Chapter six time! I've had several accounts in the past, but I think this is the fastest I've ever updated one, as well as the farthest I've probably ever gotten so quickly. Anyway, you guys seem to enjoy it, which is good for me. I have a tendency to get nervous about finishing things, but your support has me ready to keep writing! As for chapters that continue to follow this one, well there will be some major time skips in later chapters. I'll focus on some more major events of their young lives, but we won't continue on a basically day to day basis until the events of the game begin happening.


That's going to be different from canon as well, because why not? This story is basically a complete canon divergence, because why not? I enjoy happier endings, so I decided I'd basically make one. Problem with that? They're not really happy unless a lot of shit goes down that the characters have to fight their way through. Thus, you need your tissues. Anyway, we'll cross that bridge when we get there. I'm going to stop ranting now and actually start typing the chapter, because that's why you're here.


Chapter Six: Worlds Collide


Cor saying that their lives would soon get more hectic wasn't an understatement. It was getting difficult for even Prompto to balance his lessons with the man and his school work, and he had the ability to do far more than a human. The rest of them were likewise stretched thin, as if too much had been asked of them. But none of the children had retreated from the training at all. They were all determined to see it through to the end, and Prompto wasn't entirely sure he had a choice in the matter really. Either way, rumors were already flying.

Keeping something that big a secret wasn't exactly something that was easy, and especially not in the Crown City. Even the children were talking about the choices of the Crown's Guard and Royal Hunters to include the young MT among their ranks. Despite the negative attention it had once again drawn to Prompto, he was glad that the training kept Mitos, Yvis, Halia and Gavin from bothering him in class much. They looked far too tired to bother.

Not that this did much to dissuade Iris from being as friendly as usual. Tired though she looked, she dutifully plopped down in her desk next to him after turning in her work for the day, dropping a small army of pamphlets onto the table. Blinking down in confusion, Prompto picked one up. It was an add of sorts, of a club. Drama maybe? He wasn't sure, and he certainly wasn't versed enough in human culture to really understand what he was looking at.

"Here we are," Iris said happily, gaining the attention of her partner to be, and his three friends. "Clubs. I know you're new and all, so I thought maybe we could join a club together. We have to be in at least one. So Prompto, do you see anything you like?"

Prompto just blinked at her, choosing not to speak. He hadn't really...liked anything before. He enjoyed human company, but even before he'd become a MT he'd always been fighting for his survival and trying to prove that he belonged. There was no time (or much ability) as a daemon to do things that he liked, or even find out what he liked, and becoming a MT meant that there was even less time. His brain was practically hardwired for combat, as much as he hated to hurt humans. Iris, looking confused, just watched him. Halia tsked.

"She wants to know what you do for fun, idiot," she said testily. This did little to clear up Prompto's unease with the subject. "Like, a hobby."

"I don't think he really understands what we're talking about," Yvis said, sounding rather disturbed by the thought.

"How can he not know?" Gavin scoffed. "I mean, he's a kid like us."

"He's also a MT," Mitos's knowing reply came.

The rest of them paused a moment, as if soaking in the words. They knew little about MTs, and Prompto was definitely one of the strangest ones around at this point. But he was still a MT, and he wasn't a normal child. It was as if, for a moment, they'd almost all forgotten this fact. A look akin to horror crossed their faces, probably trying to imagine (and failing) how his life had been up to now and how he had no clue what they were talking about. Halia failed to suppress a shudder. Iris on the other hand, grabbed the pamphlets and started turning through them carefully.

"That's okay," she said, as if nothing was wrong. "We'll...we'll just have to find out what you do like. It can't be that hard, right? Is there anything you're good at?"

Prompto just stared at her. There were plenty of things he was good at. He was engineered to be one of the most perfect soldiers that had ever existed. But all of what these humans called his "talents" were battle related. How was he supposed to figure out what he was supposed to say to answer that? He couldn't, so he didn't move. Iris just continued to frown as he leafed through the papers, as if hoping some sort of inspiration for their dilemma would just show up in front of her. The rest of the group, while still uneasy with the situation, seemed to be thinking as well.

"Well," Halia said reluctantly. "Didn't Cor say he was good at like – noticing things? He apparently has an eye for detail."

Iris suddenly gasped and smiled, as if she'd found something perfect. She quickly skimmed through all of the papers again until she found the one she had been looking for. Grinning triumphantly, she placed it in front of him again. Prompto blinked down at it. It was a simple ad, one with a picture of a camera on it and some photographs that other students had taken before. Prompto had never really understood the need for humans to record memories on a piece of paper so they could look at it later. It seemed almost a little silly.

"There," she said. "Photography!"

"Really?" Yvis sighed. "You think he'd be good at that?"

"Well yeah," Iris said immediately. "It would be fun! I'll join with you too, Prompt. Besides, he's got to learn how to be human, right?"

"He's not human," Halia growled, then turned and pointed into Prompto's face. He shrank away from her finger slightly. "And don't you think this means I like you. I still hate you, got it?"

Prompto didn't make a move to respond either way, so she huffed and turned, returning to the side of the classroom that she usually sat on. Her other friends paused a moment, before standing and making their way back to her. Nearly immediately they began a quiet conversation, not that this really bothered him. People talked behind his back all the time. He was used to it. Besides, he'd had to prove before that he belonged in the hunter's camp. It was going to be such much worse trying to prove that he belonged in this kingdom, much less at the Prince's side.

"So," Iris said expectantly, looking at him. "You going to join with me?"

There was something almost sad in her gaze as she looked at him, as if she understood that he was missing something. Prompto wasn't entirely sure why he was, and he had way too many questions about why all of this was necessary. They thought it was a good thing to stimulate creativity in their students? That kind of thing wouldn't be tolerated in the Citadel, especially with MTs. According to the Emperor, creativity was dangerous and spawned unnecessary thoughts. It was just one more way that Insomnia and the Empire were two completely different worlds, he supposed. Finally, he just shrugged, and she grinned, taking it as a yes.

"Well," she said. "Let's go right now!"

She was up and running towards the front of the classroom where the teacher was sitting. Blinking, the woman looked up at Iris and seemed completely unsure how to handle the situation. After a little bit of a conversation, Iris came rushing back, looking pleased. Prompto couldn't help but pity the poor woman a little bit, knowing how impossible it was to argue with the girl when she got something stuck in her head. She was a determined one, and she wasn't going to take no for an answer. Upon reaching him, she grabbed Prompto's bag and practically jumped up and down with excitement.

"Come on," she called. "come on! Its okay, since we're done with our work and all. Let's go, before lunch starts!"

Prompto just stood as the girl grinned and continued to hop up and down. She nearly immediately attached herself to his arm, as if he was going to run away as soon as possible. He stiffened only a moment, before letting the enthusiastic girl pull him down the hallway. He had no idea where they were going, and really wasn't sure he understood why they were going there, but he allowed her to drag him away through the various halls until she found the place where she wanted to be anyway. After nearly five minutes of losing themselves in the maze, they entered a less well kept part of the school that the pup hadn't even been aware had existed up until now.

Iris immediately made her way towards the classroom where there was a single man with boxes full of various cameras. There was no one else in the room, and it looked dusty and unkempt even to his eyes. The man behind the desk was a tall and thin man, well tanned and well muscled for his size. His wild green eyes peered out at them with interest under curtains of copper hair. For a while the man said nothing, as if expecting them to turn and leave. But Iris continued to drag Prompto forward and peered up at the man.

"Hello," she said. "Are you in charge of the Photography Club?"

"What of it?" he grunted. Not seeming put off by this, Iris just smiled.

"Well," she said. "We were thinking of joining." He eyed them, as if expecting some trick.

"Really?" he asked. "Why?" Iris seemed to pause a moment.

"Well I," she started, then restarted after a moment's thought. "I want to help my friend. He's...not exactly normal."

"The MT," the man snorted. "What of him?"

"Well," Iris said, frowning at the man. "I'm not sure he knows HOW to have fun. I mean...after everything he's been through...but he's really good at spotting details so I thought we'd give it a try."

The man turned his eyes instead back to Prompto, standing and making his way towards him. It was if he was sizing the boy up, trying to see what he could find out just by staring at him long enough. Only, the boy's face portrayed nothing of what he was thinking. In reality, he found the man interesting, in an eccentric sort of way. It was like this man lived to take photographs or something. It was in the way he carried himself, the way he was talking to them, like it was his passion. Prompto didn't really fell like he understood why or how it could be so important though.

"Could you," Iris attempted, sounding a little nervous. "Try to explain it in a way he can understand?" The man huffed.

"What's to explain?" he asked. "You can't just do photography. You have to feel it. You just know when the lighting's right, when the subject is in the perfect spot. It's part of your soul, just like any other form of art." Prompto blinked, feeling as if the man was speaking a completely different language. Iris quickly came to his rescue again.

"Well," she said. "Why don't you explain how it feels? I mean, he hardly even seems to understand the concept of fun. He's just a kid, but they made him do all the fighting..."

Her voice trailed off, as if she was going to start crying. She looked like she was going to start crying, turning away from them and wiping at her eyes. The man's eyes flicked between the two kids, looking as if he was torn by her reaction and his nervousness of the MT. Finally, another thought seemed to pass over his face, as if he was horrified at the thought of a kid being made to fight. It was interesting to watch all these emotions pass across his face at the same time, and the man quickly cleared his voice. He turned to Prompto, looking far more serious, and the MT had to fight the urge not to laugh as Iris pumped her fist in triumph. She was a sneaky one.

"Listen up," he said. "This isn't just some stupid game. People like me take it really seriously. It may seem useless to some people, but its really important. Before all this technology existed, historical events had to be recorded on paper and painted or drawn later. However, an artist's interpretation could change the picture into something that didn't happen. That's the problem with art. What one person sees as the perfect way to showcase something completely confuses someone else. That's where photography is more than art, but a historical record as well."

That honestly made a lot more sense to Prompto. Art didn't quite make sense to him as much as gathering facts did. Maybe it was just his life from before, where it was fight to survive or die. However, he did know that pictures were a good representation of people and places. Art wasn't really something that he understood, but history did. Expressing oneself had never really been on his to do list before all of this after all. The man was watching his face, when he saw the light click on in Prompto's head, he nodded as if pleased with his understanding so far. Carefully thinking, the man turned back to look at his box of cameras, pulling one out to show him.

"But Art in itself is important," he continued. "People always strive to make a mark, to leave something behind when they leave. I suppose it makes us feel immortal, in a way. People are afraid of death, so they wish to leave something behind. So some people express their lives through paintings or drawings, or photography. Think about it. An image can instill a sense of fear into a person, or a feeling of power or superiority. Music and sounds can create sadness and happiness in equal measure. Feeling is part of our existence, so we create things to feel."

Now he'd almost completely lost him, though Prompto felt like he understood more in a way. Seeing that he was confused, the man thought a moment, and Iris face palmed behind his back. The man flipped on the camera and prepared it with practiced ease, motioning for Prompto to stand on one of the desks in the middle of the room, confused, the boy got up as he was told and turned to the man, waiting. Nodding, the man pulled out the camera, moving around him a little and then motioning for Prompto to be still. After a while, a click was heard, and the man returned, showing him the camera and the picture on it.

"Maybe showing you would be better," the man said knowingly.

The man turned the tiny screen around for Prompto to see, and he found himself looking at it carefully, trying to analyze it. The training he'd had for battle just saw that it was a picture of him, but he tried to concentrate for a minute on the picture instead. Thinking back on the man's description of what art was supposed to be, how it was supposed to make him feel, he tried to concentrate. It was a picture to his side, where the dust flying in the air and the light coming through the window made his fair complexion seem to glow with a strangely holy light. The look on his face was sort of annoyed, but he was looking forward, almost as if he was concentrating on something else. If he hadn't known why he had been annoyed, he might have thought he was looking at something else. It made his tiny frame look almost more menacing somehow.

"Now I want you two to try," the man said. "and then if I think you're good enough, I'll lend you one of my cameras and let you join the club. Got it? Try getting a good picture of each other in here."

Iris practically jumped at the chance, gasping and hopping up and down with excitement. She took the camera from the man's (presumably the teacher in charge of the club) as if it would break if she shook it too hard and then turned to Prompto again. She put her finger to her chin, as if exaggerating the motion of thinking, before nodding to herself and smiling. She motioned for Prompto to join her closer to the window and then pulled out the camera.

"Can you show me your daemon form?" she asked. "I want to get a picture of that."

Prompto shrugged and then dropped to all fours, morphing again into his daemon form. Turning to look at her expectantly, he paused a moment, wondering if she wanted him to pose or anything silly like that. He didn't really have much experience with cameras, but those people he had been around when they had wanted to take pictures always came up with silly poses and such. It didn't make that much sense to him. Then again, he really didn't do anything "fun" unless he was around Noctis. He tended to retreat into a little shell instead. Before realizing it, he heard a click, and Iris skipped happily back to the teacher.

Prompto returned to his human form and drew a little closer to the man, curious to see a smile appear on his face when he looked down at the picture. Seeing Prompto looking, he turned the camera so he could see it. She'd picked a nice spot for the photograph, because the noon sun outside made his already bright fur seem impossibly brighter still. The sideways look he was giving the camera gave a nice profile to his face and made him look almost gentler than normal somehow. Suddenly, he didn't look nearly so terrifying as he apparently usually did. He looked more or less like a giant dog patiently waiting for its picture to be taken.

"Not bad," the man said. "Now it's your turn. Take the camera and make sure to get a good picture of your friend here."

Prompto carefully took the camera, looking it over quickly. Despite never having held one before (and not having hands before when he had seen one), he understood the basic concept of how to use the camera. Even so, he didn't feel very confident in trying to take a picture and capture the kind of emotion that the other two seemed to add into theirs. Instead, he motioned Iris in front of the window she'd had him stand in front of, carefully looking through the lens and waiting. Nearly immediately, she smiled and folded her hands behind her back, leaning forward and trying to look as adorable as possible.

He paused just a moment, before edging around her a little as she continued to smile at him. The light hit her better here and didn't hide her face from view, giving her dark hair a warm halo as she smiled. Her pale skin seemed to shine brighter for it, giving her a kind and warm appearance. Her pose made her look kinder too, more like the personality he knew she usually had. Her somber clothing seemed to shine in the light as dust danced in front of her still form, giving the frame an otherworldly apperance. It didn't even look like the same room. He wasn't entirely sure that he was the greatest at this, but he was satisfied that he felt something when he looked through the lens.

Snapping the picture, he turned and walked back to the man, handing the camera back to him. Prompto silently waited for the man's judgment, watching the surprised expression that flicked across his face. Iris quickly ran over to look as well. She stood on her toes to peer at the screen and gasped, happiness lighting up her features as she began jumping up and down in happiness again. She looked positively thrilled and ran over to Prompto, grabbing him into another hug that made him stiffen a little before finally relaxing.

"This is," the man said thoughtfully. "Really good. You were right, he does have an eye for detail."

"I knew you'd be good at this," she practically squealed in his ear. "I knew it!"

"All right, all right," the man said, chuckling a little. "I guess a deal's a deal. I'll let you two borrow a camera each, but you've got to take good care of it. You can call me Hirsch. Welcome to Photography club."

The man handed the two of them cameras, each with a bag and the rather confusing mess of equipment that went with both of them. Not entirely sure what to do with the camera, Prompto just packed it away and jumped at the sound of an ancient printer suddenly starting up. After printing out the images, Hirsch handed them to Iris, who was smiling happily at them. Clutching them to her chest, she smiled and waved as she grabbed Prompto's arm and dragged him back towards the cafeteria where the rest of their "friends" were waiting.

Prompto let out a soft sigh as they left the less used portion of the school behind and quickly made their way towards the cafeteria again. As they drew closer, Prompto immediately noticed Noctis looking around, seemingly nervous to lose sight of his friend, and Gladiolus looked rather unnerved to not be able to see his sister. Ignis, who was nearby, was the first to notice the two approaching and point them out. Both Noctis and Gladiolus looked relieved to see the two, as if they were expecting them to disappear into thin air.

Iris immediately skipped over to the three, showing off the pictures they'd taken and explaining for the still rather confused looking Prompto. The three looked over the two, seemingly impressed by what they saw, and Prompto was a little surprised to see Gladiolus and Ignis smile too. Noctis on the other hand immediately went over and threw an arm around the smaller boy's shoulders, grinning down at him and holding up the picture he'd taken of Iris.

"You're really good," he said. "I didn't know you could take pictures. You should do it more often. But you should really stop being so quiet all the time. People would like me more if you acted like you did when you weren't so tense."

"I just knew he'd be good at it," Iris said, sounding proud.

"Well you seem to have an eye for noticing things," Ignis mentioned.

"It'll be so much fun, right Prompto?" she asked. Prompto just kind of shrugged.

"There you two are," another voice growled, not unkindly, but enough to make Prompto bristle slightly anyway before forcing himself to relax. "Where have you been?"

"Cor?" Noctis asked, glancing towards the man. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I as assigned to check up on you and Prompto regularly," the man replied, crossing his arms and raising a brow. "What's this?" Iris didn't hesitate the thrust the pictures into the man's hands.

"Prompto and I joined the photography club," she said excitedly. "And look, he's really good already!" The man let out a hum.

"I think I have an idea what we're going to train you on next, Prompto," the man said. Then he looked down at the boy for a long while, as if pitying him for a moment. It wasn't a look he was accustomed to the man giving him. "But you really should try to relax Prompto. Whether you're a MT or not, you're still just a child. Maybe its time you act like one."

With that, the man handed the pictures back to Iris and turned, making his way quickly down the hallway. Noctis and Iris gave Prompto concerned glances, and Gladioulus and Ignis looked rather confused and out of place in the situation. Prompto on the other hand, looked down at the bag he was holding that was carrying the camera in it. Was he supposed to have fun with it? Getting praised for what he'd done certainly made him feel good, but it was only a natural reaction.

This whole trying to fit in with society thing was a lot harder than it seemed at first.


All right, finally done with chapter six. I bet you guys already have a good idea what "weapons" Cor wants to train Prompto with, and of course, this is where his love for Photography first begins. In any case, we'll have a few more chapters worth of things before the actual story begins, and then things are going to get really interesting really fast.


Thanks so much for all the support you guys have been giving me for this story. It really means a lot that you guys like it so much. As long as I have inspiration and time I'll continue to keep updating it! Thanks a lot!