A/N: A little drama, and someone all FFXV players hate. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story idea, in conjunction with Milaya Milen Zeal. She wrote Noctis's and Zidane's parts.

Nothing Without A Soul

Chapter 4

X*X(1 Week Later)X*X

"Good goddess, I thought that meeting would never end," Luna sighed as she and Noctis headed to the garden to rejoin with their Genomes. The two blondes had been left in the garden to enjoy themselves while Luna and Noctis had to attend a meeting.

"No kidding…that took much longer than it should've…" Noctis agreed. "Hope Prompto and Zidane managed to keep themselves entertained…"

"I'm sure that with the Chocobos, they did," she giggled.

"Good point. Let's go get them, then," Noctis chuckled out. When the pair arrived at the Chocobos' area, they weren't surprised to see both Genomes each on a Chocobo's back, and they looked like they were searching for something.

"What are you two doing?" Luna called out, giggling.

Zidane blinked as he looked up, before he grinned, his tail snapping out at the air. "Chocobo Hot 'n' Cold."

"Chocobo what now?" Noctis chuckled out with a smile.

"It's a scavenger hunt on Chocobo!" Prompto explained with his own child-like grin, his tail waving with the end flicking excitedly.

Noctis allowed another chuckle as he leaned on the fence, watching as the two Chocobos trotted along the enclosure, occasionally pecking at the ground with a curious "Kweh~"

Suddenly Zidane's Chocobo gave a louder "KWEH~!" and began to dig its beak into the ground rapidly. This drew Prompto's attention to his friend, and he watched as the Chocobo dug the little hole. Luna laughed quietly, watching their antics.

Finally, the Chocobo pulled its head out again and tossed up the item, which Zidane caught as it came down with a laugh. "Gotcha!" he quipped as he held up the potion bottle the Chocobo had dug up.

"Man! How are you beating me?!" Prompto complained, pouting. Zidane merely stuck out his tongue cheekily, making their owners laugh softly.

"Are you two getting hungry? I'm sure Ignis will have lunch prepared for us by now," Luna asked, and Prompto's stomach growled at the mention of food, making him blush crimson.

"Sounds like a plan…before Prom's stomach decides to eat itself up!" Zidane laughed, as he made his Chocobo trot over to the fence, where he hopped off casually, patting the bird on its neck as he straightened up.

"Hey!" the other Genome huffed, climbing off of his own Chocobo. He petted the bird on its neck as well before turning to Noctis.

Noctis chuckled. "Right, let's get going then, shall we?" the prince said, still smiling. Prompto was quick to follow his owner, feeling a curl of warmth in his heart at the sight of that smile. Already, he loved to see Noctis smile. It was something that made him feel good, especially when Prompto was the cause behind the smile. However, the taller of the two Genomes was fairly certain it was too soon to bond to the prince.

As they walked, Zidane caught the look on the other's face and frowned, before he reached out. 'Oy, Prompto. What's that look for?'

'Just…I'm happy that Noctis is smiling. Makes me feel good,' he shrugged nonchalantly.

Prompto was half expecting Zidane to berate him for being too lax or too trusting of their owners (as he had done on more than one occasion), but this time the shorter blonde said no such thing. 'I see…' he murmured, as he looked back ahead, though his gaze briefly moved toward Luna as he did.

'Same for you with Luna, huh?' he asked.

'Yeah…' Zidane admitted. 'I know we probably shouldn't, but…I dunno. It just happened like that, yanno?'

'Yeah, same here. But as long as they feel the same about us, I think it'll be good. After all, they want us to be happy, right?' Prompto pointed out.

'…which reminds me… Fun as it is with the Chocobos…I'm actually getting a little bored cooped up in here…you?'

'Kinda, yeah. We'll see if Noctis and Luna have anything planned first, though,' the taller blonde replied as they arrived at the dining room. Ignis was, of course, waiting for them, and he gave a slight smile at their arrival.

"It's peppery daggerquill rice for lunch today," the sandy blonde informed them. "Should be out momentarily." As they sat down, said dishes were brought out, and Prompto found himself almost drooling at the aroma. The spice was amazing, he decided as he took a bite.

As the group began to eat, Noctis eventually decided to ask something he was somewhat curious about. "So…how are you two enjoying yourselves here?" he asked.

Zidane paused with his fork still in his mouth as he looked to Noctis, before he glanced to Prompto, cocking his eyebrow in question.

"It's nice, but…we feel kinda cooped up…" the taller Genome answered. "Is there any chance we could go out?"

"I think we can arrange that," Luna smiled.

Zidane hummed curiously, looking over to Luna, but it was Noctis who answered with a chuckle. "Thinking of hitting the arcades, huh?"

"You know it," she giggled.

"Arcades?" Prompto frowned, confused.

"What are those?" Zidane added.

Noctis smirked. "Oh you'll see when we get there."

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

The Regalia pulled into the parking lot of the arcades, Noctis at the wheel with Prompto sitting by him in front and Luna and Zidane in the backseat. Prompto shifted slightly in his seat, not the most comfortable with his tail tucked inside of his pants. It wasn't like Zidane and he could have their tails out, though. Especially since they're Genomes with souls. Someone would realize it pretty quick.

After turning off the engine, the group climbed out of the car. As they did, Zidane hissed as he hopped a little on his feet. "Gaaah! This is SO not comfy…" he grumbled, referring to his tail being tucked away, naturally.

"I know, right?" Prompto mumbled, resisting the urge to rub at his backside.

"You'll be able to have them out once were home again, but it's for your own safety, guys," Luna pointed out.

"Yeah yeah, we know…" Zidane said with a sigh.

Noctis chuckled at the pair's words, before he said, "In any case, let's head inside and have some fun, shall we?"

"…inside?" Zidane asked as he followed after Noctis and Luna with Prompto. "I thought we left the castle to get outside?"

"You don't always have to be outside to have fun away from the castle," Luna smiled. That's when they got inside, and both Genomes stared, wide-eyed, at the various games and such all over the sides and even in the middle of the large, spacious room.

Smiling at the looks of awe on their faces, Noctis led the others further into the building. "Alright…so what should we do first?"

"How about a shooter game?" Luna suggested.

"Shooter game?" Zidane asked with a small frown.

"Heh, why not?" Noctis quipped, leading the way to one of the booths. Prompto followed, confused as well. When they got to the booth, the taller blonde eyed the gun attached to the cord for the game fishily.

"Here," Noctis said as he lifted one of the guns and passed it to Prompto, "Once the game starts, you use this to 'shoot' at the enemies on screen." As the blonde took the item, Noctis added, "Just hold it out and pull the trigger," as he put two coins in the machine and picked up the other gun.

"O-okay," Prompto nodded, and as soon as the enemies began to appear on the screen, he began to 'shoot' them, not missing a single shot.

Noctis was doing slightly less well; he got a good number of shots in, but he wasn't able to take them all out. Thankfully Prompto was there to catch those he hadn't. Zidane and Luna just watched, with the Genome of the pair watching curiously as they shot at every enemy coming at them.

As they played, the blonde felt a bit of a thrill running through himself at every shot he got in. It was exciting to know he was doing that well. Before long, they managed to reach the "Final Boss" of the game, which they barely managed to get through because of all the bullshit the guy threw at them. And of course, as they cleared the game, Prompto had the highest score of the pair.

Zidane laughed at that. 'Nice one, Prom!' he said, instinctively going back to telepathy.

"Thanks!" Prompto grinned, speaking aloud. This confused Luna for a split second, before she realized the pair had used telepathy briefly.

"So how does this thing work?" Zidane asked suddenly as he took over the laser gun from the other Genome, aiming it at the screen. Unlike with Prompto, who held the gun as if it was second nature, his grip seemed almost clumsy.

"No clue, but that was fun," the taller Genome chuckled. "Maybe you should give it a shot."

"Good idea," Luna smiled. "Zidane, want a turn with me?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, sure," the shorter Genome quipped with a shrug.

Once Luna had taken over the laser gun from Noctis, the prince slipped two more coins in, and the game began anew. This time, Luna took the lead, shooting as best as she could, but it still wasn't as good as Prompto. Said blonde watched his friend in amusement as the shorter blonde struggled to keep up.

Noctis regarded Prompto for a moment and chuckled quietly at the amusement that was evident in the Genome's eyes. Sometimes it was hard to imagine that the first few days the two blondes had been so closed off from everything and everyone that he wondered if they hadn't been switched out at one point. Then again, he couldn't even begin to imagine what they had been through before he and Luna got them out of Bran Bal.

Shaking it off, he turned back to the game as both Luna and Zidane groaned as they got killed right before reaching the boss area.

"Oh come on! SO close!" Zidane groaned.

"Guess we're not naturals like Prompto," Luna sighed, making the taller Genome blush shyly.

"I just did what came naturally to me…" he muttered, looking down with heated cheeks.

Noctis laughed at those words. "Well, whatever the reason, you did better than they did."

"Oh hush u—…!"

When Zidane suddenly stopped talking, the others turned to him immediately.

'…Prom?'

'What is it?' Prompto demanded urgently.

'Look behind you…'

'Wha…?' the other Genome thought, before looking, and his face paled as he saw the silver-haired man walking into the arcade.

'And where there's one…SHIT! There they are!' Zidane hissed mentally, gritting his teeth as the two men who had attempted to buy them from Noctis and Luna in Bran Bal walked in shortly after.

Upon realizing what was going on, Noctis turned as well, and the moment he saw the three men, he realized what was happening and frowned darkly.

Luna noticed at the same time Noctis did, before she whispered, "We need to somehow sneak out."

Noctis nodded. "Let's go around," he whispered, beginning to steer the others in the opposite direction as the three men were going. Prompto allowed himself to be guided away, biting his lip hard to prevent any fearful noises from escaping him.

Zidane noticed and quickly patted his friend along his arm, a small, silent sign to let him know it would be okay, even though he stayed as hidden as he could behind Noctis and Luna.

Noctis, in the meantime, tried to keep track of where they were all going, but the problem was that they had split up at one point, which was only making things that much harder. "Dammit…" he hissed softly.

"What do we do now?" Prompto asked quietly.

"Can't we just whack 'm upside the head or something?" Zidane asked.

"No, we can't," Noctis pointed out. "Least of all in public."

"But…"

"It won't bode well for any of us if we resort to fighting," Luna told her companion. Zidane growled, but he said nothing else on the matter.

After a lot of ducking and weaving, and a few close calls, the small group reached the doorway, finally—but just as Luna was about to go out, Zidane's eyes widened and he lunged forward, grabbing her by the back of her dress and pulling her back. Prompto grabbed Noctis by the back of his pants, swiftly tugging him back as well.

"Prompto! What the hell?!" Noctis hissed out.

"Zidane?" Luna uttered, frowning in confusion.

"…there's FOUR of 'm…" the blonde hissed softly. "And the last one…the oldest…is the worst of the lot…" He paused then to point outside. "And he's out there at his car."

"…are you kidding me?!" Noct snarled softly.

"Now what should we do?" Prompto whimpered quietly, looking to Noctis.

Noctis growled as he looked outside. He hadn't seen who it was Zidane was talking about when they were about to exit, but both Genomes seemed to be extremely rattled by the man's appearance. He wanted to get them to safety, but they couldn't go through the front door if the guy was right there.

'And just when you think you'd seen the last of the ass…!' Zidane snarled telepathically, curling his hands into fists.

'Just our luck…' Prompto agreed sadly. 'We gotta figure something out…'

Noctis tries to keep a level head, but it's certainly not easy. Even though the two Genomes weren't talking, their expressions were enough to hint at that they were definitely conversing with each other.

Suddenly, someone bumped into him as they passed him by. "Ah, woops. Beg your pardon," the man said almost casually as he tipped his hat at the small group.

As the man made to leave, though, he turned back to them with a hum. "Something wrong? You seem a bit…what's the word? Ah, right…'distraught'."

Noctis frowned in suspicion. Something about the guy felt…off, but he wasn't sure what it was. "No, thank you. We're fine."

'…I don't like this guy…' Zidane pointed out.

'Same,' Prompto agreed, scooting slightly closer to Noctis.

"Oh?" the man said in a way that was almost lazy. However, his behavior had the two Genomes on edge immediately. "Well…if you're certain," he said at last. However, as he made to go, he gave a small "ah," as though he'd just remembered something. "Can I request one favor, by the way?"

Noctis frowned softly, before he said, "Depends on the favor…"

"Oh, no need to get all defensive on me," the man chuckled. "If you happen to spot someone of the staff, would you kindly inform them that their escape door has been left unlocked?"

And then, without waiting for a response, he tipped his fedora and walked away leisurely. Once he had left, the small group turned to each other as they considered the man's words.

"Should we try it?" Prompto asked softly, looking at the raven.

"It may be our best chance," Luna murmured.

"Unless we wanna go out there," Zidane mumbled.

Noctis growled softly, before he nodded. "Let's go…might be our only option." With that said, the group cautiously snuck their way to the escape door, and tentatively, Luna pushed open the door, and was pleasantly surprised when she found the alarm didn't go off.

"Let's go," she whispered.

Noctis nodded and went ahead of the others, leading the way out of the arcade, and moving around the parking lot, keeping a careful around them, just in case. Upon reaching the Regalia, the group immediately climbed in and then locked the doors.

"Whew…" Zidane breathed out as he leaned back. "Just when you thought you'd seen the last of those asshats…"

"I'm just glad we made it to the car," Prompto sighed, relieved.

"I…think we should wait on the excursions out of the castle for a while, then," Luna murmured. "I don't want anything bad to happen to any of us, after all. Or we could ask Gladio to come with next time."

"Might be smart…" Noctis sighed out, as he started up the car.

"Darn it…" Zidane grumbled, but he clearly understood the reasoning.

"I'm sure we can find stuff to do, Zidane," Prompto said optimistically, but he personally couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.

Zidane merely shrugged his shoulders as they pulled out of the parking lot, looking out the window quietly. "…mm?" Frowning, Zidane turned in his seat and looked backwards.

"What is it?" Luna asked before Prompto could, looking back upon hearing the hum.

Zidane didn't respond immediately, though he did frown. After a moment, though, when they'd taken a turn, Zidane scrambled over and tapped Noctis on the back. "Oy, Noct. Left next turn."

"Wha…? But we have to go—"

"Just go left, alright?!"

Startled by the half-shout, Noctis frowned, but didn't question it and, at the next junction, went left instead of going straight (like they should've been going). And as he did, Zidane moved back to his seat, looking back again.

And then…

"…godDAMMIT!" the Genome hissed.

"Someone's following us, huh?" Prompto guessed, biting his lip nervously.

"Yeah…"

"Then we need to lose them," Luna said firmly. "Noctis, I'm going to call Gladio and have him meet us at the front of the castle, just in case."

"Right," Noctis snarled, as he turned the Regalia into another corner, onto the highway, while Zidane kept his eyes on their followers. Meanwhile, Luna pulled out her phone, quickly calling Gladio. He answered after the first ring.

"Luna?" he said, sounding a bit confused. "Is everything okay?"

"No. We ran into a bit of trouble at the arcade, nothing we caused, but now they're following us, and we're trying to lose them," the blonde woman said into the phone. "Can you, Ravus, and Ignis wait for us out front just in case?"

"Yeah, we'll be waiting," the brunette growled. "How many people are there?"

"Two."

"I'll grab Cor, too, just in case," he told her. "Be careful, all of you."

"We will," she said, and then ended the call. Looking at the prince, she told him, "He's going to get the others, even Cor."

"That's good," Noctis mumbled softly as he pushed down on the gas pedal further. Zidane, in the meantime, kept his eyes on the car still following after them.

"It doesn't look like those assholes from the arcade…" Prompto commented, seeing the silhouettes of the two people in the car. They were different in stature, from what he could tell.

"…seems like it…" Zidane murmured thoughtfully.

"If that's the case, who could they be, then?" the taller Genome frowned.

Noctis didn't bother to respond to the words, as he finally reached an exit that would lead them to the castle. However, he waited until the last moment to take it, which didn't give the car tailing them the time to do the same. "There," he said as he took off down the road toward the castle.

Zidane shifted briefly, watching as the car zoomed by, frowning as he tried to see who was in the car. Unfortunately, the tinted windows didn't allow for that in the least. Prompto frowned as well, unable to see either, but he was worried about it now. Why would anyone other than those assholes from Bran Bal follow them? It just didn't make the slightest bit of sense, at least to him.

Now that they weren't being followed anymore, they made good time in getting to the castle, and Noctis had never been more glad to have the gates shut behind them than at that point.

"Thank goddess," Luna sighed as they parked and Noctis turned off the ignition. Like he'd said, Gladio was waiting for them, along with Ravus, Ignis, and Cor. The group got out of the Regalia, and Prompto was quick to walk close to Noctis as they approached their 'greeting party'.

"I take it you managed to lose your tail?" Cor asked.

"Just barely…" Noctis sighed out. "Got them thinking I was going straight and went right instead."

"Did you catch the license plate?" Ignis inquired.

"No…was a little too focused on trying to shake them…" Noctis admitted.

"TR-9312-KY," Zidane suddenly said, making everyone look at him. "…what?"

"Geez, I wasn't even paying attention. Good one, Zidane," Prompto told him.

"That's a Treno license plate," Ignis frowned. "What was it doing here, though?"

"I'm not sure, but we'll need to be more careful if we go out anytime soon," Luna said.

"People from Treno need a visa to get in the Crown City…" Noctis murmured thoughtfully. "Think there's a way to figure out who it belongs to?"

Meanwhile, Zidane was frowning in thought. 'Treno…aren't those the Ruffles?'

'Yeah, I think so,' Prompto replied, also frowning.

"We can certainly try. In the meantime, you should all stay on the castle's property, within the gates," Ravus advised.

"Right," Luna nodded.

Noctis nodded before he turned to the others. "Well, let's get inside…and then we'll figure out what to do with the rest of our day afterward."

"Well, 's better than standing out here," Zidane conceded with a shrug. The larger group then headed inside, Prompto keeping himself close to Noctis as Zidane walked close to Luna.