LOSS

First, he lost Gladio.

His shield had requested to go off on his own for a little bit, being vague and saying he had to deal with some things. The rest of them were still figuring out how to get to Altissia, so Noctis said he could go. He figured that it had something to do with Gladio's father. Noctis had been so caught up with grieving his own father that he hadn't considered that Clarus must have died at his King's side, as his role as a shield would warrant.

Gladio departed with minimal goodbyes. They all figured he would be back in a few days.

But he didn't come back.

Instead Cor found them. His face was devoid of emotion as always, but his voice cracked slightly as he handed over Gladio's necklace. The chain broken and stained with dried blood.

Next he lost Ignis.

As if the death of Luna wasn't enough at the hands of Ardyn.

Ignis had died trying to evacuate the civilians of Accordo while he Leviathan's tantrum was tearing the city to pieces. One of the Nif ships had crashed and exploded. He'd died in the hospital while Noctis was sill unconscious from the Hydreons blessing.

Prompto…Prompto didn't die, but it might have been better if he had.

Ardyn had tricked Noctis into knocking Prompto off the train and somehow had taken him to the lab where he was created in Gralea.

Noctis spent what felt like days weaving his way through corridors, avoiding daemons and MT's with no weapon other than his ring. All the while Ardyn taunted him with horrific truths and lies. Noctis couldn't tell which was which.

By the time Noctis got to where they were holding Prompto, he wasn't the same man anymore. He was standing in a room with blood dripping down the side of his head, his wrists red and raw from being restrained. "Oh, tsk tsk," said Ardyn over the speakers. "It appears that you are too late to save your little friend. What a shame."

Prompto turned around and faced him, his normally cerulean eyes held the same blood red glow as the MT's he'd fought in the hallways. His freckled face was devoid of emotion as he raised his gun to his best friend's head and squeezed the trigger.

Noctis jackknifed up in bed. Sweat pouring off him as his shaking hands raked through his hair. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark bedroom, but even as he looked around his bed…seeing his Crownsguard safe did little to warm the icy feeling the dream left in his stomach. It was so real.

"Whoa, Noct, you okay?" said Prompto at his side. The blonde sat up and rubbed his shoulders. "Hey. Hey, it was a nightmare."

"You were all dead," he said, swallowing hard. "It was so real."

By now Gladio was awake too, he picked his head up from the other side of Prompto. His massive arm long enough to reach over the blonde and squeeze Noct's thigh through the blankets. "We're still here," he said. "We're not going anywhere."

Ignis shifted on the other side of Noct. His bare torso pressed against his Kings skin as he slowly pulled him back down to the pillows. "Not for a very long while," he said, kissing Noct's temple reassuringly.

"I used to have a nightmare," Prompto said quietly, as he put his head on his shoulder, "that we lost you too. After your fight with Ardyn. You… you sacrificed yourself for us. For everyone."

"Same here," said Gladio, giving his thigh another squeeze.

Ignis hummed, "Thankfully, the gods aren't quite that cruel." The strategist wrapped his arm around Noct's torso to emphasize.

"Yeah," said Noctis. Taking a deep, reassuring breath. "You're right."

X~X~X

Short and sweet fic. I know there's no real plot, but this was kicking around my head all week and I just needed to get it out.