Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 2

"Identify yourself," he demanded, forcing his voice to remain even.

He didn't know what was going on, but he was armed and facing a male dressed like the enemy. Was it a test? Had he somehow blanked out during an exercise? But then where was the rest of his squad? The man was unarmed, youngish, he didn't look like a threat but that didn't mean anything. They were made to be unassuming looking until conversion after all. He kept the weapon steady, braced with both hands due to the weight, even as the man knelt down, hands up.

"I'm a Hunter, my name is Noct," the man answered calmly. "I'm not going to hurt you. Do you know where you are?"

He may be a failure, but he wasn't that stupid! He knew not to give away anything important. A Hunter? He knew that word…an organisation, mostly in Lucis, that took on beasts and daemons that threatened civilians. MT's were meant to protect civilians as well. Were Hunters enemies? They were Lucian….but not the military.

"This is an Imperial base in Lucis," the Hunter, Noct, said. "We didn't know anyone was here, we haven't seen anyone else alive. You don't have to be scared; we took care of the daemons."

The Hunter…was treating him strangely…like…a child? Didn't he realise what 05953234 was? How could he be in Lucis? The last thing he remembered was…was…he'd failed the daily exercise and was to be sent for correction. So how could he be in Lucis?

He tried to get up and fell back, looking down in confusion. He was entangled in what looked like civilian clothing, but it was way too big for him, more the Hunter's size. Where was his body suit?

"How about you put the gun down and I'll help you up?" the Hunter offered, and he stared at the man, wary.

"Why?"

"Look, kid, I'm not your enemy. This place isn't safe, there might be more daemons coming and the sun is setting soon. I'm a Hunter, we save lives, no matter which side of the war they're from. I promise, none of my team will hurt you," the Hunter explained holding his hand out.

The Hunter thought he was a human child, that could be useful. His duty was to return to his unit, would he take him to the nearest base if he thought he was related to a soldier? Orders were to play along if underestimated by the enemy and they wouldn't interrogate a human child, would they? He hesitated but then passed the gun over and the Hunter smiled, putting it in his belt and then he slowly reached out and 3234 fought not to flinch as he was lifted from the tangle of clothing, kicking his legs free of the boots.

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Noctis lifted Prompto out of his clothing, setting him gently down on the cold metal floor, calling on his training to not show his anger at the sight of his best friends' body. Someone had… something was very wrong, and he didn't know what. Prompto was meant to have been adopted by the Argentum's as a baby; so why did he know how to use a gun, to speak Gralean, who had hurt him, made him so suspicious…he didn't seem surprised to be in an Imperial base either.

He moved to gather Prom's things, struggling to keep his hands from shaking. For a split second dark thoughts entered his mind, suspicions, but he shook them off. No…Prompto was his friend, he wasn't an Imperial plant. His shock and horror at the invasion was too real and he didn't believe anyone could act so well when it came to the sheer happiness he had always shown at spending time with him, with any of them.

"Okay, let's use this to keep you warm. It's way too big but it'll have to do until we can find something better," he explained as he slipped the tank top back onto Prompto's too thin body, forcing himself to ignore the wounds for the moment as he got the top on him, tying the top of the straps to shorten them. The shirt fit like a dress but since his boxers were falling off then the coverage was good.

"Noct!" Iggy's voice called.

"Over here!" he answered back in Gralean, hoping he'd get the hint. "I've got a survivor, a kid."

They appeared around the corner, much to his relief, both looking confused. Ignis' eyes went from him to the blond kid in Prompto's shirt, eyebrows rising.

"You clear out the last daemons?" he asked and Ignis thankfully caught on quickly.

"Indeed," Ignis answered in the same language and then knelt down. "Hello, my name is Ignis, what is yours?" he asked gently and Prompto shifted back, hitting Noct's leg and he felt the kid tense, gasping softly in pain.

"Easy kid, I'm going to give you something to stop the pain," Noctis told him, kneeling down. He put a hand in his pocket and summoned an Elixir out of sight, not wanting to scare him with magic. He pulled it and showed it to him. "Can I have your hand?" he asked and Prompto hesitated, staring at him, before slowly reaching out. He gently wrapped small fingers around the bottle and then squeezed, letting it break. Prompto flinched but then his eyes went wide as the magic went to work.

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Ignis watched his Prince with the child…Prompto? The resemblance was obvious, and he was wearing Prompto's top, their friend apparently missing…and naked if he was around since those were his pants folded up beside Noctis. How was this possible?

They'd been able to hear the fight below them but thankfully the boys had won even without their aid. What had happened in the short time since they had spoken on the phone? He glanced at the device the base had been built around, was it responsible for this?

More concerning, why was Noctis speaking Gralean to the child who obviously understood? Prompto had been adopted as a baby, he had shown no knowledge of the language and yet now he did? Maybe it wasn't Prompto?

"What's going on?" Gladio muttered since he was the only one unable to understand the conversation.

Ignis pitched his voice low in case the child could understand Lucian. "Noctis appears to be passing us off as mere Hunters to the boy, ones who have cleaned the base out from a daemon infestation."

"Is…Iggy, that can't be blondie, can it?"

"From Noctis' actions, I'm afraid it is." He pushed his glasses back up, hiding his expression for a second.

It should be impossible, there were theories about time magic but nothing like this. What had Solheim been truly capable of? Obviously it was not just his body that had been de-aged but his mind as well since he showed no recognition of them.

What had him fighting down rage was the signs of injuries littering his small body and the way the kid seemed to ignore them, until he backed into Noct. The shock and awe on his face as the wounds healed and the pain faded hurt. What were they meant to do now? would the transformation wear off in time or would Prompto have to grow up all over again?

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Gladio watched them, unable to understand anything that was said but if Prompto no longer knew them and was speaking Gralean then passing them off as hunters was probably the smartest move. He did not like what he was seeing, from the wounds to how small the kid was to the fact he spoke Gralean.

Had Prompto's file been a lie? Why would the truth have been kept from them? There was no way something like this could have been hidden from the various checks Prompto had undergone, first when he'd befriended Noct and then to join the Crownsguard. Right, they needed to get to somewhere secure and then call Cor or Monica, one of them would know. The kid had been too worried about his parents for him to think the Argentum's were behind the obvious abuse which meant they hadn't adopted him as a baby. So what the hell was going on?

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He watched the three men warily, but he forced himself not to do anything that would give away what he was. He had to act like a human child until he could make it to a base. But maybe a human child would also be wary of strangers?

He didn't know what the Hunter had done, but he didn't hurt so much anymore. Now what? Training said torture and interrogation, but if they thought he was human, would they do that to a human child, even one of the enemy? He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from begging them not to hurt him. The first one…Noct was still kneeling in front of him and he didn't look angry or anything.

"You're being very brave," Noct said, confusing 3234. "We've got a long way up to the surface and you don't have any shoes. Is it okay if I carry you?"

"Noct," the one that kind of looked like a scientist called out, sounding concerned.

"It's fine Iggy, if we need to fight then it's better you both have your hands free. We'll take the elevator back up."

"Very well," the man…Iggy…agreed. "We should hurry then if we wish to reach the nearest Haven before night."

Noct turned back to him. "I'm going to pick you up, okay?"

Why was he asking him? But when the Hunter didn't move he nodded slightly. Arms wrapped around him and he tensed but nothing bad happened and then he was being lifted into the air, pressed against Noct's chest. He couldn't help gripping the black shirt tightly and then waited to be disciplined but nothing happened. He nearly jumped when he felt fingers run over his head, but they were…soft…was this what gentleness was?

"I've got you kiddo, I won't let anyone hurt you," Noct promised and then they were moving. His face was kept pressed to the dark clothing, unable to see anything but then he felt the feeling of going up and the grip on him loosened. "How're you doing?" Noct asked.

It was so strange, to be treated the way they were treating him, and he didn't like not knowing what to do. He clung tighter, unable to stop himself, and he felt a hand rub up and down his back.

"It's okay, I won't let go," the man promised.

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Noctis held Prompto, ignoring the twinge in his back. He gently rubbed Prom's back when the kid tightened his hold on his shirt, promising not to let go. The elevator moved higher every second, the box silent as they all tried to deal with what was happening. He hadn't had much to do with kids, except Iris, and he had no real clue what he was doing but this was Prompto. Prompto who'd always gotten him, been there for him, so now he had to be there for him too.

It was obvious he'd been…he'd been abused, from how light he was it was long term. How had they never known? Surely there were signs…Noctis swallowed, forcing himself to take a deep breath as a few things surfaced in his memory. But abuse didn't explain how he'd been holding the gun like he knew how to use it…and would.

"You're being so brave, we're almost there," he whispered, feeling tears threatening.

He felt a hand on his back and leant back into the offered comfort, glancing up at Gladio. This had to be killing him, he couldn't understand Prom, couldn't assure him that they would protect him. Every big brother instinct had to be kicking in but also concern over why they knew nothing about this. Because they didn't, he'd seen it on their faces when they'd seen Prompto and heard him speak. He'd wondered if they'd known and kept it from him, but their shock had been too real.

The elevator came to a stop and Gladio moved out first to make sure it was clear, Noctis with Prompto in the middle, and then Ignis watching their backs.

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Ignis swung his lance at the forming daemon, glancing ahead to see Noctis leaping up onto the Haven with Prompto clutched to his chest. They hadn't made the Haven before nightfall and the sound of daemons in the dark had understandably terrified the child. With the two safe, he and Gladio fell back to the Haven as well.

Noctis was sitting on the stone in front of the fire, Prompto cradled in his lap, head bent over the boy as he whispered to him. Prompto was shaking visibly in Noctis' arms and Ignis summoned a blanket from the Armiger, gently settling it around him.

"See? Everyone's safe now. Daemons can't come onto Haven's; the runes protect us," Noctis explained quietly.

"I'll get the camp set up," Gladio offered and Prompto flinched, at his voice or the language?

"It's okay little one, that's just Gladio. He only knows Lucian," Ignis explained gently and timid blue/violet eyes glanced up at him. He smiled at the child who ducked his head away again. "Would you tell us your name?" he asked carefully, they had all kept from using it in his hearing since they should have no way to know Prompto's name if they had just stumbled across him in the base.

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Name? That was a human thing. They didn't have names, just numbers. He just…had to make one up or something. He found himself biting his lip, unable to stop the reaction. Pretending to be human was harder than he'd thought. Then again, he was always messing things up, failing. He'd almost been sent for decommissioning several times while the rest of his unit excelled.

"It's okay," Noct whispered, stroking his back again and it felt really nice, especially with the lashes on his back no longer hurting.

"I'll prepare a meal, something light and easy to eat," Ignis murmured and Noctis nodded.

"Thanks Iggy."

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Noctis had no plans on moving until Prompto was ready and even then it wouldn't be comfortable. Running while carrying Prompto had not been good for his back and it was letting him know just how unhappy it was. There'd been no other choice, not with daemons spawning around them.

That even battered and terrified Prompto had trusted him to get him to safety, had clung to him, had helped the pain he'd been feeling since seeing Prompto suddenly shrunk and pointing a gun at him.

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The fire was warm, so was the thing the other one had put over him, warm and soft and…he was so tired. His head jerked up as he fought sleep, he wasn't in his pod and he didn't have permission. Noct's hand kept rubbing his back though, oddly accented voices fading to a low hum as his body relaxed despite his need to stay awake. He couldn't fight forever and slowly everything faded away.

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Noctis glanced down, unsurprised to find Prompto fast asleep in his lap, small body utterly limp. "And he's out," he murmured.

"I shall leave his soup aside," Ignis answered.

"Tent's up and ready," Gladio reached out and Noctis let him take Prompto, grimacing as he shifted. Gladio carefully lifted the sleeping child and carried him into the tent, presumably settling him into his sleeping bag. Gladio returned and helped him up and over to his camp chair.

Ignis served the meal and they settled in to eat, all of them exhausted. "Noctis I hate to ask but we need to know what happened."

"I know," he muttered, shifting uncomfortably in his chair, accepting the pills Gladio handed over. He began explaining everything they'd found, the fight, and then Prompto's scream for him to get down.

"Gladio? How old would you say Prompto is now?" Ignis asked when Noctis finished.

"He's speaking full sentences?"

"Yeah, he was very clear with his demand I identify myself and as crazy as it is, he knew what he was doing with that gun."

"He's tiny, going by size and weight I would have guessed no more than five but everything else points to him being older."

"What do we do? We're not in position to look after a kid if this is permanent," and he hated admitting that, hated the thought of leaving Prom with someone else to raise him.

"We have as much of the research as possible, with luck this will wear off on its own like most magic does," Ignis offered and he nodded. "For now, we will look after him, but I think we may need to contact the Marshal."

"Because he shouldn't be speaking Gralean or know how to use a gun," Gladio offered and Ignis nodded.

"I do not believe Prompto is a plant, but it is possible his files were altered, likely for his own protection."

"He could have lived in Lucis still, there were refugees from the Empire even in Insomnia. We simply do not have enough information to make even informed guesses."

"I'll call him," Noctis sighed and got his phone out. He wanted to hear what Cor might say for himself.

TBC…

Poor confused everyone. At least he didn't shoot Noctis.