Prompt: #11 Underground

Summary: Old habits die hard.

A/N: This takes place in the Noctum/Eclipse verse. This is after the Epilogue and before the events in Praestolatio Prestolatio.

Barathrum is Latin for "the Underworld".

Barathrum

"Luv, I cannot find Lunae."

When a mother says something like this, there is always a certain level of panic evident in her voice and in her face. They were not normal parents, so his wife was not a normal mother. When she uttered this statement to him earlier, she did not look at all panicked. There was some concern, yes, but nothing like one would imagine. It was not that she did not love their son. No, there were times he felt jealous at just how much affection was given to their son by his wife. Sometimes he was down right pouty about it. He could not help it. His wife was his source of love and comfort and her attention was now divided between himself and their son. It was hard to share the affection he had been neglected in youth. An easy solution to the irrational jealousy that sometimes flared inside him was to lavish their son with his own affections. He wonders, not for the first time, how he was going to share his wife with yet another addition to their family. So no, the lack of worry in his wife's tone was from a lack of concern. She had been looking for her son afterall.

"I will find him," was his immediate answer.

Her response had been to smile in thanks before giving him a kiss. A kiss that was shorter than he would have liked, but there had been a promise in her eyes that reassured him that he would have a more satisfying one once he brought their son back to her. With the glow of pregnancy surrounding her, she was such an enticing sight that she tempted him more now than she ever had before. It becomes more and more difficult to leave her every morning when she looks so aglow. The love they both had known would grow stronger still makes his heart tighten now. They were so in harmony now that to leave her was like leaving his life behind. Not just leaving a piece of himself behind, but his whole self. He knows he loves her more now than he did when he killed himself to join her. She feels the same because she had touched his face to soothe him and rubbed his nose with hers to distract him. Like it always did, a smirk appeared on his lips in response as they took a moment to embrace each other closely. A few shared breathes with their foreheads together was enough and after a very hard kiss of promise, he had left her to bring back their son.

While Stella was pregnant with Lunae, he and his brothers might have gone a little overboard with their security measures. Stella had laughed but had not put up any argument to their arrangements. He made sure to keep her very aware of everything that they had been putting together for the arrival of their first born. The castle was already a very foreboding place. After the adjustments, it was an impenetrable fortress. Servants were not replaced very often and he already knew every face that had permission to walk the halls. They had not installed cameras, but they had installed something more ingenious. Sensors had been placed in every corridor and in every room. Everyone who was allowed on the castle grounds had to be implanted with a small chip that would activate each sensor that they happened to pass. These chips were solely powered by his own Crystal's energy. Any unauthorized access would alert a select few. Depending on the security level of a certain area, he was not always informed of all these attempts. It was only when there was someone that did not belong anywhere near his wife or near their son, that he was alerted.

Those not embedded with the specialized chip did not go undetected either. He had, had more than enough time to train his senses to any presence that was not supposed to be there. Considering the fact that he could sense each of the Crystal Bearers at any given time, Sapien suggested he consider tracking those with none Crystal energies about them. Since we were all beings of energy, it was just a matter of switching his radar settings in a sense. It had taken a bit of training, but seeing as his range was only the width of the castle, it was not too difficult a task to master. Honing these skills and directly using his own Crystal energy to power the chips was a twofold achievement. The second being that since his energies were more spread out, he was in less danger of blowing up the entire city when he was having a bad day.

Tracking Lunae was as easy as finding his own way around the castle. The presence of his wife and his son was always hovering in the forefront of his mind. It did not even take any thought to find them when he needed to. When Stella had asked him to find their son, he had already known where Lunae was. She had known he would. Even though her senses were not as heightened as his were, she could always tell when their son was safe or when he was getting himself into trouble. When it was the latter, she need only alert him through their minds and he was there to prevent disaster. Disasters which were becoming more and more as Lunae got older. His son was brilliant, but he was too brilliant for one so young. The little prince was not even two yet. He hopes that he did not develop his teleporting skills before he could talk. There was no telling what that little rascal would do if he possessed that gift and possessed it too early. That is assuming, of course, that he would inherit that skill.

Instead of teleporting quick to Lunae's location, he decided to walk instead. When he had realized where his son was, he was surprised. The fear that his son had developed his teleporting skills ran through his mind. Then he had realized who his son was with. One of the three who did not have a Crystal chip and would never need one. Which was why he was taking his time getting there. A smirk replaced the concerned frown and he allowed his mind to think back on times that seemed so long ago as he makes his way to join them. He soon found himself at an old entryway that he had not taken in a very long time and felt nostalgic. He had always felt old but now he felt positively ancient. He wondered what his brothers felt about that.

As he silently makes his way through familiar and dingy walls of stone, he begins to hear the echo of an equally familiar voice and the joyful laugh of his son. There is a following of delighted baby chatter and an older, amused chuckle. The sounds make him smile as he reaches the doorway. He can picture the scene just before he actually sees it.

Sapien was sitting in front of a computer with Lunae on his lap. Both were staring at something on the screen with equal interest. From his point of view, he could only see the back of the monitor that they sat in front of it. Sapien's face was contemplative while Lunae looked excited. They were so engrossed, they do not notice him standing there at first.

"Are you sure that one, Moonlight?" asks Sapien, looking down at the toddler in his lap.

"Yes!" cries Lunae as he points his little finger at the screen and like any toddler with a quick attention span, looks right at him then. "Papa!"

Sapien looks up quickly to see him as he stands and there is a peculiar expression that appears on his friend's face in reaction. He was familiar with it. It was an expression always on Des' face. It was just peculiar to see it on Sapien's face. He had the look of one being caught doing something wrong. It was enough to give him pause. Now, if it had been Des he would have been on alert. When Lunae wanted a partner to play a trick on, he knew to go to Des. If it had been Vires, he would not have been too surprised. The surprise would have been Vires actually on a computer when his scarred brother did not like them at all. Either scenario would have had him question the meaning of their guilty expression quickly. Since it was Sapien, he was almost confused.

"What plans of world domination are you both planning?" he asks lightly, responding to the bubbling laughter of his son.

"Papa look!" cries Lunae as he jumps in Sapien's lap.

He gives Sapien another quizzical look when it looks like he is half tempted to close whatever it was that the two of them had been looking at. The guilty look turns into a resigned look, before it goes back to his usual blankness as he sits back to let Noctis look at the image on the screen. There is a tension in Sapien's jaw that is the only indication that he is still uncharacteristically uncomfortable.

"That one!" shouts Lunae, drawing his attention away from his friend and he looks at the screen for the first time.

He frowns at what he sees. It was probably one of the last things he would have expected to see after witnessing Sapien's reaction. Well, he had not known what to expect at all but he is sure he would not have thought of this.

"That looks very beautiful, my son," he replies with an approving nod.

Lunae bounces in Sapien's lap with a smug look on his small face.

It must be a natural sense that young ones have. Lunae always knew when attention was not being paid to him and acted accordingly, depending on whatever his present mood was. Right now, he must want attention because he starts twisting his little body to turn around and look at Sapien's face. His son has that mischievous look in his eye that they all knew led to trouble. Especially when he was notorious for one bit of trouble that always had Sapien as the victim.

"Lunae," he says in warning.

It only puts a goofy grin on the toddler's face. It is clear what his intent is as he continues to eye Sapien's face.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Sapien asks with the customary challenging look that is not very challenging at all. If Noctis could describe it in it a word, it would be indulgent. He knows Sapien would not object either way. Even though it was very inconvenient for him.

Lunae cries out in laughter at the look before babbling back in his baby speech.

"What would your mother think?" he asks in a shocked tone.

It receives a startled gasp from the tiny man and he watches as a duplicate copy of his own eyes stare up at him.

"Mama no," whispers Lunae loudly and the little one sobers. It saves Sapien another pair of glasses from falling victim to Lunae's unforgiving little hands.

"Your mother is looking for you, Little One," he says. "Let us go see her, shall we?"

He opens his arms in offering and the little bundle of black spiky hair reaches up to be lifted into his arms. He feels tony hands grab the collar of his jacket as the toddler turns to look back down at Sapien.

"Come Sailin'," says the little voice.

"Of course, my liege," replies Sapien, shutting off the computer and standing up to follow them.

"I did not know you still came down here," he says.

"When I don't want to be bothered," Sapien answers with a nod.

The three of them walk out of their childhood abode. They had spent so much time down here, in their own underground world as boys. Now, they never seemed to have time to come all together.

"Do the others?" he cannot help but ask.

"I am usually alone," is the answer. Which meant that Sapien had been the only one who had not broken the habit of coming here whenever he wanted to be alone. He wonders just how often his friend came down here by himself.

"It has been awhile," he says, leaving the end of the sentence unfinished. He finds he misses this place. It held all the better memories of their childhood.

"It has," agrees Sapien. "It's the only place I don't get reception."

The ever present handheld was brought out once again. He believes the lack of reception. Their underground hideaway was too deeply within the ground to get any sort of signal. It was why it was so close to the dungeons. As they walk, Lunae passes the time with the occasional tugs on his anatomy and singing with lyrics only babies can understand. It is once he feels Sapien has gotten into his silent musings that he speaks again.

"Are you going to tell me why you and Lunae were picking out Glacialis statues?"

Perhaps Vires would have blushed. Des would have been bashful. Sapien merely looks him in the eye and in his usual dry tone, says no.