4The clanking and hissing of machinery was completely out of the ordinary in such humid jungles.
The Nifs never tried to hide themselves, their pride too big. In truth, they didn't know how—not like the Galahdians could.
A couple of them hid low in the brush, and a couple more hid high in the trees. They all watched as an Imperial mech lumbered through, struggling to get through the foliage. The many Magitek troopers that followed along had a much easier time. Their quarry—escaped POWs and the first group of rebels—were already way ahead of them.
"Okay. Give 'em hell." The leader whispered into Andromeda's ear. They crouched together in the brush. He looked up into the trees to the others, having better-trained eyes than the robots.
With little beckoning on her part, the jungle became darker as an omnimous wind picked up. Animals that were also laying in wait scurried away from the area. The Imperial entourage halted to look around.
There was a loud cracking, and then a large branch fell onto the mech. It staggered. The troopers took their battle stance. A shadow came upon the rear flank and threw the group against the trees. Most of them fell apart on impact.
The mech turned around, just in time to be bombarded by another tree branch that knocked one of its guns off completely. The remaining troopers gave a collective shriek, turning against the leading mech.
On cue, everyone jumped out with knives and guns ready. Andromeda joined them herself, charging at the troopers as they scattered between attacking the mech and the exposed humans. One pounced at her. She plunged her knife near its core, pulling the red-glowing mechanism out of its chest and sprinting away. The whole body blew up in five seconds.
She had had countless nightmares about them throughout her life as she learned more about them. Her chaotic power caused the daemon inside to go berserk, ignoring any orders given by human Imperials. They had attacked her several times. But now, she fought against them just like everyone else.
With the Magitek troopers enraged by the chaos, they would have been almost impossible for a group of humans to defeat. The chaos targeted everyone equally, but the humans were more aware of it than the robots. They dodged out of the way whenever the shadowy winds picked up the troopers and dashed them against the trees, the ground, and whatever else.
The mech was disabled through the efforts of the troopers and the rebels. Once the last of the troopers were defeated, the Imperial officer opened the hatch and began fleeing in the direction of his base. A couple of rebels took aim at him with their guns.
"Let him go!" Their leader boomed over the wind. "Don't shoot!"
Avoiding debris flying around in the chaos, the rebels watched the officer disappear through the trees. Some of them gave whoops. One of them clapped Andromeda on the shoulders. But the celebrating would have to wait until they were back at camp. The others could go ahead and leave. She had to wait until her power ran its course.
She didn't wait alone; Sonam, the camp's leader, stayed with her. They ducked low in the brush to avoid debris.
"Well, what do you think?" He asked. It was amazing how someone so stocky could find cover so well.
"About what?" Andromeda looked for signs above of the storm dwindling. All of the practice over the past couple of years had only strengthened these episodes. She no longer feared them quite as much as she used to.
"Do you plan on staying on with us? A lot of us agree you've earned your place."
She knew she had other obligations back in Lucis, but she believed in the resistance in Galahd. It seemed that they had made progress in the past several months. "I do. You're the only ones to stand up to Niflheim."
It was exactly what Sonam wanted to hear. "I'll speak to the Council on your behalf." He announced with a grin over the din.
The Council was more or less a select group of elders, but there were some younger people as well. They were each meant to come from one town or village in all of Galahd, but Imperial control made travel impossible for many of them. Only five members came from the nearest towns, but their decision carried the same weight as the whole Council would.
Sonam had requested a meeting regarding Andromeda's situation, of which the Council had been aware of for awhile. She had once been used to attack the resistance, sure, but she had spent the past year fighting on their side. She did not keep much from them. She had been raised under the Tenebraen resistance, and escaped when Niflheim finally squashed it. That fact alone gave her a little bit of honor among them.
Attitudes towards Andromeda had changed dramatically in the last year, largely in part because of her useful powers. Galahdians didn't care where they came from; they were happy to have an edge over the Empire. It wasn't likely that the Oracle would be bothered to visit their small island nation.
A normal Council meeting would have allowed all locals to sit in, but now meetings were held in private because large gatherings would alert the Imperials. With only five members present, a decision was quickly made: Andromeda had proven herself a warrior and had earned her place in Galahd.
For a typical Galahdian, they didn't need verification from the Council to undergo the rite of passage of the warrior. Andromeda was a foreigner, and if the Council passed the verdict, few would argue it.
Many believed her scars, which were exposed thanks to the tank tops she wore because of the hot climate, were the mark of a warrior. The Galahdians were very accepting of how deformed her body was because of them, but they were also blunt enough to ask about it. Scars had stories behind them. Andromeda was honest about it. All the scars meant was that she had survived the fall of Tenebrae. She had paid some kind of price for her abilities.
Scars were something to brag about in Galahd, but the true mark of a warrior was a tattoo. Both marks had meaning in their culture. Andromeda had seen plenty of tattoos during her stay, but when told to think of one, all she could really think of was the small tattoo her mother had had on her wrist. Her memory was blurry, but she thought her drawing of it was accurate to what it had been.
It was a brushstroke shaped to be a circle. One end was larger and darker; it had a mouth gaping open, a thin tongue sticking out. The other end of the circle was smaller and lighter as the pressure of the brush had gradually been pulled away. The tail did not quite enter the serpent's mouth, but the symbol still had the same meaning, whatever it was.
The scarring of Andromeda's arms had been renewed when she had healed herself of Starscourge, leaving little space for a tattoo. Her front was likewise out of the question. Andromeda chose to have it placed on her back, where she was least likely to get any more scars. The tattoo was placed between her shoulder blades. There would be few times where it would see the light of day. She could think of a lot of situations where she wouldn't want it to be seen.
Before the tattoo was properly healed, it was presented to the whole town for rebels and civilians alike to see. Though she lacked breasts—or even nipples—she had never been topless before. Luckily, her back faced most of everyone that was gathered. The Council members, usually staying away from any sort of rebel activity to keep the Imperials away, made a point to appear at the modest ceremony to enforce their decision. It wasn't needed.
Sonam had the honor of presenting Andromeda as a newly-adopted Galahdian. It was debatable whether larger nations would recognize this adoption, but it finally gave her citizenship somewhere.
There was much celebrating afterwards, as there would be for any birth or marriage where a new member was added to the community. As usual, Galahdian celebrations involved food and drink, although for this occasion, drink was more important.
Andromeda was thankfully allowed to put a shirt back on after being presented. She wandered through the camp, greeted happily by people who had seen her as an outsider just months ago. Now it seemed like she had always been there.
She was partially listening to a conversation when someone grabbed her arm from behind. Andromeda jumped, turning to meet the very hard stare of another young woman.
"Where the hell have you been?" She growled.
Andromeda blinked, taking a moment to remember her face and where they had met. "Hira."
Though they were both older now, Hira still seemed to have the punch-first-ask-questions-later attitude from high school. She did not punch Andromeda. Instead, she let go of her, though her brown eyes didn't get any kinder.
"Well? What happened?" Hira demanded, crossing her arms. "Are all the stories true?"
"It's a long story." Andromeda warned, not wanting to relay everything, or even explain that she had a god's blessing.
"I'll grab us some beers, then."
They found a somewhat quiet corner, but were often dropped in on by someone wanting to congratulate their new sister (the rebels had taken to calling her their "Tenebraen sister" a few months ago). They came in handy as Andromeda explained some of her powers; plenty of the other rebels could attest to them. Some even had scars from where they had been infected by Starscourge.
It didn't take too long to explain it all to Hira because Andromeda glossed over a lot of parts, especially about her time in Niflheim or any mention of Etro. The one thing she hadn't liked about Galahdians is how many seemed devout to Bahamut. There didn't seem to be any escaping that no matter where she went.
Even so, Hira's story was much simpler: she returned to Galahd once she turned eighteen to join the rebels, assuming it was the only way to avenge her older brother. Her younger brother was currently in college in Insomnia, but she hadn't heard from her family in a couple of years.
There was a sudden shift in the party. All celebrating quickly stopped, and the sudden quiet was palpable. News passed quickly among everyone: Imperials had come to town.
Hira swore as she and Andromeda, like so many others, crept closer to get a better look. An Imperial officer had marched into town with a troop of Magitek soldiers. The Council had quickly assembled itself before him. By now, everyone had gone silent.
Everyone was listening as the Council and the Imperial spoke, but someone had crept up and grabbed Andromeda's arm again. She turned to see a black cowl and hood.
"This way." The Glaive motioned to the dark jungle.
"You have no business here." Sonam's voice boomed as he stepped in front of the Council.
There was a sudden tussle that Andromeda couldn't very well see, but it ended with four troopers holding the rebel leader down. The officer had a gun trained on him, and the other troopers had their weapons drawn. He looked out into the crowd as he spoke.
"Surrender yourself, Andromeda, and your comrades will go unharmed." The officer then chortled, as if he had compatriots with him. "Or, if it's true what they say, hide behind that power of yours. Judging by the hour, I'd wager there would be no survivors."
The Glaive pulled on Andromeda's arm again, but her feet were firmly planted. Hira looked in bewilderment between her, the Glaivie, and Sonam pinned on the ground. Andromeda had never been taunted like that before. Though she had never seen him before, the officer seemed to have a very good idea of how her power worked.
Glancing down at the empty bottle in her hand, she took aim and lobbed it at the closest Magitek trooper. The glass shattered against it and it took aim with its gun. "Over here!"
Then she gave in to the Glaive's tugging, sprinting for the dark jungle. He swore and kept pace with her. The clanking of Magitek soldiers was close behind. The howls of daemons were not far off.
"I got her, but we got company!" The Glaive seemed to be speaking to someone that wasn't there. Andromeda was too busy running for her life to pay attention to what he was doing, but she understood when she was being address. "Are you insane?!"
She didn't answer. He turned back to their pursuers, and after a flash of light, several troopers screamed and perished. She nearly stumbled in surprise; she had never been so close to someone who also had some kind of magical power. The Kingsglaive had their king's magic.
The Glaive radioed in their general direction, and soon enough another cast magic at the remaining troopers and the daemons that had joined the chase. Or perhaps there were several Glaives hiding in the trees—she couldn't see any of them, but they all seemed to be just ahead of them. She just focused on running alongside the first Glaive.
Soon the Magitek soldiers were far behind them, but the daemons kept popping up. A hobgoblin popped up next to Andromeda. She took her kukri out and slashed at it, giving herself enough time to keep running. She didn't want any Glaives to cast magic too close to her.
Their running seemed to last for half of the night. Andromeda kept the large knife in hand and struck daemons when they were too close. The Glaives continued to use magic for those approaching. They couldn't stop and fight every daemon. Their progress out of the jungle was somewhat slowed as it was by having to attack daemons to knock them back.
They finally reached the coastline, where a small cruiser waited for them, tied to a shabby dock. Another Glaive suddenly appeared beside them with a thunderous pop. Andromeda hurried to put her kukri away. She had no time to speculate how he had done that before she was ushered into the boat and they were off.
"What happened?" The new Glaive asked, approaching where the other Glaive and Andromeda had taken seats some distance away from the driver.
"The Nifs came to town. She thought it'd be a good idea to taunt them before taking off." The first Glaive reported, his pointed tone directed at Andromeda.
"It was a little fun." She shrugged with a slight smirk.
The two seemed to glower at her. Then the first shook his head and laughed, removing the cloth hiding much of his face. It was one of the darker complexions of Galahd, creased by a few laugh lines. He flashed a grin at her. "You are insane."
The second Glaive continued to looked down at Andromeda. "What's so special about you?"
"Whatever your superiors told you." She looked towards the coastline, which they stayed slightly close to. There were signs of daemons here and there, but they made no sign of crossing the water. There was no sign of Imperial troops searching for them, either.
He didn't like her aloof answer, but the first one shook his head. "Ease off, Luche. Whatever it is, it has the Nifs worried. The officer there said something about a power."
Andromeda said nothing at that, though it seemed that they waited for her to. Instead she looked back at the islands, knowing that it would be a very long time before she returned. She had just been accepted among the locals, too. It was just as well; she had a job to do in Lucis too. She just had to think of a way to get away from the Glaives when they reached the mainland.
"What was that party about back there?" The first Glaive asked after a long moment of silence. "Seemed like a pretty big celebration to me."
"Does their need to be a reason for it?" Andromeda shrugged. She had been hoping to be left alone long enough to sleep and call for help.
"You're not Galahdian." Luche pointed out.
"That didn't really matter to them." She countered. "I think they would disagree with you now."
"She's got a point. They don't give kukris to just anyone." The first Glaive nodded his head, eyeing the large sheathed knife placed on Andromeda's lower back. He pulled his own from its place at his side. She drew hers as well to compare. It wasn't nearly as fancy or as long as his.
"Not bad." He said when they both put their knives away. It wasn't a good idea to have them out in a rocking boat.
"Yours must have cost a pretty gil." Andromeda commented.
"It's standard issue when you enlist." The Glaive was slightly smug.
Both men focused on something else as they heard something. Andromeda checked the horizon. Dawn was a couple of hours away.
"Understood. We'll be there at dawn." Luche told the voice in his ear. She couldn't help but think how convenient that was.
"Insomnia?" Andromeda guessed, crossing her arms.
"Whatever it is you've been up to, it's got the king's attention." Luche explained.
There was an opening for her to elaborate just what the king could want with her. She let that opening pass, not wanting to answer. Really, the king should have been upfront with them.
"Maybe once your meeting's over with him, you can have a drink with us, Tenebraen sister." The first Glaive teased. He had gleaned more from the party than he let on.
Andromeda suppressed a scowl, first assuming that he was mocking her. But Galahdians didn't invite just anyone to drink with them. They drank with comrades.
"I don't drink with strangers." She said, not at all planning to go drinking with them.
"Pelna." The Glaive finally introduced himself. Andromeda felt even moreso guilty for what she was plotting to do to both of them.
Until they reached the mainland at dawn, there didn't seem to be anything else to talk about. The boat rocked too much for Andromeda to focus and try to fall asleep while sitting up. She was on her own.
It was still dark when they reached the shore of the mainland, but the looming walls of Insomnia were plain to see in the distance. They were early, but they continued moving. No one was waiting for them there. Andromeda kept her eyes on the horizon as she followed along.
Finally, she saw a brief glimmer of the sun. Yet a quick survey of their surroundings showed that plenty of daemons were still around, and they showed no sign of fleeing. The area was rather barren, with sparse vegetation and few rocks. Her power couldn't even kick up enough dust for her to disappear into. The only effective thing it could do was to rile the daemons, giving the Glaives something to fend off. They could handle it, and they were close enough to the city to call for help.
It seemed fool-proof to Andromeda. No sooner did it somehow get darker did two shadowy forces suddenly threw the two men into each other. An enraged daemon charge at the three of them while they were still getting over their confusion. Andromeda fell backwards, then fled away from the sunrise and the city's walls.
