hey, guys, imma try and get you all caught up with my AO3 account. you're a few chapters behind, so I'm going to try and get them over here to you over the next few days. I'm so sorry :( I keep forgetting about uploading here cause I always do it like two hours after my bedtime. Anywho, enjoy the story!
The witching hour found Dr. Lues frowning to himself as he poured over his research. If only…
They should have allowed him more time when the entire group of children had been housed within the medical facility. If he'd led the project from the beginning, he fully believed he would have the Scourge cured by now. What were the lives of seven Niff experiments compared to the hundreds of thousands of people in the world at large? How could they not see that what he was doing was not only necessary, but right? It was for the good of all of humanity.
He'd been so close back then, at least that's what he believed. But no, The Immortal had to stick his righteous nose in where it didn't belong and ruined everything. He made the mistake of looking at these creatures like they were people. He knew first had that each of them was nothing more than a clone. They were engineered, not born; they only looked like children.
But he knew better. He, at least, could separate science from humanity.
But that battle was fought and lost a long time ago. It was important to move on and face the big picture now. The world needed him to cure the Scourge.
The answer was within the clone, he was sure of it. That anomaly was an almost direct balance to the mutated Scourge cells. They multiplied in answer to the marauding force of the virus within his veins. Dr. Lues was sure he'd seen the SNF13EG1 anomaly before. But where? He needed more answers.
And there was only one way to get them.
He'd been forbidden by the king himself from further treating the little blond. He'd been quite angry with him, as he'd believed that the fever that was going untreated was at a more 'normal' level. Never mind that if it wasn't high, he wouldn't be getting results. Never mind that he was actually getting somewhere before the Scientia boy intervened.
But that was neither here nor there at this point. Having been employed by the citadel for over a decade came with certain knowledge. Dr. Lues was able to skirt the security guards making their rounds and bypass the staff easily. He just so happened to know that the night nurse on duty and the Glaive watching the boy's door were quite the item, and every night he'd been there they disappeared for about thirty minutes just after the stroke of twelve.
He slipped into the near-dark room and stared down at the teen in the bed before him. He was looking better now that he was getting proper rest, he was losing that sickly pallor and his face was filling back out ever so slightly. The boy's blond hair had been properly washed, and now lay softly across his forehead.
Dr. Lues could see where people would feel sympathy for the little wolf in sheep's clothing. He certainly looked angelic enough. The older man paused midway to the IV bag as a gentle murmur issued from between chapped lips; but his eyes did not open and he made no further movement, so Dr. Lues pulled out a syringe and injected a clear substance into the line. He stayed just long enough to watch the sweet expression on face of the freckled youth to begin to morph into distress before slipping back out the door and taking his meandering path back to his office to wait.
Once the fever returned, they would be sure to begin taking samples again. Hell, they might even call on him to assist.
Prompto laughed to himself as he ran after the weird little creature wreaking havoc in the arcade. All around him lights flashed and coins dropped and electronic voices bellowed various patron's fates for all to hear.
He gripped his camera tightly as he hopped over a table and slid to a stop on the slick red floor. Just ahead of him, the creature—which resembled something akin to a minty fennec fox—chirped, beckoning him to run faster.
Prompto was happy to oblige. He wanted to get a photo for Noctis. His boyfriend was never going to believe it otherwise.
He ran and he ran, but there was never an end to the path or the games or the clever little creature's escape plans. He was always just out of reach, until Prompto burst through a door he'd not seen before.
There he found the creature shaking, making distressed sounds and backing away, looking for all the world like it wanted to drag Prompto back as well, but it couldn't.
The swirling darkness beyond the door had already enraptured him, and drew him forth.
His camera slipped soundlessly from limp fingers, falling forever through a shadowed fog before landing on the ground, the crack of it cleaving perfectly in two echoing out around them. With every step Prompto took towards the darkness his light shone brighter; and the brighter it was, the more frantic the creature became. It tried to block his path, tugged at him, scratched, bit. It was all of no use, however…
…he barely even…
…he was alone again. The little creature retreated, drawn back out by the natural light of the world outside the door. He paid it no mind and began wading through blackness again. He knew the waters this time, and carefully skirted the edge of the flat black lake, keeping his right side aligned with the ever curving shore. So long as he stayed less than hip deep, he was not in danger.
He walked it for months, days, weeks, hours…mere moments. He walked it forever and as he did, the thing that lived within the darkness pulsed happily, whispering to him in words he somehow knew, but didn't understand.
It wanted him. It needed him. It lulled him as he waded in a spiral, making his way ever closer to the center of the enormous plane of liquid nothing, yet he never strayed more than ten feet from solid ground. Around him the water rippled, but he paid the creatures beneath the black no mind. They were there to make sure he didn't turn away, didn't panic, didn't stop.
He was finding he didn't want to stop.
The darkness swirled around him, wisps and tendrils snaking against his pale skin, seeking out the light he exuded. They pulled at him, leading him inexorably on to safety, to warmth, to—
Something rippled in the black. Something big. His heart pounded, sensing the danger that lurked in his path. His ears buzzed as his light began to dim, panicking slightly when the ground beneath him began to shift. But he was still drawn ever nearer, his feet moving forward of their own volition, now.
He was near the heart of the black when he heard it; that familiar swish. The air around him became crisp as the mirrored swan swam near him. He started from his haze; the black receding just a little, his light shining slightly brighter.
"I thought you were dead," he said softly, his words echoing in the darkness around him.
The swan regarded him silently, a ruffling of the feathers along its back its only response. It swam across his path and slowed, the swan atop the black staring ahead and the swan beneath the black staring into him, probing.
The icy winds picked up, whispering to him, beckoning him to follow the swan; to turn his back on the creatures in the black.
He reached out a trembling, luminescent hand and touched the liquid reflection of the regal creature. His disturbance caused a ripple, and as the concentric half circle waves distorted the swan, its light grew brighter and stronger and joined that of his, making the things beneath the black writhe and hiss and shimmy away.
Around them, the black began to clear, and where it dissipated, only air remained. Not a drop of dark stained his clothes or skin, as if he'd never been wading through the lake of shadow.
The inky dark undulated and twisted further away, retreating from the luminescence. Still the creatures remained as close as they dare, eyeing him from within the black with their glowing eyes full of want and lust each time they broke the surfaces.
Prompto swallowed hard as he eyed the swan who continued to float upon the nothing, its reflection slowly blackening from the tip of its beak and bleeding down (up?) its neck. As he watched, it became more and more agitated as the right-side-up swan drifted back the way he'd come, leading him away from where he'd been going. He stumbled over the grooves of the looping spiral, having to climb over it in parts as his chest filled more and more with the need to follow.
But as they neared the actual shore again, the darkness coating the white feathers of the lower swan bled into the upper and it began to shriek in torment, feathers ruffling as it kicked through invisible waters, its light flickering and fading to nothing as Prompto stilled in his pursuit.
He was not prepared when the wall of inky darkness crashed around him once more, liquid black filling his mouth and nose, searing his lungs and racing deeper, filling him with shadow, filling him with rage—
His own screams were what woke him. Prompto lay in his bed, sheets twisted around his sweat-slick body, breathing hard as the blood pounded relentlessly in his ears.
The room listed around him as he heaved himself out of bed and stumbled to the en suite bathroom, where he spent the better part of the next hour vomiting.
Ignis lead a surly Noctis down the hall. He'd just come from another meeting with his father, and he was not happy. With anyone. Especially Ignis.
The prince's adviser did his level best to refrain from audibly sighing as Noctis muttered to himself behind him. It was barely nine AM and he was already tired of apologizing. He stopped in the hall a few yards down from Prompto's door, not wanting to take their argument beyond the threshold.
"Look, Noctis, I'm sorry, but your father sees no reason for you to not go back to school. Extra security measurements have been put in place. We have advised them you have recovered from your 'flu', while Prompto is still on the mend. We need to go in there and let him know that, though. Prompto has to understand that he has to keep up the illusion of the story we fed the press in regards to the dropship and the barn. It wouldn't do to have the real story come out and the kingdom know their prince executed two men without trial."
Noctis deflated a little at his last words. "They deserved to die."
Ignis raised a hand to stop any further comment. "I'm not saying they didn't. What I am saying is the general populace cannot know what transpired that night. So far as anyone else is concerned, a rogue dropship crashed near the outskirts of town, crushing the abandoned farmhouse and that is it."
Noctis narrowed his eyes up at his adviser. "I highly doubt Prompto is gonna want to run around, blabbing to everyone about what really happened."
Ignis cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Be that as it may—"
He was interrupted by a strangled scream and muffled crash which immediately set them both in motion, running the last few feet to Prompto's room. Noctis warped into the Glaive at the door, shoving him to the side before bursting past the threshold. Noctis strode in, relieved to find the room empty.
That lasted the barest of moments before he realized that Prompto was crying on the other side of the bathroom door.
As he approached, the lights in the room began to flicker and burn bright; the electricity in the air nearly singed his skin with its undercurrent of power. He stilled just outside the door, listening to the soft sobs coming from the other side. He wanted to be calm before he entered.
He didn't bother knocking or calling out, simply threw open the door and took stock of the situation.
Prompto stood before the countertop, the recently replaced mirror now broken; spider webs of foul luck crawling up the reflective surface. The blond was naked, and for a moment, Noctis' eyes were drawn to the white lines laid across the boy's back; these would fade with time, but now they were a bleak reminder of the abuses the freckled youth had endured. But, his gaze was soon redirected to the blood dripping out of Prompto's closed fists, fat droplets of red spattering against the cool white tile.
Wordlessly, Noctis stepped forward to pull Prompto into his arms, surprised when he was shoved hard back into Ignis.
"Don't touch me!" Prompto hissed, wiping at his face with bloodied hands, only succeeding in spreading the gore down his pale cheeks. "don't-touch-me-don't-touch-me" he continued in a desperate whisper as he sunk down on his haunches, hands making a bloody trail as he snaked them through his hair.
The raven haired prince exchanged an alarmed glance with his adviser before trying again. "Prom, buddy, it's me. It's just me and Ignis…" Noctis stepped forward tentatively once more.
"I know who it is. Please—" the word was tired, broken. "Please don't touch me. Just….just leave me here." He tucked his head into his chest and began to rock.
Noctis bit his lip and backed up till his back was to the wall. He slid down it, groaning as he settled on the floor. "I won't touch you right now, if you don't want. But I'm not leaving you alone, Prom."
Prompto turned his head slowly, one violet eye peeking out from ruddied hair and arms. "Please, Noct."
The prince just shook his head, resolute. "Uh-uh. Not leaving you."
Prompto buried his face again as his shoulders began to shake as he cried.
Ignis went to back away, pulling out his phone as he stepped through the door, but Prompto's sudden movement stopped him as the smaller boy whipped up his eyes to meet his own. "Don't you fix it, Iggy. I'll just break the next one, too."
Unfazed by his tone, Ignis eyed him thoughtfully. "Perhaps you would like it removed altogether? Or covered?"
Prompto shook his head. "No, I want it how it is. I wanna see myself as I really am."
Noctis attempted a sputtering rebuttal, but Ignis nodded at the request and spoke over his charge. "Very well, then. I shall leave you two alone. Do allow Noctis to tend to your hands, yes? Or would you prefer I send in a nurse? This is non-negotiable."
Prompto whimpered quietly. "Noct can help me." He near-whispered into his chest as he continued to rock.
"Alright, then, please let him get you settled and out of here so that I can clean up the glass on the floor. I'll leave the mirror as is, but there's no reason to endanger yourself or others with the fragments lying about."
Prompto nodded and let out a shuddering breath. "Y…yeah, ok."
Noctis shuffled closer, pushing some of the larger mirror pieces away with his foot as he moved. He stopped a few inches from Prompto and drew his knees up to his chest, resting his chin upon them.
He tried to wait the other boy out; let him speak up when he was ready. But it became apparent that was not going to happen and the amount of blood soaking into his hair was alarming.
"…Prom? Prom, you gotta let me help you. And if you're going to let me help you, I'm going to have to touch you, understand?"
Prompto sniffed hard, finally lifting his head. "Why, Noct? Why do you even want to help me?" He wiped at his face with the back of one arm and glanced up to the mirror. He wouldn't be able to see himself from this angle, but he stared at it a long time all the same. "I'm not worth all this trouble. There's something wrong with me, Noct. I'm…I'm not even sure…not even sure…"
His next words were lost as Noctis gently drew him into his chest, Prompto only vaguely protesting this time before relaxing into the steady grip. Noctis rested his cheek against the top of Prompto's head and gently ran one hand up and down his arm in a calming motion. "Prompto, nothing is wrong with you. You're the best person I've ever known. You didn't deserve the things that happened to you."
Prompto let out a near sob against the prince's chest. "No, you don't understand—"
But Noctis shushed him, whispered to him again how much he loved him, and Prompto pressed his lips together and allowed himself to feel comforted by the other boy.
It wasn't long before Noctis was drawing him back up and maneuvering him towards the tub. The bathroom was outfitted for all sorts of patient needs, and it was easy for him to locate a shower stool. He arranged Prompto on it and gave him a towel to lay over his lap for privacy. Noctis rinsed out the cuts along the blond's palms before letting out a little of his healing magic to close them up. He then set to work rinsing the blood from Prompto's hair and face, all of which the blond accepted without making a sound.
Noctis then helped him from the tub and wrapped him in a robe before leading him from the bathroom past Ignis, who immediately went in after them and began to clean.
It took a few moments to get Prompto dressed, and Noctis kept his eyes averted as much as possible, but he was definitely blushing by the time they were done. The initial shock of the event was replaced by shyness.
"So, uh, you have your therapy appointment, soon. Do you want me to walk you there? Ignis has me seeing a magic specialist to find out what is making my powers surge, so it's on the way…but it's completely cool if you, ya know, don't want me to go…?"
Prompto lifted his eyes and offered the stammering boy a ghost of a smile. "No, it's ok, you can walk me. Sorry about freaking out. I didn't mean for you to see that. I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."
"No need to apologize, Prom! Please don't apologize."
"Sorry," Prompto said and then ducked his head, cheeks turning pink. Well, pink-er. Wait.
Noctis leaned forward and placed a hand against Prompto's forehead, frowning at the warmth. "I think your fever's back."
Prompto groaned and rolled his eyes as he allowed Noctis to help him into the wheelchair. He really wanted to stop taking the damn thing everywhere, but the staff wouldn't let him walk around by himself. How was he ever to get his strength back if he wasn't allowed to exercise? He couldn't just—
"Prompto? Are you listening? Do you feel ok?"
Prompto offered Noctis a sheepish smile. "Just kind of wandered off for a moment. Can we please not tell the doctors? Let's just let Iggy handle it if it's a fever, ok? I don't have an appointment with one again till late afternoon, maybe we can get it to go away by then?"
Noctis weighed the options for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, of course. I trust Ig a thousand times more than anyone else around here."
"Cool, thanks, Noct." The blond got a cheeky glint to his eye before screwing up his mouth in a parody of a sexy smile. "You're so handsome when you do exactly what I want."
This earned a laugh from his prince, who leaned forward and dropped a kiss on top of Prompto's head. "Well, I'm happy to be the most handsome guy ever to you."
Prompto snorted, shaking his head. "Gods you're such a fucking dork."
"So are you."
Prompto just shrugged. "Yeah, well. You know."
Noctis stood and took hold of the handles of the wheelchair, pushing Prompto towards the door.
"Yeah, I know."