The MTs were surrounding your group. There were at least two drop ships worth still. You had lost count of just how many there were. It had been smart, the entourage of the Prince calling in backup for this hunt. There had been a rumor about increased Empire presence in the area. Little did they know just how true that rumor was. It seemed now that the idea that the Empire knew what the four in the royal retinue were up to was becoming fact. The Empire knew that the Prince was after the Royal Arms.
The idea sent a chill down your spine, and you shook it off as another MT filled the empty space where one had dropped before you. You pulled your kukri from the dead MT and brandished it at the new one.
You were part of the Crownsguard. Or what was left of it. Cor had asked you personally to join in on the hunt when he was approached by Gladio and Ignis for their aid. Cor, you, Monica, and three others that you knew only in passing. They were well known hunters pitched in for the cause with Dave Aburnbie's own recommendation. You had seen them around Meldacio HQ when Cor had called you in on a few different hunts and assists with them in the past.
As a Crownsguard, you had gotten to know the four "chocobros," as Prompto lovingly called themselves, a fair amount over the three years you'd been in the Crownsguard. Not super in depth, but you'd had rather lively conversations with them and even had shared a dance with Prince Noctis at a ball thrown for his nineteenth birthday.
At the time, you had been super nervous. He was the only one you'd always been stand-offish with. It was the Prince of Lucis, of all people. Of course, you'd been nervous. But he had always waved off his royal status as simple formalities. If only you had been allowed to let that change your demeanor to him. You were honor bound to serve him and the kingdom of Lucis as a royal. Despite the few times you had relaxed around him and liked him all the more for it, he was still the prince, now the king, of Lucis. And you had a royal duty to uphold. Now, however –
You didn't know where you stood with the Prince. Or with his friends. You would serve Lucis until the end. That you did know, outcome of the Empire's antics be damned. But were you allowed to actually be friends with the Prince and his retainers? They certainly wanted to be. And oh how you wanted to be.
They were all the things you liked. They loved video games, anime, movies. They loved manga, novels, good food, games, and friendship. They weren't afraid to take in the moment when they could. You loved that the most about them.
"Y/N 7 o'clock!" Cor roared out.
You ducked just in time and twirled your kukri, lodging it into the MT coming up behind you. You really needed to focus. It had just been a long day, and what felt like an even longer fight. You'd been out here most of the day and it was coming on sundown soon. Somehow you all would have to find a break in the fighting and get out of here.
"Noct!" a voice called out in alarm. Ignis. That was Ignis calling out.
You scanned the battlefield and realized you were close to the Prince. He was fighting, or trying to fight three MTs simultaneously. He was being pinned down. You could get to him. You knew you could.
You tossed your kukri into the air and hurled it toward the fray, lodging itself into one of the MT's heads.
"Nice one, Y/N!" Prompto called out. He took out the second MT with a shot to the head, leaving Noctis finally open to take out the third by lopping off its head with his Engine blade.
Noctis nodded in your direction, thanking you. You nodded back, smiling quickly before taking on another MT who had noted your availability. How nice of it.
It was a loud battle, and another drop ship came while you were fighting, offloading a bannerman and some dangerous assassins this time.
You noted that the Prince was very close to where the new additions had dropped including the fact that he probably hadn't noticed, once again surrounded by two MTs this time. They are really gunning for him, you thought.
You finished your own MT off and made your way toward him, noting that he still was engaging the two MTs and had taken no hint that any more had arrived. You had to get there. Fast.
You started running, calling out to Cor and the others to notice the mass of MTs targeting the Prince. King. Dammit, there were other times for that distinction.
You spied an MT pulling out what looked like a bolt in a firing contraption and began calling out the Prince's name. Desperately, you threw your kukri but missed.
"Highness!"
You flung yourself across the field, barely making it in time as you saw the assassin raise the bolt and fire. You turned your body, twisting it in the air to face Prince Noctis, embracing him, protecting him, and noticed the pure shock in his face as you appeared in his line of sight. Everything slowed down and sped up in that fraction of a second.
You took in his face, his shock, but also how amazing he looked, standing there covered in dirt, grime, and battle sweat. You took in his clothes, torn and bloody with scrapes up and down his arms from the many, many close calls he'd had.
You also took in the pain of the bolt, hitting your back at 120 miles per hour and exploding into your middle, then exiting through your abdomen, impaling you. And to your horror, still driving forth at amazing speed and entering the Prince's abdomen and exiting his back, a spring loaded cartridge exploding and expanding the bolt into a grappling hook, that latched onto Noctis, pulling him forward into you, impaling you together on the same line, which now exploded in electricity and voltage.
You crashed into each other, and the electricity sent you both to your knees, you awkwardly falling into Noctis and the both of you convulsing from the charge together. There was spittle falling from Noct's lips. You felt your own being convulsing, no control whatsoever of where you were and what you were doing.
Then the electricity stopped and the two of you slumped in on one another, falling to the side, still impaled by the grappling hook that was now lodging itself into Noct's back as you felt the assassin pull on the hook, like some sick fishing line that had a prize catch.
"Noct! Y/N! Someone get to them!" There was crashing and the sounds of battle seemed to increase around you as the pull tightened and you both began to slowly slide across the slick grass.
Both you and Noctis gasped at the force of the pull, and now there was a new sensation. Noctis groaned audibly, spittle still bubbling from his mouth only now in pink tints. It was sapping his magic. You didn't have any magic to lose, but you still felt energy drain from you as though someone was sucking the life force from you through a straw.
The bolt was taut through both you and Noctis. And as the assassin pulled on the hook, pulling you both ever closer to him to finish you both off, you realized that neither you nor Noctis could do anything. You were utterly spent, the pain erupting through your and his highness' middles and still suffering from the bout of electricity, twitching and convulsing from time to time, staring into each other's eyes wildly and full of pain. That was all you could register. Pain and fear.
There were more shouts around you and the crash of an uptick in battle as your comrades raced to get to you and finish off the assassins. The line was taut and pulling you ever along. Just as you thought it would never stop, the line snapped, and suddenly, Noctis and you were left half flung over each other on the battlefield.
"Noct!" That voice was Gladio's, you were distantly aware. She heard Cor, Ignis, and Prompto as well as the others in there. But they were all yelling, and it was hard to keep up.
You gasped for air, like a fish out of water and couldn't seem to get a breath. You felt something spilling from your mouth but you didn't understand anything except for the taste of iron.
You were vaguely aware of people standing over you now, seemingly yelling at you. But it was as if the volume had been turned off and you could no longer make out any voices. Everything was just scattered white noise.
"Y/N," Noctis whispered. You caught the voice and clung to it. "Why?" That was all he could get out. All Noctis could muster. He was still staring into your eyes, and you did all you could to just remain in the moment without sliding off the world.
"Stay with us, Noct. Y/N, you must stay awake," Ignis' voice floated in on what felt like a breeze blowing your hair back slightly. Your ponytail had come undone. Your hair must be a mess.
"We have to move them," someone said. "We cannot stay here. More drop ships are incoming."
"We must separate them first," another said.
"We do that, and they'll bleed out."
Neither you nor Noctis could follow the conversation or who was speaking. You both locked onto each other's gaze. One wondering why, the other wondering why he could ever ask such a thing. It was obvious why.
Suddenly everything seemed to happen at once. Noctis and you both cried out loudly when you were lifted simultaneously off the ground and moved. It did not feel good. It didn't feel right.
"Get – out of me," you moaned.
"We cannot remove it yet." A simple yet warm voice said. It was comforting but in the moment, you felt like the world around you was shifting and you would slide off the end of it. Your vision tunneled. Your hearing fuzzed out.
Noctis' eyes were sightless, you noted from what felt like a great distance. You tried to reach out to him. You found Noct's hand and squeezed. He seemed to gain some sight and his gaze landed solidly on you. He squeezed back. I'm here, he seemed to say through the pain. I'm still here.
"Can't – go," you gasped out. "Stay – with me."
You still couldn't seem to get a breath and began to cough. Small droplets of red landed on Noct's face. You were appalled at yourself.
"I think it may have punctured her lung," that same warm voice said.
"Lift them into the back of the truck slowly. We must get back to HQ."
"Will they make it to HQ?"
"We should really separate them."
"Unless you feel like doing field surgery, we'll lose one or both of them if we do."
"She's not looking so hot."
"I can't believe she did that."
"Can't believe it went through both of them."
"We must get moving, or they won't make it."
"Y/N, you did a fine job, protecting your king."
You snorted and then wished severely that you hadn't. It caused your little breaths to hitch and more coughing ensued. "Didn't – didn't work." You finally grated wheezily through gritted teeth. "Still got him."
"The intention was there," Cor's voice swam into her recognition. "You have made me proud."
You groaned, and your vision tunneled again. Noctis was panting now, he seemed to be in a new realm of pain. His eyes glazed over and he seemed to become listless, almost boneless quite suddenly.
"Let's go. We need to move now!"
The bumpiness of the truck made you wish you were dead. Noctis seemed even more listless, hardly, if at all, aware that he was bouncing along in a truck bed. Various people were in the back, riding alongside, calling Noct's name increasingly, and now lightly tapping his face. You could only stare and try not to drown into oblivion yourself. After an agonizing amount of time, someone stopped the car, moving it off to the side of the road.
"This isn't working! We're gonna lose him!" Gladio was roaring at everyone.
"He's not responding either."
"We'll have to do some field surgery."
"Without any potions?! Are you crazy?"
"We have an elixir and a potion left. We can do this."
"We'll give the potion to Y/N and the elixir to Noctis. Hopefully it will stave off the worst of both their injuries until we reach HQ."
"Him," you said with as much force as you could. "Give them – both – to his – highness."
"Y/N –" Prompto seemed on the verge of tears.
"Don't make – in vain." Was all you could muster. You hoped they understood.
It was some time and lots of moving around of everyone in the truck before they were ready to do it. By now you didn't really care. You could only watch Noctis increasingly losing touch with reality. His eyes were half closed now, and you could tell he was barely conscious at this point.
"We have to back her off the rod first."
"Better to do it efficiently, with as little movement to Noctis as possible."
They began debating how best to move you off the harpoon when you finally spoke up, seeing Noctis beginning to breathe in a labored manner. "Do it. He needs – needs off it now." You couldn't speak the way you wanted to, but you hoped they got it.
"She's right. He's running out of time."
"Okay, Y/N –" Hands were suddenly on your shoulders, your hips, your legs, your sides. "In 1 – 2 – 3!"
The pain erupted through you, blooming bright through your middle and everything felt like it was on fire. The worst part was you could feel the bolt and its chain links moving through you. You felt like a threaded needle in the worst possible way, and the feeling made you shudder which brought on even more pain.
Finally, the bolt was out, and you were being moved to the other side of the truck, some of them putting you down and then immediately going to oversee Noctis while two people remained behind, holding you down and trying to staunch the now freely bleeding wound in your upper abdomen and in your back.
"Give her the potion, now!" Someone called out as you began to falter.
"No!" Your eyes flew open. "It goes to His Hi – "
"You need it, now!"
"No!" you insisted with everything you had. "Him."
You heard Noctis suddenly cry out and you felt some relief. But then he began to scream. They were pulling the grappling hook from his torso and you winced, reliving the feeling yourself. You began to tremble as you watched from your side of the truck. He seemed so close but so far away now. You wished you still held his hand.
Noct's screams began to gurgle and then went eerily quiet.
"The elixir! Now!" The sound of breaking could be heard and then came an audible sigh from Noct's lips. They were now tinted red with blood, you noted, watching from in between someone's legs.
"Is he okay?" You asked, your voice far weaker than you meant it to be.
There was a flurry of movement, and no one seemed to notice your question. It seemed like everyone was watching Noctis, breath held, to see what would happen next. You were about to ask your question again when –
"He's going into shock," Ignis said at once. "We must get him to HQ now."
"Give him the potion," you said, using all your strength to say it.
"Y/N, you'll bleed out. We have to heal you," Prompto said, looking down at you. You hadn't even been paying attention to yourself. The pain was near constant screaming in your ear, but you found a way to shove it down and silence it amid Noct's injuries. You shook your head at him sloppily but firmly.
"No, the prince first," you repeated.
The potion was handed over and the sound of breaking ensued. You sighed as you heard them say Noctis was regaining consciousness. You could hear him moving and moaning slightly, but his eyes opened and focused, locking onto yours.
You gasped in relief and suddenly your body relaxed. The syncope began to catch up with you and your hearing and vision began to fade. You found that you couldn't seem to catch a breath, but your body seemed to think it was alright. You didn't need to breathe. There was a flurry of movement and talking, even yelling around you but you noticed nothing but those steady blue eyes. The last thing you remembered was the distant sound of Noctis calling out your name.
Consciousness came in stages. The sound of incessant beeping entered your brain first, followed by pain. Pain blossoming from your abdomen and your chest through to your back. You got the feeling that it had always been there, and your unconsciousness was the only thing that had held it back. You tried to move, but found your limbs heavier than they'd ever felt. You couldn't even wiggle a finger. You then tried to open your eyes and found that even that, you could not as yet, accomplish. You felt stuck, but the pain was roaring now, and you had to do something. So you groaned. It came out much softer than you thought it would be, but it was enough. Someone heard it.
"Y/N?!" The voice was familiar.
You groaned in response.
"Hold on. Let me get the doc."
Sounds of an incessant beeping noise, different than the steady beep near your head, now ensued. You heard creaking and bare feet on a hard floor that shuffled around slowly with lots of gasping for breath.
The footsteps stopped at the edge of your bed, and you could hear the uneven breathing close to you and getting closer.
"Y/N?"
You groaned again. It was all you could do. So, it'd have to be enough of a response.
"Thank the Six. You had us so worried. I thought we were going to lose you at least five times."
Wait a second. You knew that voice. It was –
A door opened and someone else entered the room.
"Highness, please. For the tenth time, get back in bed and stay there. You'll rip your stitches!"
"It's Y/N!" Noctis quipped back. "She's awake! I think she's in pain."
Footsteps came closer and you tried once again to move, open your eyes, anything.
Nothing.
The footsteps stopped by your bed. You did what you could. You groaned again. This time it sounded stronger, but there was pain behind it. A lot of pain, and the groan ended in a whine.
"Y/N?" An unfamiliar voice sounded. The same that had chided Noctis a moment ago.
You groaned in response.
Your eyes were pried open one at a time and a bright light shined in them. You winced, or tried to. And your head moved slightly. Thank the gods, you weren't going to be stuck like this.
"Are you in pain?"
Your groan in response was much more audible and in the affirmative.
"Makes sense. I'll get you some medication for that." The voice seemed so kind, and you thought it was heaven sent. Then she said, "Your Highness, get back in your bed or I will strap you down."
Footsteps slowly made their way back to what must have been another bed. Creaking ensued.
"Is she going to be okay?" That was Noctis. You locked onto his familiar candor. Noctis was here. Why would he be here?
"She's awake," the voice said. "That's a very good sign." Sounds of movement could be heard and a sudden rush of warmth and the pain ebbed away in wonderful waves. You sighed, content, on the verge of unconsciousness once more. You didn't want to go back to sleep. You wanted to open your eyes, move, something. But the pain was gone, and it was wonderful. So, you slept.
The second time you recall waking, you were able to move your little finger. Progress, you thought. But the pain was up ticking the longer you were lucid. You slowly cracked your eyes open to see a horrible fluorescent light casting down on you. You grimaced and groaned, closing your eyes again.
There was a shift of what sounded like rustling clothes and then creaking and then bare footsteps. You cracked your eyes open and were met with storm blue eyes that you began to lose yourself in.
"Y/N?"
Noctis.
How did he get here? Why was he here? And why did breathing feel like knives in your chest? Come to think of it, why did your chest feel so heavy and ache so much?
You groaned again, looking around, trying to get your bearings, then returned to the steady gaze of the King.
"Are you in pain?"
You nodded slowly.
"Let me call in the doc."
You reached out and grabbed his hand, suddenly remembering. The bolt, the pain, the electricity, the pull on the grappling hook, dragging across the grass, the truck and Noct's labored breathing. It all came screaming back with a forced breath.
"You," your voice was slow to form words and barely more than a croaky whisper. "How are you? Are you 'kay?"
Noctis stopped, looking down at her with a surprised and incredulous look. "I'm fine, thanks to you. A few stitches maybe, but you're the one we've been worried about. We almost lost you, Y/N."
"'Member you saying something like that." You stopped. "Why are you here, highness?"
"I've told you to call me Noct," his voice was frustrated. "And why wouldn't I be here? You saved my life."
"Failed to save you," you restated. "Still got impaled. Only both of us instead of just you."
"Actually, according to Ignis and the doctor, when you jumped on me, you moved me just enough to avoid hitting anything major. That's why the elixir and potion - " Noctis was looking down at the floor now. He was silent.
"What? What is it?"
"Don't ever do that again."
"What?" you asked completely confused.
"Sacrifice yourself for me. Give up on taking a potion just because it's me."
"It wasn't –" You stopped. How did you explain that it wasn't because he was the king that you saved him, but because he was Noctis. I mean, yeah, he was the king and you had sworn your oaths, but that now that she knew him, the real Noctis, it had been more than that.
You tried to sit up, but Noctis pushed you gently back down. Still too weak, you couldn't fight it.
"Stay still," Noctis said quietly. "You'll reopen your wounds."
"I –" You started, then you winced. The pain from trying to move meant the pain started to spike in an unnatural way. It was getting hard to continue your conversation even though you never wanted to stop talking with him.
"Here," Noctis slid a hard plastic item into your hand. "Press this button. It's for pain meds."
You shook your head. "No, I wanna –" The pain came in huge waves, engulfing you and throwing your body against spikes and you suddenly couldn't catch your breath.
"Y/N?" Noctis' voice was far away, but you grabbed onto it and held it in your consciousness.
You groaned. "It's not – I wanted to save – I don't" You kept trying to find sense in the words you wanted to say but the pain kept you from finishing a thought.
"Here, if you won't press it –" Noctis began. A small beep sounded and a wave of warmth and a seductive feeling of oblivion rushed into her.
The pain was less spikey, was less intrusive. It was still there, however, and Noctis must have noticed her still wincing in pain because there was another small beep and another wave of warmth and peace spread across her.
"Highness," you started, now feeling warm and giddy.
"Noct," he said firmly.
"Noct," you repeated and then giggled. "That's a great name. Noct." You giggled again.
Noctis tried not to smile. "Looks like someone's beginning to feel better."
You shook your head. You had to get this out. All of it. Before you sunk beneath the waves of pain meds again. "You have it all wrong." Why did you sound drunk?
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"I didn't – I din't save you cause yer th'King," you finally got out, albeit slurred.
"Okay," Noctis said, thoughtfully. "Then why did you save me?"
You thought for a moment, gathering your thoughts. Then the whole thing spilled out of you. "I saved you cause your Noct." You giggled at his name again. "Noct. Noct. Noct."
Noctis was still confused. "Because – I'm Noct?"
"Mmhmm," you nodded, then grimaced. Moving was still not an option, you were dully aware.
"I still don't get it," he said. "Why?"
You giggled. It was funny, him being so clueless. "You know yer so cute when yer confsed," you laughed. Then you gasped. Ow. Ow. Ow. Laughing was not an option either. But he was so cute and funny.
"Y/N," Noctis said. "Why did you never say anything?"
You automatically raised your arms in a shrug and a wave of pain lifted out of the calmness of the medication. You audibly groaned and stopped. You were suddenly lucid again. And you wanted to be enveloped by the bed in embarrassment.
A small beep sounded again. And the pain meds swept over you. The bed did seem to envelop you. It was like a big warm hug. You giggled quietly.
"Srry," you got out before the waves of oblivion raised up to take you.
"Sweet dreams," a wonderful voice sounded above you. The voice that brought you more joy than any other. "Y/N."
The last thing you could remember was the press of lips against your temple. A sweet, simple kiss sending you off to dreamland. You relaxed into the bed, and took the hope of something more with you.
