It's all coming together now guys. Very soon we'll have Assassin Chocobros either at the end of this chapter or early in the next.
Now just in case some of you are wondering, especially those who are familiar with AC lore and know what the different Pieces of Eden types can do, no Noct and Ardyn aren't related in this story. That being said they are connected in a way but that's something to be revealed later on.
Disclaimer: Hooded plot bunny is making a rabbit hole and everyone's invited.
000
Convocation
Chapter 6
000
After what felt like hours of nerves and really only having water at the restaurant Ignis came back from his call.
"Alright," he said and took his seat again. "Last chance to back out. Are you sure you want to go against your father and Ardyn to save Noct?"
"I am," Prompto nodded, he knew this was going to ruin his life at best but… Seeing how sick Noctis already was and knowing he was just going to get worse tomorrow gave him a weird sense of resolve he wasn't familiar with. "Tell me what I need to do."
"First you need to safely give Noct water," Ignis said. "Some food too if you can sneak it to him." He pulled a flash drive out of his coat pocket. "Find the security office and insert this into the server. It's a little program we developed that will loop footage. It'll hide what you're doing."
"And if Noct gives you any trouble," Gladio added and held out his left hand. "Show him this." He then curled the ring finger in, making it look like he was missing that digit.
"What does it mean?" Prompto asked.
"Right now," Ignis said. "That you're a friend and have been in contact with Assassins. Think of it as our secret handshake. The exact meaning doesn't matter right now, just that Noct will understand it. Tomorrow, come back here to Maahgo and we'll plan for Noct's escape."
000
Prompto was sure everyone could hear his heart the next day. This. Was. Crazy! He finally was able to pay his dad back for taking him in and supporting his wish to join Abstergo and he was throwing it all away for a stranger who admitted to his face that he killed people. Maybe this was a bad idea, maybe… He could tell Ardyn about Maagho and how it had connections to the Assassins. Just forget the whole thing or prove his loyalty.
He sighed. He could never do that to those guys. Noctis's words, the image of him looking sick, how scared he was to be in the Animus, the scare Ardyn had given him, all of it just proving that despite his fears and massive reservations about this mess Prompto knew he was doing the right thing getting Noctis out of this place.
His resolve was further strengthened when he actually saw Noctis's arrival to the lab. He had been all but dragged in not because he was kicking and fighting but because he looked so weak. His normally pale skin was now flushed with fever, his breathing was shallow and there were dark circles under his eyes. Did he even get any sleep?
"Oh you poor, dear child," Ardyn said in his usual concerned tone that Prompto was now recognizing as too faked. The man walked over and knelt in front of Noctis, tilting his head up as though to get a better look at him. It was telling that Noctis didn't have the energy to shake himself free this time. "You must be so ill. I know it might be a lot to ask but if you behave this session and actually show some progress we can cut it short today. If you promise to make a lot of progress tomorrow you can go right back to your room and have the day off."
"...Let's get this over with," Noctis said in a soft but determined voice, his eyes still able to make their usual glare when locking eyes with Ardyn. Prompto had to look down to hide his smile. Noctis may have gotten weaker physically but his attitude was still intact.
000
Prompto hadn't stuck around for the session this time. As soon as Noctis was secure in the Animus, and really tying him down at this point was just a show of power more than any legitimate concern for safety, Prompto had decided to learn more about the security for the building. Showing initiative Ardyn had said, yeah Prompto was showing initiative alright. He didn't just plan to mess with the server he also needed to learn camera placement, blindspots, passcodes, and who was dumb enough to leave their cardkey lying around. He also remembered when Noctis swiped his phone and was half tempted to try it himself. Maybe not right off a person but a quick, subtle swipe from a table would do. He needed to make sure he had something for the others to work off of.
He actually found the time flying as he applied himself like this, rather than feeling awkward in the lab. He managed to pull himself away after finally learning the passcode for Noctis's cell and managed to swipe a keycard. He already knew he couldn't use his own, the system kept a log and he couldn't be caught now. Hoping the loop program was active and working Prompto bought a bottle of water and a couple energy bars. Not much but they were easy to hide in his pocket and wouldn't look out of place. He made his way down to Noctis's cell and nearly froze in horror. Noctis was laying on the floor, barely moving except for a few shivers. His eyes were squeezed shut and his breath was weak and ragged, sweat glistening on his fevered skin. He stirred and slowly opened his eyes which were now dull and partially unfocused.
"You… came back…" he said weakly. He then blinked in surprise when Prompto pulled out a keycard and swiped it, pressing buttons on the keypad and opening the door. "Wha…"
"Shhh," Prompto said and went over to the cot, grabbing the blanket and bringing it back over. "Come on, let's get you up." He carefully eased Noctis into a sitting position, wrapping the blanket around him and letting the man lean against him.
"You… You shouldn't…" Noctis tried to protest, to push away but his head was swimming too badly and he fell back against Prompto.
"I have to," Prompto replied and placed the cold water bottle against the exposed crook of Noctis's neck. "You need to last until tomorrow. Then everything will be okay."
"How…" Noctis asked.
"Because I'm getting you out," Prompto said, making sure to turn his head away from the camera just in case. "Me and your friends." Noctis started and looked up at him, searching his face.
"You're lying…" he finally got out. "Or… This is a trick…" Prompto placed his left hand on Noctis's head, looking as if he was soothing him while hiding the fact he had curled his ring finger in. Noctis froze at that, feeling the hand signal.
"No trick," Prompto replied. "And unless someone physically saw me come down here, your friend's program should be hiding the fact I'm trying to slip you contraband."
"Which one?" Noctis asked.
"Uh tall, green eyes," Prompto said. "Light brown hair, glasses, pretty stylish considering you guys are supposed to be low key."
"Specs," Noctis smiled. "Uh, Ignis, sorry. That's my nickname for him. Which means Gladio probably wasn't too far behind."
"Big guy?" Prompto asked. "Scar down one eye, built like a mountain bear with a voice to match?"
"Hmmm," Noctis affirmed. "So which one grabbed you?"
"Uh big guy," Prompto admitted and Noctis face palmed.
"Please tell me he didn't scare you too bad," he said.
"Nah, all things considered he was pretty chill," Prompto replied. "It… Was actually Ardyn who had scared me beforehand. Probably a good thing," he added quickly, sensing the glare coming from the other man. "Because I think I might have tried to make a fuss and possibly got killed. Your friend did technically have me at knife point."
"What the hell, Gladio?" Noctis sighed. "He really should have sent Ignis instead if he couldn't muster up his usual charm."
"Usual charm?" Prompto asked.
"Oh yeah, he can be very charming when he wants or needs to be," Noctis said. "Usually to flirt his way through a situation and the fact that he's the 'ruggedly handsome' type doesn't hurt. A few times Specs's plan amounted to 'have Gladio distract the woman at the front desk while the two of us completed the mission'. He got quite a few phone numbers doing that."
"Lucky son of a bitch," Prompto pouted.
"No luck?" Noctis asked.
"Not… really," Prompto admitted. "I uh… I'm a little too scrawny for notice."
"Join the club," Noctis sighed. "Gladio's always teasing me about it too." Prompto looked down at Noctis in surprise. Yeah he wasn't jacked like his friend but Prompto could feel through the scrubs that Noctis did have some muscle but it was clear his body leaned more towards the "slim, lithe" form. More worryingly, Prompto thought the scrubs felt a little… loose. Was Noctis losing weight?
"I think you look fine," Prompto quickly said, trying to hide his most likely very awkward scrutiny. "But you might feel better if you had some water." He pulled the water bottle from Noctis's neck and carefully opened it. Noctis hesitated for a second before letting Prompto help him drink. "Better?" Prompto asked.
"A bit," Noctis replied.
"Think you can manage food?" Prompto then asked and Noctis hesitated.
"I…" Noctis closed his eyes. He really did want something but he feared his weakened body would try to reject it.
"Just one bite," Prompto coaxed and pulled out one of the energy bars, pulling off the end most piece. "If you can keep it down we'll try for a second."
"Okay," Noctis replied and opened his eyes, taking the offered piece and placing it in his mouth. It still tasted good and the drink helped kick in his hunger, Noctis slowly working through the first bar bit by bit with Prompto's help. Finally he turned his head away halfway through the second bar.
"Well that was better than I hoped," Prompto admitted.
"Trust me," Noctis sighed. "I want more but my stomach is protesting that it actually has to do work now."
"I can let the guys know tonight that this was a success," Prompto said, helping Noctis take another drink.
"Tonight?" Noctis asked.
"Yeah they invited me to that restaurant," Prompto replied.
"Oh yeah," Noctis replied. "Means they like you."
"Huh?" Prompto asked.
"If Gladio brought you to Maahgo instead of just cornering you in an alleyway," Noctis explained. "Means he and Specs are trying to be gentle. That you'd feel better in a friendlier environment. Plus the place has locking doors so you know, a lot more private than a back alley."
"Especially given what we're about to do," Prompto said and noticed Noctis pull away from him.
"Put the blanket back," he said. "Clean up and help me lay back down on the floor."
"But wouldn't it be better on the cot?" Prompto asked.
"They need to see me crawl there," Noctis said. "Otherwise they'll know someone was visiting me. I can't let you get in trouble, for both our sakes." Prompto nodded and after making sure he had all the trash he gently laid Noctis back down before putting the blanket back on the cot. He left the cell, giving one last look before locking it again.
000
"You came back," Ignis noted, seeing Prompto get escorted into the private room that the Assassins used for their meetings.
"He's getting worse," Prompto said, taking a seat. "He could barely move but… I did get him water and he did eat something."
"Good job," Gladio smiled and patted Prompto on the shoulder. It felt so strange, that compliment actually made Prompto feel… accomplished. There was no dramatic flair or flattery like when Ardyn had done it. Just two little words and a genuinely affectionate gesture. It also brought to mind his meeting with Noctis earlier and how… relaxed it had been. If they hadn't been sitting in a cell and Noctis wasn't getting so sick Prompto would almost think they were old friends catching up after years apart.
"Something wrong?" Ignis asked.
"I guess… I'm getting a little confused," Prompto admitted. "I know you guys are dangerous. Both Ardyn and Noctis have admitted as much but I feel… Is it weird that I actually feel like I'm more accepted here than back at Abstergo?"
"Not at all," Ignis admitted. "If I may ask though… How old are you?"
"Huh? Oh um nineteen," Prompto replied. "I turn twenty this October."
"I'm surprised Verstael has such a young son," Ignis noted but didn't press the matter. It was Prompto's business to tell if he knew and if he didn't Ignis didn't want to make things awkward. "As for how accepting we're being, you're still very young and likely only joined Abstergo due to family connections. It's known to us that only a handful of people within the company actually know it's a front for the Templar Order thus I don't fully consider you a Templar. Even if you were, there has been side switching in the past. Templar who realized that what the Order was doing was wrong and Assassins who were either lured away with promise of power, a faster end to the world's conflict or had become disillusioned with mistakes we had made in the past. In your case it could simply be that our goals and ideals align more with your personality and worldview."
"Yeah, Noctis mentioned a Creed," Prompto said. "And that part of it is to not hurt innocents."
"Wow he really let that slip?" Gladio grinned.
"Was he not supposed to?" Prompto asked, deciding it would be bad to mention Noctis mentioning the "Pieces of Eden" since that term actually seemed like it wasn't meant to be tossed around so casually. Prompto then remembered that despite Noctis's heated command to ask Ardyn about it Prompto had actually forgotten to in light of the scare tactic. Probably a good thing given what was now going to happen.
"Well not that he's not supposed to," Gladio admitted. "More like that really wasn't the time or place to bring it up. That being said…" Prompto shifted slightly as Gladio studied him, actually looking like he was considering something. "We should work on the plan to break Noct out," he then said, turning to Ignis.
"Do you know the way to the parking garage?" Ignis asked.
"Yeah," Prompto nodded. "Should be easy enough to get Noctis from the lab to it from one of the elevators."
"Perfect," Ignis said. "Two last things: take this." He handed Prompto what was clearly a smoke bomb. "Convince your father and Ardyn to release Noct early. His deteriorating health is the perfect reason. The smoke bomb will be the perfect cover for you two to get a headstart. Second, I need you to grab the memory core for the Animus."
"Why the memory core?" Prompto asked.
"The program your father developed," Ignis said. "Does it have to do with exposing someone to controlled instances of the Bleeding Effect?"
"Yeah," Prompto nodded. "Skills are then enhanced or transferred based on what the person is looking for."
"We're thinking of doing something similar," Ignis admitted. "Some Assassins like the two of us and Noct were raised in this lifestyle but there are other Assassins assigned to the field who are already adults and don't have the luxury to quickly adapt to a new set of skills over time. If we can build our own Animus then we can use it as a training device as well as searching through our own genetic memories for key events and items that might help us."
Meaning the Pieces of Eden, thought Prompto and then something clicked. "You mean there are unclaimed Pieces of Eden?" he blurted out. The air in the room went cold.
"How do you know about them?" Gladio asked and Prompto shrank back a bit from the growl.
"N-Nocts let it slip," he admitted.
"Was there anyone else who heard?" Ignis asked.
"Not that I know of," Prompto admitted. "It was just us and those cameras don't record sound." That seemed to ease the tension a little but now the Assassins just looked annoyed at their friend's massive slip up. "What are they?" he then asked.
"Ancient artifacts of immense power," Ignis said. "We can't explain everything about them now but… It is tied to why Noctis has been kept alive so far. He, or rather, his ancestors know the locations of several vaults where these items are kept."
"Those vaults are the only reason we've lasted this long," Gladio admitted. "The more we can keep out of Templar hands the better."
"Which is why you need to rescue Noctis," Prompto said. "He's your friend and you can't risk Ardyn finding the vaults or Noctis dying before he can tell you guys where they are." He then nodded. "Okay, I'll get Noctis and the memory core out tomorrow."
"Take this then," Gladio said and passed Prompto a burner phone. "Let us know when you're in the elevator."
