Cor's afternoon passes by quickly, he checks in with Regis and leaves Ventus a copy of everything that has been confirmed by his agents. The order to the Kingsglaive has been given and they would leave in 3 days to spend time improving their training in the mountains of Cauthess. The time would be spent reinvestigating all the Glaives, young and old with a focus on those Drautos had seen often. Regis was paler then Cor would have liked but the King glared at him with a stern warning not to go about speaking about unnecessary concerns; Cor simply smirked and gave the king a bow before leaving.
There was no need for him to say anything to Sylva, she had her own ways of learning how any of her patients were fairing regardless of her proximity of them. He was proven correct when he passed the nurse in the corridor leading to the king's more public office. Cor smiled at her expression and simply mouthed ''Have fun!'' , making her chuckled as she waved at him. The Marshall continued on his way, stopping only for a short while when he heard the sound of a loud exaggerated groan that was quickly cut off as the heavy soundproof door closed behind the nurse.
With very little to do while his Crownguards did the leg work on the matters at hand, Cor opted to go see Prompto and spend some time with the young boy until supper. He headed for the library, looking through the vast space filled with rows and rows of books, the soldier rarely spent time here unless he was desperate for some peace and quiet without leaving the Citadel. He didn't find the child within its silent sanctuary and so he headed towards the Prince's quarters. As he approached the doors to the royal suite, Cor allowed a smile to light his face at the delightful sound of laughter spilling from the once dreadfully silent rooms.
His hand stopped before he could knock, his mind remembering the last time he had heard Noctis' laughter before Prompto's arrival at the Citadel. It had been far too long since laughter had visited the hall of the Royal home and he gave the Astrals a quick prayer in thanks for the arrival of his new nephew. He gave a quick and short knock before he entered the room.
Cor found Prompto sitting at what was quickly becoming his usual place on the sofa beside the young prince. His entrance was greeted by a wide smile and happy shout, ''Uncle Cor!'' Cor grinned, '' Hey Prompto, Noctis.'' He looked around and spotted Ignis entering followed by Gladio, both carrying snacks and drinks. ''Boys.'' Gladio shot the soldier a quick grin while Ignis half-bowed to the older man, ''Marshall.''
Prompto leaned over the side of the couch to look at his uncle, '' Is everything ok Uncle?'' the boy frowned a bit, ''You look stressed.'' Cor offered a smile to Prompto, helping the older boys bring their prizes to the table in front of the sofa, ''Just saw your mom in one of her nursing moods heading to the King's office.'' Prompto muttered a small ''Ah.'' While Noctis chuckled, ''Well at least Dad is going to be ok.'' Cor grinned, '' Of course he is, speaking of which how are you boys today? Not too tired from yesterday's party I hope?'' All the boys denied any ill effects from the late evening but Cor noticed the small yawn Noctis tried to hide.
Ignis looked over the living room table filled with various snacks and drinks; some healthier than others less so before he turned to the Marshall, still standing on the side of the couch beside Prompto, ''What brings you here Marshall?'' Cor was startled out of his thoughts and had to straighten his mind before he could answer the young Scientia, ''My apologies Ignis, I wanted to check up on Prompto.'' He turned to his nephew, ''Your mom invited me for supper tonight. Did you want anything in particular?''
Prompto gave a shout of joy at the news that Cor would be joining them for supper and he thought about his Uncle's request, ''Not really, I'm fine with anything.'' Cor nodded, ''Alright then, try not to spoil your appetite for tonight.'' Cor reached out to ruffle Prompto's hair, ignoring the indignant squawk that followed as the boy tried to rearrange his hair back to its previous state. He nodded a goodbye to the older duo and gave a half bow to the prince before leaving Prompto to his friends with a promise to come pick him up later.
He still had another hour or so before Sylva was expecting him and Prompto for supper, plenty of time for him to go do some training. The training hall had some of the Crownguards training there including Monica who greeted the Marshall as soon he passed through the doors. Cor soon found himself fighting 5 of the guards at once as each of them tried to score a hit on their commander. By the end of the session, Cor was sweaty but content with the progress of those who were under his command. He took a quick shower and after sending a quick text to Sylva, went to grab Prompto to bring him back home.
Sylva and Lance were already there, helping each other cook within the apartment kitchen as Cor pushed Prompto towards the dining room table. ''Welcome back!'' Lance greeted, detangling himself from his wife to go give his son a quick kiss and a hug. ''Need a hand with anything?'' Cor offered but was quickly shut down by Sylva, ''Dont be silly! Supper is almost ready anyways.'' Prompto tugged on Cor's arm, ''I want to show you the room decorations Ignis got me! '' Cor smiled, sending a quick glance at Sylva who meet his gaze with tired and worried eyes, before following the eager child to his room. Cor found the room covered in chocobo figurines, chocobo plushies and even some posters now hanging on the wall. The posters weren't all about chocobos, some were about games or what appeared to be music bands that Prompto had mentioned before. It wasn't long before Lance came to fetch them for supper.
The supper itself was lively as Cor and Sylva inevitably found themselves teasing each other while being egged on by Lance and Prompto but there was only so much that could be done before Cor found himself thinking about the reason for his presence here. He helped clean the dishes as Sylva and Lance brought Prompto into their living room. By now the boy had sensed that there was something wrong, making him shift uneasily and keep glancing between all the adults. An uneasy silence fell across the room, only broken by the sound of Cor placing dishes into the washing machine until Prompto couldn't deal with it anymore and asked with a trembling voice, ''Whats going on?''
Cor slowly straightened where he was, taking a deep breath and leaving the rest of the dishes on the counter in order to go kneel in front of a confused Prompto. Sylva and Lance put their arms around their son as Cor slowly took out a now familiar file and laid it on Prompto's lap. ''Do you remember me telling you that I was looking into that tattoo of yours and what it meant?'' Cor asked in a soft voice, Prompto nodded hesitantly, his eyes drawn to the file. Cor motioned to it, ''We found something and its not very pleasant.'' Cor forced himself to swallow and take another deep breath before continuing, ''You were born as the son of Versteal Besithia and an unknown mother, to be put into one of the mad scientist's new experimental Magitek programs.''
Prompto eyes widen as he choked off a strangled sob, his parents quick to try and reassurance their son while Cor took the boy's hand in his own. ''This doesn't change a thing Prompto. Where you came from, who your biological parents where; none of that changes your memories, your personality or your love for us nor ours for you.'' Prompto did start crying at that, leaning into the loving hugs from his family as they murmured loving words and reassurances. The crying didn't last too long compared to the last time Prompto had received similar news; the boy not panicking but rather crying from the relief that came from finally having answers to some of his questions rather than from fear or panic.
Prompto pushed himself out of the embrace to wipe his eyes, ''Thanks for telling me this.'' Cor was more than a little surprised at how clear Prompto's gaze was so soon after hearing about his origins. Sylva shared a worried glance with her husband, ''Are you ok Prompto? Do you need anything?'' Asked Lance, shifting so he could see his son's face better. Prompto shook his head, ''I'm ok. You said it yourself, this doesn't change who I am.'' Sylva gave a sigh of relief before dragging her son into a long tight hug, ''You are amazing and I love you so much.'' She muttered in his ear, drawing a giggle from the squirming blond, ''Mom! Too tight!'' he complained half heartedly. Lance and Cor shared an amused gaze, the marshal getting back to his feet, intent on returning to finish the dishes while the Argentum family play fights on the sofa.
Prompto looked at the file still resting on his knees, making his mind up to read it once his arents were asleep but for now Prompto put it all aside to enjoy the rest of the evening with the only family that mattered to him. A small part of him wished Noctis, Ignis and Gladio could be with him but his parents and uncle were enough for the moment, he could talk with the guys tomorrow. With his mind made up, Prompto leaned into his mother's embrace and smugly suggested they all play a card game. Cor grinned and suggested ''What about a game of Poker?'' Sylva shot a surprised look at the man while Prompto gave a confused look at his uncle, ''Whats Poker?'' Lance sighed, knowing at a glance what was going to happen for the rest of the night. That was how Prompto was introduced to poker and all its wonders. He also ended up finding out he had a really good poker face that allowed him to win almost half of their games and had Cor promise to bring him to visit a chocobo farm within the year.
The next three weeks were quite busy for everyone, Cor dealing with the increase in information and the lack of Kingsglaive to increase the personnel when he was short staffed while Sylva had gotten through all the reports on the research done by the Niflheim Empire on the Star Scourge. By the second week of having access to the information, Sylva and her team had already created several theoretical cures by combining the Nif based research with the data they had from Prompto's initial blood test. Prompto had insisted to give some more blood and start the testing they needed to commence their own research. Sylva had hesitated but after finding Prompto in the laboratory with Ignis talking with one of the doctors involved in the project she finally agreed to it and helped start the rocess.
On his side, Prompto found himself joining Noctis more and more often for his study sessions throughout the day instead of only in the mornings. Cor would always take the time to meet Prompto for his rehab sessions, where the boy was slowly regaining movement in his lower limbs and could now take a few steps in between the parallel bars used for such exercises. The other thing that Cor always made time for was training Prompto with fire arms where Prompto found he had a natural talent for it. When he first realized it, Prompto was hesitant to continue as he remembered the report about the modifications to his DNA to make him into a better soldier but his worries were soon calmed by his friend and family.
After his talk with Sylva, Ventus rearranged Regis' schedule to ensure that he had every Friday night free in order to have supper with his son and a relaxing night without the stress of his duties as King to stress him out, a time where the man could simply be a father for his son. He enlisted his nephew to help rearrange the prince's own schedule to match his father's new weekly day off. Ventus and Clarus also talked to their friend about trying out Sylva's idea of a new diet to see if it would help him reduce the strain caused by keeping the Wall up at all times. It took some convincing from their part as Regis was reluctant to believe that a change of diet would help him with the almost constant exhaustion and strain that he had felt since first raising the Wall to protect Insomnia almost 20 years ago. In the end, it was Noctis who begged his father to at least give it a try that convinced the man to agree to the test.
The cooks were informed of the need to change the King's diet to one created with the help of Sylva, a doctor and a nutritionist. It meant more work for the kitchen staff but no one complained when the reason for the change, a possible way to help their king feel better, was explained by Clarus and Ventus themselves. The Citadel staff banded together, determined to do their part to help His Majesty, a man who everyone knew overworked for the sake of his country and citizens.
The maids and butlers started interrupting meetings to bring the King preplanned snacks and drinks and waiting until he had eaten everything he was supposed to before leaving the room. The bureaucrats of the Citadel put even more effort in their work, going through all the papers that allowed the city to run smoothly, keeping track of the amount of papers that were on his Majesty's desk at all time and every so often cleaning the desk completely to leave well made resumes of all the documents Regis had been expecting to have to read. Even the Citadel guards took part in the new game, keeping the kitchen informed on the King's location when he moved from one room or meeting to another or letting the bureaucrats know when the King seemed overwhelmed with papers from meetings.
Regis Lucis Caelum was surprised by the effort everyone around him seems to put into helping him manage his work and new diet. He found himself smiling more and thanking every one of the staff who made the effort to help him with one thing or another. The diet combined with the amazing help he received showed considerable improvement in his health. Within a week of the changes, Regis found himself waking up filled with energy and in much less pain then he ever remembered in decades. The first such morning, Regis found himself sneaking up to a sleepy Noctis and picking the young boy up in his arms for the first time in years for no reason. ''Dad!'' Shrieked the surprised prince, his shout turning to helpless laughter as Regis started tickling him. Regis joined in on the laughter, settling Noct on his lap as they both ate breakfast with a smile on their faces.
Sylva soon became a known fixture in the King's retinue, checking in on the man at least once a day and bringing him updates on the research about the possible cure. She was more than happy to announce to everyone when the King's weight finally reached a normal weight for a man of his height. The nutritionist decided to change a few things now that his Majesty's weight had returned to something healthier. Lance had joined Ventus' personal staff, helping with any work that needed to be done, helping mostly by going to where ever they were missing staff and allowing Lance to work with almost everyone.
On the night before the planned return and mass arrest of the traitorous Kingsglaive, Cor found himself woken a by a phone call at 3 am. It was Monica. ''What is it?'' Cor asked, instantly awake as he pushed back the blankets off his body and starting to get ready. ''We received an emergency message from the Kingsglaive. They were attacked by a large army of daemon and during the chaos, the traitors turned on the Glaives commanded by Drautos. The survivors are on their way back and requesting aid from the Crown.'' Cor swore, ''Send it but no glaives enters the City without being cleared properly. Let the gate keepers know and make sure we have enough medical equipment to deal with anything including scourge infection.''
As soon as Monica confirmed the orders and hung up, Cor called up Clarus, the sleepy voice of his friend answered after the first ring, '' The traitors have shown their hands, an attack by daemons offered them the chance to turn on the others. The survivors are being picked up and brought to stay outside the Crown City until we clear them to return to inside Insomnia. Get Regis, I'll get Ventus.'' Clarus didn't bother answering, hanging up on the Marshal to get moving. Cor finished getting dressed before contacting Ventus on his way to his car. He gave the adviser the same report once the man answered his phone.
By the time he arrived at the Citadel, Regis was up with Clarus at his side reading the report from Monica and the first wave of Crownguards sent to help the survivors were on their way to their last known position. ''This seems like unusually convenient timing.'' Muttered Clarus. Ventus arrived at that moment, his hands already filled with papers, some of which he handed to Cor. ''I agree but there hasn't been any leak on our side. I'm confidant of this.'' Declared Monica from where she was kneeling in front of the King. ''Then that leave the possibility of the Nifs finding out about the leak from their side. Could they have found this mysterious ALC?'' Regis wondered, handing the report to Ventus.
Cor shuffled, frowning before making a decision, '' I'm going to go verify the situation personally, '' he glanced at his king, ''unless you need me here?'' Regis and Clarus shared a look before Regis drew himself up straight to talk with Cor, ''Go! Find what the situation is with the Kingsglaive and who remains loyal to the crown. As soon as they are safe, contact me and I will revoke their right to the magic I gifted unto them.'' Cor gave a bow and left immediately, stopping only long enough to grab the ever prepared bag of necessities he kept in his office for such occasions. He sent Sylva a message letting her know he would be out of Insomnia for a while as he descended into the Citadel's parking garage. The Marshal made his way to a slick black and silver motorcycle, a gift from Clarus after their return from Accordo that he rarely used. He put his bag into the seat compartment and ensured his sword was properly attached by his side before starting the bike and quickly leaving the city.
It didn't take long for the Marshall to catch up to the first convoy and then pass it, heading straight for where Monica had registered the position of the distressed transmission from the Glaives. He heard the growls of the daemons before he could see the fighting that accompanied such sounds. The professional soldier pushed his bike faster as he rounded the bend and found himself arriving in the middle of a battlefield; shouts and roars filling the air with the stench of blood rose steadily from the blood soaked grounds.
Cor didn't hesitate, he gave his own shout '' FOR THE KING!'' Unsheathing his sword to cut down the first daemon that stood in his way. His arrival was noticed immediately byt the closest glaives who quickly took up the shout and made their way to stand by the Immortal Marshall's side. Cor ditched his bike, leaving it on the ground as he wove his way through what seemed like an almost endless amount of daemons that rose from the night only to die on his blade. He kept an eye out for glaives that might be traitors but soon noticed that the only glaives around were being attacked by the daemons and were fighting back by his side. The part of his mind that tended to notice such things came to a startling conclusion, the traitor had used the daemons as a diversion to flee before they could be arrested; probably hoping that any Kingsglaives still loyal to the Crown would die at the hand of the daemons and leave no one the wiser of the defection.
The first convoy of Crownsguard arrived just as the sun started to rise above the horizon, the morning light sending the daemons scurrying back to where ever they disappeared to during the day, leaving the dead and injured alone on the bloody road. Cor didn't wait, starting to give orders and arrange for the injured to be cared for first and then the dead's bodies to be collected. He waved away any help from the accompanying doctors, settling for taking a single potion. He wasn't much help in dealing with the wounded and found himself wandering the field, looking at all the faces from the surviving Glaives and matching them to those he had sent combing through over the last 3 weeks. His mid battle conclusion seemed to be true as he found not a single face that matched the traitors found within the Kingsglaive. From the thousands sent on the training exercises, only 1/3 survived to return to the Crown city; the others either dead or turned traitors including Drautos himself. The first thing he did after finally receiving the reports from the doctors and his own soldiers was to send it to Rhane for the King's eyes with a written addition of his conclusion added to the very top of the documents. The second convoy, with more medical equipment and several cars specifically made to keep bodies intact arrived 2 hours after the end of the fight. By the time all the injuries had been dealt with and everyone was declared fit to be moved it was mid-afternoon and the large convoy of injured Glaives surrounded by Crownguards started on the path back to the Crown City.
Cor had talked with Regis and asked that the surviving Glaives be allowed in as soon as they arrived; Clarus had argued against it initially but when Ventus joined in and agreed with Cor the decision was made to open the gate for them. Regis had already striped the Glaives of their powers in order to prevent the traitors from misusing the Crystal's power to help the Nifs in any way. A new ceremony would have to be arranged once the glaives were completely cleared and allowed to return to duty if they so wished but that would have to wait until the current situation was better understood. By the time the convoy made its way through the city gates night had fallen and everyone was more than happy to enter the safety of the Wall. Leaving the Crownguards to bring the injured Kingsglaives to the prepared area for treatement and the non-injured one to be interrogated about the details of the last 24 hours, Cor headed straight for the Citadel to meet up with Regis and his council to report on what he had been able to get out of the Glaives during his time with them.
A/N:
Next chapter will be the last one for this fist part of the series :) Which means that I'll be starting to write the second part which will cover the years until the events of the games. It also means that since these will be a series of interconnected drabbles that I invite all my readers to send me any prompts or ideas they would like to see me write.
There are only 2 rules for the prompts:
1. No smut or descriptive sexual content.
2. The end game relationship wise is for the Chocobros to be one happy polyamorous couple. This doesnt mean they wont be seeing people outside of the other three but it will not be permanent relations.
Other then that, feel free to send me ideas, prompts or requests. I will be posting the last chapter tomorow with maybe an epilogue friday. This weekend will see the 2-shot intitled 'Sylva's Revenge' be posted and next monday I will begin the new series!
