A/N: This was my favorite chapter to write so far. I love Inertia, my OC, but there's nothing so good as the chocobros. I love exploring the brotherhood between them, and I think it was one of the strongest parts of the game. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 5:

"Are you stoked or what!?"

Prompto slammed the car door behind him, throwing his book bag to the floor of the Audi R8 Star of Lucis. This was his first time actually in Noctis's car; whenever Ignis picked them up, it was in his own car. But even though they were taking the Star, Ignis was still driving, of course. Noctis was sitting in the passenger seat, looking slightly less bored than usual.

"Been waiting for this all day," He mused out the window, eyeing the campus they were temporarily leaving behind. They'd been planning this fishing trip for months. And given that none of them had actually been outside the Crown city, they were all anxious to get going. Even Specs himself.

"Everything in order?" He asked from the driver's seat, and Prompto nodded eagerly, unzipping the backpack and revealing his stash inside. Instead of bringing his books to class today like a normal student, he had stowed away comic books, extra clothes, toilet paper, a lantern, shoes, and snacks, among other things, like his camera. Any time he'd needed to take notes, he'd snapped pictures of the Powerpoint slides on his phone, like every professor had asked him not to on several occasions. He'd never been a model student; why start now?

"Did you take any notes today?" Gladio chastised him from beside him in the backseat, looking up from the book he was reading with a raised eyebrow.

"I've never been a good student, big guy," Prompto shrugged, taking his camera from his bag. "I dunno where these high expectations are coming from."

"Forgive us for having faith in you," Noctis snorted from the front.

"Ye of little faith," Ignis murmured ironically, pulling away from the curb. Prompto's heart raced; they were finally doing it! The fishing trip was bound to be fun on its own, but they were finally gonna see what it was like outside Insomnia's walls, even if only for a weekend. Prompto's sense of adventure overtook him, and he began snapping pictures immediately as soon as they were on the highway, making their way towards the outer limits of the city.

"I can't believe your dad is letting us do this, Noct," Prompto wondered aloud, checking the viewfinder on his camera. He'd taken a good shot of the skyline, even if the lighting wasn't perfect.

:"Me either, actually," Noctis agreed from the front. He sounded tired. "It was Gladio's old man who finally convinced him."

"Woah," Prompto glanced over at Gladio, who was still reading that book. The print was so little, he wondered how he didn't need a magnifying glass. "The Shield convinced the King to let their sons leave the city? How'd he manage that?"

"Very carefully," Ignis's voice. He was surprisingly sassy, something Prompto didn't expect after meeting the Steward the first few times. It still took some getting used to, after all this time.

"Said somethin' about how they took a road trip when they were young," Gladiolus offered. "Said it builds character, and we wouldn't be going far outside the city's walls anyway."

"So where are we going?" Prompto asked, curious. "I know you had a few places in mind, Noct, but where's good fishing that's not far from the Crown city?"

"A little place off the Crestholm Reservoir," He answered plainly, eyeing a map on his phone. "It's just outside the city, but we're gonna head up the shore a ways. Apparently the fishing's better the deeper into the woods you get."

"Did you bring a weapon with you?" Gladiolus turned to Prompto then, and Prompto blinked at him, confused.

"What?" He asked nervously. "Why would I?"

"Lay off him, Gladio," Noctis groaned.

"Daemons come out at night," Gladiolus continued, shrugging his shoulders. "We'll technically be outside city walls, so once the sun sets, there's no telling what we'll find."

"Well yeah, but, isn't that what I've got you guys for?" Prompto laughed anxiously. "I've never held a weapon in my life, dude… wait. Does my camera count?"

"The flash on it may do nicely at warding off any daemons we find," Ignis concurred from the front.

Prompto hadn't thought about it before. Daemons. Everyone knew the stories, and heard the reports that came in from all around Lucis. Once the sun set and the light faded, horrible, twisted creatures came out in the darkness, attacking anyone they could get their claws, talons, jaws, or whatever else on. He'd seen plenty of pictures and videos and of course all the monster movies and stuff, but he'd never seen one for real. Not in person.

He felt a little bit better having his camera, though. Like Ignis said, his flash might come in handy if they ever ran into one. The things feared the light for some reason, which was why they left civilization mostly alone. Insomnia was even more protected, what with the magical barrier maintained by the king's channeling of the Crystal's power. Even so, he hugged his camera to his chest.

They were quiet for awhile, and Prompto didn't mind it so much, listening idly to the radio and looking out the window. He was both comfortable and disquieted, happy to be road tripping with his friends, while simultaneously also feeling like an imposter as he sat there among royalty and nobility, among three guys who were so much better than him. He was a nobody; if he hadn't ever found Luna's puppy all those years ago, he may never have become friends with Noctis, and he may never have had friends ever. His own parents didn't care enough to stick around. Ever since he was a kid, if they weren't working, they were traveling, enjoying the niceties of other places without their only son.

After being a loner his whole life, it was hard to accept that he had friends. That he belonged somewhere. Part of him still worried this was all just some big practical joke, that the three of them would dump him out of the car somewhere outside the city, and drive off, laughing at his broken form.

He didn't think he could survive that.

"Prompto?"

He shook himself out of it, finding Noctis looking back at him a little worriedly.

"You good?" Noctis asked. "Iggy said we're almost at the checkpoint."

Prompto could see Gladio had stopped reading again, and even Ignis was watching him in the rearview mirror.

"Yeah," He assured them. "I'm good."

The first time he met Ignis and Gladiolus, he could tell they didn't like him.

He and Noctis were sitting outside school, looking at comic books together. It had only been since the start of the school year that they'd become friends, but it didn't take long for them to find out their mutual love of comic books. Today was the day they FINALLY brought some of their favorite issues to look at together.

"Dude, this one is a limited edition, limited release!" Prompto held up the work of art, admiring it in the sunlight. "I don't think I've ever seen anything so beautiful in my life. I think I'm gonna cry."

"It's no big deal," Noctis was laughing, flipping through one of the comics Prompto had brought with him. "My dad went to Accordo once for some sorta summit thing, and he brought this back with him."

"Do you know how many people would KILL for this thing?" Prompto gushed. "I wish my dad would bring me back a comic half as good as thing whenever he went outta town."

"Your folks go outta town a lot, huh?" Noctis asked. He wasn't rude about it, he was genuinely curious. Prompto didn't mind it.

"All the time," He shrugged. "I stopped asking questions back in grade school." He handed the comic back to Noctis, afraid his greasy hands were unworthy of touching it. Like somehow he'd damage it just by breathing on it. "I guess your old man travels a lot too, huh? Being the King and all?"

"Not so much," Noctis shook his head, handing Prompto back his comic. "Not ever since I got hurt when I was a kid."

"Oh, you mean back when you stayed in Tenebrae?" Prompto wondered. Noctis seemed surprised.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" He asked him. Prompto didn't realize it was something not everyone knew.

"It was all over the news when you got attacked," Prompto offered gently. "I was always watching TV since my parents weren't ever home…so…"

"Oh." Was all Noctis had to say. Prompto swallowed, suddenly uncomfortable. Had he spoken out of place? Noctis's standing as royalty had never really been an issue between them. He hoped it would pass, and they could laugh about it later.

"That's when you met Luna, huh?" Prompto asked. Noctis had trusted him enough to tell him about their friendship; he even let him see the book they shared back and forth to share messages with one another whenever Umbra came around. He hadn't let him read the messages of course, but Prompto appreciated him showing him the outside of it just the same. Noctis was the first friend he ever had; this was the first secret Prompto had shared with anybody. It made him feel better about himself, like maybe he deserved this friendship after all.

"Yeah, it was," Noctis smiled, and suddenly they weren't so uncomfortable anymore.

"Did I ever tell you I met her puppy Pryna once?" Prompto asked suddenly, and Noctis choked back his surprise.

"Did you really?" He wondered. Prompto nodded.

"She got hurt and I found her after school one day," Prompto knocked his shoes against the stone wall they were seated on. He'd never told anybody this before. "I didn't know her name was Pryna, of course… I called her Tiny." He looked out towards the students all meandering on the campus, remembering his time with the white ball of fur. "I still think I like Tiny better."

"What happened then?" Noctis asked.

"She ran away," Prompto pouted. "Luna ended up writing me a letter thanking me for healing her afterwards… but still… I always wanted a dog after that."

"Yeah, Umbra and Pryna have always been good at taking care of themselves," Noctis laughed. It was nice they could share things like this. They had more in common than Prompto realized. Still, he didn't mention how Luna had asked him to befriend Noctis. Something about that felt private. Maybe he could tell him later.

"Noct!" They both looked up when they heard the shout, and Prompto could see a car pulled to the curb at the edge of campus.

A bespectacled young man sat in the driver's seat, and a big, burly guy sat hanging halfway out the passenger window, looking expectantly at Noctis. They looked to be older than them; they looked cool. Prompto gathered his comics clumsily, trying to shove them back in his bag. He would hurry away and out of sight so he didn't distract Noctis from whatever royal duties had had to tend to.

"Where are you going?" Noctis asked him, grabbing his arm. "C'mon." He hurried him to the sidewalk, making him look around nervously.

"What?" Prompto tried to think of an excuse to get away. "I bet you've got more important things to do…"

"No, it's cool," Noctis assured him. "They might seem uptight but they love comic books too, I bet they'd love to see yours."

Before he knew it, they were standing at the side of the car, and Prompto was shifting nervously from foot to foot.
"Prompto, this is Ignis," He gestured to the guy with glasses in the front seat, "And that's Gladio." The big guy looked at him, bored. "My Steward and my Shield," he offered sarcastically.

"'Sup," Gladio nodded at him.

"A pleasure," Ignis offered plainly.

"Guys, Prompto has some pretty cool comics you've gotta see," Noctis looked at Prompto expectantly, waiting for him to open his bag and share them with his friends. Gladio interrupted them before he could.

"Sorry, Highness," Gladio shook his head. "We gotta get you back to the Citadel. Your dad wants to see you."

"Now?" Noctis groaned. "What did I do this time?"

"Perhaps it has something to do with your midterm examinations," Ignis adjusted his glasses on his nose, tapping the steering wheel impatiently. "Best you get it over with, yes?"

"Fine," Noctis trudged towards the back seat, opening the door.

"Prompto, need a ride home?" He offered. Prompto blinked at him. Shit.

Noctis knew his parents were never home, and he knew they weren't old enough to drive yet, but he'd never told him he walked an hour to and from school each day because he had nobody else to rely on. He also didn't particularly want Noctis's friends to know he lived in a small house on the East side of town, far away from any noble upbringing with which they were acquainted. He fumbled for a lie, anything.

"N-no, I'm good," He shouldered his bag, shuffling away from the car towards school. "I-I just remembered I left something in my locker. You go on ahead."

"Sure," Noctis waved, and the other two eyed him suspiciously as he stumbled back towards the campus. But they didn't wait long; they drove off not too long after, just as Prompto had raced up the steps towards school.

"Phew," He let out a sigh of relief, hopping over the railing and starting the long walk towards home. The Steward and the Shield… they didn't seem to like him very much, did they?

"Long day," Prompto heaved a sigh, throwing his arm over his face. He was laying on the forest floor, face towards the night sky. The sun had set, and the fishing had been good. He'd never fished before, but Noctis was a good teacher. It was the most passionate he'd seen Noctis about anything since they'd become friends back in high school. Ignis and Gladiolus were pitching the tent for the night, and he and Noctis had started the fire. They had a few lanterns set up around their campsite, and Prompto hoped in the back of his mind it would be enough if any daemons decided to show up.

"Good day," Noctis agreed with a smile. He'd caught more fish than anyone, and Ignis had fried some of it for dinner. Whatever the spices were that he used, it was delicious. He'd never had Ignis's cooking before, but Noctis had raved how good it was. He hadn't disappointed.

"Where'd you pick up fishing, Noct?" Prompto wondered aloud, watching the Steward and the Shield fight with the tent. Gladio was hammering a peg into the ground while Ignis struggled with a flap that was blowing in the breeze. It was hitting him in the face, and he tried not to laugh.

"Just something my dad taught me," Noctis answered lazily, stoking the fire. "I was holed up in the Citadel for most of my life, but when I got hurt and stayed in Tenebrae, my dad decided to show me how to fish. Helped pass the time when Luna wasn't around."

"How'd you get so good at it?" Prompto asked seriously. "I mean you came back from Tenebrae eventually."

"We had a garden at the palace," Noctis shrugged. "There was a pretty big pond."

"No way," Prompto laughed. "You fished out of that?"

"The cooks could never figure out why their fish kept disappearing," Noctis chuckled.

"Explains a lot," Prompto agreed. He drummed his stomach, looking up at the stars. One thing about city life was you could never see all the stars in the sky because of all the light pollution. While he preferred that to the alternative of fighting daemons off every time the sun set, he thought, maybe if the world weren't such an ugly place after dark, he might like to spend more time under the stars.

"Hey, Noct," He asked suddenly, thinking back to all the times they'd skirted around his time in Tenebrae.

"What's up?" Noctis asked lazily.

"What was it like?" Prompto was quiet, and hoped he wasn't being too forward. "When you got attacked by that Marilith?"

Noctis was quiet for a minute, and for a second, Prompto was worried he'd upset him.

"It was terrifying," Noctis's voice was barely above a whisper. Prompto propped himself up on an elbow, listening intently. "I've never been so scared before in my life, honestly."

"How'd you get away?" Prompto listened to the crackling of the fire, the only other noise the sound of his uneven breathing. Even Ignis and Gladiolus were quiet now. They'd gotten the tent up, but they were nowhere to be seen.

"My dad," He could practically hear the smile in Noctis's voice. "He saved me."

"But… after you got hurt?" Prompto asked.

"Yeah, after I got hurt," He confirmed for him. "My dad wasn't in the same car as me… I was riding with a woman who worked at the Citadel…" His voice faltered. "She didn't make it. I don't even remember her name."

"It's not your fault, Noct," Prompto said seriously. "You were just a kid."

"I know," Noctis sounded defeated. He said he knew it wasn't his fault, but Prompto wasn't sure he believed it. "But I think about how my dad saved me, and how he saves people all the time, and I sometimes wonder if I could ever live up to that." He clenched a fist. "I mean, I almost died. I was weak."

"I couldn't imagine ever having a burden like that," Prompto tried to comfort him.

"It still hurts sometimes," Noctis said, referring to his injury. "Even now."

"I mean, you suffered a spinal cord injury, right?" Prompto asked. They'd never actually said it out loud. Noctis didn't answer, but he could see him nod. "It's a miracle you're even alive." Noctis didn't say anything for a minute, and Prompto wondered if maybe he'd fallen asleep. In all his wondering, he started to nod off himself.

"Prompto," Noctis's voice surprised him.

"Yeah, what'd I miss?" He asked blearily.

"I'm not supposed to tell anybody, but…" Noctis's voice trailed off.

"Huh?" Prompto tried to encourage him.

"Well, it looks like the empire wants to take Lucis," Noctis began. "They offered my dad a peace treaty, and he's thinking about it."

"What? For real?" Prompto gaped. Lucis was gonna become part of the empire? INSOMNIA was gonna be a part of Niflheim?

"Yeah, and one of the conditions is that I marry Luna," Noctis continued.

"No way!" Prompto grew excited. "That's, like, a dream come true!"

"Yeah, maybe…" Noctis smiled. "But, I gotta have a retinue with me if we go through with it. I was wondering if you'd wanna be a part of it?"

"What, with Specs and Muscles?" Prompto asked, laughing both because he could hardly imagine Gladio fitting in a tuxedo for a wedding, and partly because of the shock at it all. Did Noctis really hold him in as high regard as he did Ignis and Gladiolus?

"Yeah, with Specs and Muscles," Noctis laughed. "Wherever they got off to."

"Currently fighting with our sleeping arrangements, Your Highness!" Prompto could hear Ignis's voice ring out from inside the tent, and it made them both laugh.

"Seriously, though, I couldn't imagine having anyone else with me," Noctis rose then, dusting off his pants. "Can you imagine me putting up with those two on my own?"

"You did it for years, Noct!" Gladio called out from inside the tent. Prompto beamed in spite of himself.

"Yeah, man, I'd love to," Prompto said finally. The kid in him wanted to cry, he was so happy. The 20 year-old struggled to bury the overwhelming emotion.

"Don't get sappy on me," Noctis kicked his foot, and Prompto laughed. "I'm gonna go get some more firewood. Hold down the fort, ok?"

"You got it," Prompto watched him walk off. "I'll keep your Steward and Shield in line!"

"That'll be the day," Gladiolus snapped through the tent. Prompto snickered, raising his camera to his face, opening the view finder. He wanted to take a look through the pictures he'd taken that day, and maybe get rid of any of the ones that weren't as good. Noctis really wanted him to be a part of his wedding? Like, a best man or something? At the very least Prompto could throw him a bachelor party. It would be the first time Noctis got to have fun like a normal guy, not like the King everyone expected him to be. And it was an excuse for Prompto to look at lots of hot girls. Maybe touch them, if he was lucky.

He heard a few leaves rustle, and a twig snapped somewhere nearby.

"Noct, come check this out," He didn't look up from his camera, zooming in on a shot he'd taken earlier of Noctis fishing, and his face was a real trip. When he didn't hear an answer, Prompto looked up to find nobody there.

"Noct?" He asked again, sitting himself up. "You're gonna kill me if you see this picture."

The night wasn't quiet for very long. For a moment, it seemed almost peaceful, the fire burning against the darkness of the still night, the leaves rustling lightly in the evening breeze. The next, a horrible, twisted thing had dropped itself from the trees above, letting out a scream so shrill Prompto could feel it in his teeth, and it made his blood run cold.

"What the shit!?" He screeched, trying to back up, scraping his hands on the rocks beneath him. The thing was grotesque, some spider-esque, six-legged creature that towered above him, dancing on six legs that curled unnaturally towards him, reaching for him, trying to wrap him up in its cold embrace. Upon its arachnid body sat a feminine bodice, at the base of which sat a gaping mouth whose teeth were snapping at his feet. Her face was laughing at his terror, her eyes stopping his heart in his throat, and Prompto was terrified to find he could back up no further, for he'd reached the edge of the small embankment they were camped on. Either let the thing snatch him up, or risk falling down below and hitting his head on the jetty beneath. The thing was closing in on him, and he could feel all the hope in him fading away. It was almost suffocating, the way it sucked the life out the air. He wondered if this was how Noct felt when he got attacked by that Marilith all those years ago.

"Prompto, get back!" He instinctively covered his face as a huge form erupted out of nowhere, crashing down on the thing before him, making it scream in protest. Gladio looked back at him, shouldering his Greatsword.

"Can't look after yourself, camera boy?" He asked with a laugh.

"Take cover, Prompto!" Ignis's glasses sparkled in the dying firelight, his daggers glinting in the light. "We'll take it from here."

"Right," Prompto scrambled to his feet, trying desperately to get away from the edge of the embankment. Knowing his luck, he'd get knocked over the side of it and onto the jetty below in seconds.

He watched in awe as Ignis seemed to in one place, and then another, coming at the creature with daggers in hand. They lit aflame, tearing at her flesh with marked precision, and she screamed, swatting him away with one of her extra legs. Ignis was knocked back into a tree, his glasses falling from his face.

"Specs!" Gladio hollered. He charged at it, bringing his massive weapon up over his head about to strike again. Enraged, the daemon slashed him across the chest, sending him to his knees, the wind knocked from his lungs. Prompto panicked, running forward to try to help his friends to their feet. But the hideous creature was in his way, and he had no weapon to defend himself. Until he noticed his camera sitting on the forest floor. Scratched, but in tact.

"Got it!" Prompto raced for it, dodging a swing of the thing's legs by sliding onto his knees, something he'd only seen baseball players do in ninth innings. Luckily, amazingly, he got his hands on the camera, fumbling with the strap and trying desperately to find the shutter release button. Just as she screamed and reached for him, he found it, snapping a picture in her ruined face, enveloping the clearing in a massive flash of light.

She screamed again, temporarily blinded by the flash of his camera.

Laughing the only way a man laughs when he's near death, Prompto snapped another shot, and another, rendering the thing helpless as Gladio and Ignis got to their feet.

"Eat it, you son of a bitch!" Gladio charged it again, slicing his Greatsword through the air. It reeled as it took the blow, cowering back. Ignis was on his feet again in no time, coming at it from behind. Her screams filled the otherwise silent night, and Prompto hoped he didn't run out of memory any time soon, continuing to snap shots and, more importantly, blinding her with the light of his camera.

A blue streak of light appeared overhead, and Prompto could only watch in awe as Noctis dropped down from below onto the thing with massive force, driving his blade into her arachnoid body. With a final wail, her legs collapsed from under her, and Noctis twisted his sword through her abdomen, emptying her contents onto the ground below. Heaving for breath, the four of them looked on at the dying creature, taking in her features as she twitched her final movements, succumbing to her injuries as the boys looked on, shocked and confused.

"Woohoohoo!" Prompto erupted into cheers. "We're alive! Let's celebrate by eating something dead!"
"How can you be hungry again?" Gladio asked, dropping his sword. "We just ate."

"Near death experiences make me hungry," Prompto looked sheepish, hugging his camera to his chest.

They were quiet then, staring at the thing that had infiltrated their campsite.

"And to think I was only kidding about the flash of your camera," Ignis pondered. The four of them laughed aloud then, laughed at the joy of being alive, and also because it was kind of, actually, ironically funny.

"Guess we better move camp, huh?" Noctis asked finally. They nodded, readying to gather their gear.

"There was a station closer towards the main road," Ignis offered. "Several streetlights illuminating the area."

"Good idea, Iggy," Gladio agreed. "Now we just gotta fight with the tent again."

The two stalked off, readying themselves to take down the tent again. Noctis clapped Prompto on the shoulder, flashing him a smile.

"See, Prompto?" He asked. "You fit in just fine."