Prompto stared, knuckles white with the force with which he held Noctis, into death itself. So...that's what those daemons looked like up close. He really wished he had never had the opportunity to find out! Noctis hung uselessly in his grip, trembling just as badly as Prompto, and all thoughts of oddities vanished from the blond's mind in favor of adrenaline.
"Guys…?" Prompto near whimpered. And suddenly Gladiolus and Ignis were at their sides as if they hadn't been standing like lifeless dolls not a moment before.
"What the fuck?" Gladio growled in alarm, "Where did those things come from?" From the arsenal, he pulled his massive sword, Ignis doing the same with his long daggers at his side. Noctis visibly jumped, leaning away from them both. Prompto couldn't even find it in himself to spare him a look.
"I should have noticed the time sooner," Iggy cursed, holding his daggers at the ready. The demons stalked closer, and the four vibrated with tension. "Regardless, we should retreat. None of us are prepared for–"
But it was much too late. "Iggy, look out!" In a flash, Prompto's gun was out, cracking with a deafening bang and piercing a lunging shadow from the air. Gladio let out a roar and swung his sword in a sweeping arch, pushing back the hoard of goblins that creeped up on them from the darkness.
"We're surrounded! Gladio–"
"You got it Iggy! Prompto, protect the prince!" With that the two sprang into battle, cleaving their way through the throng, the red giants drawing ever closer.
The hand holding his pistol shook as Prompto fired round after round into the throng. "Oh geez, oh geez! Noct, we have to–Noctis?" Half expecting the prince to lunge into the offensive immediately, he stopped short when he realized the raven hadn't moved.
Glassy blue eyes stared into the fray in disbelief. His legs barely seemed to hold his own weight, a look of such abject horror that Prompto didn't think he'd ever witnessed on his friend's face. A goblin came up beside them and Prompto pulled the arm in his grip hard and fired right above his head, ending it in a bang. "Noct! Come on, buddy, move!"
Noctis flinched badly with a terrified shout, ripping his arm from Prompto's grip. "NO!" He screamed, voice breaking hard. He glared at Prompto with such heat that the blond actually gasped in surprise. "Whatever you're doing, stop it! Stop it right now!"
Prompto took a step back at the alien expression and strange words. "Wha–" Noct wasn't making any sense, none of this was making any sense–
But Prompto didn't have any time to figure it out. When the heat in those familiar but strange blue eyes turned to abject terror, he knew without looking that something was coming. No time to move, he lunged forward, snapping his eyes shut. But he didn't get hit from behind. Instead, he felt a shoulder digging into his gut as he was full body tackled by Noctis himself. "Look out!"
Red light and punishing heat was his only warning before a massive sword made from fire itself slammed into the space the two were occupying not a second before. But they weren't done moving yet. Prompto felt arms wrap around him forcefully as they continued to roll end over end, the blond cradled into Noctis' body as they tumbled. Rolling to a stop several feet away, Prompto was released and Noctis leapt to his feet, the other man a split second behind him. With a shout, Gladio appeared before them and hacked at the giant's legs as the two scrambled away.
"What was–" Prompto gasped as yet another goblin rounded on him, about to take off his head. He removed its head instead with a well placed shot, only to whip around and see Noctis struggling with his own enemy. He blinked in confusion.
Noctis was...wrestling with it. The prince stared at the creature as if he had never seen it before, with more fear than was warranted for such a weak daemon. Far from his usual preference for weapons, he was using his hands and feet to bat at the thing, as if that was the only thing he knew how to do. He jumped when Prompto shot it through its body, the creature dissipating into nothing.
"What are you doing!?"
"Noct," Gladio shouted from across the field, his red giant staggered by a powerful blow. He was looking to the prince in disbelief. "You have all those weapons at your disposal, use 'em!"
"Wha–" Noctis looked up in confusion. Then he shouted in realization. "Weapons, right!" He shook his hands once, twice, but nothing but blue sparks came out. "Come on, how do you work this stupid thing!?"
"Highness, look out!" Noctis' eyes widened in alarm as the other red giant broke into a run in their direction, each monstrous step shaking the earth beneath their feet.
"Shitshitshit–!" Noctis couldn't seem to react in time and Prompto dove in front of him, firing shot after ineffective shot while the prince panicked. What was going on? Why was Noctis acting this way?!
Luckily for them both, Ignis was fast. With lightning agility, the royal advisor leapt into the daemon's face and gouged his eyes with his blades, staggering it. It stumbled back as Ignis landed lightly on his feet, staring the monster down while holding out a protective hand before the youngest members of the group. "I've taken out most of the goblins! We need to retreat!"
"R-right!" Prompto grabbed onto the flailing prince's arm and started to yank him away into the darkness.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god," Noctis intoned over and over, stumbling along behind him.
"Dude, move! We have to–" A blood curdling scream stopped them cold in their tracks.
"IGNIS!" Gladio cried.
Both men whipped around and watched in horror as Ignis' body sailed through the air, leaving a smoking trail in its wake. The giant completed its massive swing and paused as if to watch the ruin of a man hit the ground with a stomach lurching thud.
He lay motionless.
"NO!" Prompto howled just as Gladiolus let out a fearsome roar, abandoning his own opponent to destroy the one who harmed one of their own. Prompto bolted forward, completely forgetting himself in his grief to join Gladio in a mad rush. Tears streaming down his face, he fired round after imptotent round at the creature with cracked screams that tore at his throat.
No, no, no!
With an earth shattered swing of his sword, Gladiolus broke the creatures limb with a deafening crack. Prompto hit every weak spot again and again. But it was not enough. They were closing in on the large man.
Prompto's gun ran out of bullets. He summoned another clip.
NO! This wasn't supposed to happen!
He emptied another thirty rounds. No good, no good! The creatures groaned and creaked, unaffected by anything they could do. And still Gladio tore into them with a manic fury. Panic clawed past the lump in Prompto's throat.
What do I do? I can't do anything! Useless fool! You're going to let him die too!
Prompto burst forward. He wouldn't get there in time, and even if he did, there was nothing he could do. These daemons were beyond any of them, and he could barely see past the tears obscuring his vision. One giant lifted its massive hand in an ominous red glow, dragging the berserker with a gravity all its own while the one behind him lifted its fiery sword high.
In Prompto's eyes, the world grayed out and time stopped. He tripped over a loose rock and tumbled forward, ripping his pant leg and skin alike. With a choked groan of pain he scrambled back to his feet to resume his mad dash.
Only to pause in shock.
Time really had stopped. Prompto stared at the scene before him. The world was leached of color, the fire no longer looking a blaze, more like a photo with a sepia filter. Sound had stopped as well, only a white noise buzzing in his ears. The tragedy about to happen seemed suspended in time, Gladio trapped and about to be torn apart. This was like no Stop spell he had ever heard of, the ones that froze an enemy in place for a few seconds. No, the entire world was frozen!
"What?" Prompto gasped through labored breaths. With a hysterical grunt he tore at his hair. What now!?
"Prompto!"
Prompto spun on the spot, faltering slightly as throbs of pain in his leg threatened to buckle his knee, at the unfamiliar pronunciation of his name from a very familiar voice. The 'o's sounded almost drawled and the 'p's popped a little too dramatically, entirely different from how Noctis usually used it, but in his voice regardless. Several paces away, Noctis kneeled on the ground, fists gripping between his knees as if in an effort to keep them still. His shoulders trembled slightly, whether from fear or whatever it was he seemed to be doing to hold this strange spell. His eyes glowed white as he stared at Prompto, who couldn't help but gape at the sight.
"N-Noct!" Prompto breathed. "Are you doing this?"
"Shut up and get over here," Noctis' voice was strange, wrong sounding. He'd never spoken like this before–so expressively–or fixed his best friend with such a cold stare. "We have less than two minutes and I can't move. You need to make this count!" When Prompto could only stutter in shock, Noct's face twisted in anger. "NOW!"
Prompto scrambled over himself to crouch down in front of the kneeling prince, nearly falling into him as his leg gave out. Noctis flinched, and sound rushed back into their awareness for a split second before he cursed and froze again. White noise resumed.
"How are you doing that!?"
"No time! God, you're dumb as a brick, aren't you?" Before Prompto could even bring himself to be offended, Noctis continued, ordering sharply. "Take a potion for that leg wound," Prompto yelped as the most peculiar sensation took over his arm, a numb tingling, before it began to move on its own. A potion was summoned to his hand and smashed by insubordinate fingers, the rush of healing magic running up and down his leg to soothe his wounds. "Give this to Ignis," a fiery red feather appeared in his still numb hand, one he'd never seen before. "And get Gladio out of there before the timer runs out!"
Prompto stared down at the feather in his now obedient hand. He thought he knew what it was, but he'd never seen one before in person. With a jolt of adrenaline, he abandoned the his strangely acting friend and bolted to their fallen member like the daemons of hell were on his very heels...which they kind of were.
He skidded to a halt next to his prone friend and dragged him onto his back with trembling hands. "Oh, gods, Iggy!" he whimpered, taking in the horrific damage. Ignis gazed out at the sky through half masted eyes unseeing, torso blackened by daemon fire. The cloying scent of burned flesh stung Prompto's nose. There was no way anyone could survive such a blow. Gently, almost scared of causing further damage, Prompto placed the phoenix down into Ignis' still hand and held it to his terribly still chest.
Nothing happened. Ignis still lied still, face unnaturally grayed by the spell encasing them.
Prompto choked on his panic. "Noct! Nothing's happening, why is nothing happening!?"
Muttered curses, and then, "Time has to start again! Leave it there and get Gladio! Only a minute left."
"O-kay!" Prompto stuttered, launching himself forward once more. Not paying any mind to the giants looming above them, Prompto latched onto Gladio's hunched shoulders, the man locked in a pained grimace and clenched muscles, and wrenched the man from the daemon's grip. Instantly, the shield's immense weight fell on the slight blond, but what was usually more than he could bear was nothing in his adrenaline fueled state. He dragged Gladio's dead weight out of the monsters' range.
"Thirty seconds!" Noctis warned, voice becoming frantic. "When the timer's up, I'll go for Ignis. You get Gladio to run!" Prompto struggled to pull Gladio a few feet further. "Now!"
Sound rushed back in like a deafening boom after the ages of silence. One giant's sword slammed into the other daemon, the original target now long out of range. It groaned in protest, knee hitting the ground hard enough to make it tremble beneath their feet. Then the fallen daemon threw itself at the other, the two creatures battling with each other now.
Gladio thrashed in Prompto's arms as the blond desperately gripped his massive shoulders, only to still when he realized he was no longer in the danger zone. "Prom?" Rather than letting go, Prompto tugged frantically at the large man's shoulders still, trying to get him on his feet.
"No time! Gotta move!"
Gladio blinked, hauling himself up. "What?" He gasped. "Iggy!" Looking frantically about, he began to race to the spot he saw the man fall, but Prompto pulled him away.
"No time! Noctis has him, run!" Indeed, Gladio saw the prince pull Ignis to his feet some yards away, but before Gladiolus could figure out how exactly Iggy was standing on his own, Prompto yanked with an almighty heave of his entire body, even as a fraction of Gladio's weight managing to pull him along. With a grunt, Gladio broke into a run, sword dissipating into the ether, spurred on by the still violent battle between the two giants raging behind them.
-o0o-
Hearts racing and exhaustion pulling at their limbs, the four men collapsed onto the comforting plateau of a haven a half hour later. All of them were covered in minor wounds both from the battle and from running in the dark without their lights in an effort to remain undetected by the prowling beasts.
Ignis groaned as Jason placed him gently on the ground, removing the man's arm from around his neck before collapsing onto his back a few feet away. The man, though slight in figure, was larger than Jason at the moment, and much heavier than he would have liked to carry for half an hour. Gladio and Prompto immediately moved to check on Ignis, relieved to see him conscious and moving, if a bit pained. Jason knew there was nothing terribly wrong with him, if a phoenix down behaved the same way now that he was in the game. If that was what this was. It certainly didn't feel like a game to him...
But what the hell did he know? The rules might be entirely different now. Jason didn't really want to think about that fact at the moment. He watched with tired hooded eyes, hat long gone in the battle, as Gladio helped Ignis into a sitting position, hands lingering on lean shoulders in case the brunette fell. Prompto leaned on his hands and knees staring into Ignis' face as if desperate for some sign that he was alright.
Ignis' eyes flickered open as Gladio helped him upright. "You alright, Iggy?" the large man said gently.
Ignis ran a hand over the charred remains of his clothes, staring in wonder at the unblemished, if a bit sooty, skin beneath. "I believe so. Was that a phoenix down you used? Remarkable."
With a stuttering cry, Prompto launched himself at Ignis, burying his face in the man's neck. Ignis bore this with only a slightly pained expression, running a comforting hand through stiff blond locks. "Such fuss," Ignis tutted.
Jason shifted uncomfortably in his seated position a few feet from this scene. He wanted desperately to move further away and look elsewhere, the feeling of being a voyeur increasing by the minute. This...was a little more touchy feely then he remembered them in canon.
"What did you expect?" Gladio answered Ignis, arm still tight around his shoulders.
"Y-yeah, couldn't do this w-without you Iggy," Prompto whimpered into his chest, squeezing tight.
And then, to Jason's utter shock, Ignis smiled up at Gladiolus and, with the hand not occupied with crying blond, pulled the larger man down for a kiss, pressing their lips together heedless of the blood specs and dust covering their faces. Cheeks heating rapidly, Jason jerked his gaze to the sky, wishing he were anywhere else but here. That definitely hadn't been a part of canon! They pulled apart with a quiet wet sound that Jason wished he could have blocked out like his vision, totally uncomfortable with the fact that they were making out in front of a stranger they thought was their friend.
"Now, enough of this, you two. Noctis," Jason jumped when the man turned his attention towards him. Gladiolus had moved back and Prompto was in the process of pulling himself onto his heels, all three of them turning to regard him. "Are you unharmed?"
Jason blinked, not sure how to respond. "Y-yeah," he stuttered. The prince's body was unharmed, though with a sinking feeling, Jason wasn't sure about his consciousness. Was he just asleep while Jason took an unexpected joy ride? He hoped to God that was the case and this was somehow reversible, for both their sakes.
"Good," Gladiolus growled, expression darkening dangerously. "Then care to explain what the hell you were doing back there?"
"I–" Jason tried, but he didn't know what to say. The truth? Hi, yeah, I took over your boy Noct's body and then commenced to stand back and flail uselessly as daemons tore you guys apart. Nice to meet you! Yeah, like that would go over well. "I panicked," he said instead.
"You PANICKED?" Gladiolus snarled, jumping to his feet and stepping over Ignis and Prompto. Jason scrambled to his feet as well, falling into a defensive stance automatically. "Ignis could have died while you were standing back there doing nothing!"
Indignation rose in Jason's chest, his fear and frustration getting the better of him. "I saved him, you ungrateful ass! I could have cut and run and left all of you freaks to be monster food but I didn't!"
"WHAT!" Gladiolus roared, seeing red. He snatched the front of Jason's jacket and lifted him from the ground. Jason bared his teeth, just as angry and three seconds away from breaking all of the fingers in this dumb brute's hand. His eyes flashed white.
"Gladio, enough!" Ignis' cool command froze the enraged shield in his tracks. Seeming to come back to himself, Gladiolus frowned, slowly lowering Jason to the ground and releasing his jacket roughly. Ignis placed a calming hand on his inked shoulder before looking closely at Jason. Prompto bounced uneasily on his toes a few feet behind, hands raised placatingly and eyes darting between the three.
Jason lifted his chin in defiance, straightening his jacket dramatically with a flick of his wrist. Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose, the runes flashing in their reflection. "I see. Might you tell us your name?" Gladio's eyebrows drew together in confusion and Prompto shifted anxiously from foot to foot.
The advisor's delivery, cool as you please, gave Jason pause, a little surprised at the sharp observation. He had thought he might have to go to some extreme lengths to convince them that he wasn't who they thought he was, but he should have known that at least Ignis would catch on faster than the dumb blond. After all, he always had seemed to be pre-programmed with all of the answers. Before he could respond, Gladio interrupted.
"The hell are you talking about, Iggy?"
Ignis adjusted his glasses again, crossing his other arm around his half bare torso. "I believe our prince has been possessed by someone or something else." And just like that, all three pairs of eyes were locked onto Jason with expressions ranging from shock to intense scrutiny.
Jason swallowed. Man, this, whatever this was, felt too real. There were souls behind those eyes, somehow, no doubt about it, all semblance of pixilated renderings gone. It was unsettling, to say the least. Wind, actual wind, rustled his too straight black locks as the silence grew, and there was absolutely no seeing through this to his world and body. He was really here...somehow.
"Jason Cruz," he finally said, and Gladiolus inhaled sharply.
"What is going on?" The shield half asked, half demanded. "Where is Noctis?"
Bitterness intruded, and Jason's mouth moved before his brain could provide input. "I don't know, why don't you ask him," he jabbed a too pale finger violently in Prompto's direction, who flinched. "He's the reason I'm here!" Before he could blink, an iron hard hand was over his wrist, hard enough to make the bones grind together.
"Do not threaten my friends," Gladiolus snarled, getting into Jason's face. "And get the hell out of Noctis!"
Jason glared back, fed up not intimidated in the least. This was no daemon, but a man, and Jason knew how to handle men. He faced down brutes like this on a daily basis at home, and he'd never backed down before. He wasn't going to start now. "Let go of me," he growled, voice going several octaves lower. He saw red, imagining all of the ways he could break this arrogant man; shatter the jaw, break the knee, dislocate that shoulder…
A slender hand pressed against his chest, it's twin solidly on Gladiolus' breastbone. "I said, that's enough," Ignis said dangerously, glaring pointedly between the two. "Now, let us all settle down and start a fire. Maybe then we can get some answers."
With a short hiss, Gladiolus let go and stormed off the side of the plateau, no doubt to cool himself off. Jason glared at his retreating back till he disappeared, rubbing his wrist to get the circulation back. Ignis caught his attention, those piercing green eyes seeming to see right through him. "I am going to get some firewood. You two stay here." With a significant look to Prompto, he slowly withdrew his hand from Jason's person and followed Gladio into the dark.
The camp fell into stony silence. Jason seethed, trying his best to calm down. But it was difficult. He didn't know what was going on and that scared him. Getting threatened by a man three times his size also didn't help matters much. Or, y'know, getting attacked by monsters. That sucked too.
"So, um…" Prompto wrung his hands together. Jason glared at him out of the corner of his eyes and the blond lifted his hands in surrender. "Whoa, no need for that! I was just going to ask...is Noctis still in there?"
"...I don't know. I think so. I think he's just sleeping." Probably. Hopefully. Who really knew?
Prompto let out a nervous laugh, rocking back on his heels. The sound grated against Jason's nerves. "That sounds like him alright." He appeared no less worried, however. "Uuum," Jason sighed, figuring the blond wouldn't be quieting any time soon. What he wouldn't give for just a few minutes of silence to wrap his head around what just happened. Alas. "So, I just wanted to say...thanks. For saving us, I mean."
Jason blinked in surprise, facing the blond fully. "Oh. I guess...yeah. I mean, you're welcome."
And just like that, Prompto was grinning. Man, nothing seemed to keep this guy down. He stepped forward and slapped Jason in the shoulder as if they had known each other for years. "Man, this day has been weird. I hope Iggy has something good to feed us!" He paused quizzically. "Do you eat?"
Unbidden, a small laugh was pulled from Jason's chest. "Yes, I eat. I'm human, bro!" What did he think he was, a ghost or something? ...Well, now that he thought about it, he had thought something similar earlier that day when he was in his own world still. Whatever.
"Oh...You laugh weird."
"Tch. Shut up, man," Jason smiled despite himself. He might be half annoyed–after all, Prompto always seemed little more than an annoying tagalong in the game–but he was starting to see that each of them was different from how they were written. He couldn't judge them for the writing in the game, obviously. Prompto was actually starting to remind him of Nat a little, and that thought eased him slightly.
Prompto grinned back. "Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Noctis smile like that."
Jason smiled mischievously before sticking out his tongue and pulling a face he knew the moody prince would never do. He always had thought Noctis' character was a bit whiny and obnoxious. Guy needed to loosen up a little.
Sure enough, Prompto barked a surprised laugh. "Oh–oh! Let me get this shot!" He pulled out his camera from the arsenal in a flash of blue sparks and Jason held still obligingly as he took a quick photo. Yeah, maybe this guy wasn't so bad after all. Prompto looked at the camera screen with a silly grin. "Nice! I can't wait to show Noctis."
Jason's smile fell. He looked down at his hands–too slender, too pale to be his–and quickly looked away, anxiety squeezing his gut sharply. A light touch at his shoulder brought his attention back around to the blond's suddenly concerned blue eyes.
"Hey, we'll figure this out, don't worry!" Jason shrugged helplessly, finding himself not much reassured by the man beside him. What he wouldn't give to be with Nat at his apartment, sipping a cold beer and forgetting all of his worries with some video games–well, maybe he'd lay off the video games for a while after this fiasco. He shuddered, thinking of getting trapped in a game like Doom. Yup, not touching that game ever again. Not that this game was all sunshine and peaches either, what with that tragic ending...
"Why couldn't I get sucked into a game like Kingdom Hearts…?" he muttered under his breath. At least no one ever died in that game, it being for kids and all. Well, maybe not. That game had its own manner of tragedy. Right. He just wanted plain old reality back, thanks. Wait, did that mean that all games might be real…? Before that thought could completely blow his mind and throw him into an existential crisis, Prompto interrupted his troubled musings.
"Wait, you played Kingdom Hearts, too? I loved that game! I've been more into King's Night lately myself."
Jason just gaped. Wait, what? Prompto smiled innocently at him, hand still clutching his shoulder, completely oblivious to Jason's turmoil. The otherworldly man frowned. Yup. He knew exactly whose fault all of this was. Square Enix was the devil.
Prompto shifted, smile faltering uncomfortably. "So, what exactly did you mean about this all being my fault, anyway? Does it have anything to do with the seriously weird couple of weeks I've been having?"
"...Yeah, you could say that." Huh. How to put this? Jason wasn't really sure what to say, because he was pretty sure he didn't know much more than Prompto about all of this. In fact, if he remembered correctly, he had assumed that the Crownsgaurd would know what was going on. So much for that.
Luckily he didn't have to say anything. Ignis chose that moment to return to camp, arms laden with hacked tree limbs and a sullen, but vaguely placated Gladio at his heel with more. Jason didn't want to think about what they might have done in the dark. He blocked the thought. Without a word or a glance in Jason's direction, the large man set to work in the middle of the campsite, coaxing a fire from a casually summoned match.
Ignis dusted his hands and looked around. "Ah," he said, frowning. "I would suggest we set up camp, but…" he looked to Jason, expression carefully neutral. Jason frowned, guarded once more. "Noctis is usually the one who summons our gear."
Jason lifted a brow. Really? He had never seen that...but as he was starting to understand, there was much more to these four men–and this world–that the game had demonstrated. It made sense though. If not in the Regalia, which was at the shop, then how did they carry their gear around? The arsenal, obviously. "Um…" he trailed off, looking at his hands. Right. He was in Noctis' body, so he should be able to…He concentrated, trying to latch onto anything that felt like he might be accessing magic….and feeling completely foolish. Wait. There.
Prompto yelped as a huge something materialized right above his head. He leapt to the side as a massive sword clattered to the ground right where he had been standing. Jason winced, both in embarrassment and the totally weird feeling in his gut that action had brought. "Sorry, man. Wait, I'll try again."
"Ah, that won't be necessary," Ignis said quickly, but Jason wasn't listening. "Oh dear."
Instead, he summoned the game menu with a thought, the options popping up to the left side of his vision. Jason blinked, disoriented. The more he experienced, the more this didn't make sense. And yet, there the menu was, summoned as easily as if he had pushed the button on his controller. Just like when he had used the wait timer before. Was this a game? Was it an alternate reality? Was it Jason projecting his expectations onto a rather vivid dream? Who the hell knew.
Scrolling through the options, Jason pulled up the inventory. In a way, that was the arsenal, or rather, everything the men gathered in their journey. He didn't remember the camping gear being in there, though...oh wait. There it was. Weird. There also seemed to be a lot of other random stuff in here that he hadn't ever noticed before, but he ignored it in favor of immediate needs. Thumb twitching unconsciously, he selected the camping gear and closed the menu, clearing his vision to the night once again.
With a satisfying thump, all of the gear tumbled out of the ether in a shower of blue sparks to fall into a tangled heap. "There we go," Jason said. He looked up with a tiny smile, only for it to falter when he realized all three men were staring at him with intensity. "What?"
"Your eyes were glowing white, dude," Prompto supplied.
"Oh," Jason muttered, though he couldn't bring himself to feel anything about that. What was glowing eyes in a world like this? Suddenly, it all hit him at once. He felt terrible, drained, wavering on his feet as if the world was undulating beneath him. Eyes widened in alarm all around as he teetered back and forth, vision spinning. He fell to a seated position in a heap. "Ugh."
"Whoa, are you okay?" Prompto asked, grabbing his shoulder in support. But Jason couldn't answer. His vision darkened at the edges.
Muffled words drifted in and out of his consciousness, but for a while he was only able to stare into the flickering fire in front of him. Bone deep exhaustion clawed at his limbs and made his eyes itch, but Jason tried his best to stay awake. Who knew what would happen to him if he passed out then? Eventually, the world stopped spinning and he was able to claw his way back to reality.
He came too with a groan. "Noct–I mean, Jason? You back with us?"
"Ugh, what was that?" Jason slurred, blinking hard. The camp was set up in its entirety, showing him that he had to have been out for at least a half hour. Something delicious tickled his nose from the camp stove across the fire, and his stomach roiled in protest. Prompto kneeled next to him anxiously, and Jason realized that he had been placed into a sling chair at some point, though he didn't remember.
"You went into stasis," Ignis said from his position by the stove. He strode over, steaming mug in hand, and placed it gently between Jason's numb fingers. "Drink this. It will help." Jason smelled it carefully, wrinkling his nose. Smelled a little too sweet for his taste. Still, he gulped the warm liquid without a word, grimacing at the sugary taste. Warmth blossomed in his stomach and he sat back with a tired grunt.
"You can't just use Noct's body like that." Gladiolus snapped, and Jason glanced at him through half lidded eyes. The large man was sitting in his own chair, arms crossed across his chest and scowl firmly in place.
Jason pursed his lips, trying to curb his temper this time. He got it, he really did. They didn't know if their friend was okay or not, and there was some stranger abusing his body. Well, fine, but Jason didn't ask for this either. Besides, "You just said that Noct usually summons the camping gear."
"Yes," Ignis interjected before Gladio could give him a heated response that he could see on the tip of his acid tongue. "But Noctis is accustomed to the drain of using the Lucian magic and can regulate it. You likely overpowered your summons. Best not to try that again."
That made sense. He guessed. He never really thought about it, but he should have realized that that kind of power likely would require years of discipline to master. "Sorry. I won't."
"Don't sweat it, buddy," Prompto smiled, pulling away to plop into his own seat. "You'll get the hang of it."
I really hope not, Jason thought, and it seemed his sentiment was echoed from the other two. Hopefully this would be resolved before he had to 'get the hang of' anything. Ignis continued to seem busy over by the stove while Jason stared into the fire once more. He could barely keep his eyes open still, and he could feel the uncomfortable burn of both Gladio and Prompto's eyes on him. He managed to grunt in thanks as Ignis pushed a steaming bowl of stew into his hands. He had a fleeting thought, that wow, this smells just as good as it looks, before he was shoveling the food into his mouth indiscriminately. He hummed appreciatively as the warmth spread through his entire body.
"Dude, are you eating vegetables? If I didn't think this was real before, I definitely do now," Prompto joked.
No one really found this amusing but that comment, it seemed, was the opening that they all waited for, because Ignis cleared his throat pointedly. "So, Jason. Tell us how you came to be here."
Jason lowered his spoon slowly before looking up at the night sky. The stars were unnaturally bright, considering the moon was out, and the view was pretty breathtaking. Idly, he wondered whether it was a replica of his own sky, but didn't have the astronomy knowledge to really tell. He sighed deeply, just wishing this day would end. He looked back down to resignedly regard the three before him. "I guess it all started when this guy," he pointed to Prompto, who poked his own chest as if to say 'who, me?', "murdered the damned fourth wall."
-o0o-
AN:
Ah, battle scenes. Gotta love them. Jason is learning a lot about the guys that he never expected. It's becoming clear that although he played through the game already, he invested little attention into the characters themselves. I know I didn't pay much attention at first. My first impression was literally along the lines of 'oh great. Trope boyband'. I thought Noctis and Prompto were annoying tbh. Also, I kind of thought Ignis was an asshole. They grew on me as I got to know them, obviously :) Jason's already starting to bend to Prompto's charms, haha.
Do I really think Jason could take Gladio on? I wouldn't doubt it. There are a lot of Gladiolus sized dudes in MA that I've seen him spar with no problem. That is, not counting the fantasy strength, I suppose.
Miss Noctis? No worries, he won't be out for long! Thanks for your support, everyone. Let me know what you think!