Together, Noctis and Prompto stepped out of the room, walking deeper into the facility. At first it looked completely empty, not a soul in sight, but as they rounded the corner, they stopped in their tracks.

An MT was patrolling in the middle of the hallway. Thankfully it hadn't noticed them, and Prompto took the chance to fire three shots of it before the soldier dropped to the ground dead.

"Here," Prompto said as he picked up the MT's gun. "It's better than nothing, right?"

"Yeah," Noctis said. He wasn't going to complain as he took the gun, even if it was his least favorite weapon to use.

The two eventually came to the end of the hallway. The door opened and it led to another long passageway with a large window to the left. They walked over and peered into what the other room was, seeing that it was filled with machines and idle MTs.

There was a quick gasp from Prompto. "Shit… Was he telling the truth about this place?"

"Guess so. But if this place is loaded with MTs, we need to be careful. Last thing we need is for all those things to go active," Noctis replied.

"Right. Yeah, that would be really bad. So note to ourselves, stay away from that room."

Continuing down the hall, Noctis saw shelves lined up before the next door. He moved closer, seeing if there was anything worthwhile there. His eyes soon fell to another tape recorder, just like the one they had found before.

"Think it's another one from that Verstael guy?" Prompto asked as he came up beside him.

"Only one way to find out," Noctis said before hitting play.

"Research log: Year 722, Day 294. I acted on the proposal mentioned in my log of Day 189. My attempts to infuse the troopers' magitek cores with daemonic energy proved successful. Only in the most basic sense, however. While the soldiers are indeed deathless, they are far from fit for fighting. Thus, I've decided to take a different approach: rather than relying on daemons to power the magitek infantry, why not use humans instead? Frankly, I had never considered employing my fellow man in any magitek related experiments. But countless men and women succumb to the plasmodia each day. Rather than let them die victims of an ignominious disease, why not help them ascend to nobler heights? I've lost many a comrade on the field of battle, and I've no intention of allowing any more of their deaths to go in vain."

Prompto and Noctis waited a few moments after the tape ending, letting the sound die down around them. It was so quiet in th at moment they practically could hear each other breathing.

"How could he even think of using those innocent people for his twisted experiments?" Prompto asked, finally breaking the silence.

Noctis shook his head. "I don't know… but it's really sick."

Noctis didn't want to say it aloud, but he had a feeling they were going to find more tapes. The more tapes they found, the more of Verstael Besithia would be revealed. That was something Noctis wasn't sure they would be ready for. He could already tell Prompto was really off put by the entire concept of what the crazed man had done.

"Come on, let's keep going," Noctis said as he nudged Prompto along.

In the next hallway, another MT came walking down from another direction. Both boys ducked behind a small area that would hide them both.

"Can't let them find us. We need to try and sneak up on it," Prompto stated.

"So what do you suggest?"

"I'll go for a stealth-kill."

"You sure?"

Prompto gave a nod. "Yeah. You know I got this."

Noctis smiled at Prompto's returning optimistic attitude. "I know you do. Alright. I'll wait, you go."

Prompto snuck ahead, turning the corner after the MT. There was a moment where Noctis held his breath until he heard the metal crash to the floor.

Prompto came back around the bend and waved for Noctis to follow. "Got another gun. Submachine gun is pretty good."

"Of course you know your guns." Noctis laughed softly.

"Yeah, but none are as great as these guns," Prompto said as he pumped his muscles.

Noctis couldn't help but let out a louder laugh. Even in the toughest situations, Prompto could truly find a shining light in anything. He could find a way to make others smile and laugh, and right now Noctis knew the two of them needed it.

Suddenly, Prompto moved closer to a bench and picked up something. "Okay… this is getting weird. Do you think Ardyn is just laying these out for us?"

"Why do you think he'd do that?"

"Cause why else would a high ranking scientist dude just leave his very important research logs scattered throughout this place?" Prompto asked. "Doesn't make much sense for him to be messy when he was able to make MTs and stuff…"

"We can figure out the how of it later, but what's this one got for us?"

With a press of the button, the two listened carefully for what would be said. Soon enough, Verstael Besithia's voice was heard, crackling through.

"Research log: Year 722, Day 339. Another day, another mental breakdown. All my tests so far have resulted in the former soldiers suffering ego deaths. Today, however, I developed a new hypothesis: I will continue to sublimate daemonified humans to harvest the miasma, but, if a sense of self is the source of these snags, why not inject infants with the plasmodia instead? We've little time. If we are to combat the Lucian threat, we must explore new options. I, too, will set aside my personal misgivings and do what I must for the empire."

Noctis could see Prompto growing paler throughout the entire log. "What kind of a maniac experiments on kids?"

"The kind that decided experimenting with daemons is a good idea," Noctis replied.

"It's just sick! This guy is totally sick."

Noctis placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder, hoping it was enough to calm him. "Ready to keep going?"

"Yeah, the sooner we're out of here the better. Everything about this place gives me the creeps."

"You can say that again."

Moving forward, they took out any MTs that they happened to run across. They moved further through the hallways and rooms, both of them keeping an eye out for anything that could get the jump on them.

They even cleared out a larger room that had been filled with different ranks of MTs. While tiresome, it did supply them with more gun types to pick from. They made sure to gather up as many grenades as they could and distributed them between the two of them.

When they got to the end of yet another long corridor, they walked up and opened the sliding doors, and this time it led outside. A gush of cold air rushed in to meet them, followed by the bright light that reflected off the snow.

"Guess we're getting somewhere now, right?" Prompto asked.

"Somewhere at least. Come on."

As they walked down the snowy cliffside path, Prompto slowed down to look at the mountain range. He sighed as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Wish I could get my camera out… this is probably one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen."

"Yeah," Noctis agreed. "It's really nice. Maybe we can find whatever is causing the armiger to be inaccessible. You should get those pictures whenever you want."

"Despite this being, well, you know Niflheim, this view makes everything feel at least a little better."

Noctis could agree with that. There was something rather tranquil about the snow covered mountains that seemed to stretch on for miles. If there wasn't a need to escape and find their way to Ignis and Gladio, he knew he wouldn't mind sitting here to watch the view with Prompto.

But, like with everything else they had done, they needed to move on. The pathway led to another building, with the sliding door opening up to yet again another passway that was just as long as the last. Though, when they reached the end of this one, they entered a room that looked like a lounge.

"Well, looks like we can relax here a bit. And look!" Prompto pointed to the corner of the room. "Why does the Empire seem to have Ebony vending machines in every hallway and room? I swear I saw like, seven back in the other section."

"Better not let Ignis know, or he'll raid the entire place," Noctis commented with a chuckled. A short pang hit his heart afterwards, knowing Ignis wasn't there to make a comment about his joke.

Thankfully, Prompto nudged him in the arm, pulling him from the sad thoughts. "Come on, I bet there's more weird crap for us to find here."

"Yeah, let's see what there is."

As they walked further into the room, the first thing Noctis noticed was a large document on one of the benches. Looking at it, it talked about how the different types of MTs were marked, with two different types of barcodes.

"Huh, so they all have barcodes?" Noctis asked aloud. "Never noticed before."

"A-Ah, yeah? Guess it's not something you look for."

There was something off about his tone. Something that wasn't Prompto's usual resolve. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he kept it in the back of his mind.

"What else do we have here?" Prompto asked quickly as he moved about the room. "Some more research stuff? Books and notebooks?"

"Seems like it," Noctis said as he looked on one of the shelfs. "And hey, another tape recording."

"Geez, what's the creep going to say this time?"

"Research log: Year 723, Day 70. I pondered how I might find the necessary number of infants, and then it dawned on me: why not make them myself? If I clone them from my own genes, I can eliminate the pesky process of breeding them. Mass production remains a pipe dream for now, but I'm confident I can create a massive infantry once the process picks up. If everything goes according to plan, the empire will boast a million-man army in no time at all."

Prompto placed a hand over his mouth. "All this time, those things we've been fighting have been…"

Noctis swallowed heavily. "That's… is he really that demented? He would do that to himself?"

"At this point we shouldn't put anything up for questioning about this guy. He's clearly insane!" Prompto exclaimed.

"If this guy is still alive, we're going to have to make sure he won't do crap like this ever again!" Noctis stated firmly as he placed the tape down.

After a little more looking around the room, Noctis saw Prompto huddled down by some boxes, another tape recorder in his hands.

"Another one?" Noctis asked as he squatted down next to his friend.

"Yeah."

"Going to play it?"

Prompto opened his mouth, hesitating slightly. "I'm afraid of what horrifying thing we'll learn next."

Reaching over, Noctis placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder. "Whatever he says, we will find a way to move on. We've already come this far."

"You're right. Should just get this over with," Prompto said as he clicked the button.

"Research log: Year 736, Day 123. It seems my laboratory is not nearly as secure as I once believed. Some thief―likely a Lucian―made off with one of my experiments. Absconding with a single infant will do nothing to enlighten them of the grandeur of my research. That said, I will see to it such an incident never arises again. I've posted magitek troopers around the facility and instructed them to keep a vigilant watch. It is their home, after all."

Prompto dropped the tape recorder out of his hands, his face pale and eyes wide. "The kingdom k-kidnapped one of those infants?"

"Prompto?" Noctis asked, trying to get his attention. "Prom? What's wrong?"

"No way… there's just no way…"

"Prom!" Noctis shouted. He could see that Prompto was falling into another panic attack. He wasn't about to let his friend suffer again, even if he didn't understand the reason.

Placing one hand on his back, the other titled Prompto's face towards him. "Hey, stay with me, okay? Deep breaths. Count with me, okay?"

Prompto nodded as his eyes began to water. "I-I'll try."

"Okay, ready? One… two… three?"

Prompto breathed and counted with him, and eventually his breath slowed down to normal. He sighed as he slumped against the boxes, staring down at the floor.

"Thanks, Noct. It helped."

"You know I'll always be there to help, but what was that about?"

Prompto fidgeted slightly and wrapped a hand around his wrist. It was always a nervous tick he had, even all the way back in high school. Reaching over, Noctis placed a hand on top of Prompto's, causing him to flinch and yank his arm back.

"S-Sorry. I just… that last one. I don't like it."

"Why not? Come on Prom, you know you can tell me whatever it is."

Prompto shook his head. "I don't… don't think I can."

"Why not? Can't you trust me?"

Prompto lowered his head. "I don't want you to hate me."

"Prompto…" Noctis reached out, placing his hand on Prompto's face. Slowly, he looked up to meet Noctis in the eyes. "You know I'd never hate you. You're the best friend I got. No matter what it is, I'll be here."

"Promise?"

"I'll chocobo promise, how's that?"

He managed to get a small laugh from Prompto. "Okay… yeah. I'll tell you. Just please, listen to me first."

Slowly Prompto reached out to grab onto his right sleeve. He then breathed in before he started yanking the fabric back. When he stopped, Noctis looked down and saw what usually was always covered up by wristbands or banands. It was a barcode. One that was strikingly similar to the ones shown in the infographic for labeling the different MTs.

"Prompto? This is…?"

"I swear Noct, I never knew!" Prompto shouted frantically. "I never knew any of this. All I knew was that I was adopted, most likely a Niflheim refugee. I was told to keep the barcode covered and to never let anyone know about it. But even I didn't know! I was in the dark my whole life, wondering what it meant! Now I know I'm just a fucking experiment!"

Noctis's heart ached as he saw Prompto on the verge of breaking down. Honestly, he didn't care about the barcode or Prompto's origins. Prompto was just Prompto, and that was what mattered to him. He only hoped he could get that through to him and help him understand.

"That doesn't matter to me. You're more than that. You're better than that. You're Prompto."

"Yeah, Prompto who was going to become a stupid fucking MT that you would have murdered without a second glance."

"Prom. Don't be like that. You got lucky. You were saved."

"But I'm still… I'm just…"

"You are just Prompto," Noctis said firmly. "You are Prompto and that's all that matters."

There was a small sniffle that escaped Prompto. "Even if… I was meant to be-"

"You weren't meant to be an MT. You were saved so you could be Prompto. That's who you were and are meant to be: Prompto."

Prompto exhaled sharply. "So you're not mad? Mad that I'm actually from Niflheim?"

"No, I'm not. It doesn't matter where you came from. I just lo-," the words twisted up in his mouth.

He came so close to saying the truth, he hadn't even realized it. He wanted to make sure Prompto knew he was cared for and loved though. He wanted to let Prompto know that he would still be loved no matter what they discovered about him.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to express himself here… just a little, at least.

"I love you the way you are, Prom. I wouldn't trade you for anything in all of Eos."

"R-Really?"

"Really, I wouldn't. You were the first person to treat me as a friend. You just treated me as Noct, not Prince Noctis or Your Highness. I was just Noct to you, and I couldn't be more thankful for it."

With a loud sob, Prompto latched onto Noctis. He could feel Prompto shaking in his arms, but he held on as tightly as he could. Resting his head against Prompto's, he breathed in slowly and deeply, hoping Prompto would hear it and soon follow after.

"Thanks, Noct. I really needed to hear that," Prompto whispered.

"Of course. Like you always say, ever at your side."