Before Talcott could give any answers, he said he had to make a quick call. He was on the phone for only a few minutes, explaining where he had been and how he had stumbled across Noctis and Prompto.

"Yes, sir," he said to whomever was on the other line. Noctis had guesses, but wasn't going to question it. "That… that's right. Hm? Just a second."

Talcott handed the phone over to Noctis. "Said he wants to have a word with you?"

Noct shook his head. "He can have it in person."

Talcott shrugged before he put the phone back to his own ear. "He said you can have it in person. Okay. We should be there shortly, sir."

After the phone call was over, Talcott let out a long sigh. "Wow. I can't tell you how good it is to see you two again."

"You're telling me!" Prompto laughed. "You're no longer a little kid!"

"Yeah," Noctis added. "You sure look different."

Talcott gave a soft smile. "You think so? Guess I've grown some these ten years."

Noctis felt like he stopped breathing.

He couldn't have possibly heard Talcott right.

The thought of it being true scared him more than anything else so far, but he didn't have the courage to try and say anything.

Thankfully, Prompto seemed to be the one to ask the burning question aloud.

"D-did you say ten years?"

"Yup. It's gone by quicker than I would've thought."

Ten years.

They were in the Crystal for ten years.

Noctis felt like he was going to be sick, trying his best to keep his stomach from acting up on him.

He felt Prompto's hand on his arm, beginning to rub it gently. He glanced over to him, seeing the same dreadful expression that he was probably showing.

"You guys okay?"

"Sorry," Noctis breathed out slowly. "We didn't know… how long it's been."

Talcott raised an eyebrow. "You didn't? I, uh, I'm sorry. I thought you two were somewhere knowing how much time passed."

"We didn't know that any time passed, not much anyway," Noctis replied, running his fingers over his beard.

"Well, don't worry, the guys are doing fine. They must be pinching themselves right now, knowing I'm bringing you two back."

"Where are they anyway?"

"Lestallum, more often than not, but they take a lot of trips to Hammerhead."

"For…?"

"For Miss Cindy. Y'know, back at the garage. She's a tough one, but when she needs a little extra muscle out on the road, she gives 'em a call."

"Huh…"

Noctis listened to Talcott as he explained, giving a little story about Cindy and how she has been doing through the years. He was starting to get his answers, but he didn't feel as engaged as he felt he should've been. He had missed out on those ten years, an entire decade. All those years of him sleeping and everyone else doing important stuff.

"Well, good to know that Cindy's doing alright!" Prompto pipped in.

"Everyone's been doing the best they can. But, oh, speaking of which, the guys said they're near Hammerhead right now, so we'll be meeting them there. Y'know, ever since you two disappeared, specifically you, Your Majesty, it's been nothing but nighttime nonstop. Lestallum still has light, thanks to the power plant… so just about everyone's taken refuge there."

Great. Just another thing that started to weigh on Noctis's conscience.

"Only there?" he asked, trying to shove the feelings away.

"Everywhere else's been abandoned. Daemons moved in, forcing the people to move out. People still swing by the garage at Hammerhead from time to time, but it usually isn't for repairs. These days, it's less of a service station and more of a "slayer station"—a base for daemon-hunting. The garage's still open, though…one of the few places that is," Talcott explained.

"So it really is like an apocalypse…" Prompto whispered.

Noctis hated that it was true, and he hated that his lack of being around basically caused it

"So, um…Cid. Is he still alive and kicking?"

Talcott nodded. "He's kicking alright, just not as hard as before. He hasn't really been himself lately. At least, not since he moved out to Lestallum. Someone suggested he move the garage there, too… but old man Cid wasn't having it. He called it 'a big, fat chocobo turd of an idea.' Said it just wouldn't be the same anywhere else."

Noctis gave a little smile, trying to find some relief that some things didn't change. "That sounds like Cid alright."

"So, what about the others?" Prompto asked. "Like Iris! Is she okay?"

"She's doing fine. With all the daemons prowling around, more folk were getting hurt… or worse. So Iris talked the marshal into taking out the daemons themselves. 'Iris the Daemon Slayer,' they call her. Gladio and the others, they lend 'em a hand whenever they can."

"Dude, that sounds so badass!" Prompto exclaimed. "I bet Gladio is super proud of her!"

"Proud, but still very protective of her," Talcott admitted. "But seeing her in combat is something you have to see to believe."

Hearing how everyone was doing was nice, but there was still one person Noctis had yet to hear about.

"And Ignis?" he finally asked.

"He hunts, too. We tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen. He said, if anything, he's more used to the darkness than we are," Talcott said.

Noctis sighed, relieved but saddened at the same time. "Never did get his vision back…"

Talcott hummed, shaking his head. "I'm afraid not. But, that being said, he gets by pretty well on his own. Gladio usually hunts on his own too. It isn't often you see the two of them together nowadays. They still work as a team every once in a while, but each has his own set of tasks to keep him busy."

Humming, Noctis leaned back in his seat, letting the guilt eat away at him. "Is that so?"

"Hey," Prompto whispered. "They're still alive. That's what counts."

"Yeah… I know…"

It didn't mean he felt good about it… about any of it.

A few more turns around the road and they could see bright lights in the distance. "We've arrived, Your Majesty. Everyone'll be so happy to see you. Don't worry, I won't be going anywhere. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, Talcott," Noctis replied softly.

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Noctis bit his lip, trying to ignore the fact that Talcott was only referring to him by his title. He knew that he never got to know Talcott well enough for nicknames, but there felt like there was a distance between them when the title was used.

"Hey, I see Ignis and Gladio standing there! Let's go see them," Prompto said in a cheerful tone.

"Yeah," Noctis agreed.

Prompto stepped out of the car first and Noctis followed, keeping his eyes locked on Gladio and Ignis who stood a few feet before him.

"Guys!" Prompto waved happily.

Noctis gave a small wave. "Hey."

Gladio snorted as he came up to Noctis and Prompto. "Really? That's all you two have to say to us after all this time?"

Noctis shrugged as Gladio gave him a playful shove. "Sorry."

"Eh, it just makes for a more dramatic entrance doesn't it?" Prompto asked, chuckling as if it wasn't anything major.

"I suppose," Ignis replied. "You two have kept us waiting."

Another hit in the guilt zone, just another one to pile up on the rest.

He walked up to Ignis, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Not like I wanted us to. We've got catching up to do"

"Then let's head inside."

Sitting inside Taka's diner, Noctis tried taking everything in. Even something as simple as the diner that they ate at so often between hunts was changed. It was now full of equipment and other supplies, nothing like what a diner was supposed to be.

He wasn't even sure if the diner was operational anymore, not giving any faint smell of food that should've been cooking.

"So, what's there to talk about?" Prompto asked as he sat down on one of the couches.

Noctis followed, sitting down next to him. Despite both of them looking ten years older, Prompto was there from the moment they entered the Crystal and exited. He felt like he would be lost, unable to process anything if he had to sit alone.

"How about we start with your reckless decision?" Gladio asked, sitting on the couch adjacent to the two of them.

Prompto pouted. "I wasn't being reckless…"

"You ran off, leaving Iggy and I to deal with the daemons."

"I couldn't let Noct go alone… and now I'm extremely glad that I went with," Prompto huffed.

Gladio sighed, shaking his head. He crossed his arms and leaned back. "I'm not pissed at you anymore if that's what you're worried about. Was at first, but Ignis eventually got me to understand that you were with Noct, and we should be thankful he wasn't on his own. Keeping him company and all over these ten years."

Prompto gave a half smile. "Y-yeah, if you could even call it that."

"What do you mean by that?" Ignis inquired.

Prompto looked over to Noctis. "Want me to explain? Or you want to?"

Noctis swallowed. "Bahamut, he was in the Crystal after we… got sucked into it. Told me what I had to do in the Prophecy… then we slept."

Gladio raised an eyebrow. "You slept for the entire decade? Seriously?"

"I didn't ask to be forced to sleep for ten years," Noctis muttered.

"But that was the requirement to gain all the power that you needed?"

Noctis nodded. "Seems like it. I can feel the difference."

"Good to hear, guess we can rely on one of you to know what you're doing," Gladio chuckled.

"Hey!" Prompto interjected. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You slept along with him, didn't you? Means you still got the same experience that you did before that."

"So does Noct!" Prompto argued. "Besides, some of his magic rubbed off on me while we slept!"

Gladio looked a little curious. "It did?"

Prompto nodded. "I warped as if I had been doing it for years, and I never warped before. I even conjured up one of those magic shields like the Glaive could do."

Both Ignis and Gladio looked a little surprised.

"Perhaps it is too soon to judge, Gladio," Ignis spoke. "But we shall see once we are out in the field."

"Yeah, speaking of that. You guys have a plan?" Noctis asked.

"We do, and we can explain it all in due time, but I think it's best if we give you time to adjust to being back. Maybe we can see how well you have improved in combat with some training."

Noctis agreed, though he wasn't really in the mood for it at the moment. All he felt like doing was sitting there, letting his thoughts continue to drown him as he absorbed every reminder of everything he missed.

He had tried not to look too much before, but Ignis and Gladio also looked much older. Gladio's hair was longer, along with a fuller beard. Ignis's scars had faded, but he still wore a visor, and his hair was a little different, but still styled in a way that felt reminiscent.

They had matured and grown in ways Noctis would probably never get to learn. Sure, he could ask for their stories, but he hadn't been there, and it would only continue to fuel the empty burning in him.

"Wanna walk around and talk to people? You know, to figure out what's happened in the last ten years" Prompto asked, snapping him away from his misery.

Part of him didn't want to. He didn't want even more reason to feel like he had abandoned everyone. But he knew he couldn't let the others know how he was falling apart inside. He had to keep a strong face, pretending he was as strong as a king was expected to be.

"Sure. Let's look around," he agreed.

"Let us know if you need anything," Ignis said.

He let Prompto practically guide him back outside. There were a few Hunters walking around, but Talcott was still there.

Noctis decided to go and talk to him, and as they talked he still proved to be the kid that had so much more knowledge than the rest. He helped explain things like what happened to the imperial army and the empire. More about what the daemons actually were, and even things about what had happened with Accordo.

Then Talcott said something that really caught his interest.

"The chancellor's still around, though…in Insomnia. Nobody who saw him had any clue what he might have been up to, but their stories piqued Ignis's curiosity. I ended up helping Ignis look into the matter, digging through old records, even joining him on trips to the royal tombs."

"Always something to do with the royal tombs, isn't it?"

Talcott shrugged. "It's cool, I'm a bit of a history buff myself. But we did discover something pretty weird."

"What did you find out?" Prompto asked.

"While we were poring over all those ancient texts, one name caught our eye: Ardyn's. Apparently he was hailed as a savior, healing all those who were ravaged by daemons… only to end up branded a daemon himself… a dubious charge, I'd say. By all accounts, he was just as human as you and me."

"Hey Noct, doesn't that line up with what Bahamut said? You know about Ardyn and being immortal and stuff?"

"I think so," Noctis agreed.

It did make him wonder, thinking about how this prophecy had been around for many centuries. Did it only come into place once Ardyn became corrupted by the Starscourge, or had Bahamut declared it long before that? Noctis wished he had those answers, but he knew there wasn't a lot of time to dive into figuring it out.

But it did give him a feeling that Bahamut had been hiding something, keeping some information a secret from everyone.

When Talcott finished giving as much information that he could, Prompto and Noctis began walking around more.

"Everything looks so different. Guess a lot really can change in ten years…" Prompto commented.

"Yeah…"

Prompto stopped walking, turning to look at Noctis. "Noct, you okay, buddy?"

"What?"

"Ever since we ran into Talcott you've been kind of uncharacteristically quiet. Something bugging you?"

Prompto knew him all too well, being able to read him from only a few words said. But it didn't mean he was willing to talk about it, not yet at least.

"Taking in everything… it's just a lot."

"Yeah, I know how you feel. It all feels so weird to be here, like, we're out of place or something."

Out of place was one way to describe it, seeing as they literally had no idea how much time had passed until Talcott told them.

It took everything in his mind and body to keep pushing forward, knowing that Ignis and Gladio were expecting him to be strong. Everyone was expecting that of him. They waited for ten years for him to return, and now he had to save everyone and banish the darkness, and in turn sacrifice his life to do it.

How was he ever supposed to be okay with that?

Suddenly, Prompto was hugging him tightly, pressing his face up against his.

"Huh? Prom…?"

"You kind of spaced out there, Noct. Are you sure you're okay?"

He wanted to hold back, trying to deny everything, but being in Prompto's arms, he felt a little more vulnerable to tell the truth.

Only a little, but not enough yet.

"I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Hmm, if you say so. But don't forget I'm here to listen."

Noctis reached his arms around Prompto, giving him a hug in return. "Thanks. Glad you're with me."

"Hey, I told you that I was ever at your side, didn't I? That means I stick with you through it all. Through everything."

Noctis was more than grateful for Prompto being a part of his life. That sense of calm that he gave was exactly what he needed right now. Even with the future of his life looking grim, he was thankful for the time he had right now with Prompto. He only wished he could make it last longer.

I hope people are still reading this. If you are, please let me know what you thought, it would mean a lot to me as we come closer to the end of this story.