For a time, Noctis drifted.

He didn't know how long, really. Time felt like it no longer existed, like each second that passed could be a heartbeat or an eternity. He dreamed, now and then, of peaceful times and painful times. He saw his father through the eyes of an adoring child and of a distant adult. He saw himself stand on the Citadel stairs and scoff at his father's words of farewell, turn with a careless wave and leave, not once looking back, and he felt regret.

He saw Gladio, his sworn Shield, as a grumpy teenager who looked down his nose and as the man who stood strong, willing to take any blow in his place. He saw Ignis, his Advisor and Right Hand, as an overly formal child afraid of misstepping and as the man who doted on him, who looked after him and cared for him and guided him in every way he could, who always stood faithfully at his back.

He saw Prompto, his best friend, the girl he loved with his whole heart, the one he'd fight the entire world for if she only asked. He saw her as the quiet, chubby girl she'd been in elementary, shying away but always there in his periphery. He saw her laughing face, lit up with joy, saw the horror in her eyes as she realized their home really was gone. So many little moment with her, all held dear to him. The first time he'd kissed her, after a hard study session where she'd called herself useless and stupid like she wasn't the only reason he smiled every day. The first time they'd made love, in a dingy hotel room in Old Lestallum, and the way she held him so tightly like she was terrified he'd leave her behind if she let go. The way she'd looked at him, that night in Zegnautus Keep, like she was in awe that he'd still want her, still love her, after everything that had happened.

He saw others, too, brief glances, memories that flitted in and out of his mind. Iris, smiling wide to show off the gap of her lost tooth. Talcott, cheering and looking on the verge of tears as he was presented with a new cactuar figurine. Cor, looking stern and imposing as always, but hands gentle as they guided him through another kata. Claurus, always a step behind his father, looking equal parts exasperated and exhausted. Cindy, appraising the Regalia's condition, Cid, complaining about his bad back, Takka, flinching at their arrival but offering them warm smiles and warm food.

More and more, he remembered. That was all that he could do here, after all. Just remember and wait.

Wait for what? He wasn't sure. Was he sure? Did he know?

Maybe. The memory would come, if he did. All memories would come, eventually.

So he stayed, and he remembered, and he didn't know anything else.

Did he exist, here? Was he real, here? Was anything? Had it ever been?

Did it matter?

He drifted.

.

.

Something changed.

It started slowly, so slowly that Noctis barely even realized it at first. But change didn't happen, not here in this place. There was drifting, and memories, and reflection. That was it, that was all he could say with certainty existed. But then something changed.

It was a sound, soft and fluttering and barely heard but constant. As seconds or maybe ages passed it became louder and louder and more real, thumping, thumping, thumping...

A heartbeat, he realized after awhile. It sounded like a heartbeat. But whose? His? Surely not. He wasn't real here, after all. Did he even exist? Had he ever?

And then voices, eventually. Distant and unreachable. He wanted to call out for them but couldn't. This was a time for reflection, not a time for words. He was to stay here, in this place, until the Ring had absorbed the Crystal's power and then he would face the Accursed, make right what had been made wrong, save his kingdom from never-ending night, and then he would die. The memory of Bahamut saying as much came suddenly, as they all seemed to, disjointed and out of order.

He knew the memory would come. They all did, eventually.

That didn't explain the voices, though. They weren't part of his memories, he knew that much. They weren't the voices of the gods, either.

He waited, as that was all he could do, as second by second or age by age the voices grew louder, clearer, until finally -

"You are your father's kid, you know that? Keep me up all hours of the night but the moment I want to spend time with you it's nap time, huh?"

Prompto.

That was Prompto's voice, soft and full of love and affection, and just hearing it was like breaking the surface of a deep ocean. He felt like he'd been drowning, endlessly, but her voice was a lifeline, bringing him back to air.

It continued on and every time she spoke, he felt closer to being real. He did exist. He was alive. And Prompto was waiting for him.

She said as much, many times.

"Noct would love you so much, you know? Gods, but he'd be even more of a wreck than me if he was here." A wet laugh, like she was close to tears, and he hurt. "He'd be trailing me around like a lost puppy, he'd be so scared I'd get hurt somehow. He was always so protective of me. He'll probably go feral over you."

"I wish he was here. I wish you could meet him, could hear his voice, too. I want you to know him."

"Gods, Noct, please. I can't do this without you. Please, please, please."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. It was my fault, I know it was, but please come back."

"Noctis. Say his name, he deserves that much respect!"

"What am I gonna do, huh, little one?"

"C'mon, just a few hours. I know you're ready to move around but mama's tired."

"I'll make a mistake, I know I will, I always do and I'm going to screw it all up!"

"There's not much time left, Noct, please."

Prompto was calling to him. She was calling out to him, crying and desperate and she needed him. What was the power of the Ring, the Crystal, a power greater than that of the Six in the face of that?

Nothing. That power was nothing.

He had to leave, he had to get out. He had to go to her. He had to.

He couldn't allow himself to drift any longer.

"The light does not yet wax full. Your downfall will be your own doing."

.

.

Noctis wasn't sure what woke him but, the moment that he realizes he was asleep enough to be awoken, he comes to all at once.

He's in a dark cell, sitting up with his hands clasped between his knees, and he feels both exhausted and like he's bursting at the seems with energy. He wants to lay back down on the stone cot he's sat on, close his eyes and go to sleep, but he can't. He knows he can't. There's something far more important that he has to do. Something...

A dog is barking.

He jerks, eyes snapping towards the sound, and finds that he's not in a cell after all, as there's no door keeping him locked within. He can't help but feel grateful. He doesn't know if he'd be capable of breaking out right now.

Still, he forces himself to his feet and makes his stumbling way towards the barking, already knowing deep down that he'll see Umbra upon exiting.

"Hey, boy," Noctis rasps, throat scratchy like he hasn't spoken in days. And who knows, maybe he hasn't, maybe it's been even longer than that. Still, he kneels, ruffling Umbra's fur before taking the letter grasped gently in the dog's teeth.

It's Prompto's handwriting, no doubt about it, and he has no idea how it's here, or why, but he isn't about to question it. It tells him what he needs to know, where he needs to go, and that's all that matters.

"Be waiting... in Hammerhead."

.

.

Time seemed to be passing both too quickly and too slowly.

One moment he was making his way through the abandoned resort, trying desperately not to look too hard at the clothes scattered about the floor, the next he was sitting in the back of a truck headed straight for Hammerhead while the hunters around him crowed in excitement and the driver spoke urgently into his phone.

Noctis assumed they'd called one of the others, probably Ignis or Gladio, but he only shook his head when the driver turned to hand him the phone. He wanted to talk to them, gods, did he ever. But... he wanted to see them more. He wanted to see their faces and hear their voices and be able to touch them and know that this was real, that he was real.

In the meantime, he tried his best to pay attention to the hunters sitting in the back with him. "So, how long's it been?"

"Since the sun went down and decided not to come back up? About eight months."

"Eight months?!"

"Yeah, you've been gone a while. Whole world's gone to shit in the meantime. Daemons have taken over, as you can see," the man next to him, a formerly retired hunter who'd introduced himself as Gavin, gestured around them. On either side of the road, daemons roamed freely. "Most towns and outposts have been overtaken, only a few left outside of Lestallum. That's where most have gone now-a-days."

"Ignis was there helping organize up until about a month ago," another jumped in, nodding along. "He and the big guy, Gladio, showed up pretty much outta nowhere. Thought the Marshal was gonna take 'em out back and hide 'em six feet under, no daemons necessary."

Gavin snorted in clear agreement. "Haven't seen him that mad in a good while, that's for sure. Them boys messed up big time. Makin' up for it, though."

"Ignis and Gladio?" Noctis asked, blinking in confusion. Gladio, he could get. The man was stubborn at the worst of times and if Noctis had really been gone for months? Yeah, the Shield probably hadn't coped well with that. Ignis, though? As much as he knew his advisor cared for him, he'd always thought the man would power through more than anything. "Why's that?"

"Well, I'd be spittin' mad, too, if they up an' left my girl pregnant in the middle of nowhere!" Gavin huffed, true annoyance in his voice, and Noctis blinked because -

"What?"

"The Marshal's got a soft spot for Prompto that runs about five miles wide. I'd swear up and down he's her dad, if they looked anything alike at all."

"And them boys left her in Hammerhead, alone, until he got there. And then had the nerve to show up as they pleased!"

"Now, now, you know Prom's happy they're around. Haven't seen her this happy in... ever, really."

"Yeah, yeah, point is, Cor was about baying for their blood for a long while and Miss Cindy wasn't far behind. Them boys are lucky Prompto loves 'em so much, cause trust me, they'd be hurtin' if she didn't."

Noctis was trying to follow along, really he was, but his mind just kept circling back to that one word over and over and over and oh, there was that panic he'd been waiting for since docking in Galdin.

"Pregnant?" He finally choked out and both men snapped their eyes right to him. "Prompto's pregnant?"

"Sure is," Gavin agreed, and now he looked wary, like he was speaking to a wild animal. "Almost in her eighth month, I'd reckon, given her size."

Prompto was pregnant. Prompto was almost eight months pregnant and Noctis had been gone for eight months and the last night they'd been together he hadn't used any protection at all, hadn't even thought about it, and he was going to hyperventilate right here in the back of this truck.

"We're here!" The driver called out, voice barely heard over the clanging of metal gates opening, and then they were pulling into the lot of Hammerhead and Noctis was looking up and -

There, across the lot, was Prompto, and for a moment it felt like he couldn't even breathe.

Because she was beautiful, more beautiful than anything he'd ever seen before, almost seemed to be glowing. Even as she tried her best to waddle his way faster and almost stumbled, even as tears and snot flooded her red face, even if she was wearing sweats and a t-shirt that barely seemed to stretch over her rounded stomach.

And then he was practically warping to her, catching her up into his arms, and she smelled just like she always did, even after eight months, and then he was crying right along with her.

"Prom, Prompto, you're here."

"I'm here?" She demanded, voice shaky, as she shoved her face into his neck. "You're here! You're here, you're actually here!"

"Yeah," he agreed, "I'm here."

He tried to hold her tighter, hold her closer, but her stomach was having none of that. And then he could feel something within it moving and, oh.

"You're really..." He trailed off, taking a reluctant step back so that he could look down at her. And there really wasn't any denying it. Her stomach was obviously swollen. "Is it really...?"

"Of course, you idiot," she scoffed, but she didn't sound mad about the question, if anything she just looked grateful that he was there to voice it. "Of course it's yours. Whose else would it be?"

"I know, I know, just," he took an unsteady breath and, with one more look at her face to be sure, placed his hands on her belly. The skin beneath shifted immediately in response and she hiccuped out a wet laugh. It was the best sound he thought he'd ever heard.

"We just got up not too long ago. They're wide awake and ready to go," she told him, cupping his hands to her as if she never wanted him to let go. Like he would, at this point. "They definitely take more after me, in that case."

He nodded, hearing her words but more focused on the movement continuing under his hands because... that was a baby. That was their baby.

"We're having a baby," he stated, feeling so much panic and elation at once that he'd almost circled right around to numb. "We're having a baby!"

The look on Prompto's face was pure fond indulgence and the snorts of amusement that met his words clearly weren't coming from her. Finally managing to tear his eyes away - a true feat, really, since she was pretty much all he ever wanted to look at for the rest of his life - he found the rest of his retinue waiting more or less patiently at the side.

"Hey," Gladio greeted when Noctis caught his eye and, if the Shield looked like he was about to start bawling any minute, neither of them mentioned it. "Took you long enough, you laze-about. Enjoy the nap?"

"Really, Gladio, already with the teasing?" Ignis cut in, exasperated, but honestly the both of them just looked so happy it was almost enough to take his breath away. "It is truly good to hear your voice once again, your Highness."

"Indeed," and there was the Marshal, back straight and face as imposing as ever, but there was a softness in his eyes when they drifted towards Prompto and, wow, those hunters really hadn't been lying about that. "We've been awaiting your return."

There was a loud gurgle before any more words could be spoken and all eyes went to Prompto, who reddened immediately under the attention. "What? I haven't had breakfast yet, okay? I'm eating for two here, give me a break!"

The moment broke and Noctis found himself laughing, free and full of joy in a way he hadn't been since before Altissia. "Alright, alright, I've kept the lady waiting long enough."

"That's for damn sure," she grinned back at him, eyes shinning, but there was absolutely no anger in her tone. "C'mon, you can make me eggs. I more than deserve it after a morning like this!"

"Whatever you want," he agreed sweeping into the kind of obnoxious bow that always got her laughing, and took the chance while he was there to press a kiss to her abdomen. There was a baby in there. Their baby!

He'd give her the whole damn world if she asked it of him, so long as he never had to let her go again.

Compared to that, eggs were easy.

.

.

Noctis drifted.

Something about that wasn't right, but he didn't know what. He'd always been here, hadn't he? Had he?

Was he real? Was any of this real? Had it ever been?

Did it matter?

He drifted on within the void because that was all that he could do, all that he would ever do, until -

There was humming, a soft melodic noise, a tune he knew to the very core of him but one he would swear he'd never heard before. He didn't understand. There was no humming in this place. There were no sounds, especially ones of comfort. There were memories, and reflection, and drifting. That was it. So, what -?

"Oh, my King of Light."

The voice that spoke started gentle, like the dawn breaking after a long night. Between one word and the next, though, it became harsh like the blazing hot sun in Leide on a summer day.

"Wake up."

Noctis jolted, coming to all at once with a harsh gasp of breath, already reaching out to the girl at his side as panic ran through him. Except the bed beside him was empty and cold.

Heart pounding, he hurried to sit up, gaze sweeping the room, but it was so dark that he couldn't see a thing. And that... that wasn't right. Because they'd gone to bed with the curtains open, Prompto explaining how seeing the bright lights from the parking lot helped her to sleep better, and Noctis could fall asleep anywhere so it wasn't like he minded. But all he could see out the window now was a black void.

It wasn't until the screaming outside started that his brain finally connected the dots of what that meant.

The lights of Hammerhead had gone out.

And Prompto wasn't there.

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