The Crownsguards received the order to split into two groups: the first would be assisting their injured companions on the battlefield, the second would be escorting the citizens back to the now safe city. The news of their victory had spread across Eos quicker than light, and every channel spoke nothing but of the end of the war against the Empire. The MTs had simply stopped functioning now that the Empire's last leader had fallen, but the Royal Council thought they were not the priority at the moment. Their concern was the King's health as well as taking a decision regarding a certain High Commander of the Kingsglaives that had betrayed them all.

Prompto had been escorted to Insomnia Royal Hospital and received the appropriate treatment to his wounds, which seemed to heal slightly faster than normal thanks to his new genetic code. However, he hadn't received any visits and even the doctors and the nurses assigned to him seemed to avoid his presence whenever possible. The only ones that had shyly entered his room the morning after the battle were his adoptive parents.

They smiled warmly at him as they approached his bed, each sitting in a chair by him.

His mother kept staring at him worriedly, caressing his scratched cheek with wet eyes. His father, instead, decided to let Prompto get everything off his chest.

"You've always been so kind to me, mom and dad" the gunslinger smiled sadly "At times like this, I really believe I never deserved to be saved".

"Nonsense!" his father exclaimed outraged "What that Verstael did to you was despicable! It was not your fault, my child. You've been strong and brave fighting against it, and you eventually saved us all".

Prompto lowered his head, pondering his words.

"But if it's as you say" he started, unable to keep his voice steady "Why isn't anyone coming?"

His parents glanced at each other before his mother spoke. "Give them time, sweetheart. I am sure they will understand why you did it".

Prompto forced a smile on his face as his parents stood to leave. "We'll come back tomorrow" his mom reassured him "Get some rest, you deserve it".

She stroked his face once more before turning to leave. "Love you, Prompto".

"Love you too, mom and dad" he replied as he watched them close the door behind themselves.

He exhaled as he stared outside the window, watching the citizens of Insomnia roaming the busy city as if nothing had ever happened. Everyone seemed much happier now that war was finally over. He wished he could join them with the celebrations but felt like an outsider: he had been, after all, the lure that had almost meant the end of their freedom; he was the one with a bar code printed into his skin; he was the one whose blood was mixed with the one of a Daemon. And even though he had managed to fight and defeat his new instincts, he was still "the Traitor", and that's how people would always remember him. No matter what his parents told him, all Prompto could hear on the news was the name of Verstael and his son Damian Xanthus Besithia attacking the Crown City of Insomnia in their last, desperate attempt to conquer it. None of them mentioned that it was him, Prompto, that had also put an end to it all.

"Screw it all" he muttered as he shifted position in bed, ready to disconnect his brain from the tormenting thoughts that assailed him.

"We cannot trust him. What if he has killed his own father so that he could be the one taking over our city?"

"I agree. He is a Besithia, they have always been well known for being nothing but traitors and conspirators".

"Can't believe it. It's Prompto you're talking about!"

Luna closed her eyes, trying to summon her patience and sighed. Her spouse was still convalescent and could not attend their urgent meeting, which had been organized to discuss the fate of Damian Xanthus Besithia, as everyone now addressed Prompto. Of course, the King would be the one to ultimately decide in his favor or not, but the Council had a lot of influence too. It consisted of the High Commanders of the Kingsglaives, the King, herself and the royal advisors. Cor and Gladio seemed to agree Prompto was to be condemned, while herself and Ignis voted against it. Iris had remained silent all along.

"Give me just one reason why we should believe it, Iggy" Gladio retorted angrily.

"Maybe you were too distracted to realize, but Prompto was the one who killed Verstael" the spectacled man replied coolly, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Yeah, and we have already discussed that: we believe it was nothing but a planned action, so that he could fool us into believing he's innocent. Now he is free to roam around our city and strike at any time" Cor said just as coolly.

"They were in advantage, the Empire were winning the war!" Ignis remarked, raising his voice which was highly unusual of him.

"Have you considered the fact that maybe he wants the crown to himself?" Janus, one of the youngest advisors, questioned in a mocking tone.

"Silence!"

Luna's normally soft and controlled voice echoed all around the room, which instantly fell silent.

The Oracle walked to the tall windows overlooking the city. "Let me tell you once and for all why you're mistaken about Prompto".

"He's not Prompto Argentum. He's Damian Xanthus Besithia" Janus interrupted her, but immediately fell silent when the young girl gave him a warning look.

"Prompto might have been converted into an MT by his own biological father, as well as attacking us yesterday, but we must not forget he successfully fought his new nature, his new instincts to help us out. And he did" Luna spoke softly now, in contrast to her thundering tone used mere moments before.

"But it might be a trap…" Gladio tried tentatively, but the Oracle shook her head.

"That is to be excluded. For, you see, it was me who asked him to attack Noctis" she confessed, earning a gasp of surprise from the others.

"You?" Cor asked suspiciously.

"Yes, me. Prompto risked everything to make my plan successful, and he did not disappoint. You see, by fooling us into believing he had ultimately turned into a killing machine…" she trailed off and looked over at Ignis.

"…He fooled Verstael into believing the same, successfully letting his defenses down before finishing him off" Ignis concluded for her.

All the presents in the room exchanged a look of surprise and shock upon hearing their confession.

"And as we sit here, accusing him of high treason, he is alone in a hospital bed, forced to be isolated from the people he saved, forced to hear he was nothing but a traitor that almost ruined us all" Luna scolded them, though her tone was not angry. "Has any of you thought about how he must have felt when he was forced to kill his own father? For yes, he was a despicable man, but his father all the same".

No one dared to speak, too ashamed to even lift their chins to look over at either Luna or Ignis.

"I suppose we should inform the King" Janus was the first to break the silence "About Mr. Argentum's innocence".

"Yes, we should" Luna smiled.

Iris was the last one to leave the meeting room, still stunned after Luna's revelation. She had never really fully believed that Prompto had suddenly turned against them, though she had to admit the guy had almost fooled her when he had almost shot Noctis. She thought her heart couldn't take any more strong emotions for a good while, because Prompto had successfully managed to make her feel angry, sad, worried, relieved and confused in less than 24 hours.

She then thought of Luna's last words, specifically when she had told them Prompto had been suffering more than any of them, forced to be isolated from everyone; forced to kill his own father... Her heart stung at the very thought of what he must have gone through while they suspected of him all along.

When she exited the Citadel, she knew exactly where she would be heading next.

Her feet automatically brought her to the Insomnia Royal Hospital, and she quickly checked in at the entrance hall to ask where Prompto's room was located.

The secretary behind the counter gave her a weird look as she checked on her computer, before informing her that the person she was looking for had been moved to the fifth floor. Iris thanked the lady and walked to the lift, feeling suddenly nervous. She hadn't really thought of what to tell him: the last time they had met, she had split his lip before sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder.

She slowly paced the hallway on the fifth floor, reading the names on each door before stopping outside one which read "D. X. Besithia.". She frowned at the name, and mentally noted to inform the staff to replace the tag on the door.

She bit her lower lip, shifting from one foot to another before finally turning the doorknob. When she stepped inside, she realized Prompto was not alone. Mr. and Mrs. Argentum were occupying the only two chairs in the room, and seemed to have been in a deep conversation with their adopted son.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Iris stammered, immediately turning around to leave, but Mr. Argentum stopped her.

"Please, come in, my dear. We were about to leave, anyway" the man smiled at her warmly.

"O-Ok" Iris went back inside and closed the door behind her. Prompto's parents were now standing, gathering their things before leaving. His mother whispered something in his ear and smiled, as her son stared at Iris, surprise written all over his face.

"I'll see you tomorrow, sweetheart. Love you" Mrs. Argentum said, before following her husband outside. They both gave Iris the warmest of the smiles, and the girl could swear Mrs. Argentum had whispered a "Thank you" before leaving.

The two were now alone in the small hospital room, the neon lights from the ceiling providing a ghostly atmosphere. At least he had a TV, she thought. And a private bathroom.

"Hi" she said awkwardly.

"Hey…az" he replied just as awkwardly, unable to look into her eyes.

Iris clutched her hands behind her back and shyly stepped forward, sitting on the bed beside him.

"H-how are you?" she asked, suddenly wishing she was 17 again and on her way to the Wiz Chocobo Post with him. If someone had told her back then what they would go through after that day, she would have had a good laugh. Instead, she stared expectantly at the boy who had managed to steal her heart from Noctis. The same boy that had always made her and the others laugh, but that looked so incredibly sad and scarred now.

"Good" he smiled at her, but she could tell he was tired of pretending. Or maybe he wasn't as good at it as he had been ten years before.

"No, you're not" she contradicted him. He didn't answer, merely stared straight ahead.

"The Council took a decision about you" she said after a few seconds of silence. Prompto quickly glanced at her, a look of raw fear in his crystal blue eyes.

"Luna and Ignis have proved your innocence, and we all believed them. Well, Noctis couldn't participate after the beating you gave him" Iris chuckled lightly before continuing "But I am confident he has already forgiven you".

"I'm… not sure about that" Prompto lowered his head.

"Your friendship goes beyond that! Yes, you may have fooled us all, but you also saved us, Prompto" Iris said warmly. Prompto lifted his head when she had said his name, his Lucian name. Somehow, hearing her say it made him feel good. It made him feel like he belonged.

Feeling suddenly bold, Iris kicked off her shoes and laid down beside him while Prompto carefully moved to the side when he understood her intentions. The bed was a small one, but he thought he could survive a while in the uncomfortable position. He'd stay like that for the rest of his life for all that mattered. Iris rested her head and her right arm on his chest, carefully avoiding the bandaged parts, as Prompto wrapped his left one around her waist.

"I'm sorry, by the way" Iris said suddenly.

"For what?" he asked.

"For kicking your Imperial ass" she chuckled, and he laughed too.

"Hey, anytime" he joked "Always told you that you hit hard, woman".

They remained silent for a while, with Prompto absentmindedly drawing invisible circles on her skin.

"Wish I could have done something more for my mom, though" he said suddenly "My biological mother, I mean".

Iris glanced at him as she listened intently. He had never spoken of his biological parents before, let alone his mother whom he had never met.

"You… heard something about her?" she questioned carefully.

"Verstael told me about her when I was being held in Gralea" he answered seriously "Told me she was of poor family, and he convinced her to come with him to the Imperial capital to start a new life. He tricked her into following him and…"

Iris blinked when he trailed off, the topic of the conversation obviously too hard for him.

"You don't need to tell me, if you're not ready" she told him kindly as she reached out to stroke his arm.

"I need to tell someone about this" he continued determined and exhaled. "He took advantage of her".

Iris gasped at this shocking revelation, as she eyed him to try and understand if he would continue with his tale. He did.

"And that's how I was conceived. I'm not sure what happened next, but it's easy to imagine: I was taken away from her when I was an infant to be turned into an MT, and she… she was turned into a Daemon for his experiments".

As he spoke through gritted teeth, Iris noticed how his body had begun shaking with anger and regret, and she automatically hugged him, for words were superfluous in that moment. He hugged her back, inhaling sharply as he tried to pull himself together.

"There was nothing you could do for your mom, Prompto. However, you did avenge her eventually" she told him. She felt so incredibly sorry for the poor woman, and so sorry for the young man who held her in his arms, who always tried to cheer other people up when he was the one who needed it the most.

"Thank you" he whispered gratefully.

They stayed in that position, in silence, until Prompto heard her even breathing, signaling she had fallen asleep. He stared at her, peacefully slumbering, and smiled contently. If that was a dream, he didn't want to wake up. If that was reality, he sure as hell didn't deserve it, but wouldn't complain either.

Reaching the end soon :'(

Next Chapter: Prompto is accused of high treason. Luna and Ignis have tried their best to convince Noctis of his best friend's innocence, but it's now up to the King to take the final decision. Will Prompto be condemned, or will their friendship go through yet another seemingly insurmountable obstacle? D: