Chapter 3

Game Night

"Let's do this."

A blanket of soothing warmth covered him. He was in a cradle.

At least, that was what it felt like.

He was swaying and the movement was waking him and making him drowsy both at the same time. Noct's whole body was sore, his head was pounding, but the warmth that enveloped him at the moment was comforting. He didn't want to open his eyes. He felt safe and he didn't want to lose the feeling.

But then he heard voices. Someone was upset.

"So what're you saying, Ignis? That we should play along and do whatever the sick fucker wants us to do? You didn't see how Noct— You didn't hear him screaming—"

There was a heavy sigh and then silence.

"I just… I don't want to hurt him again, Ignis."

"Prompto, I understand your concerns. I don't want to see him hurt, either. But we cannot leave him like that. We have to—"

"Hey guys, pipe down a little. The princess's still asleep."

That was Gladio, and he sounded so close. Noct could actually feel the vibration of his voice through one side of his body.

He was no longer swaying and his mind was too much awake now for him to force himself back to sleep. Noct opened his bleary eyes and saw Gladio looking down at him.

No wonder he sounded so close. Gladio was carrying him in his arms.

"Shit. Did I wake you, Noct? Sorry, but I gotta move you from the tent. Your body's getting colder by the minute. It's best to get you near the campfire."

There was a brief silence before he heard a flurry of shuffling noises.

"Noct! Are you okay?"

"How are you feeling, Your Highness?"

Noct's vision swam, but he could still make out his friends' concerned faces as Gladio carefully placed him in one of the camping chairs. He felt oddly unstable sitting on the edge of it, like he could easily topple over backwards, but Gladio had a firm hand on his back.

"What's going on?" Noct said, but his words came out as nothing but garbled noises. It was then he realized he still had a gag in his mouth.

His eyes widened as he looked down at himself, those black bands still tightly wrapped around him.

What the—

He was still bound. He couldn't believe it.

Noct started to struggle as he jogged his sluggish brain. Prompto and Gladio had found him at the pier, he remembered that. But how long ago was that? He looked up at the sky and saw that it was already dark. Hours, then. But why didn't any of them think of releasing him? Wasn't that the obvious thing to do? What the hell was going on? Why did they leave him in his binds? Why—

A thought ran through his muddled mind that made him shiver all over. What if none of this was real? What if this was just an illusion, or a dream that would eventually turn into a nightma—

"Noct. Hey, Noct. Calm down."

Gladio was kneeling in front of him, holding him firmly by the shoulders, his eyes looking straight into his.

"I know what you're thinking. I'm sure you're wondering why you're still tied up. There's a reason for that but it's a little complicated. I don't want to explain it to you while you're still half-asleep and panicking, so calm down, okay? We're not gonna hurt you."

Noct blinked, trying to focus on Gladio's voice and taking deep breaths to calm himself. Gladio's words ran around in his foggy mind. The three people here were his friends, his protectors. He trusted them. He couldn't think of them hurting him on purpose.

He looked down at the restraining bands. He could hardly move with the way they were secured around him. Escape seemed impossible. He had no choice but to believe Gladio. There must be a reason why they had kept him tied up.

Slowly, Noct nodded and there was a collective sighs of relief.

Prompto stepped up to him with that easy smile of his, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hey, buddy. How're you feeling? Fine?"

Noct wasn't feeling fine. There was a dull throbbing in his head that spiked painfully every now and then, and his body didn't feel right, but there was no way he could tell Prompto all that and be understood with the gag in his mouth. He made an affirmative noise instead, nodding, and Prompto's smile widened.

"Good. That's good," he said, staring at him for a little while. Noct could actually feel how relieved Prompto was when he squeezed his shoulder a bit too hard. "I'm so glad you're okay, Noct. You should drink. You haven't had anything since morning."

Noct didn't realize how thirsty he was until he saw that bottle of water in Prompto's hand. He looked up at him, his eyes almost pleading.

Yes. Please.

He was so damn parched and all he managed to let out was a needy whine.

"Okay, okay. You don't have to look at me like that. I don't know how you can drink with that thing in your mouth, though," Prompto said with a slight frown.

He grabbed a napkin from the nearby camping table and held Noct's face lightly. "You're drooling, dude," he said, chuckling a little as he gently wiped away the spittle dripping down Noct's chin.

Noct's face warmed, feeling a wave of embarrassment crashing over him when he realized he couldn't stop himself from drooling, and that he was being treated like a helpless, vulnerable kid. So he tried to pull away.

"Aww, Noct. Don't be shy. C'mere, it's okay," Prompto coaxed softly.

Noct looked away, careful not to meet the others' gazes as Prompto turned his face this way and that, dabbing the napkin over the gag and around his mouth. He couldn't help closing his eyes and let out a sigh when Prompto lightly massaged the sides of his face. His jaw was sore from being forced opened for so long. Gods, he wanted the fucking gag out his mouth so badly.

"Oh Noct…"

He opened his eyes at the somber tone of Prompto's voice, catching his sympathetic gaze. His smile had faded, replaced by a worried line on his lips.

"You must feel so sore being tied up like this. I'm sorry, Noct. I wish I could get you out of this right now." Prompto held his face in his hands for a moment. They were warm.

"So, how do we do this?" he asked, pulling his hands away from Noct to unscrew the water bottle.

"Can you swallow with that gag in your mouth, Noct?" Ignis asked from the next chair. He'd been quiet mostly but Noct couldn't possibly miss the worried look that'd been on his face all this while. He felt a little guilty for being the reason Ignis was looking like that.

Noct tried swallowing. He could, after a few hard tries, and it was very difficult.

"I think I can," he said and flinched when he realized he couldn't understand the warped sounds he made.

Gladio watched him from where he was sitting next to the campfire. "Try pouring just a little first," he said to Prompto.

"Okay, let's try that. Open up, Noct."

Noct tilted his head and opened his already opened mouth wider. It felt like a whole desert was in there. He sat still as Prompto poured the water into his mouth.

It felt cool on his tongue and he desperately wanted it down his throat, but he couldn't get himself to swallow any of it.

He whimpered in increasing panic. He couldn't drink. He was so thirsty and the water was already in his mouth, but he couldn't drink.

He worked the muscles in his throat to try to swallow until it started to hurt a little, but nothing happened. The water just trickled out of the corners of his mouth.

"Hey, relax. Don't get too worked up. You'll hurt yourself," Gladio said. "Maybe you should lean back a little. Get that water to trickle down your throat. Here."

Noct felt himself being lifted onto the ground. A second later, Gladio was sitting behind him and he was gently being pulled backwards until his head and back rested against Gladio's chest.

Noct felt his face warming again. He closed his eyes so that he didn't have to look at Ignis and Prompto. This was so embarrassing, having himself positioned in between Gladio's spread legs like he was sitting in an armchair. Prompto better not be snapping any pictures of him being handled like this.

He opened his eyes tiredly when Prompto told him to tilt back his head. The water was in his mouth again, and after some time of leaning back and working his throat muscles with Gladio giving him words of encouragement right in his ear, Noct finally managed to swallow the water. They were at it for some time before Noct decided it was enough.

"Feeling better, Noct?" Ignis asked.

He was crouched in front of him, that look of concern never leaving his eyes. And then a small smile appeared on his face, like he was remembering an old memory. Ignis pulled out a handkerchief and wiped the water on Noct's chin and neck gingerly.

Noct made a noise, his eyes closing again when Ignis smoothed his hair back. He had wanted them out of his eyes for some time now, but what could he do with his hands tied behind his back.

It was embarrassing being coddled by his friends like this, but Noct didn't care anymore.

It felt good, the way Ignis's fingers were raking through his hair. It felt even better when Ignis started massaging his sore jaw the way Prompto did earlier. And then Gladio's firm hands were squeezing his stiff shoulders gently, down his prickly arms right to the tips of his numbing fingers. He couldn't help letting out grateful sounds as Gladio massaged his arms a few more times. When another pair of hands, undoubtedly Prompto's, started massaging up and down his stretched out legs, he felt like he was floating.

This all felt so good despite him being bound like a neat little package. Noct could feel his blood flowing better, his friends' hands warming his cold body.

Feels like I'm at a massage parlor or something.

Strange he would think that. He'd never liked being massaged at parlors, being touched all over, but it felt so good right now. Maybe he was just so tired and sore that he didn't mind it, and his friends were just trying to make him feel better.

Noct's mind was clearing up now that he was watered and relaxed. His memory was fuzzy earlier. He was having a hard time recalling how he ended up waking at camp when the last thing he remembered was lying in Prompto's lap at the pier. But now, he recalled the sudden pain coursing through his body, the way his heart was threatening to burst while he trashed about on the pier. The pain had come out of nowhere.

Noct let out a drawn out sigh when Gladio flexed back his shoulders until there was a satisfying pop.

"Glad you like it, princess." Gladio's rumbling voice pulled Noct out of his peaceful trance.

He opened his eyes and found Ignis and Prompto watching him, an amused smile on their faces. He was so lost in his thoughts he didn't even realize they had stopped massaging him. He straightened up, somehow feeling embarrassed at being watched like that.

"If you are feeling better, Your Highness, we would like to discuss your… predicament now," Ignis said, pushing his spectacles up his nose. "How much of today's events do you remember, exactly? According to Prompto, you don't know how you ended up being bound and put inside a body bag to be left in Bert's tackle shop."

What?

He was inside… a body bag? In Bert's tackle shop? How— He wasn't aware of any of that. He only knew he was in a dark, suffocating place, barely able to move. He couldn't see, his hearing dampened by a loud ringing in his ears, and all that while his head was throbbing like crazy leaving him nauseous and disoriented. And the lack of air didn't help.

"I don't know what happened before that. I don't remember," Noct said, hoping for his friends to at least understand half of what he was saying.

"You do remember going to the fishing pier with me, right?" Prompto asked, his brow furrowed.

He remembered that. Noct nodded.

"What about my text? Did you read it?"

That text Prompto said about meeting at camp for lunch? He remembered that, too.

"Mm-hm," he said.

"Do you remember anything after that?"

Noct wasn't sure. That was the point where his memory started to get hazy, like it was wrapped in a dirty old slime-covered, crumpled plastic sheet. He knew something was there but he couldn't make out what it was. He tried to remember but it was only making his head hurt even more.

"I don't remember," he said, shaking his head.

"You didn't meet anyone at the pier? Anyone at all? There must be someone—"

"Prompto," Ignis interjected calmly.

Prompto blinked, then rubbed the back of his neck, looking abashed.

"Sorry. You would've said something if you remember, right? Yeah… sorry, Noct. It's just… I hate seeing you like this, man. And it was my fault that you…" He looked away, eyes downcast. "I just hope Dave and his guys will find Bert soon."

Prompto started explaining when he saw Noct's raised eyebrows.

"When we found you at the tackle shop, Bert wasn't there. He was at the shop this morning, right? When we were there? So, yeah. We couldn't find him. We asked around but no one saw him anywhere nearby. It's strange that he's gone from his shop and you were stuffed underneath his counter top, you know? Gladio's called Dave up earlier to help us find him. We don't know if he's involved in this but there's a chance he might know what happened to you."

Noct nodded to show he understood. But he didn't see how Bert could be responsible for this. He was just an ordinary middle-aged man minding a tackle shop. Noct always had a nice chat with him whenever he was buying fishing stuff from the man. But what did he know? Looks could be deceiving. Maybe Bert held a grudge against him for whatever reason.

"You must be wondering why you are still in restraints, Noct," Ignis said. "I regret about what has happened, but it seems that we can't undo them without playing along with what your tormentor has planned for us."

Noct cocked his head slightly. "What do you mean?"

Ignis just looked at him for a moment, probably trying to figure out what he'd said.

"Noct, do you know why you fainted at the pier?"

Prompto made a little choking sound as Noct thought about it.

He knew he'd blacked out because of the pain, but he didn't know how he was suddenly inflicted by it. He shook his head.

"Those damn things wrapped around you," Gladio said with a murderous look on his face, "they're fucking shock bands. Somehow, they shocked you when me and Prompto were trying to get you free."

Shock bands?

Noct frowned, looking down at the restraints. That couldn't be right. Didn't Prompto undo his blindfold? Nothing happened then. He looked at Gladio questioningly.

"Yeah, I know. You were fine when Prompto got your blindfold off, but that's because we were lucky, I guess."

Lucky?

He didn't understand.

"Someone's messing with us, Noct. This is apparently a game we have to play," Gladio spat.

The word 'game' triggered something in Noct's mind, a memory, but a fleeting one. As soon as he tried to cling on to it, the memory was already lost in a swirl of muddled thoughts.

"I found this on the pier after you passed out."

Prompto held up a glossy black card in between his fingertips with the words For the Prince's Royal Retinue written on it in gold.

"It's the rules for the game." Prompto clicked his tongue in disgust and he flipped the card over where there were a wall of words. "This is so fucked up, Noct. I—" He stopped, looking like he might punch something, but he took in a deep breath instead. "Okay, let me just read this damn thing for you."

Prompto paused for another second or two.

"Congratulations!" he read out loud and then paused again. "This is fucked up, dude, I swear whoever—"

"Prompto, please, just go on. Or you could let me have that card and I will read it out for His Highness, instead," Ignis said dryly.

"Okay, okay. Sorry." Prompto ran a hand through his hair and continued.

"The prince and his royal retinue have been chosen to play this electrifying game of chance, Zap the Prince! A simple and easy game to play, it will definitely leave you breathless from the excitement and anticipation. Follow the rules of play, have fun and enjoy the game!"

Noct stared at Prompto, frowning again.

Zap the Prince? What the fuck?

Prompto went on reading the rules out loud.

"Rule number one: The prince has been captured, secured with the ten black bands. Free him by pressing the black button on the bands.

"Rule number two: The bands must be undone in the correct order. Undoing the bands in the incorrect order will cause the bands to send electric shocks through the prince's body.

"Rule number three: Take turns pressing the buttons. Failure to follow this rule will cause the bands to send electric shocks through the prince's body.

"Rule number four: One of the bands is the nexus. Undoing the nexus in the correct order will cause all other bands to undo themselves. The game ends when the nexus is undone.

"Rule number five: Undoing the nexus in the incorrect order will cause the bands to send electric shocks through the prince's body. It will also cause the nexus to send an electric shock ten times more powerful than the rest of the bands and the prince might be at risk of falling into a coma (if he is lucky).

"Rule number six: If the prince is failed to be released after a certain amount of time, he will be given a penalty.

"Additional note: The use of curatives to heal the prince from the electric shocks while he is still in restraints is not advisable as it will only cause him more harm."

Prompto lowered the card. "That is all."

Noct looked at Prompto, then at Ignis, and then at Gladio.

This must be a sick, elaborate joke. But then again, he didn't think his friends would let him suffer like this for fun. Prompto was right. This was fucked up. Who the hell came up with this stupid game? What the fuck were those rules?

"The rules are mostly vague, and merely serve as warnings," Ignis said as if he heard the question screaming in Noct's head. "My guess is this so-called 'game' is designed with such rules so that we can never reach the objective without hurting Noct. Undoing the bands is easy; we just have to push a button. But how can we know the correct order of undoing them? The game doesn't supply us with any kind of clues, nor does it point us to how to find them."

"Well, it's a fucking 'game of chance'," Gladio pointed out irritably. "We were lucky when Prompto undid the blindfold. It's probably the first band that should've been undone."

"But how can we know which one is the next one?" Noct said a little heatedly.

"Sorry Noct, can't understand you. But if you're asking which one is next, then the answer is we don't know. What we do know, you'll be shocked if we undo the bands in the wrong order, or if we don't take turns undoing the bands," Gladio said.

"I think that's the reason why you were zapped at the pier, Noct," Prompto said, looking guilty. "Not taking turns, I mean. You see, I was the first one to undo a band, the blindfold. And then I pressed the button on the gag. Of course, at that time I didn't know it was a fucking game and we were supposed to take turns, but if it was Gladio who'd pressed it, maybe you wouldn't have been shocked. I'm sorry, Noct. I feel so bad—"

"Hey, even if I'd pressed the button, there was no guarantee that the gag or any of the bands was the next one to be undone. He would've been shocked all the same."

"Gladio is right, Prompto. This is not the time to feel guilty about what has taken place," Ignis said not unkindly.

"Yeah, he's right. I'm fine. See? Don't blame yourself, Prompto. You did nothing wrong. I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me. I'll be alright," Noct said hurriedly, trying to make Prompto feel better. He didn't like how he was blaming himself.

They all turned to look at Noct, looking puzzled, and he sighed loudly. Of course no one understood what he'd just said, but at least Prompto was laughing now.

"Sorry dude, but the only thing I understood was my name. Man, we really need to get that thing out of your mouth."

"Yeah. I kinda miss hearing Prince Charmless complaining about everything," Gladio quipped, patting Noct on the back.

Noct rolled his eyes and immediately regretted doing that. It just made his headache worse.

"I agree that we should get Noct free soon as I'm concerned about rule number six," Ignis said. "It says Noct will be given a penalty if he is not freed after a certain amount of time, but how long is 'a certain amount of time'? And what is the penalty? Noct has been in those restraints for more than eight hours now. It certainly wouldn't be pleasant for us to suddenly find out what it is without prior warning."

"Like hell there'll be any warning," Gladio said, gritting his teeth.

"Exactly. So it's best that we free Noct soon."

"By playing the game?" Prompto asked. It was apparent that he didn't like that idea. "Do we have to play by the rules though?"

Gladio shrugged. "I've tried cutting the bands. Didn't leave a single scratch on them. Can't even pull them loose, either."

"What about warping? Noct, can you try warping out of the bands or something?" Prompto suggested.

Warping out of the bands?

Noct wasn't sure if that was something he could actually do. He had always warped towards something, not leaving something behind. But he could try. Maybe he could make it work. He'd try anything now to get himself free.

"Think you can do it?" Gladio asked, sounding hopeful.

"Mm-hm."

Gladio went to stand on the other side of the camping ground and gestured at him.

"Try warping to me and leave the bands behind."

Gladio made it sound like it was a piece of cake but Noct knew it was far from that. He stood up with Prompto's help, closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling the pull of the Crystal's power in him.

Okay, you can do this. Probably.

He took a deep breath, and warped in a burst of crystalline shards.

He barreled into Gladio who swiftly caught him before he could fall and when he looked down at himself, he saw that he was still bound.

"Try again. Warp to Prompto," Gladio instructed. He turned Noct around so he was facing Prompto who was readying himself to catch him.

He had only warped once but Noct was already feeling awfully tired and winded. He knew he was giving up way too soon but he didn't think warping could get him out of the bands. It just seemed impossible. And it didn't help that he felt a burning sensation around the bands when he'd warped just now.

Noct's vision swam a little when his head throbbed painfully, but he took another deep breath and warped to Prompto anyway.

As he had expected, nothing changed. He was still tied up.

"Wanna try again?" Prompto asked, steadying Noct as he caught him, and then he shook his head with a frown. "Or maybe not. You okay, Noct? You're breathing pretty hard."

He was. His skin was on fire. He felt like he'd run for hours when he'd only warped twice. Either that shock at the pier had hurt him really badly or the bands were doing something to him all this while. He suspected both.

"I'm fine," he said instead, trying to slow down his breathing and ignoring the burning pain around the bands. The one around his neck was especially hot, it was scalding his skin. He was readying himself for another warp but Prompto was already guiding him to sit back on the ground next to the campfire.

"Warping takes a toll on you, huh?" Gladio asked as he strode to where they were. "You alright?"

Noct merely gave him a nod. He didn't want to worry his friends by telling them about the burning pain. It'd be hard for him to tell them about it, anyway. He tongued the gag irritably, groaning when the pooling spittle in his mouth dripped down his chin.

Gladio crouched in front of him and held his face with his big hand, startling him. Noct wasn't sure if his tired, messed up mind was playing tricks on him or what but for a fleeting second, Gladio looked mad, like he was about to crush Noct's jaw with his bare hand. Noct instinctively tried to inch away from him, but all he managed to do was let out a whimper.

He knew that look on Gladio's face. He'd seen it too many times during training sessions.

He's disappointed.

Gladio was disappointed with him because he couldn't warp out of the bands, because he was giving up too soon, because he was too weak, getting exhausted after just a couple of warps. He wished he could do more. He wanted to do more, so that Gladio wouldn't be disappointed with him, so that his friends wouldn't have to deal with this stupid problem he'd gotten himself into.

He felt Gladio's grip on him tightening, and he was sure this was the beginning of a nightmare.

But the mad look on Gladio's face vanished as quickly as it had come, and he just swiped his thumb across Noct's chin with a sigh.

"I hate seeing you helpless like this, Noct," he said quietly.

Noct blinked. His mind… he was sure his mind was just too drained to operate properly, making him think ridiculous things. Of course Gladio wouldn't hurt him. None of his friends would.

Gladio turned to the others and said, "Looks like we have to play the fucking game."

Prompto looked uncertain. "I don't know, man. Noct could get hurt if we're not careful, or not lucky, I guess. And that nexus thing is worrying."

Everyone was looking at Noct now, expecting him to make a decision or something.

The bands couldn't be cut, and he couldn't warp out of them. Not doing anything wasn't an option. He couldn't go on being tied up like this forever, and there was no guarantee that nothing bad would happen if he just let himself be left restrained, anyway. Deep down he knew, and he was sure his friends knew as well that they had to play this game, however fucked up it was.

He might get hurt, hell, he knew he would get hurt sooner or later but that was a risk he had to take. The electric shocks hurt, but he could handle the pain. Probably. He was still alive, right? The shock at the pier didn't leave him a limp vegetable. And he knew what was coming this time. The shock had caught him unawares the first time around and that made it hurt ten-fold, but now he could at least brace himself before the shock came.

Noct looked around at his friends determinedly.

"Let's do this," he said as clearly as he could around the gag.

They all stared at him grimly.

"Are you sure, Your Highness?" Ignis asked, a distraught line forming on his lips.

Noct nodded once. He couldn't see any other way to get out of this.

Ignis sighed as he picked up the rules card lying on the ground. "Alright. The best way to play this game is to end it as soon as possible, and according to the rules, we can end it by undoing the nexus."

"Yeah, sounds simple enough, but how do we know which one is it?" Gladio said.

"I think it is safe to assume that after the shock at the pier, the gag is not the nexus as Noct is sitting right here with us, still conscious and aware," Ignis deducted. "Currently, there are nine bands on Noct's body. As we are excluding the gag, one of the other eight must be the nexus."

"So there's a one in eight chance of Noct being zapped into a coma, huh?" Prompto said gloomily. He stared at the bands wrapped around Noct one by one. "Say, which one do you think is the nexus? I have a feeling it's any one but the one around Noct's neck. Definitely."

"You think so?" Gladio asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah. Like, people usually put those things around the neck, right? You'd naturally think that the most powerful shocks would come from the collar, like it's the source or something. But I'm saying this just because I want to subvert a natural expectation."

"I know what you're saying but that doesn't mean it's not the nexus, though."

Gladio was right. Any one of the eight could be the nexus but Noct had a strong feeling the band around his neck was it. The collar was the nexus, he was sure of it. He didn't know why he thought so, though. Probably because he'd been more aware of the collar than the other bands, how it was particularly tighter and choking, and the slight buzzing tingles it let out was making him nervous all the time. Not to mention that scalding burn he felt earlier. But he couldn't really tell whether all those feelings were real or just his imagination.

Noct nudged Gladio with his shoulder and made a questioning sound.

"You wanna know which one I think is the nexus? No idea, but if I'm going with my hunch, it's this one," Gladio tapped the band that was wrapped below Noct's knees. "Don't ask me why. I just feel it is."

Noct turned to look at Ignis expectantly.

"As for me, my intuition says the nexus is the one around your chest. Most likely because it is the one closest to your heart," Ignis said with a slight frown, looking dissatisfied with himself. "What about you? Which one do you think it is?"

Noct tilted his head back, exposing his neck.

"You think it's the collar? Dude, you're subverting the subversion?" Prompto asked a little shrilly, his eyebrows raised. "I don't know, man. It could be, but I don't think it is…"

"That just shows how much of this depends on chance," Ignis said, fixing Noct with a pained gaze. "Do you really want to do this, Your Highness?"

Noct stared back at him. He had no other choice.

"Mm-hm."

They all lapsed into silence. For a moment, Noct thought they were not going to play along with the game after all, and his anxious mind was already thinking of things to say to get his friends to agree with him. He'd rather risk getting hurt, or falling into a coma or whatever than having to stay painfully tied up like this.

"It's decided, then. Let's just hope Lady Luck's on our side tonight," Gladio finally said, running a hand through his hair with a grunt. "Alright. Seeing that Prompto already undid the first band, I'll do the next one. And then it's Iggy's turn." He glanced at Noct. "You ready?"

No fucking way I'm ready.

He would never be ready to be electrocuted, but Noct nodded anyway.

Gladio stared at the bands for a long time. "This is harder than I thought," he hissed. His hand slowly travelled to and hovered above the band wrapped below Noct's knees. "I'll go with my hunch. That okay, Noct?"

Noct stared at Gladio's fingertip already placed lightly on the small button of the band. His heart had started racing, he could hear it beating loudly in his ears. It was going to hurt but he needed to endure it.

He bit hard into his gag, braced himself, squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.

"Here goes," he heard Gladio say.

Seconds after that, he felt the band constricting, slowly digging into his flesh and causing him to bite harder into his gag before the band came loose and there was a soft thud of something falling onto the ground.

Noct opened his eyes and saw a coiled black band lying next to his legs like a dormant little snake.

"Yes! Yesyesyes! You did it, Gladio!" Prompto shouted triumphantly, already leaping to his feet. "You did it! Great job, dude!"

Noct couldn't believe it. One band was off him and miraculously, he wasn't zapped. He wasn't zapped! He laughed, relief washing over him as Prompto pulled him into a one-arm hug.

"You're fine, Noct!" Prompto shook him by the shoulders excitedly.

Yes, he was! Relatively, at least.

"Okay, Iggy. Your turn," Gladio said with a little grin, clearly pleased with himself.

"Should I go with my intuition like you did, Gladio?"

Gladio shrugged. "That's what I did. Can't say it'll work everytime, though. What d'you say, Noct? The one around your chest the next to go?"

Noct was still in a little daze of disbelief as he looked at Ignis. "Okay," he said, nodding.

"Alright. Let's hope my intuition is as correct as Gladio's." Ignis traced two fingers along the band wrapped around Noct's chest and stopped when they brushed against the small button. He held Noct's gaze. "I apologize in advance, Your Highness. I pray that this will undo itself without harming you. Please brace yourself."

Noct shut his eyes and balled his cold, sweaty hands. There was a very light pressure on his chest, then a familiar constricting feeling like before, and suddenly he could breathe a little easier.

"Yesss! Yes, Ignis, yes!"

Prompto was screaming again. Noct opened his eyes and saw Ignis examining another coil of black band in his hands. He glanced at his chest and was so glad to see the band was gone.

"You did it, Ignis!" Noct said, not really caring that his words sounded nothing like what he had intended to say. Ignis smiled at him gladly, relief in his eyes.

"But neither I nor Gladio undid the nexus," he said with disappointment, looking at the other bands still wrapped around Noct. "The game continues, it seems. Prompto, I believe it is your turn now," Ignis said, moving aside to give way to Prompto who had suddenly stiffened, the huge grin on his face vanishing.

"Oh… yeah… I'm next…"

Prompto shuffled hesitantly to Noct's side, his uncertain gaze roaming up and down Noct's body.

"I uh… I don't know which one I should undo…" His eyes flickered to Noct's, as if asking him what he should do.

Prompto was a nervous wreck, but Noct was nervous as hell, too. He was only a button away from getting zapped, after all. But they'd been lucky so far; Gladio and Ignis got it right. Maybe they would continue being lucky. Hopefully.

Noct threw his head back slightly to show Prompto the band around his neck. "Undo the collar," he said.

Prompto stared at him, wide-eyed. "Huh? The collar? What— No! That's— What if that's the nexus and we got the order wrong?"

"I thought you said the collar definitely couldn't be the nexus?" Gladio pointed out, although he sounded as uncertain as Prompto was.

"I know I said that, but…" Prompto looked at Noct, his eyes pleading. "I'm sorry, Noct. Can I not undo the collar? I just don't wanna mess with it."

Despite what he'd said earlier, Prompto seemed to believe that the collar was the nexus, too. He clearly didn't want to risk zapping Noct into a coma by undoing the collar in the wrong order.

Noct sighed. "Just pick whichever," he said like he didn't care but his heart was hammering away with worry.

It took Prompto a while to decide which band to undo, his hand touching every single one like they were going to whisper to him whether he got it right or not.

"I'll go with this one," he said finally, tapping the band wrapped above Noct's knees. His hand was shaking as he located the small button. "I kinda have a feeling this is the next one to go. Hope I'm right." He stared at it, biting his lip. "You ready, Noct? I'll press the button on three."

Noct squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself again.

"One."

Shit. Counting down was a bad idea. It only made him even more anxious.

"Two."

There was a nerve-racking pause.

"Three."

Noct felt the light pressure again as Prompto pressed the button. The band constricted like the other two did before, and he was already releasing a breath of relief, a smile creeping onto his chapped lips.

Lady Luck really was on their side tonight.

But then he realized that he got it wrong. Instead of loosening, he felt the band above his knees and the other ones wrapped around him tightening, clutching him like barbed iron vices.

Hot searing pain spread from them in a flash. Noct's breath hitched, pained whimpers forced out of him. He struggled desperately trying to get himself free, ignoring the stinging pain of the bands cutting into his flesh. He knew what was coming, what kind of torture he was in for, and he moaned helplessly knowing he had no way of escaping it.

The sharp, burning currents running through him left Noct in intense spasms, his whole body jerking violently, his back arched in agony. He was gasping hard, barely able to breathe from the blinding pain that was enveloping him.

He didn't think he could endure this. He didn't think this extreme amount of pain was even possible. It felt a whole lot worse than when he was shocked at the pier. He wanted out. Fuck, he wanted the pain to stop so badly oh gods please just let it stop—

Noct could barely hold on to his life. His heart was pumping so hard, threatening to burst, to explode in his heaving chest and all he could do was scream, harrowing and anguished. He prayed for the seemingly endless torture to end before it'd kill him as he rode out the electric shocks, his tormented howling echoing through the night.

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Next chapter:

Crystalline Shards

"It has been a long day."