Awareness came like a cold splash of water, the world intruding violently in a sudden wave of light and sound, and the young man came awake with a quiet gasp. He narrowed his eyes in pain as his heartbeat slammed through his ribcage, the jolt of adrenaline disorienting in the quiet morning.

Jason groaned long and loud before rolling onto his side and burying his face in the covers of his bed, resolutely blocking out the light. What the hell? He felt like he had gone three rounds with Master Diaz without gear, every joint in his body aching as if with fever. Or he got pounded the hell out of. It happened pretty frequently.

Except that he hadn't been training yesterday. No, instead he had the day off from boot camp and had decided to play his new favorite RPG, with which he commenced to play a full ten hours. It was an indulgence for sure, but it had been a long while since he had had a full day to himself, what with instructing the kids and training for his third degree. In any case he had done nothing to warrant this kind of soreness the day before.

Jason groaned again and levered himself into a sitting position, blinking into his too bright bedroom. Blindly, he reached for the curtains he had clearly forgotten to draw last night and persisted until the room was bathed in pleasant darkness once more, concealing his somewhat messy floor and walls covered in all kinds of posters and photos. It was a collection of interest for him, ranging from places he'd been to tournaments he'd won, and probably more prevalent was the fanart of his favorite games and various strange paintings he'd found in his wanderings around the rather eclectic downtown Austin. He was proud of his collection, sure, but at the moment all of the bright colors and images were making him nauseous.

Jason glanced over at his phone to check the time, not even bothering to flick his shoulder length black hair out of his face as it fell into his eyes. He was not surprised to see that it was only seven in the morning, long having resigned himself to the fact that his body wakes early on its own as a result of his active lifestyle, no matter how he wished he could sleep in every-god-damned once in awhile.

"Alleyoop," he mumbled, swinging his legs over the side of the bed and getting to his feet. For several seconds, the room spun and he had to force himself to stay standing. "God, what did I do yesterday? I'm pretty sure I just sat on my ass and…." He trailed off, eyes widening as memories of the previous day make it through his muddled sleepiness.

"Oh…" he whispered.

Trepidation spiked through him forcefully, Jason completely forgetting about his exhaustion in lieu of the memory of piercing blue eyes that unerringly found his own the night before.

That hadn't been real. It couldn't have been. That's it, it must have been some sort of strange dream. He just fell asleep, must have, and dreamed the whole thing up. With long strides, Jason easily maneuvered around the piles of clothes and random odds and ends covering his floor and directly into the living room of his small studio apartment. There, sitting innocuously as ever, was his rather impressive gaming setup. In an antithesis to the rest of the apartment, his entertainment center was meticulously organized; large seventy-two inch TV standing proudly at the top, several gaming consoles from all eras stacked atop one another, their cords all sincheded together and hidden out of sight. And of course, his pride and joy, the PC he built himself, its tall black tower standing stoutly beside the subwoofer. The wall next to it held a shelf filled to the brim with all manner of games he'd been collecting since he was a kid. His large second-hand couch and coffee table...weren't so organized. Half-full box of old pizza, crumpled up napkins shoved in coffee mugs and a nest of blankets and cushions lying haphazardly in the corner. Everything looked exactly as he left it the night before.

Suddenly he felt silly. Of course that didn't happen. Video game characters did not just suddenly gain awareness and stare down gamers. That was just ridiculous. As if to prove it to himself, Jason flopped onto his couch, long wired limbs sprawling, and flicked out his phone to turn on his systems. Right before he brought himself to hit the power icon on his custom app, he froze. Something in his gut was sending him warning sign after warning sign. Don't do it, man, it said, and Jason didn't usually ignore his gut feelings…

BEEPBEEPBEEP. BEEPBEEPBEEP.

Jason yelped and practically threw his phone across the room as the alarm went off, shattering the quiet with an obnoxious jingle and nearly making him piss his pants. "Don't do that to me dammit!" He shouted at his unrepentant phone where it landed in a mess of pillows across the room. With a dramatic sigh at himself for being a wuss, he trudged over to his phone and shut the alarm off, wondering why he even bothered having one when he was usually up before it. He guessed he just needed that adrenaline rush in the mornings, or maybe he was a glutton for punishment.

"Whatever," he mumbled, staring at the time. He would need to be into the dojo in about an hour. It was Saturday, so it should only be a half day; bootcamp in the morning and no kid's classes to teach till Monday. Still, his aches and pains made themselves known once more, and he wondered not for the first time why he chose such a physical job instead of that cushy desk job his father offered him several years ago. Oh right, because he was allergic to formal clothes and bureaucracy. Go figure.

A particularly harsh throb in his lower back made interupted his stupid thought process and he sighed again. Looked like he wouldn't be able to train today in any case. He quickly opened his contacts and hit speed dial. He didn't really need to call, as boot camp wasn't really a part of his job, just a thing he had to do to achieve the next rank, but he always felt guilty when he skipped. Something about training at that dojo since he was a kid made him feel like he was part of Master Diaz's family. Also, the man would bother him if he didn't. The phone rang several times before it clicked.

His own voice echoed out of the receiver, sounding huskier and lower than it did to him usually. Why did people's voices always sound so odd on the phone? It was drowned out by Jason's almost audible eyeroll. "Hey, thanks for calling Diaz Martial Arts!" the recording played perkily. "We are on the mat right now, so please leave your name and number–" Jason hung up. Instead he thumbed open his text app.

MastaJason: Yo ASHLEY! Tell master D I wont be in today. Gotta bitch headache.

MommaAshley: Ya sure you do. You just want another day off. Lazy.

Jason snorted in amusement, not surprised that his co-worker was giving him grief.

MastaJason: dont SMACK TALK ME woman! Why arnt you at the desk anyway I tried to call.

MommaAshley: I dont need to smack talk you, Ill let the floor do it for me when I make you EAT IT monday. And Im not at the desk because tyler has a stomach ache and Im at home cleaning his mess.

Jason winced. Again? Ashley's son didn't have a weak constitution by any means, but he'd thought the kid had gotten over this bug. It's been weeks. But that only meant one thing. Jason grumbled and resigned himself to the fact that Diaz would be harassing him for missing on Monday.

MastaJason: alriiiight dont get ur thong in a twist ho! Ill deal~

MommaAshley: you better. C u monday.

Jason stared down at his phone for several seconds. Well, that was that. His eyes flickered over to the dark TV, a sliver of trepidation worming up his spine. He didn't know whether yesterday was real or not, but he knew he wouldn't rest until he found out. Once again, he thumbed open his control app and his darkly tanned thumb hovered over the power button. The memory of impossibly blue eyes made him frown and he resolutely pushed it. It might have been real, might not've. But there was only one way to find out.

Jason's systems hummed to life and he grabbed his controller, shoving his pillows aside and leaning back as the TV flickered on.

-o0o-

Prompto woke slowly, blonde lashes fluttering open. For a moment he was confused, staring into the complete darkness before his eyes adjusted to the very faint light of early dawn. He shivered in the early desert chill and automatically scooched backwards, instinctively moving towards the heat of one of his friends sleeping at his back. He hit a solid wall–Gladio then– and hummed in contentment as the shield's naturally high temperature warmed him from head to toe. He could hear Gladio's snores and Noctis' quiet breaths mingling and figured that Ignis must already be up.

The blonde curled into himself as he contemplated the events of the previous day, a small sting of anxiety waking him further.

That actually happened. Well, at least he was sure that some of it did. That last part was a bit nuts, but as for the rest; his friends' memories being jacked, Noctis acting weird, that song. That stuff...yeah. He whined, high pitched and drawn out, curling his arms over his drawn knees. "It's not real, It's not real...come on Prompto, get it together."

"Prompto?" Ignis' voice interrupted his small crisis from outside the tent. "Are you awake?"

"Y-yeah. I'll be out in a sec," he said, Gladio snorting beside him as he moved away but not waking. A violent shiver tore down his spine and he frowned in confusion, looking down at himself. A blush rose furiously on his face as he realized he was in his chocobo pajama pants and little else. For a second his heart seized, hand snapping to his wrist, but his armband was still there, untouched. He sighed in relief. At least they knew not to touch that. The guys must have changed him after he...ah….fell asleep. He hastily snatched up his sleeping bag in an absurd effort to cover his bare torso, which was dumb because for one thing, no one was looking, and for another, they totally would have seen him last night anyway. Another whine built in the back of his throat but he ruthlessly pushed it down along with his lingering embarrassment. Nothing to be ashamed of, he told himself as always. They had all seen each other without clothes at one point or another. But his ingrained self consciousness was not something so easily brushed off. Noct had been trying for years to tell him that no, his stretch marks were not that noticeable, and yes, he did look great with his shirt off, so quit covering up like a damned shy virgin girl, Prompto. A small smile tugged at his lips as his inner monologue sounded just like Noctis. Still, he felt loads better once he was fully clothed.

Prompto stepped out of the tent, glancing at the glowing horizon before walking hesitantly over to Ignis. The older man was dressed impeccably as always in his full Crownsguard fatigues. Well, as impeccable as one could be after spending days in the desert without bathing. Prompto knew he would shed those layers once the sun really got started. Or maybe not, since they'd probably be spending a good deal of time underground today. Prompto sighed at the thought.

"Good morning," Ignis said, looking away from the camp stove. He might have been dressed, but his dark blonde hair had yet to be styled, resting softly against his brow. A steaming kettle of Ebony was warming on the flame, wafting the bitter aroma of the advisor's favorite drink about the camp. Prompto wasn't a fan of coffee himself–it made him jittery and anxious– but his long association with the resident coffee addict had made him at least appreciate the smell. It was one of the scents he unerringly associated with home, and at the moment, this small normality comforted him. "Are you feeling better?" Ignis asked gently, face carefully neutral of the concern Prompto knew was just beneath the surface.

"Yeah," he sighed, even though it wasn't true. "Sorry about yesterday. I guess I was just stressed out. All this monster fighting, ya'know?" He avoided Ignis' acid green gaze, staring into the sunset instead. He didn't feel right lying to Iggy, but well...after last night, he knew this was something he would have to deal with on his own. Whatever 'this' was, none of his friends were noticing it. He sighed again before plastering a grin on his face. "So what's for breakfast?"

Ignis was silent for a few more seconds, clearly not buying it, but he seemed to put it aside for now. "I believe we still have some eggs and some gighee ham in our inventory, if you would be so kind as to grab the grocery bag out of the tent."

"You got it, Iggy!" Prompto enthused, bouncing back to the tent, not even having to fake it this time. If he loved anything in this world, it was Ignis' ham omelets, no doubt. He crawled into the small tent to see Gladio already up and alert, poking at his phone, one arm rested on a bent knee. "Mornin' big guy!"

"'Sup," Gladio said, barely glancing at Prompto before going back to whatever he was doing. With a shrug Prompto crawled over a still slumbering Noctis and grabbed the grocery bag from behind him, the prince not even stirring as he was jostled. The blonde looked down at Noct before promptly announcing "Not it!" and bolting from the tent. Gladio grumbled and threw a pillow at his retreating back, resigning himself to Noctis Wake Up Duty.

With a chuckle, Prompto brought the requested bag to Ignis and then commenced to hover around the stove and pester him until the food was done.

-o0o-

A few hours later and Prompto was miserable. The Balouve Mines were just as creepy and awful as the name suggested. And the worst part was that they didn't even need to be here. The part they were looking for was literallyright beside the entrance. They could have just grabbed it and left. But nooo, Noctis had to be all adventurous and lead them all onto some ancient elevator that could fall at any second and plunge them down into the depths never to be seen again! And then there were the monsters!

Prompto squeaked as yet another loud bang echoed from somewhere down the tracks, shoulders impossibly tense. They had been ambushed no less than seven times by those creepy little goblin things and this was not his idea of a good time. "Let's go down the creepy elevator shaft, he said. It will be fiiiiine, he said," Prompto whined.

"Quit bitching," Gladio rolled his eyes. "They're just goblins."

"Easy for you to say! You're huge! They see me and they're like 'oh look, free meal'! Ah!" Prompto shouted as they were ambushed yet again . Caught by surprise, he summoned his gun and blasted the little devil right out of the air mid jump. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for the second enemy that tore into his back, launching him forward.

"Of all the–" Gladio growled, grabbing the monster by the neck and heaving it across the battle into ignis' waiting blades. He snatched the flailing Prompto from the ground by his collar and pulled him close, "On you feet!", before shoving him back into battle.

Face burning, but no time to feel embarrassed, Prompto threw himself back into the fight. He fell unsteadily but surely into his role, dancing out of the enemies' range and picking them off one by one. Gladio stayed in the thick of it, large sword cleaving enemies in two while both Noctis and Ignis used his bulk as a springboard to complement their own acrobatic fighting styles. Noctis usually switched between weapons frequently, but today he seemed to be favoring the spear, the pole in his hands more often than not as he teamed up with Ignis to take down foe after foe.

It was over in minutes, the goblins much weaker than the four combined, no matter how many of their number ambushed them at once. If Prompto wasn't such a wreck, he was pretty sure he could handle them all on his own. With a shaky exhale he dismissed his weapons, the others following suit in quick flashes of blue light.

Prompto stumbled back a step as Gladio marched into his space, furious frown marring his features. "What," he barked, "was that?"

"S-sorry," Prompto shrank into himself beneath the larger man's ire.

"Don't tell me sorry! You need to focus. Whatever's up with you lately, you cannot bring it onto the battlefield. Either get it together or wait at camp!"

Prompto's eyes filled with humiliated tears as Gladio stomped away down the tunnel. He looked down, fists shaking at his sides. He was right, Prompto knew he was. Prompto was there to protect Noctis, the prince, it was his job. But all he seemed to be doing lately was fumble around and get into trouble. Some guard he turned out to be. Stupid, stupid….

A gentle hand fell onto his shoulder and he looked up in surprise, Ignis looking down on him with concern. "Don't take it to heart, Prompto. He just worries. We know you haven't been doing this for very long. Give it time."

"Yeah," the young man sniffed, forcing a smile. "I know. Thanks Iggy."

Ignis smiled, just a tiny quirk of his lips. "Here, take this. Those claw marks look nasty." He pressed a small cool object into Prompto's hand and continued on, following the shield into the dark. Prompto looked down into the small bottle in his hands, squeezing it lightly. The thin glass cracked and dissipated in a flash of green light, soothing his aches and pains. With a determined frown, he wiped the tears off his face and squared his shoulders. No more messing around. He just needed to get through this dumb mine and then he could beg Iggy for his favorite food and forget this awful day.

With that in mind, he looked up, ready to move forward. "Gah!" Adrenaline laced painfully in his chest in a wild rush, setting his fingers to pins and needles as he spotted a figure standing stock still a few yards away. "OH," he gasped, "Noct, you scared the wits outta me, man!" He paused. "Noct?"

But Noctis wasn't responding. In fact, he wasn't moving at all. His face was completely blank, just...staring, eyes nearly black in the dim light. Prompto chuckled nervously. "Cut it out, dude, this place is scary enough without you acting all weird." But still he didn't move.

And then the strangest thing happened. Noctis abruptly strode two steps away then pulled a camera out of his arsenal and held it up. Prompto's nervous smile froze in his face as his eyes widened. What? Since when did Noctis have a camera? Since when did Noctis take pictures ? "N-Noct?!"

The flash of the camera blinded Prompto and he stumbled back with a startled shout, blinking the spots from his eyes. "What the hell, man?!" But when he looked up, Noctis was gone. He glanced around, bewildered and heart racing. Something flickered in the corner of his eye, but before he could spot it, Noctis' voice called from down the tunnel.

"Prompto, come on! I think I found a way back to the surface!"

Prompto's jaw dropped. He sounded completely normal! But. What the hell just happened and how did he get all the way over there?!

"Get a move on!" Gladio's command had Prompto scrambling after his three friends, having no desire to fall behind. He suddenly felt exhausted and he was so over this mine, aching to see the sun again. Whatever was going on, whatever strange thing just happened, he wanted to put it way behind him, thankyouverymuch.

-o0o-

Jason stared down at the photo in his hand, still warm from the printer that just spit it out moments ago. His tanned face was completely blank, and if he had to pin down an emotion at the moment, he would say 'numb'.

Prompto stared back up at him from the glossy rectangle, lighting from the pinlight attached to Noctis' shirt harsh against his pale face. A wavering smile and wide scared eyes, still red from the tear tracks the blonde had wiped away only moments before marred Prompto's usually artificially perfect features. It wasn't only the flaws that were strange about this photo–and there were many things that were odd–but the fact that he looked….too real. Gone was the slightly stylized CGI rendering that Jason was accustomed to seeing. Gone were all those little tells that Prompto wasn't real; the stringy, awkward rendering of his hair, the off lighting that was never quite right despite developers best efforts. No, either this was a clever, ridiculously elaborate hoax or Jason was losing his mind, because the boy in that photo looked just as real as any of the guys he saw regularly in the real world.

He'd watched the whole thing. It wasn't obvious at first that the characters were acting differently. The game had autosaved right after the camp, so he was able to start right where he'd left off. Nothing odd had happened, the three NPCs falling into perfect formation behind Noctis as Jason guided them into the mine. Everyone was acting in character, saying their scripted lines and fighting the same as usual and Jason was almost convinced that he had imagined the whole crazy thing.

That is, until that last fight.

The battle was average, the mobs still weak this early in the game. He didn't even really feel like going any further, since the characters were too weak yet to take on the Aramusha at the end. He figured he'd just finish this fight and head out, pausing the game while he got breakfast.

That didn't go quite the way he'd planned.

He watched as if looking onto an oncoming train wreck as the TV first flickered, then the characters went crazy and started moving on their own.

Control was seized from his hands as Noctis took on a life of his own, and the most curious sensation ran up and down his spine. He looked down with wide eyes, seeing his fingers moving on their own but not doing a thing to actually command them. And just like that, the fighting style changed before his eyes, Noctis moving in sync with the other three more fluidly than ever before. Physics suddenly seemed to have more weight and reality than possible in the simulated environment. Details that had been missing before were suddenly prevalent, like the heaving of Gladiolus's chest or the black splatter of the goblins' blood over the characters' skin, Ignis tripping on a rock and tearing the knee of his pants before leaping back to his feet...the list goes on. And for the first time he noticed that there were no HUD readings at all, as if he were merely looking through the window to another world.

And then he watched in a daze as Gladio yelled at a trembling Prompto, as Ignis gave him comfort, as Prompto wiped his tears, none of this anything he had seen in his last playthrough just a month ago.

Something still held him prone, but as he watched Gladiolus and Ignis leave the screen, he knew he had to do something to prove he wasn't crazy. He wrenched the controller, something snapping just outside the range of his hearing, and forced Noctis a few feet forward into the face of a nervous Prompto. Flicking on camera mode before the moment was lost he snapped a picture.

The screen went white, or maybe it was his vision, because the next thing he knew a surge of electricity jolted through his arms.

When he came too several minutes (he thought?) later, he was on the floor, limbs shaking and utterly drained of all energy. Jason rolled his head to the side, black hair sticking to the sweat on his face and neck, and stared into the TV.

Completely normal. HUD in place, characters standing idly in formation, waiting for him to command them.

It had been several hours since then, but the picture in his hand refused to change. Yeah. This was real. Prompto was real, unless he truly was just crazy. With a shaking hand, Jason set the photo gingerly on his coffee table. He stood, swaying still from that inexplicable exhaustion, and grabbed his keys. Stumbling through the door, he fled his apartment. He didn't know where he was going, but anywhere was better than in trapped in the gaze of those frightened blue eyes.

-o0o-

Jason is based off one of my friends IRL. We go to the same martial arts school together where he is actually an instructor, and yes, he really does text like that haha. All of the characters from Jason's world will be based off actual people I know, and I might even show up a time or two, but I won't be a main character by any means. Wonder if anyone will be able to guess which one is me...

If anyone wants a clearer picture in their heads, we always joke that he looks just like Aladdin with longer hair. Maybe a bit taller.

Anyway I am having a hell of a good time with this concept, I think I might be in love. This is going to be fun! See you next time!