Jason drifted. He felt weightless. At peace.
His body rocked gently in a soothing rhythm, though nothing substantial seemed to cause it. It was as if gravity was simply absent, the weightlessness wrapping around him like a cool blanket. It was nice, this momentary absence of pain or pressure and Jason reveled in the relief of it. He thought of nothing. Felt nothing.
Jason.
Jason sighed, rocking up and down slowly and not bothered at all by the whisper. It sounded...nice. Familiar, like the quiet hiss of flame, a light rain pattering on a window…
Jase.
He hummed, eyes struggling to flutter open. The voice called out to him in a tone he cadence he knew well, the strange pronunciation of his name he only ever experienced in one place, by one man..."Prom?" he mumbled, the word coming out muffled in his ears, as if absorbed by the air around him. A soft touch swept a lock of hair from his forehead, and Jason leaned into it.
Prompto was speaking again and though Jason couldn't hear distinct words, his brows drew together at the distress in Prompto's voice. He didn't like it. Lids feeling like they were weighed down by all the gravity that seemed absent from the rest of him, Jason opened his eyes with a force of will. Prompto wanted him to wake. So he would wake.
Immediately, he winced at the bright blue light that assaulted his vision, a twinge of discomfort drawing a silent gasp. It was only the sound of Prompto's voice that kept him from falling back into his slumber. Slowly, the blurred images around him came to focus, and soon enough the blinding blue softened to the cool tones he was used to seeing in the menu. Prompto's face came into view, sapphire eyes ever more striking in their cool surroundings. It took a second for Jason to process how close he was, close enough to catalog every freckle and wrinkle in his brow. Once Jason's eyes opened, Prompto's distressed frown transformed into a beatific smile, relief painting his every feature. Something warm and fuzzy bloomed in Jason's chest to see him so happy. Was Jason the reason? He hoped so.
Jason felt an answering smile lift his own lips as he raised his hand to cover the one still lingering on his cheek. "Prompto? Am I dreaming?" he said, or at least he felt like he did. He couldn't really hear himself. And it felt like a dream. Why else would he be floating in this surreal place, and why else would Prompto be smiling at him as if Jason had single-handedly granted him his every wish?
Regretfully, Prompto pulled his hand away and drifted back a little. Jason frowned, missing his warmth. The blond man began speaking urgently, but...Jason couldn't hear him. He shook his head slowly, not understanding, and Prompto's smile dropped. Frustration lowered his brow and he drifted forward again, grabbing onto Jason's shoulders, still trying to speak through the fog. It was no use.
Jason wished that Prompto would hug him instead. He would much rather be held gently right now...A little blossom of sadness had Jason's eyes watering and he bit his lip, looking away from Prompto's face. It was too painful to look at him…His eyes were starting to feel heavy again...
A sharp sting on the cheek had Jason's head jerking to the side with a gasp, eyes snapping open. Prompto was glaring at him now, expression almost frightening in its intensity and the hand he'd just slapped him with now gripping Jason's shoulder tightly.
It was as if a splash of frigid water had been thrown over his head, mind lurching to awareness and he blinked rapidly. "What? Prompto? Where–" Jason looked around. They weren't in the menu like he'd first assumed. There was nothing around them but waves of cerulean blue. It looked like...like the place Noctis was trapped for ten years. A little swoop of alarm raced through Jason. "Prompto, what is going on? Why are we here?" He looked back to Prompto, who hadn't moved, staring intensely into his eyes.
At least, it looked like Prompto. But there was something in his face that Jason had never seen before, a seriousness without the unsure pinch between his brows that was always there even in his most grave moments. He looked...older, in some indefinable way that had nothing to do with his physical features.
Slowly, Prompto moved his mouth, and Jason squinted, trying to follow. Look up? Lu. Luna. He was saying Lunafreya! And something else, but Jason wasn't the most talented lip reader out there. He bit his lip, distressed, and a little freaked out by the way Prompto was looking at him. "I'm sorry, I don't–"
Prompto let out a silent shout of frustration, startling Jason. He said something else that looked suspiciously like some choice curse words before gripping Jason's face between his hands. His hands felt warm, rough and more real than seemed possible in this dreamlike world. A few more rapid phrases, then something that was unmistakably sorry before–
A searing, aching pain flared behind Jason's eyes and his body went rigid, a scream building at the back of his throat before it burst out of him as if the air were being sucked from his chest. It didn't even matter that he couldn't hear it, because he felt it tearing his voice as sure as the explosion happening in his mind. Images assaulted him, more rapidly than he could comprehend: a jagged, dead landscape and a narrow path, a slim figure in dirty, travel-worn clothes, a snow-white dog, a splash of red and Ardyn's dark smile, violence, and then a voice, so powerful that it split his head open from the inside out saying THREE DAYS.
Prompto's hands fell away and the pain stopped abruptly, leaving Jason shaking and gasping, drawing his arms and legs in close to protect himself. It was a moment before Jason could look up again, eyes filled with fear. Prompto only stared on, a small, achingly sad smile lifting the corner of his mouth. I'm sorry.
"How do you know all this?" Jason stuttered, desperately confused by all the information that had just been brutally shoved in his head. "What's going on!?" He could feel the hysteria edging his voice, fear trembling through his stomach. Then he asked the question that he really wanted to, the only one that truely mattered at the moment. "Who are you really?" he whispered.
Prompto paused, then his gaze softened. His lips were moving again, but Jason only caught a little.
"...This time?" Prompto began to drift away. "Wait, hold on! Dammit, Prompto!" But it was too late. He was gone, and Jason felt himself tugged back into darkness.
-o0o-
Prompto woke with a gasp, violently ripping himself from sleep. He panted, struggling to get his limbs to move at his will, but it was as if he were paralyzed, held down by the vestiges of a vast presence he couldn't understand. Fear gripped his chest as he lay immobile, visions of the dream he'd just had playing over and over again in his mind. He felt hot, stifled and trapped, and small whimpers escaped him, voice cracking with every exhale.
"Prompto…?" Noctis' voice drifted over him, and Prompto wanted to respond, to beg for help but he couldn't move. "Prompto!" A weight lifted off of Prompto's chest and a hand gripped his shoulder, shaking him. "Prompto, wake up! Iggy!"
A weight shifted at Prompto's other side and he let out a small cry, flinching away. "Prompto? Can you hear me?" Ignis said, and Prompto stopped trying to escape, realizing he wasn't a threat. Still, he couldn't seem to breathe, and pins and needles began to sting his fingers and scalp. If only he could force his eyes open, he just wanted to see–
"He's having a panic attack," Ignis said urgently, and Prompto felt himself being lifted into a sitting position. He wanted to help, he really did, but he still couldn't move. The world started spinning. "Noct, sit him against your chest, help him breathe." He shifted, and then a warm presence was against his back. Noctis' heart pounded, but it was nothing compared to the bird trying to escape from Prompto's chest. "Match you're breathing to Noctis', that's it. Four seconds in, four seconds out." Ignis said soothingly. "Four seconds in...four seconds out." Noctis followed his instructions and Prompto felt himself trying to do so as well, lifting his chest when Noct did.
"Ig-gy, I c-can't m-move," Prompto whispered through the straw in his lungs, and Noctis' warm hands immediately began to run up and down his arms, stinging at first but then soothing as he began to regain feeling in his skin. Ignis brushed a lock of hair from his slick forehead.
"It's okay, Prompto. You're safe. You can open your eyes."
No, no, they didn't understand, he couldn't, that person wouldn't let him move– He was still in the blue space, seeing through his own eyes, speaking, but it wasn't him, it was– a vast sadness in his mind, a crushing loneliness so profound it made Prompto want to cry and he knew things, impossible things but somehow he knew– and it made Prompto hurt Jason– Jason screaming, screaming, screaming, face twisted in pain but he couldn't make a sound, HIS hands caused this pain–
Jason, dark brown eyes muddled with fear, he couldn't hear him but could just make out the words who are you –
This time, we have a chance. This time...we have you.
"Prompto, shhh, we're here," Ignis' cool hands cupped his feverish face, thumbs brushing beneath his eyes soothingly. "You're safe. What did we have for dinner last night?"
"I–I–s-skewers." Prompto gasped. He breathed. F-four seconds in, four out. Noctis nuzzled his neck, hands still moving gently and chest rocking steadily beneath him. His thoughts caught, then scattered…
"That's right. Did you like them?"
Prompto struggled to remember the salty-sweet flavor. "C-course. I love everything you make, Iggy…"
"What color is my hair?" Noctis asked softly.
"Black," Prompto said immediately. His eyes fluttered, breath slowing. The tent came into focus, and he found himself gazing into Ignis' eyes, face cast in a dull green. Not blue. He was awake. He was here.
"That's it. What's your favorite animal?" Ignis smiled faintly, his brows relaxing.
"Chocobos…" Prompto said, flexing his fingers against the hard ground beneath him. The sleeping bag stuck uncomfortably to his sweaty skin.
"You know, there's a chocobo ranch not too far from here," Noctis said casually. "We should stop by when we get the chance."
"I'd like that," Prompto mumbled, images of soft yellow feathers and cute chocobo chicks erasing images of fathomless, empty blue. With a groan, Prompto covered his face with his hands, feeling a headache pounding through his skull like drum beats. "Sorry. I'm sorry." Shame settled heavy in his chest. He hadn't had an attack that bad since he was a kid. Yeah, sometimes he might get a little worked up, but it hadn't been that severe for a long, long time.
"What happened?" Noctis said, still whispering. Prompto relaxed into him, letting his head fall back on Noctis' shoulder. It was early. Very early. The sun hadn't quite risen yet, just a dull light through the tent making their surroundings barely visible. Noctis' skin felt slick on his own, the both of them still bare-chested from the night before. Prompto felt a pang of regret that he'd ruined their nice morning, wishing he could do it over and kiss Noctis and Ignis awake instead. That would have been...nice. He sighed.
"I dunno. I had a nightmare? I think? It was really weird…"
"Do you wish to talk about it?" Ignis sat back on his heels but stayed close in case Prompto needed him again.
Prompto took a deep breath. Not really. But it always helped when he did. If he internalized it he would just end up breaking down again. "Well, I was in this weird place, all blue and floaty like being underwater at Galdin Quay, only I could breathe. I was me, but–I wasn't. Something was controlling me…" He shuddered. The details were slipping away little by little, but he distinctly remembered the sensation of his body moving against his will. "I'm not sure what I was doing, just that it was really, really important." Prompto pursed his lips together, trying to remember.
"What happened then?"
"Um...Jason was there." It had been really freaky to see him too. Just...floating. He seemed asleep, handsome face more relaxed than Prompto had ever seen it. He remembered feeling so happy when Jason woke up and smiled. And then–
His palm tingled with remembered pain. Then he'd hit him. Then he'd made him scream.
Prompto sat up abruptly, looking down at his hands in horror as a sharp spike of anxiety seized his lungs again . "W-we need to get back to Jason and Gladio. Now!"
Ignis and Noctis exchanged glances. "Prompto…" Whatever Ignis was about to say, however, was interrupted by his phone vibrating insistently in his pocket. Ignis pulled it out and answered it with a swipe. "Gladio–" Muffled shouting, and then Ignis' eyes widened in alarm. "Understood. We'll be there in ten." He hung up and immediately began to hunt for his shirt. "We need to leave."
"What did he say?" Noctis demanded tensely as he and Prompto began to follow suit.
"He didn't."
Prompto fumbled with his clothes, worry clouding his mind and shaking his fingers. He prayed to the Gods that Jason was okay, that he hadn't seriously hurt him. M-maybe it really was a dream. Maybe this was an unrelated emergency. Y-yeah.
They were ready and out of the tent within a minute. Without even a backward glance at their gear, they were jumping in the Regalia. Prompto hissed as his lower back twinged in discomfort, a sensation that would have usually put him in a giddy mood because of its origins, but now it was only an unwanted distraction. He pushed it aside, gnawing on his lip in worry as Ignis steered them onto the road and then proceeded to break several traffic laws in his haste.
Gladio and Jason waited for them outside of the hotel, the dark-skinned man pacing frantically back and forth, hair in disarray and snagged, as if he'd been compulsively running his hands through it. Gladio stood stoically and watched, arms crossed over his chest. As soon as the Regalia pulled into a parking spot, Jason was striding towards them, jaw clenched tightly and tendons standing out on his neck.
"Prompto, what the HELL was that?" His dark brows were drawn together in equal parts anger and fear as he stopped abruptly in front of Prompto, who'd barely managed to stand from his seat. Okay. Clearly not a dream then.
Prompto flinched, even as he flickered his eyes over Jason's body, checking to see if he was unharmed. He looked okay, just spitting mad. "I-I don't know! That wasn't me!"
"The hell it wasn't!" Jason got in his face, the taller man crowding him until he was flush against the Regalia. Prompto hissed, wincing as his back came in contact with the hard exterior. In a split second, Jason's eyes cleared and shifted to worry. He opened his mouth to say something, but Noctis was suddenly there, shoving him hard out of Prompto's space.
"What the fuck?! Back off!" Noctis stepped in front of Prompto protectively, and Jason's expression clouded with fury, bowing up to the equally pissed prince. They glared, sparks flying between them and both looking prepared to exchange blows. Prompto's heart stuttered in alarm, but thankfully Gladio and Ignis stepped in, Ignis placing a bracing hand on Noctis' chest and Gladio pulling Jason back until he was a good five feet away.
"Calm down," Gladio said firmly, looking pointedly between Jason and Noctis. Jason's fury seemed to drain from him, leaving only a deep-seated worry in its wake. He gave Gladio a flickering glance before he nodded once, shortly. Noctis relaxed back as well, though he didn't step aside.
"Now," Ignis said reasonably. "Maybe you could explain what happened."
Jason took a deep breath before nodding. He patted Gladio's hand twice. Gladio gave him a considering look before he dropped his hand from his shoulder, taking a small step backward. "Last night, Prompto came to me in a dream."
Noctis and Ignis turned to give Prompto concerned looks, and Prompto nodded, confirming. "Yeah, it was totally weird." He stood up and moved around Noctis to talk to Jason. "I was me, but like–not. And I couldn't hear you at all. A-are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
Jason narrowed his eyes. "I'm fine." He frowned. "You don't remember what you did to me?"
Prompto bit his lip in distress. "No. Just that I really, really needed to tell you something but we couldn't hear each other. And when I touched you…" You looked like you were in so much pain. Prompto choked on his words, breath hitching.
Jason was starting to look just as upset as Prompto felt. "Prom, please tell me. Are you the one who brought me here? Who are you really?"
Prompto's chest stung. It hurt, the way Jason was staring at him as if he were about to attack. But Prompto did hurt him, didn't he. Jason had every right to be afraid. Prompto was afraid of himself. "I swear, I didn't. I don't know w-who brought you here or what that was, but it wasn't me. "
"Wait, hold on! What happened?" Noctis interjected.
For several seconds, Jason didn't break eye contact with Prompto. Then he said slowly, "Prompto... told me that Lunafreya would reach the Disk of Cauthess in three days and that we have to stop her from awakening the Archeon, or events are going to happen exactly the way they're meant to."
Silence met his words, each of them recalling the horrific future Jason told them about. "What?" Noct whispered. Then his voice strengthened, face pinching in determination. "We need to go there now!"
"No!" Prompto shouted, an inexplicable urge forcing him to speak up. Visions flashed behind his tightly shut eyes and he shuddered, the vague image of a man with red hair rearing up and sending adrenaline through his blood. "I need to get to Lestallum!" He forced his eyes open, staring at them all pleadingly. He wasn't sure what the visions were trying to tell him, just that if he didn't follow this urge, something terrible might happen. The guys, save for Jason, looked at him like he'd grown a second head.
"What? Why?" Noctis demanded.
"No, he's right," Jason said. He was watching Prompto closely. "Ardyn is waiting for us there. We need to intercept him, or he might find out what we're up to too soon."
"How do you know all this?" Gladio said, visibly frustrated. "Where is all this coming from?"
Prompto and Jason exchanged a glance. "I don't know," Prompto whispered, rubbing his arms vigorously. "Just. We have to do this." Jason nodded emphatically, looking seconds from a breakdown himself.
"This is crazy," Noctis said, voice edged with hysteria. "It doesn't make any sense. But if there's even a little chance we can save Luna, I have to take it. I go to the disk."
"I'm coming with you," Jason said. "I know where she'll be."
Noctis considered him carefully for a second before nodding, a moment of understanding passing between the two of them. Noctis drew his shoulders back and with command he so rarely displayed, said, "Prompto, Gladio, Ignis. Go to Lestallum and stall Ardyn."
"What!" Gladio shouted, and Ignis' brows pinched together in shock. "No way in hell are you two going off on your own! It's too dangerous! You–"
"Gladio!" Noctis said sharply, and the larger man's jaw clapped shut with an audible click, eyes widening in fury. "Do as I say. We don't have time to argue."
"Highness–"
"No, Iggy," he said, a little more gently. "We'll stay low and avoid drawing attention to ourselves. I'll come back alive, I promise. With Luna."
Ignis' lips were pinched so tightly together that they were leached of color. After a tense moment, Ignis lowered his eyes, bowing sharply at the waist. "Yes, Highness. Stay safe."
Gladio glowered. "Fine. But we're not just gonna run off without a plan."
"It's going to take another two days to reach Lestallum at the pace we're going. If we forgo stops, we should be able to get there much sooner."
"So we're taking the Regalia? How are you two going to get there?"
Noctis crossed his arms, thinking. "The chocobo post isn't that far from here. We could rent a couple." Jason made a face, but didn't comment.
"And to get there?"
Noctis shrugged. "Hitchhiking. We'll make our way back to the camp and go from there."
Gladio frowned but seemed to accept that. "What happens if you run into trouble?"
"We run," Jason said immediately. Noctis gave him a withering look, but Jason wouldn't be swayed. "What? There's only two of us, and I'm not all that good in a fight with anything bigger than an MT."
"You would be if you were inducted into Noctis' house," Gladio said pointedly. He rolled over both men's immediate protests. "No. I'm serious. I will not let you go on your own with one of you unable to use magic. No arguments."
Noctis and Jason exchanged a long, uncomfortable look before Jason nodded slowly in acceptance. "Fine," Noctis spat, and Jason winced. "Anything else? We need to get moving."
Gladio nodded, brow low and serious. "Yeah, one more thing." He strode up to Jason and pulled his phone out of his pocket, handing it over to the bewildered man. When Jason took it, he covered both Jason's darker hands with his, the phone trapped between them. Jason looked up at him questioningly. "You don't have one. Use it if you get separated." He looked between Jason and Noctis for a long, lingering moment. "Keep each other safe." Then he dropped Jason's hands, backing up to stand beside Ignis. Jason watched him, seeming to swallow the words he wanted to say. With a small nod, he placed Gladio's phone in his back pocket.
Prompto wrung his hands, watching the scene play out and barely following. They were really doing this. They were really going to split up. This was all happening so fast.
"Okay. Time to go." Noctis paused, wavering between Gladio, Ignis and Prompto and the street behind him, looking torn. But he was anxious about Luna, they could see it in his eyes. It overrode everything else. "I'll see you in a few days," was all he said before he spun around, jogging towards the camp just outside of town. Jason looked between the retreating prince and back, looking a little panicked like he had something to say, but there wasn't time.
"Prompto," Jason said, and Prompto jumped. For a second he just stared, jaw working and eyes communicating something his words couldn't seem to. Prompto's heart lurched, too much meaning in Jason's chocolate gaze for him to grasp. Then, "We're going to figure this out. Whatever it is that's happening–you and me? We'll figure it out." That said, he gave Gladio one last lingering look before bolting after Noctis, the two of them swiftly disappearing in the brush.
Prompto half stumbled after them before he could stop himself. They just–left. Without even saying a proper goodbye. And they were going to be gone for days, doing who knows what dangerous, life-threatening things. Just like that two of them were gone, Prompto's lover and new friend leaving a gaping hole in their group and it made him feel immediately unbalanced, off-kilter. The disorientation was so severe for a second that Prompto wasn't sure he could stay on his feet. He blinked, stumbling to a halt. "Prompto," Ignis said. "We must leave now if we wish to get there in time."
"In time? We don't even know when he's going to be here, or even what the bastard looks like," Gladio groused, running a hand through his hair in irritation. He didn't take his gaze from the trees, frowning deeply. "He messed with our memories, remember? And Prompto never even saw him."
"I think we'll know him when we see him," Prompto said with a lingering fear he couldn't name.
"And I would say we could just look it up, but all servers are down," Ignis said, putting his phone away. "That actually took longer than I would have expected."
"Just great," Gladio said. "Come on, then."
The three of them piled into the Regalia, Ignis immediately steering them onto the road and driving towards Lestallum. Prompto stared unseeing into his lap, feeling the distance growing between them acutely as if he could physically sense the separation happening. But that was ridiculous, just his anxiety talking, his worry for his friends. Still, it felt no less real.
The three of them sat in contemplative silence for a bit before Ignis slowed down, drawing the Regalia's roof up to cover them. When Prompto looked at him questioningly, Ignis merely said, "In case we're being watched. I don't want anyone to know that Noctis and Jason aren't with us."
"This feels wrong," Gladio said lowly. "We shouldn't be leaving Noctis."
"Regardless, we were given an order by our prince. We must obey." Ignis said tightly, then paused. "Gladio, what exactly happened this morning?"
Gladiolus, sitting in his usual seat behind Prompto, grumbled. "He woke up screaming. Kept calling Prompto's name. Damn near gave me a black eye." Prompto grimaced, clenching his hands tightly in his lap. "After that, he demanded I call you and threw his clothes on, pacing in front of the hotel like a caged coeurl."
"And Prompto? Can you describe exactly how events transpired in your shared dream?"
He really, really didn't want to. But Ignis had his game face on, mind seeming to work a mile a minute behind his spectacles. It as a little comforting, to have someone else trying to figure this out. Maybe talking about it would stop it from going round and round in his mind. So taking a bracing breath, Prompto began describing everything he remembered to his fingers, an ache growing in his head to match the one in his chest, the details escaping him more and more. And it was so strange because, in the dream, it was like he knew exactly what was going on. But now, he was as lost as ever, and the frustration leaked into his words. It was barely past sunrise, but Prompto was already exhausted, just wanting this day to end.
And then a thought occurred to him. "Hey, Iggy? I think this has happened to me before."
"What do you mean?"
"I…" Prompto thought hard. "You know when I was the only one who could hear that music? Or when you guys were acting all weird and I was the only one who noticed?" Prompto started to talk faster as he warmed up to the subject. "Or when I was the only one who could understand Jason at first, or how I just knew stuff when Jase was telling us about the future?" There were a lot of other signs too, little things that had been building up on top of each other till it was impossible to ignore. "Do you think...do you think it's been me this whole time?" The thought was a terrible one. It meant that all that had happened to Jason–all the pain and fear, the injuries and the trauma and the homesickness–was his fault. A flash of Jason's agonized features between his hands had Prompto shifting in his seat uncomfortably.
"I don't see how," Ignis said slowly. "You are involved, there's no doubt about that. But it sounds to me like you're being manipulated by someone." Prompto hoped that was true. He really did, because he didn't want to be responsible for all of that. Even if the alternative was him being used like a puppet on a string. Still, he couldn't help that little niggling of doubt…
"It could be that a God has taken interest in the proceedings." Ignis continued.
"It doesn't matter," Gladiolus said strongly. "All I know is that whoever the asshole is that's messing with my friends had better have a good reason."
"I think they do," Prompto said hesitantly. "Why else would they be helping us save Lady Lunafreya?"
"Prompto, someone or something is controlling you against your will and didn't seem to hesitate to harm Jason. I say we remain skeptical. It could very well be that this is Izunia's doing. Jason believes he's acting out of character, as it were."
Prompto didn't know about that. When he'd looked at Jason while he was being controlled, he'd felt...happy. Euphoric even. And when he'd hurt him, he'd felt regret. No, whoever was pulling their strings, they seemed to really care...about Jason, at least. "It's not him," he said with conviction. "Definitely not."
Ignis gave him a glance before turning his attention back to the road. "I see. Do you believe we should trust this entity, then?"
Prompto worried his lip. "...Yes." Only, he was afraid. Really, really afraid. Whoever was trying to communicate with them was getting stronger, had been from the beginning. And who knew if their main goal wasn't to take over Prompto completely so they could interfere directly? They'd seemed terribly upset when Jason couldn't hear Prompto's voice. What if...what if Prompto got possessed or something? What if it was forever? He shivered, remembering the stifling feeling of being trapped in his own skin.
"If that's how you feel…" Ignis said uncertainly. "You are the only one who can communicate with them, so we only have your instincts to go by."
"Yes," Prompto repeated, though his voice sounded weak to his own ears. We'll figure this out, Jason had said. Prompto hoped so. He grasped the words, holding them close to his chest for comfort. He and Jason had been in this together from the start, and whatever was happening, Prompto had a sinking suspicion it would be up to them, in the end.
"Okay, fine," Gladio rumbled, scooting into the middle seat so he could lean forward and regard them both. "But what are we going to do to make sure Ardyn stays put?"
The three fell silent, each falling into their own thoughts and not quite sure what to say. They'd better think fast because time was running out for all of them.