Hours passed slowly by as the machine beneath Jason rattled with the dull roar that he had long since blocked out. Rain pattered against his barely protected skin, soaking the long sleeves of his borrowed jacket, the brown fabric long having darkened to black as he was soaked through. Any thoughts of skepticism when he first put it on–they were in a desert, after all– had been dissuaded by relief that his skin was not exposed to the unpleasant elements. The rain was ice against his sunburns despite the clothes though, and Jason was miserable. He shivered violently and huddled into Cor's almost unbearably hot back, and no amount of disdain from Cor could convince him to ease off.
Not like he had a choice. Besides, the taciturn man hadn't so much as glanced back at him since they began this awful ride.
Jason was not quite sure how long they had been riding, but he could swear it was far longer than should be possible. The bike wasn't that large, and couldn't possibly hold enough fuel to last them what felt like well over four hours. But then again, what the hell did he know? Apparently the Regalia could make laps around the country on one tank, so maybe fantasy fuel was more efficient or something. Whatever the case, Jason's backside had long gone numb from the rough vibrations from this miserable machine and his muscles were trembling with exhaustion from the persistent death grip he held on Cor.
Had he mentioned he really hated riding motorcycles? Had he also mentioned he really hated riding motorcycles while it rained ice in a fantasy desert while clinging to a fantasy asshole who was taking him to an unknown fantasy destination while he had absolutely no control over his situation–
Jason sucked in a deep, shuddering breath, willing himself to calm down. His ribs ached from the forceful exhale as he brought himself back from a frustrated hissy fit for the fifth time in as many hours. He wasn't a drama queen, he really wasn't, it was just–he might be at the end of his rope at this point. He just wanted to sleep...Maybe staying up all night hadn't been such a good idea after all…
It took Jason several moments to notice that the bike had slowed significantly, but he did notice when its vibrations intensified. He peeled his tired eyes open forcefully, having closed them sometime in the second hour of boring desert scenery, and found them cruising down a dirt road. It was apparent why Cor had slowed; the ground beneath them was drenched with rain, causing the clay to run like peanut butter beneath their tires. Jason leaned back just slightly and scanned the horizon with blurred vision. Yup, still in the middle of nowhere as far as he could see. Visibility was poor due to the steady rain, so he doubted he would be able to tell where they were anyway. With tired sigh, he let his head thunk back onto Cor's shoulder, long past the point of caring whether he bothered the man or not. Cor might have grumbled something to him, but over the roar and vibration of the engine, Jason could've just imagined it.
Jason barely reacted when they finally came to a stop, other than to shudder weakly as the engine shut off. Instantly, his body went completely numb in the absence of vibrations, and the silence was deafening but for an irritation ringing in his ears.
"You alive back there, kid?", Cor said, words unnaturally loud against the quiet pattering of rain against Jason's helmet. He didn't seem hostile anymore, which was a definite plus at this point. But he didn't exactly sound sympathetic either.
"Debatable," Jason grunted back, voice weak even to his own ears. He slowly leaned back, releasing his death grip on Cor's body and hissing as his sore fingers cracked and moved for the first time in hours. The older man didn't move as Jason unwound from him and with a heave, Jason used his back to leverage himself off of the bike. He groaned as he stood, sore legs wobbling beneath him almost enough to send him face down in the dirt, but he dismissed it willfully, moving about to get circulation back into his poor backside.
Jason could hear Cor moving behind him, the dull thump of his boots as he dismounted and began walking. Jason didn't turn, instead taking a moment to remove his helmet and just breathe. Rain pattered against his face and hair, drenching it instantly and sending a shiver down his spine. But even that was so much better than the damned helmet, with its musty old sweat smell that he had been inhaling for the last several hours. Very unpleasant. Still, he wouldn't mind getting out of this rain. Like, now.
Jason scanned around them again and nearly melted with relief when he realized where Cor was headed. A few yards away stood a small house–more of a shack, really, but the young man was far from complaining at this point. With slightly unsteady steps, he trudged through the mud and followed the older man to the darkened house. It looked abandoned, outside dull and brown. If it had ever been painted, the color had long been worn away. It still had windows though, and a tall floodlight beside it that still looked like it functioned. Cor reached the door and it opened easily, clearly not locked, and stepped inside. Jason followed, and was surprised to find the inside much better maintained than out. There was only one room containing a small kitchenette, a couple of cots and a small couch. Light filtered in dully from the outside through grimy windows, and it hardly looked lived in. A door led out the back.
Cor shuffled into the corner, leaning over a small generator and humming to himself. Jason closed the door firmly behind himself, but stayed where he was, unsure.
"What is this place?"
Cor didn't even glance at him, hands busy over the contraption in front of him. "Hunter outpost. They're used as waystations for hunting parties, and are kept well stocked." His shoulders jerked hard, and the generator grumbled to life, immediately putting off heat. The floodlight outside flickered on. Cor stood with a quiet grunt and turned around to the still unmoving young man standing in the doorway. Cor raised a brow, but did not say any more, instead dismissing Jason and beginning to peel off his wet clothes. A sodden black jacket was thrown over the back of the couch, quickly followed by a equally drenched shirt.
Jason frowned, averting his eyes from the man's heavily scarred torso, frozen with nerves. He still felt unsure, like he was walking on thin ice. Something about Cor put him on edge–not surprising. The man had outright attacked him when they first met. At least for the moment, though, he didn't seem to see Jason as a threat. Otherwise he wouldn't be letting down his guard like this, setting his weapons aside. Jason didn't know if he could do the same.
But another violent shiver wracking his frame convinced Jason that Cor had the right idea. He wasn't paying any attention to him in any case, pulling a dry pair of jeans on before wandering over to the kitchenette to rifle through the cabinets. It took Jason reminding himself that if Cor wanted to hurt him he would have already done so before he gave into his need to be dry and warm.
With a heavy sigh, Jason allowed himself to slump against the wall, dropping his bag on the floor carelessly and working on his boots with numbed fingers. They were uncooperative, shaking badly, and Jason was reminded that he had hardly eaten anything for days other than some weak stew. Man, he would have given anything for some nice meaty tacos, or better yet, some cheesy lasagna...Urgh. His stomach growled loudly, but he focused as he finally pulled the boots off his feet with a wet suction sound. He grimaced in disgust as he peeled the sodden socks from his pruned feet. The rest of his clothes followed suit soon after, and he sighed in relief as his frigid skin was warmed by the now heated air, courtesy of the generator buzzing in the corner.
He was in the process of pulling on a dry pair of pants when he felt eyes burn into the back of his neck. With a shudder, the intrusive thought that he was alone in the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger made stomach flutter anew with nerves. Straightening, he turned around and carefully glanced at Cor, whose eyes were on him unerringly watching his every move beneath dark brows. He stood against the counter, arms crossed over his bare chest, not having bothered to put on a shirt. And Jason wasn't intimidated by his obvious strength and the battle experience he could see littered over his skin like a macabre tattoo. Not at all.
"What," Jason growled, turning around defensively.
"You've fought a pack of voretooths," Cor stated.
Jason blinked in surprise, not seeing where this came from. Cor's eyes flickered downward and Jason looked at himself, seeing clearly the white scars against his side. Right. "Sabertusks," he corrects. Cor's eyebrow twitched.
"And red giants?" Now he sounded skeptical.
Jason could feel irritation creeping up on him once again, but pushed it down. "I didn't fight them, no."
"You said you rescued Noctis and his crownsguard from two red giants."
The subtle accusation in Cor's tone was making it really hard to hold onto his temper, but Jason persevered. "I did." Cor's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
"How?"
"I…" Jason let out a huge breath, already knowing how this was going to sound but too freaking tired to tell anything but the truth. "I stopped time."
Silence fell between them like a heavy blanket for several moments as Jason waited for a reaction, any reaction. But Cor gave him none. He just continued to stare as if reading Jason like some encrypted code he needed to decipher. Jason vaguely wondered if the other man heard what he actually said, or if he'd been Filtered again. That's what he'd decided to call it. It kind of sucked, but maybe he could consider it a sort of power, if only to make himself feel better about this whole situation. He continued dressing and shut out the older man's presence, figuring that he would speak when he was ready. Dry and warm once again, he allowed himself to sink into the nearest cot, the one farthest from the other man as he could possibly get. Not that it was very far, considering the place was smaller even than his apartment. He was hungry, but too tired to deal with it at the moment. He just wanted to sleep. Maybe when he woke, he would have more patience to deal with his new broody companion.
He was out the second his head hit the pillow.
-o0o-
Jason woke some indeterminable amount of time later to the distinct sound of pots clanking. Jason couldn't be sure, but he didn't feel like he'd gotten much sleep. Low and behold, when he managed to peel his eyes open, it was barely sunset, the clouds a dull orange in the darkening evening. It had only been a couple hours.
Still, it was enough that his mind had cleared somewhat at least. The smell of cooking food tickled his nose and his stomach growled loudly in response.
An amused snort from the other side of the room reminded him unpleasantly that he was not alone, and Jason sat up with a groan. Cor stood by the stove, cooking...something in a battered old pot. Actually, Jason was surprised the stove worked at all, considering how old it looked.
"What's cookin', good lookin'?", Jason said absently through a jaw cracking yawn, stretching his sore limbs above his head.
"Rabbit," Cor said matter-of-fact, not even reacting to Jason's joke. Tch. No sense of humor.
"Where did you get...no, you know what, never mind," Jason muttered. "I don't want to know." He didn't even care at this point, as long as Cor was going to share with him. Eyeing the two worn plates sitting on the counter next to him, it looked like he would. Cor poked at the rabbit meat with a blade before stabbing it and plopping it onto one of the plates. He shoved it aside towards Jason with a quiet command to "Eat," before taking the other chunk of meat and moving to stand by the window, staring out into the darkening night with focused eyes. The rain had drizzled to a stop, the flood light piercing through the slight mist with ease. Jason eyed the growing darkness with trepidation, trying to remind himself that demons didn't come anywhere near floodlights.
To distract himself, he grabbed the plate and looked around for a fork. Finding none, he sat back down with a shrug and began peeling off bits and popping them into his mouth. Bland. And gamey. But Jason's stomach definitely wasn't going to complain. He practically inhaled it.
Now that he had rested and eaten though, his thoughts turned towards his current situation. "Where are we going?"
Cor didn't take his eyes from the window. "We are headed north. You should rest. We are moving out in a few hours."
A small thrill of alarm shot through Jason. "Whoa, what do you mean a few hours? It will still be dark out."
Cor turned to him finally, words clipped. "Yes, it will. There is an abandoned Nifelheim base not far from here. We are going to investigate it. You will be glad for the cover of darkness once we arrive."
Jason spluttered in disbelief, not even sure where to start with that insanity. "Wha–but the daemons–wait, a base? Why are we going there?"
"To investigate," Cor repeated slowly, as if talking to a particularly thick child. "There has been sightings of some suspicious activity, and since the recent occupation of Insomnia, I am not leaving anything to chance."
"Okay, yeah, whatever! But why are you taking me?"
"Because, Messenger," Cor practically growled, taking slow steps toward Jason, who froze. "I have work to do, and you will not be leaving my sight until I am sure you are not a threat." He stopped several feet away, but Jason dared not move. "Besides, we shall see the truth of your abilities in battle."
Jason gulped audibly as Cor turned away, only allowing himself to breathe once the older man resumed his vigil at the window. The white light of the floodlights cast harsh shadows across his face. The question of what would happen to him should he fail this 'test' burned Jason's tongue, but he was unfortunately sure he already knew the answer to that…
He propped himself up against the wall, knowing he would get no more rest this night, not with the way his heart pumped adrenaline through his veins. To say he was afraid was a vast understatement. What had he gotten himself into?! They were going to storm a Nifelheim base?! Or rather, Cor was going to storm. Jason? He was just going to get himself killed! Taking a deep, shuddering breath, the young man forced himself to remain silent. Not that Cor wasn't going to see his panic anyway, they were in too close quarters for that, but Jason really didn't need the man's opinion of him to lower any further. He drew a knee up to his chest and buried his face in it in a shaky semblance of rest.
Okay, calm down. He could do this. He had abilities here, abilities he had never had before in his own world. He could stop time. He could heal himself if he got injured, summon different types of weapons...that he didn't know how to use. Juuust great. He would just have to hope he knew enough to survive.
Jason isn't sure how much time passes as he psyches himself up for what he knows is coming. The world is completely blocked out for just a while, and he forces himself to relax as much as possible. The rain has stopped, leaving him in eerie silence. It isn't easy, but he sort of nods off for a little while, body too exhausted to hold taught any longer. Muddled dreams make their way through his consciousness, and he is relieved that they are normal; a vague collection of comforting memories. In one, he's just sitting with his small group of friends in the restaurant beneath Stonewalls. Just talking. Nat pushes one of their friend's shoulders lightly and she laughs, copper hair catching the light. Nat looks over to him, and smiles.
A harsh jolt in the bed beneath him has Jason startling awake. Cor stands at the end of the bed, immune to the nasty glare Jason gives him. "Gear up. We leave in five." He's already dressed in his black jacket, sword strapped to his hip. With one last look, he spins on his heel and leaves the shack, the door shutting behind him with finality.
Heart hammering in his chest, Jason levers himself to his feet, shaking off the numbness dragging his limbs with some effort. He takes his time pulling his still damp leathers on, checking over his daggers to make sure they are in place. As a final thought, he searches for something to tie his hair back and grimaces when he finds nothing resembling a hair tie. He of course hadn't brought any with him on his way through the magical TV portal. Figures. With a resigned sigh, he pulled a decent sized string from the threadbare couch and snapped it off.
He joined Cor outside, still fumbling a bit with his awkward makeshift tie. Finally it was in place, locking his black waves into a small bun at the back of his head. He huffs in irritation as a few escape to flutter around his eyes, not for the first time cursing his love for long hair. But it would have to do. As he stepped up beside Cor, who glared into the darkness beyond their small globe of light, he scanned the horizon fearfully.
"Won't daemons attack us if we leave the light?", he asked quietly, afraid to attract attention.
"We can handle them," Cor said matter-of-factly. "The small ones are weak, and the larger ones can be seen a mile away if one is paying attention. You've faced red giants, so this should be old hat for you."
His voice dripped with sarcasm, and Jason scowled. "No," he said, tired of the jibes but not entirely sure what Cor wanted from him. "Those were the first daemons I ever encountered. I'm not from here."
Cor narrowed his eyes, but didn't comment further. "Stick close to me and they won't bother us." He pointed to the horizon on their left. A faint light glowed against the overhanging clouds. "There is the base, about a mile from here. It should not be active. We will scout the perimeter before heading inside."
"And if we find something?"
"Take it out."
Jason swallowed audibly, nodding once. Cor took off at a light jog and Jason followed close on his heels, paranoia clogging his lungs at every little rustle of the wind through the grass. He couldn't believe this, couldn't believe he was doing this. But he was, so he forced himself to breathe and keep up. He'd done this before in the game, he knew what to expect...sort of. Except he didn't have nifty warping abilities.
N-no problem.
It took them ten minutes to reach the perimeter, no daemon encounters, much to Jason's relief. But that relief was short lived. A large concrete wall stood only meters away. "Is that light usually on?", he whispered.
"No." Jason shivered. Right.
Cor led them around the wall for several minutes, both huddled close to the ground and keeping their strides as quiet as possible. It was when they reached the far side of the wall that Jason's heart plummeted. There was a large gate with a road leading outward into the distance. It was open and unguarded but long sweeping beams of light cut through the darkness, catching every movement and wisp of mist to cross their paths.
Searchlights. That wasn't good.
Cor stopped and pulled Jason close to the ground, hand firmly on his shoulder to keep him still. "Recon first. We go in, get intel, and get out. Don't get caught."
With that oh-so-helpful advice, and without even waiting for an acknowledgment, Cor bolted forward at a dead run, hugging the wall and avoiding the searchlights with ease. Jason cursed in every language he knew in his head as he threw himself after him, desperately trying to match Cor's silent strides with his own frantic ones. Light swept the ground above, beside and behind them, but Cor navigated them through it effortlessly until they reached the wide gate and ducked inside. Jason nearly rammed into Cor when he crouched behind some crates in the shadows.
Cor stared at him, observing Jason quietly as he tried to catch his breath. Jason ignored him, scanning their surroundings fearfully and cringing at every perceived shadow. But the place seemed empty. The base was sectioned off by chain linked fences, crates of supplies and weapons stacked atop each other surrounding a collection of huge warehouses in the center. Lights flooded the area, but as far as Jason could tell, there was no one here. He looked to the top of the searchlight towers and found nothing as well, the lights automated.
He didn't know what to think about that. Something felt off.
Cor didn't give him much time to contemplate this, however, moving off into the quiet with near silent footsteps. Jason followed without question, eyes darting this way and that. Something was bothering him though. This base didn't look active. He remembered taking them down in the game, and usually there was this big tower that put off some kind of red light energy source? But there was no sign of anything like that. In fact, there didn't seem to be any sign of anything at all. He tore his eyes from the dark corners of their surroundings to focus back on Cor, not wanting to trip the man up again with his bumbling. He stopped dead in his tracks.
Cor was gone.
Jason crouched down, frozen in place, the only sound he could hear a pounding coming from his own body. "Cor…" he whispered, a barely there sound in the silence of the base. He wanted to try again, but fear of getting discovered by an enemy held him in check. Instead he scanned about himself nervously, looking for any sign of the man. Where had he gone?! Jason had only looked away from him for a second!
Okay, calm down, Jason. You can handle this. Move forward. Find him.
Jason took a cautious step forward, then another, even more paranoid than before. Something wasn't right, and now he'd straight up lost his guide! He briefly considered just getting the hell out of dodge, but then what would he do? He'd just be some lost man in the desert with no real knowledge of where to go or what to do. No. He needed to find Cor. And Cor would be focused on the mission. What was it he said to do?
Recon. Get intel. If you find something, take it out.
Right, that's super helpful. But he didn't have much of a choice at this point.
Taking a deep breath, Jason crouched down low to the ground and continued forward. He checked carefully around every corner, making absolute certain it was clear before moving on, making his way steadily to the center of the base. As he moved along, crates became machines of war, the tall mechs bigger in person than he ever imagined. Tanks loomed over him and he had to force himself past them, having zero desire to ever see them in action. He passed through inactive gates, peering up into every stairway and scaffolding with trepidation.
Then he saw them.
His heart nearly leapt from his skin as he spotted a line of soldiers standing silently beneath a flickering yellow streetlight. He jerked back around the corner in fright, adrenaline pumping through him so strongly that his hands trembled from it. A second passed, then another, and Jason realized with a shiver of relief that they hadn't seen them. He cautiously peeked back around the corner. The soldiers hadn't moved.
It took several seconds of numb fear muddling his thoughts before Jason realized the obvious. Right. They were Magitech axemen. The base wasn't active, so neither were they. Cautiously, Jason forced himself from behind the corner and approached them, curious. No glowing red eyes peered from beneath their gunmetal grey helmets. He moved closer and reached out a trembling hand to touch one on the chestplate.
It was cold. Empty.
It was kind of hard to believe that there were daemons in there and–what used to be–a human. He shuddered, taking his hand back and backing away. Too real. Too real. He thought of Prompto's story all over again, this time truly considering how he must have felt to find out the truth. Prompto. He hoped he would be able to see him again soon. He owed him an apology. Possibly also owed him his first born child for what he said. Now that he'd come to grips with this reality, he couldn't believe the things he'd said to the guy, how he'd been so quick to tell him he wasn't real, that he didn't matter. He looked once more into the expressionless dead mask and felt an echo of Prompto's pain.
He hoped he could prevent him from ever having to go through what he knew was coming. But there was only one way to be sure of that. He had to get back to him. Which meant he had to complete this stupid mission so he could gain Cor's trust. "You'll get that apology, Prompto...See you soon," he whispered. With a determined frown, he turned away from the motionless figures and jogged back into the shadows towards the center of the base. Time to get this over with.
What Jason didn't see was an alarming flicker of red light, one that spread rapidly through the clearing as machinery whirred to life.
-o0o-
Cor didn't miss a single moment. He crouched low on a balcony of scaffolding, observing Jason below silently. He watched as he clumsily made his way through the inactive base, jumping at every shadow and flicker of light. He watched the boy–barely a man–move with obvious strength in his limbs, and tried to figure him out. He barely paid more than the slimmest attentions to the base itself. He knew it was inactive. He'd had his people look into it yesterday.
Clearly Jason was trained. Cor saw that the instant he walked into his presence for the first time back in Hammerhead. He did not miss the way Jason aborted his movements when Cor pinned him against the wall, felt the strength beneath his hands. He did not misunderstand what Jason stopped himself from doing on instinct. He wanted to fight back, but he did not. And yet, the young man held the daggers in his hands when he bought them as if they were snakes about to bite. To make things more complicated, he seemed familiar with the base, walking in all the right places to stay out of sight, looking into the correct lines of sight to spot enemies, yet he claimed he's never even been here. It was baffling, and not a little suspicious.
Cor might not have been the most observant person in the world when it came to reading people, but he always thought himself a good judge of character. But he just couldn't seem to suss out Jason's intentions.
He said he wasn't from here. Cor did not believe him.
Yes, With his black hair and tanned skin, he did not look like a man from Lucius, Nifelheim or even any other nationality that Cor had ever seen. But he had clearly recognized Cor in a manner of familiarity that went beyond just seeing his face in a newspaper or hearing stories of him. His eyes had widened in instant recognition and he said Cor's name with no hesitation, as if he knew him. One didn't come by that kind of familiarity unless they had actually met someone or seen them up close before.
If he was a spy, he was a very poor one. None of this made sense.
Cor moved along the scaffolding, following the young man from above. That left Jason's claim that he was a Messenger, which made even less sense. Now, Cor didn't pretend to understand the will of the Gods, but he had met a few Messengers before and none even remotely behaved as this man did. As for his supposed power, well, Cor would just have to see it to believe it. He had access to Nocits' armiger it appeared, and his eyes did glow unnaturally, but it could just be a form of foreign magic Cor had never witnessed. Besides that, Jason didn't even seem convinced of his own words.
The confusion in his eyes as he explained that he was connected to Prompto, the unsure way his gaze shifted when he explained how he came to be here...No, it was safe to say that Jason's story was either fabricated and his acting skills were terrible, or he really didn't know what was going on. Cor was starting to consider the latter. So then why did he want to get to the prince so badly…?
Cor tensed as Jason slowly approached an inactive Magitech axeman, as cautious as a frightened rabbit. He lightly touched it before seeming to recoil into himself, stepping back. He spoke aloud, but Cor was too far away to hear. He looked sad.
Interesting. Did the boy know what the soldiers were? Cor considered Jason's back as he jogged deeper into the base. Somehow he had a feeling that if he could find out how Jason came across the knowledge he clearly possessed, it could go a long way in explaining who–or what–he is…
Cor's eyes widened in alarm as a wave of red flashed through the still MTs. The unmistakable whir of machinery coming to life had him on his feet in an instant, sprinting in the direction he saw Jason run, cursing himself for letting the boy out of his sight. The soldiers were coming online! Clearly this base hadn't been as inactive as he thought.
The clanging of metal against metal and a frantic shout had Cor cursing loudly as he leapt from the scaffolding before hitting the ground in a dead sprint. The air prickled around him as he ran, pressure building noticeably and a red haze settling around him.
Cor found Jason a split second later. The boy was backpedalling wildly, losing ground to a group of ten axemen who advanced towards him steadily. He had both daggers drawn, but looked like he barely knew how to hold them. The soldiers were rapidly backing him into a corner and Cor jolted forward, decapitating the nearest one in a flurry of sparks and daemon mist.
"Cor!" Jason shouted in utter relief as Cor stepped in front of him. "Where the hell have you been?!"
"Scouting," Cor shouted back. "We need to get out of here immediately."
"N-no shit! Ah!"
Cor chanced a look back to see Jason surrounded by three soldiers, all raising their axes to incapacitate them, but before they could even downswing, Jason kicked out and knocked them off balance before rolling out of range. A clank in front of him reminded Cor that he had his own enemies to face. With an audible growl, he faced forward and sprang into action. His vision narrowed to bright points of vulnerability, instinct born from many years of experience taking over his limbs easily. Automatic. Remorseless. Enemy after enemy fell beneath his blade as he sliced through them easily. These opponents were weak, merely fodder, and it took him no time at all to take out the seven of them in front of him. As their bodies dissipated into oily smoke, he wasted no time in turning to assist his unwilling companion. He paused.
Jason tumbled backward before landing once more on his feet. He watched his enemies slowly move forward, completely unperturbed by his first hit. The rushing in his ears muted all but the MTs in front of him, blocking out the squeals of metal as Cor tore soldiers apart a few metres away. They had taken him by surprise. He had thought the base completely inactive, and so had moved past the soldiers without even a glance. That turned out to be a mistake when a hand shot out and ripped him from his feet, machinery coming instantly to life. He had barely had enough time to pry his hands out of its grip with a violent yank, tearing his skin, before the thing split his head with its weapon. He kicked out and managed to fling himself from its reach at the last second, only to retreat as the rest of the unit came to life and pursued him.
He'd never felt so relieved in his life when Cor came to his rescue. But right now Cor had his own battle to face, and Jason needed to hold out until Cor could get to him. He gripped the knives in his hands harshly and held them in front of him in a standard fighting stance, weight weaving from foot to foot in preparation to move at an instant's notice. Their red glowing eyes bored into him as they advanced. He took a step back, then another. His back hit a solid wall and he gasped loudly as the three took advantage of his mistake, launching forward into a run, three axes held high.
Jason wasn't quite sure what happened next, and if asked, couldn't give a proper sequence of events.
The one who reached him first swung its axe towards his neck violently and Jason reacted on complete instinct, crossing the blades in his hands into an 'x' to block it with a wild shout. His arms jolted violently on impact, numbing them instantly, but Jason barely felt it, diverting the axe downward and using its momentum to swing his leg up into the soldier's face. It impacted with a loud crunch as its head twisted too far around to be natural before falling in a tangled heap. Jason screamed as he felt something crunch in his foot, but didn't have time to worry about it before the next two soldiers were in his face. He didn't even try to block their blows as he dove between them, coming up behind and lurching forward. When he managed to turn back around, an axe was once again coming for his face. Jason dropped the knives in his hands and instantly fell in to what he knew best. He bolted forward towards the arm of the soldier that didn't have a weapon and spun behind it. Once he had its back, he kicked viciously into the back of its knees so that it fell forward before stomping down on both ankles, breaking them. He jumped away before it could move.
A squealing wrench of metal had Jason's heart leaping out of his chest and he turned around. He brought his hands above his head to block with a startled shout, axe poised to take his head off.
It didn't move. Jason wrenched his eyes open with a gasp, taking in the frozen soldier above him. He looked down. There was a black blade protruding from its chest, sparks flickering and mingling with an acrid cloud of smoke. Slowly, it slumped down, revealing Cor standing behind it. He pulled his blade from its back as the soldier dissipated into nothing.
"You alright, kid?"
"Y-yeah," Jason gasped, breath coming out in harsh pants as he struggled to breathe.
"Good," Cor said urgently, "because we need to get out of here now." As if to punctuate that statement, the clanking sound of soldiers marching against the hard ground made it through the rushing sound in Jason's ears and an alarm blared deafeningly into the night. The downed axeman that Jason had broken the legs of shuddered and began crawling towards him, causing Jason to very near shriek, but Cor dispatched it with a vicious stab to its face and a curse. Jason found himself being dragged roughly back the way they came as Cor latched onto his arm and steered forward. Jason gasped in agony as pain flared up his leg in nausea inducing waves, but his adrenaline was so great he barely gave it any consideration as he sprinted after Cor. Get out, get out, get out!
The red haze grew thicker around them and every corner became illuminated with its sickly glow. Soldiers he hadn't even seen activated left and right, following them with their daemonic eyes and starting forward in pursuit. Some tried to block their path, but Cor cut through them violently, urging Jason to keep running. Jason's heart nearly shuddered to a complete stop when a mech beside him activated, but it wasn't fast enough to catch them as they bolted to the gate.
"Shit!" Cor cursed loudly as the gate came into sight, and Jason would have echoed the sentiment if he had hand any breath to spare.
With a loud rumble, the gate was closing, large doors grinding to cut off their path. Cor jerked Jason forward and put on another burst of speed, Jason matching his pace with everything he had. They weren't going to make it!
And to make matters worse, a line of riflemen filed out onto the top of the wall and aimed their guns, red dots flicking across Jason's chest and body. If he wasn't already breathless, he would have been hyperventilating, but as it was, he just put as much of his being into his run as he could. Bullets rained around him and Jason wasn't even sure at this point if he would even have felt it if he got hit.
The gates were almost completely closed when they reached them, but they were going to make it! In a last ditch effort to stop them, an axeman threw himself into Cor's path only to meet a swift and violent end at the man's blade. Seconds after they burst through, the gate closed behind them with a boom.
They weren't out of the woods yet, though. The riflemen still had them in their sights as the searchlights zeroed in on their wild dash. Luckily it didn't seem that the riflemen were very good shots, because neither man was hit. Jason stumbled through the dark as the light faded, but Cor kept him going, not slowing down for an instant.
The problem was, Jason had nothing left. Waves of dizziness crashed over him and he slowed, adrenaline wearing off. Agony shot through his leg once again and he fell with a cry. Cor spun around in alarm, eyes flicking between Jason and the gates beginning to open, the ominous figures of mechs filling the space behind.
Roughly, he pulled Jason to his feet, heedless to the shout of pain, and pulled something from his jacket. A whistle pierced through the night and a vaguely familiar cry echoed back.
But Jason was no longer looking. He was losing awareness fast, body going into shock as pain thrummed through him mercilessly. Gunshots thundered around them, a creature's cry growing closer, then Jason was lifted onto something soft. He clutched at the feathers beneath his hands, strong muscles rippling under his touch. He jolted upright.
A huge feathered beast shuffled beneath him, and to his shock, Jason found himself astride a chocobo, it's feathers black as night. He clung to it weakly with a startled shout as it shifted, and barely had time to process what the hell was going on before a strong body swung onto the beast behind him, arms anchoring him to what felt like a brick wall before they were moving.
Jason clung to the iron band across his chest and squeezed his eyes shut as the night flashed by them in blinding, dizzying waves.
He had mentioned that he hated riding motorcycles. This was absolutely one hundred times worse.
They fled into the night and the gunfire and alarms eventually faded into the distance. With every passing moment, Jason's grip grew weaker, and it wasn't long before he fell limp against Cor's chest, exhaustion and pain dragging him blissfully into unconsciousness.
-o0o-
AN:
Whoops! Cor, stop being mean, look what you did! Poor baby Jason. He just wants to apologize to Prompto!
Ah, I love battle scenes. Looks like Jason is well on his way to proving himself, even if that little test didn't go exactly as Cor planned. We'll see what conclusions he comes to next chapter. And what are the guys up to?! Wouldn't you like to know hehe.
Next chapter's going to be fun! Might not get it up for a bit though, I've got a test of my own to complete this next month. It will be for my second black belt, so wish me luck guys!
As always I appreciate you comments. No really! I don't even expect them anymore since I don't have much of a following for this story, but that just makes every comment and pat on the back that much more precious. See you next time!