errare humanum est
"Finally picked up. Thought I'd lost another king."
Having just left the tunnels of Keycatrich, Noct answers the phone to find Cor on the other end.
A base is being built by the Imperial's nearby, as Cor explains. He suggests Noct visit with Monica to find out more details. Noct agrees and hangs up.
"What's up?" Prompto asks of the call.
Noct pockets his phone, "People to see and bases to burn. We need to meet with Monica at the outpost."
...
"Once we're in, we launch our ambush, pushing out while our support pushes in, crushing the enemy from both sides." Noctis nods at Cor's plan.
He and Cor would be enough to take care of the enemies on this side of the blockade. Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto would take care of the enemies on the other side with the help of Monica. Noctis takes one last glance behind him at the narrow passageway he just came through, barely able to make out the backs of his friends as they go their own way.
Brick ruins and rusty metal bars meet them as they head deeper into what the Nif's were trying to make as a base. Overgrown, falling apart, and ceilings blown to smithereens, the ruined buildings make for plenty of blind spots for an ambush. Cor and Noctis keep quiet as they approach a door.
It creaks open as Noct makes his way passed it, and a few steps later they find themselves in an open room with guns aimed at them.
Noct wastes no time in warping into the sniper who had thought they would be safe on the second floor. It is a quick kill, and Cor swiftly joins him as they kill the other Imperial riflemen on that floor.
They quickly head down a set of stairs and are met with a Magitek soldier. Noctis takes the initiative by warping again, but the MT doesn't go down. A pair of soldiers come up behind Noct, but before he can react Cor cuts them down.
Cor and Noctis finish off the MT, turning to face another pair of soldiers.
They swing their blades forward, clearing out the room as well as every other they come across in these brick and mortar ruins.
Aside from the quick comment or tip, Cor had remained quiet. It wasn't uncommon for him, but the way he observed Noctis was.
Noctis could feel his eyes on him, watching him in a way Noctis had not felt before.
Noctis opens the last door leading to the exit and holds it for Cor. The pair walk down the hall, concrete beams and the ivy that grows on them casting the two in shade.
"If you don't want to tell me what happened to the Engine Blade, then that is fine." Cor says, leaving Noct to watch his straight back as he walks ahead. "It is your choice. But I am not here to hold you back or anything. My duty is to make sure there is nothing to harm you."
Noctis tries to grasp onto any excuse, but words fail him as he realizes there were none that Cor would accept.
He glances back to Noct, to make sure he is still following and continues, "Your friends too. They want to support you, how are they supposed to do that when you don't trust in them?"
"I do!" Noctis gasps, "... I do trust in them."
"Not like you had before." Cor says grimly, stopping and turning to face Noct. "Whatever has caused a rift between you and your friends happened sometime between the time I picked you up at the Citadel and when I saw you pull through Insomnia's ruined checkpoint. But it is not something I will pry into even if I had the right."
Cor turns back around and Noctis hurries his step to catch back up.
"I do believe in them. There is nothing wrong."
Cor stops just before the building drops off into the road. The look in his eye indicates he doesn't believe a word Noct just said.
"Then you better put your mask back on, Prince. We are about to meet up with them." With that, he jumps into the road and heads towards the blockade.
Noct winces, clearly Cor was angry. Noctis had given no indication that something was seriously wrong, other than the Ultima Blade he had been careful in how he had acted. He guesses by simply hiding the truth about the blade was enough to set off Cor's suspicion.
But to say he didn't trust in his friends was wrong. Noctis hesitates at the edge of the drop-off, fists tightening painfully.
Cor thinking that he didn't rely on his friends because of a lack of trust irritated Noctis, but he could see the other's point. If Noctis withheld information that could be beneficial, then it would only hinder them or even put them in danger.
Beneficial or not, the information Noct held would in no ways help them as a team, even if he had the courage to tell them.
There were multiple reasons he couldn't confide in his friends, but a lack of trust wasn't one of them.
But Cor didn't know that, so Noctis cools his features and looks down. Letting out a shaky breath, he jumps to the ground below just as the blockade's gate opens.
His friends hurry their way in, happy to see both Noctis and Cor. Noctis plasters on a smile as they approach.
"Alright on your end?" He asks.
"Right as rain. The Niffs couldn't keep their eyes off us." Gladio says and pats him against his shoulder.
"Thanks to you we were spared their attention." Cor says and Gladio turns to smile at him.
Before anyone else can say anything, the loud hum of an airship interrupts them.
Noct grimaces as Loqi barks at them through a speakerphone. Cor looks equally unimpressed as the Brigadier General monologues at him.
"It's past time your legend came to an end."
Loqi descends in a MA-X Cuirass with the evening sun at his back, forcing Noctis to squint. The intimidating mecha seems to unfurl, massive guns and missiles aiming at him and his friends.
"No slacking off, Gladio." Cor comments as he brings his blade out.
"Doesn't look like I'll have the chance." The tension in Gladio's voice alerts Noct to take this fight seriously.
MTs suddenly swarm them from all sides, and Noctis works to not be overwhelmed by the blades being swung at him from almost every direction.
Gladio swoops in with a wide swing of his blade, knocking a good portion of their enemies back and allowing them room to breathe.
With their opponents disrupted, the group starts their counter attack. Noctis is parrying an axe when an array of red lines start targeting him.
He gasps and rolls out of the way just before a barrage of missiles hit the place he had just been standing. The explosion burns the air around him and sends his ears ringing.
Noctis grunts and focuses on the mecha, warping to its foot and leaving the others to deal with the MTs.
His blade entangles in its wires, causing sparks to fly out at him. The machine thrashes as Loqi attempts to dislodge Noct, and Noctis lets himself come free so he can warp-strike the missile launcher.
It clatters to the ground and Noctis takes aim at the cockpit. The metal carapace is too tough to directly stab through, so he aims at the vital wires and pipes leading to it.
Oil splashes to the ground around them and the mecha starts to stutter.
"Fall and perish!" Loqi snarls and turns the massive gun attached to the mecha's arm on him.
Noctis jumps behind him, and as the mecha turns around it releases a firework of sparks.
The spilled oil ignites, and Noctis barely has a moment to escape before it sets off the fallen missile launcher.
The explosion is far louder than the previous one, and it feels as if the very air is alight with flames. Noctis pulls his arms away from his face and sees that the explosion has downed the mecha, but not destroyed it.
"-oct!" A voice pushes through the ringing in his ears and he can see Ignis running towards him.
Loqi aims the gun at Ignis and fires.
The bullet grazes his leg and sends him rolling across the ground.
"Ignis!" Noctis cries and stands up to aid him when Prompto calls out.
Prompto is still in the thick of battle with the MTs, yanking his arm free of one's grasp and taking aim at something behind Noct.
An Imperial sniper falls to the ground, likely having taken aim at Noct. Noct turns back to get to Ignis and thank Prompto.
He is met with a spray of blood.
A magitek axemen had arced its axe through Prompto's back while his attention had been on Noct.
"No!" Before Noctis can react, Cor and Gladio are already on Prompto.
Noctis runs to grab Ignis, throwing a Fira at Loqi to keep him busy. He pulls Ignis up and crushes a potion over him, aiding him as his leg goes from motionless to a limp.
They rush towards the remaining MTs swarming their friends and Ignis pushes Noct forward to leave him and get to Prompto.
Noctis fells two MTs, and sees Cor take down the one blocking them from view.
It falls, and allows him to see the state of his friend. Noctis almost cries in relief.
Gladio has Prompto's arm around him, and although shaken and weary, Prompto is firing at the last few MTs that approach.
"Heh... elixirs, huh?" Prompto says as he catches sight of Noctis. At that Noct barks out a laugh in relief.
"Thank you, Prompto." Noct wipes at his eye and turns to face their enemies.
"Anytime, bro." Prompto sounds exhausted, fueling Noct's desire to end the battle quickly.
Cor and Ignis are taking down the last two magiteks, and Noctis joins in with Ignis to deal the final blow.
It falls with a raspy scream an instant after Cor's does. The group collectively turn to look at their last remaining enemy.
The mecha is dragging itself across the ground, legs nothing more than a mangled mess. It freezes its actions as Loqi realizes they have all fixed their gazes on him.
The barrel of its gun is suddenly aimed at them, but before Loqi can even fire a shot Cor has dismantled the weapon with his sword. Loqi cries out, knowing he has lost.
"Glory to the Empire!" He snarls and activates the self-destruct.
The explosion is blinding white, and even though Noct tries to look for an escape pod he can't see it through the bright flames.
His adrenaline dies with the fire, leaving his muscles shaking. Ignis is leaning on his polearm, and Noctis goes to stand by him and help him stay standing.
Ignis mumbles a "Thank you", uncomfortable with the idea that Noct was helping him. They shuffle their way over to Gladio and Prompto.
Guilt eats at Noct seeing Prompto so wounded. The elixir had healed him, but sweat coats his forehead and his skin had become dangerously pale.
"You alright?" Ignis is the first to ask.
"Haha, don't you worry. I'll be as good as new in no time!" He raises his hand to give them a thumbs up, and they politely don't mention how it is shaking.
"You were a true Crownsguard today, risking your life for your prince. Prince Noctis, you should be proud to have him as a friend and ally." Cor says.
Noctis chokes down his tears and replies, "I always have been."
If his voice waivers then no one mentions it.
...
The crickets chirp loudly through the night air as Noctis sits at the foot of the caravan at the Hunter's Outpost.
Ignis and Prompto had been told to go to bed, with a little coercement from Cor to Ignis.
Noctis brushes a hand through his hair and sighs deeply. Light from the caravan bathes him briefly as Cor steps out to join him.
"I thought I was going to lose him today." Noctis says, head hung low.
"But you didn't." Is all Cor says.
They drift into silence for a while, the sound of crickets and desert wind being the only noise between them.
Noctis appreciates that he can't hear any daemons yet.
A hand suddenly finds its way to Noct's shoulder, and he looks up to see Cor standing next to him.
"I understand if you don't want to confide in me. I want to help you, but I can't if you don't tell me what's wrong." Cor sighs, standing up straight as a dusty breeze plays with their clothes.
"But all I ask, is to confide in them." Cor shrugs at the caravan, "Prince Noctis, you're not alone on this journey."
Noctis watches him as he steps away from the caravan and tosses one last bit of encouragement over his shoulder.
"You got a lot of friends, and I know a few who will do absolutely anything to make you happy."
Noctis bites his lip and nods, "Right. Night, Cor."
"Night, Prince Noctis."
Noctis replays the words Cor said to him that day through his mind.
He hadn't even entertained the thought of telling his friends any of his secrets, but he was starting to reconsider after hearing out Cor.
Maybe it would be okay to tell them some things?
Fear would always keep him from sharing some things, but Ignis had once told him to share the burden. He didn't need to fear sharing some secrets.
Noctis 'hmms' and stands, resolving to give it some more consideration later.
Ignis is sitting at the table now that Cor has gone, and Gladio is blocking the kitchen.
"It's too late for dinner Ignis, get to bed." Noctis says as he walks by, going to the unlit room at the back.
He can see Prompto sitting up in the darkness, drinking a glass of water and preparing for bed. Noctis sits on the bed beside him, causing the other to look up.
The pallid nature Prompto had supported earlier was already significantly better, and just to see him sitting up by himself eased Noct's fried nerves.
"Gladio and I are going to do a few errands tomorrow, make sure Ignis keeps you well fed."
"It's Ignis we are talking about here." Prompto states like it's obvious, nose crinkling just slightly, "But I think we'll just do cheap food, he has a bum leg after all."
Ignis scoffs from the room over and the two lower their voices.
"What errands will you be doing anyway?" Prompto asks like he will be missing out.
"Ahh, just delivering some ingredients for Takka, some dog tags to Dave, and some rock to Dino."
"Dave? The guy from the shed?"
Noctis nods and looks down at his hands. Prompto sets his water down with a sigh, and Noctis can tell his exhaustion is pulling at him.
"That elixir healed me up pretty nice. Ignis says I'll be back to normal by tomorrow, but I should stay in bed just in case." The light tone of his voice is forced, but it is as cathartic for Prompto as it is Noct.
Noctis opens his mouth to say something, but no words come out.
It had been his fault for not preventing Prompto's injury. Not only in the fact that he hadn't been watching his back, but also because his friends hadn't been ready.
Seeing Prompto almost die had been eye-opening.
Although the wound he had received hadn't looked to be immediately fatal - even if they hadn't had an elixir upon him immediately - it could have been.
The axemen could have put just a little more force to his swing, could have aimed a little higher, and it would have been over for Prompto.
What was it that Cor had said earlier? About trusting his friends?
Noctis had withheld beneficial information, and now Prompto and Ignis had been put in danger.
Prompto waits patiently as Noctis struggles on what to say.
"...You could've died today." Noctis starts, "Because of me."
"No!" Prompto gasps, "No... Noct, I knew the risks. I knew I was swarmed by MTs, but I also knew there was a barrel of a gun trained on the back of your head."
Prompto looks down and fidgets with the edge of the blanket, "I knew what I had to do."
"But-" Before Noct can protest, Prompto cuts him off.
"I knew, I couldn't handle you dying."
Noctis's blood runs cold as he instantly remembers why he can't tell his friends about the timelines. All of it was a secret he could never bring himself to share.
"And if it meant dying in your-" Prompto cuts off as his voice becomes heavy with emotion. He curls inward, blankets fisted in his hands as he brings it up to his face.
Noctis pulls an arm around him, finding his face full of blond hair.
"Never again." Noctis vows, and Prompto shudders as he tries to collect himself.
Noctis waits patiently for Prompto to still, his weight slowly falling into Noct the longer time passed by.
"Prompto." Noctis calls gently.
Prompto shifts so he isn't leaning on Noct, choosing to lay back against the pillows and pull his legs up onto the bed. Sleep pulls at his eyes as he focuses on Noct.
"I want you to hold onto this." Noctis procures a phoenix down and holds it out to Prompto. Prompto looks at it warily.
"It's just in case. Will set my mind at ease." Noct holds it closer.
Prompto carefully takes it, observing it silently before setting it in his bag.
"Heh, I don't see why. I'll never need it." His wry smile is sloppy and his words are slurred with sleep.
Noctis knocks at some of the blond hair in Prompto' face, "I'll hold you to it."
Prompto huffs and pulls the covers over himself, asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow.
Thank you very much for reading!
Please let me know your thoughts/comments/concrits and if you see errors!
Sorry for the late update! Thank you guys for being so patient! School has been super busy, but this chapter turned out slightly longer than normal. Although they were supposed to be in Lestallum by now... :P
There may not be another update for a few weeks, but good news is hurt!noct week is coming up and I have 3 (short)stories for it.
My thesis work will keep me busy most of the time. Once I get permission I want to share the pics of it, it's a triceratops specimen. I was originally going to choose between that and a possible new(extinct) species of reptile, which I wanted to try and name after Ignis since I already named a cretaceous valley after Noct and someone else named a piece of the moon after Prompto. I think it is Ignis's turn. Who knows, maybe I'll nickname the tric Ignis. (This is the kinda stuff I hope no-one ever sees from real life lol. Gotta keep my fandom craze low-key)
Thank you all again for reading!
I really appreciate it! You guys are super awesome!