Let's get right into chapter nine! In this one Prompto will be doing some "reconditioning" and trying to remember to let his guard down sometimes. He will be returning to the happy and friendly goofball we all know and love by next chapter, but that's going to involve a time skip several years down the road. Also, I'm totally unashamed to admit that I've been listening to natewantstobattle's Final Fantasy Fifteen song called "Reclaim Your Throne". It fits so well though.


Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and feel free to leave a review down below if you'd like to. I'm going to keep updating this story as I go along, and wish me luck as I work on it more and more. We'll be starting the actual storyline of the game (changed once again because this is an AU), but hopefully you guys will continue to enjoy!


Chapter Nine: Sleep Soundly


Prompto became aware again of hitting the ground hard and tumbling away, forcing himself to not whimper because of the fresh pain coursing through his body. He knew people were watching him, hoping that he would get better. It had already been weeks, but he wasn't getting any better at finding out how to train himself to ignore the word that the Empire had drilled into his head to make him attack without hesitation and become like the mindless machines that everyone thought they were. Only higher ranking officials in the military knew what those handful of words were that would make an MT attack and lose themselves, but it was still far too many.

Cor watched him stand again on his shaking paws, breathing heavily but turning to face the man again. It was one of the few times the frustration or pain would show on his face, when he looked at the man with determined eyes that simply and silently said "do it again" despite how hurt he was from the man's attacks. Cor was good, but even he had been hurt a few times by Prompto when the man muttered the word to the daemon. Not that this seemed to change the man's mind or make him any less willing to try and help the boy.

Prompto wasn't sure how much time had actually passed, and he'd never asked. He was afraid to ask what had happened to Noctis, more terrified at the thought of the boy fearing him or hating him now that he had actually hurt him to even bring himself to ask if he was okay. The pup had no idea how any of his actions had affected the children he'd let himself become friendly with, and he didn't care.

Right now, if he couldn't get his own mind under control then he wasn't going to be comfortable with letting himself around people again. So he didn't mind the terrible training that Cor was putting him through to try and train him to ignore the trigger word when spoken, nor the fact that they repeated the brutal training everyday. He'd still endured worse in Nifilheim.

There were people apparently worrying that Cor was being too cruel to Prompto, having him locked up away from where others could see, having only a few other members of the Crown's Guard nearby in case Prompto at any point got too much to handle while he wasn't in his right mind. Whether or not they were making any progress was Prompto's only concern however. And besides, Cor certainly wasn't cruel by any means to the pup, and he was hyper aware of it now as the man's concerned frown centered on the tiny pup again.

Sighing, the man's weapon disappeared in a flash of blue light, something that he had explained as the same pocket dimension that Noctis and he would be using (much to Prompto's unease). Whether it was because he was one of King Regis's Swordsworn or just because he had the ability, he never said. Slowly he sat down against the wall. Long furrows had been cut into the stone quite some time ago from one of Prompto's attacks where he had apparently tried to gouge the man's innards out by slamming his back into his chest.

"Let's take a break," Cor said quietly.

Prompto stared at the man for a long moment, quickly reigning in his emotions behind the mask again without saying a word. He really didn't want to stop, but his exhaustion was going to start winning out sooner or later, and there was no pushing Cor into doing something that he didn't want to do. Slowly, Prompto crossed the space between them and slowly laid down, relieved to take the weight off of his aching paws for a while.

He left enough space between them that if he didn't want to touch the pup, he wouldn't. But he was already aware that the man wasn't just going to leave Prompto alone as he had done before. When the pup sat down, nearly immediately the man's calloused hands started running gently through the soft fur on the Thunderdog's back, careful not to aggravate any of the wounds that the pup had already sustained.

Prompto hadn't even been aware that Cor could be gentle at all. Maybe it was something about his stern face or powerful attacks, or maybe it had just been because he just didn't really seem like the kind of person to be careful around others. Even so, his eyes left no room for argument whenever the pup looked up at him, so though Prompto bristled a little at first he soon returned to a more relaxed (if not more exhausted) posture than before. For a long while the man said nothing, just watching Prompto for a long while.

"Better," the man remarked. "You're doing well Prompto. Still, you need to let yourself relax more. What happened is not your fault." When the pup didn't respond, he chuckled a little dryly. "You know, your friends keep asking about you whenever they see me. Iris is practically demanding that I take it easy on you. Noctis on the other hand is worried I'm going to run you into the ground. Despite how much I remind them that you were trained in Nifilheim, they still want to make sure that you're okay. No one hates you Prompto."

This finally got the pup's attention. He wanted to believe the man, he really did. But his eyes were just deeply confused when he met Cor's again. Prompto had been around the hunters before, and it had taken so many times for him to get them to relax around him even a little bit. Any sort of tiny mistake on his part would bring them right back to square one, and this was so much worse than anything he'd ever done before. How was he supposed to just expect them to forgive something like that? Besides if the Empire had found out...well actually they'd probably forgive him for running away in the first place and then reward him again.

"Everything's going to be fine," he said. "No one was seriously hurt during that whole thing. Well, no one except you. I can't get people to stop asking how you're doing either. Listen, I'm not saying its going to be easy, but you're going to have to learn to trust yourself, got it? You're not a soldier anymore, at least not in the same way. You're the best friend to so many of those kids. You're not the monster they made you into. And I'm going to prove that to you, but you're going to have to keep working with me, all right?"

Prompto didn't respond to him, but the man seemed to nod as if he did. It was then however that the door to the room was opened suddenly, making Cor tense and Prompto's ears twitch. The sound of a heavy limp soon greeted the Thunderdog's ears however and he simply looked up as King Regis came slowly into the room. Cor quickly relaxed as well when he saw the king, looking at him questioningly as the old man offered them both a small smile. Without saying a word the man came closer to the two of them.

"How are things going?" he asked. Cor let out a quiet sigh.

"Better than before," he said. "But well, getting him to come back out of his shell again is going to take much longer."

"Allow me to speak to the boy for a while," the King said kindly. Cor gave the man a strange look, but then nodded.

"As you wish," he said. "your majesty."

Cor stood from where he had been sitting on the floor next to the pup and then turned and made his way out of the room and closing the door behind him. This left Prompto alone with the king, who looked much older than when he had met him. Smiling still and obviously struggling a little with it, the man slowly slid down next to him. For a while he sat there in silence as the king simply let the pup slowly relax a little more in his presence. The kindly smile never left his face, and honestly it was confusing for the young pup. What was he supposed to think? That things were going to be okay? Despite his reluctance to do so, he felt his mask slipping.

"Your eyes are old," the king remarked. "Older than they should be. Such is the way of the world, with cruelty around every corner. However I don't believe that you should blame yourself for what happened. No one else does. After all, you've hardly led a life that we could fault you for. Your life has always been surrounded by darkness. I must ask though that you don't dwell on it. You are full of such light after all."

The king reached over and laid his hand on the pup's head, not stroking him like others had done before, but just leaving it there as if to comfort him. Prompto liked the contact, like the king was treating him like someone who deserved his respect instead of some pet. Then the ring on his hand suddenly flared to life, and Prompto felt the alien being that was the Crystal of Lucis. Though the pup jumped in surprise, the light playfully twirled around his own, reaching towards him. As the light seized him Prompto's eyes widened as images flashed by in his mind.

Iris was crying. Halia kept looking at his empty desk. Gavin punched a wall as Gladiolus looked absolutely furious. Ignis looked rather thoughtful as Yvis kept running his hands through his hair (a nervous habit maybe?). Mitos was jumping at shadows and Noctis looked concerned more than anything. There were other images, of people he recognized and those he'd never seen before. The light, though it did not speak, left him with one single impression from the images. Everyone was worried. About him. No one blamed him. They wanted him back.

The thought was a foreign concept to the young Thunderdog. He'd never really been wanted before. Tia of course had liked to keep him near and had always been determined to protect him and keep him safe, but that was different. He'd never messed up this badly before. And yet, they had forgiven him. It wasn't something he was really accustomed to. What was he supposed to say to something like that? A frown touched his face as the king chuckled. It wasn't a patronizing sound, rather one of sympathy. Slowly, Prompto looked at him.

"You know why you are different from others of your kind, don't you?" the king asked. "You have light. You've spent too long focusing on the darkness of your own mind, rather than the good that you have. Remember the light, Prompto. And you will always find your way."

For a long moment, Prompto was just quiet and didn't say anything. He wanted him to remember the light? It was difficult to forget all of the bad things that had happened, all of the painful lessons that had already been drilled into his head. But then he found himself feeling a sudden inspiration taking hold of him, even as the man removed his hand and the light of the Crystal retreated with it. What if instead of trying to force his body to relearn a command he had beaten into him, he stopped focusing on the word itself, and focused on the light in his own mind?

It was worth a shot, trying to pull from the light in his own mind to rewrite the pain that made him feel he needed to attack when he heard the word. As the king slowly stood again and began to make his way out of the room, Prompto frowned again. The brutal methods the Empire used to train their MT's was an unfortunately effective one.

The word would be used and they would then be commanded to attack. Even if they did attack, they would be beat mercilessly and the word would be repeated. Eventually after so many repetitions of this, the MT's mind would eventually shut down at the word and they'd become so fearful they would attack everything in sight not wearing a military uniform of the Empire. It was a dark and brutal method. So in theory, light could reverse it. It certainly wouldn't be an easy path, especially considering the fact that they would have to undo years of fear and pain that wouldn't ever just go away. But Prompto was willing to try.

He wanted to believe that what he saw was real, that everyone wanted him back. He honestly didn't know what to think, or what he was supposed to do. How could he forgive himself for hurting them like that? Still, even as the king left and Cor returned to the room, giving the pup a rather mournful look, he clamped down hard on the idea. Even if it was fake, it would give him the strength to do this so there might one day be a chance that they could forgive him. He focused on the feeling of the light deep within him, trying his hardest to ignore the word that had been drilled into his head for so long that he became so terrified that he attacked everything he could. He shuddered a little as it brought the word unwittingly to his mind.

Nocte.

Night.

Honestly, he was kind of surprised that the name "Noctis" hadn't set him off every time he had heard the word spoken. He didn't really know why that was, only that it apparently wasn't close enough to set him off. Either way, when Cor latched the door shut again and stood, the pup slowly climbed back to his feet. Cor summoned a large lance, holding it ready in case the pup should attack again. The look on his face was the same as before whenever he was about to say the word to make Prompto lose it. He didn't like doing this anymore than Prompto did, but not because he was scared for his own life.

It was because every time he uttered the word, Prompto looked absolutely terrified before suddenly he screamed and turned into a raging beast that would try to kill him. Despite the fact his mind shut down at this time, he was still cunning and agile, making it even more dangerous for someone to be standing in the room with him when he went into that state. The thought made the pup wince again, trying not to imagine the wounds he'd given the children before. Cor's mouth formed a tight line, and Prompto ceased the light within him as the man uttered the first syllable.


Pain, fear, death, all of it coursed through him, reminding him of...what did it remind him of? Who even was he? He could hear someone screaming (was it him?), he could taste blood and feel pain in his limbs. That didn't matter. He had to attack, he had to make sure he did it right this time or they'd...what would they do? He felt like there was something he was missing, something that he didn't understand or had forgotten. He was too scared to think about it though.

He heard a voice, talking to him quietly and soothingly. There was someone else here. He always hated when people were here. He had to hurt them, to kill them, or he'd be...what exactly? He couldn't remember. It was a man, and his voice sounded pained. Not a phsycial pain, more like a mental one. His voice was soft and gentle though, calling to him carefully. He heard no fear or anger in his voice, just care and love. When was the last time he'd felt that? Did he even remember feeling it at all. He could feel his body stumble, and he heard the voice who had been screaming earlier moan in confusion (that was definitely his own voice). It sounded far away, like he was no longer attached to it. Why was everything so far away?

There was light here, soft and dying, but it was there. Every time it almost died, the man would talk again and it would flare back to life suddenly and almost painfully bright before beginning to fade alarmingly fast again. There was a long pause of silence, and he could feel the darkness creeping back in suddenly. The light almost went completely back, and his far away body jerked as he growled menacingly at the man. The light didn't fade completely though, and he was scared. He jerked on it, causing it to flare up again. This time, it didn't fade nearly as fast.

The man was gently petting his far away body, ignoring the confused growls and frightened jerks that made him want to run away. Something was familiar about him though, and it was as if his body sensed that too because it didn't flee or attack, as much as he could feel it tensed to do either. For a long while the man just talked to him quietly.

Lux.


Prompto was panting, his head hurt and he didn't remember what had happened. Not a lot at least. He just remembered vague impressions of growling and uneasy jerking in fear. He was almost scared that he'd hurt Cor again until he realized that the man was petting him, murmuring to him quietly and softly. Prompto nearly immediately collapsed, relieved that he was okay. Had it worked? It had at least seemed to help because Cor was okay, and that was honestly a relief in itself. The man reached down, taking the pup's head between his hands and laying his forehead against the pup's panting head, and this time he could hear the old soldier.

"It's okay," he said quietly. "It's okay. You did well, Prompto. I'm so proud of you. We're all proud of you and we just want you to be okay. Take a break, just lie here for a while. Everyone's going to be so relieved that we're making headway."

Prompto was too tired to argue and desperately wished that this was the case. For a while the man just kept stroking him carefully, quietly murmuring him reassurances and at one point even practically begging him to forgive himself, before finally falling quiet. Even then, the man kept a constant presence near the pup, releasing his head but stroking the long yellow fur carefully and quietly. It felt safe and relaxing, and he felt himself drifting off.

Not quite to sleep, but fairly close. It was like his body fell asleep but the light pulsing through him kept his mind aware. He couldn't see anything past his closed eyes, and more alarmingly he couldn't move, but it didn't really scare him as much as it did the first couple of times he'd done it. Even the soldiers of Niffelheim didn't really seem to know what it was. They had wondered if it had been because of the way he was born, because there were few daemons that went into sleep like this, and rarely in the way that he did. If he was pushed to his extreme limits though, it was something that could often happen.

Cor seemed to immediately realize that something was off and quietly swore as he checked the young pup over, he hung limply as he looked him over. The man seemed to be extremely careful and thorough in his search, which only made Prompto hurt more, not that he could whine to let the man know this. Seeing nothing wrong on the outside, the man murmured a spell before slowly running his hand carefully down the pup's back to check if there was anything really wrong with him. Seeming to decide that despite being odd, it was natural, the man let out a quiet sigh before patting the pup, probably with a frown on his face.

Prompto was aware that someone was coming, hearing their footsteps as they made their way closer. It wasn't a soldier, obviously since their footfalls were far too light to be a grown adult. The door opened and he heard a familiar voice gasp in fear as the person looked at them. Unable to respond, he couldn't really do anything as he heard Ignis run over and quickly lay his hands on his back, as if unsure what to do without hurting the exhausted pup more. Cor gently let go of Prompto, most likely to comfort the boy and draw him carefully away from his friend without accidentally making any of Prompto's wounds worse than they already are.

"Prompto," Ignis gasped, with such hurt in his voice that the pup could feel his pain through it.

"He's all right," Cor assured gently. "Just tired. He didn't want to stop until we made some headway. Its okay, some daemons do similar things. He may even be aware that we're here. Try not to make him any more distressed. So Ignis, what are you doing here? You know you're not supposed to be here. You could get hurt!"

"I-I know," the boy said, sounding far quieter and sadder than Prompto had ever heard him. "I just…I had to check on him..." The boy paused, and Prompto felt some of his resistance melt a little then. So they really were worried? They weren't mad? Prompto would have cried if he had been able to at the moment. "A-And I didn't come for just that! I mean...I think I thought of something that could help him..."

"Most of it must be done by Prompto," Cor tried to reason gently to the distressed boy. "There's not much we can do to help."

"I-I know," Ignis insisted. "Just please, let me help. Let us help him. He's our friend, Cor! I don't...I don't ever want to see him scared like that again...We should have been able to protect him..."

Cor was silent, and Prompto's mind was blank suddenly, like he didn't know what to think. They wanted to protect him? Just about a month ago they had been so terrified of him that they'd wanted him dead or gone, away from their prince. And now, they thought that he needed protection? He'd never really though about it like that, but he supposed that there were some things that he couldn't protect his mind against, like those words. Even if he managed to control his mind, there would be little chance that he wouldn't go into a berserk mode if the word was said (just maybe only a more violent and not quiet a "completely lose control" kind of way).

Prompto had always been the one to try and protect others, mostly because even being a small daemon, he was still powerful enough to destroy grown men at his age in battle. Noctis had promised to protect him, something he had been grateful for even if he didn't know how the boy could actually protect him. Now they all wanted to protect him? The young MT finally understood that what he needed protection from wasn't something he could fight with tooth and nail, but rather with his mind, and that was a much harder battle that he'd need help with. Slowly, Prompto heard Cor move, most likely to put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Easy," the man said. "It's going to be all right. Last time, he managed to not attack me. He seemed scared and confused, but he seemed to understand that I wasn't going to hurt him. He's getting better, so you don't have to blame yourselves any more."

"But he shouldn't have had to be so scared," Ignis said, for once sounding like a broken child rather than a smart kid that knew more than he probably should. And that touched Prompto on some deeper level than he'd ever known before. Even Tia had had some reservations around him, so he'd never once heard someone sound so heartbroken for him. "Its just not fair. We'd almost gotten him to open up to us and not be so scared."

"And you'll have the chance again," Cor said soothingly. "I promise. I'll help him get better. Now, what was your idea? I'll see if I can get it to help him. But then you have to leave. It's not safe here, not in the state he's in."

For a while there was silence, and Prompto was heavily reminded that even though they were all so smart, so strong, they were all just kids. Ignis seemed to remember though that his friend needed help and took a deep and shaking breath to steady himself. When he managed it, Prompto heard him push his glasses back up onto his nose, drawing himself up and trying to make himself seem smarter, older, or maybe just calm and in control of the situation so that Prompto would be calm. He wasn't sure which one it was, but it did relax Prompto a little to know that they hadn't given up on him and were still willing to help him.

"Well," he said, trying to sound sure. "we were talking about it, and it seems like the word that triggers him is extremely close to someone's name, and I don't think I have to say who. Why would that not set him off though? Maybe its because he feels safe around Noctis. Maybe he just needs to feel safe, like he can trust someone instead of being afraid of everyone. If they made him so afraid he'd attack everyone in sight, then maybe we need to make sure he can trust us instead of having to be afraid."

Cor was silent, as if weighing his options or considering the idea. Honestly, Prompto was kind of impressed again by Ignis's intellect and with the idea. It was an interesting one, and it would work much better than him trying to hold onto his light, especially if it almost slipped like it had last time. If this worked, and they could convince a terrified MT to trust them to not let him get hurt, then it could be the key to actually solving the problem once and for all, instead of just coming up with some kind of quick fix for a while.

"That," Cor said thoughtfully, obviously knowing fairly well about the brutal training methods of the Empire. "that could actually work. I'll give it a try when he's rested up a bit. He's already done well, so he deserves a break, even if he doesn't want to take it. Next time, I'll try to reach him like that. Maybe it'll help. He seemed to respond a little to me last time when I talked to him, like he knew he recognized me. Ignis, thank you. But go. I've got enough to worry about here. I'll let all of you know how he's doing later today. Just make sure no one else comes in here."

"Yes sir," Ignis said quietly, pausing long enough to most likely look at the pup, before turning and walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.

Cor let out a sigh, sounding just as tired as Prompto felt. He made his way over to the pup though, sinking to the ground and gently stroking his back as he sat there and quietly rested his own body since Prompto was out of commission for a while. The pup couldn't help but feel a little hopeful as the man rested though, hopeful that things could finally work out for the better. He was glad that they all still thought of him as a friend, and touched that they were willing to help him after all of that. Now he just had to wait until his exhaustion passed enough he could move again.

The chance to try didn't come for several more days, because even after Prompto "woke up" again and Cor found out he had been able to hear him, the man refused to try again until he was sure that Prompto could stay on his feet and not be so exhausted that he ended up falling again. Cor really didn't want to hurt his young student any more than necessary, and he apologized profusely for pushing him so hard and not letting him get proper rest. Prompto was still determined to get a handle on his mind though before he'd let anyone else near him, so he refused to rest until his wounds were healed too. Cor did eventually convince him to rest until his exhaustion was finally gone, so it was about four days later when they found themselves again in that room.

"Okay," Cor said, gently and kindly to the nervous pup. "let's go again. Remember what you did last time, and what else you can do to help. Then, I need you to focus on me, if at all possible. Just me. It's going to be all right."

Prompto nodded slowly, but he couldn't help but look scared, even knowing that the man was about to say that stupid word again. This time, Prompto focused carefully on the light in his head, trying to figure out what he did wrong. He'd been holding onto it so fiercely, but it had still almost slipped away from him. Maybe he just needed to trust that it would come to help him. This time, he closed his eyes and just focused on the light, tapping into it naturally and letting it flow through him. As he did, he almost started at the feeling of power running through him, a power that was unlike any other he had felt before. Like there was something else there. He didn't have time to ponder it before Cor uttered that word.


Everything was kind of blurred, as if it was far away, but he could still see it. Even his body and mind seemed far away, as if he was missing something. There was a man in front of him, talking in soothing and gentle tones. He couldn't quite hear the man's words, but he recognized his face and his voice. The man moved slowly, purring gently to him in a way that confused him. He snarled and flinched back from him, roaring in anger at him whenever he came too close. He was confused and conflicted. Part of him told him he had to attack, the other made him pull back in terror at the very idea of hurting this man. What ended up happening was he froze instead.

He roared again, and the door opened suddenly, making Prompto snarl and whirl to face it, stalking forward as he saw a small shape in the door. It was a boy, much smaller than the man, and his mind immediately clicked that this boy was the easier target. The boy shifted nervously at his growling as he drew closer, and he could hear the man's voice become almost panicked as he saw the boy, trying to get him to say something. Prompto got closer, quickly noticing that this boy seemed almost more in focus than anything else. Then a single name came to mind.

Noctis.

The world came crashing into focus, and Prompto was aware who he was growling at and froze, still snarling. Noctis didn't look scared, which scared Prompto more because he could feel that he was still scared, that he needed to attack something and kill it, almost like his mind couldn't suppress the killer urges they had shoved into his head. He wasn't sure how long he could keep himself from leaping onto something, how long he had until he slipped back into the darkness. Noctis's lips set into a tight white line on his face.

"Prompt," he called softly, getting the pup's undivided attention, even if he was snarling at him. "it's me, Noctis. See, I'm okay. Let me help you, please. Just trust me."

There were more people coming, the other children (and a flustered looking Ignis, who had probably been trying to get them to not come down the hallway. They all froze abruptly when they saw the snarling Thunderdog, and that bothered Prompto, somewhere in the back of his mind. His head snapped in their direction and he snarled. Ignis opened his mouth to speak, but paused as Cor began waving him off, pointing silently to Noctis and telling them all to be still and quiet. Slowly, the prince raised a hand and began coming towards the Thunderdog, who took a step back and roared, mentally screaming at them to leave.

He didn't want to hurt them, not again. Couldn't they see this wasn't helping?

"Easy," Noctis said quietly. "its okay." Prompto snarled and turned his head slowly to the boy again, watching him carefully. "I'm not scared of you Prompto, so you don't have to be scared of me. Do you remember my promise? I'm going to keep it. Just trust me."

Noctis was moving closer, within distance that the frozen pup could reach out and snap at him, hurt him again. Every instinct told him that this was what he needed to do. Or was it learned? Could he forget it? He honestly didn't know, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. Cor and the guards at the door had their weapons ready, not wanting to hurt the pup, but knowing they might have to in order to make sure he didn't hurt anyone and make himself more miserable for it. Prompto stared at Noctis, still snarling and showing all of his teeth. It made him look even more terrifying.

"Trust me," Noctis almost seemed to beg.

It was almost comical for Prompto to think about, that this boy who was currently walking up towards a MT currently in its berserk mode and asking it to trust him. Shouldn't he be the one that was scared? When he met his eyes though, he didn't see any fear, just determination. Honestly, Prompto was more touched than ever, especially after he had hurt his best friend so badly. He still trusted him? Prompto knew that he trusted Noctis, but he had never expected for any human to see the worst side of him, the side that humans had created, and still be so desperate to help him and befriend him. The pup just paused, unable to keep from snarling.

However he no longer had to slam down on his need to attack or maim something. No, it was as if somewhere in the back of his head, the place where he was still absolutely terrified, he understood that Noctis was his pack mate and would help him. That he didn't have to be afraid because he would let him know who was his foes and who his friends were. Which was good, because if this happened again, he knew he wouldn't have time to prepare and call forth his light to help him keep his mind in tact, not even a little. He'd have to retrain himself to accept the assurances of his friends instead of the fear in the back of his head. That fear was probably never going to go away, not without many years and lots of hard work.

He was almost surprised to feel Noctis lay his hand against the top part of his nose, touching it gently and carefully. It was a lot of trust to put into Prompto, that he wouldn't freak out and bite him. The pup practically roared his displeasure at the sudden contact at the prince, bristled and ready to strike at any moment. His eyes still retained their beast like traits, nothing gentle or protective about them like they had seen before, and his body did not relax. But it showed that Noctis trusted Prompto too, enough to know that the pup wouldn't tear him apart now that he'd begun making progress. Now that Noctis understood what had happened, he was more than willing to help.

Prompto let out another growl, but his snarl relaxed just slightly under his touch, as if some part of his brain was telling him that he did trust him, and that he wouldn't hurt him. When Prompto didn't move under the touch and didn't attack, all of the humans in the room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and relax a little bit. Noctis gave Prompto a gentle smile, not at all afraid of his friend, and Cor seemed to slowly relax. The only one who didn't completely relax was Prompto, but the pup was also fairly certain that all of the humans in the room (even the soldiers, though they tried to hide it) were giving him rather pitying looks and didn't blame him for it.

"Lux," Cor whispered, not wanting to take any more chances with it.


Prompto immediately felt himself relax, and he could feel his own fear ebb away too as his mind came back to him, as well as his body. As his fur laid down, he let out a whine and stepped back from Notics, only for the boy to follow and throw his hands around his neck, just holding him. Prompto found himself stuck between running and hiding in a corner so that he wouldn't hurt anyone again, or just sitting there and letting his friend give him the comfort he so desperately needed. Cor turned instead to give the children a reproachful look, especially Ignis, who was shifting nervously from foot to foot as if unsure how to react.

"And what did I say about coming here?" Cor asked dangerously.

"We just wanted to see how Prompto was doing," Iris cried in defense of her friends, pouting at the man.

"It was my idea," Noctis said quietly, as if afraid of spooking Prompto. "Ignis was telling us to come back and we didn't listen. So if anyone gets in trouble, it should be me."

Cor turned and looked at the boy, hugging the obviously confused and conflicted pup, but none of the kids really looked like they were upset about what they did or wanted to do it differently. They wanted nothing more than to help their friend. Slowly, the man ran a hand over the top of his head and let out a sigh. When he looked up, his eyes were less severe, but still stern. All of the kids shifted from foot to foot, except for Noctis, who had his head buried in Prompto's chest and wasn't looking up, maybe because he was already waiting for the earful he was about to receive.

"You all know," the man said in a growling tone. "that disobeying a commanding officer can be considered treason, right?" they nodded, and the man looked him over. "Its a good thing I don't pay much attention to that kind of thing. I understand what you were trying to do, and I'm not happy with it, but I understand why. Leaving a comrade behind is never an option. Just make sure next time when you risk your necks, you don't almost get yourselves killed doing it."

The kids were all too relieved about Prompto's slow but steady recovery to really care much about the trouble they were currently in. Noctis just continued to bury his face into the MT's chest, his grip tight enough to tell Prompto that he definitely didn't want to let him go. All of these children, giving him sad smiles, were telling him that they wanted nothing more than to bring any sort of gentleness back to him, that they wanted him to be comfortable with them. Prompto almost wanted to cry right then and there.

Who knew that after all this time, he'd actually have friends?


Sorry for a somewhat lame ending and that I took so long, but I really didn't know what I was wanting to really do with this chapter and it took way too long with vacations and things this summer. Anyway, now that everything is kind of just simmering down I've managed to put this together finally and get it uploaded for you guys (a little later than I thought I would since there's a thunderstorm going on outside and I can't actually post for a while when the storm is happening. Whoops).


Anyway, by the time this chapter would have gone up, I'll have actually started the chapter by the time this one goes up. In the next one we'll see Nyx just a little bit, as well as Cindy and Cid will come in. Obviously Nyx is important but he won't really appear again, and Cindy and Cid will be really important for later in the actual story of where the game starts. Fun! Anyway hope you're enjoying so far!