A/N: Wow, this fic has been in my mind for a loong time - I'm so happy I finally managed to write it. (Initially I only had the idea for what is now chapter 4, and... well, you'll see.)

This first chapter starts right after Noctis has been taken by the Crystal. Ardyn walks away, leaving Ignis, Gladio and Prompto alone, and now they need to go back to Lucis somehow...

This whole story will be written from Prompto's point of view - except chapter 5 but I'll mention it again then.
All the chapters are already done, I will most likely update once or twice a week depending on how editing goes. (Life is kinda busy right now but hopefully it should be fine!)

I also want to give a huge thanks to my wonderful betas, hyperstorms and voxiferous, you guys are the best ;)

Chapter 1 - Shattered

It couldn't be.

Prompto's heartbeat echoed in his ears as he watched Ardyn peacefully walk away after having been killed twice, and somehow he couldn't care less about the fact that the bastard was apparently immortal, because his mind was stuck on those few words.

Those few stupid and obviously wrong words.

"Your precious King is gathering strength inside the Crystal. I suggest you do not hold your breath waiting for him."

Inside the Crystal, yeah right, like he'd believe that. Just another one of Ardyn's mind games. Noctis was obviously somewhere else, probably in danger, and Ardyn didn't want them to save him. Well, tough luck, because Prompto wasn't leaving this place without Noctis, not after his best friend went through all that trouble to save him.

Still, though... the complete lack of reaction coming from his two other friends was sending cold shivers throughout his body.

"Guys?" Prompto enquired, his voice louder and more broken that he wanted it to be.

"We should leave," Ignis replied softly. "It's not safe to stay here."

"Right, let's go," Gladio said, lifting his sword above his shoulder.

No. No way.

Prompto grabbed Ignis' arm, trying not to sound too frantic. "But, Noct?"

"The Gods will send him back to us when it's time," Ignis said, keeping his head down.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Prompto groaned.

Gladio seized him by the shoulders, making him release his grip on Ignis, and looked straight into Prompto's eyes. "Alright, now you need to calm down. You know Noctis is the Chosen King, right? It means he needs to gain all the Crystal's powers, and apparently that's what's happening now." Loud grunting echoed in the distance, a reminder of the daemons prowling about the Keep. "Now, we can talk about this here, or get the hell out and try to still be alive when Noct comes back, what do you want?"

Gritting his teeth, Prompto shot Gladio an angry glare before breathing out a quiet "Fine."

Gladio released him, but didn't miss Prompto's worried glance towards the Crystal. "There's no way we can bring that thing with us, we need to trust the Gods to bring Noctis back in a place they see fit."

"Trust the Gods. Right." Prompto didn't even try to hide the sarcasm in his voice, but it was all he could do not to yell "Are you kidding me?" among other things. Looking back at the Crystal once more, he swallowed back his anger and fear, wiped away the tears that had filled his eyes without him noticing, before finally turning to follow his friends.

The trip back was a blur. Everything was dark, there were daemons everywhere, and Prompto was sure that even years later he would still be able to hear in his sleep the screams of the people they were unable to save. But fighting, at least, he could manage. Killing daemons had become automatic at this point, and there was a small relief in the fact that he could still summon his weapons, meaning Noctis was still alive somewhere.

Prompto tried not to think too hard about how much time was passing by as they were making their way back to Lucis, the constant night making it easier to lose track of time, but even so he was painfully aware of every day, every week that went by without any sign of Noctis. His friends were still avoiding the subject, and there never was a good moment for Prompto to bring it up with the world literally falling apart around them.

Eventually, they managed to reach the shore and ended up on an overcrowded boat to Lucis. Sitting against a wall, surrounded by refugees, the reality of it all finally hit Prompto and he found himself drowning in the intensity of the past few weeks. He couldn't even remember the last time everything was fine, even though it wasn't that long ago, before Leviathan, before everything went to absolute hell. How did it all turn out like this?

It had all gone so fast, one moment they're all hanging out in Altissia, joking around and having fun… And the next, Luna is dead, Ignis is blind, Noctis isn't talking and Gladio is angry… Prompto hated that he hadn't been able to reach out to Noctis at that time, his friend had just closed himself off more than ever and he had been at a loss for words of comfort. And when things finally seemed to be smoothing over, Ardyn had to go and pull his trick. Prompto closed his eyes for a moment, his arms moving to hug his knees at the memory of being pushed off the train by his best friend. He hadn't understood why at first, and it had probably been one of the most painful moments of his life. What had happened after had definitely not been great either, but…

Thinking about it was just making Noctis' absence hurt even more. It didn't help that they only had been reunited for a few moments, just long enough for Prompto to blurt out his darkest secret and then… He never even had the time to talk about it with Noctis, to tell him he was sorry, that he should have told him earlier. Sure, his friend had been quick enough to accept him anyway, but it had all been so rushed, and then… Nothing. Just like that, Noctis had disappeared. And as the world was crumbling into darkness, this was still what hurt Prompto the most.

Sure, he knew he could be strong on his own, everything that had happened after that stupid train ride had showed him that much - and after all he had been alone a lot as a kid, but... Still, right now, he could really use his best friend by his side. His mind pictured Noctis next to him, lifting his head to look at him from under his dark bangs, his eyes soft and his lips curling slightly in a reassuring smile. Imagining this brought back a familiar feeling in Prompto's chest, something else he had never had the courage to tell Noctis, something he thought he didn't need to tell his friend as long as they were together, but now... Tears started welling up in his eyes and Prompto quickly shook his head to dismiss the thought.

Glancing sideways at Gladio and Ignis, Prompto wished they could finally reach Lestallum so that he could ask them about all this in private once and for all. They had known about this, and they definitely knew more than those few things they had told him in Gralea. It had been weeks now, and he couldn't handle being kept in the dark - literally - anymore. Did Noctis even know? Did they send him to be eaten by the Crystal without warning?

Prompto could feel his heart racing, and he knew he needed to calm down, this was not the place to make a scene. Letting his head fall back against the wall behind him, he closed his eyes and tried to bury all of these thoughts again so that he could at least get some rest before they arrived in Lucis.

It was a good thing that they had managed to get those anti-daemon headlights for Cindy before leaving for Altissia, because apparently the sun really didn't want to come out again. A few trucks were waiting in Galdin Quay, all of them equipped with the blue headlights that would allow them to transport everyone to Lestallum with minimum risk. Prompto tried not to think about how a town the size of Lestallum could host refugees from both Insomnia and Accordo - he really didn't need a reminder of how many lives had been lost recently. And while some people had decided to try their chance in Tenebrae, because they believed that the hometown of the Oracle could protect them, many others had chosen to retreat to the safety of Lestallum's lit-up streets, and the city would probably be overflowing with refugees.

Iris was waiting for them as they arrived, when the days had begun to grow darker they had all decided that it was safer to relocate there than stay in Caem. Prompto had seen her go paler than ever upon realising that Noctis wasn't with them, but Gladio must have shot her a look because she didn't dare speak until they were back into the small apartment she had secured with Monica and the others.

They sat together in silence for a while, Prompto trying to figure out how to speak without yelling after holding back for so long, but eventually it was Iris who broke the silence.

"Gladdy, please… what happened?" Her voice was low and unsteady, but she looked her brother straight in the eyes.

Gladio sighed, but replied briefly, "Noctis is inside the Crystal. He'll come back when he's ready."

"What does that even mean?" Iris asked urgently.

"It means we have to wait," Ignis answered. "The prophecy says-"

"To hell with that damn prophecy!" Prompto interrupted, giving up on trying not to scream.

"You need to calm down," Gladio growled, but Prompto was having none of it.

"The hell I will!" Prompto continued, standing up, his fists clenched at his side. "All I've ever been told about this fucking prophecy is some bullshit about the Chosen King bringing back the light - big whoop - how does that even account for Noctis being stuck inside the Crystal for Gods know how long? You two know something else, and you're not telling us, and I'm sick of this."

"Prompto…" Ignis tried, his voice tired.

"No. It's been weeks since we left Gralea and you guys have been silent all the freaking time. Now I need you to tell me what you know," Prompto hissed, visibly fuming.

Ignis took a deep breath and sat up straight in his chair. "Gladio?"

"Alright," Gladio sighed, "I suppose I can't ask you to leave, Iris?"

"Don't even think about it, Gladdy," Iris replied, shooting her brother an angry glare.

"What we're about to tell you is something very few people know. King Regis told Gladio and myself in confidence before we left Insomnia, and it is most likely that Lady Lunafreya knew as well, but that's about it," Ignis started, his voice low.

"You need to understand that we expected this to be a long way down the road. The attack on Insomnia and the death of King Regis put all of this in motion way earlier than we thought it would, and we found ourselves having to protect a promise made to a dead King," Gladio continued, staring at Prompto and Iris alternatively.

"We honestly did not know that the Crystal would take Noctis so soon. We thought it would help keep the daemons at bay for now, but apparently the Astrals must have decided that Noctis was ready," Ignis went on.

Prompto couldn't remember the exact words his friends used afterwards, because he started seeing red and his heartbeat was becoming way too loud for him to focus. There was something about the Crystal being some sort of pathway to the Astral realm, something about gaining the power of every past Lucian King - but then what was the point of visiting all these tombs? - something about the Gods sensing time differently so there was no way of knowing how long Noctis would stay there.

Wait.

"What do you mean, like, he could even be gone for months? Years?" Prompto asked feverishly.

"Possibly," Ignis replied carefully.

No.

The walls of the already small room seemed to be closing in on him as Prompto struggled to breathe. He stumbled back into the chair and hid his face in his shaking hands. Years. With the sun not rising anymore, who could say how long they would survive until the daemons ravaged everything? What if…

No.

What if he never saw Noctis again?

Before he could even dwell on this thought, Ignis was speaking again, this time with an audible strain in his voice. "Another thing. When Noctis comes back, he won't be staying around."

Prompto stared at Ignis blankly, forgetting that the other man couldn't see him. It was Iris who broke the silence, with a simple "What?" that came out as half a sob.

"The Chosen King…" Gladio said slowly, his eyes on the ground, "was always meant to be the last King of the line of Lucis. Because to get rid of the Starscourge... the blood price must be paid."

Silence fell between the four as Gladio's word sank in. Prompto couldn't even tell if Iris had reacted at all, the room started spiraling around him as his heart was threatening to beat out of his chest and right now he couldn't decide whether he wanted to scream in pain or anger.

Even if he lived long enough to see Noctis come back...

He would still have to live his whole life without him.

No.

No way.

Anger eventually took over and he clenched his fists tight enough for his fingernails to draw blood in order to keep his voice as steady as possible. "What you're saying is… that Noctis is going to stay alone in some weird Crystal-realm for what could be years… and that he's going to come back only to sacrifice himself immediately after?"

"Prompto, calm down," came Gladio's voice from the other side of the room, and if the man hadn't been twice his size Prompto would probably have punched him.

"Don't even-" Prompto snapped. "Just…" he continued through gritted teeth, "Just tell me this. Did Noctis know?"

"Prompto, you have to understand, King Regis didn't…" Ignis tried, before being interrupted again.

"Did Noctis know?" This time Prompto didn't even try to keep his voice down.

There was silence again, making the answer obvious.

"You guys… never thought to let him know you were sending him to his death? What the hell? How can you even call yourself his friends?" Prompto was frantic.

Gladio crossed the room to seize him by the shoulders and yelled in response. "You think this was easy? Of course we're his friends, but we're also servants of the Crown and that was King Regis' wish to spare Noctis for as long as possible. We had sworn to keep this secret as long as necessary, but then everything went to hell so fast and when we finally got near the Crystal there was no time to talk about this, we had our duty, just like Noctis has his own now."

"Lay off me!" Prompto hissed, shaking Gladio's arms off. "Duty. Fucking Six, who the hell chooses duty over friendship," he mumbled, starting to walk towards the door when Gladio tried to grab him again, but he slapped his hand away. "I said, don't touch me! Seriously, I can't even look at you both right now!"

"Hey, don't act all high and mighty. You kept things from him too," Gladio snapped back.

Prompto blanched and instinctively wrapped his other hand around his covered wrist. "It's different," he whispered, his eyes looking at the floor for a second before glaring back at Gladio and raising his voice again. "I wasn't knowingly sending him to his death!"

Turning around, Prompto opened the door and was about to leave when Ignis' voice stopped him. "Prompto, please, understand that this is about the bigger picture. But know that we love and care about Noctis just as much as you do."

"I highly doubt that," Prompto muttered to himself before slamming the door behind him.

Prompto's self-control reached its limit the moment he stepped onto the roof. Every thought, every emotion he had bottled up since Gralea came back to hit him full-force, and he felt like he was going to be sick. This was just too much, it had to be a nightmare, it just had to be. He was going to wake up, Noctis would be asleep beside him, the sun would be rising, everything and everyone would be fine.

But the sky was dark and starless, and he could hear the agitation in the city's streets. The cuts and bruises all over his body were reminders of their insane trip back home without Noctis. His hand went to his wrist again, swiftly removing the leather band and throwing it on the ground in an angry move. What was the point, anyway. He thought back to how Noctis and the others had accepted him regardless of his origins, his heart aching at the memory of the look in Noctis' eyes. He thought about everything he had always wanted to tell his friend, about himself, about his past, about his feelings, all those things that may very well remain unsaid forever now, and as a broken sob escaped his throat, he crumpled to the ground, letting his head fall between his knees, and finally allowing himself to cry.

A/N: Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this first chapter!

The next two chapters will take place during the 10 years of darkness... The angst is not over yet.

As you can see, I went with the headcanon that Gladio and Ignis knew about Noctis' real fate as the King of Light. There's not much on this in the game, but there's one line in Gladio's episode that hints that he knows... and it just wouldn't make sense to me that he'd be the only one to know. Although it really seems that they don't know this during the Brotherhood timeline, so I'm assuming Regis could have told them before they left for Altissia. Anyway, I know not everyone shares this headcanon, but it makes sense to me, so I hope you won't mind!