Disclaimer: not mine

I'm editing this to smooth some things out, combining chapters to make them longer as well.

Chapter 1

Prompto stood in his Kingsglaive uniform with the others, relieved to see Noctis walking towards them, mostly unharmed. But what did it matter? His hands balled into fists, Noct was going back in there to die, all to save a world that didn't care about him or what he, they, had already sacrificed. He didn't care about the dawn, he just wanted Noctis to live, maybe that was selfish, but he knew the others wanted him to live as well.

They'd managed ten years without him, but it hadn't been the same, they had separated, gone their own ways to train and protect people. In some ways, he had appreciated it, it made it easier to hide the truth. He hadn't told them everything when he revealed his barcode in Zegnautus Keep, he hadn't told them what Ardyn had done to him. He had been shocked when none of them noticed, especially Noctis, his best friend. Iggy and Gladio looked different, older, all he had was a bit of fuzz on his chin in an effort to change his appearance and yet no one commented.

"So this is farewell," Ignis offered, hearing Noctis' familiar steps approaching.

"Yeah. Here we are," Noctis agreed and he sounded so worn out that it hurt to hear. Did Noct…did he want to die?

"It's all you," Gladio stood with his arms crossed over his chest, forcing himself to stay strong. or actually accepting what was happening because he could not shield his King, his friend, from this. It was impossible to forget how Gladio had treated Noct after Altissia after all.

Noctis nodded, staring at them for a moment before turning and beginning up the stairs.

"No turning back now," Prompto forced the words from his throat, his heart breaking. Then again, he no longer had a heart to break. When Noctis won, would it kill him too? Destroy the Scourge Ardyn had introduced to his body, just like any MT.

"Prompto," the sound of his name forced his head up to meet dark blue eyes briefly, seeing too many emotions to name within them. "Gladio. Ignis. I leave it to you. Walk tall…my friends," Noctis' voice wavered but they all ignored it, silent, unable to look away from him. Standing above them, he truly looked like the King he had technically been since Insomnia had fallen.

"Godspeed…and take care," Ignis finally spoke and then all three put their hand over their chest and bowed. "Majesty."

Behind them, two iron giants began manifesting up out of the ground; even as Noct put his own hand over his chest. "The time has come," he whispered before forcing himself to turn away and ascend the stairs.

Prompto turned with the others to face the iron giants as even more began to rise from the ground, tightening his grip on his guns. Even for them, the odds were not looking good. They could retreat to the lit Citadel but…he glanced at Ignis, seeing the stern expression on his face, to Gladio drawing his sword, yeah…they were Noctis' guards, they would not retreat. If they died then they died protecting their King. He smirked and opened fire.

He didn't know how long the fight lasted, daemon after daemon attacking them without pause. Shockingly, Gladio had been the first to fall under the attack of three iron giants. Ignis had come a long way in his fighting since being blinded, he was better now than when he'd had his sight. It didn't save him but Prompto could hear his gasping breaths nearby and so reached out and began pulling himself along the broken ground, unwilling to let him die alone. His body left a trail of thick black fluid, not red blood.

"Ig...gy…" he forced out, seeing him lying nearby.

Slowly, Ignis' head turned his way. "Prom…" a weak hand reached out, and Prompto was finally close enough to grasp it in his own, feeling the coldness of Ignis' skin. "We….did….it?"

"Yeah," he let go and pulled himself up to look down at his friend using only one arm. He couldn't feel his legs at all, and his left arm was barely attached at the shoulder. He shifted to lean against rubble, freeing his arm to reach out and touch Ignis' cheek, feeling the older man lean into his touch.

"We…walk…" Ignis sighed in an all too familiar way, and Prompto shut his eyes in grief.

"Yeah Iggy, we… we walked tall," he choked out, feeling a tear slip down his face. He turned away, looking up the stairs, and then he began the laborious job of pulling himself up the stairs and into the Citadel. With only one functional limb, and even that one was trembling, it would take forever but thankfully, and surprisingly, there was still a little power going to the elevator.

Hours later he lay beside the throne, gasping, feeling his body shutting down around him. the sun had risen but he was able to drag himself through the shadows provided by all the debris, just to be safe. He couldn't die just yet, no matter how much it hurt, burning inside him. Prompto pulled himself up and wrapped his hand around the blade impaling his King. He fought with the blade, pulling it free inch by inch, freeing Noctis' body. As it came free, Noct fell forward and Prompto caught him, lying on the ground with him. He curled around him as best he could, able to feel the sun warming his back, feeling it burn and sting. He saw the ring on Noct's hand, cold and dull, and then he looked up to where the Crystal had been, but it too was dark. He pressed his head to Noctis' chest, feeling a little blood soak into his face and hair, listening, praying…but his heart was still, his body cool.

He sobbed, unable to hold back, uncaring for the pain it caused as he clutched Noct as close as he could, willing his life into the cold body. He turned his head as he coughed, seeing the blackish blood as he spat it out, not wanting it to touch Noctis' body. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end, because what else could he do?

"M'sorry," he mumbled.

He had failed him; he couldn't save his friend. He had failed all his friends, he had been the weak link for so long, too weak to protect them. Then he'd been captured, and they had risked so much to save him when they could have been going for the Crystal. When he finally had the strength to protect them it was too late, and it had all fallen apart. Would they have accepted him if they had known how inhuman he was now? It didn't matter anymore; they were all dead and he was almost there. He closed his eyes, relaxing, hoping it would be soon, the pain getting worse as the light level increased. Maybe he would see them again? That would be nice….

Prompto opened his eyes, feeling another presence, clutching Noctis weakly, unwilling to let anyone touch his body. He blinked blearily, realising that it wasn't sunlight he was seeing. The room was now lit by a strange golden light and he managed to turn his head to see a woman standing beneath the throne, a woman unlike any he had ever seen, and then she was smiling at him and he couldn't help smiling back before going into a coughing fit, spitting out more Scourge tainted gunk, something had ruptured inside him, he could feel it burning what little biological parts he had left when he wasn't trying to expel it. Then she was right in front of him, bending to cup his cheek.

"Peace child," she whispered, and the pain faded away.

He blinked, dazed, but he still held Noct close, and she smiled sadly at him. "Who?" Without the pain he could feel sleep calling but he knew if he gave in he would die, and he couldn't not yet, not when she might hurt Noct.

She brushed her flowing skirts aside to sit on the ledge beside him, running her fingers through his hair. "You and your King are safe, I will not harm you," she promised. "I am Eos."

Prompto blinked, she was the planet? She laughed softly and he wanted to laugh too even though he didn't know why. The fingers in his hair felt so nice.

"Yes, I am the…I suppose you could call me the spirit of the planet. I have watched since the beginning, since before even those you call Astrals."

His eyes widened as he listened to her. He hadn't known anything was older than the Astrals. "Why…he…re?" his words slurred, and she looked sad.

"While the Astrals held sway I could not act but now they have cut their ties to humanity by ending the line of Kings and Oracles while destroying the Starscourge," she explained, reaching over to gently brush Noctis' hair back from his face and Prompto whined softly. "What would you give to bring him back?" she asked, and he stared at her, sure he had misheard, and yet she waited for his answer.

"An...yth...ing," he swore.

She smiled beautifully at him. "Thank you child," she leant in and kissed his lips even as his vision began to fade to black. "You will change the fate of the world, my Champion. Know that I am always with you."

He was falling though the blackness, unable to see, hear or feel. He wasn't scared, he felt utterly at peace, safe. Half lidded blue eyes stared vacantly ahead as the sensation of falling faded until he was floating, cradled by something…Eos. He felt himself changing though he couldn't say how, thoughts slipping from his grasp. Blue eyes glowed with the same golden light from the throne room before sliding shut.

"Good luck my Champion, my Child."

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Prompto gasped and shot up, wide eyes staring around in incomprehension. He was…he was alive? He scrambled up, looking around in confusion, he was in a bedroom? He reached out and touched the quilt…he knew it…it was his. He stared around the tiny studio, seeing the kitchenette, the door to the bathroom, all familiar. It was his apartment….in Insomnia.

He grabbed his phone and swallowed as he saw the date, two weeks before they set out for Altissia for the wedding that never happened. He moved to the window and opened the blinds, staring out at the city of his childhood, it was real…he was back. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, stretching out purely human muscles even as his stomach gurgled and he laughed. He was human! Well, as human as a clone got. He hadn't felt hungry in a decade and it felt strange, but he went to the kitchenette to grab some food, savouring the flavours as he forced himself to eat slowly. He wanted to call Noct, but he knew that his friend would still be asleep. He looked down at his wrist, seeing the leather in place and he undid it to see he still had his barcode, but he wasn't upset about that since it could come in handy should they end up in Niflheim again.

Eos had sent him back to change things. He understood that the Astrals were not what they wanted people to believe. They used humans for their own purposes, were callus and cruel, well Shiva had been different but how much really? Why else would they have done what they did during the time Ardyn was mortal? They could have ended the Scourge, even healed the King after he took it into himself and yet all they had done was reject him and ensure he could not die. Then they tied the two families to themselves and used them right up until they got what they wanted…Noctis. Well not this time, he would not let Noctis die for them.

How much could he afford to change so early? Too much and his future knowledge would be useless. He knew there were traitors within the Glaive, but he didn't know who, Libertus had never bothered to name them since they were dead. That treachery had helped Insomnia fall but what could he do about it? He was Crownsguard at this point….or was he meant to be sworn in this week? He quickly scrolled through his phone and sighed in relief, his swearing in had been yesterday.

He held his hand out and smiled as his gun appeared before dropping it to return it to the Armiger, shocked to find he could feel the magic, feel the link between him and Noctis. He hadn't been aware of it last time, not unless he was next to Noctis while he was using the Armiger.

He was human again, but what else had Eos done to him? Not that he minded, he would have given up his humanity fully if it would save Noctis, would have offered his soul in his place, whatever it took. It made sense that something in him was different, he would be defying the Astrals themselves after all. Could he tell the others? Should he? Was it right to burden them with the knowledge of a future that would never come to pass here? The King already knew the treaty was a trap, but he couldn't possibly know that the Empire planned to destroy the city rather than simply conquering it. Warning the King would be great, except he'd only ever met him twice, once about six months after becoming friends with Noct, and then at his swearing in as one of Noctis' Crownsguard. And even if he did see him, what could he say that wouldn't see him locked up as a possible spy?

He'd had trouble as a kid, even after becoming friends with Noct, thanks to people assuming he was a Niff due to his looks and he knew the King had to know he had come from a lab. He'd always assumed that had been why it had taken so long to get clearance to go to Noct's apartment and vice versa. Not to mention being allowed into the Citadel. It really limited his options in what he could do. He could…could he go to Cor? The Marshall had helped with his training and he had been the one to keep everything together after Noctis vanished. Plus…he had the feeling Cor may have been involved in his 'kidnapping' from the lab, just from a handful of things he'd said over the years. But with all of the craziness over the peace treaty how could he get a hold of him? Even if he did, how could he convince him? Prompto sighed, it was not going to be easy.

Looking around his apartment he knew he needed to be better prepared when they left this time. He'd need to find a way to exchange what money he had for Gil, just to start. He'd need better camping equipment as well, his sleeping bag hadn't been up to some of the areas they'd gone too, non-perishables to help Iggy… he had a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in, not when he'd have to see to training with the guys and new duties as one of Noct's Retainers.

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Prompto stared at his body in the mirror, still slightly fogged from the first hot shower he'd had in almost a decade. It was the body he barely remembered, from when he had very few scars but there was one he couldn't stop staring at. Just beneath his sternum was a thin, surgical mark…one he'd received during his captivity. How was it there? Why? He gripped the edge of the sink, fighting his first panic attack since having actual human lungs again. He gasped for air, vision beginning to swim as he fought not to give in. He distantly heard a crash and a thump but was trying too hard to breath to pay it any attention.

"Come….kid….Prom….breath…"

Words vaguely made it through to him, the voice something he knew he should recognise. He felt a warm hand press against his chest even as his hand was pressed against fabric as he gasped, another hand pushing his head down between his knees. He choked on a shuddering gasp, trying to follow the others breathing and slowly it began to work until he was still breathing a little fast but not too bad. He slowly lifted his head and blinked at the man kneeling in front of him. A Kingsglaive…..he blinked again…he should know him, shouldn't he?

"That's better kid, come on, let's get out of here," the man said, reaching out to pull him to his feet, supporting him back into the bedroom to lie on the bed. The man vanished and then reappeared with a glass of water. "Sip slowly," he ordered, and Prompto obeyed.

He took in the braids and tattoos…Galahd, he was one of the Glaive from Galahd. Of course he was, Prompto's apartment was in Little Galahd, several lived in the same building….oh. Ulric, Nyx Ulric, he lived next door, on the sharing the wall with Prompto's bathroom. He must have heard him go down and come to help.

"S…sorry," he forced out, and Nyx smiled sadly, rubbing his back.

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"It's okay kid," Nyx grabbed the blanket off the bed and settled it over Prompto's lap, knowing he was body shy, unlike most Guard and Glaive's.

He sat beside him, offering silent support and a willing ear if Prompto wanted to talk. They'd been neighbours for a few years now, he may be the Prince's best friend but Prompto worked hard for what money he had and couldn't afford a place in the better sections of the city. Nyx knew his appearance didn't help either. He hated Niflheim for destroying his home, but that was the fault of the Emperor and the army, not the average citizen. Prompto had been raised in Insomnia, there wasn't a trace of an accent to mark him as a Niff, the kid had admitted he was adopted when he was around a year old. To take that anger out on the kid or any other scared refugee was wrong. Those from Galahd had it better, especially since many of them served on the front lines in the Glaive, but they were still disliked by most native Insomnians.

There'd been some whispers when the blond had first moved in, but Nyx and Crowe had put a stop to that, Prompto had been the Princes' friend and newly graduated from school then, an apparently bright and happy kid. As his next-door neighbour it hadn't taken long for Nyx to learn otherwise. That was why he now had a spare key so that he could get in without kicking the door in again.

Prompto suffered from panic attacks and could be very anxious and he needed help with the bad ones, like today. Nyx got up and grabbed the pill bottle from the counter, getting Prompto to swallow one with water, wondering if he'd missed the daily dose meant to help deal with his anxiety to have an attack. He had thought that if Prompto was going to have one, it would have been before his swearing in as a member of the Crownsguard.

He glanced around and spotted a shirt, snagging it. "Come on, let's get you warm," he murmured, pulling it over his head and getting Prompto to lift his arms enough to get them through the sleeves. He then grabbed the kids phone and checked his calendar, relieved to find he had nothing planned today. He used his own phone to text Crowe that he was skipping training and why. He got up and grabbed some discarded sleep pants, pulling them up Prompto's legs, seeing how he was flagging. He got the kid settled back under the blankets. "Get some sleep, I'll stay," he promised. He'd call someone else in when he had to report for duty.

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Prompto woke up, head feeling fuzzy and body heavy in a way that told him he'd had a panic attack, which didn't make sense. His brain may still be mostly human, but the majority of his organs weren't, either replaced or altered. He could panic all he wanted too mentally, but it never affected his body. He blinked up at the ceiling and then it all came rushing back; he was in the past, in a human body…with a surgical scar. He lifted a hand to press against the scar, feeling something solid beneath it. How was that possible? Why? Why would Eos leave something inside him? He curled up, fighting the urge to cry, that at least was something he'd been able to do after being rescued, but he didn't want to cry.

"Hey, how're you feeling?" a gruff voice asked, and he blinked over at the small table to see Libertus slouched in the chair, leg in a cast. Right…he'd been injured in the last fight of the actual war.

He'd forgotten that Libertus had really lost a lot of bulk after the Darkness came. Seeing him now was strange, they'd worked together quite a few times since he'd ended up the leader of the surviving Glaive. He'd even given them their uniforms. This Libertus was not that one, he knew what the man had done in the lead up to the treaty, how he'd betrayed his oaths, but in the end he'd done the right thing. Without him Lady Lunafreya would never have escaped the city during the invasion. And Prompto didn't really blame him for being angry with how close he was to Crowe, her death had hit Prompto hard enough when he'd heard, he couldn't imagine how bad it had been for Libertus and Nyx. Crowe….had she been sent after Luna yet? Could he save her somehow?

"Hey," he finally answered, shifting to sit up slowly.

"Nyx had to go to work asked me to check in on you. You okay?" Libertus was frowning at him, concerned.

"I will be," he offered, and Libertus snorted. Yeah, he probably wouldn't believe him either.

"I brought some Galahdan takeaway, you should eat." he pointed to the bag on the table.

"Thanks," he got up and stumbled, Libertus standing to steady him, frowning in concern, as he tried to remain balanced on one leg.

He felt totally drained and he hated it. He sat at the table, Libertus perching on the bottom of the bed with the chair now occupied, and quickly tucked into the spicy food, though he knew the spices were toned down for local tastes. "Thanks."

"No problem. Take it easy, things are getting busy with the treaty," he sneered the last bit, and Prompto grimaced.

"You're mad about it, because it looks like the King's giving up on the rest of Lucis," Prompto offered softly, and Libertus looked away. He played with the now empty skewer for a bit before deciding to try and help Libertus see the truth. "There are what? Two hundred Glaives?" he asked and Libertus nodded, eyeing him warily.

"Compared to the thousands of MT's the Empire can through at us. The Crownsguard are good, but not all have access to the Armiger let alone the more combat related abilities of the King's magic. Our forces are so badly outnumbered and outgunned that it's not funny. Soldiers without magic don't last long because Niflheim has better guns, even if those using them are dumb. Holding the Wall is killing the King slowly, bit by bit every day. Noct isn't ready for that kind of power, not yet. With the loss of so much territory things like crops are running a bit thin, even if the wealthy haven't noticed yet, sooner or later there's going to be massive food shortages because Insomnia has too many people to withstand a siege. So what would you do? Sign a treaty for now, give everything up, but have a chance to rebuild our strength and then work to reclaim Lucis when at our best? Or should we go down fighting until the Wall falls and Insomnia is wiped out?"

He'd had a lot of time to consider why the King had agreed to the treaty and Ignis too had liked to consider it.

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Libertus stared at the kid. Yeah, he knew there had to be more to him than Chocobos and photography, but he hadn't realised the kid was that observant and aware. He hated to even consider it but…he was right, they were too badly outnumbered, even with magic. That last battle had proven that well enough. What was the point of the Kingsglaive then? Why create the unit if not to win the war?

"When'd you get so smart?" he grumbled.

"Hey!" Prompto tossed a balled-up paper napkin at him, and Libertus laughed.

"Hanging around Iggy I guess. Noct's not happy with the treat idea either, doesn't trust it." The kid shrugged, surprising him.

"Huh," Libertus hadn't expected that. It wasn't like he knew the Prince, he'd seen him around, but the King had done a good job at keeping him out of the public eye.

Prompto yawned and Libertus smirked, making the blonde mock pout at him. "Get some sleep kid, you look beat, those attacks really take it out of you."

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Prompto nodded and headed to bed, grabbing his phone. He found a missed text from Noct and had to swallow hard against tears at the sight of it. More proof Noctis was alive and well. He took a dep breath and answered it, apologising for not doing so before. He hesitated, before admitting he'd had a panic attack. Seconds later he had a text from Ignis asking if he needed anything and he bit his lip to hold back the sobs as he was reminded of the last time he'd seen Iggy, struggling to breath with half of his chest missing, even as he had managed to speak past what must have been utter agony. It hit him then, this Ignis still had his sight and if he had anything to do with it, he would not be blinded this time.

"Sleep, not texting," Libertus called, and Prompto nodded without lifting his head, hearing the thumping of the crutches before his door opened.

Prompto rolled onto his stomach and closed his eyes to sleep. His first day in the past wasted, all because he flipped out over a scar. Tomorrow, he would have to get to work. Of course, he needed to actually figure out what to do before he could really do much. There was also a big problem….he might physically be twenty but mentally he was over thirty years old, he wasn't the same guy they had seen yesterday, and he didn't know what to do about that.

He sighed and rolled onto his back, absently reaching for the Armiger but then he stopped, frowning. There was something…Noctis' magic always felt gentle and calm to him though cold, like it was wrapping him in a hug and now there was something else as well…not connected to Noctis or the line of Lucis…it was warm and golden, and then he blinked as Death Penalty appeared in his hand, not in a flash of blue but gold. He stared at it in disbelief before laughing. He focused on that feeling, letting the gun vanish and then gasping as he felt power surge through his body, almost hot feeling, and he fought to get it under control, not wanting to know what it might do to him or his apartment. He had two weeks to work out what it meant and what he could do now…somehow without anyone else seeing or noticing, yeah, that was not going to be easy.

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Ardyn smirked down at him as Prompto struggled wildly against the restraints locking him to the cold metal table. He was naked, even his wrist cover gone, revealing the barcode, and he was freezing cold. He was terrified, exposed, he could hear other people moving about, maybe? He didn't know what was real and what was in his head anymore. He didn't know how long he'd been there, and he was beginning to doubt they were coming for him. He heard a tool of some sort start up and felt his breathing pick up.

"It is time to join your family, 05953234," Ardyn told him, and Prompto felt sick.

No…he wasn't one of them, he wasn't. He closed his eyes, trying to block out that mocking voice, the noise, and then he screamed, unable to hold it in, writhing in his bonds. He gasped, choking, trying to lift his head to see what the hell they were doing to him. He gagged and a tube was forced into his throat, past it he could see as the pulled back the skin of his chest and his mind went blank, eyes rolling back but then there was a jolt and he was fully conscious again, trying to scream around the tube that was apparently dealing with his need to vomit. They were cutting him open and not letting him pass out. What were they doing to him. Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he moaned and screamed around the tube. Someone was speaking but the words made no sense to him. They lifted something up and he screamed again as he realised what it was…an organ...they were dissecting him alive….

Prompto bolted upright, gasping for air. He hadn't had that particular dream in a few years, he'd thought he was passed it, but apparently not. He forced himself to breathe deeply, praying he hadn't been screaming in his sleep, last thing he wanted was for Nyx to come rushing in thinking he was being attacked or something. He'd been fortunate that whatever they had done to him had increased his body's ability to heal and they had also given him potions, meaning a minimum of scars that could be passed off as mild torture when the others had found him. He hadn't fully understood what had been done to him even then, mind shying away from the implications of what he'd seen and heard. The first time he'd tried to eat…hadn't been pleasant, but Iggy had assumed it was due to his stomach not being used to food after captivity and Prompto had hated that his blindness had made hiding that much easier.

He took a deep breath and glanced at his clock before turning his alarm off and slipping into his running gear before setting out, he had to relearn what his body was capable at the moment. He was due at the Citadel today, to do group training with Noct and the others in preparation for the trip, just to be safe. That was going to be interesting, he barely remembered how bad he'd been at this age at hand to hand and he didn't want to make anyone suspicious by suddenly pulling moves he'd never done before. By the time he made it back to the apartment he was breathing hard but nowhere near as badly as he had expected. Had he been fitter than he remembered being? He shrugged it off and went to shower and dress for the day before heading to the Citadel.

His heart was pounding, his palms sweaty and he really didn't feel ready to see them again, to see the Citadel as it had been and not how it was when he had dragged himself to Noct's side. He could do this, he had to. He got off at the bus stop closest and walked towards the immense building, remembering how excited he'd been the first time around. Now he was too nervous about messing up to be excited even as his heart yearned to see his friends as soon as possible. He scanned his ID card and entered the grounds, heading for a side door to slip inside and head towards the training room. He found it and took a deep breath, hand on the handle. He could do this.

TBC….