Gladio watched Prompto and Noctis as they launched into their new video game.

Bellies full of stew, the boys were sprawled across the bed, eyes fixated on the screen on the far wall as they started fidgeting with their controllers. Prompto was at a clear disadvantage with his arm in a brace, but he didn't complain.

The two would undoubtedly stay put until dinner, and, even then, they would probably only pause the game long enough to wolf down whatever Ignis had painstakingly prepared.

Normally, Gladio would have hounded Noctis for wasting a whole afternoon on video games when he could have been training, but that certainly wasn't something he was worried about today. Heck, he was thinking about laying off the kid for the rest of next week – just letting him hang out with Prompto.

Of course, it'd be hard as hell to get Noctis back into the habit of training after a week off, so maybe that wasn't such a good idea?

Glancing over, he caught Ignis silently gesturing toward the door. The message was clear and Gladio nodded before following the Prince's Advisor.

In the hall, they found Cor waiting. Gladio hid his surprise as well as he could, but he was sure he let some of it slip. After all, he'd hardly expected the Immortal to come make a visit at Prompto's room. It really made the big guy wonder exactly how Cor knew the Argentums.

"How's the kid," the Cor asked, his tone gruff, hard.

"As fine as can be expected," Ignis answered. "He's on a regiment for potions to finish healing his broken bones and the open wounds he sustained are almost fully closed. I imagine he'll be quite sore and exhausted for the remainder of the week, but it is nothing a little rest and care can't cure."

"Had a pretty bad nightmare too…" Gladio chimed in. He wasn't sure why he felt it was important, but he did.

Cor perked up a little, his piercing gaze fixed squarely on Gladio. "Did he tell you what it was about?"

It was a question but said in a way that felt like a command. It was directly meant to be answered with full compliance.

"He said we were all at the comic expo," Gladio started, "but everything turned a weird green color and went silent. Then we disappeared and he was all alone. He said everything went dark and he was trapped somewhere small with cold walls all around him, and there were children screaming." He paused to let out a low, frustrated sigh. "The kid was really shaken up about it."

When Gladio looked up, he saw that Cor too seemed shaken. The man had paled a bit, his lips pursed and brow was furrowed.

"Marshal, does this dream hold some significance we are not aware of?" Ignis asked.

Cor opened his mouth, as if he was going to respond, but he didn't. It felt undeniably odd to see the Marshal at a loss for words.

Gladio frowned. "Probably just the kid having abandonment issues because his no-good parents are never around."

The world became a blur and pain flared through Gladio as he found himself suddenly lying flat on his back, Cor standing over him, glaring down.

"Don't you ever speak ill of the Argentums again, you understand?" Cor growled. "Or I will do far more than knock you down next time."

A familiar rage boiled in Gladio. He tried to still it, but he could feel it taking control. Tightening his fists, he started to stand, ready to launch at Cor, but then Ignis was there between them. Calm, reasonable Ignis was there to diffuse the situation.

"I suggest, unless you wish you have Prompto and Noctis coming out here to see what is amiss, that you both halt any more physical assaults."

Some of the tension seemed to ease out of Cor's shoulders and he nodded at Ignis. Then, the Marshal turned and started to stalk away, but he halted suddenly.

Back still to Ignis and Gladio, he spoke.

"Lillian and Ulnic Argentum took Prompto in when he was a year old. I'm sure you've seen his adoption papers and know that already, but there's so much more that those papers don't tell you." Cor paused, taking in a shaky breath. "It took Prompto a long time to learn to talk, and he was painfully shy around strangers. He had nightmares and was frightened of being alone. Lillian and Ulnic gave up everything they had worked for to care for him. They loved their jobs and their research and had never considered having children, but when Prompto needed them, they gave up everything for him. They were the best parents that he could have ever gotten. Whatever he'd been through before he came to them, it…it wasn't good. His nightmares are some remnant of that time."

Cor paused, and Gladio and Ignis waited.

There was so much more Gladio wanted to know, so many questions he had. Why was there no information on where Prompto had come from? How did he just appear out of thin air at one year old? Had Prompto been abused as an infant? What did the nightmares mean?

A slow anger, mixed with grief and pity began heating Gladio. He couldn't imagine anyone mistreating Prompto, and yet he'd seen how shaken the boy was after that nightmare. Maybe what Cor said was true.

"Eventually," Cor said quietly, "when Prompto was seven, and was more well-adjusted, Lillian and Ulnic started their research in irrigation and botany again. Slowly, their work took them away for longer and longer periods of time, but Prompto didn't complain, and he became well versed in taking care of himself. I can't say I agree with that choice entirely, but…" He signed. "…Lillian and Ulnic had trouble refusing the pleas for help from farmers and villages that were suffering. If they'd been greedy and wasteful with their time, it would have been different, but, instead, they just wanted to give too much. It is hard to hate them entirely for that."

Gladio slowly released his fists, feeling a touch of his anger cool. Perhaps he'd thought too poorly of Prompto's parents without knowing more about them. Still, he couldn't lift all his bitterness toward them. They had adopted Prompto. They had agreed to care for him. Leaving him alone for months at a time was not how they honored that agreement.

"How exactly did you meet the Argentums?" Ignis inquired, breaking the silence.

Cor shrugged. "I grew up with Lillian and Ulnic. We were from the same neighborhood. We just grew apart as we became adults. We kept in touch, but barely."

"Enough to keep you filled in on Prompto's progress." Ignis replied. "I find that interesting."

Gladio stood tense for a moment, suddenly aware that Ignis seemed to have struck a nerve with the observation. Cor remained motionless, stiff.

"I believe we are done here," Cor finally answered, and then he stormed away.

"What the hell was that about?" Gladio asked, feeling pretty sure he was missing something fairly vital in the exchange.

"It appears," Ignis replied, "that Cor Leonis is a rather complicated man."

Cor strode swiftly down the hall, letting his anger recede as he traveled. He could not lay so much blame on Gladio and Ignis. They hadn't known. Hell, they still didn't really know.

Rounding a corner, the Immortal slunk into his office. After sitting at his desk and pulling out his cellphone, he made a barrage of calls, contacting hunters and Glaives in the area he was sure that had swallowed up Lillian and Ulnic. He was using a bunch of favors, but it was worth it to find those two.

Reaching the end of his contact list, Cor leaned back in his seat, staring blankly at the paperwork on his desk. The daily reports could wait. He just needed a moment to gather himself, to think.

It had seemed so long ago, when he first laid eyes on that fuzzy blond hair, but, Cor mused, it had only been…what? Fourteen? Fifteen years?

He sighed, sinking further into his seat. Had it really been that long?

Back then, with an infant son of his own, King Regis hadn't wished to push any act that could be seen as a declaration of war, but whispers of experimentations and the mass development of weapons within the Niflheim borders kept reaching Lucis. Fear and tension hung heavily over the kingdom.

And so, Regis came to Cor with a request. It was not an order. The King made that very clear. Cor was allowed to decline the mission if he so chose.

Regis asked for Cor to lead a small band of Glaives into Niflheim and root out if there were any truths to the rumors running so rampant. This group would have to be stripped of anything that would associate them to Lucis, and, if they were captured, they could not disclose their kingdom of origin, or there would, undoubtedly, be repercussions for Lucis.

Without hesitation, Cor agreed to go. It was for the good of Lucis and so there was, in his opinion, no other choice to be made. He carefully selected four Glaives and made to them the same request Regis had made of him. All agreed, as he had known they would, and after a night gathering supplies, they'd set off the next morning.

There had been a great many missions and battles in Cor's life that had changed him somehow – that had altered his soul, either for good or ill, but none haunted him more than that mission.

It had been for his King, for his Kingdom, so he could not regret it completely, and yet if he could burn the memories of that accursed facility away, he would eagerly do so.

Nestled within that facility in Niflheim, he'd expected to find a great many things, but he'd never dreamt of the horrors that had unfolded before him.

Prompto wasn't the only one who had nightmares about that place.

It had been a room unlike the others in the building. Bathed in a sickly green light, the air thick with the scent of disinfectant and another unknown, overpowering chemical, something about the room instantly had Cor on edge.

One of the Glaives had found them. They had been easy to miss at first, tucked within those small metal boxes lined up against the walls – those infants with deathly pale faces and dull, blank stares.

Without thinking, Cor reached into the first box he came upon, lifting the dark-haired infant up. The little creature reminded him of Noctis, except…

Upon being touched, lifted, the babe began to scream and writhe, frothing at the mouth and feebly scratching and snapping at Cor. He set it back down into its metal box quickly, and it silenced. Still, the infant's hard, dark eyes peered up, not at Cor but through him. The little thing looked more animal than human, ready to unleash his small reserve of strength into whatever attack he could perform.

The outburst brought no attention to the room though. The group from Lucis had frozen, waiting for someone to come investigate, but either no one cared, or that terrible cry was expected in this room.

Two of the Glaives attempted to pick up other infants, but the results were the same.

Cor found a computer terminal that someone had forgotten to log out of, and he was able to shift through a small portion of the lab's data.

Genetically modified clones – Niflheim was creating their soldiers, and they weren't going to stop at just raising and training these infants. No, there were plans to upgrade them as they grew, to enhance them.

The report read like a piece of Niflheim propaganda about these new 'super soldiers,' but Cor could see through the showy, conceited flow of words to the truth of the matter. These infants were earmarked to be experimented on, to be cut and injected and tested until they either became Niflheim's desired soldiers or they died.

There was a list of failed specimens—each only having a brief explanation beside a serial number. Many had died at the four month mark. The note beside them reading: Failure to Thrive – Terminated.

It made Cor sick, but he kept searching the data.

He came across a file labeled "Dosage Schedule and Content" but, whoever had logged on to the computer didn't have the clearance to view the file. That was too bad. Cor had a feeling whatever these injections were, it would be important for Lucis to know about them.

Finally satisfied that he'd learned enough, Cor had pulled himself away from the terminal. He'd known they'd spent too long in the facility. It would only be a matter of time before someone discovered them and sounded an alarm. They had to get moving.

As he strode toward the door, it had been a shock of blond hair that had caught Cor's eye, and he would have kept moving if he hadn't noticed how those inquisitive, sparkling blue eyes were following him. Tentatively, Cor slowed and then turned to approach the metal box housing the infant.

Unlike the others, this baby looked at him. There was nothing feral or wild in the child's gaze. If anything, there was fear and loneliness, but there was a sense of hope as well.

Perhaps Cor should have kept moving. Perhaps it had been foolish to reach out for the baby, to pick him up and pull him close. The thing could have gone as violent as the others. He could have cried out, alerting anyone nearby, but he didn't.

The small thing leaned into the embrace, his little hands clutching at the cloth of Cor's shirt, as if he were trying to hold on for dear life, as if he were afraid he'd never feel warmth like this again.

Cor decided immediately. He would not leave without this child. Amid this horror, he wanted to have one saving grace to keep him afloat. He could not save them all. The others would have only darkness and suffering ahead, and Cor grieved for them, but this boy…he could save this boy.

The Glaives and Cor started to make their way out of the facility, but they were seen and the alarms were triggered. By the time they'd made it outside to their snowmobiles, they were taking heavy fire.

As they raced down the steep embankments, one of the Glaive disappeared in a fiery explosion as a barrage of missiles rained down on the group.

Once they'd reached a flat expanse, two more Glaives fell. The ice of the lake giving way, pulling them into her murky depths, trapping them so that a hail of gunfire could finish them off.

Helpless to assist his comrades, Cor rode on, concentrating on the infant swaddled to his chest. Even now, looking back, Cor can't imagine how they lived. It was only by the will of the Astrals that they were able to escape.

They were still a long way from safety though.

It had been awkward at first, traveling with and caring for the child, but then everything started to click. It felt natural and, while frustrating at times, it held a strange comfort. Cor had grown quite fond of the boy – of Prompto. It was the nickname of a hunter Cor had known long ago. The man had been kind and honest with an infectious laugh, and the baby, with his bright smile and innocent giggle reminded Cor so much of that man he once knew.

In the end, of the group that initially left on that mission, only Cor would return to Insomnia fully intact.

The lone Glaive remaining at his side, Edward, had a mental break on their trip back. The horror of the seeing Niflheim's infant experiments coupled with the deaths of his comrades was too much for the Glaive to withstand. Withdrawn and quiet, the man constantly had a haunted look on his face. He refused to speak much or eat at all, and he was a gaunt, shell of a man by the time they returned to their king.

Reaching Insomnia should have marked relief for the travelers, but never had Cor felt such a conflict over his loyalty to his King as when he entered the Citadel with the small boy concealed snuggly within the folds of his jacket. He recalled feeling the familiar warm spot of drool dampening his chest as the boy slept against him. He remembered holding him tight, not letting any of the guards on duty so much as look at the child.

Standing outside the King's chamber, Cor feared what Regis would command. Would he want the boy to be studied and locked away? Would Prompto get to have a normal childhood? Would Regis deny the child citizenship? Cor didn't think so, but… the worry still nagged at him, still whispered at him to keep the child safe, to not present him to Regis.

In the end, his loyalty to the Crown won.

After entering the chamber, he gave his report to Regis. The mood in the room was somber, the King trying his best to comprehend the horrors that Cor was explaining. Then, Regis asked to see the child.

A deep ache settled into Cor's chest as he handed the baby to his King.

For a moment, Prompto and Regis merely stared at each other, until the King, regal and dignified as he was, started making faces at the boy. Prompto erupted into a peal of laughter, his little face red with delight as stared lovingly up at the man. The boy's expression seemed to be begging Regis to make the faces again, and so, the King complied.

With Prompto bouncing on the King's knee, Cor and Regis spoke for a long while about the boy's fate.

They both agreed – no one could find out he was from Niflheim. It was imperative for not only the boy's safety, as there were those in Lucis who would seek to do great harm to someone from Niflheim, but it was also for the sake of the Kingdom of Lucis. What would happen if word got back to Niflheim that their stolen infant specimen was living happily in Lucis? Certainly nothing good would come of that.

There was little to give away the fact that the boy wasn't born in Lucis. Yes, the blond hair was a bit rarer for citizens here, but it was not unheard of. No, the real issue lay in the tattooed barcode on the child's wrist. It clearly marked him as Niflheim property.

In the end, their decision left Cor both feeling content and oddly hollow.

Prompto would be raised within the protective walls of the city of Insomnia. From a distance, Cor would keep an eye on him. He would be granted full citizenship. He would get to have the life of a normal boy, but, to keep him out of the public eye, he would not be raised by anyone associated with the Citadel or Royal Family.

Cor could not be an key part of his life, and that hurt worse than he'd expected. Why? Why did it hurt so much? Had he really thought he would keep the child? That he would raise Prompto?

Yes.

During their travel back, whether he meant to or not, Cor had considered how he could alter his schedule to make time for the boy once they were back in Insomnia. He daydreamed of training Prompto when he was older, of teaching him about the ways of the world and sharing with the boy all his adventures and wisdom.

He'd watched Clarus spend time with his young son, Gladio, and, though Cor was quick to say he'd never want that sort of responsibility or distraction in his life, he felt a stab of jealously as well.

After spending so much time with Prompto as they traveled, Cor felt the desire to have that bond even more. He wanted to keep the boy. He wanted a son.

But that was not going to happen.

So, if he was not going to raise the boy himself, there was only two other people he knew, that had no clear connections to the Citadel and Royal Family, who Cor trusted to adopt and protect Prompto – Lillian and Ulnic Argentum.

In his youth, before he'd joined the Crownsguard at age 13, Cor had been thick as thieves with Lillian and Ulnic. They had been neighbors, friends and confidants. At one point, Cor had been certain he would marry Lillian when they grew up, but, in the end, her heart belonged to Ulnic.

While Cor became a Crownsguard. Lillian and Ulnic had dedicated their lives to the sciences. She had studied biology and medicine and he had studied chemistry with a keen interest in biochemistry, but they both abruptly, and much to their families' dismay, turned their studies to the less prestigious fields of botany and irrigation management.

They had explained to Cor that something was shifting in the world, that the data was indicating that the farmlands were producing less, that the weather patterns were changing and they feared, in the end, if no one intervened, that the crops would start to fail.

Their backgrounds with medical research, biology and bio-chemistry made them great candidates though for caring for and, to a lesser extent, studying Prompto. After all, it was in the boy's best interest if they understood a little about him. In case he had ill reactions to something later in life.

Convincing Lillian and Ulnic had been trying. No, it had been almost impossible. Their lives were their research. They'd never wanted children. They had known from the start that it would be unfair of them to bring a child into their hectic lives.

But Cor wouldn't relent.

He told them everything. He knew holding anything back would only endanger the boy more. They had to know what they were getting into. In the end, it wasn't Cor's words that swayed them, it was Prompto's smile. One look at the boy and Lillian and Ulnic gave in.

Still, they took him with heavy hearts, saying that they were sure they would fail him some day, that they would love him and care for him, but that they knew themselves too well. They knew how their passion for their work blinded them.

Cor knew they were right, but there was no one else he could turn to with Prompto's secret. There was no one who would see past the boy's heritage and love him with all their hearts as much as the Argentums would.

Leaving Prompto with the plush Chocobo he'd bought him during their travels, Cor walked away that day, knowing that the loss he felt then would follow him for the rest of his life.