After another departure from the group, (Y/n) whistles for Thanatos and the loyal steed arrives at her side. She hopped up onto the horse's back and threaded her fingers through his soft mane. "Alright, buddy. Let's find a place where I can clean up. Sorry if I get mud and blood on you in advance."

Thanatos neighed, scuffing his hoof against the soft grass below. Death patted his neck before digging her heels into his sides. The steed took off in a gentle gallop, helping (Y/n) search for a body of water.

After half an hour, they found a small pond that was a few miles down the road from Coernix Station locates just northeast of Alstor Slough. Thanatos had spotted it before her and decided to trot across the wetlands to reach the body of water. (Y/n) smiled at the sight, knowing she would be clean soon. She hugged Thanatos and kissed his neck. "You are a magnificent horse and I love you!" The horse whinnied cheerfully at her affection and bobbed his head up and down.

(Y/n) and Thanatos reach the small pond and both were excited. Death jumped off the horse's back and tugged at her clothes. The steed trotted over and used his body as a shield so the girl could get out of her clothes. Once her outfit was off, she moved to unlacing her boots and yanking them off. She grabbed her clothes and placed her shoes underneath Thanatos before turning to face the pond. The Horseman dipped a single toe into the water, testing the temperature. The water was warm and she didn't hesitate to walk into the pond with her dirty clothes.

When the liquid surrounded her body, a sigh of content left her lips. (Y/n) cleaned her clothes thoroughly and once she was done, she passed them over to Thanatos. The horse gently grabbed the outfit between his teeth and placed it on the ground so it could dry. Then, the girl dove below the surface and cleaned her tainted hair. Once she emerged from the water, her tense muscles relaxed and she floated on the surface before cleaning the rest of her body. Death ran her fingers through her wet locks as she finally was squeaky clean. A few fish swam around her as she peered down into the water with a smile. "The embodiment of Death is enamored by life. How ironic."

A neigh caught (Y/n)'s attention and she looked over at Thanatos. The horse was standing at the edge of the pond, peering at her. She swam over to him and exited the water, noticing the time by where the sun sat in the sky. "Almost nighttime. Better let myself dry off before I put my clothes back on. Hopefully, Noctis won't summon me when I'm still completely naked or changing."

Thanatos lied down, allowing (Y/n) to sit down and recline against his body. In such a position, no one could spot her naked form from the highway. Death stared up at the sky, watching as the sun's rays slowly were being vanquished by the looming night that was ready to cast its shadows across all of Eos.

After fifteen minutes, (Y/n) was completely dry and changed into her clothes. Lacing up her boots, the Horseman was finally ready to go. She patted Thanatos' side with a smile. "Ready to-" Suddenly, she felt a familiar tug on her body. Her surroundings changed and she realized she was now at a haven. "Go...?" The horse had been pulled with her as he stood beside her. Spinning on her heels, she saw Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio sitting down. Ignis was standing before them and (Y/n) felt as if she were interrupting. "Am I... interrupting?"

"It's not your fault. Noct's the one who summoned you," Gladio said, gesturing to the prince that sat beside him.

"Yeah, blame it all on me," the raven-haired boy groaned.

"Who cares whose fault it is? (Y/n)'s here now and we can finally figure out a good plan!" Prompto cheered.

Noctis eyes his royal advisor, knowing the man was full of ideas. "So, any bright ideas, Ignis?"

"A dark one, as it were. A frontal assault would leave us exposed. But, if we move under cover of night, we might be able to infiltrate the base unnoticed," Ignis explained.

"And until then?" Noctis raised a brow in wonderment.

"We learn all we can about the base's design and narrow down the Regalia's location. I'll analyze what intelligence we have available to find us a way in."

The prince nodded. "Sounds good, Specs."

Prompto jumped from his seat excitedly. "Alright! We're gonna get our wheels back!"

Thanatos huffed as he tapped his hoof against the stone. Everyone glanced at the horse, wondering what he was trying to convey. (Y/n) wasn't sure what he was trying to say until she spotted something protruding out of the ground beside the wall of the fort he was pointing at with his snout. Her eyes narrowed as she wondered to what it was. Leaving the haven, she was followed by the boys and Thanatos.

At the base of the wall, (Y/n) examines the object that was poking through the earth. She kneeled next to it to get a better look, realizing it was a remnant of a corpse. When Prompto saw it was a fragment of a decayed body, he nearly screamed at the top of his lungs. Luckily, Gladio has stopped him before he could warn the imperials of their presence.

Finding bone wasn't a good sign, but for Death, it gave her an idea. She pulled the bone from the dirt and smirked as she faced the boys. "I've an idea."

"What do you propose, (Y/n)?" Ignis questioned, curiosity dripping form his tone.

"What if we were to distract the imperials with an army?"

"Good idea, but we're kinda lacking the "army" part," Noctis stated.

Death's smirk grew. "You're standing in the middle of one right now."

Prompto swallowed nervously as he looked around. "I-I don't see one."

The Horseman taps the ground with her boot. "It's right under our feet. It'll take a little mana, but we'll have an army on our side."

"You desire to perform necromancy," the advisor said.

"Yes. An army of the dead on the imperial's doorstep will be enough of a distraction, don't you think?"

"Hell, I'm in," Gladio said in agreement to Death's plan.

"The opportunity would bestow us the time we need to locate and seize the Regalia," Ignis said, favoring the idea.

"They'll be occupied fighting the army, but I know they won't send every man and leave the fort's interior completely unguarded," (Y/n) exclaimed.

"I'm in. Let's do it," Noctis said, presenting his own excitement.

"Then, I shall get started." The girl held the humerus as she wandered a little ways from the stronghold. She meandered through a thin cover of foliage before placing the skeletal arm on the ground a few feet in front of her. She placed her hands out in front of her and recited the incantation. A wave of mana resonated from her body, traveling across the land.

Seconds passed and the sound of earth ripping and cracking could be heard from all around. Slowly, bodies of the deceased rose from the ground and pushed through the rugged terrain. Skeletal appendages burst forth from the ground and slowly emerged. Groans and hisses resounded throughout the area as the corpses pulled their bodies out of the ground.

(Y/n) scanned the area, spotting her army making their way towards her. Corpses from centuries ago came into her view as they surrounded her. Many of their bodies are riddled with arrows and others had stab wounds that showed through their rustic armor.

Once the undead halted on their advances, she knew they were waiting for their orders. From afar, she saw the others were in shock at the sight of the dead. Death's eyes bounced back to her army as she smiled. "I haven't risen an in years. But," she claps her hands together. "It's nice to know I'm not even the slightest bit rusty in the necromancy department."

The Horseman knew she wouldn't be able to read the skeletal warriors' faces because of the lack of flesh and muscles present on their bodies. She huffed with laughter, but she quickly kept her laughter in check as she spoke. "Your orders are to surround the stronghold and wait for my command. Once you're in position, wait for my signal. Be stealthy and remain in the shadows in order to not alert those inside the fortress. Understood?"

In response, the undead warriors raised their rustic blades and groaned. (Y/n) nodded and weaves through the corpses to reach the others. The decayed bodies did as she commanded and slowly moved to surround Aracheole Stronghold. Death crossed her arms as she stood in front of the boys. "I'll give the signal to attack and once they do, we wait until the imperials make their move. Then, we'll infiltrate the stronghold through the supply entrance in the back."

"Nice work," Noctis said, impressed at the army she created. "Guess this'll go real smoothly."

"Don't jinx it!" Prompto shouted.

"He's right. The army may have the imperials distracted, but it doesn't mean they'll all be facing the undead. As I said earlier, there'll be soldiers and MTs that won't leave their positions," (Y/n) stated.

"We should avoid detection," Gladio said.

"It would be in our best interest," Ignis added.

The five companions waited a few more minutes until the entire stronghold was surrounded. Once the warriors were all in position, (Y/n) gave the signal and her army heard her as clear as day from all sides of the stronghold. The corpses raised their blades and cried out as they stormed the fort. Death glanced at the four boys behind her. "Better get moving. By the time we reach the supply entrance, they'll already be engaged with the corpses."

"Let's go," Noctis said.

The five run to the supply entrance of Aracheole Stronghold and as they arrived, they saw it was vacant of imperials. The companions entered through the part of the fence that was cut and through the back gate of the stronghold.

Inside the fort, they hid behind a stack of boxes. (Y/n) peered over the box she and Ignis were hiding behind to see if the coast was clear. "There's a single magitek wandering around," she whispered.

"See anything else?" Gladio asked.

"From here, no."

"You gonna take out the one MT, Noct?" Prompto questioned.

"May as well." The prince emerged from his hiding spot and summoned his engine blade. He warp-strikes the assailant from behind and kills it in one blow. Noctis faces his friends and was about to tell them the MT was gone, but he was tackled behind another set of boxes before he could get a single word out. He grunted from the sudden impact and closed his eyes as his body was slammed into the ground.

When Noctis opened his eyes, he saw (Y/n) hovering above him. Her hands were on either side of his head as her piercing (e/c) eyes met his sapphire ones. "Searchlight," she plainly responded. Her sable locks fell over her shoulders as she looked to the wall beside them. The searchlight scanned the crates the duo were hiding behind, but the boxes provided enough cover to prevent the enemy from spotting them. The Horseman sighs in relief once the circle of light vanishes and searches another part of the stronghold. Her gaze returns to the boy under her and notices his cheeks were slightly red even in the shadows. "Sorry about tackling you out of the blue."

"U-Uh, it's n-no problem," Noctis stutters, mentally slapping himself for his nervous tone. (Y/n) removes herself from the prince and helps him up. The others were staring at them and they saw Gladio was smirking at Noctis as they made their way over.

Behind the boxes, Prompto winced when he smelt a strange odor. "What's that smell?"

(Y/n) sniffed the air and got a whiff of what the blonde had smelt. Her eyes widened in fear. "Oh, no..."