AU. In Eos the starscourge never happened, and people don't have to worry about demons prowling the night, they do however have to worry about the war between the land's two powerhouses Niflheim, and Lucis. For many years the king of Lucis -king Regis- has been able to keep the Nifs at bay, but at a high cost. Weakened from keeping the barrier up for too long, Regis falls gravely ill and has no other choice but to step down and give the throne to Noctis. Will his son step up to the challenge, or will the Nifs win this war? Can Noctis even hope to win a war his father spent all his life fighting?

Alright so this is my first FF fic, and I'll be honest my knowledge in the FF universe only go as far as type Zero and XV, so if I make any mistakes on FF lore I'm sorry and I'll accept any criticism. Now, as for the story, there will be some similarities between canon and this one, whereas the characters will all be the same and whatnot, and Lucis still has a cristal and there are some demons prowling Eos, but there is not eminent starscourge, and no Ardyn -yea I know that sucks, but I'll make up for it I promise. This story will definitely be a lot more politically driven than canon, and it will be somewhat similar to Kingsglaive in nature, but don't be fooled there will be a lot of action involved. Furthermore, I want to let everyone know that eventually there will be some M rated elements that I will make sure to properly tag, and warn before the come along so those of you who dislike this kind of stuff can skip it. Finally, there are some differences as well given that the starscourge won't come to pass, and never did so there are things affected by that, but I won't say what.

Sorry for making that so long, so let's get on with the story!

Chapter one

"He's not breathing!"

Darkness, and an eerie silence, that's all he knew.

It was like being in a void, where everything was dark, and all he could hear were muddled practically incoherent voices as if he were underwater.

He wondered where he was? What had happened? But as much as he tried, he couldn't figure it out, even though he could feel the knowledge at the back of his head trying to come forth but stopped by something.

He was growing tired, and he felt his eyelids drift closed. He felt fear, but he didn't understand why it was almost like the emotion was coming out of nowhere. He had long stopped trying to make sense of the situation, as he just laid there. Every once in a while he could make out what the voices around him were saying, but they brought no comfort whatsoever.

"Make sure he keeps breathing!" The muddled voice shouted with urgency, disturbing the peaceful, yet dark domain he found himself in.

Who had stopped breathing he wondered?

He strained his ear to make out what the voices were saying, but he couldn't hear anything, not to mention that he was too comfortable to really care. Nothing hurt, and he felt like he could get a good sleep, he hadn't been able to for the past couple of years… why couldn't he again? He couldn't remember, but he knew it was important.

He laid there comfortably, his eyes drifting closed, until he was snapped out of his comfort, by a high pitch beep, and the voices grew louder, making it easier to hear.

"He's gone into cardiac arrest!"

He couldn't make out what the other voices said in response, but he was now worried. Who had gone into cardiac arrest? He wondered curiously, and yet he didn't want to know. He got a morbid idea that he knew exactly who had gone into cardiac arrest. Soon, however, his worry dissipated and was overtaken by the nice soothing feeling once more.

"One, two, three"

A jolt went through him, electrifying everything inside him to the very tip of his fingers. That had hurt, and he wanted to order whoever did that to stop, and just let him rest, but he was oddly unable to say a thing. Just as the pain came it went, and the soothing feeling returned, only for the jolt to happen again, but no matter what the darkness remained.

"Someone get the prince."

For a second time the worry overcame him, but a lot stronger as he denied the soothing feeling trying to draw him back. Why did they have to call his son? Who was having a cardiac arrest? What was happening? The worried he got, the more he drifted into the darkness slowly losing consciousness.

A month before

"The treaty between Lucis and the kingdom of Cleigne was an interesting one, where your ancestor king Theodgar-"

And older man, with pearly white hair, and beard droned on and on, his voice monotone. He was a pristine looking man, with an expensive suit, and watch on his wrist, not to mention that everything about the man was perfect. His clothes were immaculate, wrinkles free, and looked to be brand new. As for his physical appearance, he looked very regal with not a strand of hair out of place.

The man was pacing about a small, well-decorated room, with a large, dusty book in hand that read "History of Luci's conquest." The room itself had various windows, with long, and expensive drapes that were pulled back to allow the summer light in. At the centre of the room there stood a large blackboard with various names ending with the Caelum surname, as well as many incomprehensive lines that pointed at other names, and poorly drawn capital maps. In front of the blackboard stood a large table with books neatly stacked beside each other, as well as an old lamp, and in front of the table, there stood one singular, old wooden desk. Behind the desk sat a young man, who's chin was leaning on his hand, and his eyes were drifting closed.

The young man was the exact opposite of the older one, with medium length jet black hair, and soft blue eyes. He had an oval-like face, and upon his cheeks, he still bore baby fat that made him look young and boyish. As for his height, since he was sitting, it wasn't as noticeable but he was average height, and his figure was lean but there seem to be some muscle to him as well. For clothes, he wore a black jacket with rolled-up sleeves, and a black shirt with skulls on it. Upon his hand which he held a pencil that was slowly falling out of his grasp, he had biker gloves. Overall he was quite handsome, but seeing that his clothes were dirty and that he was dressed like a hooligan he appeared rugged, and rebellious without an ounce of royalty to him except perhaps his face that looked delicate. As for the name of the young man, it was Noctis the next in line to the throne of Lucis.

Through half-lidded eyes, Noctis looked at the royal tutor with obvious boredom and exhaustion, he wanted nothing more than to jump out of the window. He was too to be having these types of lessons.

Just a month ago, seemingly out of the blue, his father came to his apartment which was located as far from the citadel as possible, in the street of Dedgonie route. He had moved there when he had graduated high school, before that he lived in an apartment closer to the citadel, but he was getting out of topic. The point was that his father came one night, no guards, no Crownsguards no nothing, not to mention that this was the first time his father came to visit him in his apartment since he first moved out at the age of fifteen. To say that his father's visit was extremely odd and unexpected was an understatement, but his shock was soon replaced by concern after he saw his father's haggard and pale complexion. He soon learned that his father's visit wasn't a simple friendly one paid his son, but one of business as he told him he needed to return to the citadel. Naturally, he had been angry but he had no room to argue as his father was overcome with a fit of coughing. A few days after that he reluctantly came back to the citadel, where he was forced to take classes that would prepare him in becoming the king of Lucis. He hadn't minded at first, he had taken some of these classes when he was younger, and he knew he had to learn this stuff sooner or later, but when his tutors just taught him about old treaties and ancient politics he began to see the classes as a joke. He had learned far more from Ignis than he ever did from said royal tutors. What did it matter what king Theodga and a bunch of his ancestors did when they were alive?

"Prince Noctis, are you listening?" The older graying man barked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Ugh?" He asked confused, and the man began to bristle. "Ugh, yea sorry I drifted off a bit there. You were saying?" He asked trying his best to appear interested, but he knew he was failing miserably as the man looked at him in disdain, and disbelief and shook his head.

"Prince Noctis, you need to put a little more effort in listening to my lectures. These lessons are filled with essential information you will need when you ascend to the throne one day, your father, and his father before him-"

Quickly his mind began to drift, and he wondered what Prompto was doing right now? He was probably in classes as well at the college, and he would be too had his school schedule not been changed to accommodate his royal classes. He and Propmto were both taking photography, with Prompto being the one that was the most genuinely interested, while he just went along with it because it was a good way to occupy his time. It wasn't like he could actually be whatever he wanted to be could he? He's the heir, and one day he'll, unfortunately, be king. Don't get him wrong, he didn't look lowly on the position, he thought highly of his father for all the sacrifices he's had to make throughout his life, including him, but at the same time, he didn't think it was him. He isn't his father, regal, commanding, and strong… ok maybe he is strong, but not everything else, in fact, if he could give the position to someone else he would, but he can't.

A shout came from outside the window, startling him a bit and he raised his head from his hand and looked out. Outside, training on the grass and on a secluded section dedicated for training were the Crownsguards, led by Gladiolus. The men and women there were all dressed in their uniforms, much like Gladiolus whose uniform was slightly different, and they all held swords of their own, with Gladiolus -of course- being the largest.

Noctis watched with longing as he saw them train, and swing their swords around, wishing it was him that was down there training. He actually wasn't a fan of training, but he'd prefer to do anything over staying here listening to an old fossil go on and on about old treaties.

"After the most unfortunate fall of Cleigne, its cities were left without a ruler, which is when?" asked the tutor.

Noticing that he was asked a question, Noctis snapped his head forward to look at the annoyed tutor.

"Which is when they decided to form a government of their own?" he said unsure.

Instantly he knew he was wrong, as the tutor's nose flared and his grasp on the book tightened

"They were attacked by Niflheim, which is when Lucis decided to intervene and brought forth the second war between our two nations. Your ancestor king, Tonitrus personally fought in that war and after many years, Lucis came out victorious and Cleigne became part of the Lucis kingdom. Have you even been listening to a word I've said the past couple of weeks?"

Noctis opened his mouth to say yes, but then he closed it when the old man's glare turned icy cold, and he knew he would ask him more questions he didn't know the answer, so what was the point of lying. He didn't know that his great, great, great, great grandfather was involved in a war against Niflheim, he didn't know that Cleigne was a kingdom before it was part of Lucis, he never really cared about that, it wasn't like this war could be won in their knowledge of history. When he's king, the Nif nor anyone in his council will give a damn if he knew his history or not. That isn't how you win wars, he would be a lot more prepared if the old man taught him about battle strategies, rather than past treaties. Niflheim wasn't going to accept some treaty, the only way to end this war is if one conquers the other, and Lucis will never be conquered.

The tutor gave out a sigh, and he leaned back on the desk in front of Noctis, giving him an almost defeated look.

"Noctis, you're a crown prince during wartime, this war may not be over before you ascend the throne. Whatever conflict and problems Lucis faces at the time of your coronation, you will inherit and it's of the utmost importance that you're prepared when that happens." He sighed, and nodded simply, even though he didn't believe that.

He knew his father is going to win the war, he had no doubt about that, and besides, there was no point in worrying too much about it just yet. Despite being at war for many years, Niflheim has been unable to make a move, their army wasn't nearly as grand as they thought it was. Their technology is far more advanced, but it was insignificant against the might of Lucis. Still, though Lucis hasn't been able to win this war, and Accordo is still under Niflheim control, but he regressed. He knew his father had a plan, he's King Regis for crying out loud, the man was literally born to be king. In fact, he was sure that at the moment of his birth he didn't cry, he started planning battle strategies and commanding those around- ok maybe he exaggerated a little, but really the man is the very definition of king. His ancestors have won many wars before, and he knew his father would be the same so he wasn't worried. However, he nodded, so that the old man didn't give him another lecture as to why he's shaping up to be an incompetent king.

The tutor didn't say anything further on the matter, satisfied that he had made his point, and so he looked down at his book and started teaching again, and in a matter of seconds Noctis felt exhaustion take over once more, and his eyes began to drift close.

Inside his pocket, his phone buzzed waking him up. Giving the tutor a glance, and seeing that he was facing away from him and writing something on the board, he reached for his phone and looked at it under his desk so that the tutor wouldn't notice.

The message was from Prompto.

"Got out of class early, professor Mervin -Mervin jejeje, still cracks me up- had to leave early so now I got the whole day free, wanna go do something?"

Noctis couldn't help but smirk at his friend's message, and swiftly began typing his answer.

"I wish, but I'm stuck here with sir stuck up," he replied, and he quickly looked up to make sure the tutor wasn't looking, once he noticed he was still busy writing, he looked down.

"Ah man, not captain stuck up! You must be dying of boredom! Can't you just, I don't know, sneak out? ;)"

Noctis snorted softly and began to type.

"Have you tried sneaking out of the citadel? I think the entire army of Lucis is stationed here, how am I supposed to sneak out?" he asked, and didn't have to wait long for the answer.

"The entire army you say, that's a bit overkill." Prompt wrote and then continued. "However, one army isn't enough to keep the great Noctis from sneaking out of deadly, boring classes!"

Noctis chuckled softly, and then Prompto wrote again.

"You know you weren't gifted with those magical gifts for nothing."

Noctis couldn't argue with that logic. He was right, he thought. If he used warp he could find a way to sneak out, and seeing as the window is open… he'll have to improvise from there, but he was sure he could come up with something.

"Wait for me at the Menlam market." he wrote, and proceeded to put his phone inside his pocket, briefly seeing Prompto's smiley emoji's.

Giving the tutor one last glance, and seeing that he was still writing and talking, he -as quietly as he could- materialized a sword in his hand and he looked at the window, the sun shining through it as if telling him that he needed to get out. Swiftly, and with expertise Noctis threw the sword, the blade passing through the glass and, instantly he warped to it.

A flash of blue was all that remained, briefly on his seat and the old tutor didn't even notice that his student had literally jumped out the window, as he kept lecturing.

After he managed to get past the guards with a series to warps, and sneaking around buildings, he managed to make it to the large garage where all the royal vehicles are located. The regalia was there of course at the centre of the garage, but more importantly was his Audi, the one he got for his 20th birthday.

As quietly as he could, he turned on the car and drove out of the garage, of course, there had been a couple of guards stationed at the exit, but these guards had no idea he wasn't supposed to be going outside the citadel at this hour. After he managed to sneak out of his first few classes, his father ordered the Crownsguard to keep an eye on him and to prevent him from exiting the citadel. However, these were normal lesser guards, who didn't get any instructions regarding the royal family or formalities. Usually, the cars inside the garage were taken out by the servants and brought to the entrance of the palace for them to get in. These guards barely, if ever saw members of nobility much less of the royal family, so when they saw him they looked at him with a but of shock and awe but they didn't say anything and simply opened the gate for him. And so with a smile on his lips, he drove off to the citadel and headed to Menlam market.

Traffic wasn't so bad, with the exception of a few red lights, he made it to the market a lot faster than he expected.

Passing by the market, he looked at it and noticed that it was quite busy. The market itself wasn't very large, being inside two large alleys that went uphill, as well as various levels created by buildings that served as shops. It was a rather dingy, dirty, and crowded market, where the lower class citizens of Insomnia came to buy, and haggle for food or -supposedly- rare items from all over Eos. This being said, the majority of the people that came here were all immigrants from outside the city, who sought refuge inside the walls after things turned dire. He didn't really understand why they called them immigrants, seeing as they're still citizens of Lucis from outside the walls.

Turning off the engine, he took his hat from the passenger compartment and slipped it on, making sure it shrouded most of the upper side of his face in shadows. All throughout most of his life, he lived among the people as a civilian, so people got used to seeing him around the city and most didn't think too much of it, he'd worked at a sushi restaurant for crying out loud! However, there were times when people would stop and stare, or even worse, approach him and bow which his friends got a kick out of, while he'd just stand awkwardly with a blush. This treatment he'd get more of in places like these, but instead of looking at him with reverence a few of the people glared at him, hence the hat. For his safety, Ignis managed to convince him to at least try to disguise himself somewhat.

Noctis opened the door to the car, and instantly foreign music hit his ears deafening everything else, and instead of grimacing from displeasure as most Insomnia locals, he smiled and closed the door.

He made his way to the market, keeping his head down so that people couldn't see his face.

"Come and get a taste of Galahd with freshly made Anak skewers!"

"Suffered a terrible injury? Have you tried everything, but nothing works? This healing potion brought from Tenebrae is sure to do the job!"

The shopkeepers kept shouting over the crowds of people, as well as the music.

Noctis kept walking along the alley, pretending to look at some of the goods, while he kept his eyes out for the blond. After he was nearly forced to buy a potion that could apparently give you the strength of the Astrals, he found Prompto.

By a corner, and standing beside a shop stood Prompto, eating a skewer and smiling at a blushing shop keeper. Noctis rolled his eyes and made his way to his friend with great difficulty, seeing as there was barely any room to walk.

"Oh yes the palace is quite the sight, but you know after a little while it isn't nearly as impressive, now you-"

"Prompto." Noctis interrupted.

Instantly his friends and the girl's eyes landed on him, and Prompto smiled and waved him forward.

"Hey there Noct, let me introduce you to a friend of mine." He called, over the sound of the crowd and Noctis kept walking,

Once he was standing beside his friend, Prompto put an arm over his shoulder in a friendly gesture, while the girl looked at them with a smile on her lips.

"This here's my friend Noct, you know prince of Lucis, next in line to the throne?"

Instantly Noctis glared, and rolled his eyes at his friend's antics, while the girl's expression changed to one of awe, and shock as all her attention rested on him. This was the tenth time Prompto has used his title for this. He knew his friend wasn't taking advantage of his lineage, in that he didn't care that he was a prince or not, but when it came to picking up girls it was another matter entirely. For some reason, Prompto seemed to think that girls would dig him if they found out he's the prince friend. Of course, this always backfired on him, with said girls putting all their attention on him, and completely forgetting Prompto. He was irritated by that, but Gladiolus thought it was hilarious.

The girl kept looking at him with wide eyes, and Noctis looked at her awkwardly, until the girl seemed to gather herself. With her cheeks blushing furiously, she bowed deeply, and as always Noctis blushed in return and looked around to make sure no one was looking, but no one was. That was one of the good things about these types of markets, no one cared one bit what you did, so long as you stayed out of people's way.

"Your highness," she said reverently, and Noctis blush deepened.

"-er- nice to meet you…" he looked from the girl to Prompto who was grinning and not at all noticing the awkward atmosphere he created.

"You know -er- there's no need for that, it's just Noct," he told her, and the girl looked up and gave him a smile.

"My name is Kaolin," she told him, and Noctis smiled courteously in return. He couldn't deny that she was quite pretty, with tied back jet black hair and sandy eyes, and brush of red on her cheeks, she was perfect for Prompto, but she's not his style, he liked blonds, specifically-

"Kaolin stop talking and get back to work!" a scruffy, and sweaty old man standing by a grill barked.

Kaolin's smile fell, her eyes dulled, and she gave them a curt bow.

"I have to get back to work, it was very nice meeting your highness."

Noctis nodded in return, feeling a little sorry for her as he watched her walk to the greasy older man who began barking at her, and shoving a broom in her hand and pointing at the dirty tables. He didn't look lowly on her because she had a common job, he too had to clean tables at his old job, but unlike him who took the job as a distraction, she'll probably work the same type of job the rest of her life, that was the kind of life immigrants from over the wall had in Insomnia.

"Damn she didn't even say bye to me." Prompto sighed, and crossed his arms "You're not a good wingman Noct, you always take the girls!"

"I wonder why?" Noctis wondered sarcastically, knowing full well that what girls saw in him wasn't really him, but his title, that's what everyone saw whenever they met him. Not the person, the title.

Prompto waved his hand, and he gave Noctis a knowing smile.

"I know, I know it's because girls dig the whole dark, bad boy edgy look," he drawled, and Noctis blushed and smacked Prompto that had him chuckling instead of being hurt.

"What NO…. do you really think so?" Asked Noctis unsure, he knew some girls actually like the whole bad boy look, but he wasn't like that at all, was he?

Prompto walked ahead, and he looked back at him with a crooked smile.

"Nah I just said that to make you feel better? You're so scrawny, even I got more muscle than you, I don't understand why the girls-" before he could continue Noctis smacked him over the head again, and Prompto stroked his head with mock pain.

"Scrawny my ass, and I'm not edgy" he huffed, and Prompto chuckled

"I only speak the truth, but hey, some girls dig that too," Prompto shrugged, as both of them kept walking side by side. "Maybe I should starve myself a little, and dye my hair black so Lady Luna notices me. For such a nice girl, she's sure into edgy, bad-"

That was the last straw, as Noctis lunged at Prompto who swiftly got out of the way as slippery, and quick as a snake he ran through the crowds, his voice louder than the music and the sound of people talking. Noctis wasn't so far behind, as he went after the blond, having more difficult to get around the crowds than Prompto.

Both of them ran through the alley, going up ladders, and stairs hanging by the buildings, and occasionally running over flimsy rooftops, as well as going through some of the shops, not paying attention to any of the shopkeepers who yelled at them. With hearts pumping, and sweat falling down their foreheads, they kept running until Noctis had to give up from exhaustion, Prompto was just too fast. If he had warped he would have caught Prompto a long time ago, but he couldn't do that here and give away his identity, which what was the point by now, he'd lost his hat in one of the shops long ago. Gloating, Prompto offered to train him, seeing as Gladiolus wasn't doing his job properly, and Noctis pushed him into a garbage bin. He's fast damn it, just not as fast as Prompto, the guy barely touched the ground when he ran.

After Prompto got the grime off his clothes, they both ate at one of the shops. After that, both of them decided that they needed to go home, the sun was beginning to set, and he knew that if he stayed out longer the scolding for sneaking out of classes would be harsher.

Both of them walked to his car, seeing as he agreed to give Prompto a ride home, his friend had, of course, refused seeing as he didn't live far, but Noctis didn't listen. What was the point of owning a car if he couldn't give his friends a ride every now and again?

"Well looky here, look who's come to the sewers," a rough, deep voice called and a few people started to whisper.

Both Noctis and Prompto froze on the spot and they looked to the side. A man, with spiky red hair, and sleeveless shirt and torn shorts, leaned back on a red beaten car, with a cigaret on his grinning lips. The man looked greasy and dirty, and his eyes looked at both of them with arrogant mockery.

"Prince Noctis," the man said reverently and bowing dramatically in mockery. At the mention of his name a few stopped what they were doing and looked at him, he briefly noticed that some people looked at him with shock and awe, while a few looked at him with anger.

Beside him, Prompto leaned in a little and whispered.

"Let's go."

Noctis nodded in agreement and gave the man one last glare before he turned his head, but before he could take another step the man spoke up again.

"You can't leave, you only just arrived, and besides, I thought you would fancy a bit of competition," the man chuckled looking pointedly at Noctis car and giving him a grin."We'd all like to see how fast those royal cars can go, I reckon not very fast, wouldn't want the prince getting in an accident would we?" the man laughed, and the men surrounding him laughed too, but it sounded forced like they were being forced.

Noctis turned and looked at the man's red beaten car with a stoic expression. He knew the man was egging him on, but he wouldn't fall for that. When he was in high school some of his fellow peers dared him to warp to the roof of the school to see if he could really do it, of course, he refused and walked away without saying anything, but that wasn't the end of it, they kept trying every opportunity, and he always said no. This wasn't any different. He knew his car could beat his without effort.

"No thanks," he said, putting his hands deep inside his pockets and walking away towards his car, but of course, the man didn't leave it at that, nor did he expected him to. A man like him wouldn't let the opportunity to get a rise out of a prince.

"So alright, wasn't like I expected him to say yes, being a delicate prince and all."

Everyone laughed, and Noctis did feel a bit of annoyance, but overall he didn't pay the man any attention. He didn't have to prove anything to him, Prompto, on the other hand, wasn't so composed.

His friend stopped and glared at the man, while Noctis gave him a -don't say anything look- but Prompto didn't pay him any attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, annoyed and Noctis wanted to groan.

The man chuckled, as Prompto fell for his trap.

"What I mean friend, is that your dear prince is a bloody coward. He's got a car lot faster than my piece of junk, but he's too scared to risk it, wouldn't want daddy knowing you were down here racing street rats would we?"

Prompto formed his hands into fists, and he took a step forward glaring at the man.

"That's not true, he-"

"Prompto, just leave it," Noctis interrupted before he could make things worse.

Prompto gave him an incredulous look, but after he saw how serious he was, he visibly deflated, and he gave out a breath but didn't say anything further, as he followed behind Noctis reluctantly.

"Yea Prompto, do what master tells you to do," the man called, and his buddies chuckled.

Noctis looked at Prompto whose fist clenched tighter but he didn't turn or say anything, instead, he kept looking ahead.

"Hahaha, where did you find such a loyal pretty thing? I'd love to get one of my own, I bet they come cheap."

Ok, that was enough. He didn't care when people said anything about him or talked behind his back, he was long used to that thanks to his upbringing, everything he ever did was constantly scrutinized, he was used to it. However, when someone said anything about his friends, that was another thing entirely.

He turned sharply on the spot, and walked to the man, glaring at him while he smiled from ear to ear in triumph, and his friends laughed. Behind him, Prompto followed and stood by his side glaring at the man.

"You want a race? Fine," he growled, and the man simply kept grinning. "Just one light, no more."

The man's grin widened.

In less than ten minutes, nearly everyone inside the alley made their way to the road and stood by the sidewalk. Prompto suggested staying behind and watch, seeing as he would weigh down the car slightly if he stayed. Naturally, the smallest amount of weight mattered, but seeing as he was racing against a bucket of bolts he wasn't worried.

Both of them waited for their challenger inside the car, Noctis thrumming his fingers against the wheel, while Prompto took a picture with his camera. He knew this was stupid, and that he could get into a lot of trouble if anyone found out. Ignis would lecture him about car safety, while Gladiolus would scold him for putting himself in danger, but then he'd ask him how fast he went. His father would be disappointed and furious, same as Luna, not to mention that the press would chew him out if they so much as heard that he was in a race, much less an illegal street race.

'What the hell am I doing?' He thought to himself.

Suddenly he was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of a loud revving engine, and of people cheering. Both he and Prompto jerked their heads to the side, and both their mouths almost fell open at what they saw. Beside them -instead of a beaten red car- stood a slicked red car, with the man behind the wheel, grinning at them. Noctis looked at the car in awe, not a clue as to what brand it was, it appeared to be costume made, not to mention that the sound of the engine was deafening.

"You look about ready to give up," the man mused, and a couple of people chuckled.

Noctis didn't say anything, instead, he narrowed his eyes in concentration and looked ahead at the traffic lights. The distance wasn't long, around two blocks give or take, definitely close enough for them to make out the distant traffic lights that marked the finish line. He would be lying if he said he wasn't a little worried, his car is fast but it was more of a luxury car, while the man's car was clearly a racing car not to mention that he'd probably made a lot of modifications to it. He didn't really care if he lost, he worried that something would go wrong.

"We'll start on the next green light!" The man shouted over the sound of the engines, giving him a knowing look that told him that he knew he was having second thoughts.

For a brief moment he considered forfeiting, but then the light turned green and he instinctively pressed down on the accelerator.

Both cars began to screech, and smoke emanated from the wheels and into the crowd of people watching. In less than a second, they were off, blowing away any papers, or garbage on the street.

Prompto was grabbing on to the seat, and pressing himself as further into it as humanly possible, with his eyes filled with terror. Noctis wasn't much different, his hands clenched the steering wheel tightly, his eyes focused ahead of him, not even turning to look at the red car that had passed them. Ignis may call him a reckless driver, and he was right to some extent but this was beyond reckless, it was pure stupidity.

The engine of his car growled furiously, as it went faster and faster trying to catch up to the red car, while its driver appeared to be in shock. Never in his life had he driven at such speed, and he dearly hoped he never had to again, he felt like he wasn't in control of the car like if he moved the steering wheel a little the car would flip.

Halfway through the street, he was still behind, but he didn't care, he just wanted the race to be over and done with. Why did he even accept in the first place? He was smarter than that.

Once he was near the finish line, he couldn't help but sigh in relief when the red car ahead of them crossed it without any competition. Once more he didn't care, the race was over and he'd lost, big deal, at least nothing happened.

Noctis turned to look at Prompto who appeared as relieved as he was, and was no longer trying to become one with the seat. Noticing that he was looking at him Prompto turned his gaze on him and gave him a nervous, fearful chuckle. That had to be the most reckless thing they've ever done.

Moving his foot off the accelerator, and to the breaks, he didn't notice the headlights coming their way from the side. Fortunately for them, he noticed a few seconds later, and both of them turned their heads to the side, and their eyes widened.

A smallish car was making its way right towards them, its lights flashing at them and covering them in light. For less than a second Noctis, eyes widened and froze on the seat in shock, not sure as to what to do. His terrified eyes met the strangers, who looked at them in terror, frozen on the spot like they were.

"WATCH OUT!" Prompto shouted, and snapped him out of his shock.

As fast as lightning, and coming up with the only thing he could think of, he stepped down on the accelerator, it was a bit counterintuitive to speed up rather than stop when you're about to crash, most people would have chosen to stop. With his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers hurt, he pushed the car to go as fast as it could possibly go, looking at the incoming car with terror.

Sweat dripped down his forehead as the cars got closer and closer, the lights from the street and the car shining on his terrified eyes. He prepared for impact when the car got closer, and he couldn't help but close his eyes and tense up. However, the impact never came, instead a loud horn.

He snapped his eyes open and looked ahead in amazement, and instantly stepped down on the brakes, the tires screeched, the car wobbled a little in protest, but eventually, it stopped with smoke emanating from the tires.

Both he and Prompto sat frozen on their seats, both of them looking ahead in shock. They were alive, and they hadn't crashed. He thought for sure that they'd crash, he didn't think he had gone fast enough to miss the car, but apparently, he had, and nothing happened. Sure he hadn't won the race, but who cared?

Suddenly, Prompto let out a chuckle and he looked at him as if he'd gone insane, but after seeing how relieved he looked Noctis couldn't help but chuckle as well, both of them looking like complete morons. However their small victory wasn't long-lived, as siren screeched from behind, and distinctive blue and red lights coloured the shop windows. Both of their smiles fell and they looked at each other in fear.

"We're in so much shit," Prompto said, as the siren got louder and the lights got closer.

Hoped you liked the first chapter, and please review and see you next chapter.