Chapter Text
Her father was dead. She could feel the blessing she had placed on him disappear and return to her. It was a painful process but a necessary one in her eyes. And yet, she wished she had never placed it on him. She didn't want to feel him take his last breath. The returning of the blessing didn't feel like something was taken from her but as if something was returned. But she didn't want it. She wanted to be unwhole as long as it meant he was okay. But there was no point denying it. He was gone.
There was no point going back to the Citadel even if she knew his body would be there. The distant screeching from before echoed throughout the city. After climbing to the top of a building, Astra could see what remained of her city. There was fire everywhere her eyes turned, and screaming came from almost every which way. Her hands trembled, and she thought of Ignis again. She reached for her pocket but her bottle of pills was nowhere to be found. Must've fallen out during her fight.
She still had to find Luna, but she didn't know where to start. By this time, she could be anywhere with anyone. Then, she saw it. The reason for the screaming and screeching. The empire had dropped a Diamond Weapon, a daemon that made skyscrapers look small packed with weaponry that could annihilate entire civilizations within minutes. Astra had only ever seen them on the front lines. Niflheim wanted to make a point.
She was about to warp toward the Diamond Weapon when she heard distinct grunts and screams a few streets away from her. She looked for the source of the sound and found two trained individuals fighting off a small horse of lesser daemons. They were cornered and tired, but Astra turned back around and took a step in the Diamond Weapon's direction then faltered. The screams seemed to get louder and echo throughout her mind, not allowing her to hear her own thoughts. She felt a deep and constant pounding in her chest and jumped off the building.
She warped to the lesser daemons which were a lot bigger up close. She threw her sword into the daemons neck and warped to it, using her body's momentum to swing across its neck and cut it open. Before touching the ground, she threw her sword above the last daemon and after warping back to it, she landed on top of the daemon's back. She plunged her sword into its neck and let out her lightning, dispersing it throughout the daemon's entire body. The daemon fell dead, and Astra slid off its back, still holding her sword in her hand. The two trained individuals approached Astra, allowing her to recognize them as Monica and Dustin, Crownsguard retainers in service of House Amicitia. They were close to the Royal family, but none of that mattered anymore. Before they could get any closer, Astra raised her sword at them, and they remained still.
"Your Highness! It's us. Monica Elshett and Dustin Ackers," yelled Dustin. He was a man well into his years but still able enough to carry his sword with precision and strength.
"We've tried contacting Sir Clarus, but we've received no response," said Monica. She was younger than Dustin but just as skilled. If not even more.
Astra waited a moment to catch her breath. "Insomnia has fallen. The king is dead. And the Kingsglaive compromised," she said without lowering her weapon. Both Monica and Dustin looked at each other with wide eyes and worry. "If even the King's men were compromised, how could I not expect mine to be also?"
"No!" A young girl yelled as she stood in between Astra and the two Crownguards. She was younger and shorter than Astra. She was dressed lightly, and she was covered in dirt from up to her brown hair and down to her boots. Astra knew the one and only reason the girl was brave enough to stand up to her. She was a friend. More specifically, she was the youngest child of House Amicitia, Gladio's baby sister and Clarus' daughter.
"Iris," called out Astra without moving her sword. Without warning, both Monica and Dustin moved Iris behind them. They dropped their weapons and kneeled before Astra, but still, her sword wouldn't move.
"Your Highness! We understand the position you are in and will bear the fate you give us," said Monica on her knees.
"But we ask that you spare Lady Iris. Even if you cannot trust us. She is innocent," said Dustin.
"You don't even ask for a way to prove your own innocence," pointed out Astra.
The two Crownsguards looked at each other and then at her. "We do not know how," said Monica. Astra's eyes remained on the two. She observed the cuts and bruises scattered across their bodies whose clothes were covered in dirt. Behind them stood Iris with dirt all over but with no wounds or pain. Astra dematerialized her sword.
"Pick up your weapons and get up. I believe you," said Astra. Monica and Dustin reluctantly took back their weapons. They looked at her without saying a word. “Had you been compromised, you would’ve used Iris as a hostage.” The two nodded in understanding. Astra scouted the rest of the street from where she stood.
“Is it true?” asked Iris. Astra turned around to look back at her. Iris held onto the hem of her shirt tightly and bit her lip. “Is the king really dead?” Astra knew what she was really asking about. For some reason, Astra couldn’t get her mouth to open, and so she nodded her head instead, making Iris almost fall on her knees.
Iris couldn’t understand how Astra could stand there without saying a word or how she was so ready to take the life of Monica and Dustin, two Crownsguards she knew and trusted. She couldn’t understand how Astra wasn’t even crying. Iris wanted to yell at her to do something, but she couldn’t when she saw her face. Iris remembered how happy Astra was when she received her custom uniform, and now it was cut all over and ruined. Astra always had her hair down and neatly placed away from her face, but her hair was an uneven mess with dirt in it. But it was her eyes that silenced Iris. Astra, who always looked straight ahead to the person she spoke to, couldn’t meet eyes with anyone and looked anywhere else on their faces instead. They were red and puffy, and although it could be blamed on some dirt in her eye, Iris could see the streaks of dried tears on her dirty face.
“What are our orders?” asked Monica to Astra. Astra looked around. Monica and Dustin had been protecting Iris who sought shelter in one of the buildings along with other civilians; Astra could see more civilians hiding through the windows of other buildings. She could hear the distant screeches of the Diamond Weapon, but her focus was there with her people. She prayed her father could forgive her, but she could not abandon them.
“You were making your way to the city gate?” asked Astra.
“Yes, we were escorting Lady Iris and several other civilians,” said Monica.
“But the large crowd gathered the attention of the daemons,” finished Dustin.
“Alright. Monica. Dustin. You’re with me. We’re going to clear the path for everyone.” Astra then approached Iris. “Iris, I need you to take control of the people and guide them through the streets. Keep them out of the way, but keep them moving. Can you do that?”
Iris wiped away the tears that had escaped her eyes and nodded, “Don’t forget I’m an Amicitia.”
“Atta girl.”
Astra summoned her sword back into her hand. It felt heavier than before, but it still felt like hers. She walked down the center of the street followed by Monica and Dustin and embraced the fight. Not every street they turned to was filled with daemons, but those were the streets that scared Astra the most. It was the feeling of safety being ripped from you at the sight of a gruesome monster. Fortunately for Astra, Monica and Dustin weren’t the retainers of House Amicitia for no reason. They were both skilled warriors in their own right, more than capable of keeping up with Astra. Even when a daemon somehow slipped past the three, Iris was able to make quick work of it, making the Amicitia name proud. Astra wouldn’t have been able to take on all those daemons on her own; she would’ve collapsed before making it halfway. Using her magical abilities had its repercussions on her body, and she was beginning to feel it.
They traversed through several streets, picking up more and more civilians seeking refuge along the way. They stayed clear from the main streets and took the long route to the city gate. It took more time than expected, but the entire group had finally made it. They gathered beneath the highway that led straight out the city. There were stairs, leading straight up to the highway, that remained almost miraculously untouched. But it seemed that the empire focused its attack in the center of the city and ignored what surrounded its borders.
“Stay here and hide until sunrise,” Astra told Monica and Dustin.
“What about you?” Iris asked Astra. But her question wasn’t heard due to the sudden loud rumbling heard all throughout the city. Everyone turned every which way and analyzed their surroundings, but Astra found the cause of the rumbling before anyone else. In the distance where a giant statue of one of the Old Kings of Lucis stood, Astra could see the statue come to life and shake off the stone surrounding it. “What? But that power…”
It was the power of the Ring of Lucii. The power that belonged to her father and now to Noctis. Astra couldn’t think of anyone who could handle the power of the Lucii, and she feared the worst. An image of blonde hair and white clothes flashed into Astra’s mind, and she felt her heart drop.
“You’re going,” said Iris, quietly. “Aren’t you?”
Astra faintly smiled and nodded her head. “You can handle yourself, right?”
“Better than you.”
Laughing hurt, but Astra couldn’t help it. “I’ll see you around.” Monica and Dustin came up to Astra before they left with potions in hand.
“For the road,” said Dustin.
Astra thought about rejecting them but knew that they wouldn’t take ‘No’ for an answer. She took an energy potion immediately and stored away the rest. “Keep them safe for me,” she told them. She took off without saying goodbye. It wasn’t her thing.
She hotwired a car she found on the side of the road and drove it straight to the action. Even though there were no other drivers on the road, she bumped into several things along the way; fun fact, she was not the best driver. She thought she was the only one crazy enough to drive in the middle of the disaster, so imagine her surprise when she saw a car on the highway parallel to her several meters away. Astra knew someone important was inside the car by the fact that the Diamond Weapon daemon was chasing it, albeit at a slow pace due to its large nature but its ranged weapons got close enough to risk the livelihood of all inside the car.
Astra found a bridge that got her close enough to the parallel highway. She could handle the rest. She turned the car violently and hit the pedal, accelerating to the car’s full speed. The car pushed past the highway’s borders and flew into the air. Astra slipped out the car through the window and threw her sword far towards the highway. She timed it perfectly so when she warped to her sword she’d land directly on top of the car, and she did. Upon landing on top of the car, Astra could hear a woman and man scream at her thunderous appearance. Seeing the window was rolled down in the back, she threw in her sword and warped in. She prepared for an assault but felt an immense sense of relief when she saw Luna and a familiar Kingsglaive she once fought alongside on the frontlines, Libertus.
“What the— You don’t just warp into a driving car in the middle of a fight!” yelled Libertus.
“You weren’t gonna slow down!” Astra yelled back.
“Astra,” said Luna, gently. She sat in the front beside Libertus, but her entire body was turned to look at Astra as she gently touched her arm. Astra could see Luna struggling to get the words out.
“I know,” said Astra. Even Libertus’ eyes lingered on her. “I felt it. I blessed him. A while back.” Astra couldn't stop talking, but she also couldn’t find what else to say. It felt as though all the feelings she’d been pushing back would come pouring in like a waterfall. She coughed, “Tell me you have the ring.”
Luna raised her opened hand where the ring lay. She held it out to Astra, but Astra shook her head. “No, it’s safer with you,” said Astra. The daemonic screeching sounded louder than ever, making everyone turn to look. “Eyes on the road,” she told Libertus. But Astra’s eyes remained on the Diamond daemon. It was looking up, and that sight was almost too good to be true. It wasn’t just one statue of the Old Kings that had come to life, it was all the statues of the Old Kings that were inside Insomnia. They had warped atop the empire’s airships and were destroying them. Nifleheim did release more Diamond-level daemons, but they were all being taken care of.
“Not something you see everyday, huh?” Libertus couldn’t help himself even in the middle of all that.
“Where’s Nyx?” asked Astra.
“Always where the action is.”
That was more than enough information for Astra to know what fate awaited Nyx.
“Astra, you should know who—”
“Woah!” Libertus’ exclamation interrupted whatever thought Luna intended to deliver. Entire pieces of nearby buildings that were destroyed by the Old Kings’ fight flew towards the car and onto the highway. Libertus could barely dodge them. Astra began to climb out the window.
“What are you doing?” asked Luna.
“Making sure you make it out alive,” said Astra, throwing her sword towards an incoming large piece of rubble.
Her sword pierced the rubble and she warped to it instantly. She had only a few seconds to destroy the piece of rubble, so Astra released an intense wave of fire and lightning to tear the rubble apart to countless harmless pieces. But her work wasn’t done. Several more pieces of rubble came flying towards the highway, and Astra warped to them to repeat the process. It was as she was busy clearing their path that Astra noticed an armored figure appear in the middle of the highway. Even from afar, she knew who it was: General Glauca.
The car hit General Glauca head on but it did not harm him. Instead, he began slowing it down. Astra summoned her polearm and threw it to the car. She appeared right before him and now up close, she could see that a portion of his armor had been torn away to reveal a portion of his, resembling Skrell’s tarnished armor. Without looking at Glauca’s revealed face, Astra kicked him away from the car, but he held onto the car's door on the side. Using the car, Libertus pinned him against the highway's wall, and that’s when she finally got a good look at his face. It was a face she had seen growing up. A face she had seen daily. A face she trusted. A face that stood at her father’s side. It was Drautos.
Fury fueled her entire body. Her blood boiled, waking up every part of her mind. Drautos watched Astra come to the realization and smiled even as his armor was slowly scraping off. Using her shock to his advantage, Drautos dislodged his sword and swung at Astra, sending her flying off the car. She rolled on the ground repeatedly as the car continued driving. She tried getting back up but she immediately fell back to her knees. She popped out a potion and drank it; she didn’t even check what it was but convinced herself that it made her feel instantly better.
A statue of an Old King warped ahead of the car beside the highway and raised its sword. For a moment, she feared that it was about the strike down the car, but she saw how it instead cut a portion of the highway away. Miraculously, the car made it across without Drautos. The Old King stood between Drautos and the car, not allowing him to pass through. Even with the Diamond daemon behind her and ready to strike, Astra was ready to throw her sword straight into Drautos’ head until a voice called out to her.
“Astra!” A familiar voice yelled out.
Astra looked up at the Old King’s shoulder and found Nyx standing on it. He had seen better days. He didn’t move from his location, and Astra didn’t dare move from hers. But, she could guess what he wanted to say. She took a step forward, just a single step. And Nyx shook his head. She held onto her sword as tight as she could to the point she felt its shape burn into her palm. Then, instead of throwing her sword into Drautos’ head, she threw it past him and left the fight to Nyx.
She hated it. She hated it with every part of being. She knew that it was Drautos' fault her father was dead. She knew that it was his sword that pierced his body. Astra warped to the car that remained still, waiting for her. Libertus was already in the driver's seat, ready to take off with Luna sitting beside him. She stood beside Luna's door and only looked ahead.
"Did he know it was him?" Astra asked Luna.
Luna remained silent for a moment, "No."
Astra didn't know if she was relieved to hear that her father didn't know that his trusted military advisor was also his enemy and murderer. She didn't know what to feel, and quite honestly, she felt too tired to try to figure it out. So she shoved it down like she always did and carried on with her mission.