Noctis sat on the ground with a heavy sigh, staring into the light of the makeshift fire as it flickered and popped, casting eerie shadows along the surrounding area. He watched, half fascinated and half terrified, as Prompto sat close to the flames, hands outstretched and face alit in utter fascination as he attempted, again and again, to grab the fire. At first, the prince had almost lept up with a scream, but he soon came to find that the heat of the fire did absolutely nothing to hurt the Astral. Not so much as a single patch of red, grotesque burns along his pale, glittering skin could be seen.

He wondered, idly, how it was that he wasn't able to get hurt. He'd walked the entire way to and from Wiz's on his bare foot and there wasn't so much as a scratch along the bottoms. And when he had first met the Astral, driving him along to Hammerhead in the back seat, he hadn't so much as gotten a bruise when he suddenly had to stop the car while Noctis himself ended up bleeding from the forehead.

But, well, the answer was obvious after a split second of imagining. It was because he wasn't a human at all. Still, watching the other man attempting to grasp the fire, scooting closer and closer as it licked his skin, was making Noctis grow uncomfortable.

"Hey- Prompto." He watched, his heart thudding loudly in his chest, as large, blue-lavender eyes flickered up to stare at him with the reflection of the flames in his irises, making it seem like fireworks were exploding in his eyes. The soft, angelic smile that accompanied it took his breath away. "U-Um… My clothes… If you get any closer, the fire might burn them."

Prompto looked down at the covering clothes that he still wore from their outing a moment before nodding in understanding. Without hesitance, he hopped to his feet before walking over to where Noctis was sitting and plopping down right next to him. So close, that their arms and legs brushed. "Is this better, Noctis?"

The prince swallowed as their eyes met once more, his lungs taking in the scent of the sea that seemed to linger on the blonde. When he finally found his voice, he uttered, "Y-Yeah. Thanks."

Prompto turned his attention away then, choosing instead to look up at the night sky and at all of the glittering stars above. "…They're so… clear…"

Noctis snorted out a laugh, turning his face towards the sky was well. "Well, yeah."

"…Beneath the water, everything was always… moving… I thought the stars were always dancing." He laughed, breathless and beautifully, "I thought that they must have been happy to be in the sky."

Noctis thought about that for a moment, shaking his head fondly. "You know… For an all-knowing Astral, you sure can be dense sometimes…"

Prompto blushed and clutched his knees in front of him. "H-Hey-! I never said I knew everything! I just… know what I know."

I comfortable silence filled the space between them as they continued to stare. Then, Noctis said, "I liked the stars when I was growing up, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Prompto turned to look down at the prince, who had moved to lay flat atop the rocks, his head cradled in his hands. "Late at night, when I was little and I'd awaken from a nightmare I was too scared to go to sleep after, my mom and dad would always take me out on the balcony and look up at the stars."

Prompto smiled fondly before falling over as well, choosing to lay on his side and gaze at the man next to him than the beautiful sight above. In Prompto's opinion, there was no comparison for the dreamy, happy, nostalgic look on Noctis' face nor the way the galaxy seemed to reflect in his deep, blue eyes. He could look at it forever. Much longer than the sky. "Why?"

Noctis shook his head. "You know… I'm not entirely sure? It's just something they always did with me. We'd search for the constellations and point them out to one another and then they'd tell me what they meant." Noctis closed his eyes for a moment, allowing his memories to take him back to those times, wrapped in his parents' arms with nothing but the dull hum of the city beneath and the cover of night to keep them company. "I'd always wanted to go camping, but they were always too busy to take me… I guess that was the best they could do."

Prompto nodded before examining his wrist between them. "I wonder if you'd ever seen mine?"

Noctis smiled and turned his head to watch the Astral examine his Star Mark and look to the sky occasionally as if to try and find it. "Oh, yeah! You told me that you came from the stars… Do you remember being up there?", he asked, genuinely curious.

Prompto's smile fell a bit as he put his wrist away and shook his head. "No. I only remember the sea, but… I remember that I was once a constellation… Is it weird…?"

Noctis gave him a reassuring shake of his head. "No, you're not weird. It's actually really interesting." The shy little smile the blonde gave him after hearing those words had him turning on his side to face Prompto as well, his body shifting a little closer. "You said there were other Lesser Astrals out there… Did they all start out as a constellation?"

Prompto nodded. "Yes, I think so… Bahamut gathers the souls of the dead who have done great, unimaginable things. When it's their time, he sends for them and lets their legacy live on as a distant star… When enough of them gather, he pulls them from the sky, combines their energies, and then- poof! The next thing we know, we're- here." Noctis listened on in amazement, hanging onto Prompto's every word, and the blonde smiled. "They say it's a great honor, to meet Bahamut's familiars and voyage to the stars… They say that whenever you see a shooting star, that's another person finding their new place in the galaxy." After a brief silence, gathering his thoughts, he continued, "You know… No one has ever seen Bahamut. I haven't and I don't think the others have, either… I don't even think that the other five out of The Six make conversation with him often… He's out there, somewhere, shooting through the galaxy and collecting the souls of the brave…"

"No one? There's no lesser Astral like you that accompanied him? Surely, they would see Bahamut.", Noctis reasoned.

"Well, there used to be, but… No one has seen her for a long time. Rumor has it, no one knows where she is at all…" The image of Noctis' mother, dressed up in that intricate, beautifully detailed armor came to mind, but he quickly shook it off. 'It could just be my own imagination… Or a coincidence… There's no way!'

"Wow…" Noctis looked back to the sky with a newfound awe and reverence, as if he was looking at it for the first time. He now had an entirely new understanding of it. Something far more than just mere twinkling lights in the sky or far-off, distant, dying space rocks. Each light above used to be someone. Was still someone... "So… If you were made up from multiple people… Do you know who they were? Do you have any memories of your past lives?"

Prompto shook his head with a happy yet regretful smile. "No. None at all. I'm just… me."

Noctis nodded. It was a slight shame that Prompto had no previous memories, but he understood. Some answers eluded even the Astrals themselves, it seemed. Stifling a yawn and blinking away the sudden urge to sleep, he said, "Well… It's late, and we have a long drive tomorrow morning if we want to get to Kimya." He sat up with a stretch.

"Okay." Prompto followed obediently, trailing behind his prince as the man disappeared inside of the tent, but not before calling water out of thin air and extinguishing the fire. The world now consumed by darkness and moonlight, he entered the tent and fell into a restless sleep.

…

Silence, naturally, met Iris' ears as her eyes slowly fluttered open. She stared at the couch cushions for a moment, mind still scrambled from the strange dream she had just had…

But wait.

No… It wasn't a dream at all. The Astral she had met, the man who had saved her in the forest last night, he was real. And he was sleeping on her living room floor in a pair of pants that she had sewn for him herself!

More awake and smiling brightly, Iris pushed herself up with a smile. She ignored the little sore spot in her neck and between her shoulder blades from sleeping on a sofa all night and turned so as to see the man's sleeping form on the makeshift bed beneath her.

But her smile was quickly wiped from her face as she was now looking at nothing more than a perfectly clean, pristine floor. No blankets, no pillows, and certainly no giant mass of rippling muscles that was Gladiolus. Looking around the room she found the blankets he had used folded neatly and placed in the seat of the rocking chair, the pillows sat atop it.

"Oh…", she whispered, trying not to feel as dejected as she was. She knew he had a mission and that it was an important one but she had hoped…

The smell of bacon met her nose then and she perked. 'Sania is back.'

She removed the blanket from atop her lower half before tentatively walking through the living room and rounding the corner into the kitchen. Sure enough, Sania was there, her frizzy, curly locks pulled up atop her head in a little bun. Her lab coat discarded atop the back of one of the dining room chairs, she now adorned an apron atop her jean shorts and t-shirt, her feet adorned by well-worn flip-flops. Her back was turned to Iris as she focused on not burning the sizzling meat in the pan but she looked over her shoulder with a wily smile when she heard the young girl approaching.

"Finally awake, huh?", she asked, sure to speak so that Iris could read her lips easily. When the girl responded with a little nod, her smile only grew. Sania slid the only slightly singed bacon onto a napkin-covered plate so that the excess grease would be soaked up before depositing the pan into the nearby sink. She wiped her hands on her apron before pulling out a chair. "Sit, sit! I made breakfast for once. Let's hope that my cooking turns out better than my research."

Iris took the offered seat and smiled. Sania had never been the best cook, but that was alright. She'd eat her cooking any day and home-made breakfast was better than cupped noodles any day.

Sania returned to the counter, dibbing large scoops of scrambled eggs onto plates with the bacon. From the toaster, two slices of toasted bread popped out. "Right on time." Only singing her fingertips a little, the woman snatched up the hot food and set it on the plates next to the rest. When she turned to sit the plates on the table she asked, "Anything to drink?"

Iris breathed the scent of the meal in deeply, her stomach grumbling so loudly she could feel it. Sania had to repeat her question for her once more but then she nodded. "Yes, please. Orange juice."

"You got it, kiddo." Drinks were conjured up and in only a short while both were sitting at the table facing each other, ready to dig in. They ate in a companionable silence for a while, Sania watching Iris eat. But the way the girl sighed every so often and the way her lips were turned down into a small from made the older woman begin to frown as well. Walking into the house after being gone for so long was… strange. She hardly expected to find sewing equipment strewn around and a pile of blankets and pillows strewn around the floor. What was even stranger was how Iris had fallen asleep on the couch and not her own bed. Something was off. Softly, Sania let her hand enter Iris' line f vision and the woman tapped the table a few times to gather the young girl's attention. When deep brown eyes met her own she asked, "So… Fun night?"

Iris' eyebrows rose and she shifted her weight around in her chair awkwardly with a little shrug. "I guess?"

Sania only frowned further at that response, setting down her utensils and folding her arms over table. She leaned in. "The food's that bad?"

Iris giggled and shook her head. "No, it isn't that."

"It seems to me like you had a party while I was gone! I cleaned it up a bit before starting on breakfast. What were you sewing? Something for me?" Sania smiled.

Iris' cheeks flushed pink and she bounced her eyes between the woman in front of her and her plate of half-eaten food. "U-Um… not really?" 'I can't very well tell her what happened last night. She'll think I'm insane if Gladiolus isn't here as physical evidence…' A subject change was a good, safe idea. "So- uh- how did your research go? What happened over at Cape Caem?"

Sania quirked a brow, but settled on a laugh, moving to eat more of her breakfast before it got too cold. She was pleased to find that the toast was only a little overdone this time. "Ugh, don't even get me started on it… All that time down there, wasted! …We couldn't figure out a single reason as to what happened! It's so- frustrating!" Sania sighed exasperatedly before gulping down some of her juice and setting the empty glass heavily. "I need a Gods damned vacation…"

Iris smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sania…"

The woman shook her head, waving the younger girl off dismissively. "No, it's alright… These things happen sometimes… Actually, there was an earthquake near the Rock of Ravatogh not too long ago and another strange light. I'm thinking about going to study it."

It is frowned, brows knit as disappointment graced her features. "You're leaving again? But… You just got back!"

Sania looked at her for a long while. It was true, she had been gone more often than not recently… 'The mess, the restless sleep in the living room… She must be lonely…' With a sudden smile the young woman leaned across the table, gathering Iris' hands in her own. "Hey- Want to go on a vacation?"

Iris' face lit up. "Vacation?! To where?"

Sania's giggled. "Who says we need to go anywhere to have a vacation? Let's stay right here. We can go camping under the stars, watch T.V. in just our underwear, braid each other's hair, whatever you want!"

The way Iris' smile grew so big it looked almost painful made Sania's heart soar. "Can we really?!"

A nod. "Of course. And then, maybe, I'll take you with me to the volcano?"

"You'd really let me help you with your research?!" By now Iris was standing, too excited to sit any longer.

"Of course! If you're up for it, that is?"

Iris threw herself into Sania's arms, who hugged back fiercely. "I'd love you!" The disappointment that Gladiolus was gone still lingered in her heart, but she allowed the feeling to slowly fade to the recesses of her mind to be replaced by the light, wonderful feeling of having her mother figure with her like this for the next few days. 'Maybe… Maybe, one day, I'll see him again…'

…

Prompto awoke slowly, the lights from the rising sun playing on his scales and casting little rainbows over the tarp of the tent overhead. He could smell the morning dew, the fresh air, and he breathed it in deeply with a little stretch before looking over to where Noct had fallen asleep next to him the night before. Now, he was nowhere to be seen. The spot was empty. Cold. And Prompto frowned at the lack of the other man's presence before he could stop himself.

'I shouldn't be so sad… Eventually, this will be the norm for me again… I won't be waking up to see Noctis by my side anymore…'

That being said, what time was it? He thought that they would be needing to leave early and packing everything away. From outside the tent, he could hear little grunts and noises that told him Noctis was already getting started.

The Astral sat up with a yawn and began to scratch his arm. When he looked down, his eyes widened as he saw a few more scales fall to the tent floor. 'Damned it, not again!' With his heart in his throat, he took in the odd skin that was beginning to show underneath- just barely. The little flecks of brown that he could only compare to dirt or wet grains of sand from the beach. It worried him, and he lept up from where he had been resting to find more that had flaked off in his sleep from other parts of his body.

"No.", he whispered to himself. He gathered the handful of fallen scales and placed them in his pocket with the others from yesterday. "Stop turning so fast!"

"Prom?" Noctis' voice sounded out from somewhere nearby and Prompto sat completely still. "You awake?"

He swallowed. "Um- Y-yeah! Just woke up!"

A chuckle. "Okay, well come on out!" The strange noises and grunting continued afterwards, piquing Prompto's interest. Shoveling his rising panic back beneath the surface, the Astral took a calming, steadying breath before rising to his feet and stumbling out of the little tarped cage that was still difficult for him to maneuver out of. But when he finally crossed that threshold, he stopped.

A few feet away from the camp, body silhouetted by the rising sun, was Noctis. His body moved gracefully, his father's sword in hand, and the steel blade glistened and shone as it cut through the air with ease. The breath left Prompto's lungs as he watched the prince move with the weapon as if he was dancing and battling all in one. He looked beautiful with the sun on his back and the sweat beading on his brow and along his bare arms. Face etched in concentration but with that signature smirked tacked in, stormy blue eyes met magical lavender and then the nest thing Prompto knew, Noctis was- gone.

The Astral startled, eyes going wide and hands flying to clasp his open mouth as only glittering blue light could be seen, falling and disintegrating on the ground like snow, in the prince's place. "N-Noctis?!", he called, chest tight and fear causing his heart to drum heavily in his chest. Frantically, the Astral's head snapped in every direction. "Noctis?!"

"Yo! Up here."

The sound was coming from somewhere above him and Prompto snapped his head up to search for the prince so fast it almost gave him whiplash. But- surprisingly- there, hanging from the hilt of his sword, his blade now lodged deeply into the trunk of a nearby tree, was Noctis. Smirking down at him and chuckling. Prompto's mouth flapped helplessly, his hands pointing between where Noctis now was and where he used to be. "Where- How- You- Why?! You- That was-" The words caught in his throat, unable to come out. The questions only multiplied and he was unable to choose which he wanted to ask first. The prince laughed heartily before kicking the tree trunk and dislodging his sword and Prompto watched, still shocked, as he threw the blade once more. It lodged into the earth in front of Prompto's feet and the next thing the blonde knew, Noctis was standing directly in front of him, sweating and breathing a little heavily and with that damned-near perfect little lopsided grin plastered on his face.

"Surprised?", the other man asked, casually, as if it were nothing. As if it was normal. But it wasn't normal.

Prompto closed the gap between them hurriedly with shaky legs, his hands flying to touch Noctis anywhere he could. To make sure he was really there. Noctis' brows raised and a flush tinted his cheeks as cold, scaled hands patted and felt up his arms and then his chest before finally grasping his face. Warm hands grasped reassuringly at the blonde's waist in return, but it went unnoticed in lieu to what the Astral had just witnessed.

'That was magic! Noctis used magic just now!', Prompto's brain practically screamed at him. In an instant, his earlier inquiries and assumptions had been verified. The missing Astral from years ago, the same name as the queen, the familiar looks of the woman in the portrait somehow ingrained deeply in his mine even though he had never met her, and now- indisputably- the bladework and unique warping abilities that the man in front of him seemed to possess. This man- that child that had drawn his attention irrivocatively all those years ago- had Astral blood in his veins. Blood capable of drawing magic. Years and years of unanswered questions, of gaps in an untold storyline, now fell into place perfectly in the least expected of ways. 'Amaryllis came here! Noctis is her son!'

Noctis looked down on the other man with brows furrowed in worry and curiosity. Perhaps he had surprised him too much. Had shown him his ability too soon. "…Prom? Are you okay?" The hands holding his face trembled along with the rest of his body and he wrapped his arms around the Astral's waist to further steady him. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"H-How long?" Thoughts and revelations were flying through Prompto's mind a mile a minute, his voice barely above an awe-struck whisper compared to the way the words clamored and clawed for his attention.

Noctis blinked. "Huh?"

He swallowed and tried again. "How long have you been able to do that?!"

Noctis shrugged. "Well, as long as I could remember…?"

Wide eyes blinked up at the royal in shock. "B-But- How?! You-"

Prompto's words were abruptly cut short when a jingling ringing noise sounded from within Noctis' pocket, and the Astral jumped from it. 'Is this magic, too?' But that thought was proven wrong when the prince shot him an apologetic look and procured a rectangular object from his pocket- the source of the ringing. Noctis' brows shot up when he read the name on the screen. "Sorry, Prompto- Hold that thought? It's Cindy." He slid his thumb across the screen before holding the object up to his ear and turning away from the Astral a bit.

…

"Come on, pick up! Pick up!", Cindy pleaded to The Six in a hushed whisper, walking a frantic circle into the asphalt of the parking lot. Not too far away, a group of police cars and ambulances were surrounding Takka's diner where news of a murder had arisen. That just as easily could have been her being taken away to the morgue in a stretcher as distraught patrons looked on in a mix of terror and sadness as the policemen addressed them, trying to quell their fears and gather information. If the Niffs that had come upon her were a threat before, now they were a death sentence. And knowing that they were searching for her friend and that sweet man he was protecting was filling her stomach with dread. What if Noctis really was in Lestallum? What if she had just sent death straight to the both of them? What if-

"Hello?"

Noctis' voice came from the speaker by her ear and Cindy felt like she could almost cry with how relieved she was to hear it. "Noctis!", she greeted, and sat down in a nearby chair. She was going to have a lot of explaining to do to her grandfather once he saw this mess. "I'm so glad you answered! How've the two o' you been?! Are you safe?!"

"Woah, woah, woah- calm down! Yeah, we're safe… You okay? You sound- I dunno… terrified?"

She let out and exasperated sigh, tugging the ballcap from her head and scratching at her matted hair. "That's 'cause I am terrified, idiot!" She inwardly winced at her own harsh tone. "S-Sorry. Look- shit is hitting the fan big time over here. There's been a murder."

Noctis' voice was incredulous, hushed a little further as if not wanting someone to hear what he was saying. 'A murder? Where? Who?" A pause. "Oh Gods, is Cid okay?!"

Despite herself, Cindy let out a little chuckle at her friend's blatant worry for her grandfather. "Yeah. Don't worry, he's… fine… It was a woman that worked at Takka's- apparently, it very well could have been Takka himself, though…" She swallowed, lowering her eyes to the ground. "And… It probably could have been me, too."

"Holy shit- Cindy, what the hell happened down there?!"

"The Niffs." The words were like poison on her tongue, weighing heavy on her heart. "I don't know who the fuck they were. They didn't wear armor or nothin'. But I could tell from the way they were searching for you and little Prompto that they were working for King Ardyn."

"Shit…", the prince cursed under his breath and sighed. After a moment of silence he continued, "They were asking about us specifically?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Had a knife to my throat and everything. To be honest, I don't know why I'm still alive. They could have easily slit my throat…" But those were questions and thoughts better left for another time.

"Fuck, Cindy! …I'm glad you're alright, though… What did you tell them?"

"I told them the first thing that I could think of. Told 'em y'all were-" Cindy's eyes widened and she bolted out of her chair at the inhuman, garbled noise coming from the phone suddenly. She held the phone farther away from her ear, the noise making her head feel like it was splitting in two suddenly, and she struggled not to let it fall to the floor entirely. "Noct?" Along with the strange, almost demonic sound, she could here sounds akin to an earthquake and struggling, and panic held her heart in a vice grip. Headache be damned, she brought the phone back to her head. "Noct?! Hey- Noct-! Are you okay?! Answer me!" But before she could hope for any answer, the line went dead.

"Shit!", she cursed, and dialed the number again as fast as she could. But her entire world shattered when, instead of the normal ringing, an automated message saying that Noctis' phone was unreachable met her ears. "Noct! No!"

Without even thinking, she turned around, set on gathering her things and her grandfather's motorcycle to set off and find her best friend. Anything on Eos could be happening to him right now. She had to get there, she just had to. But… Where even was 'there'? She hadn't been able to ask.

"Hey- Did I just hear you talking to Prince Noctis?"

Cindy was ripped from her frantic thoughts and actions by a hand on her arm, grasping firmly and preventing her from walking any further. She turned to look at the man, eyes squinted dangerously and mouth in a near-snarl but stopped short when she took in the Glaive uniform that he dorned. 'He works for Regis.' Calming fractionally, she took in his pale blue eyes and strong jaw. His shaved sides and hair that fell to the base of his neck in beaded braids. 'Galahdian, too.' The man was no threat to her. In all likelihood and from his hopeful, inquisitive yet professional expression, he most likely wanted to help protect his prince. Even still, she was a woman on a mission.

"Yeah. And he's in trouble. I gotta find him and bring him back, or-"

"Find him?", the Glaive repeated, his head cocking slightly. "Then you don't know where he is."

Cindy snapped her mouth shut and furrowed her brows in frustration. "So what if I don't? He's my friend. I'll-"

"You'll do what, exactly…? Fight?" He stared at her with a levelled expression, but for some reason it came off as cocky. As if he knew far more than her, and it made her blood boil. "With what weapons?"

She broke away from his grasp, raising her gloved fists in the space between them. "Don't need no weapons. Got all I need right here."

The Glaive shot out a laugh, shaking his head with a raised brow. "I like you're spunk, sweetheart, but this isn't a fight you need to worry yourself with. You don't even know where the prince is."

"Don't need to. I'll find him. I just know I will…" She turned on her heel. "And I'm goin' to look for him, whether you like it or not. You aint my Pawpaw. I don't need your permission."

Frustratingly, the man stepped up to her side, matching her stride. "You're right. You don't need my permission. But what's to say whoever did this earlier aren't going to return? They could be waiting for you to leave and lead them straight to the prince. Who's going to be here to protect your grandfather then, huh?"

Cindy stopped. She hadn't thought of that. Growling in frustration, she turned to face the man once more. "Then you protect 'im." She stared up at the face he was giving her. As if she had said something funny. "Who the hell even are you, anyway? What right do you have to stop me?"

The Glaive shook his head with a little smile, holding his hands up defensively. "Stop you? I think I've given you the wrong impression… The name's Nyx. Nyx Ulric. And I want to come with you."

Cindy placed her hands on her hips, cocking her head to the side. "Oh, is that what you want, Mr. Ulric?" She scoffed. "After you just bashed me on not knowing where I'm going or what I'm gonna use to fight?"

Nyx shrugged. "Yeah. And hey- I was just asking questions. I don't want you going out there if you can't handle yourself." He paused, looking her up and down appreciatively. "But from the looks of it, I think you can handle whatever comes at you."

Cindy crossed her arms over her chest with a blush and a frown. "Well, thanks for that, but I don't need your approval. And you said it yourself- If I go, who's gonna watch over Pawpaw?"

Nyx winked. "I have two people that would be the perfect fir for that job." With a little wave, her gestured to two more Glaives, standing and talking to one another calmly as the leaned against the side of the gas station building nearby. "I know these two pretty well. I think they'll be able to watch over one old man for a few days." He looked back to meet skeptical green eyes. "Don't you think?"

Cindy regarded him for a moment before gazing at the two others. Sure, the guy was cocky and full of himself, but she couldn't deny that having someone else with her that wanted the same thing she did wouldn't help. "…Fine. We can work together." For the final time, she turned on her heel, walking towards her work area and home with a bounce in her step and a determination in her eyes. "Be ready in five. I aint wasting no more time, ya hear?"

Nyx smirked, watching her retreating form. This woman had far more spunk than Noctis lead him to believe. Although, if she was anything like the stories of Cid overheard by his king in the recent years, he could hardly say he was surprised. "Loud and clear."

…

Prompto stood, hands tugging on the hem of Noctis' shirt he was wearing nervously as he watched the royal walk back and forth a few steps away. Whatever it was, it seemed very important. 'I hope Cindy is okay…' Even still, the call could not have come at a worse time.

Noctis was half Astral. But- why couldn't Prompto sense it before? Why had it eluded his knowledge until now? Whatever powers the halfling had, it was locked away tight. But Noctis had been so casual about the entire thing. Had he known this whole time? But no- that couldn't be right. If that was true, then why had the prince been so surprised and disbelieving at finding out that he, himself, was an Astral from the ocean?

The blonde shook his head to himself. 'No… Noctis doesn't know.' But that in and of itself opened even more questions… What about Regis? Did the king know his wife's true identity? Did he know just where Noctis' warping ability came from? Had he seen it for himself?

Amaryllis was Bahamut's Lesser. She was The Reaper. The Carrier of Souls. Bahamut was the God of War and Battle- the God of Life and Death, practically- and Amaryllis, by association, was the same. She was the very embodiment of a warrior, as beautiful as she was deadly. Her fighting skills as well as her skills in battle were second to none and she met all those fallen in battle with kindness, taking their last breath with her own sword before sewing their place in the night sky.

But… From what Prompto had heard, it was said that Amaryllis had fallen in battle, fighting against King Ledolas in Niflheim's invasion on Insomnia… If she was so powerful, how had she fallen? And to a mad king at that?

Prompto looked down at his hand and at the few little specks of brown that rested where a few scales used to be. His gut rolled and he swallowed back his growing anxiety. 'Amaryllis had left just as unexpectedly as I had… Perhaps... She ended up staying so long that her magic faded away entirely…?' That was the only answer he could come up with. It had to be what happened. Amaryllis would not have been able to warp by the time Niflheim invaded. She wouldn't have been able to summon her unending supply of blades, nor would her skin have been impervious to pain and injury from others. She would have been like any other human; struggling with every one of her last breaths to defeat the greatest foe before her and protect her family.

The thought made his heart clench painfully and he looked back to Noctis, who was still talking to Cindy in a hushed voice, his body tense and his jaw tight. 'It must have been painful, to die for those that you love… Noctis was so young… To not have her by his side during such a crucial time in his life must have been… unbearable…' Noctis' eyes met Prompto's, and beneath the worried gaze he smiled a small, hesitant smile and gave the blonde a little wave, wordlessly communicating that everything was alright.

Prompto wanted to return the look. To rush over and hug him and banish all negative thoughts from the royal's mind-

-but his body tensed impossibly, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as his stomach dropped to the floor and his limbs felt like jelly.

There, a little ways in the distance behind Noctis and stepping through the brush with purpose, was a man he had never seen before. But he didn't have to see him to know who he was. The man's amber-colored eyes were trained directly past the unsuspecting Noctis and into Prompto's own, which were quickly going wide from utter dread. The air around them felt entirely too heavy, as if gravity had increased significantly, making it harder to breath or move. The smell of nature increased, drowning out all other scents as if a rainstorm had just swept through and the scent of dirt and earth encompassed him. The Earth wasn't moving, but Prompto could feel every step the man took, vibrating through the ground and up his body like miniature earthquakes and making his vision begin to blur.

Noctis took in his companion's sudden switch in mood, felt the little tremors in the ground beneath them, and opened his mouth as if to say something but Gladiolus stepped closer still, beating him to it with words of his own.

"Titan has tasked me with bringing you back, Prompto."

Prompto could hear his blood rushing in his ears loudly, drowning out the sudden cry that tore from Noctis' throat, but he could hear the other Lesser Astral's words loud and clear. In a heartbeat Prompto rushed to Noctis' side as the phone fell from the prince's hands and onto the muddy ground beneath them. Noctis fell to his knees, clutching his head in his hands and screwing his eyes shut as he screamed., and Prompto wrapped his arms around Noctis protectively.

"Noctis!" He covered the royal's ears with his hands, preventing any more pain as an ethereal glow emitted from them. Noctis' face evened out as the pain slowly left him, but when he opened his eyes they were full or worry and concern as he looked up at Prompto. The blonde wasn't looking at him though, but to somewhere off in the distance, behind him. He could see the Astral's mouth moving, could feel the words rumbling in the air around them, but the magic surrounding his ears prevented him from hearing a single thing. And even still, the tremors along the ground only increased in force. Something was coming towards them. "…Prom?"

"Gladiolus, I'm guessing?"

The man nodded sharply. "Yeah. That would be me, short stuff." Prompto glared and stepped closer to Noctis' body, as if to shield the royal with his own. He took in the man's features, from his long, deep brown hair and his piercing, heated amber gaze. Down his muscular, tanned body and the strange, floral-printed pink pants he wore that starkly contrasted to how rough he seemed. Dirt marred his feet and the tips of his hands as if he had been treading through the forests on all fours like an animal. "And you're Prompto, Leviathan's Lesser?"

Prompto swallowed, eyes darting for an escape route, but he didn't see one. The trees surrounded the camp site thickly, making running away a difficult task. They would be weaving around trees. "Correct."

The Son of Titan stopped, eyes flicking down to the man in the blonde's arms. He frowned. "Who's that?"

Like hell Prompto was going to tell this man anything about Noctis. "Listen. You seem like a great guy. And I'm sorry that we are meeting for the first time under these… circumstances. But please. I'm begging you. Leave him out of this."

Gladiolus levelled him with a hard look. "Does this human hold you captive?" Two large, tanned hands balled into thick fists at his sides.

Prompto shook his head, dread gripping his heart again. "No! He's protecting me! He's my friend!"

The larger man squinted his eyes. "…Friend?! …Preposterous. Humans aren't our friends… Stop this childish act of yours, Prompto. Come back with me."

Prompto shook his head. "I can't! Please! Not yet… Just give me a little more time and I promise I'll return myself! I-"

Gladiolus shook his head. Noctis was beginning to struggle in Prompto's grasp, wanting to see who or what was with them and it was getting harder for the blonde to contain him. To protect him. "No. This is your final warning, Prompto… Come back now, or I can not promise what fate will come to that 'friend' of yours…" The Star Mark along his upper arm glowed with promise.

Prompto knelt down and removed his hands from Noctis' ears, looking into his eyes with his own, glistening with fear and unshed tears. It was enough to make Noctis stop struggling, the breath escaping his lungs at the distraught, heartbroken look on that perfect face.

"Noctis… I'm so, so sorry…" He pressed his forehead to Noctis' own as his eyes closed, the tears beginning to roll down his cheeks.

"…Prom? What's going on? What's-" Abruptly, the Lesser Astral tore himself from Noctis' grasp, striding towards Gladiolus. Noctis turned, his eyes growing wide as they met Gladiolus. "Prompto?"

Prompto looked over his shoulder, and the expression pained on his scaled face utterly broke Noctis' heart. "Noctis… I'm so sorry… But I have to do this…"