In Too Deep, Literally
Summary: During a routine dungeon exploration, Prompto and Gladio fall down into a pit and have to wait at the bottom for Ignis and Noctis to go back to camp to get supplies to help them climb back out. Prompto is minorly injured and somewhat panicked, while Gladio struggles with feelings of failure due to being unable to solve the problem himself.
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Chapter 1
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"How many more of these creepy dungeon things are we gonna go through?" Prompto frowned, wrapping his arms around himself and shrinking down as he walked along between Gladio and Ignis. He sure as hell didn't want to lead the way, but didn't want to be last in their group either. Something huge and scary might jump out and grab him if he was the last one. Maybe no one else would even notice right away if he was bringing up the rear - behind everyone else, out of sight, out of mind. He preferred to stay in the middle.
"As many as we need to. There are a few more Royal Arms… and who knows what else." Noctis shrugged as he led the way. "Any advantage we can find, even if we have to work pretty hard to secure it, is bound to come in handy later. We'll be glad we worked through each of these places when it's all said and done."
"Yeah… Maybe…" Prompto looked nervously up and down the walls and ceilings of the tunnel. It seemed like they were walking gradually further and further underground. It felt like the path sloped downhill slightly, and he was sure it was getting colder and colder by the minute.
"Not maybe, Prompto." Ignis disagreed. "Everything we're doing serves its purpose."
"I know..." Prompto exhaled, kicking a rock under his foot as he continued on. It tumbled down the sloping path in front of him, past the feet of his companions. "It'll be nice when we're done though, heading back up... The air's gonna get warmer as we go instead of colder... But then, we'll have to go up-hill instead of down, and it's such a long way. I'm exhausted just thinking about it."
"Just stop complaining, Prompto." Gladio grumbled. "It's not gonna make this go by any faster to have to listen to you bitching through the whole thing. This is nothing new or unexpected… It's a cold dark tunnel. We've been in plenty of 'em before, and we'll end up in plenty more. It's not the end of the world."
"Plenty more?" Prompto groaned. "How many exactly is plenty?"
"I don't know…" Gladio smirked slightly. "Fifty?"
"Ugh… You better be joking, Gladio. I don't have the emotional strength to handle fifty more of these… I could handle maybe five more, tops. That's pushing it too. These places take a lot outta me... Long, tedious, dark, cold, scary... Not really my cup of tea... I mean, I can handle it... A few more times, I guess. I hope we get done soon though. With this one at least. It's freezing in here…" Prompto hugged his arms tighter around himself.
"I told you to wear a jacket." Ignis frowned as he looked back over his shoulder.
"I did. This is my jacket!" Prompto gestured down at himself.
"That's a vest." Ignis raised an eyebrow. "Your arms are entirely exposed."
"Because I don't want a weird tan line when we go back out in the sunlight." Prompto pouted. "Plus, it's hard to move around fast with a big bulky jacket in the way. Usually we're running around outside in the day time, fighting stuff... How am I supposed to know when we're gonna be spending full days straight underground in cold caves? Or staying out all night above ground, even."
"That's why you bring a jacket, and take it off if you find you don't need it." Ignis reminded him. "Prompto, we've been over this…"
Gladio simply laughed from behind him, earning a scowl from the younger man.
"Do you even own a real jacket, Prompto?" Noctis wondered from up front.
Prompto shrugged. "Not, like with me… I didn't think I'd need it. We were driving, and I figured when we camped we would have the fire… And blankets in the tent. And it's so hot in the daytime usually. I mean, how was I supposed to know we'd just go underground randomly and stay there for hours and hours and hours and hours-"
"Okay, Prompto. Hours and hours. Got it. You do probably need to think about getting a jacket though." Noctis persisted. "You didn't think you'd need it. Fair enough. But now you do know… So you should get one."
"Where?" Prompto pouted. They didn't exactly come across many clothing shops out in the middle of nowhere. "We're in a cave. I doubt I'm gonna just find a jacket lying around."
"Maybe on the body of someone who didn't make it back out." Ignis noted. "Someone who wasn't watching his surroundings, spending all of his time complaining and not watching his back, but who perhaps had the foresight to wear a jacket at least. His loss would your your gain - as long as you do in fact make it out after all this."
Prompto felt his eyes widen. Ignis always knew how to scare the hell out of him. He shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest, determined not to let Ignis's remark get to him - at least not externally. "I haven't seen any dead bodies... Just monsters. I don't think the monsters here are that dangerous. Haven't seen any indication that anyone died in here."
"Because you're too focused on your own discomfort." Ignis went on. "I did see bones a while back. They looked human."
Prompto felt his lower lip stick out in a pout. "You're kidding... Right? You didn't really see bones... Did you?"
"We did see some about fifteen minutes ago. Might not have been human. They were pretty broken up... But they could have been human. I think you were busy complaining to Gladio about your feet hurting." Noctis noted. "So you missed the conversation entirely."
"You could actually make a jacket out of a monster's skin." Gladio suggested. "Some of the ones with fur would be really warm. The monsters down here have adapted to the cold and probably have really good skin for it."
"Ew…" Prompto grumbled. He was pretty sure Gladio was joking, but not one hundred percent sure. "I'm not wearing monster skin."
"Maybe it'd be a good disguise. They'd think you're one of them and wouldn't bother you." Noctis suggested with a laugh.
Prompto stared, narrowing his eyes and frowning. "Do you think that would work though?" He wondered legitimately. "Might not be a bad idea, really…"
"I was kidding, Prompto." Gladio laughed. "We'll get you an actual jacket somewhere."
"I may have an extra back at camp." Ignis noted.
"Of course you do." Noctis laughed. "Always prepared."
"Well, someone has to be. You're free to use it if you'd like, Prompto." Ignis offered.
Prompto narrowed his eyes, looking down at his arms. Jackets made it harder to move quickly… They got in the way… Ignis's jacket would be too big too. He'd probably have to roll up the sleeves a bit - and it would be even more in the way than if he used one his own size. "I don't know, Iggy… Maybe it'd be more trouble than it's worth."
"You could at least wear it at night." Ignis shrugged.
"Maybe…" Prompto noted, still not entirely sold on the idea.
"Do you think there's a good place to set up camp in here?" Gladio changed the subject from behind him. "Probably's getting pretty late by now..."
Prompto felt his eyes widen as he turned toward his friend. "What? We're not gonna just try to get through it and be done? We won't be able to sleep anyway… We'll have to keep watch, and it's freezing… Why can't we just get through this place and get out? Why do you wanna prolong this!?"
"Continuing to fight through a dangerous place while we're exhausted isn't the safest choice. I'd say it wouldn't be a bad idea to start looking for a safe place to rest, if only for a few hours." Ignis agreed with Gladio.
"Noct?" Prompto called out pleadingly, hoping his friend would agree that it would be better to power through and be done with this horrible place.
"If we find a place that seems safe…" Noctis answered with the shrug of one shoulder. "If it doesn't seem safe, I say we keep going… but if it looks safe enough, I think Iggy and Gladio are right. It'd be better to rest up and not try to fight hordes of monsters while we're sleep deprived."
"Awww…" Prompto felt his shoulders slump as he threw his head back dramatically.
"Come on, bud. You'll live." Gladio clapped Prompto's shoulder with a slight smirk.
"We'll be safe. Especially with you staying up and keeping watch, hm, Prompto?" Ignis added with a sly smirk of his own.
"What?!" Prompto groaned.
"He's kidding, Prompto. Geeze." Noctis shook his head. "Chill out for once."
Prompto let out an annoyed grumble, but continued walking after Ignis, making sure to keep Gladio behind him so he wasn't the last one. He could just picture some slimy serpent monster sliding around the tunnels behind them, watching, waiting for what it perceived to be the weakest prey to fall behind.
Prompto would be the one a monster would see as the weakest too. It always seemed like any horrible creature looking to pick somebody to drag down a hole or throw against a wall, to pull under the surface of whatever kind of water nearby... anything awful, it was always him.
Maybe he really was the weakest… He was the smallest. His weapon was even small. He didn't look intimidating, because he just wasn't an intimidating presence… Not like Gladio who was huge and wielded a giant sword to match, or Noctis, who also used any number of large weapons and struck out with them so fast and hard. Even Ignis was pretty tall, and used weapons that looked more threatening than a little gun would to a monster that didn't know what a gun was. If there was a monster looking for the easiest kill, Prompto would definitely be the target.
Shrinking down and glancing over his shoulder, Prompto swallowed. He was scaring himself just thinking about this.
"What?" Gladio stared at him.
"Nothing…" Prompto shook his head as he noticed something shiny standing out in an alcove behind the larger man. "Wait… What's that?" He asked, stepping back toward it. Maybe it would be something useful, a rare mineral or loot they could use or sell. There was all sorts of cool stuff to be found in these caves - from naturally occurring elements to treasure lost by the poor people who came in here before them and never made it out.
Gladio turned and walked after him, and for that Prompto was glad. He wanted to check and see what the item was - but at the same time, didn't want to stray far from the others and get pulled into some creepy monster's den. He was glad Gladio chose to back him up without Prompto having to ask him to.
"What is it?" Gladio asked as they got closer.
"I dunno-" Prompto started, stepping closer, then gasping a sharp breath as the ground beneath his feet started to crumble. "Gladio!" He shouted, turning back and grabbing toward the other man as he felt himself slipping. The ground he had walked over was extremely unstable, and quite a bit of it was crumbling right under his feet.
"Prompto!" Gladio yelled back, reaching quickly out toward Prompto's arms and grabbing him as Prompto felt the ground below his feet quickly disappearing.
Prompto let out a frightened, shaky whimper as he felt Gladio's hands around his arms, as he tried to scramble forward and was only met with more dust and crumbling rock as Gladio pulled him back. But the hole in the ground where they had been previously standing only increased in diameter, pulling Gladio down too.
"Damn it!" Gladio growled, still gripping Prompto's arm tight in one hand as he stumbled forward and tried to grab at the wall of the hole they were being sucked down into with the other.
"Gladio!?" Noct's voice rang out from what now sounded like it was pretty far away. "Prompto!?"
"What happened?" Ignis's voice shouted.
"The ground-" Prompto cut himself off with a shaky scream as he stumbled forward, hitting the dirt wall before sliding back, falling even further down. He couldn't tell if he was stumbling down a slope or going straight down. So far, his feet hadn't seemed to connect with any sort of secure ground, even as his arms and legs seemed capable of bumping into every sharp rock embedded in the walls. Everything was collapsing - the ground at least… maybe parts of the hole's walls too.
Prompto coughed as he continued sliding ungracefully downward, hitting his back rather hard against the side of the ever-deepening pit before falling further forward - or downward… or something.
At this point, Gladio lost his grip on him and Prompto was knocked down to his hands and knees, but he wasn't done falling yet. He rolled a couple times, feeling sharp stones scratching his arms and digging into his back, thighs, and anything else they could reach as he tried to cover his head and face with his arms and hands.
"Gladio!" Prompto screamed, rolling even further down the chaotic, steep, crumbling tunnel. It was really more of a hole… A deep, pretty much straight-down hole. How the hell were they going to get back out?
He heard Gladio let out a pained grunt as well. Prompto wasn't the only one still tumbling down.
Prompto continued falling, bumping against all sorts of scratchy, hard, painful things until he settled harshly against the flat surface of the bottom of this horrible pit. Somehow, he managed to land quite hard on his wrist and hit his forehead at the same time. He was also pretty sure his entire body was probably littered with scrapes and bruises.
As soon as he landed, Prompto found he was completely out of breath, not sure if he could even move. All he could do was whimper a tiny, pained noise, barely audible. His whole body hurt, but at the same time, he was starting to feel almost numb, like he was asleep and this whole thing was a dream.
For a moment, as the dust started to settle, Prompto couldn't get himself to breathe. His lungs wanted air, but he just couldn't manage to inhale. As the seconds ticked by and he couldn't get himself to breathe, panic started to set in. What if his lungs had somehow broken on the way down? What if he died? He felt tears stinging his eyes as he considered it. He might actually die. He could be actively dying right now...
He heard muffled, unclear voices - worried voices - Noctis and Ignis, shouting down at them. Gladio was saying something back, but Prompto couldn't focus. He couldn't tell what they were saying. He just knew they were saying something.
His wrist hurt. His head hurt. His lungs wouldn't expand. He could feel tears pooling in his eyes as he hugged his wrist against his chest and tried to suck in a breath. He only saw darkness. He was pretty sure he was on his side, maybe on his chest, facing down. Maybe the darkness was the dirt floor. He was in so much pain.
"Prompto-" Gladio's voice sounded closer, slightly more clear, but still not entirely. It still sounded like Prompto was under water and Gladio was up on land.
Prompto let out a tiny, shaky cough, still not really managing to intake a full breath. He felt Gladio's hands on his arms, rolling him onto his back. Prompto held his hurt wrist protectively against his chest, unable to make his mouth move to warn Gladio not to accidentally bump it. He couldn't get himself to speak, to breathe… to do much of anything other than let out a tiny, breathless, pained whimper and blink back unshed tears
Honestly, Prompto could barely make out Gladio's face as the man stared down at him. He looked worried, maybe… but everything was so dusty, so clouded.
Gladio continued saying something down at him as Prompto blinked, trying to see him more clearly, trying to get himself to breathe as his body felt more and more numb. Maybe breathing wasn't such a big deal… He didn't feel as much pain anymore at least. Was he passing out? Should he be scared that he might be passing out? Should he try to force himself to stay awake, to keep trying to inhale?
"Prompto!" Gladio's voice sounded so far away, even though the man was clearly right there, staring down at him, yelling, shaking him by his shoulders.
Inhaling a very shaky, labored breath, Prompto squeezed his eyes closed for a second, feeling tears sticking to his eyelashes as he forced them back open. Gladio's hand was against the side of Prompto's face and he was saying something else, still staring worriedly down at the younger man.
"Gladio-" Prompto choked weakly, reaching his uninjured hand up toward the man's arm as he noticed his vision fading at the edges. "You okay?" He whispered.
Gladio said something back, but Prompto couldn't quite make it out. Everything sounded like he was underwater, and his vision was quickly fading into a smoky haze.
He could still hear the worried voices of all three of his friends, muffled and unclear as everything around him faded into darkness.
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