Disclaimer: Don't own FFXV
You can either take this as a type of Prequel to Saving Them is Worth Any Price, or treat it as a standalone.
Remade
Prompto stared up at Noctis in shock as he went over the edge, unable to understand what had happened. Why had he done it? He saw Noctis' eyes widen, horror on his face.
"PROMPTO!" A hand reached for him, but it was too late, the train kept going and the ground was coming up fast, separating them.
Noctis' horrified scream was enough to give him a little comfort even as he slammed into the ground. His world went black even as he heard a crack.
He didn't know how long it had been when consciousness slowly crept back in. he blinked up at the sky and saw it darkening. Instinct, self-preservation, had him rolling to his side and struggling to his feet, eyes scanning for the distinctive smoke plume of a Haven. He couldn't see one, so he just started walking, not thinking about what had happened. At the moment survival came first. He used one arm to shield his face from the snow, the other tucked in his jacket, useless. He knew if he stopped then he would die but it was so hard. Treacherous thoughts slipped into his mind, sapping his resolve. What was the point? Noctis had tried to kill him. Why? What had he done? Prompto gasped and collapsed to his knees; he managed to get back up, shuffling forward, more slowly than before. "What a way to go," he whispered shakily.
He made it no more than a couple of steps further before collapsing face first into the snow with a weak grunt; the elements continued their relentless assault upon him, and his vision began to fade. Prompto looked up to see imperial soldiers jumping down onto the snowfield from drop ships above; the soldiers stood over Prompto, examining him as his body succumbed and his awareness faded to black.
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Prompto woke lying face down on the floor in a metal room that reminded him creepily of a lab of some sort. He groaned, extremities tingling from exposure as he looked around him, and slowly got up onto one knee. He looked down and froze, where was his bracelet. He looked around wildly, but he couldn't see it anywhere. "It's gone," he whispered, tugging at his glove to try and hide the mark on his wrist. Noctis had given him that one for his last birthday before Insomnia had fallen.
He staggered to his feet, shivering despite the fact the room wasn't cold, body still stressed from his time in the snow. "What… What is this place?" he hugged himself, left arm throbbing in agony, he was pretty sure it was broken. He stumbled toward the only exit, looking for a way to open the doors. He found a control panel beside the doors and rested his hand on it while trying to work out how to use it only for it to beep.
"Scanning production code," an automated, feminine voice came from the speaker and he gasped, stumbling back as he looked around. "Unit 05953234 confirmed," it announced as the doors slid open. "Warning: this unit has been compromised. Initiating retrieval of compromised unit."
Prompto looked down at his wrist, that was one of the numbers tattooed into his skin. "What's going on?"
"She still remembers you, after all these years," Ardyn mocked from behind and Prompto spun around, eyes wide.
"You…" he tried to summon his gun from the Armiger, but nothing happened. "What gives?"
Ardyn walked toward Prompto, pulling out the confused younger man's gun, and waved it aloft. "We can't have you spilling blood here," he warned as Prompto backed away. "Although to most this compound is known only as the First Magitek Production Facility, birthplace of the myriad magitek troopers and daemons the empire holds dear, to you this place should have some sentimental value. After all, it is your home sweet home." He smirked knowingly.
"Shut up," Prompto growled, hand clenching into a fist, breaking his nose would be very satisfying.
"I'm not the one who almost killed you."
"You're wro—" he started only to stop as Ardyn suddenly let Prompto's gun turn upside down over his finger, and shoved its handle against Prompto's chest. He reached up to grab it and Ardyn released it into Prompto's hand; Ardyn then stepped back.
"You really ought to take a rest," he warned as he moved away. "Perhaps the estimable Chief Besithia will help heal that broken heart of yours."
"…Who the hell is that?" he wanted to check the gun over but didn't dare take his eyes off the Chancellor. He was so confused, and he was hearing things he didn't want to think about. He'd always known he was adopted; he'd heard the slurs due to his looks too, but he had never believed it. He couldn't…he couldn't be a Nif.
"Oh, how quickly they forget. But fear not: I've no doubt a reunion would refresh your memory." Ardyn turned and began walking away.
Prompto raised his gun and pointed it after Ardyn, but he'd already vanished; so he lowered and holstered the gun, trying to ignore how weird it felt to have to do that. "I'm gonna find 'em—wherever they are," he whispered, trying to convince himself. He was injured, inside an enemy installation and outside was likely more freezing weather, the odds were not looking good. But he would not just quit, it didn't matter what that bastard said, he would find the guys, and everything would go back to normal. It had to. He took a steadying breath and left the room, walking as quietly as he could.
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Ardyn watched the boy as he made his way through the facility, finding the papers he had left out for him. Destroying his friends would help prepare dear Noctis for what must be done. This one would be easy. Though he did wonder, would the boy submit, accept what he was made to be, or would he fight it till the end? It would be interesting to watch and see. He had his role to play in breaking the clone, so he left to find a certain infected scientist.
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It felt like he had been walking for days, his mind spinning with everything he had seen and read. He felt sick, lost… He made his way up the stairs at the back of a new room, only to find himself looking through glass into another room filled with more glass cylinders containing figures that resembled him as well as some MTs laying on the floor, seemingly dead, while a few others stood dormant along the perimeter of the room. He frowned, glancing through the glass while crouching to remain out of sight.
"My friend, do you recall the child who was stolen from this facility?" that was Ardyn's voice and he hunched down more, listening closely.
"The one those Lucians absconded with?" He could practically hear the sneer in the new man's voice. Prompto couldn't help leaning up a bit to look, seeing a man in a white coat, a scientist?
"Precisely. I thought you might like to see the fine young man he's become these twenty odd years later. So, as thanks for bringing your pets to Insomnia, I've brought the boy to you." Ardyn suddenly turned toward the glass where Prompto was watching from and he froze, blue eyes wide, could he see him through the glass? "The time has come to meet your maker. Any questions for daddy dearest? Father and son! Oh, how I love bringing families together."
"No… It's not true. You're wrong, dammit!" Prompto staggered back and into a control panel before scrambling out of the room. "I don't care what he says. This place will never be my home. My "home" is in Lucis—not here," he choked out, cradling his broken arm, fighting the urge to cry. He didn't belong here; he wasn't one of those thing…he wasn't! But…maybe…that was why Noctis had attacked him? He shook his head, no…Noctis wouldn't do that to him, over something he couldn't change. He'd grown up in Insomnia, he was Crownsguard, he would die to keep Noct safe and Noctis knew that….didn't he?
Prompto opened another door and entered the room where he saw Ardyn and Verstael with his weapon raised; only Verstael was there now, his back turned away from Prompto.
"What's the matter? Have you never seen a man turn before?" the man asked, turning to face him and Prompto's gun wavered as he stared in horror. The right side of his face was daemonified. "If those Lucians hadn't intervened, you could have turned, too," he explained and Prompto tried to reign in his horror and fear.
"Why me?" he demanded, and the man smirked.
"Because you were cloned from this genius's genes, born of my own flesh and blood. You are but one of millions created to serve our great empire in the magitek infantry."
"Created…to serve you?" no…it couldn't be true! It couldn't be! He wasn't some fake human made in a lab!
"Yes—and now you've finally come home to Niflheim, my son."
Prompto fired a shaky warning shot as the man approached. "Shut up!" Prompto hung his head, his gun still pointed aloft for a moment before letting it hang by his side. "You're wrong… I'm a Lucian!" he weakly denied, tears falling silently. "I am not one of your experiments!"
Verstael began slowly walking toward Prompto, enjoying his torment. "Not anymore. Now, you're nothing but a failure. I ought to return you whence you came. Perhaps then you might serve some useful purpose." He reached out to grab Prompto.
"Never!" He raised his gun and pointed it at Verstael, who laughed.
"With your help, my ascension to divinity is now all but complete," his voice had taken on a daemonic echo and Prompto's gun slipped down as he stared in horror. He reached out and grabbed Prompto's shoulder and the young man groaned in pain, it was his left shoulder, jarring his arm. "Soon, neither the kings of Lucis nor the gods themselves will be able to challenge my reign!" he reached out and grabbed Prompto's face with his daemonfied arm and Prompto screamed.
Prompto felt light headed, the man's touch burned, and he struggled to raise his gun, firing instinctively, a cloud of dark smoke emerged from where Prompto's shot pierced Verstael's chest. Verstael groaned and fell onto his back; Prompto looked down at him in shock for a moment before dropping his gun and falling to his knees, head swimming.
A gasp of faux horror came from behind him. "Look what you've done. You've gone homicidal—no, patricidal!"
"No…" Prompto moaned.
"You lose your friends and murder your family. Now you've no one left!" Ardyn laughed as he came up behind him, placing a hand on his left shoulder. "Don't worry dear Prompto, it's in your nature." He squeezed and Prompto whimpered in pain before his body went limp, the pain overwhelming him. Ardyn let go and watched him crumple to the ground beside his 'father'. "Well, that was rather easy." He summoned MT"s to collect the boy, this base was no longer secure, and he needed his bait in the right place before beginning the real work.
The boy was drugged to keep him unconscious for the trip to Zegnautus Keep. The scientists were there and waiting to perform the procedure. It would be very interesting to observe and then he would get to see the horror and betrayal on dear Noctis' face when he was allowed to find his 'friend'.
When they arrived he was carried into the room and his clothing removed before he was restrained to the table. "Are you ready?"
"Yes Chancellor…we are ready to perform the procedure. Though…we cannot guarantee conscious throughout as you wished."
"Ah, do not be concerned," Ardyn grinned. "Bring him around," he ordered.
One of the scientist quickly inserted a catheter into a vein in the boy's right arm, removing the needle to attach the IV tubing which led back to a bag of fluids. He quickly added a shot of counter agent to the drugs the boy had previously been given. Soon his eyes were fluttering, head lolling, as he began coming around. The scientists moved around him, attaching various sensors and equipment.
Prompto slowly became aware to find he couldn't move, and he was naked. He struggled weakly but he couldn't get free. His broken arm was screaming in agony, both arms extended out straight away from his body, his legs also spread apart. He could feel the sting of a catheter in his right arm and hated to think what it was pumping into his body. He was terrified, exposed, he could hear other people moving about, maybe? He didn't know what was real and what was in his head anymore. He'd bene in a room….he'd shot the man…hadn't he? It was hard to focus, thoughts sluggish….drugged….he was drugged…how long had he been here? He had to…he had to hold on, they were coming for him, weren't they? He heard a tool of some sort start up and felt his breathing pick up.
"It is time to join your family, 05953234," Ardyn told him, smirking, and Prompto felt sick.
No…he wasn't one of them, he wasn't. He closed his eyes, trying to block out that mocking voice, the noise and then he screamed, unable to hold it in, writhing in his bonds. He gasped, choking, trying to lift his head to see what the hell they were doing to him. He gagged and a tube was forced into his throat, past it he could see as they pulled back the skin of his chest and his mind went blank, eyes rolling back but then there was a jolt and he was fully conscious again, trying to scream around the tube that was apparently dealing with his need to vomit. They were cutting him open and not letting him pass out. What were they doing to him? Noct…where was Noct…why wasn't he stopping them? Tears flowed freely from his eyes as he moaned and screamed around the tube. Someone was speaking but the words made no sense to him. They lifted something up and he screamed again as he realised what it was…part of his ribs…and then something else was lifted out, cut free…..an organ…they were dissecting him alive! Why couldn't he pass out?
His mind drifted, consumed by pain, unable to give in to the blackness that hovered just out of reach. He tried not to look but then a strap was pressed across his forehead, securing his head at the angle necessary to ensure it was all he could see. Whenever he tried to close his eyes there was a jolt of something that felt even worse than the agony. He was forced to watch as they removed organ after organ, he'd recognised some from science class when he could sort of focus. He just wanted the pain to end…
"Can you hear me 05953234?"
The voice….he moaned around the tube, eyes rolling as he tried to see who it was. He knew the voice, didn't he?
"That's good. I am sorry to be putting you through this, but we simply do not have the time for the normal method. Soon you will never feel pain again and be ready to join your brothers in serving out glorious army."
No pain? He wanted that; he wanted the pain to stop. Brothers? Vague memories swam through his mind, three men…his brothers?
"Sir? The first stage is complete," a different voice sounded from a distance.
"Very good, proceed."
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Noctis, Ignis and Gladio sat in the dining car of the train as it headed for Gralea. The two retainers did not like the melancholy that had fallen over Noctis since Prompto had fallen. He had refused to say much about what had happened, just that the Chancellor had been there as well.
"We should be drawing close to Gralea," Ignis finally pointed out.
"Yeah," Noctis answered listlessly, eyes fixed on the table.
"I can't imagine what it'll be like," Gladio tried to keep the conversation going and Noctis just shrugged.
"Swarming with daemons, but you knew that."
"Once we arrive, we'll make for the Keep," Ignis began planning, unable to see as Noctis raised his head, finally paying more attention.
"The Keep?"
"Zegnautus. An imperial mega fortress said to be impregnable."
"With Prompto and the Crystal inside it," Noctis whispered, hands balled into fists. Prompto…he had to be alive, he just had to. He was worth more to Ardyn alive as bait then dead, that was what he had to tell himself anyway. If he was dead then Noctis would never forgive himself for falling for that blasted illusion. How had he not realised Ardyn's speech was off?
"What goes in, must come out," Gladio told him before they fell into silence, listening to the train as it flew over the tracks. "So, are we buying this story that the Crystal can purge daemons?"
"The proof is in the purging, but it does stand to reason. We've observed that as the nights have grown longer, the daemon hordes have grown stronger. If they are in fact averse to the Crystal's Light, it could save not only Lucis, but the world," Ignis offered, eyes hidden behind shades aimed in his general direction.
"We'll find out once we take it back," Noctis agreed before grabbing the table as the train screeched to a holt, throwing a hand out to help Ignis keep his seat.
"The hell?" Gladio grunted.
"What is it?" Ignis looked around, trying to work out from sound and touch what was happening. He was adjusting to his blindness but there were times he forgot and tried to see what was around him.
"My guess? Something to side-track us." Gladio answered as they got up and moved through the train before the windows suddenly cracked, the train shaking. "What now?"
"City's trying to keep us out…with the daemons," Biggs' voice came over the PA.
"Whoa-whoa," Gladio was not impressed to see the small daemons beginning to swarm across the train.
"Gotta run! Don't worry about us," Biggs called to them as a daemon broke through the glass.
It landed in front of Noctis and the others and he held out his hand to tell Gladiolus to move back, then attempted to conjure a weapon into his hand. "Let's get to work…" he then looked at his hand in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"The weapons…they're stuck!" Could anything else go wrong? Nothing had gone right for them since they left Insomnia, but it had been getting worse and worse leading to Prompto falling and now he couldn't access the Armiger.
"Get back!" Gladiolus pulled Noctis away from the now charging daemon and kicked it in the face.
"Run!" Ignis began retreating.
"C'mon, move it!" Gladio shoved the still shocked Noctis into moving towards the back of the train.
"Only a matter of time before we run out of room to run!" Ignis warned as they retreated through another carriage.
"Got a better idea?" Noctis grunted as he ducked and slammed a tray into a daemons face, stunning it. He hadn't realised how out of practice fighting without being able to warp he had gotten.
"We trade the train for the Regalia!" Ignis answered as he ducked, lashing out with his cane. He couldn't see his attackers, but they were rather noisy, letting him track them by sound.
The trio made it to the Regalia and Noct got into the driver's seat while Gladio got in the passenger's seat and Ignis in the back. It felt strange for Ignis not to be driving but it was just another thing he would never do again.
"Strap in," Noctis warned as he started the engine, the door the freight carriage open.
"Gun it!" Gladio yelled as the daemons approached.
Noct drove the Regalia out of the freight car and out onto the train tracks; an automated
"Threat upgraded. Activating level 4 security measures. Sealing all gates," an automated voice announced and Noctis swore. They were not locking him out, not when he was so close!
"Where are we now!?" Ignis asked, gripping tight to the back of Gladio's seat.
"Inside a tunnel—on the train tracks!"
"Don't slow down, or they'll catch us up!" Gladio yelled to be heard over the wind since the top was down.
"Going as fast as I can—hang on!" Noctis snapped as they came out of the tunnel only to come under fire from artillery. Wonderful. What else did they have to throw at them?
"What was that!?" Ignis almost yelped as something hit the car.
"They're trying to blow us off the tracks," Noctis answered, forcing himself to calm down and focus on driving as artillery continued to strike around the Regalia.
"One clean hit and it's over," Gladio warned tightly.
"It'll take a bit more than that to stop His Majesty's trusty steed," Ignis argued and Noctis turned them out.
As more artillery strikes began hitting their mark; an imperial drop ship could be seen falling out of the sky.
"Dodging one thing to run into another," Gladio grumbled.
"The Regalia can take the punishment. Just focus on your driving," at least Ignis was trying to be encouraging.
"You can do it, girl. You can get through this," Noctis whispered to the car, one of the few things he had left from his Dad. He had the sinking feeling she would soon be gone too. He saw the gate ahead and tried to urge some more speed out of her. "C'mon, old girl…" he grinned as they sped through the closing gate before a last strike hit the car, briefly engulfing it in flame. Noctis brought the car to a screeching halt on the other side of the gate near the debris of a train car that stretched across the width of the bridge, one end propped up above the tracks. The Regalia sat sizzling on the tracks, all its windows shattered; it had taken its final run.
"That's all she's got," Gladio said for Ignis' benefit as he got out.
"It'll do," Noctis whispered, gently running his hands over the steering wheel before getting out as well. They began walking but he turned to look back at the car one last time, recalling a memory from childhood of his father stepping out of the car and embracing him. "Dad… Thanks for everything."
"Are we seriously marching into the capital empty-handed?" Gladio asked after a while.
"And with no assurances the Crystal can beat back the daemon hordes," Ignis pointed out.
"Guess we'll find out the hard way. No turning back now, right?"
"No, first we find Prompto, then we get the Crystal," Noctis stared firmly.
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Ardyn looked away as an alert sounded, moving to see what was going on. "Well, it appears they're moving faster than anticipated," he murmured before activating an intercom. "Look at you. All by your lonesome," he taunted the Prince.
"You again. You know, for an imperial chancellor, you are one sick son of a bitch."
He chuckled at the Princes' snapped comment and then turned to the scientists who were working on young Prompto. There was nothing human left of his torso other than the flesh. Complex wires and tubes snaked through the cavity, pumping the Scourge through him in place of human blood. Various pieces of machinery had replaced his organs, keeping the body functioning and from rotting. The limbs were currently being reinforced with metal, making him stronger. The last step was to be his mind and Ardyn leant over to stare into vacant blue eyes. He had stopped responding a while ago and he wondered how broken the poor boys mind now was. The tube had been removed from his throat, but he hadn't tried to speak, only the occasional moan or whimper coming from chapped and bloody lips. There was something exciting about taking this one apart piece by piece, taking Noctis' dear friend from him.
"Once the work is complete you are free to leave," he told the scientist with a kind smile and they thanked him profusely. He hid a smirk, they would never leave the Keep alive, they were as infected as everyone else here had been. "I trust you can finish without my attendance. I have a certain Prince Noctis to entertain while you work." With a last look at the new MT on the table, he left the room. This way was less satisfying than slowly infecting the children and watching them convert as they grew until they could power MT armour, this was better under the circumstances. Much more devastating for it to where the face of their friend when the boys found him.
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"I have a certain Prince Noctis to entertain while you work."
Prince…Noctis….Noct…he blinked slowly, the words sinking through his mind sluggishly. Noct…he knew that word…Noctis….his Prince….friend….brother…he blinked again, eyes slowly focusing as he fought against the fog. He was…05953234…no…Prompto…he was Prompto…he was Noct's….
"Turn his head to the right and make the incision."
Head…incision…yeah…no. Unseen by the scientists his hand balled into a fist, the restraints, straining against newly strengthened limbs.
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Noctis began squeezing his way through a gap between boxes and then he heard it.
"Noct! Help me!" Prompto screamed.
Noctis scrambled to move faster, making it into the other room only to immediately be attacked by an uttu daemon and two rogue axemen. "Get out of my way!" he snarled. This place was a horror show. He hadn't seen a single person, just daemons and freaky MT's. he got through some more stacked crates and found Prompto slumped in a chair, rushing to his side. He touched his shoulder and the illusion shattered, revealing a dead MT which collapsed from the chair at his touch. "Another trick! Back to square one…" he kicked the chair in frustration.
"That's one of my personal favourites. You should have seen the look on your face. You'd best hurry. Next time, it might really be your friend," Ardyn taunted as Noctis wandered the halls. "Are you certain it wasn't the real thing? Wouldn't want to make a mistake." Ardyn chuckled as Noctis was stopped in his tracks by a locked door. "Oh, it's just so unfair!"
Noctis did his best to ignore him as he found an elevator that would take him up and then walked across a bridge leading to Zegnautus Keep's central elevator.
"Your heart's desire, so close now. Soon it will be within your grasp. I suggest you take the central elevator. It will take you to your goal."
"Aren't you helpful now," Noctis mumbled under his breath, and that really worried him. What was he doing to Prompto while keeping him wandering endless halls?
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Ardyn entered the room to see 05953234 lying on the table, unrestrained, still naked, body stitched closed. He chuckled when he saw an empty white coat and blood around the room. Two MT's moved in to clean the blood off their brother, redressing the limp body, before hauling it up and towards the prepared cell. He was strapped into the contraption that was centred in the cell, arms out to the side, limbs locked into heavy cuffs, his head hanging limp. Ardyn took out a potion and broke it in 05953234's hand, letting it heal the surgical wounds, and then the MT"s attacked, creating the appearance of torture on his skin. "05953234 you will act unconscious and then incapacitate Prince Noctis once released. Bring him to me and kill anyone else. Do you understand?"
The blonde head slowly lifted to reveal blue eyes, lacking the spark of defiance the boy had held. "Unit 05953234, orders understood," he answered tonelessly.
Ardyn laughed. "Good boy." He patted him on the head, pushing it back down and the MT went limp in its bonds. He wondered how long the eyes would remain blue with the amount of daemon blood now in its system, but it didn't really matter.
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He hung limp in the restraints, vaguely aware the pull should be hurting but he felt nothing. Thinking was hard, his head foggy. 05953234….the man had called him that…he was…he was Prompto…he would not obey. He had to stay still, he could be watching, had to make him think he was his puppet until they found him. Noctis… Ignis… Gladio…. friends… brothers… he would not hurt them! The scientists had underestimated him, he had killed them. He hadn't been able to get free quick enough to fully stop them, there was something in his head, something that was giving him information, but he had stopped them from putting in the control unit…he guessed the name gave away its function, the way to control him. It was getting easier to think now, the installed unit filtering his thoughts, memories, clearing them. He was Prompto Argentum.
They had ripped him apart, remade him into an abomination but he would not betray his King. Noctis was his friend…he loved him. Or he had loved him, was he still capable of human emotion or just remembering it? Not like he had a heart anymore. He'd been aware for the brain surgery, he knew his brain was still mostly organic so surely that meant his emotions were real, current? He felt no regret over killing the scientists, he had looked at them and just known, they were transforming into daemons, he had actually done them a favour by sparing them that. Mercy was a human emotion; he was still human enough to feel that. Would…would they still accept him if they knew what had been done to him? Could he tell them? Would they let him explain? He hadn't wanted this, hadn't known what the barcode meant. His body was changed but he was still him, wasn't he? Could he hide this? Would he even be able to enter a Haven or use potions anymore? Did he bleed red or black? He fought back a shudder that might give him away even as he heard noise….voices approaching.
"Prompto!" Noctis cried out, was it really him or a test? "Come on, get this thing open!" the Prince snarled, and he heard the cell door being ripped open. "Prom? Can you hear me? We're here to get you out," Noctis called gently, his voice getting closer. "How do we get him out of this thing?"
"Easy Noct, slow down. We don't want to hurt him worse," Gladio's voice said.
Then there was a warm hand against his face, and it felt so good. He slowly opened his eyes to be met with dark blue eyes narrowed in concern. The restraints released and he collapsed to the ground but then Noctis was there, helping him to his knees and he couldn't help leaning into him. He hadn't attacked him…despite the Chancellor's orders, so they definitely hadn't gotten the control unit in.
"Hey, you alright?" Gladio asked in concern, hovering.
"Are you hurt? Do you need help?" Ignis spoke up and Prompto looked at him, right, he was blind now, he'd forgotten that.
"I'm fine," he forced the lie out, keeping his head down. "Thank you, Noct," his voice was scratchy from the tube and screaming. "Tell me. Were you worried about me?"
"Of course I was. What kind of question is that?" Noctis whispered shakily, hand moving back to Prompto's face, trying to urge him to look up, to look at him.
If the Chancellor was watching he had to know something had gone wrong by now, which meant they were running out of time. He should get up, get them moving and yet he stayed down, emotions overwhelming him. "Of course. That's why you came, like I believed you would."
"Prompto…"
"That's why I told myself I couldn't die. Not until I could see you and hear you tell me I'm not a fake—that I'm the real me," he was babbling, he could feel tears in his eyes, real tears since they hadn't done anything to his head other than that one surgery. He was still human enough to cry.
"I'm sorry," Noctis whispered and Prompto lifted his head, mustering a teary smile.
"Don't be. Everything's alright now," he wished it was, it would never be alright again but for right now, he could pretend. He could pretend he was still human, that Noctis would always care about him.
"Can you walk?" Ignis asked and Prompto nodded before remembering he couldn't see that.
"Think so," he said and then let Gladio and Noct pull him to his feet.
They moved slowly towards the central area of the Keep, strangely unmolested and Prompto assumed it meant the Chancellor was either having to rework his plans or hadn't realised Prompto wasn't his MT yet.
"Noct, do you hear that?" Ignis asked, head cocked and Prompto could hear it as well, an odd sound.
"Hear what?" Noctis asked in confusion.
"I've heard this sound before—on the train, just before your weapons failed you. It's nearby, and it may hold the key to restoring your power," Ignis explained, walking towards where he could hear the noise. "It's here."
Noctis stopped at the large closed metal doors in the centre of the enormous room. "This thing?" he pressed his hands against the doors, but they didn't move. "Door's locked."
"It's coming from within. Is there no way through?" Ignis asked.
Prompto spotted the scanner and took a deep breath, absently wondering how when he remembered them removing his lungs. For a second he had thought he would die but something had kept his body going anyway. He shook the memory off, there was only one way through these doors. "There's a way," he spoke up, feeling their eyes on him as he stepped up to the scanner and raised the back of his right wrist to it; the doors sliding open. He stared off into the room, unable to make eye contact with the others. "So, MTs… They've got those codeprints…just like I do."
"Do they? Never looked," Noctis admitted.
"Yeah… So, as it turns out…I'm one of them. Not exactly something I could tell people growing up in Lucis," he was going to cry, he could feel the tears, he couldn't bear to tell them more. "Still… You guys are like…the only friends I've ever known. I just hope that things can stay the way they were."
"Whatever. Who cares where you were born?" Noct scoffed and Prompto dared to look at him.
"I don't see you turning against us. Not now, or ever," Ignis agreed and Prompto swallowed, if only he knew how close he'd come to having no choice in that.
"Thanks, guys. Still…I can't change where I came from. What I am," he choked out.
"Since when does where you come from matter to you? You never once treated me as a prince," Noct playfully punched Prompto's shoulder, very gently with all the bruises littering his skin.
"He's got you there," Gladio smirked.
"Never so much as a 'Highness'," Ignis chuckled.
"We're done here. C'mon, crown citizen," Noctis called over his shoulder as he entered the room.
Gladio stepped over to Ignis to help guide him into the room; he gave Prompto's shoulder a friendly smack as they walked past. "You're one of us, right?"
Ignis stopped and turned back toward Prompto over his shoulder. "Unless you'd rather not be."
Prompto smiled softly, wiping the tears from his eyes. They still accepted him despite being from Niflheim. He just couldn't bring himself to tell them the rest, not yet.
Inside the room, they found the emperor's abandoned clothing laying upon the throne; and Prompto knew what that meant, he, too, had become a daemon. They also found a large bank of computers, the cause of Noctis's lost powers; Noctis rammed his father's sword through the machines.
"So…did it work?" Prompto asked, curious. Could he even still access the Armiger now?
"With the device down and out, Noct's power should be up and running."
"Go on, try it," Gladio urged.
"Alright. Moment of truth." Noctis held out his hand and conjured a sword; Prompto clapped in celebration.
"We're back, baby," Gladio crowed.
"Now the Crystal?" Ignis asked.
"No, we need to rest," Noctis answered, he didn't look at Prompto, but he knew he was the reason.
"I can keep going Noct," he promised.
"I know, but we've all been running around for days. I spotted a dormitory back there; we can barricade it and take turns on watch." They followed Noctis the dormitory and pushed a set of bunkbeds across the door before Gladio settled in to keep watch and Ignis settled down to sleep. Prompto sat on another, wondering if he could still sleep. Noctis approached hesitantly and then sat on the bed. "Hey, I'm…sorry," he whispered.
"For what?" why wasn't he sitting closer?
"For falling right into his trap…and for hurting you like that," Noctis stared at his hands in his lap and Prompto slowly reached out to put his hand over his.
"You're not the only one who fell for it," he promised, he'd seen so many things since the fall and he knew the Chancellor had been responsible, trying to break him.
"Once this is all over, I say we break down the borders—come together as one nation. I mean, what does it matter where you're from anyway?" he offered and Prompto smiled.
"Y'know, I never thought I'd say this, but you sounded like a real king for a second," he teased gently.
Noct appeared surprised by the comment and lifted his head to look at his friend; Prompto grinned. "Better late than never. I'm gonna make this world a better place. You with me?" Noctis finally smiled.
"Uh-huh. Ever at your side," his grin softened to a smile and he hesitantly shifted closer.
Noctis smiled and pulled him close, careful of his bruises before gently kissing him. Everything would be okay now, he had saved Prompto, he would stay with him.
Prompto clung to him, kissing him back, this…this felt so normal, so human. He smiled as his body reacted, simulating heavier breathing, a racing pulse, every normal reaction to kissing Noctis. They hadn't taken this from him. "I love you," he whispered shakily and Noct smiled, hand in his hair, their foreheads pressed against each other.
"Love you too."
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The last demon fell and the three turned to race for the room where the Crystal was. Had something gone wrong? Nothing had happened where they were, and they were terrified for their King. Prompto, Ignis and Gladiolus arrived in the room only to see the light of the crystal, the vague outline of Noctis being dragged into the crystal.
"Noctis!" Prompto screamed, lunging forward but the light vanished and with it all sign of Noctis.
Ardyn turned to them, gestures nonchalantly at the Crystal and began to walk away; Gladiolus swung his sword through Ardyn's head, releasing a puff of dark smoke from where the blade struck and Ardyn fell back a little, but maintained his balance and held onto his hat to keep it from falling off his head. He continued walking away; and Prompto snarled, shooting Ardyn in the back before he could take more than a couple of steps, releasing another puff of dark smoke and hurling his body onto the floor; Ardyn's hat rolled away and lay still for several seconds before Ardyn's hand suddenly reached down to collect it and place it back on his head. Once more unharmed, Ardyn was again standing; he smiled at Ignis, revealing corrupted daemonic features as he did so, but it went unnoticed since Ignis was blind. Ardyn walked away, leaving Noctis's closest friends unharmed but devastated.
Prompto collapsed to his hands and knees, sobbing uncontrollably. No…it wasn't meant to be like this! Was this his fault? Eventually Gladio pulled him up and he stumbled along behind them as they retreated, mind blank with shock and grief even as tactical information streamed through it, allowing him to shoot perfectly.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
He was intrigued. Somehow, 05953234 had disobeyed….or had he? He had led Noctis to him, although not incapacitated. And he had kept the others facing the daemon hoard where they should have died. Perhaps, they had created an MT that could creatively follow orders and act human, if so it was a pity they could not replicate the procedure. Then again, he no longer needed them. He could destroy 05953234 but why bother? Either it would ensure the deaths of the other two or they would discover its secret and destroy it. Why expend the energy himself? He had a final battle to prepare for. To someone who had lived as long as him, a decade was not long at all.
The End.