Supersonicfan7: I actually started writing this story right around Chapter 8 whenever I had to leave Iris in Cape Caem. I was like, this game would be 10 times better if Iris was in the party from the beginning.
Chapter 2: Departure I
The soft purr of the Regalia's engine grew into a loud run when Ignis pressed on the pedal. Noctis reclined back into the passenger seat, already asleep due from a sleepless night of playing King's Knight. Meanwhile, Prompto, Iris and Gladiolus were trading conversations in the back, intoxiciated with excitement for their day of departure from Insomnia.
"Think of all the awesome shots I'm gonna get out there, who knows, it might make me famous," Prompto said as he fidgeted with his camera.
"Doubt it," Gladiolus scoffed. "An amateur like you, yeah right."
"Hey! I am not an ameatur, right guys?!"
"You can always use some work on your lighting and camera angles," Ignis suggested.
"What?!"
"Aw don't feel bad, Prompto," Iris said sweetly. "Even if you are an amateur, your pictures'll still become a hit whenever Noct gives them as a wedding gift to Lady Lunafreya."
"Gee, thanks." Prompto slumped back into his seat, frowning.
Gladiolus took out a book from the seat pocket. "Well, at least my survival skills are top notch. A night under the stars, coupled with Ignis' cooking doesn't sound too bad right about now,"
"I certainly can't do any cooking without the proper ingredients, I hope you'll be able to contribute that much, Gladio."
"'Course, hear they got a lot of good stuff growing from the ground outside Insomnia, I'll pick up however much you like."
"Splendid."
Prompto stared at the dark blur in the distance. "Hey, we're almost at the Citadel, aren't we?"
"Precisely, and soon, we'll be driving away from the Citadel and to Altissia…"
XxXxxxxx
Noctis took one last look at himself in the mirror, he was a tall, slightly toned young man with ivory skin and spiky, jet-black hair that matched his equally dark royal garments. 'Won't be long before I'm at Altissia, and then finally I'll see her again…'
"Yo,"
"What do you want?" Noctis cooly replied.
Gladiolus grinned, humoring Noctis' usual bluntness. He leaned backward on the doorway, his bulky arms crossed and pressed onto his chest. "You're keeping everyone waiting, we're all set and ready to go," He said, attempting to imitate Noctis' voice.
"Hold on a sec',"
"What-seriously?"
"His highness needs to look perfect for the soon bride-to-be, right," Prompto cooed, he stepped into Noctis' room and crashed on his bed.
"Shut up," Noctis grumbled, he walked up to Prompto and rustled his pale blonde hair. "...alright, guess I'm ready then."
"Ignis and Iris are already in the throne room, let's not keep them waiting any longer." Gladiolus turned to walk out with Noctis and Prompto following close behind.
The narrow half decorated with ornate paintings and doors leading to various rooms, opened up into a wide, garnished room. Several stairs led up to the royal throne where Noctis' father, King Regis, sat. Without even uttering a single word, the sheer demand of his authority could be felt all throughout the castle and through every single royal guard standing by the king.
When Noctis and his friends entered, the throne room was eerily silent, save for the melodic tapping of Ignis' foot—a clear sign he was far longer than a little late. Iris clocked her head around, motioning for them to hurry up. She was dressed in her Crownsguard outfit, though she still detested all the drab black, she was none the less proud to wear her royal garments.
King Regis' voice echoed vibrantly when he spoke. "The decreed hour is come, set forth with my blessing, Prince Noctis."
Noctis bowed accordingly. "Thank you...your majesty."
"Take your leave and go in the grace of gods."
"Right..." Noctis walked past Gladiolus and down back into the narrow halls for his departure. The others quickly bowed down and followed Noctis behind.
OoO
The sunlight crept up the marble cut steps leading up to the royal castle of Crown city. Going up and down the steps was a chore Noctis could never get behind, and today they seemed longer than usual. Iris skipped down a few steps to keep up with Noctis meanwhile the others lagged behind.
"That was uh...underwhelming, Noct," Iris said.
"That's Noctis for you," Prompto chimed in.
"I figured the royal protocol we went through would fall on deaf ears," Ignis said.
Gladiolus winded his arm, skipping down a few steps like his sister. "It's not like Noct had to deliver a formal address, doubt he would even if that were the case."
"Your highness!"
Noctis stopped, he turned to his father walking down the steps with a cane. "What now?" He said, coldly, as he walked up to him.
"I fear I have left too much un-said…you place a great burden on those who would bear with you."
"Tch, you're one to talk."
King Regis faced his friends who instinctively stood up straight. "I ask not that you guide my wayward son, merely that you remain by his side."
Ignis bowed down. "Indeed your grace."
"We'll see the prince to Altissia if it's the last thing we see," Gladiolus said.
"Prince Noctis will always comes first," Iris added.
"Yeah, what they said," Prompto meekly stated, unable to find honorable words like everyone else.
They walked down the remaining steps while Noctis stayed behind to exchange his final words with the king. "Do...you think we can really do this?" Prompto said.
"Do what, exactly?" Ignis asked.
Prompto abruptly stopped on the last step. "I mean like...protecting the prince."
"Of course, the king specifically chose the four of us to protect his highness."
"Not me...I kind of just...tagged along,"
Iris walked backwards towards the car. "King Regis definitely would've done something if he didn't want 'cha 'round," She said warmly.
"My sis' is right, the king wouldn't let anyone escort his own son."
"...yeah..." He smiled. "Guess you're right!"
"Oh, I just realized something," Iris suddenly said. "It'll be a tight fit with all six of us in Cor's car, especially with Gladdy inside."
"Now that you mention it..." Ignis drifted off as he recalled the compact arrangement of Cor's car. "It'll be rather uncomfortable."
"You can always sit on my lap, sis', if you get too cramped in there."
Iris' usual doe-eyed, carefree expression soured and she glared at her older brother who smirked in return. "A-Are you serious?! I'm too old and too...big...for that!"
Gladiolus dug further, knowing he struck a nerve in Iris and drew enjoyment from her deepening embarrassment. "Wha-I don't think so, besides, you used to love sitting on your older brother's lap!"
"Yeah when I was like three!" Iris let herself into the car, making sure to slam the door.
Ignis sighed, then walked up to the car door.
"I'd be careful around her, you won't like my sis' when she's all pissy."
"I'll make sure to mind my manners." Ignis sarcastically remarked.
"Hey Noct, we're about ready to leave!" Prompto called out.
"Alright, I'm comin'!"
King Regis swiftly turned back towards the main entrance to the castle. "Prince Noctis, the blood of Lucis lies within you."
"Yeah...got it." They both went their separate ways, Noctis towards the car and King Regis towards the castle.
XxXxxxxx
The sunlight glared harshly onto Noctis and his friends as they were in the sleek Regalia making their way through Leide to get to Altissia. To say Leide was drastically different from inside the walls of Crown City was an understatement, the towering skyscrapers and smooth pavement were replaced with seasoned wooden shacks and bumpy roads.
It was a completely different enivomrment that had not much of anything else to offer other than the various rock formations. With a defeated sigh, Prompto set his camera down on the leather car seat. "There's literally nothing to take a picture of," He groaned, resting his arms behind his head.
"Leide isn't exactly known for its appealing surroundings," Ignis said who took the wheel of the Regalia.
"There's a town coming up in a few miles, maybe something'll catch your eye there," Gladiolus proposed.
"Doubt it."
*Vrrrrrrr
*Bum-bum-bum
"That doesn't sound too good," Iris said, she set her notebook down, then looked over to Noctis who was still fast asleep. 'God, when don't you sleep, Noct.'
The Regalia came to a slow stop. "I fear the worst has happened to the Regalia," Ignis stepped onto the gas pedal and a heavy, black smoke seeped out of the exhaust pipe.
"And that doesn't look too good," Iris hopped out of the car, which finally woke Noctis up.
Still half-asleep, Noctis watched Gladiolus and Prompto get out of the car. "We there already, Specs?"
Ignis tapped on the wheel. "Not quite, the car stopped before we could reach our destination."
Yawning, Noctis sat up. "Great. Just what we needed." He got out and leaned on the door instead next to Gladiolus who was attempting to hitchhike. "No luck?" Noctis asked.
"Not yet, thought people were a lot friendlier outside the city."
"Uh-huh…"
Iris slammed the hood shut. "Aaand the engine's totally fried. Any of you guys know how to fix cars?"
"Even if one of us did, we lack the tools to do any repairs since Gladio's camping gear took up the bulk of the space in the trunk," Ignis said.
"Oh, and your cooking stuff didn't take up any room." Gladiolus said sarcastically.
"Not at all."
"Whatever, looks like we'll just have to push her all the way."
"I've already pushed myself to the brink of death." Prompto wailed.
"Stop whining and get up," He kicked at Prompto's shoe. "C'mon cars don't push themselves."
"They're supposed to." He muttered.
"That's what I thought." Noctis quipped. He headed to the left side view mirror while Prompto took the right.
"C'mere sis', you're pushin' the back with me."
"Got it..."
"Ready, steady,"
Noctis, Prompto, and Iris replied with a groan.
"Alright, PUSH!" The car started rolling, albeit slowly, while Ignis leisurely guided them with the wheel.
"What a pain in the ass." Prompto muttered.
"You're telling me." Noctis muttered back.
"Not the fairy tale beginning you pictured, huh, Noct?" Gladiolus remarked.
"How'd you guess?"
"He's not the only one, I so regret wearing these shoes now, they're killing my feet," Iris said.
"We tried to warn you, Iris," Noctis said. "But you just wouldn't listen."
"Practicality comes first before style," Ignis said.
Iris let out a snort. "Practice what you preach, Iggy."
"Duly noted."
"Hey Specs, sure it isn't your turn to push?" Noctis grumbled.
"Wha-no way! It's definitely my turn," Prompto argued. "My legs are killing me!"
"And you think mine aren't?"
"Your legs won't kill you if I do first," Gladiolus muttered.
"Easy, big guy, we're all on the same boat here—oh wait, except you have huge muscles!"
"I have muscles too..." Noctis said defensively.
"Where are they again?" Iris teased.
"They're still there...even if you can't see them."
Prompto snickered. "You fooled me there, Prince."
"Now-now, save the bickering for later and concentrate on pushing the car, we still have quite the ways to go before we get to the outpost up ahead."
"Easy for you to say, Iggy!" Prompto said.
"Well, you're not wrong."
Final Fantasy XV: Revelation
-Hammerhead-
Long beaten out by the glaring sun, Noctis and his friends stood on outside of the car. Prompto, who was leaning on the front wheel, gawked at the young woman coming up to them. Her blonde hair was tucked underneath a faded, red cap, along with that, she wore faded blue jean shorts and a faded yellow jacket zipped down to reveal an orange bikini top that Prompto couldn't help but drool over.
"So which one of y'all is the prince?" She asked, speaking in a thick, southern drawl.
Noctis stood up from behind the front wheel and Cindy immediately spotted him. "There you are, congrats on your weddin'!"
"Bit too early for that"
"Ah, so groom-to-be, right here in Hammerhead, huh?" She stood back and inspected the car.
"The Regalia's in pretty bad, shape isn't it? Sorry for the inconvenience." iris said, sliding off the hood.
"Oh it's no problem, sweetie, just hope paw-paw will feel the same way."
Gladiolus leaned off of the car. "So then you must be..."
"Cindy—Cid's granddaughter."
"-Roll 'er in while I'm still young," A voice croaked.
An old man walked up to the car, his white hair was tied down under the same hat Cindy wore. His clothes were noticeably baggy, save for the dark red jacket he wore over a white, upturned-collared shirt. "Didn't yer daddy tell ya, the Regalia's a custom classic, not some beat up ol' clunker." Cid stopped at Noctis.
"Prince Noctis," He muttered.
Noctis avoided Cid's washed hazel eyes and opted to stare at the Regalia. "Uh...yeah."
"Prince," He repeated with a scornful touch. "Like they kicked the dignity out of yer old man."
Noctis' tone grew defensive. "What?"
"You got a long way to go son, and that slack jaw ain't gettin' you nowhere…" Cid took another look at the Regalia. "It'll take awhile to get her up 'n' runnin', y'all push her in and run along now," He then walked off leaving Cindy to let out a low sigh.
Cindy adjusted her hat, then turned back to the others who all looked equally put off by Cid's standoffish attitude. "Y'all heard 'em, let's get movin', right this way everyone." With that, they mustered up the strength to give one, final push to get the car into the garage for Cid to get a closer inspection at.
"Now we play the waiting game," Ignis said.
"Not my favorite game to play." Prompto remarked.
"That's because you're not good at it," Noctis said.
Cindy's heels clicked on the scorching hot asphalt as she went over to Noctis, he noticed a folded map in her hand. "Y'all look pretty bored, huh."
"We're in the middle of nowhere after all."
Cindy smiled at him to which he returned a crossed smirk.
"Then why don't y'all have a look around." She handed him the map. "This is so you won't get lost."
"That doesn't sound like that bad of an idea to pass time while we wait," Iris said, walking over to them. "So what do you do here for fun, Cindy?"
"For fun…" She mused over the question. "Tinkerin' with the cars 'round here is the most fun I ever have, can't do much else with all those dangerous creatures lurkin' about."
"Dangerous creatures," Noctis said.
"Oh then we should take on some hunts while we're here, Noct."
"Sure thing, betcha we can make some easy money that way."
"That's the idea!"
"Hey Noct, Iris, check this out!" Prompto beckoned, he was standing outside of the convenience store—a place sure to have some kind of air conditioning. Noct and Iris traded curious glances before finally heading over.
Inside, the store was filled with a variety of goods and appliances, though taking up the majority of the walls and shelves were car parts. 'Kind of musty in here…' Noctis thought to himself, he then looked over to Prompto. "What do you want?"
"Look, they have some Ebony in here," He pointed to the canisters of coffee lining the bottom shelf. "Ignis is gonna freak when he sees all the flavors they have!"
"Yeah, but it cost 10...gil?" Noctis said. "Didn't know they had completely different currency from us too."
"Ignis thought ahead, though, right?" Prompto asked, slightly worried.
"Of course he did…"
"I sense doubt in your voice," Ignis said, emerging from behind one of the shelves, he was holding an iron chef vol. 1 cookbook in hand. "I did in fact think ahead, however we still lack the gil for anything."
'So...in other words, he didn't think ahead.' "In that case, I'll go and pick out a bounty hunt for us to take," Iris said.
"I believe Gladio is already doing so."
Iris' eyebrows furrowed. "Are you serious…" She left the store in a hurry while Noctis and Prompto looked at each other in confusion.
Ignis chuckled. "Knowing Gladio, he'll pick the most challenging bounty hunt imaginable for us to take."
Noctis and Prompto groaned.
"We should probably stock up, then, my dad only gave me a handful of the necessities."
"How much is a handful?" Prompto asked.
"Like five potions and some other medicine stuff, we'll be going through them pretty fast out there."
Gladiolus and Iris walked in, Gladiolus held the bounty sign in hand while Iris held her breath. "So I found this really high paying bounty—at least I think so, can't tell with the gil stuff,"
"It only appears at night, though, so I think it might be a daemon hunt," Iris continued.
"At night? That won't do…" Ignis said. "The Regalia will certainly be fixed before then, and unfortunately we won't have any gil to pay. I suppose it's a good time to confer with Cindy about the cost," Ignis suggested, setting down the cookbook.
Prompto sighed happily. "Anytime's a good time to talk to Cindy,"
The five exited the store and entered back into the smoldering heat, they went over to Cindy who was sitting down in the lawn chair by the garage working on a new gadget. She noticed them coming up to her and set down her tools. "She ain't gonna be ready for a while." Realizing they weren't leaving, she added, "Need somethin'?"
"Yeah, hate to ask, but we're tight on cash, any way we can make some money around here, like...right now."
"Now that you mention it, my paw-paw was going on about there being some vermin 'round these parts, I'll pay y'all to exterminate 'em, how 'bout it?"
Noctis looked over to Ignis who nodded in approval. "Sure, why not, it'll teach that old man not to underestimate us."
Cindy took his map and circled several nearby areas on it. "Alright then, but don't go runnin' around after dark or the daemons'll rip y'all to shreds," She handed Noctis the map back and a wad of gils. "This'll be enough to find a place to stay."
Noctis stashed the currency in his pocket. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it, good luck out there."
Noctis handed Ignis the map. "Where to, Specs?"
"Several hundred feet northwest, it'll be a quite a ways without the Regalia."
"Then we better get going."
OoO
They made their way into the barren, arid ocean of dust and rock formations surrounding Hammerhead's outpost, the only place with civilization for miles around.
"We're getting pretty close to the enemy," Iris said, breaking the few minutes of silence.
Ignis quickly scanned the map. "You're right, we should prepare ourselves."
Everyone consciously conjured their weapons in hand, just over the horizon, three scorpions, the size of a regular adult, were huddled up together by several rocks. They were feeding on prey—the perfect time to attack. "What's the plan?" Noctis asked Ignis.
"Warp-strike to the biggest one and take it down, the rest of us will divide into two and take the others down." Ignis explained.
"Got it." Noctis gripped the hilt of his sword, he reeled his arm back then threw at the beast. When the sword lodged into the scorpion's meaty head, Noctis felt his body start to vibrate. 'Focus on where you want to go…and then strike.' It took less than a second for him to wrap to the beast and dig his sword in through the head, but to Noctis, it felt like time stopped just for him, it always did.
The others followed suit on Ignis' cue, Prompto and Iris took the left scorpion while he and Gladiolus took the one on the right. A sudden surge of adrenaline pushed Prompto ahead of Iris and he took a shot at the scorpion, just as it was lunging for him, Iris jumped in front and held out her shield.
Instantaneously, the shield expanded to twice the size of her body and the scorpion flopped off of it. While the scorpion was on its back, Iris smashed the scorpion's head in with her gauntlets, right after, Prompto took his gun and began shooting rounds of bullets at the body.
At the same time, Ignis pinned the other scorpion's head down to the ground so that Gladiolus could cleanly cut the scorpion's body in half with one mighty swing of his sword.
Ignis stood up, then wiped his hands together, grateful he had the thought to wear gloves as the scorpion's inky blood stained them. "Excellent work, everyone executed their part flawlessly. Let's be on our way."
"Wait, wait," Prompto said. "Iris, I gotta see your shield, it was so cool the way it got so big like that!"
"If you want, but it's nothing special," The shield appeared in her hand, as far as shields went, it was standard, with a white paint job and the Crownsguard crest in black on the front. There was an abundance of scratches and dents on it, indicating the years she spent training with it. "In fact, I think it's time I get a new one too," She gave it to Prompto who giddily accepted the shield like a present.
"Omph...d...damn, this thing's really heavy!"
"C'mon Prompto, it's not even it's final form, here, hold it up like this,"
Prompto's arm shook as he tried to follow her movements. "Is this ok?"
"Uh-huh," Iris knocked on the shield, and a second, outer covering conjured out of thin air. "That's the cool part, it extends faster and wider depending on the amount of force exerted on it."
"Y..yeah...ha.." Prompto's knees were shaking from holding the shield. "H-How much does this even weigh?"
"Right now, it's 315 pounds, pure cast iron in that thing." She took her shield back and held it her one hand effortlessly. The shield then dispersed into its medial magic form where it would wait for the next time to be conjured.
With the weight off, Prompto collapsed on the ground, causing the other guys to break out into laughter.
"You sure are a weakling, Prompto." Gladiolus jeered.
"Shut up-shut up!"
"315 pounds of that, along with those gauntlets, can't imagine carrying all that stuff around in battle," Noctis said.
"Not if you've been carrying it around your entire life," Gladiolus said. "We Amicitia learn how to bench press before we can walk!" He added proudly.
Iris giggled. "I think that was just you, Gladdy."
"Well then, you can't stop these tanks!" He flexed his arms. "Let's find more monsters to beat the crap out of!"
Ignis glimpsed at the map for the other beasts. "There's more just south from where we are, it looks like they're rather close."
The group continued on with their weapons in hand, Ignis raised his hand, signaling them to stop. The others followed him as he crouched down behind a large boulder. "There's around seven to eight scorpions this time," He said in a hushed voice.
"Let's do what we did the last time," Noctis suggested.
"It won't work, they're not huddled up in a group for us to easily take on."
"Good point..."
"Then we'll mow straight through them," Gladiolus said.
Ignis sighed. "So in other words, we have no plan."
"Nothing wrong with doing it the old fashioned way." Gladiolus stood up and ran straight towards the group of scorpions, the others followed him with a hint of doubt running through their minds.
Gladiolus raised his sword and sliced right through an unsuspecting scorpion. 'Awesome, first strike!'
"GLADIO!" Noctis yelled, Gladiolus watched the prince run directly towards him holding the same gigantic two-handled sword he had. "GET DOWN!" His eyes darted back to a scorpion lunging for him.
Quickly, Noctis threw his blade as if it were a dart and it slashed the scorpion like a slab of butter, though, the blade kept on flying wildly through the air until it lodged itself into a nearby rock formation where he consecutively warped to.
"Where'd you learn that one, Noct?!" Gladiolus shouted, heaving his sword to the midline of his body.
"Oh you know, just kind of picked it up…" Noctis called back out. 'Shit, I meant to warp-strike the thing, not point-warp, well...at least it's dead.'
As the others were getting to the horde, the scorpions grouped up with each other. Ignis nodded to Prompto and Iris, who ran ahead of him. Iris manually enlarged her shield, then slid on the ground towards the scorpions. When the scorpions began piling up on her shield, she thrust them up into the air for Prompto to make quick work of them.
"Ready, Prompto?" Iris said.
"Yeah, I got it!"
Prompto kneeled down on one knee and steadily aimed his gun at the airborne scorpions. "Or maybe not, I can't see anything with all the dust she kicked up…" He mumbled to himself, coughing. "...well, I hope this works out!" He shot several rounds at the incoming scorpions, though he had mostly accurate aim, some of the bullets escaped into the piling cloud of dirt.
"IRIS, WATCH OUT!"
*clank-clank-clank
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God!"
The scorpions finally fell to the ground where Ignis wasted no time in skewering them with his lance.
"Making kabobs for dinner, Iggy." Prompto joked.
"I do recall you saying you were open to any dish I prepare."
"Everything...except for grilled scorpions."
Ignis let out a chuckle while his lance dispersed. "I'll keep that in mind."
Everyone else jointly regrouped with Prompto and Ignis. No one was left untouched from the inescapable clutches of dirt and their once jet black uniforms were caked with dry dust. 'Looks like everyone's laundry will have to be prioritized once we get back to Hammerhead.' "Are we all ready?" Ignis asked.
"Yeah, ready to take a bath," Noctis said. "I can taste the dirt in my mouth."
"We're all in the same boat here," Prompto said, he then turned to Iris. "And I'm sorry about the whole me almost shooting you thing, I couldn't see with all the dirt."
"No it's fine, it really wasn't the best idea to go sliding around like that, but I looked cool while doing it," Iris said jokingly as she attempted to wipe off all the dirt she accumulated from her latest stunt.
"Let's finish off the last one's so we can get back to Hammerhead as soon as possible, I can't stand having this dirt all over my uniform." Gladiolus said.
"As do I..." Ignis, having already memorized the last location, walked ahead of the group for them to follow.
"So where are we going after the Regalia gets fixed?" Prompto asked.
"Our next destination is Galdin Quay, just south of Hammerhead," Ignis said.
"Isn't Galdin Quay a beach resort?" Iris asked, relieved at the thought of leaving the dry wasteland they were stuck in.
"Precisely."
"Maybe it won't hurt if we stay at Galdin Quay for a day or two before heading out to Altissia," Noctis said, he cracked a small smile. "They might even have a few good fishing spots lying around."
"Whaaat? A beach, now that's picture worthy!" Prompto exclaimed.
"That reminds, did you take any pictures since we've gotten to Hammerhead?" Gladiolus asked.
Prompto answered by getting out his camera which was tucked neatly into his sleeveless jacket pocket. "I have actually," He showed Gladiolus.
"...are these all pictures of Cindy?" He asked slowly, Prompto nodded.
"Oh yeah, she's like the best thing that's happened to me since we left Insomnia!"
"Uh...huh."
"Aw, does Prompto have a little crush on our car mechanic?" Iris teased.
"It's more than just a crush, Iris, did you see the way she looked at me that one time?!"
"I think she was looking at the Regalia that time—and all the other times."
"Cindy is very passionate about cars," Ignis reminded, much to Prompto's annoyance.
"Tch, whatever."
Ignis slowed down to a stop, he whipped the map out, checking it profusely. "That's odd, the enemy should be right here."
"Maybe you read the map wrong…" Noctis started to say, but he sounded doubtful of that notion.
Iris shook her head. "No, Ignis is right, they're just underground," She said, her heightened sense of hearing and smell stemming from her Amcitica blood, allowed her to easily track enemies, a skill that made her an excellent hunter. "They must of sensed our movements before we even got there."
"Ah, so they're smart little bastards," Gladiolus said.
"So then, what's—" Before Prompto could finish, a scorpion popped out from the underground and pounced on Prompto.
Noctis wasted no time in kicking the creature off and crushing its body simply with his boots. "You ok, Prompto?" Noctis asked, summoning his weapon.
"Yeah I'm fine...gah..." He clenched his shoulder.
"No you aren't!" Noctis pulled out a potion. "Someone fix him up," He spoke quietly. "...because I can't."
Iris took the potion from Noctis' grasp. "Leave it to me," She said.
While the others prepared for another scorpion attack, Iris dragged Prompto to the sideline, she took out a small medical kit from her pocket and set it down next to her. "Can you show me your wound?"
Prompto's hand stayed in place.
"Prompto..." Frustrated, she grabbed the collar of his jacket and shook him. "This isn't funny, so stop acting like an idiot and show me already!"
"Then...promise me you won't tell the guys about it."
"Why?"
Prompto removed his hand and Iris' eyes widened, a deep flesh wound was clearly etched into his shoulder, but the fluid that bled out was black as if he was bleeding out ink.
"...Does it hurt?"
"It used to, but now I can't feel anything."
Iris cleaned and wrapped the wound in silence, she gazed at his shoulder, then to Prompto.
"...Iris..." He started to say.
"Don't say anything, just..." She paused, trying to find the right words. "...just don't worry about it, there's nothing wrong with the way you are...I still promise I won't tell them, but I think you should, eventually."
'Like I can tell them that I'm an imperial soldier...their enemy.'
A/N: The last part is obviously way before the 'imperial soldiers are above us' is relevant, but I figured I'd establish it much early on so it can hold some weight. I'll be doing things like that pretty often, just as a heads up.