No! He couldn't believe he just threw his best friend off the train! But it was all Ardyn's fault.
How did he manage to trick the prince like that?
He couldn't tear his eyes away from the foliage as it flew past.
Prompto.
They had to stop the train!
They had to find him!
They had to make sure he was safe!
But… If Ardyn was really Prompto, then…
Noct's eyes widened as the realization struck him.
Prompto was Ardyn…!
The prince seized up as he felt a presence behind him.
He didn't need to be a genius to know who it was as Noct turned to face Ardyn.
He didn't have the chance to lay eyes on the man before darkness consumed his vision.
Noct stirred, as he felt the cold metal pressed against his face.
What happened?
Noct summoned his most recent memories, in an effort to recall how he wound up on top of this train.
The prince couldn't shake the heavy sinking feeling clutching at his heart.
Wait.
Prompto?
Noct gasped as all his memories came flooding back.
Noo!
The pulled himself to his knees, in a vain attempt to get to his feet before feeling a scream escape his lips.
The prince felt his body collide back against the harsh metal.
Why was his ass so sore?
Noct paled at the thoughts intruding his mind,
No…
It cant be…
The prince cringed as his mind conjured up the only possible conclusion.
Did Ardyn…
Rape him…?
Surely not?
Why would Ardyn even do that to him?
Then again, he was the single most creepy man he'd ever met, so he shouldn't really put anything past him.
Noct struggled to climb to his feet again before finally making it to his knees.
Perhaps a potion would help?
Noct cringed at the thought of having to tell his two remaining friends.
Maybe he didn't have to?
Maybe this potion will work wonders and he can forget about the pain, almost pretend like it never happened.
Because… There was no way he could tell Ignis and Gladio… especially not Gladio...
Noct withdrew a potion from the armiger before crushing it in his fingers.
His body felt instantly better, although, his ass still hurt like hell.
The prince drew himself to his feet, at least now, he seemed to be able to walk.
Albiet, slowly.
But. He had to focus!
What was his next objective…?
He had to regroup with the others, that's what.
The prince wandered towards the end of the carriage before carefully jumping down.
They had to be here somewhere right?
Noct searched carefully as he wandered through each carriage, making his way progressively towards the front of the train.
What was he going to say when he saw them again?
Would they notice he was walking oddly?
He'd just say it was a fighting injury…
In a way it kind of was…
He had to try to think of something else…
Something to take his mind off of it…
Noct gasped as his heart sunk,
A thought forced its way into his mind, the worst possible thought.
Oh no! Prompto!
What if Ardyn captured Prompto?!
Would he do that to him too?
Shit.
Noct tried to calm down but was having very little success as his pace subconsciously increased.
No no no no no!
He couldn't his friend go through that!
He had to find him!
ASAP!
"Noct!"
The prince was snapped out of his reverie at the sound of his voice.
He turned around to face the origin as his eyes fell on Ignis and Gladio.
"About bloody time!" Gladio barked at the prince. "I called your name about four times before I got a response out of you"
"S-sorry"
"Well, you do have the weight of the world on your shoulders, after all" Ignis intervened, subtly reminding them that they each had different roles to play in the melodrama that was life.
"Hey, where's Prompto?" Gladio's eyes searched the train, as if expecting to find him lurking behind one of the seats.
"He, ah, fell, well, I, accidentally pushed him off the train"
"Pushed him off the train?!"
"I didn't mean to! Ardyn played some crazy trick and I thought I was throwing Ardyn off but it wasn't him" Noct tried his best not to break down in front of his two remaining friends.
"It's quite alright Noct, we will find him again. It will just take time, that's all" Ignis assured the young prince.
Why did they have to ask about Prompto? As the dread filled his heart once more.
Then again why wouldn't they ask about him, if he wasn't there?
Noct tried to ignore the pain in his heart, along with the pain in his backside that didn't seem to be healing.
At least it was more bearable now, still hell, but manageable.
"Have a seat Noct" Ignis invited Noct as he moved over, allowing the prince space to join them.
Noct panicked at the thought of having to sit down, the pain was bad enough standing, but putting pressure on that part of his body right now...?
"Um, ah, I'm fine"
"Noct. You need to rest while you can" Gladio intervened, looking about ready to grab the prince and force him to sit.
"O-okay" Noct agreed, hoping to keep the fighter at bay.
Slow and gentle Noct. Slow and gentle.
The prince managed the feat, silently proud of himself for not giving away the ball game.
When had fighting demons got so hard? He felt ambushed at every turn, like they kept sneaking up on him and appearing out of nowhere.
"Hey Noct! When are you gonna start paying attention?!" Gladio growled as he blocked another attack from striking the prince.
Again…
Make that the fourth time he owed Gladio just from this fight alone.
Then again, his current condition didn't help. The pain was definitely distracting him, there was no denying that.
At least he could disguise his pain as him just being freezing cold from shiva's blizzard.
"I would have liked to wrap that up more quickly" Ignis stated factually as he struck the final demon, before heading back towards the train.
"Yeah" Gladio agreed, shooting Noct a disappointed glance before following Ignis.
Noct glanced down at the snow littering the ground, wishing he could just disappear from his life, step into someone else's for a while.
He felt like he was loosing a part of himself, the part of him that continued on, no matter how hard life got. His strength, his determination, he had always taken it for granted and now… Well, he didn't know how to stop all that he held dear from slipping from his grasp.
This was the destiny his life held, and he had no choice but to fulfil it. It wasn't about him and he had to remember that, it was about the people.
His people.
He had to restore light to the world and banish these demons, once and for all.
Noct held his renewed determination close to his heart as he stepped aboard the train.
"What's wrong with you?" Gladio's question came out a bit harsher and
accusatory than he had intended.
Noct flinched, not expecting the barrage to continue inside. He'd rather fend for himself outside with all the demons than be having this conversation with Gladio.
He didn't want to tell them what had happened, but it was so obvious that he wasn't himself.
He would only be able to fob it off as tired or cold for so long.
Besides, if he had to tell one of them, he'd rather tell Ignis.
Only Ignis.
"What Gladio means is, you seem a little off, and we wish to get to the bottom of what is troubling you" Ignis intervened, knowing the prince was already beating himself up about something. Although he didn't know what exactly.
"Nothing. Just tired" Noct lied, trying to regain his composure.
"What happened when you were on top of the train carriage" Ignis continued.
"I already told you" the prince stated defensively, knowing if they asked too many more questions, they would eventually get to the bottom of it.
He couldn't allow that.
Gladio was already disappointed in him and Ignis had enough to worry about with his lack of vision.
"Are you sure there wasn't… More?" Ignis pushed further, he knew what ever it was, that it had happened in the absence of Gladio and himself. That's when the change had happened. The prince seemed… Sombre? Perhaps a little defeated?
Then again, he had just lost his best friend that he had known for years from school…
Although, Ignis felt it was something else.
Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Noct was glad that Ignis couldn't scrutinise his facial expression, his reaction would have most certainly given something away. His advisor could read him like a book. Then again, he had known him his whole life.
"Ardyn, perhaps?" Ignis pressed
Noct gasped. Did he know?
"Yes, I thought as much" Ignis sighed before turning to the prince's shield.
"Gladio, would you do me the favour of approaching Biggs and Wedge and ask them how long it will be before we arrive in Gralea?"
"Why not just use the intercom?"
"I believe they will appreciate the personal touch"
Gladio's gaze jumped between Noct and Ignis.
"Alright, if you say so" the strong fighter rose from his seat before strolling down the carriage.
Ignis remained silent until he heard the door click shut.
"Now Noct, what is it?" Ignis reached out for the prince's arm, wanting to reassure him that what ever it was, it would all be alright.
"I think he…" Noct began, his voice starting to break, despite all his efforts.
"You think he what, Noct" Ignis's voice was so kind, comforting, but above all, empathetic.
Noct remained silent, trying to gain the courage to tell his advisor the truth, after all, isn't that what he was there for?
"Raped me" Noct finally whispered. He was afraid of how Ignis would treat him now. He wanted everything to be how it was, before all this happened.
Ignis's comforting hold on his arm only deepened.
"I'm sorry you had to experience that Noct, it isn't fair."
The prince bit down, trying not to let the tears escape his eyes.
"I have to ask, what do you mean by you think he did it?"
He wanted to answer Ignis's question but he knew if he opened his mouth, he wouldn't be able to stop the tears from falling.
"I-I" he began before stalling.
Ignis simply squeezed his arm, encouraging the young prince to continue.
"I was, unconscious" Noct began again, feeling Ignis's fingers gently tightening around his arm, inspiring him to finish his sentence.
"When I came around, he was gone and, my… body, ached".
"I see" Ignis nodded, wanting nothing more than to help the prince.
"Have you tried a potion for the pain"
"Yes"
"How about an elixir?"
"No"
"If the potion didn't do much, I doubt an elixir will do much more" Ignis pondered what would help the prince the most, something they would also happen to have on hand.
"A remedy perhaps?"
"It's worth a shot"
"Right" Ignis nodded, watching the prince summon one from the armiger.
Noct couldn't say that he was looking forward to reaching Gralea, because he simply wasn't. He didn't want to see Ardyn ever again. Not that he ever wanted to see him in the first place.
The young prince's heart pooled with dread, the feeling growing with each passing second.
Noct turned his gaze to the window, as if doing so would help take his mind off. All he saw was darkness, then again what else would you expect to see in a world now crawling with demons.
Noct could feel Gladio's gaze upon him. He knew the fighter was aware he had missed a vital piece of a confusing puzzle, when he went to talk to the drivers.
Noct prayed he wouldn't ask and prayed Ignis wouldn't tell.
The prince jumped as the train came to a sudden halt.
Oh no.
Are they here already?
Noct flinched as hordes of demons swamped into the train. The prince instinctively tried to summon the Ultima from his armiger.
Nothing.
What the..?
"What is it Noct?" Ignis questioned, sensing that something was wrong.
"The weapons, they're stuck"
"Stuck? What do you mean stuck?" Gladio barked at the prince in a half panic.
"Right, this is it, Noct, we have to get to the Regalia" Ignis advised him as the three began to run towards the back of the train.
"We're here!" Noct stated the obvious without thinking, before climbing into the drivers seat.
Relief washed over Noct at the familiar sight. The vehicle always took him back to his childhood, a time when he was always safe, always protected.
The drive into Gralea was treacherous at best. And now he was separated from his two remaining friends, while Ardyn taunted him through the loud speaker. He hated this place. It creeped the hell out of him and every single turn lead him to a corridor that looked just like the last one.
"Now now Noct, I have a dear surprise for you" Ardyn teased the young prince.
That voice…
It turned his stomach every time he heard it.
"The only thing you have to do is find it" Ardyn chuckled before continuing. "I do hope you're not too sore"
Noct's eyes widened at the man's comment.
Did he mean what he thought he meant by that?
"All that running around, dear dear"
Noct knew that's not what Ardyn meant as he struggled to make headway in the endless maze.
The remedy Ignis suggested was definitely helping ease the pain. It was now a tolerable dull ache in place of a searing agony.
He dreaded the moment he would have to confront Ardyn. He knew there was no avoiding it.
"Aww I do believe your dear friend is missing you terribly"
Prompto.
"What have you done to him you bastard!" Noct cried out without thinking.
"Why, that's not very kind dear Noctis"
"You better not have done to him what I think you have!"
"Oh, and what would that be dear?" Ardyn questioned innocently, although his voice not disguising the mockery that lay underneath.
"Oh, you know what" Noct growled as he stormed down another long corridor.
"Ah, but you see, I don't believe I do dear, care to enlightenment me?"
Noct remained silent as the man's words only infuriated him.
"What's wrong Noctis dear?"
"Don't play stupid with me, you know very well what's wrong" the words slipped from Noct's lips before he had a chance to decide if he actually wanted to speak them.
"Oh but Noctis dear, I thought we were friends, after all, we were very close not so long ago".
Noct cringed at the thought, as any doubt about who did that to him was erased with that one comment.
"Close? Is that what you call it?" Noct gritted his teeth as he tried to calm the anger that was growing out of control with in him.
"Yes dear, of course"
"I call it a…" Noct stopped himself, realising what his words would mean to everyone listening. He didn't want the whole world knowing he had been raped. Especially by someone as vial as Ardyn.
The prince shook his head, signalling the end of the conversation.
Only, Ardyn had other ideas.
"You call it a what, dear?"
The man was persistent, of that there was no doubt.
Noct remained silent, refusing to indulge the man with a response.
"Although, I do feel there is a valuable piece of information that I fear has not been passed on to you, so I shall enlighten you" Ardyn chuckled, knowing that if nothing else, the prince would definitely listen to this.
"You see, it may be of interest to you that people of royal blood can have children, regardless of the individuals gender.
Noct's eyes narrowed, his pace slowing down as a result.
"Yes dear, that means you are capable of carrying a child, but only if the other person involved was also of royal blood".
"But how?"
"Oh dear, did dear Regis not tell you about the birds and the bees?"
"No I mean…" Noct began before realising he was playing straight into Ardyn's hand.
"Yes dear, it is the same act" Ardyn answered the question for him.
"Not many people know this Noctis dear, but, I, am also of royal blood".
Noct's eyes widened before feeling his knees collapse under him. He felt his stomach tighten beyond anything he had ever experienced in his life.
Was the possibility of being pregnant with Ardyn's child that repulsive?
Yes! Yes it was!