DEVIATION OF FATE

CHAPTER 1

Three figures walked down the main thoroughfare of the once bustling city of Insomnia. Where there was once a theatre, a florist, bank, school, department store, funeral home, park, and café was now only a pile of rubble and glass. A Niflheim air carrier splayed out atop it like a sleeping cat, paying the figures no mind as they passed silently.

The months of various weather had washed away the layer of dust and blood that once coated the streets, but it did not take away the smell. Death was the only resident of Insomnia now except for the daemons that prowled in the darkest hours of the night. The enormous walls that once protected the city still functioned as a physical barrier to the larger daemons for now, but they knew it wouldn't last long. The crystal was no longer within its borders, offering protection to its citizens.

No.

Currently it functioned only as an incubator and a prison for their Chosen King. Appropriately moved to Anglegard for safety while Noctis slept and gathered strength. Despite its absence, some believed that it left a lingering touch in the air around the Citadel, its home for hundreds of years, like fallout from a nuclear blast. It kept the worst of the daemons out, but for how much longer no one could say.

Which was why the three members of the Chosen King's Crownsguard currently stood at the base of the steps to the Citadel in the lingering sunlight of early morning. If the reports they'd read in Altissia were true, their late king was still in there among the dead along with his shield. While there were thousands if not millions of bodies within the walls of the city that needed a proper burial, at the moment there were only two that they were here for.

It was the least they could do.

Prompto looked over at Ignis and Gladio, who had remained silent since they entered the city. Ever since Altissia, Ignis had changed in a way Prompto couldn't exactly put a finger on, but the best word he could think of would be 'haunted'. Like a historic mansion that you know hid something dark and ethereal beneath the surface.

Gladio had gone more stoic than usual once they'd begun talking about coming back. Prompto never vocalized it, but he suspected it had everything to do with the Lord Shield. Gladio never did grieve for the loss of his father, king, and Insomnia. None of them had. There hadn't been time since that morning in Galdin Quay. He'd seen a chink in Gladio's armor when they'd discovered Ignis' ashen body near the crystal at Zegnautus Keep. Gladio's voice had cracked in despair when he thought Ignis was moments from death thanks to the ring, but the mask went right back up after Noctis used the crystals magic to heal Ignis and it hadn't come down since.

Prompto suspected he'd changed too since The Keep. He'd seen some things…learned things… that he'd suspected were true for a long time, but they'd been rushing to find Ignis with Ravus leading them and he hadn't the time to look over every test tube and lab file they found. The whole place made his skin crawl, but there were pieces of the puzzle he needed to find.

Now, however, there were other tasks at hand.

"Where to first?" he asked once they entered the expansive foyer. Shockingly it seemed largely undamaged.

"According to what Luna told First Secretary Claustra, they fled from the Great Hall, down a hidden elevator through the crypts. If we follow that path we'll likely find…" he paused and cleared his throat. "Let's go."

Logically, it made sense to go to the crypts first, since that's where they intended to bury the king and shield anyway. The ancient marble stairs through the back of the shrine to the Six was still blessedly intact, though the halls were pitch black. Turning on the lights on their chests they descended into further darkness.

"You think there might be daemons down here?" Prompto asked.

"It's possible," said Ignis. "Be vigilant."

The main oculus of the room was covered in rubble. The elevator to one side had been crushed down by an enormous force and several of the pillars were badly damaged from blasts' and impacts.

At the rooms center, was the body of Regis Lucis Caelum. Ignis and Gladio reflexively put their hands over their chest and bowed, Prompto followed suit an instant later.

"There should be vacant crypts along the south passage." Ignis gestured to one side of the circular room. "They won't be adorned as they should be, but it will have to do for the time being. Gladio, could you-"

The shield was already tearing down one of the tapestries from the far wall. It was made of black velvet and had the royal crest embroidered with silver threads and would make do for the shroud of the king for now.

Gently they moved Regis's body atop the fabric and positioned him as best they could in a dignified pose before cocooning him in the dark tapestry. He weighed very little as they carried him to the tomb they'd designated as his, right next to his father and wife, the late King Mors and Queen Auela.

Half their task completed they made their way up the long spiraling staircase of the south wing to the Great Hall where the failed treaty signing took place an eternity ago. The massive doors lay in shambles, blasted open from the outside. Bodies of a half dozen Crownsguardsmen were strewn about the floor in a wide arc. Most of which looked like their chests were cleaved open by an enormous blade. The three of them knew that one day, this could be their fate as well as members of the Crownsguard.

There but for the grace of the Six go we.

They searched among the bodies, but couldn't find Clarus. It wasn't until the sun shone off something metallic did Prompto look up at the source and gasp. The other two followed his gaze upward to the balcony where the Lord Shield hung dead, impaled on his own sword through his back.

Prompto and Ignis turned toward Gladio, unsure what to say. What could you say? The young shield, expressionless as the corpses around him, only made his way up the narrow stairs along the wall up to the balcony with the other two in tow. Together they held Clarus' body steady while Gladio used a smashed section of pillar to bang the sword out of the railing. Once it was freed it clattered to the floor of the Great Hall, echoing from every wall as they pulled Clarus' body up and over the ledge. Lying him down on the black tablecloth they retrieved from the main podium, they swaddled him up as they did with the king. Gladio picked his father up in his arms, and began walking toward the stairwell.

He only paused a moment and said over his shoulder, "Grab his sword."

Ignis got it, holding it with reverence as they descended back to the crypts.

Strictly speaking the Lord Shield wasn't supposed to be entombed alongside their king -There was another section of the crypts for their honor- But when Gladio made his way into the crypt of the kings, placed Clarus in the tomb next to Regis along with his sword and pushed the lid closed himself, neither of the other two dared utter a word.

They lined the lids of the tombs with the black and silver candles that they found in a box near the stairs and lit them, each taking a long moment for their fallen King, Lord Shield, and all the other citizens of Insomnia who lay dead amongst the rubble.

When they finally left the crypts, closing the heavy door behind them Ignis' phone began to chirp in earnest. He checked it briefly before returning it to his pocket. "We have an hour of daylight left. We should find shelter soon."

"You think any of the apartments upstairs are damaged?" Prompto asked.

Ignis shook his head. "I can't be sure, but most of the doors were outfitted with electronic locks a few years ago. Even if they have backup batteries, it's been months since the grid went down. Besides, I lost my keycard some time ago."

"Same here," Gladio offered, his voice tight.

There was a pause before Prompto said, "Well… It's not fancy, but my parents' house is about twenty minutes from here and I've got a key hidden under a brick in the garden." A sad thought occurred to him. "If it's not demolished, that is."

"That should do. Thank you, Prompto," said Ignis. "Let's make haste. We can come back tomorrow and attend to the rest of the Crownsguard upstairs before heading back to Lestallum. They deserve that much."

Roughly a half hour later they managed to make it to Prompto's house. They had to take a few detours due to blocked roads. With all the damage they passed en route they were surprised to find Prompto's home largely undamaged.

Finding the hidden key, Prompto opened the door and let them in. "I'm home," he called out by habit, knowing nobody would answer. His parents were never home before Insomnia was in shambles, so why would they be home now?

Kicking off his shoes he made his way into the kitchen and opened up the pantry, producing a case of bottled water and dropping it on the counter before going back to see what else was left. "Are you guys hungry? It's not Iggy's cooking, but we've got plenty of canned foods, granola, rice, beans, and… Helloooo." He reemerged with a fancy looking amber bottle in his hand. "Some eighteen-year-old Leide whisky. She's finally legal, gentlemen." He said kissing the bottle and wiggling his eyebrows.

While Ignis' lips did turn up ever so slightly at Prompto's attempt to break the tension, Gladio just nodded and mumbled that he would have some.

Deflating somewhat at his joke falling on deaf ears, he produced three glasses and poured an inch into each of them, sliding them over to his counterparts on the other end of the breakfast bar. Prompto held his glass up, but faltered. He was never good at toasts.

"To Noctis," Ignis said quietly before his phone chimed again, indicating that the sun had set. "To our late King, and to his Lord Shield. May we walk tall for all of them."

They clinked their glasses together and sipped, but Gladio tipped his head back and downed the contents of the glass before picking up the bottle and filling the small glass nearly to the brim. He took his glass and silently retired back to the living room, where he sat down and stared at nothing.

The gunslinger and adviser looked at one another concerned for a moment before Prompto tilted his head toward the shield. "You keep an eye on the big guy. I'll heat up some canned food. I can't mess that up."

Ignis just nodded and followed Gladio into the other room, leaving Prompto to fight with the gas stove and get enough canned daggerquil curry chowder heated up for the three of them. He put on some bagged rice too before returning to the pantry to browse the contents. He'd moved out two years ago, but his parents always kept a very respectable larder.

Taking a mental inventory of what he could take with them he put aside a jar of coconut oil, a few bags of lentils, rice, and… "Oh, hey Gladio. I found a few Cup Noodles. Anak flavored. I don't see an expiration date, but I don't think these things ever go bad. You want me to pack some up for the road?"

There was a long, awkward pause, to the point where Prompto was vaguely deciding why he was even trying when Gladio actually spoke. "Yeah, pack them up. It can't hurt." Prompto put them aside as well before double checking the food on the stove and reducing the heat.

He found one of his mothers many scented candles in the nearby bathroom and lit it before picking up his liquor and joining the others in the living room.

Surprisingly, Gladio kept talking. "Dad would always take me camping when I was a kid, just before Iris was born. Mom would come too sometimes. He would only pack Cup Noodles for food and would tell me," his voice shifted deeper and more serious. "'If you want to eat anything other than this freeze-dried garbage you'd better learn what's edible out here.' And then he would send me off to the river or field near the haven to find what we were going to have for dinner." A sad smile tugged at his lips as he finished his glass.

Prompto's eyes went a little wide. Gladio was a big guy, but that was a lot of alcohol and they hadn't eaten since morning.

Gladio continued, "I gotta be honest. I absolutely hated that shit. It was so bad. And if I came back empty handed he would make me eat it without water in it." Even Ignis made a disgusted face at that. "But I'll never forget… I'll never forget the first time I came back with some wild peppers, garlic, and a fat trout I'd caught. I'd slipped and fallen into the river and tore my shin open. I was filthy and bloody and I'd lost my fishing rod, but I'd never seen him happier."

Even in the dim light they could see the tears start to stream freely down Gladio's cheeks and his shoulders trembling with the inevitable catharsis to come. It started slowly, then gathered momentum like an avalanche, wiping out all the barriers Gladio had built up over years in it's wake.

Neither Ignis nor Prompto remained silent, letting the sobs and the slight hiss of the food cooking on the stove be the only noise in the room for quite some time. Eventually Prompto got up, turned off the heat, and returned with a bottle of water, a box of tissues, and what was left of the whisky.

They sat there and ate quietly while they let last living Lord Shield vent until there was nothing left inside him or the bottle of liquor.

What felt like hours later, Prompto threw an afghan over Gladio's sleeping form as he sprawled across the couch, snoring, and slowly pried the empty glass of whisky out of his fingers. "He needed that."

"More than air," added Ignis with a mild slur. Prompto had only had the equivalent of a few shots, and Gladio had put most of the alcohol away, but Ignis had imbibed more than Prompto would have expected of the advisor. Perhaps they all needed to let loose a bit. While they still could.

Flopping down on the loveseat next to Ignis felt a bit close quarters once he was sitting, but Ignis didn't say anything about it, so Prompto didn't care either. They'd been closer before in the tent many a night.

Prompto sighed, what remained of the liquor in his system was burning off quicker than it could get him truly drunk, as it usually did. For whatever reason his metabolism couldn't keep him from being fat as a kid, but it just loved putting his liver into overdrive once alcohol touched his lips.

Idly running his fingers over the leather straps hiding the barcode on his wrist he wondered if the two were connected. What he saw briefly in the Keep indicated as much. "Hey, Iggy?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Ignis lifted his head up from the back of the couch, as if he'd been dozing. "Yes?"

"Did you… While you were in the Keep… Did you see anything strange?"

Ignis paused, swallowing before he responded. "I saw a great many strange things that day. Could you be more specific."

"In the lab… Did you happen to see anything that looked like me?"

"Ah…that." He leaned forward. "Prompto…I saw some things, but I'm not entirely sure I saw them. If that makes any sense at all."

"It doesn't, but go on."

"Because of the things I saw… I feel that you were intended to be the one taken to the Keep, not me. Noctis pushed you off a train. He thought you were Ardyn, but you weren't. I don't know what happened to you there, but you learned a lot about yourself despite the pain and anguish."

Prompto's brow furrowed. None of this was making sense. How much had Ignis had to drink?

"I know I'm rambling a bit, but I only have it in pieces. Something happened at the alter in Accordo and… I still feel like I'm about to wake up from a dream. It was all so real."

"Oooookay Iggy," Prompto slid the remainder of Ignis' drink away from him with one finger. He wasn't going to get any answers tonight. "I'm going to get you some water."

Before he walked away, Ignis reached out and got a grip of his wrist. "Prompto. I know I'm not making sense, but just so you know that this thing-" he ran his thumb under his leather wrist strap, directly over the barcode, and Prompto felt like someone had dunked him in an icy river. "-does not dictate who you are…What you are. Nothing will ever change that."

Pulling his hand away, Prompto stared at Ignis as if he'd spoken a different language. What he was saying wasn't making a lick of sense… And yet…

"Apologies," Ignis said, leaning back on the couch. "It does seem that I've had too much to drink. I'll still take that water if you're getting it."

Prompto swallowed. "Kay. Be back in a jiffy." He got Ignis some water and excused himself before going upstairs to his old bedroom. Pulling his phone out he dialed a number he never thought he'd need and waited as it rang.

A familiar bug groggy voice answered.

"Blondie… What on Eos are you calling me this late for?"

"Aranea, hey. Listen, you said you were from Gralea, right?"

"Unfortunately. Why?"

"I have a big favor to ask…"

~X~X~X

Oh boy, this is gonna be a big fic. Strap in.

You'll notice several months will pass between most chapters. I'll be starting off each by stating how much time has passed since Noctis went into the crystal. I plan on this fic spanning the length of the ten years of A World of Ruin. In the original timeline, Talcott says that these three boys drifted apart and didn't spend much time together, but in the Alternate ending from Episode Ignis, all three of them greeted Noctis when he returned already in full uniform, and when they went to the Citadel they did so together. This fic will explain why.

It's going to be full of feels, hurt, comfort, sex, violence, death, bad coping mechanisms, questionable life choices, and more. Not all chapters will be rated Explicit, but I'll try and warn you when they are.

Like when I wrote Shed Some Light On Things a year ago, I would love to hear your input as to what you want to happen during this time period. I already have an outline typed up, but it's flexible. So let me know what you want.