"Unintelligible reports flood from Insomnia–"
"The death toll is still unknown, but can be estimated in the thousands–"
"A not so shocking betrayal from the chancellor of Nifelheim during the peace treaty signing last night lead to–"
Jason pinched his eyes shut and ground his forehead into the smooth counter below with a loud groan, trying to drown out the several radios throughout the small diner fighting for attention. There were few people remaining in Hammerhead after the tragedy they all witnessed the night before, most fleeing as far from Insomnia as they could get. The rest just sat in silence, some too shocked to react while others sobbed quietly as the jumbled news feeds washed over them all.
It was no surprise that no one really knew what happened. The news was a mess of speculation and false reports, but the basic story was the same. There was a peace treaty signing at the Citadel. Something went wrong. Now half the city–and it's population–lies in ruins beneath the full devastation of a Nifelheim attack.
Insomnia had fallen.
The grief about Hammerhead was palpable, and no matter how Jason wanted to deny any of this was happening, stifling stabs of guilt rendered him immobile for the last twelve or so hours, punctuated by the audible cries of the people around him.
He didn't think he had any real reason to feel guilty, but there was no doubt that he did. He didn't know that any of this was going to happen, though he should have. He should have remembered that this is the way the game started, that this event was the catalyst for every bad thing that happens in the future, but he had been too damn self absorbed to even think to warn someone.
Warn them of what, he thought caustically for the nth time that morning. That Insomnia was going to be destroyed? How you ask? I don't know, it just will! That would have gone over well. He literally had no idea how it happened other than a vague recollection that there was a movie he could have watched before playing the game that explained it. And the game totally glossed over that part, so of course he forgot.
Didn't mean he felt any better about it though…
A little girl started bawling loudly behind him, and Jason flinched, clenching his eyes even tighter as if it would help to block it out. There was a shuffling of shushes and movement before the cries went quiet, the parent having carried the child into the dreary weather outside. Jason shifted uncomfortably, but his bunched shoulders did not release, though they were so tight they screamed at him nearly as painfully as his clenched jaw.
A clank beside him jerked Jason out of his own dark thoughts, and he rolled his head to the side to peer at a red bowl now steaming beside his face. He sat up slowly for the first time in hours, wincing as his sore neck protested. He found a dark skinned man staring at him from across the counter, looking just as haggard as Jason felt. Takka, if Jason remembered correctly. Not that he could have forgotten, the guy's name was plastered all over the restaurant. He blinked, looking between him and the bowl next to Jason's hand. "Um… What?"
"Eat up," Takka said gruffly. "Been sitting there for hours. Look like you could use a good meal."
"But I don't have any…" Jason scrambled for the name of the currency in this game, but gave up after a sharp throb in his temple. Instead, he just lifted his hand and gestured vaguely in a universal sign for money. That was a lie though, he had plenty from Noctis, but the last thing he needed right now as to feel more guilt about stealing from the guy. Especially since it might actually be his fault that Noctis' country was in shambles…
No. He couldn't think like that. He would drive himself insane.
But Takka wasn't having it anyway. He pointed commandingly at the bowl and merely said, "Eat," before walking away with several more bowls, distributing them indiscriminately about the room.
Jason dragged his eyes back to the bowl, taking in some kind of bean stew without much interest. In fact, his stomach couldn't have felt any less hungry right now, rather on the verge of expelling its nonexistent contents at any moment. He picked up the plastic spoon and poked at it, watching the colorful beans swirl around in the thin broth.
"You really should eat that," Cindy said, dropping onto a stool beside him with a tired sigh, her own bowl set down gently before her. Like everyone else in the room, she looked like death warmed over, deep purple bags beneath bloodshot eyes and a defeated slump to her shoulders. Gone was the flamboyance he saw from her just the day before, leaving a solemn young woman in its wake. There was a definite depth in those serious blue eyes that Jason did not expect to see in this girl who, for all intents and purposes, was only meant to be male fanservice. It only drove home the fact that none of this was the fabrication it was meant to be.
"...Did you know anyone from Insomnia?" Jason asked quietly, curious despite himself. Slowly, he took a spoonful of the broth and sipped it idly. Bland.
Cindy shook her head. "No. My paw' did though."
That's right. Cid and the King were friends or something...Jason wanted to hear more, but Cindy wasn't elaborating and Jason didn't push. For several minutes, both youths ate in silence until nothing but dregs remained. Jason sighed, feeling a bit better despite himself. Maybe Takka had had a point.
"So what now?" Jason said, almost to himself. Cindy answered anyway.
"I don't know," she said quietly, wrapping her arms around midriff and looking down. "I suppose this means we are under the rule of Nifelheim now…What with the royal family bein' dead…"
A spike of alarm shot through Jason and he sat up straight abruptly. "What do you mean dead?" he demanded, probably louder than necessary.
Cindy blinked in surprise. "Haven't you heard? King Regis, Prince Noctis and Lady Lunafreya have all been declared dead."
Jason's head swirled in confusion. Dead? How? That didn't make any sense. Regis he remembered dying, but Lunafreya and Noctis? Did that mean all was already lost? He almost opened his mouth to demand answers, but stopped himself. Okay, shut up and think. This happened in the game. Noctis and Luna are alive and about to start their separate journeys. He slumped back down slowly, willing his heart rate to decrease.
Remember. You know what is going to happen next. Noctis discovers what happens at Galdin Quay. Then they go back to Insomnia for proof. Then they end up….Urgh, what was next? They start to look for the ancient weapons of past kings, which means they'll be heading for the first dungeon soon in North Leide.
Jason had to intercept them.
He got so far as to stand to charge off into the desert to a place he knew they would be, when a thought crossed his mind. Why? Why was he trying to rejoin their group?
He wasn't prepared to fight in a war. In fact, he severely doubted he could even handle the kind of fighting and battles he knew those four were going to get caught up in. He barely survived a few low level beasts! And besides, this wasn't his fight, wasn't his home or even his universe. What did he owe these people? Certainly not his life! He just wanted to go home.
A soft hand on his jolted Jason out of himself, and he met the startled eyes of Cindy, her blond brow furrowed in concern. "You alright, there?" Jason wanted to snap, say the harsh words on the tip of his tongue, but something in that look had the young man melting into her touch instead. He slumped back down in his seat, quietly cursing his soft spot for pretty blonds. But the fight was already drained out of him, and he was back to feeling disgusted with himself for his selfishness. Man, he was a mess. He'd already been over this, already decided. Now he just had to stick to his guns.
"Hey, I know things look bad now, be we Lucians are a hardy bunch," Cindy said, rubbing his hand reassuringly. "We'll get by somehow."
I'm not one of you, Jason thought, this has nothing to do with me. But then he immediately felt bad. This might not have anything to do with him, but this young woman beside him… he knew her fate, knew about the ten years of darkness that would consume her world and what she–and everyone here–would have to endure. He might not have any magical fighting skills, but there was something he could do to help prevent it.
And damn him if he wasn't at least going to try. It wasn't like he was going to be able to go home anytime soon anyway…At the very least, he could tell those four what he knew was going to happen so they could change their own fates.
This stupid game with its shitty ending was going down.
Jason grabbed Cindy by the hand and pulled her in for a hug, soft fabric over her ample chest rubbing against his still bare torso. She gave a startled little hum, but didn't pull away, and Jason couldn't find it in himself to even be embarrassed by hugging a complete stranger. Hey, he would take comfort where he could. After a second, he pulled back to look into Cindy's bewildered but understanding face. He smiled crookedly. How had he ever thought this woman was shallow? "Thanks," he said.
"Any time," She replied bemusedly, a bit of that sparkle returning. Jason nodded and was about to leave once more, when she stopped him with a firm grip. "Whoa there, where do you think you're going?"
"I have to find my friends." Jason responded.
Cindy shook her head, frowning. "It's too dangerous to go out there on your own. You don't have a weapon. Hell, you don't even have a shirt."
"Erm." Jason mumbled, looking down. She had a point. With all the confusion the previous night, his clothing was a little low on his priority list.
"C'mon," Cindy started dragging him to the door. "Paw Paw will set you up. Follow me!"
"W-wait!" But the young woman was no longer listening, dragging him along in a deceptively strong hand. She had about half dragged him all the way back to the garage when she stopped abruptly, turning around with some of her old flourish.
"Now, wait just a second! I don't even know your name!" She shifted to one hip and pointed her thumb at her face, looking through her lashes coquettishly. "My name's Cindy."
Jason let out a loud guffaw of disbelief before clearing his throat. He was getting to like this girl more and more every second. "Jason. Nice to meet you, girl~" he responded, feeling more playful than he had since...well, since before all this started. He couldn't help it. Her smile was contagious.
"Well, nice to meet you too! Come on, I'll get you fixed before you set out." They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence. Jason grumbled a bit as the first drops of rain began to tickle his skin, and they picked up their pace until they stood within the dry garage.
"Paw," Cindy called, striding inside with a purpose. "I've got a fella here who–oh, sorry, I didn't realize you had company." She stopped short, Jason nearly running smack into her, and both took in the new addition before them.
Cid sat on a stool beside a small table, a picture frame clutched in his hand, wrinkled brow furrowed over dark eyes. A younger man, perhaps in his forties, stood tall beside him. There was nothing terribly remarkable about him–he dressed in all black, had short military cut brown hair and an expression so serious, it looked permanently etched into his face–but sparks of recognition were going off in Jason's head so hard they were practically fireworks. Jason knew this man. He was–
"Cor!" Jason blurted without thinking. Then snapped his jaw shut with immediate regret as those intense eyes practically bore a hole in him. Uh oh.
Faster than Jason could even blink, he was slammed up to the wall, an iron arm across his chest and feet dangling from the floor. Jason barely had enough sense to know not to fight back you idiot before he did something else that would get him killed. Those intense eyes were in his face, promising death, and he barely heard Cindy's startled shriek and Cid's colorful cursing.
"Who are you?" Cor growled threateningly, and Jason might have answered had he had any breath in his lungs.
"What in the–put that kid down, boy, before you give him a heart attack," Cid snapped, but Cor barely flinched.
"How do you know me?" He demanded, and Jason scrambled for an answer.
"I'm a friend of–Prompto's–" Jason gasped, and my god, if looks could kill, Jason would be on FIRE.
At Prompto's name, though, Cor's eyes flashed with recognition and imperceptibly softened. He stepped back and Jason fell to his feet, gasping as the iron band across his chest eased. "My apologies," Cor said calmly as if he hadn't nearly strangled the poor man. "I hadn't realized you were Insomnian. You don't look it." That would be because I'm not, Jason thought, but hell if he was going to say that out loud now.
"...Yeah," Jason muttered, stepping away slowly. He understood, but that didn't mean he was going to let his guard down. The guy literally just stepped out of a war zone. Jason should have been more careful. The tension in the room only continued to skyrocket as he was examined from head to toe, but Jason ignored it. He remembered this man. He fought alongside Noctis and the guys for a little bit so he might know where they are. "Have you seen Prompto? Do you know where he is?"
Cor's eyes narrowed. "Who wants to know?"
"My name is Jason. I'm Prompto's friend–"
"I know all of Prompto's friends," Cor cut him off. "Why have I never seen you before?"
Jason's jaw dropped, speechless. How did this guy know all of Prompto's friends? Had he had him watched? He tried to wrack his brain to remember if he had ever seen the two interact, but other than hero worship from Prompto, he was coming up empty. Did they have some sort of relationship? More importantly, Cor was starting to glare again, and if the growing tension in the room got any thicker, Jason might actually suffocate. What did he say? What would get Cor to help him? That he only met Prompto recently? That would only make him more suspicious!
A little niggling of an idea tickled Jason's mind and he frowned. Should he…? It seemed to work on everyone else…He didn't want to trust whatever force that was manipulating him and Prompto, though. It could be making him say anything, and he wouldn't know unless someone parroted it back to him. No, he would just have to improvise and hope he could convince them on his own.
Taking a deep breath, he squared his shoulders and looked Cor straight in the eyes. "Okay, I'm not just his friend. I'm a Messenger. A couple of days ago I was summoned during a battle and rescued Noctis and his group from red giants. I was meant to guide the prince through the ...darkness that's coming, but we got separated." He faltered at the completely unimpressed look in Cor's eyes, but forced himself to continue. "I ended up here after getting injured, but now I need to find them."
Cor just stared in stony silence. Cid snorted, crossing his arms. "Well, that is the biggest load of hogwash I have ever heard." Even Cindy was looking at him like he'd lost his damn marbles.
Jason pinched his lips together, inwardly panicking. Oh great, maybe he should have just told the truth so his words could get edited into something believable like before! If only he could hear what they heard so he could improvise better. "Tell the truth, boy," Cor growled, hand inching toward his sword. Oh geez, oh geez, he needed proof or he was going to be pulverized! Come on, think!
Cor twitched and Jason panicked, pulling up the game menu before he could get skewered. Calming music wrapped around him comfortingly and Jason gasped in relief as the room was erased by cool blue. Okay, Jason, what can you do to validate your story? He scanned through the menu. Hm… the last thing he wanted to do was pull a weapon. But maybe he could summon something else? After all, no one else in this world had a summoning ability besides Noctis and his friends since the king is dead. Right? So what…
He scanned through mundane objects frantically. He didn't know how much time he had to pull this off. Food? Fishing supplies? Camping gear? No, no, he needed something personal to the prince, was there anything in here like that? He flipped over to the treasures page. Some of it was junk, a lot of it was various animal parts...wait, what's this? With a feeling of triumph, Jason selected the object and exited the menu.
Reality flooded back into his senses. All three other occupants were staring at him in shock and Jason quickly held up his hand, a flash of blue sparks lighting up the room before something small and solid dropped into his palm.
Jason didn't know how much time had actually passed while he was looking for an object, but he hoped the white glow of his eyes that happens whenever he uses his abilities had been suitably impressive. If that wasn't convincing enough of his otherworldliness, then he hoped his summon would be. Indeed, Cor's eyes were locked onto the object in his palm. The younger man kept perfectly still and waited, holding his breath.
"Well I'll be," Cid said. "How in the hell did you get access to the prince's armiger?"
Jason stayed silent this time, as anything he said could compromise him. He could only wait and hope the two men would come to the right conclusion on their own. Cor stared at the object in Jason's hand before slowly plucking it up between gentle fingers. A small blue figurine of a fox, either very old or worn by its owner's worrying. Jason couldn't be sure what it was, but it resembled the small fox from the tutorial and it no doubt belonged to Noctis.
"Is that…?" Cid asked.
Cor nodded. "Regis's gift to Noctis after the attack." For a second, he just closed his eyes, and Jason almost thought he saw a flash of sadness before it disappeared. Cor's eyes snapped open abruptly. "You said you were a friend of Prompto, not Noctis. Explain."
Jason swallowed. "I–" he stalled, no longer sure if he should make up anything else, lest he get caught in a lie he can't back up some time down the road. He decided to go with the truth. "We're connected. He's the reason I'm in this world." Which, as far as Jason knew was the truth. Prompto seemed to be the one who brought him here, and was probably the only one who could get him home. Hopefully.
Cor and Cid exchanged a long look, silence thick around them, communicating in a way known only by those with long association. Jason waited, heart pounding in his throat, not quite sure if they would believe him or not, but really really hoping they would, lest he be back to square one with no idea how to move forward. And then it was over. Cid nodded before sitting back down. Cor looked to Jason and tossed the small figurine back to his fumbling hands. "Noctis contacted me shortly before I arrived. He and his crownsgaurd are on their way here."
Jason let out a sigh of relief he didn't even know he was holding. He already knew they lived of course, but there was still that little niggling of doubt that refused to ease until he heard it out loud. And they were on their way here! "Good," Jason said, shoulders slumping. "I'll just wait for them then."
Cor's eyes narrowed. "Not so fast, boy. You're coming with me."
"...Wait, what?" Jason gaped, mind stuttering to a halt.
The older man stepped forward until he was well into Jason's space, and though he was a bit shorter than him, Cor seemed to tower over him with his raw presence. "You say you're a Messenger, and maybe you are, but I'm not so sure. I will get the truth out of you before you get anywhere near our remaining royal family." There was such finality to that deep timbre that Jason nearly bowed beneath. "Gear up and meet me in a half hour," he near growled, poking Jason in the bare chest before turning on his heel and stalking into the rain.
The young man stood stock still for several seconds, not entirely sure what just happened, but feeling like he got bowled over by a charging bear. He rubbed at the bruise already forming on his left peck and looked to Cid for answers.
"Cheh," the old man nearly spat. Okay, so no answers there. Crotchety bastard...
Cindy cleared her throat. "Well," she said, shaking off the tension in the room effortlessly. It had to be a special ability, because Jason was still shaking in his too large boots. "Best do what he says. Let's get you a shirt, then we can talk to the vendor outside and get you somethin' to fight with."
"Great," Jason grumbled, allowing himself to be lead by her capable hands. Fully dressed in some unnamed man's clothes and new bag stuffed with a spare outfit–Cindy refused to tell him who they belonged to, so Jason just assumed it was someone who no longer needed them–He found himself examining a wrack of weapons that Cindy assured she would pay for. This time. Jason had no doubt that he would pay in some form or other down the road.
After some perusing, he settled on a weapon he had the most practice with; a small pair of daggers. Still, he didn't feel quite comfortable. He excelled in hand to hand, not weapons...He could only hope he learned fast.
With a last goodbye from Cindy who disappeared back into the garage, Jason stood nervously in front of Hammerhead to await collection. Just what had he gotten himself into? He considered just hiding somewhere until Cor gave up and left–for like, a second. Dumb. Who would fall for that? But seriously, what was he doing going with this guy? What if Cor decided he didn't like Jason's answers and just left him to rot in the desert or something?
Why did he have to open his big stupid mouth?!
But it was much, much too late. Cor the Immortal was clearly not someone who you messed with, and Jason was not going to be able to do anything the man didn't want him too. And that included bailing and meeting up with the prince without his permission. He would just have to make him believe. Somehow.
The roar of an engine rumbled from behind the garage and an inconspicuous motorcycle pulled smoothly to the front, propelling its black clad rider effortlessly through the gathering moisture on the ground. Cor placed his leather boot firmly on the ground with an audible splash. The older man raised a brow when Jason didn't move.
"On," he commanded, tossing a spare helmet into Jason's chest. Hard.
Jason huffed, sternum smarting. What a jerk. With one last longing look at the garage–seriously, what was he thinking?–he slipped the helmet over his head and climbed on, wrapping his arms around the sturdy midsection of a man who might just kill him if he so much as blinked wrong.
As the motorcycle pulled out of Hammerhead with a roar and way more g-force than strictly necessary, Jason had to wonder if he would even survive long enough to find Prompto again.
-o0o-
AN:
Bit longer before the boys are reunited. Which, considering the state Noctis is in, is probably good for Jason's health haha. That reunion will be… interesting. And by interesting I mean possibly violent.
Cor's going to have a role bigger than the seemingly random one he got in the game. I mean? Why was he even there he doesn't really do anything? So in other words ffxv, I reject your reality and substitute my own. Also going to accept some fanfiction cannon (is that a thing? I think I'm using that word wrong...) that the general community has come up with in regards to his past with Prompto. Thanks tumbler.
Thanks for the support everyone! Glad to entertain you. See you next time.