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Chapter 11

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"You claim not to have been engaged in sexual acts with Ardyn." Verstael noted as he walked across the room, pulling out a drawer and collecting something out of it before closing it and heading back toward Prompto. "I'm still not convinced... Are you sexually active elsewhere? Back in Insomnia?"

Prompto stuck his lower lip out in a pout as he stared up at the man. He was way too preoccupied with this subject and Prompto was getting literally sick of being asked about it. Each time Verstael brought it up, Prompto felt more and more like he might legitimately vomit.

"Are you? Perhaps with your little school friends?" Verstael wondered. "You know what I'm asking, right? Are you too young and naive to understand? Is that why you think Ardyn hasn't done anything like that to you? You don't understand?"

Swallowing, Prompto closed his heavy eyelids and exhaled a tired breath. He pulled uselessly at his hands, trying to form them into fists, but even just that was exhausting. He wished he weren't so incapacitated. What he really wanted to do was punch this guy in the fucking jaw.

"You have nothing to say now?" Verstael frowned as he loomed over his captive. His hand rested on Prompto's shoulder, gently rubbing back and forth.

Prompto forced his eyes open. "What do you want?" He whispered, feeling anger bubbling up within his fear. "I don't know why you're doing this... I don't know what you want from me. You keep asking the same thing and won't listen to my answer. I answered this fucking question already." He growled. "It's none of your business, and I already answered you." He hissed.

Verstael surprisingly let out a laugh. "Oooh... So angry... All I want is answers, and you haven't given me one on this question. You claim Ardyn didn't do anything to you. Now tell me what you get up to at home. Do you do naughty things with your little prince?"

Prompto felt tears stinging his eyes. Could there possibly be a medical reason the man would want to know this? Why did he care? What was this leading toward?

"I only want honestly..." Verstael frowned, cocking his head to the side and narrowing his eyes.

Prompto shook his head, unable for the moment to bring himself to speak. He didn't know what to say. It seemed this man wasn't going to believe the truth anyway... and it terrified him that Verstael was so preoccupied with this topic.

Something horrible was coming... That much was clear. No one had ever asked Prompto these kinds of questions with such sick fascination... In fact, no one really asked these questions at all. No one else on the planet felt they were entitled to answers on this... Verstael was going to do something awful to him. Prompto just knew it. Things were going to get much worse from here. Prompto was drugged, tied down, practically naked, completely defenseless, and all this strange man seemed to have on his mind was sex.

Verstael exhaled, shaking his head and closing his eyes. "Ardyn did do it, didn't he? That's why you're so quiet, so upset... The bruises on your little body certainly add up to it. And he had so long to do it... Weren't you with him two nights? A full day between and part of the morning? You're so bruised... You fought so hard to keep him from doing it, but he was just too strong, wasn't he? Did he do it often? You poor little thing. Must have hurt..."

"He didn't." Prompto whispered, shaking his head, trying to be patient so he didn't piss this guy off. "I haven't done any of that... Y-you're just scaring me. Th-that's why I'm quiet... B-because you're making me nervous talking about it. I don't do sex stuff... I d- I don't want to talk about doing it."

Verstael laughed softly. "I hope you're telling me the truth." He cocked his head to the side again, narrowing his eyes once more as he looked Prompto up and down. "Those bruises on your thighs certainly look like an injury that someone would get while having their legs forced open, pinned down while a larger person violates them..."

Inhaling a small breath, Prompto shrunk back. Even just the vague description was making him want to throw up. Prompto hadn't ever done anything like that. Ardyn didn't do it. He didn't do it with anyone back home. He was only fifteen. The most he'd done - or rather had done to him - was when his dad's brother visited and got really drunk one night. He had put his hand between Prompto's legs, over his clothing, and just kind of rubbed him. It wasn't invasive. It wasn't painful... Just really scary... That and what Ardyn had done last night were the most sexual things he'd done where anyone other than himself was there.

"I don't wanna be here..." Prompto whimpered. "I just want to go back home."

Verstael shook his head. "That so rude, my dear little son. Do you realize how much I've missed you? And for you to be so dismissive and ungrateful when we finally come back together... You're fifteen now... what has it been? Twelve, thirteen years of me missing you...? I've been waiting for our reunion for so long..."

Prompto shook his head. "I w-wanted to meet you too, but you're being..." Prompto hesitated. The man was being fucking awful, but saying so wasn't going to do him any good. So he decided for more gentle words. "You're scaring me... I always wanted to know where I came from... but this-" He cut himself off with a shaky breath. "W-why can't we just like... sit down and have tea? And talk..." He suggested.

Verstael laughed. "That's not what I waited thirteen years for, my dear."

Prompto felt his lip trembling as he blinked back his tears. He knew just based on Ardyn telling him in advance that Verstael wasn't the fatherly type that their reunion wasn't going to be perfect, that he wasn't going to be the dad Prompto always wanted... But he didn't expect the man to be this awful.

"Aww... I didn't mean to hurt your little feelings… I'm not used to my children having emotions." The older man laughed. "Let's take a look at the rest of you then…"

Prompto whimpered and felt tears streaming down his cheeks as Verstael gripped his both sides of his underwear and slowly pulled them down over his thighs.

"Stop-" He winced, barely able to manage to get the word out. His entire being was so exhausted. He was so scared, so defeated, powerless.

"You look stunning, my dear… Oh… To be fifteen again. I remember when I looked almost exactly like you… Not quite, of course. There are small differences. You're leaner… Your little face is more round, I'd say. Like a cute little boy…" He tapped his finger on Prompto's nose. "Positively adorable."

Shaking his head very slightly, Prompto exhaled a weak breath. "Please…" He whispered, trying to pull his legs up, wanting desperately to cover himself. Verstael had left his underwear halfway down his thighs. He wore only that and socks… That was it… And it was cold in here.

"And you've got freckles in places I don't…" Verstael noted, tracing a few of them peppering Prompto's pelvis, much too close to intimate areas than Prompto preferred.

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut and let out a tiny whimper. He felt tears streaming down from his eyes. He was so exhausted by this point, physically and emotionally. He almost wished Verstael would drug him with something else, something stronger. Something that would make him pass out completely, so he at least wouldn't have to know what was happening. He couldn't do anything to put a stop to it, so being aware of it was nothing short of cruel.

"Don't be scared." Verstael cooed, placing a hand over Prompto's ribs and petting him lightly. "Shhh… Don't cry. You'll be safe here with me. I care so deeply about each of you. You haven't turned out how I planned, but I still want you."

"No…" Prompto whimpered, trying to turn his head to the side. He could barely move at all. "D-don't- to-touch me…" He choked.

"I'm just going to have a look at you, my lovely boy. Try to determine if what you say is true. I might not be able to tell if you were up to naughty things back home, but I should see evidence if Ardyn did it, as you've been with him quite recently and I assume you've not bathed... and especially considering the size difference between the two of you - there would be trauma. Unless he only used a finger, you'd have had to have been injured." Verstael noted, grabbing both of Prompto's legs near his knees and bending them, pushing his thighs up toward his chest.

"No!" Prompto sobbed, trying to pull his legs free. He could still barely budge on his own.

"Don't panic. I'm only looking." Verstael laughed, running a hand down Prompto's thigh, over his butt cheek, and squeezing, spreading, looking way too closely at an area Prompto absolutely did not want him seeing. "No obvious injuries externally... No redness. No irritation." He noted. "That's a good sign. I'd expect to see something if Ardyn penetrated you. Again, unless it was digitally - but I imagine if he were going to do it, he'd go all the way."

"Please stop..." Prompto choked, squeezing his eyes shut as tears rolled down his cheeks. "He didn't do it. Please!"

"Shhh... I'll be the judge of that." Verstael refused to back off, reaching into his lab coat and grabbing a glove, sliding it over one hand, then grabbing toward some kind of swab wrapped in paper. He tore the paper, holding the swab up so Prompto could see it. "I'll just collect a sample. This is a minimally invasive procedure. No risks really. Quick and simple. If any DNA other than your own is inside you..." He trailed off.

"There's not!" Prompto gasped, realizing what exactly Verstael was planning on doing with the swab - the only possible thing he could do to achieve the sample he spoke of. "Please! I promise! Please don't do it. Please!" Prompto begged, trying to shrink away.

"Shhh..." Verstael smirked. "This is nothing. Don't make it into a whole ordeal."

Prompto shook his head. Tears were running freely down his cheeks. "W-why are you doing this?" His voice trembled.

"Stop getting upset." Verstael stared, pushing Prompto's legs back up, pressing against the back of his thighs so he could see better. He held both of Prompto's legs up against the boy's chest with one arm pressed down across them, then reached down with the swab. Prompto could feel it resting against his anus, threatening to push in.

"Please..." Prompto squeezed his eyes shut, tensing his body what little he could as he felt himself physically shaking. "I didn't do anything... Y-you don't have to do this. There's no DNA but mine. I promise. Please!"

"Take a breath. Relax. It won't be painful. In fact you'll barely feel it at all. Relax." Verstael laughed, moving the swab in tiny circles, perhaps trying to find the best angle to get it to go in easily. "Is this how you act when you go to the doctor? My goodness, child... Calm down."

Prompto whimpered, squeezing his eyes shut as he felt the man pressing the swab against his anus, pushing it very minimally inside him. "Stop!" Prompto hissed, tensing as he felt the foreign object forcing its way inside him, pushing awkwardly where it absolutely wasn't invited. He groaned, gritting his teeth together and pulling his hands into fists as best as he could. The procedure felt more awkward than painful, but it did hurt. It almost felt like a stinging sensation. More than painful though, it was scary. What if Verstael injured him? What if he moved it wrong and it broke off inside him? This wasn't a normal thing to do... It didn't belong down there.

"Please stop!" Prompto sobbed. "You're hurting me!"

"You need to re-evaluate your definition of pain, you little drama queen." Verstael laughed. "It's a cotton swab. The entire thing is all of five inches long and I'm only sliding it in half-way at the most. Please take a damn breath and calm down. This is a medical procedure. Relax."

"No..." Prompto shook his head as tears spilled down his cheeks. He inhaled a sharp breath when he felt the swab push farther into him, letting out a tiny moan as he tried to flinch away. "Please..." He gasped, feeling the air catching in his throat. He wanted so desperately to pull away, to kick the man... But he was practically completely limp. He couldn't fight back. Not even a little.

Verstael forced the intruding object a little further past Prompto's protesting muscles, twisting it slightly so that Prompto couldn't help but let out a shaky gasp.

"You do like it, huh?" Verstael chuckled.

Prompto whimpered, forcing himself not to make any further noises as he swallowed and tried to think about something else, not wanting to give Verstael the sick satisfaction of hearing any more moans, groans, or gasps.

"Alright. That should do." Verstael noted, moving the swab in one slow circle inside Prompto's body, then pulling it back out. It didn't really hurt exactly. Not much... It was just uncomfortable, embarrassing, awkward and unnecessary... There was no reason for Verstael to need to know if Ardyn had done anything - no reason for him not to trust Prompto's answer. And even if Prompto was lying, it was none of Verstael's business.

Prompto choked a breathless sob, trying to curl his body in on itself. He just wanted to disappear. He couldn't believe this was happening. Why would Ardyn bring him here? Why would he hand him over to this man? Ardyn wasn't the poster-boy for kindness and compassion, but this was a whole new level of cruelty. Did Ardyn know Verstael was like this? Did he know the whole time that this was where their journey would lead? That Verstael would ask all of these uncomfortable questions, do these horrible medical examinations?

"No blood. That's a good sign. See? Harmless." Verstael shrugged, placing the swab into some king of vial and closing it up. "I must say... Your reaction to that..." Verstael started, shaking his head and closing his eyes for a moment as he breathed in a slow breath. "I rather enjoyed it. Those little moaning sounds... And you were shaking. Did you know that? I'd be interested to experience your reaction to something larger penetrating you. Something warm, slick... Something that can go faster, deeper..." He smirked down at his captive. "Did you like the feeling? It's a little strange at first, hm? But not in a bad way..."

"No..." Prompto sniffed back tears. "Please let me go home..." He begged. "I don't wanna be here. I just want to go home."

"But I've missed you so." Verstael chuckled. "You don't realize... you were created to serve me, in one way or another... It doesn't really matter what you want."

Prompto choked out a shaking sob. "Please let me go!" He whimpered, feeling his breaths increasing in speed. He felt like he might legitimately pass out. He couldn't believe this was happening. He was so humiliated, so terrified, and there was no end in sight. "I wanna go home. Please!" He sobbed.

"Shhh... Such a dramatic response to something so small. Relax. Take a breath. You're alright. I know that was exciting for you..." Verstael mocked. "But you've got to calm down. I haven't hurt you. I'm performing a medical exam. I realize it may be uncomfortable at times, but I assure you it's harmless. Haven't you ever been to the doctor, my dear boy?"

Trying to calm his breaths, Prompto blinked through his tears, staring up at his abuser. His whole body was shaking. He wasn't even sure if it was cold in here or if he was just completely and utterly terrified, even angry. This wasn't like going to the doctor. The doctor would never force such a procedure, especially if the patient was so clearly terrified, begging for it not to be done.

"How has your health been over the years?" Verstael asked, completely changing the subject. "Anything that stands out? Low vitamin levels, high or low blood pressure, any respiratory problems? Any broken bones? Sprains, history of migraines?"

Prompto's lip trembled as he stared up at the man, who still had his legs pressed up against his chest, holding them there, exposing him in the most dreadful, humiliating way.

"Well, come on, child. Answer my questions. They're not difficult." He laughed, narrowing his eyes and leaning down so that his face was down pretty close to Prompto's most private parts.

Prompto gasped and squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the man's gloved hand down between his butt cheeks again, spreading and prodding gently. "Please stop..." He whimpered. "D-don't touch me... Please!"

Verstael laughed softly, but moved his hand. "Maybe you're telling the truth after all..."

Prompto blinked his teary eyes open, sticking his lip out in a pout as he stared back up at the man.

"So, onto less intimate things..." Verstael laughed. "Other medical history? What can you tell me about yourself?"

Still staring silently as he shivered, Prompto swallowed. He felt like he was going to throw up.

"I suppose I'll have to check you out myself." Verstael frowned. "Since you're determined to be mute now." He shook his head and rolled his eyes, finally letting Prompto's legs go, removing the glove from his hand, then taking out a stethoscope, pressing it against Prompto's chest. "Breathe in, as deep as you can." He ordered.

For a moment, Prompto felt like he should fight the man on this, to refuse to breathe... To be difficult in the only way he was able. But then he wondered if he'd be better off to just do what he said while it wasn't something horrible. It wouldn't do him any good to make the man angry. It might feel like a win in the moment - to exercise any degree of control he possibly could, but it would only make Verstael hurt him worse. It wouldn't be worth it.

"Breathe in, please. I'm going to start getting frustrated in a moment... You don't want that." Verstael stared.

"Okay..." Prompto whispered, inhaling a deep, but shaky breath.

"One more." Verstael ordered. "Try to calm yourself down. One slow, deep breath."

Prompto nodded, closing his eyes and breathing in again, a little deeper and a little more evenly.

"Good boy." Verstael smiled, putting his hand lightly on the top of Prompto's head. "Have you ever had surgery or any other invasive medical procedures back home?"

Prompto shook his head. "No." He whispered.

"Any dental problems?" Verstael asked.

"No." Prompto answered.

"Open up." Verstael demanded, stepping closer to Prompto's face and reaching toward his jaw.

Feeling his breaths catch in his throat, Prompto stared silently back, snapping his mouth closed and tightening his lips.

"Open your mouth, boy." Verstael glared. "You don't want me to have to pry it open myself... You may end up with your jaw broken."

Prompto shrunk down, but reluctantly opened his mouth. It felt entirely wrong to do so, but he hardly had a choice. He felt his lower lip trembling as he stared with wide, frightened eyes up at his captor.

"Don't bite me." Verstael warned. "I'll likely break something if you do - maybe a finger, maybe your little wrist. Likely both and then more. Keep being a good boy for your father and nothing bad will happen to you."

Prompto closed his eyes, feeling more and more like he wanted to vomit, but holding still as he felt Verstael's hand on his lips, forcing his mouth open further. The man pressed and pulled and Prompto's lips, perhaps looking at his teeth. He then felt a few fingers slide in over his tongue, nearly gagging him. The man felt around in his mouth, sliding his fingers deeper.

Feeling himself beginning to tremble, Prompto forced himself to hold still, to not bite down as Verstael moved his fingers further back over his tongue, sliding them pretty far back, then halfway out of Prompto's mouth, only to slide them right back again. Prompto choked out a muffled whimper as tears pooled up in his eyes. He couldn't understand the medical purpose of this. What was Verstael doing?

As his captor continued sliding his two fingers in and out of Prompto's mouth, back over his tongue, toward the back of his throat, Prompto choked out a muffled sob and tears started streaming down his cheeks. Everything Verstael did was creepy, wrong, unnecessary. Even if a medical exam was needed, this wasn't it. This wasn't medical. This was something else.

Verstael didn't move his fingers out of Prompto's mouth until Prompto finally choked on them, nearly vomiting.

Verstael moved his hand back with a smirk, leaving Prompto coughing and shaking below him. "You've got a nice little mouth, Prompto. Wouldn't mind exploring that a bit later." He laughed.

"W-what?" Prompto shrunk back. What did that mean? Was that a threat? A threat of something sexual?

"What do you and your prince get up to?" Verstael changed the subject as he put what looked like some kind of blood pressure cuff around Prompto's upper arm. "I hear you're good friends. That's something I wouldn't have ever seen coming when I made you..."

Prompto frowned as the cuff slowly tightened. "We just... like hang out... Play video games and talk and stuff..." He answered, still feeling quite breathless. His underwear was still down. He was still entirely exposed. "C-can... Do you think you can put my underwear back on me?" He grimaced. "Please?" He added in a breathless voice.

Verstael shook his head. "No. We probably shouldn't. I still have a lot I want to check out on your little body. It'd be easier without clothing in the way. You realize clothing isn't natural, right? You were born without it. You'll live."

Prompto's lip trembled as tears began stinging his eyes again. "I'm cold... and scared..." He whimpered.

"I know, sweet little child. I know." Verstael was smiling. He looked to be really, really enjoying all of this. It made Prompto feel like he might legitimately throw up.

"I j-just don't wanna be all the way naked..." Prompto whispered. "Please..." He felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He'd never felt more vulnerable in his entire life. Ever. Not even in the moments when Ardyn scared him most, or when his adoptive father beat him, or when his uncle got drunk and tried to hurt him. No. None of that was as bad as this. "Please... Just my underwear. That's it... Please just let me have that..." He whispered.

"It's only natural." Verstael smirked. "You began your life naked. Everyone does. You may feel exposed, but it's only because you were raised to feel ashamed of your body. And you've got no need to feel that way. You're lovely, my son."

Prompto shook his head. He wasn't ashamed of what his body looked like - not anymore... He was terrified that Verstael seeing that part of him would give the man ideas... That Verstael would hurt him. He was cold, embarrassed... It was normal to not want to be completely naked and drugged lying on a table in front of a creepy stranger.

"Do you remember before? Back in the lab?" Verstael cocked his head to the side. "The one you were made in. The one you began to grow up in... Do you remember it? You were so young when you were taken... You were one of many, my treasures... I had you safely stored away, perfectly docile... You never caused me problems. Not like you do now. You cooperated back then. You rarely cried."

Prompto felt his eyes widening as a flash of a memory went through his head. "What lab?" He whispered. Did he remember? It was a cold place... He didn't do much... He was in a vat of some kind... Just lingering there, waiting to be put to use... But he was so small, so young... Was that real? He'd had dreams about it before - just being in a vat of water, unable to scream, but feeling terrified and cold. The dreams were only ever a few seconds, then he'd wake up sweating and breathing hard... Was that a memory? Was that the lab? Was it real?

"You remember, don't you?" Verstael's voice sounded hopeful. "You were unclothed then, and you didn't care... You only cared that you were cold, but you were unashamed."

"I didn't know any better..." Prompto whispered, staring with furrowed brows past Verstael's shoulder.

He did vaguely recall that... being naked, in the vat of liquid... He swallowed, feeling a strange sensation in his throat, up into his nose. Some kind of tubing had been there, perhaps to feed him, to keep him breathing... He didn't eat formal meals. He didn't drink, wear clothes, sleep in a bed... He just stayed in that vat... the liquid... was it blue? A pale blue?

Prompto felt himself shudder. He was always so cold back then... but he didn't know what it felt like to be warm... Not until he was stolen away. Someone pulled him out of the water one day, wrapped him up in a coat or some kind of heavy clothing... and smuggled him out. He still just barely remembered the feeling of his body being all covered up. The clothing he was wrapped up in had been wet from the vat, but warmer than the water. He had felt so warm, for the first time in his life... but still so scared. He hadn't known what was going to happen next, if the man taking him was going to hurt him.

He remembered a voice. Whoever had taken him had talked to him. He talked a lot... but Prompto hadn't been taught to speak. No one else had ever really spoken to him... He didn't understand. He only heard the noise. It was scary at first, because he didn't know what the man was saying, if it was something bad, if it was threats, descriptions of some kind of punishment... Then when he realized the man wasn't angry with him, his words were comforting. Prompto remembered holding perfectly still in the man's arms, waiting, wondering, feeling terrified... But eventually he grew to enjoy the man's voice. He remembered singing... The man had sung and rocked him like a baby while they were traveling on some kind of car or train... It was night time... It was cold... It was snowy...

Then... he didn't remember... The vague memories of being cold, with the tubes down his throat, then the man pulling him from the water, talking and signing to him as they traveled... That was it. That was the extent of the memory. Somehow he'd ended up with his parents in Insomnia, but they weren't the ones who took him. He still didn't understand why he was in the lab in the first place or who saved him from it.

"Who took me?" Prompto frowned.

Verstael shook his head. "I never discovered the answer to that... I had suspicions, but no one would confess... You weren't theirs to take. You're mine. You were always mine... I made you, my boy." Verstael commented, running his fingertips down Prompto's arm, resting them over the bar code tattoo on his wrist. "You're my creation. One I'm so proud of... I only wish you hadn't been stolen. To program your mind for what I'd originally intended at this point might be next to impossible..."

"Program?" Prompto breathed. "L-like a robot?"

Verstael laughed softly. "Kind of like that... But I don't think I need you for it anymore. We can use you for something else. It may end up having been a good thing that you were taken. That you were able to grow up on your own, mature into a beautiful young man with emotions, fears... The others don't have some of these delicious little qualities you have. They aren't meek and fearful, with soft hair, wide, expressive eyes... There's something so different about you, and it's not a bad thing."

Prompto felt his lip trembling. He wished he could be brave here, that he didn't feel so much like he wanted to cry. He wondered what Noct would do in a situation like this. He'd probably be more angry than anything. Gladio certainly would. Gladio wouldn't cry. He wished he could be strong and stoic like Gladio would be.

"Perhaps I'll leave you alone for a bit and go test for DNA on the anal swab. And these blood samples." Verstael suggested. "I've got other supplies I need to collect as well. Give me twenty minutes or so... DNA will take a while actually, but I can get it all started..."

Prompto stuck his lower lip out in a pout. He hadn't even noticed the man take blood samples. He must have been so preoccupied with being drugged, tied down, and undressed that he hadn't felt it. When had it even happened? Maybe early on, while he was completely panicked.

"Wait!" Prompto called out as the man turned to leave.

Verstael looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"W-why was I in the lab? In that vat of water? What do you mean that you created me? D-do I have a mother?" He frowned. Verstael couldn't just drop all these vague bits of information and then walk away. "And you said there were many? I was one of many? Is... Do I have brothers and sisters?"

Verstael let out a laugh. "You're so hung up on family considering you don't really have one... There are others, but they wouldn't see you as a brother, my son. You're the only one who's been allowed to develop a personality."

"Why?" Prompto swallowed. The whole thing sounded so dreadful. He had siblings in a lab somewhere? Their minds were being programmed like robots? They didn't have personalities?

"You weren't created to live a life, child. You were created to serve." Verstael noted. "And you will. Just in a different way than I'd had planned. No more questions for now. I've got things to do... I won't be gone long."

"No! Don't leave... Please!" Prompto breathed, feeling his chest growing tight. He'd wanted answers for so long, and though these weren't the answers he wanted or expected, they were in fact answers, and he did want to know more, to understand where he came from, what the tattoo was for...

Varstael smiled. "I know you'll miss me, but please be patient, my son. I'll be back later and we'll have so much quality time together, but for now Daddy's got work to do." He chuckled.

Prompto frowned. "B-before you go... Can you fix my underwear?" He asked again.

Verstael laughed and shook his head no.

"Please!" Prompto choked, his voice shaking as he tried to pull his hands into fists. He could still barely move. He felt so tired, so defeated.

"I'll be back in a bit." Verstael noted, running his hand up over Prompto's chest on his way out of the room.

Prompto squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a shaky breath as he tried and failed to curl in on himself. He was so tired, so scared and cold. He hadn't thought it could get worse than Ardyn, but at least Prompto was never physically restrained back then. Ardyn hadn't taken off his clothes. He made Prompto pull down his pants that one time, but it was some kind of game to him, and it didn't last long. He didn't leave him tied down, naked on a medical table. This guy was positively terrifying.

Prompto blinked his heavy eyelids open long enough to stare up at the bright lights that lined the ceiling. They looked sickeningly familiar now that he thought about it. He wondered if they were the same ones in the other lab - the lab Verstael claimed he was created in... He wondered if any of it was true. Maybe the memories were false... They couldn't be true, right? He wasn't made in a lab... didn't spend the first years of his life naked in a cold vat of water... That was ridiculous... Wasn't it?

Sniffing back tears, Prompto tried to shrink down, tried to shift his body. He was so embarrassed... Verstael could have at least pulled his underwear back up, covered him with a blanket or sheet... or anything. He was being cruel on purpose, making sure Prompto was uncomfortable and scared.

Prompto closed his eyes and exhaled. He could feel his consciousness disappearing, and he wasn't sure if it was from the drug or from pure exhaustion and terror. He hadn't really slept the previous night… He wished he had though. He wished he hadn't made Ardyn mad… He wished he would have agreed to lay against him near the fire, so he could have slept and been warm… He didn't know this was what he was rushing toward instead.

Letting out a soft sob, Prompto let his eyes fall closed again. He didn't know what he was going to do, how he was going to get out of this, if getting out of this was even possible… But at least for the moment, he seemed to be passing out. He could just not exist for a while. At the moment, that seemed to be his best option.

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