A/N: I apologize in advance for any errors or anything that may be unclear in this chapter. I may or may not be a very large bit tired.

~~~Space~~~

It wasn't going to be easy. Why would it be?

You only tortured her, threatened the life of the person dearest to her, and made her a criminal, I'm sure she loves you.

"Why should I care if she does or not," muttered Noctis, pacing in his dim room. "I don't care for her. Just another soldier for our war against PSICOM. Besides, she should want to join us. It is PSICOM's fault she's ended up like this."

Does she know that?

"She doesn't need to, at least not yet. Right now, she just needs to focus on protecting Yeul."

Thinking quite a bit about her lately, aren't you?

"There is a lot to consider when a new member is present."

Excuses. It wasn't nearly this stressful for you when Yeul joined us.

"She was taken care of already. I had to do minimal work."

A small knock came from the door, barely audible. Noctis moved from his spot to see who would dare to interrupt his thoughts. Behind the wooden door, Yeul stood with her usually lack of expression present. His eyes met her deep green ones before she said, "Dinner is ready. Come, you haven't eaten all day." With that, she turned and left.

It wasn't until then that Noctis felt the emptiness of his stomach. With a disgruntled sigh, Noctis resigned to joining his team for dinner. Maybe it would be something that tasted good for once… Maybe it was Prompto's cooking.

Noctis shuddered at the thought. The last time Prompto cooked, he received food poisoning. The blonde man stayed out of Noctis's sight for three months afterwards, and it was a very smart thing for the man to do. Noctis was prepared to kill him.

We can continue this conversation later.

Noctis grabbed his head. "Can't you just be quiet for once?"

~~~Space~~~

It was quiet through the meal. Maybe it was because Noctis usually didn't actually stay to eat, but had decided to this time. He was impressed, the food actually tasted good this time. Did Yeul cook it? He wondered as he ate.

Now and then, he would feel Light glaring at him. Inside, it made his stomach drop. Did I hurt her that much?

Of course you did, dumbass. You only took everything she had to live for away and threatened what was left.

He was beginning to hate his mind.

"I'll handle it, Yeul," said Light. Her usual cold voice held a certain gentleness to it when she addressed the young criminal.

"Then, thank you for the meal and for cleaning it up," Yeul said as she stood and left the dining room.

Light cooked it?

Noctis sat at the dinner table, surrounded by his noisy siblings. A few seats away, his mother sat smiling as she watched her children talk and tease one another. He looked at his plate and took small bites of the food.

"You know they say serial killers are very quiet people! I bet you're a killer, aren't you, Noctis?" cried out one of his older brothers with a smug grin.

Noctis gripped his fork tightly, his knuckles turned white. "I am not," he whispered.

"Eh? What's that? You'll have to speak up, you're too quiet."

"I am not!" yelled Noctis. He threw his fork to the ground and stormed out of the room, a familiar stinging kept at bay behind his eyes.

~~~Space~~~

Without warning, Noctis stood up and threw his fork to the floor just as Light was about to take his dish to be washed. He stormed out of the room with a scowl.

Light had been shocked, but quickly regained her calm composure. "Maybe he didn't like it?"

"No way," said Prompto, belching. "It was delicious, so that option's ruled out."

Gladiolus smacked the back of Prompto's head. The large man turned his attention to Light and smiled sheepishly. "Is it too much to ask for seconds?"

Light shook her head and filled a plate for him. As she set it in front of him, she had a faint smile on her face. "You're on thirds, at least, by now."

Gladiolus chuckled before digging into his food. "I can't help that you're the best cook in this house, Light!" he said with a full mouth.

Prompto smacked the back of Gladiolus's head, although it was more for payback than for his rude behavior. It didn't take long for a small fight to start between the two of them. Light watched them mildly irritate each other while washing the dishes.

Why is Noctis so upset from dinner? Did I do something?

Fear gripped Light's heart and squeezed it tightly. If I did do something, is he going to take it out on Serah?

Light was back in her "cell", hands and feet chained. She heard the door open and, with much effort, raised her head to see who was "visiting" her this time. Her eyes locked with the dark eyes of Noctis. They remained locked with that merciless glare as he grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the wall.

He broke their eye contact and leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath on her skin. It made it shudder with resentment towards the sadistic man. "Do you have an answer for me, Sergeant?"

"Sorry, Princess, but I don't think I'll be helping the likes of you anytime soon."

Light smirked when she saw the anger seething from Noctis's expression, but that smirk faded quickly. She only wished that her consciousness could have faded as quickly.

The sound of something shattering reached Light's ears. She turned to see what Prompto and Gladiolus had broken, only to find them looking at her with every dish in front of them in order. Looking down, Light saw the remnants of the plate she had been holding only a moment ago.

I never remember even touching the plate.

"You okay, Light?" Prompto asked. He said the words slowly, carefully.

Light didn't move her gaze from the shattered glass. "Yeah… I'm just going to do these dishes later."

"You look a bit pale, Light. Are you sure you're okay?" Gladiolus asked. Both men had come closer and were inspecting her complexion.

"I'm just tired. I'm going to go rest." Light stepped past the two and left to her room at a brisk walk.

"Uh, I can take care of these, would you mind sweeping up the glass, Gladdy?" she heard Prompto asked.

"Only if you never call me that again, Promty," retorted Gladiolus.

With that, Light closed her door and was satisfied with the small click it made. She felt as if she had no energy left. Leaning against the door, she slid to the floor and held her hands in front of her face.

Get a hold of yourself, Sergeant. Her hands were trembling.

No, you're not a sergeant anymore. She lowered her hands to her lap.

You never will be. Her head drooped down.

That man took everything from you, how could you let that happen? She closed her eyes, but all she could see was Noctis's face burnt into her mind. Pain flowed through her veins like lava.

It's not real! She cried in her mind.

"It's not real!" The world faded to black.

~~~Space~~~

Noctis leaned against the porch railing. The cool night breeze tousled his midnight hair.

"What are you doing out here?" Noctis's mother asked as she sat beside her son on the grass lawn.

"It's quiet here…" was Noctis's replay with his feeble voice.

Noctis's mother placed her hand on his head and ruffled his hair, the same color as her's. "Are you letting what your siblings say get to you? They're just teasing you know."

Her voice was so soft, so gentle. "I know, but…"

"Well, if you don't like it, why not stand up to them. Tell them you don't like it and be strong. Then, they'll stop."

Noctis looked at his mother with hopeful eyes. "Really?"

She smiled and hugged her son. "Really."

Noctis returned the hug with a large smile. "I'll do it!"

"I believe in you."

Noctis sighed and turned to go inside the house once again. "What went wrong, Mom?"

The sound of his footsteps was barely audible as he navigated back to his room. When he pictured his mom, she reminded him of Lightning. Was that how it was when she would talk to her sister? Did she have the same gentle tone his mother spoke with? Would she use that same tone with her children?

Why am I thinking of all this now? She's a means to an end, nothing more.

But still, he felt a tug when he thought of what he had done to her.

Give me control, Noctis. I will give you strength. Growled a voice within his head.

Noctis clenched his fists. Not again.