I had this idea as I was working on my other fics and decided to just get it out so I could focus on other things. Sorry if it's a bit rushed.

The Starscourge. The plague that has haunted man since time in memoriam. A parasite that infects the body in mysterious ways, turning men into grotesque creatures; daemons, that lurk in the shadows. For shadows are the only place safe from the burning agony of the light. Parents ripped away from children, husbands from wives, and even the closest of friends. Only the King of Lucis, who held the Power of Kings would be able to destroy the plague for good.

In this way, those that suffer with the Scourge are treated heavily and with the best care available. But only the Oracle has the power to really, truly heal those suffering. And so, by order of the king, for the safety of those still living, the victim is taken to a undisclosed location, and buried in the caves.

Fortunately for those living in Crown City, the plague is a minor worry. The protection of the crown extends from wall to wall. There may be one case in a decade. But those outside the city...often meet a fate worse than death.

Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, the son of Regis Lucis Caelum, and the only heir to the throne of Lucis was attacked by a daemon when he was only 8 years old. The Marilith sliced right across his spinal column, nearly paralyzing him. Instead, all the way across his back, a deep, near fatal wound was inflicted and prone to the monster. The little boy's bloodstream was contaminated and a hellish sentence began.

Up until that point, he was a vivacious child. Full of light, which was appropriate given his title. He was in Tenebrae at the time of the attack, and spent many weeks with the Princess Lunafreya, the next Oracle, while he recovered. Unfortunately, Luna's latent Oracle powers hadn't manifested yet, so there was no way to predict Noctis' fate.

Shortly after they separated, the whole of Tenebrae fell to the Empire of Niflheim and Luna was taken as prisoner of war. But Umbra, her faithful pooch, was resilient, and with a handy notebook, communication was restored between the two friends, however so slightly.

When he was 12, symptoms started to arise. His fingernails turned black. If his hair hadn't been black to start with, it would have turned too. He had an idea of the cause, but he was 12. What was a kid, that was grown to despise and fear daemons, to do?

Hide it, of course.

So he requested Ignis, his adviser and glorified babysitter, to buy black nail polish. The first several weeks of polish were a nightmare to the prince, as it got everywhere, but anytime someone offered to help him with it, he refused. No one could see what he was hiding.

Being a boy with painted fingernails was reason enough to get beat up in school, but as the Prince…his fellow students didn't know what to do with it. In the end, most people just kept away from him. And he decided it was for the best.

At 13, the wound on his back started to secrete black fluid. It was gross and smelled bad, and if exposed to light, the wound burned. Which made sense, given it's origin. Nonetheless, Noctis took this development in stride. Ignis was asked to pick up bandages, and Noctis learned a new skill in wrapping. Because the fluid was inky, sometimes it bled through the bandages and into his clothes. To fix this problem, he started wearing a whole lot of black. Only black, in fact.

Next was unsightly marks and scars all over his skin, especially around the hairline. His fix? Sweeping bangs and concealer, which was a touch too light for his skin tone. His teeth started to sharpen, so smiling was out, too. All this led to Noctis exuding the image of a goth kid that screamed 'home problems,' which was not good for the king.

But no matter how many meetings teachers and counselors had with him, he wouldn't budge. Psychologically, Noctis appeared fine. He admitted that the loss of his mother, and the attack as a child were both traumatic, but he assured he just liked wearing black and he wasn't having any dangerous thoughts.

But that wasn't completely true. Because of the Scourge, his angry thoughts carried a dangerous twinge, but the Prince was able to stuff them into a place the sun didn't shine.

At 14, puberty hit, and his strength was noticeable. In training with Gladio, he broke several swords easily and started dominating matches. Once he broke Gladio's femur with a punch, he knew it was time to roll it back. Gladio always pushed him to fight his hardest. Not anymore. 50% from now on. Also at this stage, Noctis grew taller and lankier. His sinewy muscle didn't show the power he contained.

Noctis was a strange case. Most people infected with the Scourge would fall ill and disappear within a year. But because of his bloodline, his body fought a very slow losing battle. His exhaustion was apparent, but Regis and Ignis just assumed it was the stress of school combined with royal responsibility zapping his energy.

The letters to Luna started to become longer and more wistful. He heard girls whispering in the halls and the word love was passed around. He couldn't imagine anyone loving someone more then he loved Luna. Despite the struggle they were both going through, she was always positive and encouraged him when Ignis and Gladio nagged and teased him. Finally, he got up the courage to tell her what was going on.

"Luna,

There's something I've been meaning to tell you. Back when I was attacked, I think I might have been infected with the Scourge. I'm not sure, because I haven't been diagnosed. But I'm changing in weird, bad ways. I know it's not puberty, either. My nails turned black and my teeth are really sharp…I just don't know what to do, because my father hates daemons. I'm nervous, because despite my best efforts, I think I'm getting worse, and it won't be long before people notice. I'm scared. What should I do?

Noctis."

When her reply came, he was surprised to see the page warped with tears.

"Noctis,

I am so sorry that you have been suffering like this! It breaks my heart! The empire has been allowing me to go out and heal my people from the Scourge, and it works! If there's a way I could come to you, I would heal you too. I do not know how else to help you right now. You mustn't fall to the Scourge. I have seen it, it is Ordained that you will be the True King and banish the Night. You cannot fall prey to it.

My dearest friend, the Scourge feeds off of darkness and negative energy. Spend time in the sun and keep your spirits up. I know it's hard, but know that I am with you. Always.

Forever yours,

Luna."

Noctis hugged the journal close to his heart.

The much needed positively came in out of nowhere in the form of a blond joker named Prompto. Noctis was walking in the sun outside school one day, and Prompto clapped his hand on his shoulder. "Hey dude, what's up?"

The prince gave him a look. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, I'm Prompto. We're in class together."

"Right right…I just didn't realize you knew me?"

"Pfft, who doesn't know you? The cool, but oh so sweet Prince Noctis."

"Is that what they think of me?"

Prompto shrugged. "Is it wrong?"

Noctis crossed his arms. "I wish I was cool. I'm a nerd."

"Hey! Nerds unite! Wanna hit up the arcade?"

If there could be stars in his eyes, their would be. "DO I?!"

The next few years went pretty smoothly. What new little growths sprouted up, Noctis handled with tact. He moved out of the citadel to 'learn responsibly' but he was just in it for the privacy. The summer of his Senior year was the best for him, since he was able to put a lounger on his balcony and lay out for hours in the sun. It burned his wounds and scars, and sometimes just his skin, but his inner rage shriveled and he found himself more often than not smiling, despite his gruesome maw. Which was a bit problematic when he had a funny friend.

"Hey dude, ummm…what's up with your teeth?"

Noctis suddenly stopped laughing and closed his mouth, covering it with his hand.

"I didn't mean to make you self conscious or anything…I'm just wondering why they're so sharp. Is it a Lucis king thing?"

Noctis glanced inside his apartment, trying to gauge when Ignis would be coming over. Ultimately, he choose to be honest. "Prompto, if I tell you, you have to promise not to tell ANYBODY."

"What? Did you file your teeth when your were being stupid? We all have moments like that. I pierced my bellybutton." He pulled up his shirt, showing the scar.

Noctis couldn't help but snort. "No, I wish…" he sobered. "Um, you know how I said I was attacked by a daemon when I was a kid?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I was infected."

Prompto furrowed his brow. "Infected with what?"

"The Scourge."

Prompto was silent, but let out a breathless laugh. "What? That's…that's ridiculous. The Scourge can't exist in Crown City. And…you should be a daemon by now if you were sick…right?"

"I think it's because we are in the City and I'm from the Lucis bloodline. But…uh…" He pulled off his shirt and showed the several layers wrapping around his chest. He untied that and finally let the gaping wound breathe. "…what do you think of this?"

"Ugh…" Prompto had a wince on his face. "Dude…that's nasty."

Shamefully, Noctis began to wrap it back up. "Sorry…I just thought…"

"No, no, you're fine." He stated, pulling the bandages lose. "You can let it breathe for a minute. But like, have you ever had anyone look at it?"

The sunlight glared on his skin, and he winced before covering the slash. "No, I've been too scared to. What will the kingdom do if they find out the only prince is turning into a daemon?"

Prompto didn't have an answer. "I…don't know. But there has to be something we can do…what about Luna?"

"What about her?"

"Does she know? Couldn't she come and help?"

Noctis sighed. "Yeah, she knows. We've been trying to get her over here for her own safety, but the Empire has been nothing but stubborn on it."

"Must be hard."

"It sucks!"

The two lapsed into silence, both lost in their thoughts. "Well, you have to tell someone eventually. You don't want them to find out when it's too late."

"…yeah. Just…give me some time. I have to figure out what I'm going to do. I want to have a game plan so that my dad doesn't have to worry about it."

"Okay," Prompto agreed, "but I will continue to bother you about it."

"Oh, I don't doubt it."

Prompto grinned, and then laid his hand on Noctis' shoulder. "And dude, I'm here for you. If you need anything, just let me know."

Noctis gave a thumbs up in return.

Though he asked for time, the Scourge waited for no man.

It was end of fall of his Senior year, winter was just around the corner, and the sun had been hiding for a few weeks now. In the middle of a boring lecture, Noctis found himself dozing slightly, before a there was a faint tickle in his throat. The tickle turned into a cough, and one cough turned into four. He held his hand over his mouth. When he pulled it away, his hand was covered in black liquid.

"Uh, Mr. Garrison? I need to be excused."

"Caelum, this is a very important lecture, especially to you. No interrupting my class. Unless you don't think the rules apply to you, Your Majesty."

Noctis coughed again, and looked to Prompto for help.

"Mr. Garrison, I really think that—"

"Argentum! You're on thin ice as it is! Shut your trap!"

Unable to hold back, Noctis fell into a coughing fit, making disgusting noises the whole time.

"Caelum, get ahold of yourself. Someone get him some water!"

Noctis fell out of his seat and landed on his knees. He heaved before vomiting more black fluid onto the floor. When the heaving halted, he looked up at his peers in horror. The remnants of the liquid dripped from his mouth and his the whites of his eyes turned black. At the sight, many people screamed.

"He's a daemon!" Someone shouted.

"That's enough!" The teacher called. "Argentum, take Noctis to the office. NOW!"

"Yes, sir!" Prompto wrapped an arm around his shoulder and urged him out of the room.

"…Prompto…?"

"I gotcha buddy. We're going to get you home."

Further behind them, they could hear the teacher evacuating the classroom.

"It's over…it's all over…"

The next few weeks were a blur. Once Regis found out, Noctis was moved back into the Citadel, and put into lockdown in his room, while the council debated his fate. News of his grim transformation made it's way to news outlets. The whole city fell to pieces at the idea of their only Prince being a daemon. Ignis and Gladio were livid that he hadn't told them, but once he disclosed the truth, they were devastated.

"I'm sorry you felt like you had to keep this from us," Ignis apologized. "I thought I knew everything about you, and I only have your best interest at heart."

"I know, Iggy. I just didn't know what I was supposed to do." He huddled in on himself. "I don't know what's going to happen now…"

Gladio, who was leaning against the wall, spoke. "What do you want to do?"

Noctis shrugged. "I can't go back to school, everyone knows."

Before he could finish that thought, there was a knock at the door. "Noctis?"

"Oh, dad…come in."

Regis entered, the crowns guard waiting in the hall. He was silent.

Noctis rose, still holding himself. "What's up?"

"The council has reached a decision." He shuttered. "I'm sorry, this is really hard to say. But we…are sending you away. There's a cave on the South side of Duscae. Your Crownsguard will be escorting you there, where you will remain until such a time when the Oracle can recover you."

Noctis didn't say much, because he didn't have the words. Honestly, he wasn't expecting anything good.

"We will be diligent in keeping up in talks with the Empire. Luna will come to Lucis, and you will be healed."

"But…" Noctis whispered, "can she heal a full daemon?" A black cloud of smoke came off of him as he spoke, the negativity overwhelming him.

"We won't know until we try," Regis assured. Then, he stepped up and hugged Noctis tightly, despite the toxin. "I love you, son. And I will find a way to bring you home."

The Ring of Lucii his father wore made his wound throb, and he winced in pain. But the warmth of his father's embrace was worth the pain. Soon enough, it ended.

"I guess I should give the Engine blade back then, huh?"

"No, Noctis. I gave you that sword as a gift, and I will not take it from you. You will need it even more now where you're going."

Noctis nodded in understanding. "Then I guess I should get packing."