Chapter One: Hesitation

As of 22nd February 2018, all chapters have been replaced with new, improved, thoroughly proof read versions ?

"Noct! There are imperials overhead!" Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum groaned in his frustration as his advisor called out the same unnecessary warning as always; it wasn't like anybody could miss the roar of an engine and the dark shadows cast by an Imperial Airship racing through the sky. The group looked up at the carrier full of soldiers that loomed above, ready to descend on them. The three were quick to draw their weapons as they prepared themselves for yet another fight.

The travelling mini-army lowered a little, before with the horrible sound of grinding gears the hatch opened up like a gaping mouth. Around two dozen Magitek Troopers jumped out and fell to the ground, their mechanical bodies contorting and crumbling as they absorb the force of the impact. The troopers were quick to straighten back up and activate their mechanical weapons, their purpose being to kill the Prince and his retinue.

Noctis always had wondered how a carefully constructed pile of nuts and bolts could possibly be so flexible, but as the battle started he pushed the question to the back of his mind. There's a lot he doesn't understand about the MT's: how they could recover from falls from such extreme heights, why their bodies evaporate once destroyed and most importantly how Niflheim could possibly program a mechanical soldier to be able to react so fluidly in battles. Brute force wasn't all the MT's have going for them; they can react to situations, adapt. Learn. Not even Lucis' top mechanics could program a machine to act like that, and yet Niflheim could somehow produce a seemingly endless army of these mechanical soldiers. It was odd, but yet another unanswered question about the MT's that Noctis threw to the growing pile of mysteries that would likely never be solved.

The battle was relatively quick: it took Noctis only one warp strike to fell one mechanical soldier, and once he felt his magic waning he resorted to the good old hack n' slash methods instead. Gladiolus sent the machines flying with strong, broad sweeps of his greatsword. Ignis was quick to finish off the troopers that were left vulnerable, initiating close combat with his trusty daggers. The Magitek Troopers had proven difficult to deal with when they'd first begun raining from the sky, but by now Noctis and his two companions were quite used to their attacks and proficient in dealing with them. The MT's seemed almost laughable foes now, compared to the threat they'd posed only a month ago when the Empire had first begun sending Imperial Airships after the Prince.

Two months ago the Empire had tried to storm Insomnia, aiming to steal the coveted crystal held inside the crown city. However they had been unable to penetrate the Great Wall, which King Regis had valiantly upheld throughout the assault. The Empire had been hitting it with everything they had, but it hadn't been enough to break the magic of the Lucis line. Angered by their humiliating defeat, Niflheim instead focused their attentions on Noctis himself, starting their campaign to kill or if possible capture the Crown Prince. The Empire had theorised that with no Prince and King Regis growing weaker by the day, the King would eventually die from the strain of upholding the wall and Insomnia would fall into chaos without a new King to crown. Niflheim planned on making their move during that moment of weakness, crushing Insomnia in its mechanical grip. First they needed to kill Noctis. So far, their attempts had all been unsuccessful.

King Regis had been understandably reluctant to let Noctis outside of Insomnia in fear his only son would be captured or killed by Niflheim. However, after weeks of persuasion the Prince had eventually convinced his father to allow him to leave the Crown City and explore the world. Regis had found some comfort as he'd heard that Noctis would be bringing Gladiolus and Ignis along for the journey and had eventually seen his son on his way with the gift of the Regalia. The car had served as Regis' reliable companion in the King's younger years, when he had set out on a journey of his own. He'd hoped that the car would serve his son just as faithfully.

Noctis reminded himself -as the Imperial Airship retreated into the sky and flew off- that when he'd set out he'd known that all this would happen. He'd been fully aware that he'd be hunted by the Empire, and he'd accepted it then. He accepted it now, too: no matter how frustrating the constant attacks were he'd persevere, all so he can be a good King when the time comes. The young Prince felt as though he couldn't achieve that lofty goal until he's seen and thoroughly explored the land he will one day rule.

The Prince took a step back from the battleground as Ignis despatched the last Magitek Trooper, or so he first assumed. Noctis' sharp eyes caught onto something shiny in the forest, and looking closer he realised that it was the armour of one last MT. A runaway?

"Gladio, Ignis. There's one more. Let's get it."

Upon the affirmative nod from his two teammates Noctis threw his sword hard into the forest, his aim impeccable after years of relentless training. A flash of blue light and crystal shards later and the Prince kicked the Trooper hard in the side, watching as it was sent stumbling back a few steps. Engine Blade in hand Noctis readied himself for a fight as the soldier straightened itself up, gripping it's rifle. A marksman then. Noctis was surprised that the machine didn't immediately try to blow his brains out. By now Noct was used to the MT's taking every possible chance to land a hit on him. So why hadn't this one tried to shoot him yet?

No matter, he decided, as he heard the footsteps of Ignis and Gladiolus, the two just now catching up to him after his warping. Noctis readied his engine blade to cut the machine in half, only to pause as the trooper appeared to stumble backwards at the sight of his sword. The action was odd enough in itself: machines like this don't stumble, their movements were supposed to be graceful and fluid, without hesitation. Stumbling away like this was an act done in fear, of an instinctual need for self preservation, but Magitek Troopers weren't supposed to feel any of that. It was impossible.

The retreat was odd enough, but what surprised Noctis and his companions more was when the trooper let out a noise. It was the sound all MTs make: a mechanical garbling that sounded like a cellphone was dropped into a particularly vicious blender. While this noise was just as indistinguishable it was odd to hear it at all. Usually the troopers stay silent. So why was this one choosing now, of all times, to make noise?

"Hey Noct, what's taking you so long?" Noctis glanced up at Gladio for a moment as his Shield spoke, the Prince feeling confident enough in his skills to take his eyes off of the Trooper for a few moments. It hadn't attacked yet, and when it does he's sure he or either one of his friends could kill it in one blow.

"Sorry, I just.. don't you think it's acting weird?" He asked, watching as the Magitek Trooper took a few more hesitant steps back. Whether or not machines even had the capacity for things such as hesitation Noctis wasn't sure. "It should have tried to kill us by now, right? So why isn't it attacking?"

Gladiolus raised an eyebrow at the sudden questions from his Prince. He only noticed the Trooper's out of place behaviour now that Noctis had pointed it out. Still he didn't find it all that strange, not enough to warrant such reluctance to kill the thing at least.

"Are you going soft?" Gladiolus teased, before he summoned his Greatsword from the ether and took a step forward. "Whatever. I'll kill it myself if you're gonna be such a pansy"

The Trooper's reaction was both unexpected and unprecedented: the mechanical Soldier, instead of trying to attack like expected, turned right around and started to run. It tripped it's way over the thick foliage of the forest floor, mechanical legs not built for such terrain. What the three found particularly extraordinary about this was how the Trooper was turning its back to them for the second time, leaving itself wide open and exposed to their attacks. Just to get away. Never in all the battles they'd faced against the MT's had a soldier turned its back on the them. This Magitek Trooper was the first.

Gladio made to chase after the fleeing machine, only to stop at Noctis' hand on his shoulder. The Shield looked down at his Prince in silent question; Noctis only shook his head in response, sword disappearing from his hands in a burst of blue shards. "Don't. It's not worth the effort. Besides... it's running away. Let's just let it go"

Gladiolus was surprised at that, falling silent for a few moments as if debating the Prince's words. He eventually sighed with a slight nod of the head. He let his Greatsword disappear, Ignis' daggers doing the same. "Fine, it can just get torn apart by beasts or whatever. You really are going soft, you know that?"

Noctis only glared in response, and soon enough the three were continuing their journey to Lestallum. Even as they trudged through forests and muddy paths Noctis was unable to stop his mind from wandering back to the strange Magitek Trooper. It was just a machine, he reminds himself. A pile of nuts, bolts and metal, all held together by magic and -according to what he'd heard- a daemon. That's all, that's all it was. Just another Magitek Trooper.

Notes: Insomnia never fell and Regis isn't dead, so big change there. Also sorry if the chapters are a little short for some people. I knew I had to write at least one FFXV fanfiction so this is my first, and I just wanted to see an MT Prompto not fit in with the other dangerous MTs (':