A/N: Version 1 of this Au
Regis shifted from one foot to the other slowly and checked the time again. It was ten past the agreed time to meet and there was still no sign of Aldercapt, Izunia or their retinue. His chest tightened as he glanced around the hall furtively. Had something gone wrong? Clarus was standing tense and straight a few meters away, the closest he could be without getting them both shocked.
Cor was nowhere to be seen but that was to be expected. If Clarus was around then Cor could not be, and vice-versa. Neither were allowed to be in the same room with Regis. Neither could be within 3m of him. If they did, then the children... Regis yanked his thoughts away from that endless circle of pain and concentrated on what was happening right now.
A Niflheim aid had just left the hall, no doubt to check on the Emperor and the others. Regis hoped they would be here soon. He would not be able to stay on his feet for much longer than what had been planned for the ceremony's speeches. Regis wouldn't put it past Aldercapt, or perhaps more accurately Izunia, to be late on purpose just to see Regis fall during the ceremony and be forced to crawl back to the Citadel.
"Assassin!" The shout caused the hall to erupt into movement. The MTs guarding Regis stepped closer to him, not to protect him but rather to ensure he did not go anywhere. Clarus snapped into full alert, eyes roaming the hall in search of any danger aimed directly at Regis. The Niflheim aid who had left earlier ran back into the hall, his white suit stained red with blood. Regis felt an odd sort of pleasure at the sight. "The Emperor has been killed! He has been assassinated!"
Regis glanced over to Clarus and knew the instant he laid eyes on his friend, this was not It .
Regis was escorted to a bleak room he was all too familiar with by now. Niflheim's interrogation room. Where they held and tortured anyone and everyone who caused trouble for their regime without a care for the wellbeing of their prisoner. He was left alone to wait as chaos reigned after the discovery of the Aldercapt's body in the Royal Quarters.
Regis knew Clarus would be in another room, similarly waiting for his own interrogator. As would Cor and all other Lucians who had been in the Citadel. He could do nothing but wait and pray that they would find proof showing the assassin had already fled the Citadel before the arrival of the aid. Anything less than that would mean deaths and imprisonment for many.
An hour passed. Then another. Then a third. Regis rested as much as he could within the cold room as he waited. As the fourth hour reached its midway point something changed. Something in him shattered. A old feeling he had not felt in close to a decade filled his veins. His magic had returned!
Regis wasted no time, reaching for his armiger and grinning as it responded to his call. He did not bring them into the world just yet, such a gift had to be used wisely but now he could fight. Now Regis had a way to move without being seen. He would be able to heal himself and others. He could grant Clarus and Cor access to the armiger for the Resistance to use. He didn't know how or why his magic had returned but he didn't really care either.
The lights in the room flickered then went out for a minute before turning back on. Another odd thing. Regis hummed thoughtfully and glanced at the camera in the corner. Went still and double checked. The camera was off. Its unearing, unblinking gaze was hanging uselessly from its mount.
Regis rose carefully, unsure of what he should do. The door slammed open. Regis jerked back, fear rising at who might be arriving now. Cor stood there, panting, eyes glazed with unshed tears and staring at Regis like he'd seen a ghost. "Reg… You need… Come with me!" Cor opened his hand, beaconing Regis with increasing urgency. Regis was moving before Cor had finished talking, whatever had shaken his friend so much, whatever had made him risk so much to come and get him. It had to be of utmost importance.
They found MTs lying motionless all over the corridors. Niflheim soldiers dead in the halls. Regis refused to acknowledge the burns, the frost, the killing blows from impossible angles. It couldn't be. Only those of the line of Lucis Caelum's could accomplish what he saw. And he was the last living member! Wasn't he?
"Cor?" Regis couldn't ask. Couldn't form the words to ask for the impossible. He had seen His body. Small. Helpless. Broken. Seen Him be flung over the cliff with blood (so much blood! It haunted his nightmares!) dripping from the gaping wound across His back.
Cor said nothing, a single tear finally escaping the confines of his eye and dripping down his cheek. They were in front of the Throne Room. The sealed doors open wide once more. Voices, laughing, joking, celebrating! Came from within.
"Gladiolus Amicitia! Get down from there this instant!" Regis grasped Cor's arm in a grip guaranteed to leave bruises. He doubted Cor would care. The voice was Ignis Scientia, chosen companion to his Noct. Pilfered as a hostage by Niflheim after the first attempts to fight back against the Empire failed. Regis had seen him a few times since when the boy had been allowed visits to his family for good behavior.
"Relax Iggy. I'm not going to break anything. Just - grunt - want to show the pipsqueak it's possible." Regis' eyes teared up. That was undoubtedly Clarus' son. Gladiolus had gone missing almost three years ago, assumed dead, after being ordered to do a solo mission by Niflheim to prove his loyalty and worth.
The next voice was unfamiliar to Regis. "I believe you so please get down here!" There was a thump then laughter that froze Regis' heart in his chest.
There was laughter, pure innocent laughter; in the Citadel once more. And… he knew that laughter. It was deeper, louder than that of his memories but it was!
"Noctis!" Regis found his legs and rushed into the Throne Room. There, sitting on the steps leading to the Throne, sat a blue eyed, black haired youth with Regis' feature and Aulea's eyes. There, dressed in pure Lucian black, was his son holding a sword Regis had never seen but knew by design.
There was his Noctis, alive and surrounded by his companions. Noctis grinned and waved languidly. "Hey Dad. I'm back. And I killed a bunch of Niffs for you?" Regis laughed as he swept Noctis into his arms. No one said anything about his tears, or Cor's or Clarus'.