AN: GG: And now we are in the second location! Let's see how the boys settle in to their new "home".

-

Eventually, right when he thought he might collapse from heat and exhaustion, Noctis saw a group of men prepping what looked like a shack in the middle of nowhere. He was guided into the building to find a series of stairs to take them back into eternal darkness.

"This is going to be your new home for a long while. Now that we removed all that royal clothing, they won't be able to track you any more," Drusus laughed.

Noctis felt his chest tighten a little bit at that laugh and tried to keep his face calm. He just stayed quiet while they were guided once more to two separate cells across from each other, though these were somehow more disgusting than the first ones.

"Do N-Noct and I not get to stay together tonight?" Prompto asked quietly, looking almost sick by the sight of the cells.

"Don't think you can go asking for rewards," Drusus scoffed. "Besides, you weren't very well behaved today."

Prompto shrunk back. "But I thought that only applied to Noct..."

"We thought wrong." Noctis said flatly. "Best behavior from both of us."

Prompto frowned but chose not to say anything else. He nodded quietly, looking more dreadful by the minute.

Noctis settled on the ground and leaned against the bars with a little sigh. He knew when they were defeated.

"We'll be back later to bring food, until then you two get settled," Drusus laughs before walking towards the door.

When they were left alone, Noctis curled up and rested his head against his knees. "I hate this so much." He muttered.

"Me too..." Prompto sniffled. "I'm sorry I messed up before."

"You weren't really in control of yourself. I'm glad that I was able to talk to him at least a little bit."

"Y-Yeah, thanks... Still I feel like crap for it."

"I'm sorry. Hopefully tomorrow will be better, and we can earn a reward somehow."

"Sure. yeah. We can try..." Prompto sighed. "And maybe actually be found..."

"I'm holding onto that hope. I just want to believe that they can do it again." Noctis said as he leaned his head on the bars to look at Prompto with lidded eyes.

"Hey..." Prompto said, moving a bit closer to the bars. "I just noticed... This hallway is way narrower. You think..." he reached his hand through the bar as far as he could.

Noctis perked up at that and decided to try it out. He reached out through the bars across the hallway to touch and grab hold of Prompto's cold hand.

Prompto smiled, giving Noctis's hand a squeeze. "So maybe this isn't all so bad."

"At least now we can touch each other a little bit. Find the bright side, right?" Noctis replied with a smile and a return squeeze.

"The smallest side, but it's something," Prompto agreed.

Noctis looked at their linked hands to enjoy the moment. Then his eyes noticed the pale wrist with a dark smear. "What's on your wrist?" He asked curiously.

Prompto tried to pull his hand back. "U-Uh... nothing. It's nothing."

"Oh, okay, if you're sure." Noctis said while letting go of Prompto's hand.

"I completely forgot... forgot until they made us take off the rest of the suit pieces," Prompto muttered. "I already gave them my wristband, but I thought it was fine under the shirt."

"Does it bother you? I don't- I can ignore it?"

"You're not... upset? Or disgusted by it?"

"Why would I do either of those?" Noctis asked. "It's just a mark on your wrist?"

"I don't even know..." Prompto muttered. "Had it as long as I can remember. Some weird tattoo or something."

"Who would put a tattoo on a baby? That's odd. But that isn't you."

"Well if I was a baby I wouldn't really have any choice now would I?" Prompto sighed, his voice weary. "I was just... always told to keep it hidden."

Noctis frowned at that. "Well, I suppose I can kind of understand that. But, I don't think differently of you because of it."

"Even if I got some weird barcode tattoo? Like I am a can of food or something?"

"Still Prompto. Though, if you were rung up at the store, you'd better be priceless." Noctis replied with a shrug.

"Thanks, Noct," Prompto smiled as he reached his hand back out. "That means a lot."

Immediately Noctis reached out to take the hand and squeeze it. "Of course. You're my best friend."

As the two boys kept chatting to one another, one of Drusus's men finished setting up the rest of the monitor equipment. Now that they had audio and visuals to watch, he raised an eyebrow at the two captives holding hands. "They really are ridiculous, aren't they?"

Another nodded. "They go to such lengths, yet are still so stupid. Like it's almost absurd."

"At this point, Drusus is going to win the betting pool. Why did I decide to bet against him?" Livius asked while looking at the pair on the screen.

"Hey, who knows what could happen," one said as he leaned back in his chair. "Besides, Drusus never said we couldn't mess around to try and sway it, did he?"

Livius smirked at that while he pointed at the other. "I like the way you think. We should definitely see if we can do that."

"Yeah, Drusus wants to try and keep them from realizing, so who's to say we can't try the opposite? Worst comes to worst, it'll just mess them up," one man said rather nonchalantly.

"Too true. That alone is worth it." He laughed. "I think we should start with working on using that handy fear of the chocobo's."

"Bet there's gotta be something else too. Everyone has at least two fears, right?" Livius asksd.

"Should we start with the classics then?"

The other men all started to nod in agreement. Each of them having their own grins that would have shaken the poor boys if they could have seen them.

"Alright men, let's get to it," Livius chuckled.

The next time, about an hour before they planned to do another video of Noctis to send to the Citadel, the men decided to dim the lights of the hallway in a jerky manner like the lights were failing.

Prompto woke up from his sleep, not that he was sleeping much to begin with, and started to look around.

"Noct... psst Noct! You awake?"

Noctis gave a little grunt and looked over at Prompto. "I am now. What is it?" he asked quietly.

"The lights..." Prompto said as he pointed up.

"They are darker. What do you think happened?" Noctis asked as he stared at the lights.

"They... they were flickering before. L-Like they were losing power. You think they are just running on a generator here?"

He considered that for a moment. "I think so? I wasn't paying attention to any power lines though."

The lights began to flicker again, growing more and more dim. Prompto shuddered, wrapping his arms around himself tightly.

"This feels like a freaking horror film."

"Hey, I'm right here. Take my hand if you need it." Noctis said as he threw his hand through the bars of the cell. "Also, we need to stop playing so many horror games."

Prompto reached over and locked his fingers with Noctis's. He chuckled weakly. "Y-Yeah. Let's just stick to good happy games with no horror."

Noctis gave his hand a squeeze. "You've got a deal."

With one more flicker the lights completely went out. Prompto's grip became a little bit tighter. He started mumbling softly to himself. Small pleas that everything would be okay.

"I've got you, you aren't alone here." He tried to assure Prompto. He made sure to keep hold on his hand so he had some sort of anchor to the present moment.

Drusus's men came barging in moments later, using flashlights to shine into the cells. One of the men abruptly kicked at the boy's hands, causing them to let go of one another. This just caused the men to laugh.

"Look at the scared little children."

"Who would have thought a little time in the dark would scare them!"

"Hah! What babies!"

Noctis pulled a bit away from the bars to avoid getting kicked again. He held his hand against his chest to try and sooth the pain in it, while he looked over at Prompto in the dim light the flashlights gave him. "Did we lose power?" he asked curiously, hoping for a positive answer.

"Maybe we did, maybe we didn't. Why don't you come along with us to find out. Maybe we can even make a fun little video again, this time all in the dark," one of the men said.

"I imagine you can find a way to have some fun. Let's get this done then." Noctis said as he stood up to let them haul him away.

"So obedient," one snarked as he unlocked the cell and grabbed Noctis.

"N-Noct?" Prompto asked, his voice beginning to waver.

Noctis looked over his shoulder at Prompto. "I'll be back soon. Just- just remember to breathe."

"Aw his little chocobo is so scared." One man shined the dim flashlight over in Prompto's direction. "What if one of us stayed here to keep him company?"

"Prompto? I'll- this is your call."

"I don't know..." Prompto replied. "Um... whatever our uh, hosts, say I guess..."

The men shared a look before one of them nodded. "I'll give the chocobo some company. Give him some light. Don't keep Drusus waiting now. Off with you." He said while waving them off.

Prompto glanced one last time to Noctis, his eyes wide and pleading look. He didn't speak a word though as Noctis was shoved out of the room, leaving the air feeling very unsettled.

The man watched Prompto for a moment, leaving his flashlight on for the moment and lighting up his cell. "Poor little chocobo doesn't like the dark? Or being left alone? That's why you're clinging on to the prince like that?"

"I w-wasn't clinging..."

"You weren't clinging? I suppose my definition is different from yours. Now what would happen if I did this." The guard mused while flicking off the flashlight to plunge them into darkness

"S-Stop it! That isn't funny!"

A dark laugh filled the darkness and the light did not come back. "I guess this is another thing we have different definitions on."

"W-Why is it so funny!?" Prompto asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"I suppose I don't understand what you find so scary, and I find that amusing. And why the prince would be so attached to such a scared chocobo."

Prompto wrapped his arms around himself, feeling a great sense of unease. "He's just my friend. E-Everyone has fears... that doesn't matter."

Footsteps stomped through the darkness close past Prompto's cell. "And what, little chocobo, is your darling prince afraid of?"

"I... I don't know," Prompto replied, swallowing heavily.

"How long have you two been friends? From the photos, it's been years. He's hiding some stuff from you?" The man asked from the other side of the hallway.

"Wh-What are you talking about? Noct doesn't hide stuff from me."

"Sure of that? You know what they're talking about there? He told you all of that's happening there?"

"What?" Prompto asked, feeling that uncomfortable feeling sinking into his gut. "He's said some stuff... but I don't know what you mean."

The man flicked on the flashlight into the cell to show he was leaning on the bars right beside Prompto. "Oh, I think you do. But, if there are no secrets, ask him when he gets back. I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you all about it."

"I should be asking you! What are you talking about with him? What goes on in there?"

"Oh, you know, conversations are rather like this one. Just some nice little chats, especially after princy got so compliant for us."

"C-Compliant? You made him cry last time."

The man gave a little scoff at that. "You make us sound so mean. He just didn't like some of the questions we asked him. He's fine now, isn't he?"

Prompto closed his mouth tightly. He wanted to ask more, he wanted to know what they were doing to Noctis. But on the other hand he was also afraid of what would happen if he stepped too far in his questions.

He stared long and hard at the man in the darkness, unable to find what to say next.

After a few moments of quiet, the man gave a little smile, flicked off the flashlight, and walked away for a bit. He decided to just pace serenely in the dark until the others brought back a deflated Noctis to the cells.

"N-Noct!" Prompto said as he got closer to the front of the cell.

Suddenly the lights flashed back up, and all the smug grins could be seen on Drusus's men.

Noctis felt his shoulder creep up to his ears at hearing Prompto call for him. The words from the other room still echoed into his head as he was put away in his solitary cell.

"I have to hand it to you, princy, I didn't think offering you a reward or making that deal would work so well." Drusus said smugly. "Go on men, give them their reward."

Several men came down the hall with a bundle of blankets and their meal to put into their cells.

Carefully Prompto picked up the blanket. It didn't seem tattered or ragged, but actually fairly decent. It even looked freshly washed too. Though he was hesitant he wrapped it around himself, trying his best to warm up since the temperature in this cell was far colder than the last.

"Keep up the good work boys. We'll see you later. Rest well." Drusus said with a chipper wave then walked away with all of his men following.

Noctis took the blanket and wrapped it around himself to try and warm himself. "Alone again." He said softly. "You okay?"

"As okay as I'll ever be. Uh, what did they say this time?"

"Some Crownsguard died when they tried to rescue us." Noctis said flatly. He curled up a bit tighter under his blanket.

"What? No way! They gotta be lying!"

"I have no reason to think they're wrong. We heard that explosion as we were leaving. I imagine some people were caught in it while trying to save us." Noctis said softly.

Prompto could see the pain in Noctis's face. He saw the sadness that filled his eyes. "Noct, you know... it's not your fault."

"They were trying to save me specifically. It feels like my fault." Noctis replied softly as he tore his eyes away from Prompto to stare at the ground.

Yeah, but..." Prompto felt his mouth go dry.

"But they signed up to protect the crown and those associated with it. I know the words Dad gives me all the time, but... they all feel fake when facing real deaths." Noctis nearly spat. He moved quickly from his spot to move to a seemingly more isolated corner to sulk

Prompto lowered his head. He wished with every ounce of his being that he could go over there and hug Noctis tightly. Right now he knew Noctis needed some comfort, but that was something he was far from capable of doing at the moment.

All he had were words. "Noct, whether or not Drusus is telling the truth, uh, it's like the Crownguards job to protect. Like you said. So they were... well they were..."

"They were trained to die for us." Noctis said bitterly. "I appreciate what you want to do Prom, but- but I can't tonight."

"Oh-Oh, okay. Sorry," Prompto sighed, noticing Nocits hadn't even touched his food.

Noctis took a moment to move from the pile of blankets he had made himself to look over at Prompto. "It's alright. You didn't know." He tried to be comforting before hiding back into his blankets.

Prompto nodded, unable to really give a smile. He still felt awful that he couldn't help Noctis. "I know..."

While Prompto sat there in silence, the conversation with one of Drusus's men floated back into his mind.

"And what, little chocobo, is your darling prince afraid of?"

Prompto's gut tightened. He tried his hardest to push away those thoughts. He wasn't about to start anything he knew he shouldn't.

The quiet was both good and bad for Noctis's stirring mind as he huddled into the semi-warm blanket. He had chosen a far corner of his cell to try and keep anyone from bothering him, even if he knew that was a moot point now. All his mind could imagine, as he slowly drifted to sleep, was the dead and dying bodies of the Crownsguard and Kingsglaive determined to keep him safe.

But the most disturbing part of the dream was seeing Prompto coming forward to try and protect Noctis in his full royal regalia, only for him to be torn down to lay dying in his prince's lap to- to-

The words faded underneath the screams of Prompto's name Noctis made as he forced himself from the terrifying dream he was suffering.

"Noct! Noct wake up!" Prompto shouted from across the cells, his voice cracking at every word. "Please wake up!"

Noctis fought off the blankets as if they were holding him down before he sat up in the cold air. He looked around in the darkness with little success. "Prom, Prom, you're still here. Oh, oh thank goodness."

"You... what happened? You were screaming, then screaming... my name."

The dream was already scattering in his brain, but Noctis caught the trail end of it. "I saw you- I saw you as a Crownsguard throwing yourself to die for me." He said in a quiet rush.

"Y-You saw me... die? For you?"

"Yes, yes, I did." He said with a gasp. "And I never want to see that happen. Please don't die for me. I can't lose you, please." His voice was ragged from all the crying he had done the previous few hours.

Prompto felt his heart skip a beat. The words touched him in a way he didn't expect. Noctis was pleading for him not to die for him. Deep down he felt a bit of guilt over it. He had been mulling around for months, thinking of asking Noctis if it were possible if he could join the Crownsguard or even the Kingsglaive. He had wanted to learn how to fight for years, and being so close to the prince only had sense if he had training.

But now, all of that seemed to have been thrown away. "I promise... I won't die."

"Thank you Prom. I can't lose you. I can't live without you." Noctis murmured sleepily while he felt for hopefully another body with little success. Instead, he just tried to curl back up in his blankets. "I'm sorry Prom, I don't want to get you hurt."

"No. You don't need to say sorry. I promise I'll do what I can not to get hurt."

Noctis peaked his head out of the blanket to give Prompto a small smile. "Thank you, really. Did- did anything happen while I was gone?"

"Just one of the guys talked to me... nothing bad. He kept messing with the light though."

"Man, what a dick. I'm sorry, were you okay?"

"Fine yeah. Wasn't too bad, but... haven't been able to sleep all night."

"That sucks." Noctis replied with a frown. "The lights seem like they're gonna stick around for a bit now."

"Yup... but who knows what they'll do next."

Noctis gave a small groan at that. "No kidding. These people are awful."

Nodding Prompto wrapped the blankets around him, tighter than before. "At least they aren't starving us."

"Small mercies." He hummed and tried to get comfortable on the ground.

Prompto laid back down on the ground, trying his best not to stare at Noctis. "Hopefully it'll last."

Noctis gave a small noise of agreement as he started to drift off to sleep.

-

AN: Riku: So much has happened yet the boys are still so far... will they ever know?

Either way thank you all for reading so far. Stay tuned for more!