It's the perfect place for them!" she watched Noctis decide to take this one on, warping into it before finishing it off with a sweep of his Engine Blade. The two exchanged a look and a nod before she took the lead once more, skirting some brush that had sprouted up in the center of the area and heading for another narrower path, only to be surprised by another set of the bugs. Narrowly dodging a stream of venom from one, the woman shoved Ignis out of the way of the other before she and Noctis fought them off - warping around to keep up the fast creatures.

"Glad to see you're feeling better Noct."

"Not climbing up another hill does help."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Hey, am I the only one who hears water?" Prompto popped up between the two, dramatically cocking an ear and pointing down the path they were on. "Sounds like it's coming from that way."

Amara paused, then nodded, and after a moment the group was off once more. The water they were hearing turned out to be a stream and a small waterfall, running by something they were all grateful to see with the darkness encroaching above them.

"Hey, I know those ruins!"

"A haven? Good, we can get some rest then."

"What do you say Noct?"

"I say – I'm hungry."

"Camp it is then. I'll set up the tent."

Amara soon found herself sitting on the edge of the haven, watching the water flow by as she listened to the guys setting everything up behind her. Iris soon came to join her, crossing her legs as she looked down at the water.

"Is it always like this when you guys make camp?"

"Mostly, but we don't camp very often – usually try to find a caravan or a hotel when we can," the redhead looked at the younger Amicitia with a shrug and a half-hearted smile. "They're probably putting a bit more care into setting everything up since you're with us. Gotta make sure we all have room to sleep."

"I don't see how all five of you can fit in that tent."

"We fit because she and Ignis usually sleep on top of each other." Noctis snickered as he sat beside Iris, grinning when the Glaive glared at him. "Hey, it's not a lie. Besides, can't really say anyone blames you when he's such a space heater. All you do is shiver when you're asleep."

"Blah…" she rolled her eyes but glanced over her shoulder to where the advisor was busily preparing their supper (some kind of fish from what she could tell). He met her gaze for a moment, giving her a smile and wink that made her whip back around to stare hard at the water.

Hearing him laugh behind her didn't help anything either.

Somehow, the night ended up passing without much more 'excitement', leaving Amara to crawl out of the tent the next morning without much leftover fatigue. Coffee and a quick breakfast were made for everyone while Noctis got dumped in the stream (waking up with a screech that surely scared off any creatures in the area and made even Ignis spill his coffee in laughter), and once everything was taken care of and securely stored in the Armiger, the group turned to stare at the waterfall beside them.

"That's the only way to go, isn't it?"

"Yup."

"Damn it."

"Take care not to let the current pull you away," Ignis called after Amara as she decided to just say fuck it and start trying to climb the thing, slipping on a few loose stones as she did. Prompto, who was the first to try and follow her, soon let out a yelp that made her whip around and grab him.

"I'm not sure my footwear is up to this!" he cried out, letting the Glaive pull him to her side and hook an arm around him. What had seemed like a small waterfall the night before was showing them just how powerful it really was, and Amara was doing the same as she all but carried Prompto up the slippery slope.

"There's another incline up here! Noct, are you gonna be okay?"

"Do I have a choice?!"

"Good point."

Letting Prompto stand on his own, the redhead decided to go check out that other bit of the waterfall, feeling a lot better about it when she realized it was only about another five feet that they actually had to go up – then there was a very dry path to follow.

"Good news guys! We don't have to climb the whole thing!" she looked over at the others when they came to join her and reached over to Noctis when he reached her. Grabbing his wrist, the woman pulled him up to where she was standing while the others climbed up the watery slope as she had – Prompto complaining at the freezing temperature that she couldn't say she had actually noticed (thank you waterproofing boot spray and super thick socks). All together there, she took a moment to reach out with her senses now and picked up quickly the tug of magic from one of the Arms.

"Alright, I think we're getting close. But that tunnel is a little snug and I don't want all of us charging through when we don't know what's on the other side."

Ignis nodded and stepped over to her. "What do you think, Noct?"

"I think she has a point. The hunters aren't allowed to come in here for a reason, and since we don't know what that reason is, I think it's best to assume it's something dangerous."

"So, what's the plan?" Iris was still smiling brightly, despite how serious the others had turned. "Send a scout?"

"Send a Glaive. Amara, you're up."

"Alright," she nodded, trying to not betray her relief at being able to go alone. Giving Ignis's hand a squeeze, she turned and started down the rock tunnel, only pausing long enough to tell the others to try and dry off while she was gone.

Her path was rocky-only for a few yards before she found herself stepping onto soil and grass, and a glance ahead of her revealed a grassy hill with a few bare trees poking out of it.

And something she had only seen once before.

'A Bandersnatch? How did it get here?' she asked herself as she tiptoed from the mouth of the tunnel, deciding to cloak herself in magic before venturing further. Since trying to fight it off would asking too much under the current circumstances, she stayed close to the rocky outcropping that seemed to bar the area from its surroundings until she reached what she was looking for.

Being sure to step lightly in case of any echo, the woman poured magic into the door to the royal tomb as she unlocked it – stalling it from fulling opening so the loud stone on stone rumble wouldn't alert the monster outside. Pausing long enough to say a quick thanks to the Pious, she reached out to accept his scepter, and power, while bracing herself for a backlash that sent her to her knees.

Child of Magic blood, this scepter will cast the final blow to the plague within you. Accept my power fully, so the next part of your growth may begin.

Amara gasped when she opened her eyes and saw what looked like black goo or blood running from her skin, seeming to be pushed out by a light that was faintly glowing from within. It stopped after a few moments, leaving no trace (thankfully, how would she have even tried to explain that?), and leaving her to quietly slip back from the tomb and seal the door once more.

Moving as quickly as she could without being too risky, she loosed a kukri when she reached the tunnel, and let herself warp back to where the others were waiting. They looked at her expectantly, but though Ignis was also showing a fair bit of concern that made her realize she was still slightly out of breath from the magic blow.

"I found the tomb, but there's a bit of a problem. A Bandersnatch is hanging around not far from the entrance, and there's no way all of us can get past it without a fight. I'm not sure even two of us could actually. There's a lot of tree debris around the edges of the area and it's all rocked off from everything so we can't really go around. There's going to be a fight."

"Then let's go."

Amara nodded but looked to Iris. "You need to stay near the tunnel – Bandersnatch are known for charging around recklessly. Prompto, you too. Try to snipe its joints like when we're fighting the MT armor. Gladio, try to keep it focused on you so Ignis can get under it and attack it where it's weakest. I'll take Noctis around the edge to the tomb while you guys keep it busy and join you once he's inside."

"Sounds like a plan!"

Not really the kind of plan she would have liked though. The guys were looking at her in disbelief when they actually laid eyes on the creature and it soon took notice with a very loud snarl. It was only a moment later that Noctis and Amara were warping around the rocky edge to the tomb, and as soon as she had it unlocked for him the woman was warping right back down the center to join her friends. Spearing a lance in the now furious creature's back she used the lance as a foothold while she summoned one of Gladio's broadswords and went to slice through its neck – only to be thrown off when it slung itself around to go after the others.

She landed hard on a nearby rock, feeling several bones crack from the force of it and her skull split as her head slammed into the stone.

Already weakened from gaining the arm – everything went dark. But it lasted only a moment before all the pain was forced from her body. Her vision was overtaken by a white light, with a pair of familiar hands soon reaching out to her to seemingly pull her into it. Warmth flooded her, bringing with it a surge of almost electric energy, and when her vision finally cleared, she was aware of a red haze across her eyes.

Able only to focus on the enemy before her, Amara allowed herself to fall back on the instincts that were prickling at the edge of her memory. She felt the energy flood the air around her, felt her fingers wrap around the cool metal of the weapon that came to her first. The beast before her roared, and she allowed herself to melt away into her magic before warping after it.

The guys couldn't believe what they were seeing – Amara, laid out on a rock, with a glow starting to envelop her. Blue, the purple, then red: the glow pulsed until it turned yellow, and her eyes opened again to reveal a blazing red color in her irises that they had only seen once before.

When Noctis summoned Ramuh at the imperial base.

Amara wiped the blood from her head as she stood, baring her teeth at the Bandersnatch that was now thoroughly focused on her and the insane amount of energy she was giving off. Lightning crackled around her as she raised her hand and summoned a scythe they hadn't seen before, a scythe that she held easily despite the magic she was pouring into it.

"A-Amara?" Ignis couldn't help his stutter, staring wide-eyed at the woman who's sudden "awakening" of sorts had him remembering everything she had told him about her particular circumstances.

The Bandersnatch roared at her, and she was gone. Her body seemed to melt into the air as she warped after the creature, swinging her weapon around with lighting magic pouring out like a trail in its wake. The blade ripped through the beast's midsection, spilling blood that had barely begun to hit the ground before she was on the other side – this time ripping her scythe through its neck. The creature jerked away just enough to keep it from being a fatal blow, but it didn't make it very far.

Amara poured her energy into her magic and filled the beast's body with electricity that scorched it from the inside out. It hit the ground with a thud, it's wounds still crackling with leftover lightning.

The others watched Amara land softly on the ground a few feet away, holding her weapon at her side for a moment before it faded back into the armiger. Noctis, who had decided to stand out of her way while she was overtaken now warped in to catch her as the energy and magic left her all at once and sapped her of whatever might have been left. Murmuring filled her ears from the past rulers as her friends tried to pull her back to them.

Focusing instead on her uncle's voice as he tried to comfort her, she allowed herself to fall limp in her cousin's grasp.

Noctis looked at the Glaive in horror, then to Ignis as he knelt down to take her from him. His advisor's face was unreadable as he lifted the woman close to his chest, running a gloved hand across her face and through her hair to find the source of the blood still staining the rock she had been thrown into. There were no wounds to be found, and he conveyed as much to the others before he finally stood.

"We need to get back to the haven. It'll be too dangerous to try and leave the Thicket with her like this."

"Gladdy and I will go ahead and get everything set up."

"No, take Noctis and Prompto. I'll need Gladio to help me get her down the waterfalls safely."

“So Ams,” the blond smirked, looking at her from the corner of his eye as he pretended to give the round of King’s Knight he was playing attention. “Are you and Ignis… Y’know.”

“I don’t and I don’t think I want to,” she grabbed his hand and twisted his arm up and off of her.

“Amara, are you hooking up with my advisor? Yes or no.” Noctis crossed his arms, looking at her intensely. “Just be honest.”

“What the actual hell has gotten into you two?”

“You two have spent every night together since we met up at Hammerhead, he’s always the one you head for first, and vice versa for the most part - which is actually getting a little annoying – and I think you and I both know he’s not the type to pay attention to random little things we mention in passing, but he remembers everything you even begin to mention.” The king leaned over to stare the glaive in the eye as he poked the necklace she had yet to remove for bed. “So? Are you hooking up with Iggy or not?”

“What are we not allowed to be close to each other or something?” the redhead grimaced. “Guys, he’s just worried because of how all this with the Arms is fucking with me.”

“I don’t think it’s only the Arms that are fucking with you, Amara.” Prompto whistled innocently when her glare turned on him. “Just saying. He was unusually worried about you during the whole kidnapped by the Empire incident. Yeah sure he wanted the Regalia back too, but he was ready to kill someone to get you back.”

“Guys-”

“We’re not going to say anything if you are, we just want to know ‘cause ya’ll keep looking at each other like you want to run off at any second.”

“Oh, for the love of – I’m not dealing with this tonight. First, I have to fight that fucking Niff bitch, now I have to deal with this from my own friends?” Amara stood and stalked over to the bathroom door, banging on it until they heard something shift inside. “Ignis I’m being interrogated out here! Hurry up or else!”

They couldn’t hear what he said back to her, but it made her glare at the door for a moment before she produced an odd little bag from her pocket. Pulling out a few little tools she surprised them by making quick work of the lock – soon pushing the door open.

“Get the fuck out, my turn.”

“Tell that to the shampoo.”

“I will drag you out if it means getting away from these idiots right now.”

“You can try.”

“Ignis Scientia don’t challenge me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, pretty girl.”

“Oh, you son of a-!” The guys watched her face start to burn before she could finish her sentence and couldn’t hold back their laughter when she squeaked. Ignis soon stepped out of the bathroom, still dripping water that left trails on the fabric of his sleep pants and turned a sharp glare on the giggling boys.

“She does have a point you know. So, would you two mind not being pains for tonight? Perhaps you could even attempt to hold off until we reach the Cape?”

“No promises Specs.”

She wasn’t sure when she finally managed to fall asleep that night, but it wasn’t long before now the now-familiar scent of sylleblossoms were flooding her senses. She found herself walking through a field of them, looking over their various colors as she tried to make sense of why she was there once again. Amara was almost happy to finally see someone else there and began to step carefully through the flowers, hem of her sage green dress held carefully above her knees, to make her way over. Somnus was the one she found waiting for her, and he held a hand out to her as she neared him.

“Amara has the pain of the plague returned any since my last visit?”

“No, it hasn’t.”

“As good as that is to hear, don’t expect it to stay that way. The next arm may very well return the pain to you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.”

The man gave her a gentle smile, holding her hand gently when she accepted the one he had offered and leading her through the field until a tall white tower appeared before them. Though he didn’t take her near it, the sight of it alone was enough to make both a sense of familiarity and foreboding, wash over her.

“Amara, even though it may be asking the impossible, do you remember anything of the time you spent in our time? Before Ardyn and Aera cast you through it to where you landed.”

“No, but things seem to be coming back a little bit each day. I don’t know if I’ll ever remember it properly, but then again…”

“As adjusted as you are to this time, it may be for the best.” Somnus seemed to understand what she had wanted to say, but a knowing smile on his face made her suddenly remember her conversation with the man’s grandson before she had gone to bed. “So, the King’s advisor, huh? How do you think he’ll take it when he finds out you’re a Lucis Caelum yourself?”

“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, don’t you have some answers for me?”

“Of course, but I think someone else would like to speak to you first.” Her uncle motioned ahead of them, where she was surprised to see another person coming to join them.

“Amara.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, darling,” the woman smiled gently, sending a pang of recognition through her. It had been Aera she had received visions of after all! “Oh, how you’ve grown. You look so much like your father.”

“Are you sure that’s a good thing?” Somnus was teasing, and gently ruffled his niece’s hair, but Aera shook her head with a frown.

“Our time with her is limited Somnus, let us not squander it all.”

“Of course.”

Amara awoke with heavy eyes to the sound of her friends chatting away near her, Ignis’s hand resting on her arm as he sat beside her on the bed, sipping his coffee. Shifting her arm slightly to let him know she was awake, she waited until he stood before she sat up, running her fingers through the tangled mess of her hair as she glared half-heartedly at the guys.

“Morning Ams!”

“You look like hell.”

“I made coffee.”

“Morning guys…” she rubbed her face as she stifled a yawn. Ignis was quick to pass her a cup of coffee after she threw her legs over the side of the bed, earning a quick mutter of thanks before she all but chugged the drink. But when she finally sat the cup down, she was surprised to see her usually sleeping king staring her down like she had grown a second head. “What?”

He shook his head but glanced quickly behind her, making her attention turn that way. It was hard to be sure, but for a split second, she swore she saw her mother standing there, looking like a ghost. It only lasted a moment though, and when Amara looked back to the raven-haired man, he only gave her a nod.

“Uh, about that.”

“I don’t think I want to know.”

“What’s going on?” Prompto and Ignis were looking as confused as ever, glancing between their friends while they tried to figure out what happened. “What? What?”

The Glaive shook her head, standing to walk over to the coffee pot. “Just a ghost, nothing to worry about.”

“A ghost?!”

“Someone we know?”

“Someone she knows.”

“Yeah, yeah, I seem to attract ghosts since way back when, but don’t you do the same highness?”

“I don’t think messengers count as ghosts.”

“I’m talking about the fox.”

“Pip’s not a ghost, she’s a messenger. Just not the same way as the others.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Prompto whined, rubbing his neck as he tried to keep up.

“I daresay it’s best we don’t know.” Ignis brought the redhead her cup to refill. “Gladio and Iris went for a quick run. We’re going to head out once they return.”

“Alright.”

“Oh, and Iris wants you to give her your Glaive uniform for her to stitch up. I’d suggest you allow it since she had the better threads to take care of it.”

“Yeah, and you don’t want to wear such a messy uniform once we hit Altissia, do you?”

“Not going to worry about that for long!” the Amicitia siblings gave the group a pair of smiles as they walked into the room. Gladiolus was quick to look to Amara though and nodded to her. “Monica gave me a call. She’s got a Crownsguard uniform and fatigues for you, Sergeant.”

“Lovely,” the redhead muttered, dumping an absurd amount of sugar and creamer into the remaining coffee of the coffee pot, mixing it up and drinking it from the pot, earning a scoff from the Advisor who was still trying to give her back her cup. “Hey Iggy, can you go ahead and get my uniform for Iris so I don’t forget?”

“Of course.” He almost sounded defeated but left her to chug the remainder of the coffee so he could retrieve the Kingsglaive’s uniform. The Glaive joined him to retrieve some clothes for the day as soon as she finished her stolen drink, disappearing into the bathroom to change as the others began discussing what the plan would be. As it turned out, their random little runs through Lucis had left them missing quite a few out of the way royal tombs, which would need to be visited before they took off for Altissia. When Amara rejoined them, she found the guys looking over the map of the tombs, trying to figure out some sort of circuit for them to run once they had dropped off Iris.

“Sorry sis, as much fun as it is to have you around-”

“You guys need to worry about this more than me, I got it.” Iris smiled brightly, not at all offended. “Besides, I’ve got a uniform to patch, I’ll be plenty busy.”

The redhead couldn’t miss the look of relief on the Shield’s face if she wanted to, so she cleared her throat to try and get some of the tension out of the air. “Have we marked off the ones we already have?”

“Well there’s only four of the ten marked on this map, so yes.”

“Alright, ready when ya’ll are.”

And just like that, they were loading up and setting off. With their little caravan driving over the bridge to pass the fort they had knocked out of commission only the night before, it wasn’t long before the concrete ramparts halted to let them slip into more open terrain. Passing by the drop-off that signaled the river was nearby, it was only a few more moments before the vehicles turned off the paved road and started down a tree-lined old one, and Ignis was left to hold onto Amara a bit more tightly as she weaved speedily down the winding trail – Noctis not even trying to keep up anymore, only to pull over at an old parking spot with some lumber piled up off to its side. Letting the advisor hop off as she cut the engine, the redhead quickly had her bike parked off to the side and straightened up her clothes as the Regalia pulled in to join them.

“What the hell Amara? What happened to traveling together?” Noctis was trying to fuss at her, but he almost sounded like he was pouting.

“You’re here aren’t you? Ergo, together. Let’s go.”

“Do you even know where we’re going?” Gladiolus didn’t sound pleased as he walked over, leaving her to produce the map of tombs and unfold it.

“Right now, we’re going to head south a little way to get to the entrance to the thicket, which should be around here. Then, we just cut through it, try not to die, and get to the tomb that should be at its deepest point.”

“Alright, lead the way Captain! Uh, Sergeant!” Prompto grinned awkwardly, but Amara dismissed him with a shrug before she began to walk down the ill-kept road to where the path to the thicket should start. It was only a few minutes past the parking area, and with the guys chatting away about Caem and His Majesty’s ship, it wasn’t too long before the older woman was leading them down an old gravel path to a large metal bridge.

“Looks like there’s gonna be a fight on the other side.” She broke into their conversation, pointing out the less than friendly looking creatures that they were undoubtedly going to have to take care off. “Seadevils.”

On edge once more, the others followed her across the bridge, not at all surprised when the creatures began to act hostile as they neared the other end. Pulling Prompto up to her side before they stepped off, she pointed out a spot on the creature’s skulls. “Seadevils are capable of shooting high-pressure blasts of water, and we’re just out of their range. Can you make the shot?”

“Well, there’s only two of them.”

“If you miss-”

“I never miss!” True to his word, as soon as he was sure of what he was aiming at, the monsters were dispatched, and the group was left to clamor down the rocks to start up the uphill path into the thicket. It was a steeper slope than they had expected, so it wasn’t long before Ignis and Gladio were falling back to stay with Noctis, who every so often found himself stumbling on the gravel – and reminding Amara about his bad leg. Hadn’t it been an injury when he was a kid or something? She couldn’t remember how or when, not that she would have been told anyway.

Turning her focus to keeping an eye out for whatever creatures she could hear crying out in the woods, she was actually kind of relieved when Iris and Prompto came to join her in the lead. Despite their teasing, she knew Prompto was one hell of a marksman, and Iris was the daughter of the Crownsguard Captain/King’s Shield, so also a good fighter in her own right, at least from what she had seen of the girl during training sessions.

As they approached a curve towards the top of the slope, Amara realized she’d have to hope training would be enough. A small group of Spiracorn were staring at them, digging their hooves into the dirt and shaking their heads. They weren’t going to let the group pass quietly.

“Keep Noct back!” Amara shouted before losing a kukri, warping into the monsters before allowing herself to summon a sword from the armiger – Noct’s old sword Masamune, she realized when it was a bit heavier than she had expected. The massive katana made quick work of a few of the closer Spiracorn, but also left the redhead with a new issue that left her returning it quickly to the armiger and warping the hell out of the brush she had found herself in.

“Killer bees!” she warned, though Prompto’s squeal of alarm when one of the massive insects decided to charge them was a bit more effective in getting everyone’s attention. Summoning now one of his spare pistols, she jumped in front of Iris and began firing shots off at the nuisances, not wanting to get stung or worse – hit with their venom, which was known to cause confusion on top of poisoning you. Leaving Prompto to take care of the other Spiracorn while she (and moments later, Ignis) got rid of the bugs, their path was soon clear once again for them to continue.

“That must’ve been why they were already so riled up,” Amara muttered to herself, kicking one of the insects’ bodies out of their way with her disgust clear. Allowing herself a shudder before she continued, she decided to keep a kukri in hand for the moment, happy to find the slope they were now climbing was much gentler – and hopefully less of a pain to get up. From a break in the trees, she could see the sun was already high in the sky – it was around noon now, she guessed, and her stomach agreed.

However, she didn’t have time to worry about hunger, she could hear the sounds of another group of Spiracorn nearby as they neared the next curve in the path. Motioning for the others to follow, she climbed over the old wooden rail and began to cut through the brush, being careful to look out for any more bees as the guys followed her – hopefully around another fight. It ended up being a bit father to get around than expected though, as yet another group was spotted not far away when she had led them back onto the path.

Finally though, after another climb up the steepening path, they found themselves walking onto a stone-lined path, covered in moss with trees and shrubbery climbing the rocks that now shielded them from the woods.

Grabbing a bag that had been so conveniently left in the room the woman threw her things (and the bottle of wine and poetry books) into it, throwing it over her shoulder and took off with her kukris in hand. Knowing it had to be Lucians throwing the Imperials into such a panic, she didn't hesitate to slice the throats of any MT or human troop that crossed her path, grabbing a gun from one of them before she got outside the little compound. A woman in strange clothing was the first thing she saw when she burst out though, and something about the stranger made Amara freeze in her tracks.

"Daughter of Adagium, the Oracle sends you her blessing. She asks for you to continue to serve the Chosen King and awaits you now across the sea. A message will come to you then, should the twelve Arms of Lucis be found in time."

"You… A messenger?"

"Go forth, your power will come to aid the Chosen when he needs it most." Amara blinked, and the strange woman was gone – leaving only a chill to the still damp air in her wake. More confused than she had been in a while, Amara took a moment to look around for anything else strange, only to spot a piece of strangely shaped glass that seemed to have an electric current to it. She reached out to it tentatively, and though shocked when the current absorbed into her and joined her magic, the sight of the glass disappearing in a pile of sand worried her a bit more.

The Stormsender seeks to aid all helpers of the Chosen who can bear his burden. Daughter of Adagium, his blessing to you has been received – use it well.

"Stormsender?"

But the sound of metal striking metal nearby distracted her and sent her running towards it. Slipping between rubble from the explosion and the remainder of the Magiteknology on the base, she soon ran through a gate and spotted Ravus standing before her friends – with Noct having summoned the Royal Arms.

"Should the Chosen fall, that too is fate," she heard Ravus speak just before she warped in between the two nobles, shocking her friends and making Ravus scoff. But she didn't have time to say anything before she heard a sound off to the side – looking over to see Ardyn had joined them. Noctis dissipated the Arms, glaring at the man.

"I'd say that's far enough." The Chancellor smirked at his daughter, strutting over as Ravus turned his back on him. "A hand, highness?"

"Not from you."

Amara let Ignis and Prompto get in front of her, turning her attention to Gladio who was clearly in pain (though the slight dent in the side of the Regalia behind him also caught her attention).

"Oh, but I'm here to help."

"And how is that?" Ignis snarled, standing ready to attack at any moment.

"By taking the army away."

"You expect us to believe that?" Gladio was on his feet again now, and clearly looking for a fight.

"When next we meet, it'll be across the seas." The redhead chuckled. "Just so happens we have business of our own with the tutelary deity. Don't we?"

Ravus turned slightly as he was spoken too, catching Amara's eye for a moment, but saying nothing.

"Fare thee well, your Majesty, and safe travels."

As the Imperial duo left, Prompto looked between his friends before his gaze finally landed on Noct. "You guys, know that guy?"

Ignis muttered for a moment before nodding. "Ravus Nox Fleuret, first son of Tenebrae… and older brother to Lady Lunafreya."

Noctis growled in displeasure for a moment, but Amara was already climbing in the car – effectively reminding them of why they were there in the first place. With Noctis jumping behind the wheel and the guys climbing in after him, they were soon pulling out onto the road outside the base, though only once they were well down the road did anyone speak again.

"Did anything happen to you while you were there, Amara?"

"Other than whatever made your hair grow like that."

"What did make your hair grow so fast? I mean, it's only been a couple days!"

The woman smiled for a moment, looking around at them. "I missed you guys."

"We missed you too Ams, though I think Specs missed you the most."

The Advisor scoffed, lifting some of his friend's hair from her shoulder. "So?"

"Apparently I was in really bad shape after fighting the MTs at the Disc. They had to use so many potions and stuff on me, it made my body regenerate like crazy, which made my hair grow super-fast. My nails did too, but I guess they decided to keep those trimmed so I wouldn't claw their eyes out or something."

"Other than that, though?"

"I was out for a couple of days, and Ravus was the one who got stuck watching me. Once I woke up, I spent most of my time with Ardyn playing chess." She shrugged. "I did learn something about him though – he really sees no need to keep pawns for long. If he issues any kind of commands in the same way he plays, I think we're going to start running into a bit more trouble from the Niffs."

"What? We were stuck running around Duscae, and you were sitting comfortably playing chess the whole time?!"

"I was a captive of the fucking Empire. Ardyn wanted to play chess, I sat my ass in a seat and played chess. I already knew I was still in Lucis and I found out the Regalia was on the base, the only thing I didn't know was if I could get to it and get the hell out to find you guys on my own."

That seemed to sate them for the moment, and she was able to lean against Ignis to enjoy the ride back to Lestallum to meet Iris (and get her motorcycle). Only once they were back in the city limits did anyone speak again, though only to ask about the sudden surplus of Imperial flags donning the city. Amara shook her head, taking a moment to swap her stolen bag for her other one, and quickly checking her bike so she and the guys could head for the Leville. Strangely enough, there wasn't but a few people on the streets – making them pick up the pace to hurry to the hotel. Iris met them in the lobby, tearing up the second she saw her brother.

"Oh, Gladdy."

"What's wrong?"

"I let you down. I never made it to Caem. The empire came while you were gone." Iris choked on a sob, turning to lead everyone upstairs to a room so they could talk privately. Deciding it may be best for her to leave them too it, the older woman hugged Iris's shoulders on the way up the stairs but excused herself to the next room once they reached the top. She ducked into the bathroom, dropping her bag beside her, and began washing her face furiously, then scrubbing her teeth as soon as she had dug out her toothbrush. When it proved to not be quite enough – she threw herself in the shower and ran a soapy rag over herself until she was sure she'd damage her skin if she continued. So she got out, and dried herself to throw on her green pajamas, hesitating when she remembered her father had bought them for her.

The thought made others begin to race through her head as she dressed, with none of the dead nobles giving her a word of advice as they had before. Further clarity concerning her lineage was doing nothing to clear up her forgotten history: to be honest all it was really doing was confusing her – making her feel more guilty.

The product of a union between members of the two most powerful magic-retaining families… she didn't feel like she had what it took to bare the fact proudly just yet.

She was staring at her reflection, the bags under her eyes and the long, untamed mess that was now her hair when a knock brought her from her thoughts. The bathroom door slowly opened, and she was met with Ignis standing there, suddenly looking a lot more tired than she remembered as he peeled off his shirt.

"We're going to Caem."

"When?"

"Tomorrow. We need to see what preparations need to be taken care of so we can head for Altissia as soon as we finish gathering the arms… We should probably look over that map of yours before we set off tomorrow." He looked at her, the bags under his eyes looking even darker with the shadows falling across his face the way they did, as he face his already bare fingers through his hair to make it fall. "A lot happened while we were gone…"

"Some bad things, judging by Iris's crying," she nodded, and looked over at her friend again. "I didn't see Jared or Talcott around."

"It was Jared."

Amara sighed, shaking her head. Although she had met the man several times before and grown fairly fond of him after visiting the Amicitia household as many times as she had, she couldn't make herself feel too upset about it when she thought about how hard Talcott and the siblings would be taking it. "What happened?"

"A Niflheim officer struck him down on the street."

"I see."

The woman let him slip behind her in the bathroom, setting his glasses aside to wash his face while she took a moment to look at him.

"You know, I don't think I've seen you shirtless before Iggy. Didn't you say something before about appealing changes?"

"I didn't think you'd have it in you to joke around after news like that." He was patting his face dry, but still managed to give her a glance out of the corner of his eye.

"Being in the Glaive so long, jokes are the way I deal with bad news now. Sorry." Amara sighed, picking up a brush to try and get the still damp knots out of her hair. Her companion was quick to take it from her, making quick work of the tangles as he watched her reflection in the mirror. He ran his fingers through it as he watched her eyes follow the motions.

"It does look good long, but don't you think it may get in the way in a fight?"

"You think it looks good?"

"Ah… you don't?"

The woman smiled slightly, waiting until he put the brush down to look at him directly. "I do."

"So, we'll have to figure out something to do with it."

"I already have some ideas, but for now I'll just tie it back for bed." She let Ignis watch as she retrieved her ribbon from her bag, and after carefully pulling her hair up back used it to tie it in place, though she let her bangs stay free and frame her face. The man seemed to fight himself for a moment, then reached out to brush a few strands behind her ear. His eyes searched her face for a moment, looking at every scar from the magic ones to the one from Insomnia – which his fingertip traced softly.

"Are you certain nothing happened while you were with them, Amara?"

"No," she admitted, closing her eyes to focus on the warmth from his hand as she tried to figure out what to tell him.

"What?"

"Ignis," the Glaive couldn't meet his eye for a moment, but when she did, she met a gaze full of concern. It was almost overwhelming, and not from guilt this time. "I'm sorry."

"For what? What could you have to apologize for? I don't think anything could top being able to communicate with the old kings."

"Even if it turned out that the reason I can do that is because there's a chance Bahamut has marked me for something? A chance I only ended up in Insomnia on that street for Rosemary Solis to find me because my abilities with the crystal's magic was too important for Bahamut's plan for me to wind up dying alone somewhere?"

"Well it certainly would explain a bit, though not why one of the kings tried to kill you."

"About that… when I got down to the Arm at the Disc, the king – Somnus – actually appeared to me. He was the one I thought tried to kill me, but he wasn't actually trying to. King Somnus was trying to trigger some latent ability to awaken fully, but to do that he had to try and get rid of an issue that one of my parents had passed on to me when I was conceived." She paused, reaching up to wrap her hand around his and pull it from her face. "Every time I speak to one of them and they give me their knowledge and the 'Arm', the power of the Arms hurts me because it's burning away a bit more of it since he couldn't that first day."

"An issue you say?"

"It's not something too bad, it's just really badly affected by light magic like Arms, and Noct's Armiger."

"So, the more Arms he gathers, the more this issue is fixed?"

"Yes, it's just so much more painful because my body is being tricked by the problem into trying to defend it. You know, like when you're really sick and your body tries to reject medicine?"

Ignis nodded slowly, taking a moment to take in the new information. He finally sighed after a few seconds and looked at her again, turning his hand to squeeze her slightly. "I think we should get some rest before you make any more revelations."

"Yeah," she giggled softly, making him smile for a second before she slipped past him and headed for the bed. Peeling back the covers to climb in, Amara watched him turn off the light and join her, though not before ditching his slacks and going to firmly shut the traitorous blinds that were allowing the light of the rising sun to fill the room. The woman allowed herself to press into his side as she had the first night in the caravan, relaxing when she felt his arm wrap around her. But she surprised him when she pulled herself down from the pillows so she could rest her head on his chest properly.

"Are you cold, Amara?"

"I can't be cold around a space heater like you, Ignis," she joked, feeling her face heat up. "I just wanted to be a bit more comfortable."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say you had a fever from as warm as your face feels."

"Shut up, this is not the time for that kind of talk."

Ignis shifted, forcing her back against the mattress as he held her down gently by her shoulders, hovering over her as he sat up. "Then when is the time?"

"Ignis-"

"Amara, you were missing for days," the man looked down on her with a look she had only seen once before when they were still kids - after Noctis had returned from Tenebrae. "Every time we have another success with Noctis you end up getting hurt in one way or another, Chancellor Izunia clearly has something in store for you that I don't even want to try and imagine, and now the Empire has begun to show it clearly could not care less about its image in Lucis which means at any given time we could become a target for their attempts to get to Noct… or die for getting in their way."

"That's exactly why, Ignis. We need to focus on Noctis, and making sure he gets the Arms, and now the covenants. We can't afford these kinds of distractions."

"What if… What if I told you it would be less of a distraction?"

The woman could help but smile again, reaching up to brush her finger tips against his cheek. "Ignis, you're the Hand of the King now. He has to be your first and only priority."

The man frowned, but nodded, though he still didn't release her. Turning his face into her palm, he fixed her in a strangely intense look instead. "Then let me be selfish, just for tonight."

"It won't be just tonight, you know that. Besides, there's a chance I won't want to give you back."

Amara gasped as she awoke, sitting up carefully when she realized she was still tucked in bed beside the quietly dozing Prompto. Ignis was gone, though a quiet conversation and the smell of coffee alerted her to where he was. The woman carefully shifted out of bed and went to the kitchen area to join her friend, surprised when he hooked an arm around her and held her protectively against his side, earning a chuckle from the redhead across from him, though Amara wasn’t blind to the flash of anger in his eyes. It seemed like Ardyn was almost showing a bit of protective nature himself, though his daughter doubted her friend could see the way his eyes had sharpened ever so slightly.

“Aren’t you two cute. How long have you been dating?”

Ignis huffed, reaching around behind him to pour another cup of coffee for his friend. The woman against his side felt his hand flinch on her waist, as if he hadn’t realized his own actions. “We aren’t.”

“Oh? But you look so comfortable holding her like that. Not to mention how easily you’ve jumped to her side every time something has happened.” Ardyn was teasing them, though a look beginning to emerge on his face made the woman gently break free from her friend’s grasp. Ignis gave her an apologetic look, his eyes darting to their new companion as he watched her finish making her coffee.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that, Ardyn.” The Glaive chuckled, reaching for the sugar. “I’ve been having a bit of a hard time recently. Ignis is just trying to make sure I don’t take another tumble.”

“I see,” her father mocked but dropped the subject and his sneer. “Don’t tell me your interests lie in one of the others of this little group?”

Amara didn’t mean too, but she couldn’t help but snort. Ignis looked at her with an arched brow, while she decided to stare a hole into her coffee cup. “Absolutely not. Let’s get the guys up, Iggy.”

“You get Prompto, I’ll get Gladio and Noct.”

“Yeah. Uh, Ardyn you might want to move your legs so Noctis doesn’t trip over you.”

“Oh dear.” The man did as she suggested, tucking himself away just so as the duo left to get their friends up. Prompto was thankfully already sitting up in bed, pulling on his boots. He turned to her with a smile before he leaned over to grab her clothes from the floor.

“You must’ve lost something, eh? Your stuff is all over the place.”

“Yeah, my fricken ribbon decided to disappear. You don’t see it do you?”

“Yup!” he grinned, untangling the item from one of her shirt’s buckles. “Must’ve gotten wrapped up while you were looking for it.”

“Must have.” She smiled, taking her clothes and waiting until he had stepped out of the room before she changed. Pulling everything on quickly, she checked around for anything that might have gotten scattered and gathered everything up. Ignis was soon to stick his head in, giving a nod.

“I’m just making eggs and toast. Is that alright?”

“Considering how bad the area around the Disc is rumored to be, I think we need something heartier.”

“Would you mind stepping to the carts and seeing what they have then?”

“No problem.”

It wasn’t long before the group was digging into the breakfast Ignis had made, as well as the sausages and fruits Amara had managed to get. Once everything was cleaned and stored away again, the guys gave Amara another concerned look, waiting until Ardyn stepped out of the caravan to go start his car.

“Hey Amara, did anything weird happen last night?”  Noctis questioned, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. “I feel kinda odd.”

“Yeah, same.”

“Mhmm.”

Amara pretended to be concerned herself, pinching her chin as she tried to feign thinking. “No, everything was fine. I think Ardyn was knocked out before anyone else, and none of us really moved last night… Maybe it’s because of how close we are to the disc now? I mean, my head hurts a bit more than yesterday but otherwise…”

Noctis seemed to buy it, nodding agreement when she brought up her head. “Yeah, that’s probably it.”

“If you guys are sure.” Prompto rubbed his neck. “Anyway, shouldn’t we just go ahead and get this over with?”

“Yeah.”

And just like that, she was climbing back into the passenger seat of her father’s car – giving the guys a wave as they pulled out onto the road.  Doubling back the way they came from the previous night, Amara tried to focus more on the sound of the Regalia’s engine as Noctis no doubt tried to keep from falling as far behind as he had before.

“” Absolutely not”, eh?” Ardyn’s chuckle pulled her from her focus, making her look over at him. “I just realized how intensely you said it. Pity, had I noticed earlier could have teased you both a bit more.”

She felt her face heat up, having not realized herself how what she said must have sounded. Burying her face in her hands as she groaned, she was unprepared to feel Ardyn’s hand pat her head as he slowed the car down to make another turn. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, of course not,” he laughed, and allowed silence to return. Trying to ignore the churning feeling in her stomach, the Glaive opted to stare out at the rocky landscape as the car raced down the long, curving road. Not looking up again until she realized he was slowing down, approaching a large blockade that she recognized as being Niff guarded. He pulled his car up and aside of the late gate, putting it in park as the Regalia pulled up beside him.

“You’ll be on your own from here, darling. Take care.” He gave her a soft smile before motioning for her to hop out, so she watched him look up at the gate as she walked around the car to join her friends, climbing between Gladio and Ignis in the backseat.

“Better not be a setup,” Noctis growled at the redhaired man, who only looked at him with feigned hurt.

“Have I given you reason to doubt me?”

“You don’t really inspire confidence,” Prompto muttered.

“Yeah, not very straightforward,” Gladiolus added, shifting in his seat to make a bit more room for the woman. Ardyn clearly chose to ignore that part instead calling out towards the top of the blockade.

“Hello! It’s me! Be so kind as to open up!”

The guys gasped as they heard the alarm begin to sound, the gate opening up for them.

“Wow, that worked?” Prompto looked back at them in confusion.

“I may not look like much, but I do have some influence.” Amara shuddered at the tone her father was speaking with now and was grateful to feel Ignis’s hand move to rest atop hers. “Aren’t you glad we came together? Heh, your audience with divinity lies ahead.”

“You’re leaving?”

“I drop you at the Archaean’s open door, and with that, bid you farewell.”

Despite the tense atmosphere that was engulfing the group, Noctis carefully drove the Regalia through the open gate – watching the road as he hurried to get past the line of waiting drop ships within.

“We’ve met some weirdos,” Gladio muttered as the King slowed to be a bit more cautious on the rocky path, earning a grunt of agreement from Ignis – whose hand tightened around Amara’s.

“Hope we never meet that one again.”

“Little harsh there, don’t you think?” Prompto asked curiously, clearly not wanting to be too hard on the man that had helped them but piped up again after a being met by a few moments of silence. “Guy really knew his nursery rhymes.”

“Nothing creepy about that!” Noctis groaned, but everyone fell into an uneasy silence as the road began to slope downward, a steep cliff off to their right and rough terrain ahead of them. The raven-haired man could hardly keep the speed slow as the path got a bit steeper, trying to maneuver carefully around steep curves until the path came to a dead end beside what appeared to be old ruins.

“Hey, are those familiar…?” Amara muttered as they were forced to climb out of the car, looking over the dirt covered stone remains for a moment.

“Who knows.”

“She’s right, look at the stone pathway.” On edge for a different reason now, the group hurried to follow the path, heading into a brief tunnel that opened almost immediately into a long, partially enclosed area whose floor was covered by stone slabs, more pieces of old building stone sticking up here and there.

“These ruins…”

The others followed as Noctis took off at a faster pace, leading them across the area and around a corner – only to pause when something else very familiar came into view.

“Is that what I think it is?” Prompto looked at his best friend, who nodded slowly.

“Didn’t expect to find a royal tomb here,” Ignis looked at Amara, arching his brow to ask her silently if she was alright. Strangely, there was no old monarch buzzing in her head yet, making her wonder if this tomb belonged to that one.

“Would be a shame to not grab that power, eh, highness?” the guys weren’t paying the duo any attention, though her gaze was locked intensely on the Arm lying just ahead of them.

“Let’s grab it and go.”

As the three ahead of them moved to grab the Arm from the ruined tomb, Amara dug her nails into Ignis’s hand when he attempted to offer it to her.

“I think it’s the one from then.” She muttered to him, looking a little fearful. “I don’t know what will happen when I try to reach out to it, but no matter what I’ll need you to keep them busy.”

“Alright.” They started towards the trio as Noctis reached out to receive his ancestor’s powers, and almost immediately Amara found herself taking a sharp breath – fire pulsing through her. But no sooner had the glow of his crystalline weapons faded did a massive earthquake shake the ground, knocking Prompto clear off his feet and sending even Gladio to his knees.

“Here we go again!” Prompto yelped, trying to get back to his feet.

“This one’s huge!” Gladio shouted, already getting up to get to Noct’s side.

“Get away! Quickly!” Ignis didn’t even care that his voice cracked from fear, grabbing Amara’s arm and dragging her less than carefully away from the tomb floor. Noctis couldn’t move though, and Amara was floored by the pain as well, as the earthquake sent another shock of magic and visions through them. They watched in horror as the tomb disappeared from below the King’s feet, sending him hurtling down in a cloud of dirt and dust that Gladio dove in not a moment later. The trio left above the cliff watched in amazement as the meteor beyond them began to shift and lift, but as soon as it had settled the boys rushed to the edge.

“Noct, you okay?!” Prompto called down the cliff towards the two brunettes.

“Thank heavens you’re safe. Is there a way back up?” Ignis couldn’t hide his relief at seeing his two friends standing there on a lower cliff, though a brief glance at the Glaive who was trying to get her hands to stop trembling made both blonds realize there was more than one problem to deal with.

“No, but there’s a path. Gonna see where it leads.” Noctis called back up to them but seemed to realize something else. “How’s Amara?”

“Shaken!”

“You guys take care of her, then try to get down!” Gladio shouted, looking to where his friend was motioning.

“Very well, we’ll look for a way! Be careful now!”

“You too!”

“What?! We’re going where?!” Prompto’s panic echoed off the stone around them, though he quieted down quickly when his friend groaned.

Amara shook her head at them, getting to her feet and looking at Ignis. “I have to get to the Arm.”

“Surely it’s lost?”

“No. The royal arms can’t be lost that easily.” She was trying to reassure herself as much as her friend, though Prompto’s confusion was clear when she looked at him. “Make sure Iggy doesn’t hurt himself. I’m going to meet up with Noct and Gladio below.”

“Wait, what’s going on?”

“I’ll explain later. For now, let’s just say I have some unfinished business with that old king.”

Hurry along, pet, I’ll be waiting.

She looked at Ignis in surprise, making him give her a confused look of his own before she shook her head. Walking carefully over to the edge, she reached out her senses towards the rubble below until she felt the familiar prickle of magic – pulling a dagger from its holster before giving the blonds a smile.

“See you boys down there.”

“Wait-”

“Amara!”

The woman allowed herself to jump from the cliff, hurling her dagger towards the rubble below and feeling the air become charged around her before she warped. It was only a moment before she stood atop the debris that had once been the floor of the Tomb and gasped slightly at the sight of the King’s statue, clasping his sword, resting lightly atop it all a few feet away.

“Whatever you want to tell me, at least make sure it’s worth how much this is gonna hurt.” Reaching out, she felt the magic of the Arm burn but meld into her own power – accepting her far too easily before it joined the others in her possession. Even the burning pain from earlier ebbed dramatically, leaving her to look at her hands for a moment before fixing her attention on the stone man.

“Is… Is that it?”

I’m not the monster you seem to think I am, Amara. The woman whipped around and gasped at the sight of a raven-haired man in way too old clothes standing before her. Looking a bit too much like Noctis, he smiled slightly at her confused and shocked face.

"I think he knows I'm a very safe driver, so why not?"

"Safe, but a tad unpredictable at times. Perhaps it would be better for her to take one of our spots in the Regalia, while one of us rides with you instead."

"Have fun Specs!" the trio turned to watch the other part of the group come down the stairs with all their bags, including Amara's from her room. Noctis smirked at his advisor, not even trying to hide how amused he was. "I don't think any of us need to get near her after yesterday."

"Noct, as your friend and a Glaive fully capable of kicking your ass into next week, shut up." Amara smiled sweetly, "Unless of course, you want me to run off to Altissia ahead of you and spill everything to Lunafreya. I'm sure I could find some way across the sea, just for the sake of embarrassing you."

"Speaking of, don't think I've forgotten that I need to find out what you've already told her."

"My lips are sealed."

"Ignis, I command you to find out for me."

"Sorry Noct, but this one is above my paygrade as either a Crownsguard officer or your advisor."

"Don't you outrank her though?"

"No, she's actually currently one of the only four officially ranked officers left. Our activities with the Guard are more for practicalities sake since we're technically both your first and last line of defense. Gladio is the only one among the three of us with a rank, though he doesn't have an officer's title."

"You have to actually fulfill Crownsguard assignments to gain rank, and he didn't have too many opportunities since he's your Shield." Amara nodded, smirking in triumph for a few seconds before something hit her. "Hey, wait, what do you mean after yesterday?"

"Wait, were you just threatening me without even paying attention to why?"

"It's kinda just force of habit to threaten embarrassment upon you at this point. I heard 'I don't think' and just kinda zoned out on the rest."

Gladiolus grinned, walking over so he stood beside the duo and leaning into them. "He means the way Ignis acted when he found out you might be on the base."

Amara flushed brightly when a glance to the side showed Ignis fidgeting slightly, suddenly very interested in the lens of his glasses, before she began glaring at the taller man and then at her snickering former classmates. "You two can it."

"Ah, it's good to hear her fussing again," Prompto laughed, walking over and slinging an arm around Amara's neck. "Come on Ams, I'm sure you already know we were all freaking out trying to get you back."

"Of course, she knows, Ignis isn't the only one around here that cares about her," Noctis added, pulling the blond's arm off the woman. "Let's get going already. Specs, you ride with Amara. I'll drive the Regalia."

"Alright, but just so you are aware we should make a stop at Malmalam Thicket on the way there to procure another of the Arms."

"Alright."

It only took a few minutes for all of them to make their way to the vehicles and re-stow everything away. Iris was the first to get settled in the Regalia, taking Noct's usual seat in the back. Unusually, all the guys were quick to buckle up once they took their own spots, leaving Amara and Ignis to exchange amused looks before climbing onto the redhead's motorcycle. The man wrapped a steady arm around his partner's waist as she turned the engine, letting her wave to the others before heading up the ramp and out of the parking area. Noctis was quick to follow her out of the city, though Ignis was chuckling in her ear about the distance he was keeping between them.

Heading in the direction of the waterfall tomb, the little journey looked like it would be smooth sailing for them all the way to the Thicket – until a buzz filled Amara's ear. Looking up, she growled at the sight of one of the Empire's flying fortresses coming in above them. The sound of the Regalia's engine roaring closer was the only interruption, with Noctis pulling alongside them with a grim look. Ignis shifted slightly behind her.

"We should find a spot to pull over," his hand tightened on his partner's hip, no doubt reminded of the news he had received the previous night.

Amara nodded, glancing at her friend's. "Old Lestallum is just ahead! We can stop there!"

Falling back behind the Glaive, the group looked ahead of them to the small town that was quickly approaching. They were quick to pull into the parking lot of the hotel on the main street, parking there and asking Iris to stay put while they went to take care of things. Deciding to take the Regalia, despite her previous 'capture', the group hopped in with Amara behind the wheel, letting her take them out of the city towards the old Lucian base the Fortress had landed in.

"Surprised to see them this far out," Noctis grumbled, adjusting the bracer on his arm and making Prompto sigh.

"Leave no plot of land unconquered."

"Those aren't conquering numbers," Gladio pointed out, a growl to his voice.

Ignis nodded, looking over at Amara as she gripped the wheel a bit tighter. "Likely building a supply line it would behoove us to cut."

The redhead agreed, turning down a street that led away from the Base's entrance and following the tall walls as the guys made a few comments about how the base looked. Pulling over not far beyond the wall's uphill curve, Amara sliced the wires acting as a guardrail before climbing back into the car and maneuvering it carefully off the road. After a quick (and careful) disguise job, the group was following the Glaive up the hill, through the brush. Heading quickly up the slope Amara soon found an unwatchable part of fencing that acted as a makeshift wall between the base and some of its supply pipes, cutting them a hole in the shadow of the inner walls and motioning towards a concrete slope that stretched upward some feet in front of them. Looking up they could see a guard tower situated on the upper level and looked to Amara questioning.

"Noct and I will take out the guards, the rest of you stay out of view for now." She was speaking quieter than they had heard in some time, motioning for everyone to follow her, then at Noctis when they reached the crest. The King threw the first warp, taking out a sniper on the stairs of the tower as Amara threw one of her Kukris, warping over to take care of a Trooper in the tower's shadow. Hearing the sound of metal hit the ground made the other few troops in the area show themselves, only to be taken out with expert precision before they could ever fire off a shot. The others joined the duo soon after, and followed Amara up the stairs to the lookout, sharing a few curses and groans at the sight below them. The base was already much farther set up than anticipated, with the fortress's tail acting as a conduit to spread the MT generator's power across the area.

Noctis sighed, looking over it again before turning to his friends. "So, what's our plan?"

Ignis took a moment to think, then looked at Amara. "Find the base commander and take him into custody. Targeting metal men will yield little in the way of reconnaissance, but bones bend easily. We'll split into two groups."

Amara shook her head. "No, three. I'm going to head for the generator."

The men looked at her for a moment but nodded when they saw her glaring down at the machine. Ignis sighed softly, shaking his head.

"Prompto and Gladio can generate a diversion."

"Aw, yeah! Making a scene's what I do best." The man laughed, cracking his knuckles.

The taller blonde smiled for a moment, then looked to his King. "Noct, are you prepared?"

He got a nod in response, making Prompto smack his friend's shoulder lightly. "Operation: To Catch a Commander is go!"

Amara looked at the guys but only took a moment to wish them luck before losing a kukri down to a sheltered area behind some shipping crates. It had taken them a bit longer to get to the base than she had realized, she noticed, as she slinked through the shadows that were growing darker by the minute. She didn't want to risk checking the sky to confirm her suspicions, so hoped the guys were being careful to avoid any demonic distractions the Niffs had held on several bases she had infiltrated in the past.

Slipping beneath a tarp when she heard metal clad feet getting close to her, she willed herself out of sight using Noct's magic as she had been trained to do with King Regis's, and tried to ignore the slightly more red tint bleeding into the purple edging the crystalline fragments surrounding her from the magic.

Not moving until she was sure she was in the clear, the woman snuck back out, dispersing her magic so she wouldn't drain herself further as she slipped through the shelter of more supplies until she found herself nearing her target. Watching for any patrol before making her next move, she slipped along the edge of the inner wall, ducking behind what she could to avoid being lit up by the harsh lighting of the center of the area. Heading quickly up behind the Generator when she was close enough, she set to rigging a Firaga flask to its base, then warping herself up onto a platform before she threw a lower level flask at it, igniting it with a loud explosion that sent a shock through the base – setting off alarms and awakening a large MT armor that she hadn't realized was manned, but the Generator stayed running, though it was fluctuating wildly.

Realizing they must have re-enforced them somehow after the last base was taken out of commission, she was happy to hear the guys joining her before she dove headlong into attacking the MT power supply, letting them handle the armor. Hacking at it with strong blows of a broadsword was enough to dispatch it after the explosion had weakened it, so she found herself quickly warping in to help the guys. With Gladio and Noctis attacking the armor's legs and Prompto sniping its joints, she set to disarming it – though she and Noctis were warping after it when the surprisingly agile armor leaped into the air and landed several feet away, perfectly situated to rain missiles on them.

The duo were quick to remove the launcher from action as their grounded companions moved in, and were successful in setting one of them off directly in the face of the armor – making it succumb even faster despite themselves barely missing being caught in to close range explosion. Between the four of them, it didn't take much longer, leaving them darting out of range before it exploded itself.

Hearing the laser gate locking them in with the armor die out, the group turned to watch a peeved Ignis approach, frowning as he looked at them.

"Glad to see you lot were successful."

"Does that mean you weren't?" Noctis almost sounded shocked, with agreeing expressions on their faces as they looked in surprise at the advisor. He made some sort of motion at them as he shook his head.

"I placed our captive into the Hunters' custody, but I've just been informed he's fled… He lives to die another day."

"And I'll gladly help him with that," Noct growled, rubbing his shoulder. "For now, let's head back to town."

The group muttered their agreements, following the Advisor back out of the area and heading for their exit.

They had hardly made it into the open when the sound of a grunt from above them left the guys looking at Amara in shock when she summoned a crystal barrier over their heads and a sword to her hand. Jumping in front of Noctis she blocked the incoming spear of a woman clad in Niff emblemed clothing, letting her barrier dissipate when the woman kicked herself free, only to launch another blow that locked them close together.

"Hey pretty girl," the woman seemed to purr before launching herself backward and away from them, landing gracefully a few feet away as she laughed. Gladiolus darted in front of the King as the redhead dissipated her sword to draw her kukris, looking at the Niff female with a smirk.

"Hey Aranea, long-time no ass-kicking."

"Oh, so you remembered me? How sweet! Unfortunately, I'm not here for you today Glaive."

"You're not getting Noctis." She was aware of the others jumping in front of their charge, though she didn't risk a glance to see who was where.

"Well, let's see what you can do!" Aranea had hardly finished speaking before she shifted her weight and darted around the group at an incredible pace – directly into her target, who was lucky to warp through her strike and avoid it. Knowing his fighting style wasn't suited to dealing with the Niff's heavy dragoon lance, Amara used one of her old tricks and left Gladio trying to not fall on his ass when she leaped up onto his shoulder, then off of it into the air where she summoned her own lance.

Quickly balancing herself, the redhead brought the full force of her body weight down with the lance between the other woman and the King, cracking the ground from the force of it. Warping through the enemy's attacks, the Glaive dispersed her spear and switched back to her kukris, using the small blades to knock away the lunges of the lance trying to hit her. Aranea was getting angrier by the second, and finally shoved her away before leaping high into the air – hovering there long enough to begin spinning quickly as she rest her foot on the hilt of her spear, building up speed and torque that would be sure to do a lot of damage.

Realizing what was at stake, Noctis and Amara both warped after her and left the others to deal with the MTs that were starting to arrive on dropships no doubt alerted by any number of alarms on the base. They were cleared out easily enough as the duo chased the bigger threat through the air and from platform to platform, at one point managing to slam her face first into a metal beam, until she finally managed to knock both back to the ground below, only to perch rather unimpressed on another platform above them – looking like she was checking her watch of all things as she peeled her helmet off.

"Aw, is it that time already?"

"What time?" came the question from the more than confused king as he rubbed his wrenched wrist, looking less upset by the whole situation than he had earlier.

"Quittin' time," Aranea shrugged. "Sorry, but this girl doesn't work after hours. I could, but there wouldn't be a single gil in it for me. Hey, we should play again sometime, pretty girl."

Amara tried to come up with a retort, but the Niff had already leaped high into the air, and into a waiting dropship that was an oddly bright shade of red. As it took off from the base, Noctis couldn't help but look over at the Glaive with an even more confused look.

"Who the hell was she?"

"I'll have to explain later, for now…"

Prompto sent a nod her way, turning to his friends. "I'm still worried about Iris."

"I imagine she's fine," Ignis didn't seem particularly concerned, instead using a potion on his liege then tossing one to the redhead, but Gladiolus seemed a bit more worried.

"But we shouldn't keep her waiting."

It was a quick agreement before the group was hurrying from the base, pausing at the edge of the lights to look down at the dark expanse separating them from the Regalia.

"Amara, I don't suppose…?"

"Prompto, you and your flares are coming with me this time."

"Aren't nursery rhymes curious things?" the guys just gave him a confused look, though Amara knew what was coming. "Like this one: 'From the deep the Archaean calls… Yet on deaf ears, the gods' tongue falls. The King made to kneel, in pain, he crawls."

"So how do we keep him on his feet?" Prompto spoke, concerned but hesitant, stepping aside as the man walked through the group, giving the woman a smirk they others didn't see.

"You need only heed the call. Visit the Archaean and hear his plea… I can take you."

While the man waited patiently a few feet away, Amara allowed the guys to huddle up loosely with her.

"We in?" Gladio clearly wanted nothing to do with it but looked at his king anyway.

"I don't know." Was the reply, making Prompto pipe up.

"We take a ride...?"

"But watch out backs." Gladio finished.

"Fair enough."

"Let's do it."

Looking over at their "guide" Amara almost shuddered at the too-nice smile he sent their way. He turned to walk up the steps to the cars parked on the level above them.

"I'm not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction. Please, call me "Ardyn"." She hadn't thought he would introduce himself so blatantly, but it seemed that without his last name attached to it – the name didn't mean a thing to the guys. "Follow me to the car park, that's where I left my automobile. She's a dear old thing – pales in comparison to your Regalia, but she's never let me down. We can take both cars, a caravan of sorts."

"I'll just ride my bike between you two then."

"Oh, that motorcycle up there is yours? Dear girl, the Disc is no place to travel on such a thing. If there's no room with your friends, you can just ride with me instead."

Everyone was startled by the arm Ignis threw up in front of the woman as he glared daggers at the man, though the sudden concern was shared by the others as well. With a deep breath, she stepped around the man, turning and giving everyone a slight smile.

"He may have a point. We can come back for my bike later." She stepped close, motioning for the others to do the same. "Besides, I may be able to find out some more from him without you guys glaring at him like he just shot me or something."

"I can assure you she will be safe with me," Ardyn called to them, the door to his car already open. Amara gave them a nod and a smile, turning on her heel to go join her fellow redhead. He closed the door to his convertible as soon as she was in the seat, then turned to the others. "Let us be off then?"

Her friends were shooting her a few more looks as they hurried to get into the Regalia, though her attention quickly shifted to her trickster father as he got behind the wheel and pulled ahead to the ramp out of the parking lot. With the others soon behind them, they were off – heading out of town towards the open blockade gate they had passed through on their way to the city.

"You're disguising yourself again. How?"

"I'm not so sure I should teach you just yet. Perhaps tonight, after your friends are no longer watching you quite so intensely."

Amara sighed, looking out at the passing wilds. Ardyn hummed softly for a few moments, then let a hand leave the wheel to rummage through his jacket.

"Have you had a good birthday so far, Amara?" his voice was just loud enough for her to hear over the wind, making her look at him once more. When she did, she was surprised to see him holding out a small bag of specialty candies. "Ah, your mother's band looks even better on you in the light."

"My mother… Aera Mils Fleuret." She accepted the bag, though she hesitated before deciding to try one of the treats. Hoping it would put him a bit more at ease and make him more willing to talk she unwrapped one of the confections, popping it in her mouth but freezing when she realized just how good it was, though she couldn't quite place the flavor of it. Whoever had made the things was not kidding around.

"Oh, so you've begun to remember?" he smiled, watching her pick through the bag to try and decide which of the strange candies to try next. "The red one is my favorite. They're made from sweet wines – non-alcoholic though, I assure you."

"Bits and pieces."

"You were so young back then I can't be surprised. Besides, you hardly ever got the chance to see her unless she managed to give Somnus the slip and escape to visit me outside the Kingdom."

"Then, how did… I mean, how did I…" she faltered, but he seemed to know what she was getting at. Turning onto another road, he sighed and waited until the crinkle of another wrapped had stopped.

"We had managed to spend a bit more time together than usual, and I wanted to make it count. We didn't realize you were coming to us until later."

"I have one other question."

"I'm sure there are many more than that."

"Yeah… How long ago was 'then', and how did I get here? How did you get here?"

"Darling, I am an immortal, though I won't get into the details about how that came about just yet. However, the cause of my immortality is what made me and your mother combine our powers to send you away. Although we had no idea where or when you would end up, we knew it was a place better than where we were at the time. But, even Aera didn't know the whole truth, not at the time… It's been over two thousand years."

"Dad?" she was shocked, trying to fit that piece into the mystery she had hoped to begin unraveling a bit more than she was.

"A story for a later dear, for now, I say we ought to find a place to sleep for the night." It shocked her to look out at the horizon and see the sun setting already. Had they been on the road that long? As Ardyn turned the car down another road, she noticed a gas station coming into view, a caravan outside of it. He was quick to pull in to park there, and she was happy to see the guys pulling in soon after, even if they looked less than happy as they got out of the Regalia.

"What's say we stop for the night here?"

"What's say we continue on to the Disc?" Gladiolus growled.

"The Archaean's not going anywhere."

"Neither are we, under your stewardship." Ignis walked quickly to Amara's side, the others following closely.

"So we make camp – with Ardyn," Prompto whined.

"Hell no." Noctis interrupted, though the Shield only sighed.

"Might as well get the tent up."

"Oh, I'm afraid I've never really been one for the outdoors. I shall foot the bill, so let us stay in that caravan over yonder."

Unsure and uncomfortable looks were exchanged before the group reluctantly followed him to the caravan, allowing him to leave them to rent it before surrounding their friend.

"Did you find anything out?"

"Not anything useful." The woman shook her head and sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "More importantly, how long were we on the road? It seemed like it was maybe half an hour, but it's already so late?"

"Strange indeed." Ignis agreed. "He didn't do anything did he?"

"No."

"Good, then would it be okay for us to ask that you accompany Noctis and I for a few moments while Gladio and Prompto prepare the caravan to sleep us tonight?"

"Sure." The duo was sharing a look that put her on edge, but she followed them anyway – only to be swiftly pulled towards some abandoned cars off beside the station, past the few carts that were overflowing with various smells. Out of view and out of earshot, the men stood before her with looks of concern that were definitely meant for more than just her ride.

"Amara," Noctis gently lifted one of her hands and gave it a squeeze, looking her in the eye. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah of course," she shrugged, smiling slightly at her friends to try and get some of the tension out of the air. "I felt a little bad this morning, but after such a great wake-up call I feel fine."

He can sense your growing strength, child. Her father's voice? But it sounded different somehow. You will soon need to sever your link to him, 'lest he find out the hard way about your little quest.

"Amara, are you sure finding the Arms isn't taking too much of a toll on you? You've been different since I started getting them."

"Well, duh!" She laughed. "You're not just my friend anymore Noctis, you're my King – and every time you get a new Arm it affects me more than the others. I'm a Glaive, my job is to serve my King: act as a conduit for his magic and reflect his will in battle. Every time you gain a new Arm, your strength and magic strengthen significantly – and it not only affects me the way you've seen, it reminds me of what our positions really are. I'm sorry Noct, but I can't keep treating you as just a friend when every day you seem to grow up a little more."

"Why not?" Ignis seemed to be aware of her plan to get their companion onto a different topic and briefly nodded his understanding. "We all do."

"For now. Look, I'm not saying we're growing apart or anything, okay? You're still one of my best friends." Amara gave the shorter of the men a tight hug, pulling away after a moment to smile brightly. "I'm always going to hang around and remind you at the worst possible moments about all the embarrassing shit you did in high school."

"…Promise?"

"Yeah! As a matter of fact, I may or may not have let slip a few stories when I met Lunafreya in the city." The blush that raced up Noctis's face as he tried to figure out which stories she may have told was enough to make the woman start laughing again, shoving his shoulder. "I'm kidding! Mostly. Don't worry I didn't tell her anything bad."

"We're going to talk about this later Amara." Noct wasn't kidding, giving her a stern look though his flushing face betrayed his still lingering embarrassment. The king turned on his heel and stalked away, clearly planning some kind of revenge, but her view of his retreating form was blocked when Ignis stepped in front of her.

"Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind about telling him?"

"Not yet Ignis. He's going to have a lot more questions than you because of his connection to the old kings – questions I know I can't answer yet. Every time we find a new Arm, things clear up more, so it may only be a little while longer." She gave him a gentle smile, resting a hand on his arm. "For now, we need to focus on this Ardyn guy, and getting Noctis to the Disc safely."

"On that note, I think we should discuss your taking candy from a stranger." The man plucked a wrapper from where she had stuffed it haphazardly into her pocket. "Or did you think it would help get him to talk."

"Yes. Also, that thing was damn good. If you ever decide to start dabbling in other kinds of cooking, we're gonna try to make these." It must have been the look on her face, but Ignis couldn't help but snort slightly in response. Reaching up to cover his mouth he shook his head at her and finally led her back to the others, where they found Ardyn happily chattering away about some of his previous travels. The woman decided to stand in the doorway of the caravan while her partner got to work whipping up a quick dinner. Although her father seemed oddly comfortable towards Prompto, he didn't behave all too strangely as he conversed with the group – even patiently answering any questions the guys proposed.

Ardyn even made pleasant conversation as they all ate together, complimenting Ignis on his cooking skills and inquiring about how he had come to put the meal together. Though loathe to go too into detail, the advisor did remain polite, if a bit cryptic.

Before long they were all heading off to bed – with Noctis and Gladio sharing the far one and Amara curling up between Ignis and Prompto in the front one, leaving her father on the pull-out couch (which he had accepted without argument). It was a long while before the soft breathing of her companions filled her ears. She tried not to shift too much, but when Ardyn stepped into the small room she couldn't help but jump. He smirked and motioned for her to follow him, which she did (surprised when Ignis didn't shift in the slightest as she climbed over him). Dressing quickly in the corner, she soon joined him in the main part of the trailer and followed as her father led her from the caravan into the chilly night air.

"Follow me, Amara."

"Wait, what about the guys?"

"I have more than one trick up my sleeve. They won't wake until we return."

"Did you drug them or something?"

"Of course not, I can't have them bumbling around like idiots come morning. I used magic. Now, do you want to learn some of it, or not?"

She couldn't pass up that chance, she already knew it. "I do, lead the way."

He nodded and motioned once more for her to follow. "The first thing we need to do is see how much of my magic you already inherited."

"And how much of mom's?"

"Yes, but not for the same reasons. I can't teach you about your mother's magic, but it can affect how much of my own you may be able to learn to harness." He led her quickly across the abandoned road, then jumped over the wall to the ground below. Amara followed carefully towards the abandoned shack that sat amongst construction leftovers and piles of dirt and debris, then out behind it and beyond one of the large stones that separated them from the wild of the grassy slope that wound through large stones for some yards yet. He didn't take her much farther though, but standing in the open out of reach of the lights that kept the station safe – she might as well have been on a Glaive mission for as tense as she was.

"Alright Amara," her father looked at her expectantly as he pulled a glove from one of her hands. Holding the bare palm towards her, she hesitantly moved her hand to rest atop his – having to harness every ounce of willpower she had to stay still when a dark, purple-tinged glow erupted from his hand. Her own hand reflected it in response, though she didn't miss the yellow glow at the center. It seemed to be exactly what Ardyn had been looking for, though she could have sworn there was also a bit of disappointment (and sadness) in his eyes as well.

Ardyn dropped his glow and pulled his glove back on. "You do have a bit of my power, but it seems that your mother's is mixed in quite intricately. So, we'll start with something simple – using magic to disguise yourself."

"What do I need to do?"

"You've already unlocked your own armiger, so remember how you did it. Focus on it, but instead of seeking the armiger's power – seek the power you just felt in your hand and find how it flows within you."

Not at all convinced, but still very much aware of her position, Amara closed her eyes and did as she was told. Noctis' connection flickered at the edge of her own power, becoming blotted out as she sought out the power she could still fill tingling in her palm. The feeling soon began to spread through her, and she found that as it did – the cool air of her environment began to bother her much less.

The feeling of the awakened power was almost chaotic in a way, though it held a refreshing calm at its center. She felt its ebb and flow around her own armiger, though only the 'calm' could envelop the bit of Noctis's that she held. When she opened her eyes again, Ardyn stood there with a patient smile.

"Now spread it across your body – and focus on what you want it to do." Amara hesitated but focused again on the first thought that crossed her mind. It must have worked too because as she watched her father's face go through a variety of emotions before she found herself confident she had accomplished her goal. Shaking his head, Ardyn pulled his phone from a coat pocket, taking a picture before he turned the screen to her.

Standing there in the image was not Amara, but the person who had entered her thoughts first.

Aera.

"It worked?"

"Very well." The man gave a troubled smile, then a joking one when she reigned in the magic cloaking her. "Oh, there you are Amara!"

"Hey dad, did ya miss me?" was she seriously joking around with him now?

Her father stood before her dressed in white, with longer hair more neatly brushed to frame his face – and blue eyes instead of the amber he possessed now.

Beside him stood the woman who she had received visions of – Aera, with a smile on her face as she stood with a hand on Ardyn's arm.

Though neither spoke to her directly, their gentle gazes spoke volumes of their love and pride toward the girl, with sadness and guilt prickling the edges of the emotions.

A hand coming to rest on her shoulder made her turn, only to see her adoptive parents standing at her side – their faces reflecting those of her birth parents. Somnus stood somewhere between the two pairs, and though his back was to her she could feel an intensity around him that seemed to call her name.

Amara began to walk towards him, only to freeze when Noctis appeared at his side – facing her with a twisted express of fear and confusion.

Looking at him, thunder began to rumble through the air. Lightning struck the ground all around her, lighting the field on fire and filling the air with smoke so thick it consumed everything around her. Yet, the flames did not touch her – the smoke did not choke her. She held out a hand and watched both part in front of her, waving her hand so that the area around her cleared. Her parents, Somnus, Noctis, no one stood with her now. The sylleblossoms and wildflowers were gone as well, leaving only the sage plants growing about her – their leaves seeming to reach for her.

Their smell filled the air and Amara allowed herself now to slip into sleep.

Amber eyes opened and cringed against a bright light that filled the strange room. Letting a grunt escape her, Amara sat up and stretched, even though the motion made her realize how painfully stiff she was.

"You're finally awake." A gruff voice made her look to the side, where she was surprised to find Ravus standing in a doorway, a strange Magitek armor on the arm she distinctly remembered burning in the Citadel.

"Ravus Nox Fleuret, does this mean I'm in Niflheim?"

The man clicked his tongue, closing his eyes in a disapproving manner, "Of course not."

The Glaive looked at him a bit warily, but relaxed when she realized he was unarmed, and her Kukris were on the nightstand beside her. "Where am I then?"

"Still in Lucis, I assure you. The Chancellor demands it for whatever reason. Just as he demands I babysit you."

"Prince Ravus," she saw him flinch, but open his eyes to look at her, "I have no right, but I would like to ask you a few questions. Non-invasive ones, of course."

Ravus sighed, crossing his arms for a moment before deciding to enter the room properly and shut the door behind him. He stood in front of it though and looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Let me remind you, Glaive, that my allegiance is to the Empire."

"Of course. I won't ask you anything military related, or personal."

"Then speak and make it quick."

"How long have I been out?" she pulled her hair over her shoulder as she spoke, looking at how long it had gotten. Whereas it had only been just past her shoulders before, it now reached all the way down her back – though it remained as wild as previously.

"Only a few days. We noticed your hair as well, and no, before you ask, we can't explain it."

"Has Chancellor Izunia done anything that concerns me?"

"He's made a point to visit you often, but the strangest thing he's done is pet your hair and tell you stories. Although, one of my men swears he caught the Chancellor kissing your forehead one night." Ravus almost seemed disgusted.

"Has he told you anything about his connection to me?"

Now that caught the commander's attention and made his gaze snap directly on her face. "What connection?"

Seeing what could be a chance to put a bit of tension into the situation, Amara decided to stand now, and though her legs were shaky from her long sleep, she stood before him with her head held high.

"Chancellor Ardyn Izunia is my biological father." She made sure to change the purse of her lips to a sneer, and her gaze into a mischievous glare, adjusting the very way she stood to reflect her father's stance. It clearly shook the man in front of her, who couldn't seem to disguise his confusion. "I'd tell you to ask him yourself, but I doubt he'd give you much more than a riddle. He doesn't seem to want many people to know just yet but seeing your position I would have thought that you at least would be aware. Especially when he's placed you in charge of me while I'm unconscious."

"You can't really expect me to believe that," he finally spoke again after several moments of trying to collect his thoughts.

"Oh, go ahead," the duo looked over at the door they hadn't heard open, both surprised to see the object of conversation standing there looking a little bored. "It's true, but that doesn't mean I'll let it go if you let it slip anywhere outside this room, Ravus."

"Father," Amara looked at the man as she put her hands on her hips. "What the actual fuck."

"We still need to talk."

"The only thing that needs to be done is you letting me go so I can go find my friends before they get their dumbasses killed."

"Is that any way to speak of your Prince and his entourage? Especially with your feelings for-"

"I will stab you if you finish that."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone's stabbed me, darling." Ardyn chuckled, strutting past the confused high commander to rest a hand on his daughter's head. "Besides, I can't let you go anywhere until I'm sure you're alright. Speaking of, I hope your current quarters and clothing are to your liking?"

She hadn't actually looked around before he brought it up, so she took a moment now to examine the less than plan room – from its satin covered bed to the sturdy wood and leather furnishings, even a bottle of wine and a few books of poetry sat nearby, with a chess board set up on a small table beside them. Her clothes were neatly folded atop another table at the end of the bed, where she also spotted her jewelry and accessories, though a look down at herself showed someone had changed her into a forest green dress that almost seemed plain when she thought back to the dress she wore in the dream that was haunting the edge of her mind.

"Don't tell me you expect me to stay with you know that you've kidnapped me."

"Of course not, but there's no telling how long your friends will take in getting here without their dear car."

Realizing he must have the Regalia somewhere nearby, the woman narrowed her eyes. "Where are we?"

"Now, now, we have other more important things to discuss." The chancellor waved dismissively at Ravus, who seemed for a moment unsure before he took his leave, though not without another glance at the younger redhead. Ardyn waited until the door had been closed once more before he walked over to the chessboard, pulling up one of the nearby chairs to sit at one side. Amara soon made herself sit at the other and pretended to examine the pieces before giving her father a look.

"What's with my hair?"

"A side effect of sorts. You nearly tore your body apart taking out our Magitek the other day, and your body went into overdrive from the number of curatives we had to use on you to help speed up the healing process. I've managed to keep your nails trimmed, but I wasn't about to touch your hair." She took a moment to look at her nails, which were a bit longer than she remembered. "Of course, if you wish to cut it, I'd be happy to help."

"Maybe later," the Glaive looked at her pieces again before she moved a pawn into play. "What happened when you decided to send me through time?"

The man shook his head, moving a pawn of his own. "You were lost to me, only your mother had any idea of what really happened to you. However, she couldn't tell me anything. Bahamut had "blessed" her with some sort of knowledge about it, then sealed it away so that she couldn't speak of it."

You were sent where you were needed. "Is there any chance I was meant to end up here? Or do you think Bahamut meddled with it." She moved another pawn as she spoke, eyeing him cautiously.

"Could be either, could be both, only he really knows." Ardyn also moved another pawn, reflecting her own motions. Amara allowed a few moments to pass with only the click of the pieces being moved before looking at her father's face again.

"Who was Somnus?"

The man moved a knight a bit too roughly as if he were caught off guard. "I see you've remembered a bit more. He was… a brother to me."

"Are you the man who appeared in the old portraits with him?"

"Yes, though some also could have been of Gilgamesh, his shield."

Amara eyed one of her own knights, moving it to stand before her king in place of a pawn she moved already. Ardyn moved a bishop in front of his queen in reflection. A few more pieces were shuffled around, each of them reflected the other in some way. "What was the plague you were infected by? Was it the Star Scourge?"

"I see you paid attention in class. I guess you could say it was the Scourge, but I came to be infected by so much it affected me differently than the standard victim."

"Because you were of royal blood." Finally, a move left her losing a pawn to one of his own, only for her to take his in retaliation and leave him without another easy target. "Weren't you?"

"Yes. I was Somnus's older brother." The battle had begun now, each losing another two pawns before he stole a bishop and left her to make the hard choices.

"You were a Lucis Caelum."

"I was the elder Lucis Caelum."

"Where did Izunia come from then?"

"I don't remember anymore." He seemed to fumble as he tried to answer her, though still clearly trying to keep other things hidden for now. Losing a bishop and a knight brought him back to their game though. "Part of the curse of my immortality comes with the ability to pass it on, and in the process absorb the memories of those I infect. Sometimes I can't even keep my own memories straight from how many I've taken in."

"Then how can I believe anything you've told me?" she was beginning to corner him, and it made her father smirk as he looked at the board – seeing her finally move a knight into play properly. "Can you tell me that?"

"I can actually. For some reason, my memories involving you and Aera are remarkably clear. That's not to say there aren't areas that have slipped through the cracks of course."

He lies. Too many of his supposed clear memories are tainted, clouded by his hatred. "Why did you side with the Empire after all this? Did something happen to make you hate Lucis?"

"And its sin bearing royal line, yes, though I don't think you're quite ready to hear that part of my story darling. Check."

A rook was taken out by her king without much of a glance. "Does that mean that I'm actually a Lucis Caelum?"

"Yes."

"Check." His bishop was moved to block the path of her own rook. "Does that mean I'm technically a princess?"

"By all technicalities, however, because I was denied the throne due to the Scourge, I doubt you're actually able to lay any kind of claim. But you are also a Fleuret because of your mother's blood, so if it awakens properly you could always take on some of her Oracle legacy."

"I don't think I want either positions, thanks." She took a moment to take care of a pawn getting too close to her side of the board, then with her next move sacrificed a knight to take his queen. "I'm much more suited to a position like this, than one of power."

"You could have both."

"No thank you. Check."

"Finally using your queen, I see."

"And a rook won't stop me. Check."

"I suppose a quick moment won't either?"

"Not while my rooks are in play. Check."

"It's still too early to call." He smirked, using a pawn on his side for shelter, but frowning when she dispatched his other knight. "Well then."

"Check."

Ardyn glared at the board, moving his king again but looking surprised when she moved her remaining knight. "Not going to box me in?"

"You still have a bishop."

"And we have a stalemate now that you've blocked my last pawn. Who taught you to play?"

"I had to do something to earn a bit of extra credit in high school since I was always being called away for missions with the Glaive. So, I joined the chess club since it offered the most useable credits. I didn't tell the guys about it though, but Iggy caught me once and started playing matches with me during breaks when we were at the Citadel together. Last I checked he was ahead, 76 to 72. We haven't played since I graduated though."

"But you still remember the scores?"

"I wanna beat him one day, of course, I remember." Amara trailed off, allowing the thunder rumbling outside to distract her as her father reset the board.