Here we go again with chapter four. In this one, we'll get to meet some Oc's from the story, as well as some other characters that will probably pop up more as the story advances. In this one, school is a thing, as well as classes for the future prospects of the Crown's Guard and something that exists in this story known as "Royal Hunters", which Noctis will, of course, be a part of. That's at least part of my explanation for why they go daemon hunting so often. That'll be fun, won't it?
For the most part though, many characters still don't like Prompto, and they're not going to for a long while. As I said, be prepared with those tissues. I don't know. Some of you might not find my writing pulling at your heartstrings, and other may be crying. Either way, I hope you continue to enjoy the story.
Chapter Four: Forever is Unbreakable
It didn't take Noctis long to realize that Prompto didn't like to be touched by other people. Sure, he didn't bite anyone when they tried, and most people avoided him like the plague, but he certainly didn't like to be touched. Whether it was by accident or by curious children, Prompto avoided human contact as much as possible, and especially from those that were female. The truth of that matter was that it was mainly a female scientist who had been over his transformation into a MT, and though he liked humanity, coming into contact with strangers was not on his to do list.
He could trust Tia, if she still lived. She was the one who had given him his life back. He definitely knew he could trust Noctis, who was his constant companion. Lunafreya was the only female he'd never felt not nervous around after his transformation, most likely due to her light and his resonating so well. As for everyone else, well he kept a respectful distance and couldn't keep himself from jumping when someone walked up on him unawares, something that was becoming increasingly common with the Crown's Guard. They were good, he had to admit.
And his aversion to contact wasn't being made any better by the fact that the king had decided to send his son to school again, and sending Prompto along for the ride. Whether the man suspected anything about why Prompto avoided people or not, the teachers at school seemed to have some idea about it. They were careful to not spook him, give him the desk closest to the door and have Noctis sit nearby if he was in the class, and the females especially were careful to not surprise him. He wasn't sure if it was pity on their part, or if it was just because he was a MT with a daemon form and they were scared of him, but it did make the transition easier.
It was the classes that he didn't have with Noctis that were the hardest for him, though he would never tell Noct just how hard they were. They were what made adjusting to life in the city hard for him. He'd never been in a setting like this before, where they weren't constantly being drilled for battle or learning to use a weapon. He was completely out of his element with all of these mundane tasks and formulas, all of which he seemed to excel at. That was probably thanks to the computer parts that made up his brain, added to help him access situations quickly and efficiently. Even here, he couldn't escape what he had been designed to be.
Math class was yet another daily torture for the young MT. While math proved no problem for him, he often wished that he didn't have to put up with it. The children that were in the class, well most ignored him but there were four who were anything but kind to him. He never responded to them much, choosing instead to react silently, if at all, but that only seemed to fuel whatever it was that made them think that they needed to hate him.
Three boys and one girl his age were, as usual, making their way over to him at the edge of the classroom. As the teacher was out and they wouldn't get in trouble for "spooking" him, they were more emboldened than ever. The other students retreated away from him, though Prompto refused to look at them, turning his attention instead back down to his bag, where he had stored all of his "homework" for the day. One of the boys tossed it carelessly across the room, glaring down at him. Not that Prompto reacted to this disruption. Humans were terrifying when they were scared.
"I don't see what's so special about this runt," the first, a brute named Gavin growled. "What makes Prince Noctis so fond of you, huh?"
"Well?" the girl, who would be much prettier if she smiled, Halia, growled. "Aren't you going to say something? Or are you a dumb animal like everyone else says?"
"No use talking to it," the third, a smaller but far more intelligent boy named Yvis snorted. "It won't talk. I don't even think it can."
"Of course," the forth, a thin boy named Mitos added with a sigh. "I won't insult our King or our Prince by saying their stupid for taking you in. You've probably just bewitched them or something. That's what mom says."
Prompto looked up to take in their appearances again today, not making any move to respond to them. Scared humans liked to be cruel despite any good they did in their lives, and it was better to not induce an even more frightened response by trying to speak or reason with them. Prompto had never been mean, ferocious, or wanted to fight, so he simply chose not to. He'd rather let them take it out on him rather than actually hurt them, which could cause even more fear. After what the Empire had already put him through, their teasing and occasional physical attacks were love taps. Besides, Thunderdogs were notoriously adaptable.
Halia had short hair, like most women in the Crown City, cut to about her chin and she had her bangs parted over her left eye. The other was a violet orb that was glaring at her with more intensity than it probably should have been able to hold. Prompto could clearly see that she was afraid of him. Mitos was a thin and pale boy with bright blue eyes and dark brown shoulder length hair that was pulled into low a ponytail behind his head, though his bangs framed his face and hung down to his chin.
Gavin was basically the brawn of the group, though he certainly wasn't as big as Gladiolus was. He had some muscle already on him. He had tanned skin, as if he spent a lot of time outside instead of inside, and his hair was a dark charcoal black. It was cut short, long enough to frame his dark storm gray eyes. Yvis on the other hand, was the palest member of the group, and his hair was strawberry blonde and about shoulder length, framing his face nicely. His eyes on the other hand were a muddy green color, as if the gods could not decide which color they wanted to make them.
Prompto's lack of response, once again, wasn't apparently what they were looking for. They began snarling or frowning at him, as if trying to think of a way to anger him. As one of them began to open their mouths to speak however, the teacher entered the room with another girl close behind. Of course, being the desk closest to the door, meant that the teacher now had a direct view of the four students leaning over him, with his bag on the ground, and having all four of them look like deer in the headlights. Immediately the woman's eyes flashed as she rushed over, staying a few feet away in case Prompto spooked. As it was, her proximity made him shy away from her a little.
"What is this?" she demanded. "So you're the ones who've been trying to scare Prompto."
"Y-Yes but-" Halia began.
"No buts," the woman growled back. "I don't care if he IS a MT, he's still a student in my class. If I so much as hear of you four bothering him again, you'll be answering to me, and Cor."
The threat of the teacher obviously wasn't one that was going to get their attention. She was a rather kind hearted lady that let her students off easy. Cor however, was one that made the entire class wince in sympathy for them, even Prompto. As kind as Cor could be, he was also very strict and wouldn't put up with this kind of thing from anyone. Cor had already made it quite clear that if Prompto felt he wasn't being treated properly, he would take matters into his own hands to ensure that they did. Prompto had never felt hurt enough to even so much as mention that everything wasn't fine to the man. He would feel bad to put those kids through that.
"C-Cor?" Motis gasped.
"That's right," the woman warned again. "Cor. He told me to let him know if I found out who was antagonizing Prompto. Something about he probably wouldn't say himself." Her eyes flicked towards Prompto, interest appearing in them. "Though….honestly I've seen some of the bruises he's gotten. I wonder why he hasn't..."
The four children looked at him with wide eyes, as if disbelieving that he wouldn't sell them out to Cor the first chance he got. Prompto didn't make any move to respond to them, settling instead for simply blinking up at the teacher before standing and retrieving his bag and returning it to his desk. He didn't say a word and didn't even so much a shrug to tell them that he'd heard them at all. It was true that they'd bruised him up a bit, not really all that maliciously. Rather, they shoved him and made him bump against the wall or something, and his human form had such pale skin it was nearly impossible to hide bruises. It had worried Noct, and apparently he'd gone to Cor about it.
But he wasn't going to surrender them to the mercy of that man in good conscious when they hadn't really tried to hurt him. Or maybe, his idea of being hurt was completely different because of the life he'd led up until now. The four hurriedly returned to their seats, and the other girl stepped forward. She was pale and small, definitely younger than him. Her scent was somewhat familiar, though he knew he'd never met her before. Her eyes were a pretty brown, sparkling in a friendly way at him that reminded him of Tia. Her hair was cut short and black, framing her face nicely but not getting in the way. Her friendly advance, unlike most people, didn't make him shy away.
"Are you okay?" she asked, not seeming to mind when he didn't respond and continuing to talk instead. "Prompto, right? You're Prince Noctis's friend. My name's Iris, and you've met my older brother. That would be Gladiolus. He says you're dangerous or something, but you can't be bad if you wouldn't turn those kids in to Cor. I'm a few years younger than you, but I got moved up a few grades because of my grades. Is this desk empty?"
Prompto was aware of the whole class now watching the rather one sided conversation between the MT and the girl who had just come into the class. Not that she needed much introduction after that whole thing, and most of them seemed to recognize her anyway. She was standing there, smiling and pointing to the desk next to him. The entire back row was devoid of students, since no one had apparently even wanted to sit on the same row as him. The girl however was asking to sit next to him? She was definitely different from her older brother, that was for sure. He finally shook his head, and she grinned and claimed the seat.
As she sat down and laid her bag on top of the desk, smiling away, Prompto noticed that the rest of the classroom looked completely floored. He was fairly sure that most of the children here hadn't even been aware that he could communicate at all. They were just staring at him like they'd only just met him again, and then at Iris like she'd sprouted a new head. Either way however, some of the tension that had existed in the air since he'd first arrived in this class seemed to dissipate. He wasn't sure if the other four children would stop bothering him, but he was glad that Iris's company seemed discourage their behavior.
The rest of the class happened to pass by in a relative peacefulness that Prompto hadn't experienced in quite some time. Iris continued to chat away at him despite the fact that he didn't really respond to her, seeming to find his silence perfectly acceptable. Prompto couldn't help but be relieved when the bell rang however, announcing that it was time for lunch and that meant he could finally see Noctis again. As he stood to leave however, Iris was behind him nearly instantly, smiling to herself as she followed him down the hallway. Prompto didn't really see a reason why he should try and make her leave, so he let her be.
Of course, as he rounded the corner and Noctis made his way over, Gladiolus did not look happy to see his little sister anywhere near him. It seemed like Noctis's presence had seemed to make him reluctant to approach the young MT. It hadn't been that long since their first meeting, but it seemed that Noctis still hadn't even tried talking to Ignis or Gladiolus since their last encounter. It didn't exactly sit right with Prompto, though he couldn't exactly pin point why. Maybe it was just because he knew that Noctis and the two boys were good friends. Before Prompto could even attempt to breach the subject however, Iris squealed and ran to hug Noctis, making the MT wince when the sound reached his sensitive ears.
"Noct," she cried. "It's been too long!"
"Uh-huh," Noctis replied warily, eying her as if waiting for her to prove to him that she was dangerous to his friend. "Why were you walking with Prompto?"
"Huh?" she asked, looking confused, before grinning and running back to Prompto, standing on her toes and trowing an arm around his shoulders. Prompto tensed at the unexpected motion, but just blinked. "Oh, that. We had math class together. You heard I was getting moved up right? But uh, well some other kids were picking on him, and he looked lonely so I sat by him."
"What?" Noctis gasped, turning and glaring at Prompto. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I don't know," Iris responded for Prompto thoughtfully. Ignis and Gladiolus had nervously moved closer at this point, seemingly more interested in the conversation than before. "Mrs. Potts said something about needing to tell Cor, but Prompto hadn't said anything to him."
"To Cor?" Ignis asked in surprise. Noctis frowned but didn't move to send them away, apparently more interested in Prompto's apparent predicament.
"Is that what all of this has been?" he asked Prompto, looking unhappy at the thought. "Why you've been coming home bruised up? Why haven't you done anything?" Prompto shrugged.
"Didn't really see the need to," he replied. Both Gladiolus and Ignis jumped at his voice, as if expecting him to not speak. Right. They hadn't heard him say anything yet.
"Prompto," Noctis growled in a no nonsense voice. "You've been coming home for weeks hurt. How is that not a good reason?"
"We have different definitions of the word 'hurt' apparently," Prompto replied, much to the confusion of the other four children.
"Why?" Iris asked, her question posed innocently enough. He just blinked at her.
"MT," was his reply.
The simple term made all four of them pause, thinking a moment about what he'd been saying. They knew what MTs were, sure. They were machines created from the power harnessed from daemons, or otherwise daemons given human like bodies and sent out to fight for the Empire. They were often forced to fight, and keep fighting until they died. After all, they were easily replaced and they were an infallible army. For the first time, Gladiolus and Ignis seemed to look at him, really look at him. The process of growing a human body in a few months was a painful one, as well as the process of making his genes unstable enough to switch between the two forms at will. That alone had left visible scars that he had never tried to hide. Then the terrible training and battles he had been forced to take part in before he had managed his escape had left other scars.
There was one stretching across most of his chest, visible under his shirt collar and starting just at his collar bone. Countless scars from the experiments and such littered his arms, the back of his neck, and other wounds from battles could be seen across him. Prompto was tough for his size, evident by the fact that he had been wounded in battle but was still alive. If he hadn't mended fast enough for their liking they would have just killed him or abandoned him to die elsewhere. And he didn't like to fight, which wouldn't have helped anything. Sending him out to battles to capture daemons for their experiments was one thing, but he'd never hurt a person.
The four children all shuddered, unable to suppress the strange sense of dread that came along with the almost bitterly matter of fact way he had spoken the term. As if it explained everything without having to explain anything. As if his whole life had been a bad joke he'd just been part of. Iris gave him a pitying glance, which he didn't grace with a response, and Noctis looked almost angry at the thought of what his best friend had already been through in his life. Ignis and Gladiolus just looked largely uncomfortable with the scenario.
"So, that's why, huh?" another voice said. "Should've expected as much."
The unexpected visitor made the other four children jump and Prompto immediately bristle. He was a pack daemon, and though he wasn't exactly close to Ignis, Gladiolus, or Iris, he was ready to defend them. Noctis though, his reaction immediately put Prompto on edge and ready to defend him if he had to. As the man chuckled however, the others recovered from their surprise and Prompto forced himself to relax again, turning to find Cor. The man was good at what he did, and it was nearly impossible for even Prompto to figure out when he was going to pop up. He masked his scent well and was nearly completely silent. No wonder he had survived so long. Cor the Immortal indeed.
"Cor," Noctis sighed. "You surprised me."
"Apologies, highness," the man chuckled. "But I was informed of the situation and came to check on things here. Hm, strange. I didn't think Prompto let other people touch him? And a girl no less." Iris noticed she still had her arm around his shoulders, and quickly let him go. Cor shook his head, though the others seemed confused at this news. "That's not why I'm here though."
"Why are you here?" Ignis asked, cutting right to the chase as usual.
"Classes for the young future members of the Royal Hunters and Crown's Guard are starting again," he replied. "I came to ask if you'd join them."
"The Crown's Guard are supposed to protect the king, right?" Iris asked thoughtfully, glancing at Noctis. "And the future king, of course. Then the Royal Hunters go out and hunt daemons to make sure they're safe from them."
"Correct," Cor replied. "King Regis has asked that Noctis be trained as a Royal Hunter, which is where I come in. And of course, its logical that Prompto be his hunting partner, seeing how he already has experience with it."
This information seemed to surprise all of the children except for Noctis, who had heard the information before and just frowned thoughtfully. Royal Hunters often worked in pairs, fighting against daemons and keeping the other safe or dragging their corpse back to the Crown City after death. The two had to work in almost perfect sync with one another, and Prompto couldn't help but be a little excited at the fact that he could learn to fight like that with Noctis, but also worried. Noctis was still recovering, what if he got hurt?
"Naturally," Cor continued as if he hadn't paused in the first place. "Prompto's own natural abilities as a daemon will certainly help in this case. Iris, I think you'd also make a good candidate for the Royal Hunters. However, I believe Ignis and Gladiolus would make better Crown's Guard material. And, strictly speaking, both Prompto and Iris could eventually join the Crown's Guard as well."
"Wait," Iris said, looking rather stunned. "Prompto's been on Hunts before?"
"Seeing how he originally was taken in by Hunters," Cor replied, glancing at the silent MT. "yes, he has. And there's no way of really knowing how many hunts he took part in as a MT before he fled from the Empire. That's a story for another time, perhaps. The real question here, is all of you are willing to join? I've got several other people to ask, so I can't stick around for long."
The man looked rather impatient to be off, though his eyes were boring into Prompto's forehead. The young MT didn't start under his gaze or move really at all, just waiting for his judgment. The other three children muttered their consent to joining the offered positions, though Gladiolus didn't look happy with the thought of his younger sister putting herself into danger. After seeing that Noctis was ready and willing to try, Prompto quickly nodded his consent as well. Satisfied, Cor nodded and then turned to walk away.
"Meet in the courtyard of the Citadel at four o'clock then," he said. "Don't be late."
With that, the man was walking brusquely down the hallway again, leaving all of them behind. Iris, Gladiolus and Ignis all shifted uncomfortably, but Noctis quickly turned to his best friend, sending him a grin that Prompto returned a smile for. The Prince's enthusiasm was hard for the pup to ignore. Ignis and Gladiolus glanced at one another, before quietly turning to the prince. Noctis, noticing them looking at him, turned and glared at them.
"What?" he snapped, making Prompto immediately bristle again. The two winced.
"Noct..." Ignis began, before falling silent again. Prompto rolled his eyes, nudging Noctis's shoulder. The prince frowned.
"Whatever," he growled. "I'll forgive you, IF you two stop acting like Prompto's trying to kill everyone. He's not dangerous, and he's already saved my life plenty of times." Ignis and Gladiolus looked shocked, as much for the Prince's forgiveness as at the information that he'd apparently even had to save his life.
"W-We'll try," Gladiolus promised, seeming to surprised to even sound reluctant.
"Yeah," Iris added. "Prompto's plenty nice. How would you like to be misunderstood all the time just because how you'd been born?"
Neither Ignis or Gladiolus seemed to have a reply for this, just rubbing the back of their heads sheepishly. Prompto could still tell by looking at the two of them that they still didn't trust him, not one single bit. Not that he could really blame them, looking at all of the things that had been told to them about his kind, daemon or otherwise. Then there were all the rumors floating around, definitely not the kind of thing that made him look any better.
"Just be glad Prompto said I should forgive you," Noctis growled, turning and beginning to walk to the same spot he and the young MT usually sat and ate lunch. Prompto watched him go, not bothering to look behind him at the two boys. "Come on Prompto."
The pup immediately followed his prince, knowing that Noctis probably wasn't going to decompress for a while at least. He was touched that the Prince was so protective of him, he really was, but he didn't want to see the reactions of the two boys behind him at hearing that he was the only reason their friend was willing to forgive them. They were probably furious at him even more, probably thinking he was stealing their friend from them, not to mention he and Noctis were supposed to be partners during hunts, if all went according to Cor's plan. He hurried to catch up with the raven haired Prince, leaving the other three children behind him.
What he didn't see, with his back turned, was the reluctant gratefulness in the eyes of the two boys on his retreating form.
So there was chapter four. Don't worry, we'll eventually get to the part of the story that will be basically game events. Except this is an AU, and so I'm changing practically everything about the story. Heck, even the Prophecy's changing. Why? Because I felt like writing the story this way. That's why.
As for how Prompto's going to effect the story like this, oh there are lot's of ways. You guys will get to see in time.
