THREE MONTHS LATER…

"Where is that kid?" Gladio muttered to himself. His heavily inked arms were folded over his massive chest as he leaned back against the gas pump with a dark scowl. Prompto had been sitting in the back seat of the Regalia, silent and still, for almost ten minutes while they waited for Noct to emerge from the gas station convenience store. When the prince finally appeared, he was carrying a bottle of water and nothing more.

Gladio heaved a sigh, gearing up to complain, when Prompto cut him off with a soft whisper. "Don't," was all the blond boy asked, voicing a plea so pained Gladio couldn't ignore it.

So instead, the prince's bodyguard called out, "Hey, Noct! Why don't you take the wheel for a while, huh? Give me a break." He lifted the keys, preparing to toss them across the hood at the kid.

"Nu-uh," Noctis said with finality, opening the front passenger-side door. "That's not my seat."

"Oh, like it's supposed to be mine?" Gladio shot back at him.

"Guys…" Prompto whined, sounding close to tears. "Can we please not do this now? Please."

Noctis climbed into the passenger seat and shut his door, then fastened his seatbelt without another word. Gladio relented for the moment and claimed the driver's seat, but the veins in his forehead were straining as he struggled to control his rage.

This was an old argument; since Ignis's disappearance, Noctis had refused to sit in the driver's seat, or to sit behind it. He didn't say why, but in all honesty he couldn't take not watching the back of Ignis's head or exchanging glances with him in the rearview mirror the way they used to. Now the prince just sat up front next to Gladio, staring out his window so he wouldn't have to deal with anything. And Prompto had been relegated to the back seat, demoted from radio DJ to just another passenger.

Gladio jammed the key into the ignition and started up the Regalia. He pulled out of the gas station lot and swerved out onto the main highway, smashing the gas pedal and quickly picking up speed. They still had a lot of ground to cover today, and if he was the one doing the driving, he was going to drive any way he gods-be-damned pleased.

That night the three men made camp and ate another unsatisfying dinner of beef jerky, trail mix, and something Gladio tried (and failed) to pass off as stew. Watching Noct pick at his bowl with a disgusted expression, the way he lifted his spoon and strained it over and over, was the last straw.

"If you think you can do any better, then by all means!" Gladio barked, standing up and slamming the lid down on the pot hanging over the fire pit.

Noctis and Prompto both looked up at him sharply. "I didn't say anything!" Noct retorted defensively.

"You didn't have to," Gladio roared. "You're thinking it so loudly I can hear what's on your mind. You can't just appreciate the effort and suck it up, can you? Always moping around, always bitching—"

"Hey!" Noct yelled back at him, setting his bowl down on the ground with a clatter as he rose to the challenge. "Neither of us said a word about that stew. The only person I see moping around and bitching is you!"

"Is that so, Highness?" Gladio's nostrils flared as his eyes flashed dangerously with anger. "You know what your problem is? You're spoiled. You always have been, and Ignis let you get away with it because he had to, to keep his job. You've always been a whining little bitch, and he knew it. He probably got fed up and that's why he ditched you."

Noct's fingers curled as his hands tightened into fists. "Don't you dare speak about Ignis that way," he growled threateningly.

"Or you'll what?" Gladio returned, stepping so close his chest almost butted into Noct's. He towered a foot over the boy as their eyes met, both pairs ignited with fury. When the prince didn't respond to his taunts, Gladio couldn't resist taking another jab. "Ignis took his wallet but left his phone behind. He didn't even tell you goodbye. Does that sound like someone who gives a damn about you, or like someone who's fed up with your shit and just wants to be rid of you?"

That did it. Noct's lips drew back in a snarl as he swung his arm, slamming his fist into Gladio's side so hard he forced the brute a step back. Without hesitation, Gladio returned the blow, aiming his fist squarely at Noct's jaw. The prince's head snapped back and he tasted his own blood.

"You guys!" Prompto scrambled to his feet, his heart hammering. "Cut it out!"

Next Noctis lunged at Gladio with his full weight, catching him around the waist in an attempt to take him down. He only managed to shove the ox of a man back a few steps, then Gladio started pounding blows into both the prince's sides, knocking the wind out of him. That was when Noct got a mouthful of Gladio's T-shirt between his teeth and bit down so hard in the meaty section of his side between his hip and ribcage, the blood he tasted next was not his own.

The titan went down like a dump truck cutting a corner too sharply and tipping over with its entire haul in tow. Prompto barely dodged out of the way in time to save himself from becoming part of the fray. They rolled across the dirt, limbs flailing as both men fought to get the best of the other.

"Noct! Gladio!" Prompto's voice cracked as he screamed at them. "Stop it! Iggy wouldn't want this." He fell to his knees, sobbing. "Ignis wouldn't stand for this. You know he wouldn't approve, so why are you two fighting?"

The sounds of his cries brought the other men out of their tornado of fury. Noct rolled off of Gladio and got to his feet, dusting the dirt off his clothes. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and it came away bloody.

Gladio was a little stunned from a good hit Noct had landed on his head, but finally managed to stagger into a standing position. He gripped his skull with both hands as the sky spun around them.

Prompto wiped his tears away with a terse movement and tried to quieten his sobs. Now that he finally had the other men's attention, he was going to tell them exactly what was on his mind for a change.

"Ignis wouldn't like us arguing like this. Noct," he said, turning on the prince, "he wouldn't like you sulking, either, okay?"

Noct's eyes were glittering and he looked away, but after a second he nodded his agreement.

"Gladio—Noct is right," Prompto said as the larger man shuffled back to the fire with an already blackening eye. "Ignis didn't just walk out on us, okay? He wouldn't. He…couldn't. I can't believe that, I just…can't."

When Prompto's eyes welled up, so did Gladio's. He crouched down and put his arms around the small blond to comfort him. "Hey… Hey, buddy. I didn't mean it. I was just shooting my mouth off, looking for someone to point a finger at." He looked up at Noct. "I was just looking for somebody to blame. I…I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Noct said, his voice sounding strained as he struggled to control his own emotions. "Me, too."

Things were different the next day. They could all feel it. The tension of the last several months had been swept away and the bad energy had dissipated like the sky clearing after a hard rain. All three men had a hand in making breakfast instead of leaving the burden to fall onto Gladio's shoulders, each sharing their meager cooking skills to put together something a little better than what they'd grown accustomed to eating. Prompto took it upon himself to clean up this time while Noct helped Gladio break down the tent. They worked together to finish packing up their gear, then once everything was loaded up into the car, Noct offered to drive.

"Nah, it's cool," Gladio told the prince with a grin that made his cracked lip sting.

"All right," Noctis shrugged, "but…just let me know if you need a break." The prince put his hand on Prompto's shoulder to stop him from climbing into the backseat. "Hey, Prompto—how about some music?"

The blond beamed so brightly his freckled cheeks hurt for the next hour.

They had been on the road for the entire morning and were well away from civilization when the hum of a motor, rapidly increasing in volume, drowned out the CD Prompto had selected for the ride.

The waiflike technophile unfastened his seatbelt and squirmed around in his chair, climbing onto his knees as he scouted the airspace behind the Regalia. It didn't take long to spot the dark object in the distance, or to notice how quickly it was gaining on them.

Prompto pointed at the Imperial ship in warning. "Guys! Imperials, behind us!"

"They aren't the only ones!" Gladio called. He grabbed the back of Prompto's jacket and hauled him back down from his perch, holding the boy tightly to his side with his arm protectively cradling his blond head as he swerved to dodge an incoming projectile. There was an explosion at the rear of the Regalia, so close Noct could feel its heat. "Hold on!" Gladio shouted gruffly. "We're going to have to pull over before they pummel us with missiles!"

The car skidded to a halt that left dark tire tracks scorching the pavement. They were surrounded, and the only way out was to fight.

Prince Noctis was the first one out of the car. The airship behind them was already hovering, and out of its cavernous mouth leaped one of the Empire's deadliest machines, a walking nightmare that was as tall as a house and weaponized with rockets. Noct knew the best way to take one out was to topple it, so without hesitation he warp-struck for one of its legs.

Gladio and Prompto scurried from the car and made for the second ship that had opted for a frontal assault. It dropped a dozen or more Magitek Troopers from the sky before taking off just as suddenly as it had arrived. They had done this enough times before they didn't need to discuss the plan before charging in: Prompto would barrage the bioengineered soldiers with ballistics while Gladio got up close and personal, offering them a taste of his steel.

"I got your back, big guy!" Prompto declared, targeting the first M.T. that made a move for Gladio's unguarded rear while the larger man was striking down a bionic soldier with a heavy blow from his greatsword.

For his part, Noct had made short work of the giant construct and put an end to its plague of projectiles. But the machine hadn't shown up without bringing a few friends. The prince glanced back over his shoulder to see if help was coming, but Gladio and Prompto had their hands full. So he pulled the pin on a flare grenade and threw it at the cluster of M.T.s preparing to rush him, then warp-struck over to the others.

"Incoming!" Noctis screamed out in warning.

Gladio raised his shield and grabbed Noct's wrist, pulling him down behind the metal plate as they fell to their knees. Prompto dove to their position, ripping the knees of his black jeans as he skidded across the pavement. He covered his ears and felt Gladio's arm wrap around him, pulling the three of them into a tight formation. Less than a second later, an explosion blasted bits of armor and body parts all over the makeshift battleground. But they weren't done yet.

"We've got company!" Gladio cautioned as they rose from the ground, shielding his eyes from the sun as two more black ships appeared on the horizon.

"Aw, man…" Prompto licked his lips worriedly. "I've never seen so many ships in one place before!"

"Got any more of those flare bombs?" Gladio shouted to Noct over the roar of the ship engines.

Noct squinted as the wind from the ships kicked up dust into his eyes. "They're too close; I can't risk hitting one of you!"

"All right, then," Gladio said. He was grinning. "We do this the hard way."

"Something tells me that's what you'd prefer." Noct returned the smile, then warped out.

Gladio met the onslaught of M.T.s coming his way with the strength of a cyclone, swinging his mighty sword with expert precision to deal maximum damage. Prompto tried to keep his eyes on the other man, but had his own problems; unlike the prince, who had the gods-given ability to dodge the spray of bullets aimed his way, Prompto had to roll for cover whenever an M.T. turned its rifle in his direction. At some point he heard Gladio call out to him, something about "sticking together," but Prompto didn't have Gladio's shield, either, and had to back off and take up a position behind the Regalia alone.

Noct was being encircled by at least seven M.T.s bearing blades. The prince had so little room to move, the next time a sword sliced the air in front of him, it sliced open his T-shirt and missed his skin only by a hair. "…Could use a little help, right about now," Noct grimaced, wishing the gods that protected him were watching. But he didn't feel their presence right now, and he couldn't call upon them for aid when they weren't listening. At least his ancestors were there for him. Drawing a breath, Noct released the power of the Armiger. The swords of the kings before him heeded his call, granting him inhuman strength and speed as they formed a protective shield around him. But he and Gladio were moving farther and farther apart on the battlefield.

Gladio paused only long enough to wipe the sweat from his brow, and only because the salt was stinging his eyes. He trained twice every day, but even he was panting for breath at this point. Two ships had been challenging enough to manage—but four?!

Still, he was making at least some progress, he thought. There were more M.T.s on the road than standing, at least where he was fighting. But he had lost sight of Prompto and Noctis and needed to get back. If only Ignis were here, giving the orders. They had taken him for granted, always expecting he would call out the command to regroup so they could find each other.

There were still two or three M.T.s ahead of him, farther down the road, but it was more important that he get back and check on the others. Gladio turned and then stopped, finding an M.T. directly at his back. For just an instant his old temper flared; where the hell was Prompto, anyway? But then he froze in shock when he realized this M.T. was different—he recognized it.

Beneath the iron helmet, the face was the same as he remembered, even with the olive pallor of his skin and the fact that his glowing red eyes weren't looking out at him from behind a pair of glasses. He recognized the angular jawline and the strong chin, the shapes of his nose and mouth…

Gladio's jaw dropped and the end of his sword lowered to the ground, his hand going slack around its hilt, as he stared at the creature in abject horror. "Iggy?!"

The M.T. raised its arm, blade held aloft, but then it stopped. Paused. Considered. Its forehead creased with confusion. Then its inhuman eyes widened with recognition.

For a long moment they stared at one another in disbelief. The M.T.'s eyes dimmed, their red, menacing lasers becoming a faint glow of despair. Then it spoke with a voice that was not Ignis's, but a metallic, hollow sound that rose from its chest cavity and not its unmoving mouth with its soulless, permanent smile.

Its request was simple and plain, but it caused Gladio more pain and sorrow than anything ever asked of him before.

Ignis looked down at Gladio and pleaded, "Kill me."

Noct finally got Prompto in his sights and warped over to where the boy was crouched behind the hood of the Regalia, bleeding badly from where a bullet had struck his arm and blown through the other side.

"Here!" Noct yelled, drawing a potion out of his jacket pocket and forcing it into Prompto's limp hand. He wrapped his fingers around the blond boy's and squeezed hard until the small bottle burst and sewed up the wound on Prompto's bicep to a tolerable degree.

"N…Noct…" Prompto groaned, lifting a hand to gesture as he struggled to keep upright.

Noctis followed the direction of Prompto's point. He gasped when he saw a ring of M.T.s circling around Gladio, closing in on their target. And Gladio was just standing there, his greatsword loose in his grip as he stared up at one particular M.T. and…talked with it?

"What the hell's he doing?!" Noct growled. His gaze zoned in on the bionic that held Gladio's attention as he tried to make sense of the scene unfolding before him. Then all at once he understood.

It had only been three months, but there were times when Noctis thought he could no longer recall Ignis's face. Three months could feel like an eternity when you had no sense of closure, no answers to the questions that consumed your thoughts, day and night. Why had Ignis left them? Where had he gone? Was he okay, was he even still alive? What would he say to him if he had the chance to speak to him again? Was there anything he could have said or done to change his mind? Had he even wanted to leave them, or was something keeping them apart?

Seeing Ignis standing there now in the mechanized suit of armor, Noct finally had all the answers he'd been searching for. Ignis hadn't walked out on them—he'd been taken against his will. He hadn't wanted space or solitude; he'd wanted to do his duty, as Noct's guardian and as his friend, but he'd been kept from it by their enemies. He hadn't abandoned them at all!

The prince had only one thought on his mind now, and that was rescuing his friends. The M.T.s were pressing in on Gladio and Ignis, and he knew he had to save them. He could tell Gladio's strength was returning as the man's grip tightened around the hilt of his blade and he began to lift it. Then Noct realized who he was aiming for. "Wait!" Noct screamed. "Gladio! Nooo!"

Gladio tried to process what Ignis was asking him to do. Kill him? Kill his friend?

But he thought he understood. M.T.s weren't human. Maybe Ignis was still in there somewhere, but on the outside he had changed into something else, an amalgamation of biological man and automated machine that left no room for humanity. They both knew it, and no matter how much this was going to hurt, there was only one thing to be done.

Gladio took his greatsword in both hands and lifted it over his head with an agonized roar. But he had wasted too much time thinking his decision through and had lost his chance.

Before Gladio could strike Ignis down with his own sword, another ran him through from behind.

Gladio's back arched at the force of the thrust. The blade of an M.T.'s katana was sticking straight out of his abdomen, and as Gladio's chin fell to rest against his chest he could see the crimson of his life force spilling out.

Somewhere in the distance he thought he heard Noct calling his name. It gave him the strength he needed for just one final act, and despite being impaled on an M.T.'s sword, Gladio managed to heft his own one last time and to force it through Ignis's chest.

Gladio dropped to his knees as the M.T. behind him struggled to retract its blade from his back. He didn't let go of his greatsword until he had dragged Ignis down with him. Man and machine took each other in arms. Electricity crackled as the machine's circuits shorted out. Sparks ignited into flames that flickered along the circuitry on the front of Ignis's former ribcage, only to be doused by a black fluid that started leaking around the lesion Gladio's sword had opened on his chest cavity. Their eyes met with understanding and dimmed as one.

Prompto forced himself to his feet. He was sure his ankle was at least twisted, if not fractured, but he staggered after Noct as the prince falteringly warped down the road toward the gruesome scene of their friends' massacre.

"Noct!" he shouted, running as fast as he could. Fortunately, the prince was so distraught he couldn't see where he was going through his tears, and his warp-strikes fell far short of where Gladio and Ignis had fallen. Prompto finally reached him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Noct, let's get out of here!"

"Let me go!" Noct shrieked, fighting Prompto off. "That's Ignis! Can't you see? I have to get to Ignis!"

"Noct…stop fighting me!" Prompto clenched his jaw and struck Noctis on the side of his head with the butt of his pistol. He hadn't meant to hurt him, but Noct was so stunned he stopped struggling long enough for him to explain. "We're too late. They're…they're gone, Noct. Gladio and Ignis…they're gone."

"No…" Noct wailed with heartsickness. He reached out toward Ignis and Gladio, his arm flailing helplessly as it grasped at empty air. "No, no, no, nonono…"

Prompto's vision blurred with tears as he gripped the prince's shoulders, holding him in place. The M.T.s had noticed them and he could tell they were gearing up to charge.

"We gotta get outta here, Noct," he cried with desperate urgency. "If we don't, we'll be…" He couldn't say the words. He couldn't say they might die, just like their friends.

Noct stopped struggling. He gripped Prompto's wrists tightly, squeezing them for support as he took one final look at the two lifeless forms slumped together on the pavement.

"Come on," Prompto murmured quietly, taking a step away. "Noct, it's time to let go."

Together they turned their backs on the M.T.s and raced to the Regalia. They jumped into the car without bothering about the doors, diving into their seats. Noct turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life. He shifted the gear into drive and stomped his boot down on the gas pedal. Prompto knelt on his seat and raised his firearm, taking aim.

"Get them," Noct ordered, his tone tinged with fury and pain.

Helmets rolled across the concrete as skull after skull exploded. Prompto blinked away his tears and refused to allow his shots to be blinded by his grief. The M.T.s sprayed bullets toward the Regalia, but they fell one by one as Prompto let his pistol claim vengeance for what the Empire had done to their family.

This wasn't the end. There were just two of them now, but they would be inseparable, unstoppable. They would make Niflheim pay for this. They wouldn't rest until every last M.T. had been set free and the Empire destroyed.