Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting

Day one for FFXVWeek

Prompt: Frozen in Time

If people want more for this one, then let me know, and I shall continue it at a later time, bur for now I'll label it as complete. Hope you enjoy. :D

He stretched his arms up, the popping from each shoulder resounding in his ears as he relished in the relief of the sensation. Next were his legs, and Prompto let out a satisfied moan as he worked the stiffness form those. He had no issues with camping, but they weren't exactly the most comfortable to wake up to. And, slowly, he opened his eyes and took a quick around to find only him an Noctis still in the tent, no surprise there as they were usually the last two up. Also like always, he took his precious time in actually waking up, giving his mind and body time to adjust to the whole 'being awake' thing. Of course, the smell of cooking bacon and eggs did provide some motivation for the blond.

Pulling the blanket from his form, he painstakingly worked his way to his feet, careful not to disturb the prince in the process. "Easy does it," he whispered as he tip-toed around and crept his way out the entrance. Success. He shielded his eyes from the assaulting rays as he stepped farther, the sounds of the other two going about their daily routine and the sizzling of the portable grill doing its job reached his still adjusting hearing.

"Morning," Gladio grunted from a few feet away; he had one hand behind his back as he worked on doing one-handed push-ups.

Prompto waved a hand, "Yeah, good morning," he replied, taking one of the seats and gazed at the adviser's back. "Soooo, what's the plan for today?" he asked, pursing his lips as he attempted to start a casual conversation.

Ignis flipped one of the eggs and glanced over his shoulder, "Not much, same as the previous days," he sighed, "Head towards the next tomb."

"I thought so," the blond replied, and slid down in his chair, "Guess I was just hoping for something a bit different today." He shrugged, pushing himself to his feet, already growing bored of sitting there. "Well, I'm off to get some shots real quick, not often to get views like this," he gestured to the sky around them.

With another grunt, Gladio switched arms, "You get them everyday if you just wake up early enough," he informed a bit snidely.

"Ehhhh," was the only response he got, the sound of his light footsteps swiftly departing, and from the pattern of it, he could only assume he was more or less skipping away.

"Do try to be back soon," Ignis half pointed to him with his spatula, "As soon as everyone eats, I want to be leaving, so that means no dilly-dallying," he turned his focus to Gladio, "And you should go wake his Highness up, if you will."

He barely caught the last few words, his eyes too preoccupied and taking all energy from any other senses as they searched for that sweet spot, flitting from one vantage point to another until they landed on a rather large gathering of boulders. It would take some effort to scale, but he was nearly certain the work would be worth it. With determination in the pit of his stomach, and camera hanging around his neck, itching to be used, he waled over to stand at the base of it all. And, with one limb at a time, he began his ascent.

It didn't take long before he was perched on the lowest of the three, where he decided to sit for a moment, but watching the quickly changing sky, he went against that initial choice and continued on to the next step up. Keeping his goal in mind, he reached the top before he was aware of it and was almost taken aback by the view. Sure, it wasn't that much higher, not compared to where Noctis was able to get, but it was still breath-taking for someone of his skill level.

He took a deep breath, soaking in the crisp morning air while he could, and now that that was out of the way, he readied his camera and took a few test shots before he decided to get serious with it. "Alright, here we go," he whispered to himself as he adjusted the lens, hesitating for a moment when something caught his eye in the distance. And, at first, he turned his camera to make sure he didn't have a spec on it or anything and wiped it down just to be safe. With that done, he aimed again, only to have the same result.

"Huh?" he slowly lowered the device and squinted his eyes against the sun, his naked eye finally able to make it out. As it drew closer, he quickly recognized what it was. "Shit," he muttered, "You have to be kidding me."

The process of climbing down went far faster, albeit a bit less graceful, in his rush to warn the others. The run back went by in a flash, his heart pounding as he barely paid attention to anything other than getting back to the rest of the guys. By the time he reached the camp, he was utterly out of breath, hunched over with his hands on his knees as his free hand flailed and pointed in the opposite direction. "Ignis...Gladio...ships...coming," he paused to catch his breath.

"Out with it," the shield huffed, ceasing his morning exercise to sit up and cross his arms, "Ok, now slowly, what the hell are you on about?"

He took one last deep breath and looked up to the others, his eyes catching sight of Noctis sitting in one of the chairs, still looking rather sluggish. "Imperials," was all he said, needing not say more; they understood very well what that meant. "They're still pretty far away, but they're moving fas-" He was cut off by a slight hum, and jerking his attention up, he froze at the herd of them drawing closer from another direction. "Guys," he uttered, unable to speak louder.

"Yeah, we see it," Noctis replied, the shock of their guests serving to wake him up the rest of the way. By the time Prompto looked back to the prince, he had his blade in hand, as did the others a fraction of a second later and he swiftly followed their example. Gripping his pistol tightly in hand, he abandoned all thoughts of them escaping as the humming increased in volume; there was no way they could sneak away unnoticed.

"I guess we don't have a choice," the blond said to himself, putting some distance between himself and the open area, trying his best to get into position to provide some back-up. "Can't even get a day without them crashing the party, can we?" his heart skipped a beat when the humming ceased its moving to hover just over head; it was eerily drowned out by creaking from the bay door easing open and those cursed red eyes were the first thing he could make out. Holding his breath, he trained his gun on the first machine he could see clearly and held his arms steady before letting loose a few consecutive shots.

Prompto gave a silent cheer as the soldier careened forward and dropped straight down, a resounding 'thud' soon reached his ears. One down, only about a hundred to go, nothing they couldn't handle though. They've taken out more or worse than this, this would be no problem for them. The smile that was slowly creeping onto his face did a full one-eighty at the scream that echoed to his right...one that sounded like Ignis. It took a mere second for him to rip his focus off the ship, his legs carrying him in the direction before his brain could fully process what was happening.

"I-Iggy?" he gasped, dropping down next to the man, read blossoming over his chest on the right side, "H-hey, can...can you hear me?" he blurted, stuttering all over the place. He dropped his gun to apply pressure to the wound. "Gladio!" He called, but his voice didn't get far over the noise of the battle going on around him. His thoughts could hardly be voiced over the blood rushing through his ears.

"Prom-to," his name was broken off by a splutter, the feeling of warm liquid splattered across his face.

"H-hang on, I'm going to, uh, I'm getting some potions," he shakily removed his hands, and pushed himself up to unsteady feet. "I'll be right back," the blond called over his shoulder as he stumbled towards their camp. Now ignoring everything going on around him, he dug through bag after bag, growing panicked and frazzled his his eyes never located what he desperately seeked. "Come on, come on," he pleaded through grit teeth, his gaze flicking over for an instant before landing back on the bag in front of him. And, his blood froze and he gradually looked back over; the man wasn't moving, his chest was dead still.

Everything was silent, the only thing he heard was the ringing the invaded his sense, "...Ignis," he breathed out, dropping the bag. He couldn't breathe, his vision wavered and the only thing that pulled him back to his senses was the sound of Noctis yelling, and it took a few times for him to realize what he was saying.

"Gladio!" He cried out again, the blond carefully turned his head, nausea hitting him as he witnessed the prince rolling his shield over onto his back, the same red hue decorating him that adorned the adviser.

"No," he whispered, "No, no, no," he went back to digging through their things, refusing to believe they were gone; it took more than that to do them in, didn't it? This couldn't be real, they weren't dead, they just weren't. A light growl passed his lips out of frustration and he turned the bag over, dumping its contents all over the ground as he frantically spread them out and glanced over all of it...nothing. There was nothing of use in here.

He looked back up to find Noctis starting to get surrounded, at least fifteen were gathering around him and ships were still coming in...tens of them. "Noct," he tried to call out, but his voice denied him the luxury of shouting loud enough to be heard. He called again, and a repeat, his pleas went unheard. Soon, he lost sight of the prince, and that's when his instincts finally kicked in, and he deserted his task of finding remedies to rush back to the strategist's side where he dropped his weapon.

As he grabbed the gun, he kept his gaze looking away, not wanting to look at Ignis' too still features and quickly made his way closer to his friend. Hesitating for a moment, he searched for any he could shoot that wouldn't put the other man at risk. "Please, don't hit," he mumbled, pulling the trigger once, and down one of the MTs went. A sigh of relief followed by another shot sounded out. And, he did this one after another until the bunch was thinned out. As he whittled them down, he tried not to think about the fact that he still didn't see Noctis. Ignored the realization that there was no other sounds coming from that direction other than his own damage he was dealing. And, he tried to pretend the herd wasn't now turning to face him, clearly losing interest in what they were previously busying themselves with.

Prompto kept the bullets coming, even when he caught sight of the raven out of the corner of his eye, and he never stopped despite that he wasn't moving either. Backing up, he glanced at Gladio, who was still lying on his back, his face gazing up lifelessly to the sky. Back now against a tree, the blond cut his focus to Ignis, crimson now dying the entirety of the front of his shirt. And, he stopped his attacking; what was the point. Even if he ran and made it out of here, why kind of life could he live knowing he let the rest of them die. There was no life, this was it, it was the only life he cared for. His gun struck the ground, his breaths came out quick and shallow as he closed his eyes and waited for the pain that would soon greet him.

He jolted, his heart thrumming against his chest as he struggled to catch his breath. He didn't even need to feel his face to know that he was drenched in sweat; he could feel it dripping down the sides of his face. The first thing he did was glance around, instantly seeing Noctis asleep next to him. "Just...just a dream," he panted, laughing quietly and nervously to himself. Of course, it had to have been. Still, his chest thumped painfully and his head jumped between one image and another; none of which were pictures he cared to see again.

His nose twitched at the scent of bacon and he felt a small chill run through him. "Calm down," he told himself, it's not that surprising," he pulled the covers the rest of the way off, his entire body burning from his increased blood flow and overworking heart. He had to get out of this tent, it was like an oven and it was killing him. He didn't bother being careful in exiting, he just had to get some fresh air, not like Noctis would wake up from it anyway.

"Morning," his eyes snapped instantly to the brute doing his push-ups, one hand placed against his back. Prompto didn't reply as he looked right to Ignis in time to see him flip one of the eggs.

His nerves working up a storm, he shakily voiced what was on his mind, almost not asking out of fear, "What are we doing today?" he tried to keep his voice casual, but his anxiety shined brightly through.

Ignis looked over his shoulder to gaze suspiciously at him and turned back around to continue his cooking. "Not much, same as the previous days," he sighed, "Head towards the next tomb," he answered slowly, sounding a little unusual.

"Yeah, yeah, o-of course," Prompto replied, fidgeting on his feet.

"Everything alright?" The shield asked, his daily routine slowing down to gauge the gunner's expression, "You seem a little pale."

"No, no, everything is fine, just tired still," he nodded a bit too eagerly, "Hey, I'm going to get snap some pictures, I'll be right back." He didn't wait for a reply before running off, but he could hear the adviser's instructions to Gladio to wake the prince after telling him to hurry back, the words send another jolt down his spine.

His feet faltered multiple times in his rush, his hurry to inspect the area around them helping him to catch himself each time he stumbled. He stopped just short of the boulders, taking a moment to bask in the similarities in them now and when they were in his dream...they were exactly the same, not a lick of difference that he could see. Not bothering to climb, he stared off in the distance, waiting for the spec to appear, hoping with everything that it would remain as clear as it was now.

It didn't take long for the first dot to grace him with its presence, and this time he didn't give it the chance to be recognizable; he just ran, sprinted back to camp and didn't care that he could barely breathe by the time he got back. "Ignis, we...we have-have to go, now!" he latched onto the man's arm, not giving a single damn about how insane or unreasonable he came across, "Please, we just need to go, they're coming," he kept tugging, the man refusing to budge as he gave him a curious look.

"Prompto, what are you talking about, what's coming?" he asked, raising an eyebrow as he turned to face the hysterical blond.

"Imperials, I saw them, we have to go," he looked straight into emerald eyes, never wavering. "Please."

"Dude, calm down, let 'em come," he turned to face the prince, seated in a chair, "It's just a few enemies, we've taken out far worse, so what's the big deal about a few more," he shrugged and stood to stretch out his arms. Summoning his sword, he gave it a few test swings, "Bring them on," he said with another twirl.

"No, Noct, you don't understand, there's a lot, we can't stay here," his eyes pricked and his voice cracked as he was on the verge of tears. "We have to go. I'm being serious..." he trailed off, that familiar sound of humming droning in the back of his mind. "No, no, guys, we cant do this."

Gladio and Ignis respectively summoned their own weapons, "If you're feeling that scared about it, then feel free to sit this one out," the shield flashed him a teasing smile, which quickly slipped away at the clearly nervous and terrified expression he wore. "Don't worry, we'll take care of it; I have no idea what's gotten into you, but just don't fret it, alright?"

That wasn't good enough, and Prompto let out an exasperated sigh and grabbed onto the brute's right arm, "Dammit, will you guys just listen and belie-ve me?" he begged, voice cracking, "We can just avoid this one."

"I feel as though it's a bit too late for that," Ignis breathed out, adjusting his glasses. He flipped one of his daggers in his hand just as the first soldier dropped down and he was on it in an instant, making quick work of it just as the second one descended.

"See?" Gladio grunted with a swing of his sword, "Nothing to worry abou-" A gasp took the place of what he was saying as his eyes slowly scanned down to his chest, Prompto's doing the same; both of them watched in horrified shock at the expanding splash of color.

"Gladdy?" Prompto stepped forward, almost toppling over himself as the large man fell against him, the warmth instantly soaking through his own vest and shirt. "Ignis!" he yelled out, the adviser only gracing him with a quick glance, his own surprise clear on his face, but he didn't have the chance to help, he was too busy with his own problems at the moment. "Noct!" he tried instead, carefully lowering the both of them to the ground. "Hang on, we can...we can fix this," he swallowed thickly against the bile rising in his throat, "It'll be fine." At this point he was sure if he were trying to convince Gladio or himself.

"Prompto, get him out of here," Ignis finally replied, slicing through another MT, "It's too dangerous to leave him out in the ope-" another pained gasp, and he seemed to tilt to the side in slow motion, the blond's heart stopping the moment he hit the ground.

And, the only thing on his mind now was, 'Noctis is next.' He cautiously placed the shield's head on the ground, "We have to go," it came out barely above a whisper, "Noctis, I'm sorry, but we have to leave, it can't happen," he bit the inside of his cheek as the first drop gathered at the corner of his eye, "We...we can't help them."

"Shut up!" the prince yelled, warping forward, eyes burning with a vengeful force, "You," he slashed through one, "Can go," he turned to stab another through the back, "If you want!"

"Noct..." he took a step back, summon his pistol finally and held it up protective, "Noct," he repeated when he didn't answer, "There...there's too many of them, there's no point," he tried to reason, but knew it was no use, not when he was like this. His eyes widened, and he took another step back when the raven let out a pained cry and fell to the ground, one hand flying to his side, blood was already spreading from beneath his fingers.

"Son of a bitch," the prince uttered, stabbing his sword into the ground to push himself mostly upright.

Prompto's hands shook around his gun, "Noctis, no, this can't happen again," he shook his head slowly and rose his gun, aiming it directly at the enemy raising it's own firearm towards the raven, and two shots went off simultaneously.

He jerked awake, a sharp intake of breath echoed back off the fabric interior of the tent. "Wh-what the hell?" he whispered, lifting a hand to swipe down his slick face. His head snapped over to the light snore the escaped the prince. Noctis lied there, chest gradually rising and falling with each breath...every lively inhale he took.

Prompto wanted to get up, he had to, but his body didn't want to move, too weighed down by the terror of what had just happened...twice, and the impending horror of the thought of it all happening again. But, he had to try, didn't he? There had to be something he could do, some way to get them to listen to him and get out of there before it could happen again; he just couldn't waste time, couldn't give them the time to question him.

With his mind made up, he rushed outside, flinching as the light blared in his still sensitive eyes. "Ignis!" he called before Gladio could bid him a good morning again, "I can't explain, but we should really be leaving. Please, I can explain later, but we have to." he begged, trying to put some power behind his voice, but it still wavered with his nerves. His breaths were deep and near painful by this point as his anxiety became more intense.

"Everything alright?" the shield asked, "You-

"Yes, I know, I 'look rather pale,'" he blurted out without meaning to, hitching at the surprised look on his face, "I know what's going to happen and it's going to happen soon, so please just listen to me dammit!"

"Prompto, please, settle down," the adviser made a calming motion with his hands, "Surely you can at least give us a quick run-down."

He frantically shook his head, "No, no, no, there isn't time, later," his thoughts were getting more jumbled and trembling more with each passing second. "I'm waking Noct, we need to go now." Ignoring the next question the reached him, he thrust the material back, "Noct," he called out, sparing no manners. "Noctis, get up, we have to leave," he stepped over and ripped the covers from him. "Now," he nudged the protesting prince with his foot.

Noctis mumbled something incoherent and turned over to his other side in an attempt to escape this pester. "Noct!" he called out desperately, going as far as to grasp the ravens wrist and began to literally drag him towards the outside.

"Prom, what the hell," he muttered, yanking his arm away.

"I said we need to leave," he repeated, losing all patience and composure. "Now get up, we don't have a whole lot of time left," he stepped out and glanced over to where he knew the boulders to be, and already he could see a few black specs and he felt his chest pang painfully. "Guys...we really need to go."

The prince staggered to his feet, one hand serving to shield his face as he gazed in the direction the blond did, "That's it?" he asked, sounding not at all impressed. "This is what you're so worried about?" He cracked his knuckles as he stepped outside, still slightly disoriented from having just woken up. "I say we just go meet 'em half way, save them the trouble of going so far just for us."

"I say, we forget it and leave," Prompto stepped in front of the raven, both hands on his chest as he tried pushing him back. "I'm sure there will be more down the road we can fight, so why bother with these," his voice was coming out as more of a whine by this point.

Gladio was on his feet now and next to Ignis, both of them exchanging a knowing look, "What do ya say, Iggy, think we can take care of them?" The shield gave the other a sideways smile, like he was itching for the battle to come. It was no use, there was no getting through to them. Why were they so damn set on fighting these guys, it just wasn't like them.

There really wasn't a choice, was there; there was nothing he could do to change this. He couldn't convince them to leave, he never even saw the bullets coming until it was too late, and this time was no exception. Again, he could only watch as one by one, they went down, it didn't matter how many bullets he sent in return, nor how desperately he tried to save them, it was pointless. For the third time, there they lied, lifeless and soaking in their own blood as he waited for the second he'd wake up again.

Prompto's eyes snapped open, and again, he was fully drenched and the sensation of dread seeped all the way through him. And, by the way his heart was fluttering and his lungs never seeming to receive enough oxygen, he feared he was on the verge of a panic attack. The subtle breathing next to him reached him, and he didn't need to look over this time, he didn't even want to move. Was this just some weird extended dream? He wanted to think so, but it felt far too real, he could have sworn he really felt the blood, really felt the coolness of their skin as the life left them.

He turned his head to the side as those same smells sneaked in to grab his attention. As he stared out, he wasn't entirely sure he was breathing anymore; it sure didn't feel like it. Slowly, he sat up, his body felt light, his pulse pressed against the walls of his veins as he peeling the cover off. Like the last two times, he made his way outside, the light being nothing but a slight inconvenience now, barely managing to bother him.

"Morning," he heard Gladio's greeting, he didn't look, only went to sit in one of the chairs, eyes staring down at the remnants of last night's...the other night's fire. He didn't know when it was. "Everything alright? You seem a little pale?" he asked, sitting up.

"M'fine," the blond slurred, not wanting to meet the gaze he felt piercing his back, he couldn't look either one of them in the face, not right now. He heard the slight shuffle as he went back to his workout, each push emphasized by a light grunt.

"Prompto," Ignis called over his shoulder, "You think you can wake Noctis up? He won't be happy about it, but we can't stay here long, we still have quite a few tombs we must get to." The blond breathed out a shudder and nodded, despite the other not being able to see it. Pushing himself up, he walked slowly, taking his time, knowing it wouldn't matter how much time it took; no matter what, it wouldn't do any good.

He watched the rise and fall of the prince's chest, getting sucked into the rhythm of it, knowing he better enjoy the sight of it while it lasts, because it wouldn't be long before it was snatched away from him again. Prompto kept his eyes locked on, there was no intention of waking him up this time, only enjoying the short moment of peace while it lasted. And, he closed his eyes and listened until the same buzzing whispered in the back of his head.

Flipping his mauve hair from his face, the man stepped a bit closer. "The itsy bitsy spider climbed up the water spout," he purred, stroking the back of his hand down the blond's face. "Down came the rain and washed the spider out," he continued, placing a hand under Prompto's chin to lift his head up. His eyes darted beneath closed lids, clearly panicking in his unconscious state. "Out came the sun and dried up all the rain," he ran his other hand over golden hair, relishing in the slight shudder than ran through the younger. "And, the itsy bitsy spider climbed up the spout again," he chuckled lightly to himself. "Try as you might, dear, it's going to end the same way no matter what you try."

Ardyn, turned his back to the fidgeting and lightly whimpering gunner, glancing over his shoulder one last time to take in his dismayed expression before smiling to himself in eerie satisfaction and closing the cell door behind him, "Don't worry, I'm sure the sun will dry up the rain very soon."