Dear Iris,
your brother is a big clumsy idiot that nearly got Prompto killed. Man I don't even remember when I fucked up that bad the last time, but let me tell you the whole thing...
"Gladio! You're killing me here, big guy, stop already!"
Wheezing, Prompto let himself fall facedown in the grass. His world was spinning slightly and he closed his eyes to make it stop.
"What, I thought you liked your morning runs?"
"Yeah mine. That's no run with you, you're sprinting. How does Noctis keep up with you?"
Gladio, barely out of breath, laughed as he helped the blond back on his feet.
"With as much whining as you. Annnd maybe I normally run slower when I'm torturing the little prince."
"Oh, you traitor!" Prompto huffed in fake anger. Still he held onto the larger man for a moment to stop swaying. They walked back to the haven at a normal pace, finding Ignis already preparing breakfast and no sign of Noctis.
"That's a surprise," Ignis said instantly preparing two plates when he noticed them, "Since when did you become an early riser, Prompto?"
The blond chuckled and let himself fall into one of the chairs. "Dunno, one of those days I guess. Woke up when Gladdy was getting ready and thought I may as well join. I promise, I'll never do it again."
"Why is everyone awake already?" A groggy voice was heard from behind them and Prompto turned his head to see Noctis climb out of the tent, sporting an impressive bedhead, eyes only halfway open.
"Possibly because it's past eight by now," Ignis said with a sigh as he sat down on his chair.
Noctis joined them after a moment of collecting himself, not without throwing a glance over to Prompto and Gladio. "Don't tell me you two went on a jog together, how is Prompto still alive?"
Gladio only scoffed in amusement while Prompto was getting ready to tell another exaggerated story about how he nearly died on that run.
"You have to be in your best shape if you wanna keep up," Gladio finally butted in, acting like he was scolding the blond, but his voice sounded playful, "How are you gonna fight if you can't run?"
"By staying behind as I always do," the blond retorted in the same manner, "Can't shoot when I'm too close, so there's barely any danger for me to jump into an attack. I say that's good for me."
"Well aren't you a lucky one."
They were silenced by Ignis clapping his hands. "Enough of the bickering now," he said, wearing an amused smile himself, "We should get ready soon, there is a monster waiting for us to be hunted."
"What are we hunting anyway?" Prompto sighed, swatting another mosquito off his arm, "I mean, the people in town just said it's huge and destroys stuff, now that could be anything."
"And it sure is something and that's why we're here looking for it," Ignis said, not even bothering to turn his head to the blond, "Though I agree, it isn't our usual kind of hunt."
"Way more interesting like this if you ask me," Gladio had taken the lead on their hike, eyes seemingly everywhere, looking for tracks. He enjoyed their scavenger hunt visibly.
"At least one of us is having fun," the blond mumbled under his breath, earning an amused scoff from Noctis next to him. The two of them had fallen back a bit, tired of trying to keep up with the shield's speed and zigzagging between the trees.
Suddenly, Gladio stopped dead in his tracks and crouched down to inspect something on the ground. "Found something?" Ignis asked, walking up next to him, still leaving some space between them to not disturb anything.
"Warmer trail than the last ones," Gladio said, pointing up to the trees. Tufts of reddish brown fur hung from some branches and there were imprints of something resembling big paws. Prompto still stared up to the fur, not feeling like joking anymore. This thing was big alright, bigger than he had expected.
"Behemoth?" Ignis asked, cocking his head while he looked at the prints.
"Thought so too, but the prints aren't right. Not to mention the fur, I've never seen a brown behemoth," the brute got back up and turned a bit to follow the tracks deeper into the woods, much to the other's dismay. Like a bloodhound tracking a scent, Gladio was all over the place, not bothering to see if the others were able to keep up or not. Ignis was about to call out to him, tell him to slow down, when the larger man slid to a sudden halt again, arms outstretched to sign the others to stop as well.
Ahead of them was a clearing. Floating there were two Niflheim battleships with their bay doors open, soldiers scattered around the clearing and between them, sitting huge and hunched something that could resemble a behemoth if not for the mechanical jaw and pieces of machinery sticking out through the thick fur. When it slowly lifted its large head, Prompto gasped softly.
"Did they...make this? O-or was this a real animal before?"
"Guessing a bit of both," Ignis said, crouching down next to Gladio, who was inching a bit closer to get a better view of the scenery in front of them.
"They're not too far away from each other, if I warp in, I-"
"No warping in, Noct," Ignis sharp voice interrupted him, "Even if you manage to get a few of them, they will open fire within an instant, not to mention this monstrosity."
"So what else do you suggest?"
A sly grin flashed over the adviser's face and he changed his position a bit to face the two younger men. "Actually I was thinking about a nice big explosion to create a bit of a confusion. If we manage to hit at least one of the ships this might do most of the work for us."
A huge grin plastered itself on Prompto's face upon hearing this and he leaned a bit forward, attention fully on Ignis. "What do we have to do?"
Noctis scoffed at the blond's sudden eagerness but leaned forward as well, with growing interest on what his adviser had planned.
Prompto took a few deep breaths and fiddled with his modified machinery weapon, doubtful thoughts nagging him. Would this really work? He loved to blow something up, but now that they were getting ready, he became nervous.
"Focus, Prom." He felt Noctis' hand on his shoulder and turned around to face the same direction his friend did. The raven smiled at him and turned the magic orb in his hand. It emitted a faint red glow and hummed silently, filled to the brim with the strongest fire magic, Noctis could muster. This would be a big boom.
"You with me?"
"Yah," the blond breathed out, peeking though the branches on the clearing. They had split up and circled around, Noctis and Prompto now right on the other side of the clearing, as close as they could get to do as much damage as possible. Ignis and Gladio waited on the other side to sweep in when it was time.
"We have one try on this, you ready?" Noctis made a few steps back and got ready to throw the orb, glancing over to Prompto one last time. The blond had his weapon ready, eyes fixed on a point in the air where he had to hit, offering just a silent nod so he wouldn't lose focus.
'Don't mess this up,' the raven thought to himself, his hand tightening around the orb. When he heard the mechanic whirring next to him, indicating that Prompto had started his weapon, he hauled the orb over.
For a moment, time slowed down as he watched it fly, his own heartbeat resonated in his ears, but he dared not to move, not wanting to interrupt the blond next to him. He didn't even hear when Prompto released his shot, only saw the fire spell erupt when it was hit with an explosive shot.
Blinded, he ducked behind a tree and listened to the screeching of hot metal as one of the battleships went down. The monster roared in pain and jumped away from the fire and they heard shots.
"Shit, are they already at it?" Prompto stumbled to his feet and ran along the edge of the clearing to get a better look of everything. Finally, he saw Ignis and Gladio, systematically taking out the soldiers that managed to get away from the explosion. The other ship was still hovering in place and it seemed...parked – he couldn't think of a better word for it. A blue bolt of light flitting through the flames indicated Noctis joining the fight and so he summoned his gun and stepped out on the clearing to help as well.
He landed a few good shots, keeping their backs free. By now the blond knew all their movements by heart. Never shoot things in front of Noctis, he might decide to warp there; time every shot right with Ignis' jumps and watch Gladio's wide swings. That's why he was back there, firing guns. He always had everything in his sight. Except…
He lowered his gun and scanned over the fight in front of him again. There was fire, soldiers, his friends, one destroyed battleship…
"Where is the big thing?"
Gladio made a few steps back to leave a bit more space for Noctis to move, the prince warping to the next enemy right after the shield had made his steps. They were working through the remaining soldiers without bigger issues and Gladio was starting to feel victorious, when he stopped mid-swing, eyes gliding over to the burning battleship. Yeah, there was that, the thing came down and wouldn't be back up ever again. The deafening roar to his left made his heart drop and now he knew what he had missed. At first he thought the monster had been caught in the inferno as well, possibly already killed. But there was noting but burned ground and the battleship's skeleton.
His head whipped around to see where the others were and he saw Noctis just a few yards away from him, Ignis even further away. Another roar and the clanking of metallic joints moving and his feet acted on their own. Summoning hie shield, Gladio sprinted over to the prince, grabbing him around the waist he threw both of them to the ground and held the shield over the prince protectively.
Just in time.
A strong gust of air and the thudding of a heavy body hitting the ground indicated that the beast had already been in the motion to jump them. It growled, the sound reminding them more of a machine than an actual animal.
Both got to their feet, never taking their eyes away from the hybrid. The spell had hit. Most of its fur was scorched black or even gone completely, showing either leathery skin or metallic parts sticking out. Everything was charred and it made the thing look even more disgusting.
The remaining few soldiers were completely forgotten and even they didn't dare to move too much, all eyes were on the beast. Eyes still fixated on the prince and his shield, it lowered its body like a cat getting ready to jump its prey. Gladio ducked a bit as well, readying his body for what was to come.
"No time for hangups now," he growled, as he heard Noctis take a few slow steps back and change his weapon with the faint sound of shattering glass.
"I don't plan to."
Gladio nodded and lowered his sword, the broad side up, never breaking eye contact with the beast. Noctis' steps behind him slowly wandered to his side again, closer to the sword until he had one foot on it.
The whole clearing was eerily silent except for the crackling of the fire and the sound of working gears inside the monster's body. All the more louder was the sound of three consecutive gunshots being fired echoing through it. All of them hit their mark, the head of the beast. They didn't do much damage, but now it shifted its attention over to their source, the blond still standing quite a bit away.
"Now!" Gladio yelled and Noctis made the last step onto the sword and with a grunt the brute heaved both up, successfully catapulting the prince high above the monster. Before it could walk too far away, Ignis shot up from the spot he had been hiding when he saw it running towards them, and sprinted to its hind legs. His hopes to immobilize it weren't too high and when he hit one of the legs with is spear and felt more than heard the sound of metal hitting metal reverberating through his bones, his doubts were confirmed.
But what this move did was make the monster stop again and attempt to turn to the next thing pestering it. It never finished the move. Noctis, his own broadsword lifted above his head, came swooping down, hitting it right in the back of the neck. With a gargled howl, the beast went down, legs flailing through the air as it tried to get back up again.
The tail lashed out, hitting the remaining battleship, bringing it down as well, then the body stopped moving.
Noctis had warped to safety in time and turned his head, when he felt Ignis' hand on his shoulder. The adviser looked tired and worn, but a smile tucked at the corner of his mouth.
"That was a nice plan," the prince said, wiping the back of his hand over his brow, "A bit chaotic at the end, though. But nice."
"Why thank you, Your Highness," Ignis answered, slightly bowing his head and visibly amused.
Gladio had let out a victorious yell, when the monster finally went down and walked now closer to inspect Niflheim's newest invention, curiosity taking over. Rolling thunder had him look up at the darkening sky. A storm was coming their way and the smell of rain became stronger by the minute. Wouldn't be too bad with the flames already lapping at the edges of the clearing and the body of the beast. Was he imagining it or was there a slight tremor running through the body?
Deep breaths, in and out. Like he had been told, this was the best way to stay calm. Prompto knew what they were up as soon as Gladio began lowering his blade. Everything else was teamwork, everyone knew their place. First get its attention over to Prompto so Gladio could throw Noctis up, next was Ignis so the beast wouldn't just walk away when Noct was still in the air. Then the killing strike. They had done this more than once, it always was successful...right?
"No," the blond whispered, slightly shaking his head, "Too far to the right." He swallowed roughly against the developing lump in his throat. "Noct was...too far to the right."
Finally waking up from his numbness, he first made only a few hesitant steps to remind his legs of their purpose. He saw Gladio stepping close to the thing, inspecting its head, then looking up to the impending storm.
"Gladio."
His walk became faster, his eyes were still on the monster. It was a minimal move, like it was taking a deep, shallow breath.
"Gladio!"
The jaw, metallic bones and teeth charred from the flames, twitched. His walk became a full on sprint. Ignis and Noct were oblivious to what was happening, the adviser inspecting the prince for injuries.
It wasn't over. The thing wasn't dead yet, why does nobody see?
Gladio was leaning forward, looking at something. He saw the movements. Why was he still there?
"Gladio!" Prompto screamed now, finally getting his attention.
"Not dead, Gladio, get away from the head!"
It would be too late, his reaction would be too slow. He was too close.
Blood was pumping in the blond's ears and his body now acted on instinct. Its neck was broken, but the thing wasn't normal so the movements would be different. He just had to time it right.
Letting the adrenaline work for him, he made it over to the shield, everything around him seemed to slow down. The big head turning in a way no real thing would be able to and the jaws opening, Gladio's eyes widening in the realization. Then he was between them.
He didn't know if he was shouting something or not, just that he gave Gladio a hard push, making the surprised brute stumble backwards. Hearing metallic clanking, he closed his eyes, readying himself for the pain that would come, but he could be as ready as he wanted, it was nothing compared to the real thing. The jaws closed, he felt teeth piercing though his skin, locking him in place. Pain waved through his body as he screamed, it was excruciating. He felt himself being lifted up, then the world around him was only a wild mix of colors as he got jostled around, only making the pain worse. Then nothing. For a few liberating seconds there was absolutely nothing but the whistling of air in his ears and movement everywhere around him. Everything came back full force when he hit the ground again.
"Shit, shit, SHIT!" From the second it happened, he knew, he would never forget this picture. He saw that the monster had started moving again ever so slightly, but wasn't completely sure if this was for real or just his imagination, a trick of the light, his tired eyes, burning from the heat. No, this had been for real. But he only realized that when Prompto appeared in front of him, pushing him backwards.
Gladio managed to stay on his feet but what difference would it make? He saw the big head turn, the jaws closing around the blond's body, heard his scream.
The beast got on its feet again, looking even more mangled than before. The head was tilting to one side, only still connected with its body by some wire and metal strips. It began shaking its head, shaking Prompto like a dog does with its favourite toy. Then it let go, sent his friend flying through the air and hitting the ground again, now motionless and silent.
The shield couldn't care less about the monster after what he witnessed and was already sprinting over to Prompto, falling on his knees next to him. His hands hovered over the blond's body, not sure if it was safe to touch him, when a loud crack of thunder made his head whip around again.
"Wha-" he gasped. The clouds were moving. But not like they were before, now it looked like waves on a stormy ocean, building up more and more and veins of lightning crawling through it. Realizing what was happening, his gaze wandered down and he saw Noctis standing there, still like a statue. And even from this far away Gladio could see the purple glow in the prince's eyes.
Ignis next to him was gesturing to Gladio, mouthing something. That was when all the noise and everything else rushed back to the shield. He had to function now. Nothing else.
'Haven' That was what Ignis was saying, urging him to go there. They still had some potions left. Breathing out sharply, he picked Prompto up from the ground, wincing then the blond moaned in pain. At least he was now sure that he wasn't dead yet.
"This will be a bumpy ride, bud," he said, adjusting his position a bit so he could hold him properly, then he started running.
The rain started when he was between the trees and he prayed to the six not to slip. He felt Prompto's breath against his neck, hitching every time he had to make a small jump over some branches or roots. Even with the wetness of the rain he felt warm liquid on his chest and arms that definitely wasn't rain and it was only making him run faster.
He sped up even more when he saw the faint blue glow of the haven through the thick curtain of rain, earning another pained whimper. "Can't slow down now, I'm sorry."
Another gasp and weakened whimper.
"Don't you dare leave now," Gladio growled, sounding more aggressive than he had intended, "Not now, not after this stunt, ya hear me? Don't!"
Except for the glowing runes, it was now nearly pitch black and felt like they were in the middle of a hurricane. For a moment the thought crossed his mind, to look over where the clearing was, maybe catch a glimpse or Ramuh's giant shape in the sky. No, not now. Not with Prompto bleeding out.
After lying the blond on the ground, he puled up his soaked shirt to see how many wounds he had, but it was too dark to see enough and Prompto's body was already covered with blood, making it near impossible to see anything with the lack of light.
Leaning a bit forward, he patted Prompto's cheek, hoping to get a reaction out of him. "Prom? Prom, you still with me? C'mon!"
The blond's face scrunched up and he opened his mouth a bit, but nothing came out. Good enough. "Stay with me, buddy, just a few minutes more." He got up again and ran over to their packs and, not even trying to waste time by digging though them, turned them over, scattering their contents on the ground until he found what he was looking for. A loud crack made his ears ring and for a few seconds everything was light as day. Ramuh had worked his magic. And even helped Gladio in that process, who easily found the potion lying on the now illuminated ground.
Prompto was completely still when he pressed the potion in his hand and Gladio cursed. "I said 'Don't', ya idiot," he hissed and closed his hand around Prompto's, to help the blond crush the vial. Praying inwardly, he watched the potion work though his body, closing the gashes and healing his inner wounds. The bigger gashes didn't close all the way, it was just too much for a single potion, but it stopped the bleeding and healed up the worst, and that worked for now for Gladio.
When the green hue was gone, he took off his jacket, wrapped it around Prompto and held him close to his chest, listening intently. For a scary moment he heard nothing and felt a pit in his stomach. But then he heard it, the faint breathing, slowly getting stronger and he couldn't help but smile.
"There you go, buddy. Don't scare me like that," he sighed and finally allowed his body to relax, never letting go of Prompto.
The rain had thinned to a light drizzle after the Ramuh's attack and eventually stopped completely and the clouds moved along the sky like thin grey sheep, the violet light of the dawn peeking though more and more. Gladio raised his head when he heard steps. Two sets, one pair shuffling a bit more than the other.
"You two alright?" he asked without turning around.
"I think you can say that." Ignis' voice was a bit strained and Gladio finally turned his head. Both looked a bit frazzled and like they had been caught in Ramuh's lightning as well, but other than that they seemed fine.
"Prompto," Noctis croaked, falling to his knees next to him, "How is he? It looked like-"
"He'll live," the shield interrupted, not wanting to think of that moment ever again. "Made it in time and he's breathing alright. But I only found one potion and he might need at least one more. Think you can look for another one?"
"I'll see what I can find."
"Thanks, Iggy."
Prompto groaned. His whole body felt sore. What happened? He tried to turn to his side, but only made it halfway there before his muscled refused to work for him. With another weak groan, he gave up and just stayed in this uncomfortable position, this would be his life now, apparently.
He wasn't sure if he fell asleep again for a moment or if no time had passed, but suddenly he heard shuffling around him, low voices talking in a hushed tone, he couldn't understand them. Managing to crack one eye open, he first saw only blue until he realized that he stared at the canvas of their tent. He heard someone move behind him, but his body still ached too much to move.
"Ay," he croaked, trying to get the attention of whoever was behind him. More shuffling, then a face came into view. "Gladdy," he forced out, making the lager man smile.
"Welcome back, Prom. Feel any better?"
"Wha' happened?" he asked, his tongue not yet fully cooperative. Gladio frowned at that question.
"You don't remember? The hunt? Niffs, that...this monster-robot-hybrid?"
The blond was silent for a moment, trying to make his head work normally again, then he gasped, when the pictures came flooding back. Right. That happened really. He pulled one arm out from the thick layer of blankets he was put under and pointed at Gladio.
"Saw it happenin'. That it would move again, No-Noct din't hit it right. Man, I..." he started laughing, "I totally saved your ass there. Took one for the team and nearly got eaten by a mecha-behemoth."
Gladio scoffed and raised his eyebrows. Prompto seemed really proud of what he did now. Well, why shouldn't he. "Yeah," he sighed and ruffled his blond mat of hair, "Ya did. And damn, I'm thankful, alright? Might have been not so lucky if it had gotten me. So yeah. Thank you."
He gave Gladio a thumbs up. "No problem, big guy. But..."
"But?"
"Promise me something?"
"What?"
"Let's never do that again."