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year 5, quarter 3
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[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Okay, so first things first, they moved to a more secure location. That was good. It was really just a dim, dark closet, but probably no one was listening so that was smart enough. Looked like a storage room or something. Lots of boxes. Probably lots of spiders. He hoped there weren’t lots of spiders. But that didn’t really matter because his head was still spinning from what Caius had said right before then as they were heading here in the first place.
”A different…point?”
Yeah, that’d take some explaining, thanks.
”Sorry, I uh. Don’t understand.” That was an understatement. ”But the war with Niflheim…I mean, I guess it ended when Niflheim got run over with daemons. But. That’s a weird way to say it. Lucis is definitely not at peace, and-”
Consciousnesses. Caius had definitely said something about a consciousness and his body running around? Whatever that meant, Prompto had no idea.
”Look, I don’t think I’m existing in two places at once. That…doesn’t sound right. Because I’m here. Right here. Not back in Lucis. Or, er. Maybe you’ve got the wrong guy?”
Because from here, what Caius was saying sounded crazy. And he couldn’t be locked in a closet with a crazy guy, right?
”I, uh. I’m pretty sure I’ve got a lot to worry about back home actually. See, Noctis went missing. And we were still in Niflheim and Ardyn was nowhere to be seen and daemons were overrunning everything and we hadn’t seen the sun in a few days so there was that going on and-”
Wait, why was he explaining this again?
”I don’t know how much sense that made. But point is, things were real serious, and I don’t know what you’re talking about. So.” Prompto waved his arms in a gesture that could have meant anything. ”You know.”
He doubted Caius knew because Prompto himself didn’t know. He just couldn’t quite let all that slide without saying something and now that something had been said. A horrible thought struck him that maybe Caius wasn’t who he said he was at all. Maybe he was just a crazy guy pretending to be a Glaive. But then he remembered that Caius had summoned his really cool sword for him so that struck that theory off the table. So he either knew what he was talking about and Prompto was too stupid to follow or he was a crazy Glaive. Because only Glaives and Crownsguard could summon weapons if they weren’t kings of Lucis and-
Wait, they’d come into this closet for a reason, right? Best to stay on track.
”I, uh. Yeah. The prison looked pretty maximumly secured. I don’t know what happened. Just that they’re there. I didn’t see any signs or anything either. It was out in the middle of nowhere.” He paused, trying to remember what he’d seen. ”I think there was a train station nearby. Then a road leading to it. But…no signs.”
That was creepy now that he thought about it. And it did not bode well.
”Cissnei,” he repeated to himself. ”Cissnei. Got it.” He’d repeat that name again and again so he wouldn’t forget. It was a long way from here to Sonora so he’d have to remember it for even longer. But this time he knew it was important so he thought he could handle it.
”I don’t know what she’d use against me,” he said. ”I mean, I’m not that complicated. You’re serious about the bullet in the head thing though?”
He didn’t like the sound of that. Though a woman with a gun did sound pretty cool.
And kind of hot.
Focus, Prompto.
”I don’t usually drink much. But I mean, it’d be rude not to get drinks if she asked me, right? You think she’d ask me?”
His brain felt like an overheated computer making whirring noises. He tried to get it back on track. He tried really hard.
”Er. But yeah. I’ll get on that. I can look for her. Sounds like a real good…lead.”
Words were hard at the moment. Probably because of his whirring brain. He never liked when it did that.
”Thanks, man. For helping out. And pointing me towards this Cissnei person. And, uh. Looking for other people to help, I guess.” Prompto took a deep breath in and out like Ignis had taught him. He really needed time to reboot. ”I’m, uh. Real tired. You wouldn’t happen to have a place I could stay? Or a couch to crash on? I don’t actually have any money right now so…”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Yuna was nice. She was almost too nice with her sad smile and her gentle eyes. She was exactly the kind of woman that you could imagine settling down with and getting a house together, and you’d have just the worst day out at work but then you’d come home and you’d see her smile and it would all fade away because she was there and that was all that mattered. Prompto hadn’t met too many girls like that, and the ones he had hadn’t wanted to talk to someone like him. He was usually left chasing after the ones that wouldn’t even look his way. But Yuna, she was different. Even when he asked her upfront about her problems which were clearly worse than his, she still turned it around.
”Whatever he said to you, I’m sure the people who care about you would never believe any of it. I hope you won’t either.”
”Oh, I uh…” He shook his head. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. ”I don’t. I mean, I didn’t. And Noctis didn’t think so either. I told him once he found me, and he didn’t care at all. That I’m not really…”Human. That was the word he wanted to use, but it was too heavy so he said ”Lucian” instead. He didn’t think she’d know what that meant, but both were true so it didn’t matter.
”I uh. Don’t think Ignis or Gladio cared either. They didn’t say so, but they heard about it and they were still there so…” Neither of them seemed to think he’d turn on Noctis like an MT so that was good. They’d had a lot more to worry about than him at the time, and that wasn’t really how men talked. There was just a nod of acknowledgement between them, a ’Glad to have you back,’ and that was it. You kind of had to read between the lines with Gladio and Ignis.
”Ardyn just wanted to mess with me. I know that. He messed with the others too. Doesn’t make it true.”
It was a lot easier to know that what he said to Noctis or Gladio or Ignis wasn’t true than it was to know the same about himself. He tried to imagine Noctis hearing what Ardyn had said about him and then he imagined what Noctis would tell him, and that helped. Noctis didn’t think he was useless. He didn’t care where he came from. They were friends. That’s all that mattered.
Yuna called him kind. That made him smile even if he didn’t believe it. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. ”Heh. Thanks,” he said because disagreeing with her would have been too weird. When a pretty girl compliments you, you take it. That was his philosophy anyway.
She went on and told him about herself after that. She said she was alright, but he wasn’t so sure. What she said was…a lot.
It was a lot of words he didn’t know too, but he tried to read between the lines.
The crazy guy who tried to marry her was also a monster ghost. That made it worse somehow and also brought up a lot of questions. Questions that even he knew better than to ask like, “When he tried to marry you, did he look more like a monster or more like a ghost?” and “Why would a monster ghost want to marry someone in the first place?” followed by the next, horrible thought, “What is the relative sexual anatomy of a monster ghost?”
That was enough of that, thanks.
”It sounds like you did all you could,” he said as he struggled to get his mind back on track. Yuna had been hurt. That’s what he should care about. ”By trying to kill him, I mean. I don’t know why you wouldn’t be proud of it. Sounds like more people should’ve tried, honestly.” He rubbed his neck awkwardly. Was he saying the right thing? He didn’t know.
”Maybe we should have tried harder with Ardyn. I mean, once it got to that point, it was just me and Gladio who could do anything, and we both tried. I shot him and Gladio hit him with a sword the size of a tree, but it didn’t do much of anything, and we just…let him go.” Prompto bit his tongue. ”We were worried about Noctis. He was missing. And the way Ardyn just smiled and kept walking…”
He fidgeted. The bench they were on felt too small. He wanted to get up and pace. Tapping his foot would have to do.
”There aren’t words. Yeah.” There weren’t, but he tried for them anyway. ”It just makes you feel so…small, you know?”
Maybe she did. She probably did. She probably knew better than he did, actually.
”Where I came from, it was in real bad shape before this. I’d lost Noctis, and the world was…dark.” He meant that literally, but he didn’t know if she’d take it that way. It didn’t matter. Both ways were true.
”What do you think? About being here? In a lot of ways, it’s like it’s too good to be true. But then…it doesn’t feel true, really. And there’s so much about it that’s just wrong.” He took a breath. ”Part of me wants to sit back and relax and tell myself that it’s all okay, but I don’t know where my friends are and what if they’re in trouble? And everything I left behind was definitely not okay and I don’t think there’s anything I could do to help, but what if there was and I’m here and not helping out and-”
Breathe, Prompto.
”And…I just wanted to know how you felt about it. I…haven’t actually been here that long.”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Caius told him about his honor as a Glaive which made sense and then went on to tell what sounded like a joke about Sonora. ’If you’ve spent five minutes there, you probably know what I mean.’
Prompto groaned. ”Yeah. Totally been there.” He rubbed at his neck. ”It was cold and dark and way too much like Niflheim. I actually thought that’s where it was for a long time. I mean, could you blame me? That’s where I, uh. Disappeared from? Yeah, I guess that’s right. We were in Niflheim. Then I was in Sonora. Alone. And all these guys started chasing me and shooting at me and I still don’t know why.” Prompto bit his tongue. He was confused. He was tired. He was just trying to do his best to keep moving forward and not let himself stop to question all the stuff that didn’t make sense.
”I uh…huh?” Voices down. Right. Prison breaks had to be a secret. Prompto wasn’t very good at secrets. He was even worse at keeping his voice down. He’d been told that he had the loudest whisper of all time, and that was when he was trying to be quiet. Oh well. He’d have to try harder than ever.
”Right,” he muttered. ”Should we uh…Go somewhere else then? Somewhere quiet?”
Then he could talk like normal. If they just had a room with a locked door, probably.
Caius mirrored Prompto’s display of weapons by summoning a really cool sword to his hand. It looked a little like Noctis’ when he didn’t have a chance to really squint at it, but Prompto wasn’t a swords guy so all swords looked like Noctis’ if they weren’t too big and they weren’t too small. Gladio’s sword? Way too big. Ignis’ daggers? Too small. Caius sword though? Yeah, that looked about right.
”Cool sword, bro,” he said with a nod of acknowledgement and then they were back to the serious talk.
Caius was pretty serious when it got down to it. Serious and reasonable. He gave some reasons why Gladio and Ignis might not be fighting back, and they made sense even if Prompto didn’t like them. He didn’t think they had a reason to be there. The looks in their eyes didn’t say so, and Prompto thought he had a pretty good knack at telling what people were feeling. The other possibility was a lot worse. ’Your friends have been beaten into submission,’ wasn’t something Prompto wanted to hear today. Or ever.
But he didn’t say so because he had some self-control and he knew that his feeling weren’t really relevant to the whole “how do we fix it” conversation.
What did he know so far? What allies did he have? Those were good starts. Unfortunately, his answers weren’t exactly confidence inspiring.
”I know what I saw in the vision. I guessed they were in Sonora because of the snow and the mountains. I saw the whole complex from the outside then it closed in on where they were. I tried to remember where the guard towers were and what the walls looked like and where they were stationed and what weapons they had. I could probably draw up a map if I tried.” He paused. ”Er…A really bad map. Just of what I saw, you know? I couldn’t control the magic vision. It was…magic.”
A kind of magic he still couldn’t understand. That witch lady hadn’t been great at explaining.
”There was a big shimmering wall over it,” he went on. ”Kind of like the wall around Insomnia, but I saw the guards pass through it fine. It was magic, I think, in a kind of…dome? Yeah. It was like a big sphere around the place. Don’t know what it did though.”
He went quiet for a moment, really wracking his brain for any other details. When none came, he added, ”You’re uh. Kind of my first ally, actually.”
Which sounded bad, but he had to start somewhere, right? Somebody had to be the first, and that somebody was Caius. Didn’t mean he wasn’t embarrassed about it though.
”There was the guy who helped me find the witch who did the magic vision, but he was…I don’t know. I didn’t really trust him, and this wasn’t his problem. I know it’s dangerous, and if something went wrong…Well, I didn’t want him there just for me, you know? He’s not even from Eos. It wasn’t his problem.”
Was that a good call? A bad call? Maybe Caius would know because he sure didn’t.
”But I haven’t been here that long. You’re a Glaive so you must be really good in a fight. Then I’m, uh. Well. I can handle myself. And I can handle any tech we come across in there. Do you know anyone who could find out more about this place? Where it is? What they’ve got going on? And…whatever that weird wall was? The magic one? I didn’t like the look of that thing.”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Prompto had gotten one thing right, and that was that Caius was serious. He kinda just stood there and listened while Prompto blabbered on, and once Prompto had finished, Caius responded as though he hadn’t just seen something embarrassing. Which was nice of him. Nice or professional. Prompto couldn’t be sure which.
Caius paced around the room thoughtfully. He looked pretty cool that way, particularly when he passed in front of the fire. Flickering orange shadows passed over him with his stern face and his beard and he looked like something out of a cartoon, but like a serious one with a grim art style and death in it.
He looked something like that.
Then he came closer, and Prompto blinked because he didn’t really understand why they were whispering. But he listened. Oh boy, did he listen.
’I hope you’re aware of what hell you’re asking me to walk into.’
Prompto felt his stomach drop. Yeah. That was the reaction he’d been afraid of.
”Yeah, I uh. I know. I just thought…I mean, you don’t have to. I was just hoping…”
What was he hoping? That this hardened mercenary would leap to his cause, shouting the injustice of the world as they teamed up to go save his friends? No, that’s not what he’d been hoping for. He’d just been hoping for…something.
”You don’t have to. I understand. If you could just...point me somewhere. Towards someone that could help. Maybe just help me find it. I’ve done this kind of thing on my own before, it’s just…”
Wait, was Caius agreeing?
”You…you’ll help? Really?” Prompto stared at him. Caius said that he’d help because it was his duty as a Glaive, but it didn’t sound like he wanted to help which Prompto didn’t know how to feel about. ”You don’t have to. Really. If it would be too much. I don’t want anything to happen to your family…”
He rubbed his neck awkwardly. ”But. If you want to then…yeah. Just you would be great. Anything, really. I don’t want a war. I just want to get my friends back.”
Which might come one after the other. But that was for future Prompto to worry about.
”I use guns like I said which means I’m not great up close, but I can figure out most tech I come across. I took out a base in Niflheim once. Mostly by myself except for Aranea who came in later. But these guys aren’t MTs. They’ll be smarter, and I don’t like killing real people if I have a choice. I mean. I will. These guys are dangerous, but I don’t know what to expect from them. I guess…That’s why I need help. Because I want a plan. But I don’t know enough about them to make one.”
It sounded almost reasonable when he said it like that.
”I don’t know why they can’t get themselves out,” he went on. ”I saw them in a magic vision and they weren’t even trying. Which is weird. They didn’t have any weapons or anything. I don’t know why. You can’t really…take them away.” Prompto summoned his pistol to his hand to prove the point, spun it around, and then banished it again. ”And Iggy and Gladio, they’d never stop fighting.”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Yuna agreed with him. She didn’t mention his tacked-on apology which was nice of her since he shouldn’t have apologized in the first place. That only made things weirder, and he’d already made it weird enough as it was. He felt like he should say something, but he also felt like if he said something that would just make it even worse in ways that he could only imagine until they happened. Whatever he said, he’d just embarrass himself. He’d ruin everything, and even if it was already ruined, he could always ruin it worse.
So he said nothing. Just made a little noise in acknowledgement. Was that bad too?
It was Yuna that broke the silence. At first, Prompto just stared at his knees. Then she kept talking and Prompto starting looking at her instead and he felt his eyes widen as his own self-pitying anxiety fell away to be replaced by sheer horror.
”He…He made you marry him?”
Prompto’s head was spinning. His problems were nothing compared to that!
”I…I mean…Wait, do you want to talk?” Why was she telling him she’d listen to his problems? After that?”Yeah. Arydn did a lot. A loooooot. But he didn’t make me marry him!”
And now he had that thought in his head. No. Nope. He was not going there. He was not imagining that scene with Ardyn’s piercing yellow eyes and predatory smile and Prompto in a dress because of course he’d be the one in a dress unless it was the other way around and now he was imagining Ardyn in a dress and that was somehow so much worse and-
”Look, I just. I fell off a train because he tricked Noctis into pushing me, and the place I found my way to was like this secret science facility where it turned out I was a clone and Ardyn was taunting me about it and then he like. Hurt me real bad to get to Noctis. And he can’t die when you shoot him in the head. Tried that. Didn’t work.”
His mouth felt dry. Had he told anyone that much? Not someone who didn’t already know it. But somehow, that felt pretty small right now.
”But what matters is…I mean. Are you okay? I don’t know if I’m the best person to talk to, but I can listen.” He scuffed his boots on the floor. ”And…I like you. I want to help.”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Caius was coming. He was definitely coming. He was coming, Prompto thought as his leg bounced up and down from where he sat on a not uncomfortable leather couch. That cute girl was going to get him and then he’d come and then…
What?
He’d listen to Prompto, obviously. He was probably kind of a stoic guy with a big scar on his face from fighting some monster or another. The rugged type that had always made Prompto squirm. He’d listen, maybe he’d even know Ignis and Gladio personally, and then…
Then…
’You interrupted me for this?’
’Why didn’t you just leave your request like you were asked?’
’You want me to do WHAT in Sonora?’
Prompto swallowed. No, that was stupid. Psyching himself out like that, it was stupid. He didn’t even know what kind of person this Caius guy was yet. He didn’t know how the Dragonblades usually operated, and he didn’t know what he’d decide. He didn’t know anything.
He probably should have done a little research first, huh? Stupid. He was so stupid.
Prompto was so worried that he didn’t even hear Caius come in. He was just sitting there, back straight, ankle tap, tap, tapping away until he heard a gruff voice at the doorway.
”You are Prompto, correct?”
”Wuah!” Prompto jumped and spun around to look at him then froze when he saw just who was standing there. The man was older than him, wearing some kind of combat outfit with metal and a fur trim. He had his blonde hair pulled back into a low ponytail that looked really cool with the short beard that accented the line of his jaw.
’Huh,’ Prompto thought, ’Maybe I should try growing one of those.’
He shook his head. Focus.
”I, uh. Yeah! I’m Prompto!” Prompto scrambled to his feet and tried to look confident, but he didn’t think he was doing it right. ”I’m a crownguard. For Prince Noctis. Or I was. I don’t know what I am when I don’t know where Noctis went but…”
He cleared his throat. Rambling was off the table right now.
”I heard you were a Glaive,” he said, scuffing his shoe on the rug. ”And…I’m in some trouble. My friends, Ignis and Gladio, I don’t know if you know them, they’re locked up somewhere. A friend of mine used some magic to help me find them, but I don’t think I can save them alone. And then I heard you were from Eos and you worked for the King and maybe you could help, I don’t know, but I’ve got nowhere else to turn and Yuna said you were a good guy so-”
He took a deep breath. ”Could you help? Please? They’re…they’re my best friends. Whatever you want, I’ll do it.” He bit his lip. Somehow, all the talking in the world didn’t seem like enough. ”I’ve got guns,” he added on. ”So…I’m not worthless.”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] The person who met him on the other side of the door was not Caius. It was a cute girl. She had short hazelnut hair and freckles and when she saw him, she smiled.”Oh! Mr. Caius is in the back training some of the new recruits!” she said, and it took a few seconds for all the words to snap together in his head.
”Oh. Yeah. Heh.” Prompto rubbed his neck. Part of him wanted to sidle up to the desk and talk to her more, but then the other part – the smarter part of him – knew that he was here for the kingsglaive and this really wasn’t the time to get starry eyed. Still, how was he supposed to keep his mind on anything when the girl had cute glasses? They really ought to have put up a sign out front in warning. That way he wouldn’t be caught by surprise.
”I’ll just, uh. Go back there then? If that’s cool?”
”Are you a client?”
”I guess?”
”I’ll get you set up first. Then I’ll see if Mr. Caius is interested in meeting with you.”
”Oh. Yeah. Yeah, that’s cool. I mean-” He trailed off. What was he saying? ”I mean…That’s not cool. Cause he’s a glaive and I’m a crownsguard and he doesn’t know me but I really need his help and-!”
The girl was smiling at him patiently. She had major “customer service” face going on. Prompto sighed. ”What do you want to know?”
”Your name, request, and starting offer.”
”Right. My name’s Prompto. Prompto Argentum. And, uh. What do you mean by ‘starting offer?’”
”What you’d be willing to pay on completion of your request.”
There was yelling out back followed by the loud crack of bone on bone. A man was speaking loudly outside, but Prompto couldn’t pick up the words. It sure did sound confident though.
Prompto bit his lip. ”Like money?” he asked, and when she nodded, he shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. ”I don’t have much money, but…I could work it off! Yeah! I’m great at hunting monsters! If he’ll just talk to me, I’m sure we could work something out!”
She wrote something down. Prompto had no idea if it was good or bad. He shifted his weight between his feet until she looked at him again. ”And your request?” she asked with the same aggressive patience as a nurse at a doctor’s office. Prompto tried not to shiver.
”I, uh. Request. Yeah, I’ve got one of those. It’s…” He swallowed. Focus, Prompto!”It’s my friends. They’re in real trouble. They’re Crownsguard like me, and they ended up in some kind of prison. In Sonora, I think. I’ve got to help them!”
”You want us to interfere with another country’s prison system?”
”Huh? Wait, it’s not like that! It’s-!” It was exactly like that, wasn’t it? ”I’m from Eos. Just…just tell him I want to talk, okay? I really need his help.”
She wrote something down again. Prompto felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest. The silence was suffocating.
”Alright, Prompto,” she said once she’d finished writing. ”Come back tomorrow, and I’ll let you know what he says.”
”T-tomorrow? Wait! I can’t do that! I need help now!”
”He’s in the middle of training now. If you come back tomorrow, he’ll-”
”Can’t you ask him though? Trust me. He’s really gonna want to hear this! Tell him I’m from Eos, okay?”
She looked at him for a long time. He looked right back, eyes wide. After a long, long silence, she wrote something else on her paper. ”I’ll ask him,” she said. Prompto grinned.
”Really? Thanks! Thanks so much! I owe you one! Really!”
He didn’t think she was listening to him as she picked up her papers and started outside. ”Wait here,” was all she told him, and he did, flopping back on one of the couches because it might take a while and he’d been walking a long time. He wondered what she’d say about him. He wondered what kind of person this Caius guy was. He hoped he was nice. And that he really did care about Eos and the Crownsguard and everything else.
There was no use worrying about it. He just had to wait so he did, watching the door the girl had left out of and listening for the vague sounds of voices from the training yard. His leg bounced up and down with the rhythm of his own anxiety.
This had to work, he thought. He’d come too far for it not to.
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] Prompto missed his chocobo whistle. He missed his car. He missed his friends. He missed not walking by himself mile after mile. It occurred to him when he reached the border between Provo and Torensten that he probably should have borrowed some money from Alex for an airship ticket, but at that point, it had been a few days and he was locked in tight. A little after that, he helped a family of farmers defend their supplies against some roaming monsters so they let him hop in their cart for a little while and rest his feet.
So that was nice.
By the time he reached the city, he was tired. And sore. His feet hurt and he hadn’t had a bath in a week. He hated that greasy, dusty feeling he got after sleeping at campsites for a few days, and boy did that hit him bad now. He wanted to complain to someone, but there was no one there to complain to so he stayed quiet, grumbling to himself unhappily every once in a while when the mood struck him.
No, no. He had to stay positive. He had to think positive. It would all be worth it in the end. He hoped.
The city was a lot like it was when he’d left it. It was busy, but not in an Insomnia way where the cars were always rushing around and the lights never went out and you could hardly see the sky for all the buildings towering overhead. This place was busy in an older kind of way. The streets were full of people walking in every which direction, and somehow everyone but him knew on instinct when to duck to the side to get out of the way of an oncoming chocobo cart. There were toys and spices and kids pointing excitedly at market stalls. Torensten was a lot more colorful than Provo. The whole place felt like it had been painted to match a color palette of exotic flower petals.
But he couldn’t get distracted. Nope. He had places to be. Or one place in particular, anyway.
He’d forgotten the name Yuna had told him, and even worse, he’d forgotten that he’d forgotten it until he’d stopped someone on the side of the street to ask for directions. ”Do you know, uh. A guy? He’s a Kingsglaive from Eos. Though…that probably doesn’t mean much to you, huh? His name’s…
”Uh…”
No matter how hard he struggled to find it, the name was gone. Poof. Like it had never existed at all. He awkwardly stumbled over himself to explain that the guy was a mercenary who had something to do with dragons maybe then someone said the name “Caius,” and Prompto perked up like a dog at a whistle.
”Yeah! That! Caius! That’s his name!”
The look he got in return made his cheeks go red. He really hated feeling stupid sometimes.
But he had a name (‘Caius. Caius Dragelion of the Dragonblades,’ he repeated over and over until he was sure he wouldn’t forget) and he had some directions and he thanked the poor direction-giver until he ran out of breath and then he was off, turning west on third street then going straight down four more blocks before he turned north again and reached the city square.
The Dragonblades were at a place called the Wyvern’s Rest which he thought was pretty clever. He only had to ask for directions two more times before he made it there all on his own.
The place was smaller than he’d thought it would be. It looked like it had once been a store with maybe some apartments up top before someone had slapped a big wooden sign over the front with a picture of a dragon on it. Prompto stopped outside the door, shifting his weight from one foot to the other as he tried to get his story straight.
He knew he was in the right place because of the sign which was good. But he hadn’t thought about what he’d actually say to this Caius guy until now. He just had to explain the situation and ask for help, plain and simple. Prompto nodded to himself decisively.
”Yeah. Nothing hard. Just gotta…do it.”
He looked up at the sign and then at the door and then he took a big breath before he went up and knocked. It wasn’t locked so he stepped inside, cautiously looking around as he did so.
”Hello?” he called. ”I’m just gonna…walk right in. That cool?”
Well, the door was unlocked, so it must have been. Probably.
”Is there, uh. A Caius around here? I’m really looking for a Caius…”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] The view was beautiful if he was being honest with himself. It was easy to imagine another him from another time – a Prompto not as scared and broken – gazing out awe-struck at the scene before him. This was not Insomnia. He’d known that from the start of course, but seeing the city from up high really sold it. Insomnia was a city of towers and skyscrapers and cars and lights and while he was happy to call it his home, he’d never realized just how artificial it all was with its cold metal and rough edges. Here, he could see everything. There was the dark horizon to the east which met the sea to the west and above it all were a billion pricks of starlight. He could see himself pointing at all the little buildings down below and gaping at the castle’s silhouette and maybe trying his best to sidle a little closer to Yuna as he tried real hard not to screw up the moment.
All that could have happened. Maybe he’d have had a great night. Maybe he’d have finally found a girlfriend. Maybe. If he hadn’t been such a nervous wreck.
Instead, Prompto sat stiffly at the edge of his seat, vaguely aware of his nails digging into his jeans as he tried to keep breathing.
Stupid. Panicking was the last thing he needed. But here he was, and he couldn’t stop it any easier than he could have jumped off the edge and flown away.
He needed to stop. He needed to slow down and listen.
She told him that she was called a “summoner,” whatever that was, and that she’d called on Shiva which was…some serious Oracle stuff if Prompto was being honest. But he didn’t think she wanted to hear that so he just nodded and said, ”Oh,” and kept listening because he didn’t want to interrupt. Then they were talking about Noctis, and Prompto frowned.
”He wants to…kill the gods?” That sounded crazy even for Ardyn, and that bar was set real high. ”I don’t know if he could use Noctis for that. I mean, Noct can totally fight the Astrals. He went crazy on Leviathan. But you can’t really…kill the gods? I mean, you can but then they just die and come back some other time. Like Niflheim killed Shiva, but then she came back as Gentiana who was really Shiva the whole time and-”
He was rambling.
”A-anyway, I don’t think that’s it. Unless there’s some stuff I really don’t know.” Which sounded plausible now that he said it outloud. ”I don’t know why he wants Noctis. Or…why anything really.”
After everything he’d seen, his questions were in the hundreds. His answers were maybe…two.
It sounded like Yuna knew more than he did.
”So they’re like…ghosts?” Prompto stared at her. ”Where you live. It’s just…covered in monster ghosts?”
That was terrifying.
”Uh. No. We don’t have anything like that. Though we’ve got daemons. Lots of daemons.” Which he guessed were kind of like ghosts, but really they were just another kind of monster. The real evil kind. ”So…your thing that gets rid of ghosts…You used it on him, and it worked? Maybe it works on daemons? I think Ardyn’s part daemon or something…”
He remembered how Ardyn’s eyes had bled black ichor after Prompto had shot him point blank. He remembered those piercing yellow eyes, the smell of decay, how Ardyn had overtaken Ravus’ corpse and…
”I’m sorry. If he hurt you.”
”Huh?”
Prompto looked up to see Yuna watching him. There was a kindness to her eyes that made his throat tighten. She felt sorry for him. Was he really that pathetic? That obvious?
Prompto rubbed his eye with the back of his hand and felt tears. Damn it.
What would Gladio have said? Something about being a man. Ignis would have told him to get it together. Noct would have…
He would have…
Prompto bit his lip. ”Yeah.” His voice was thick and unsteady. He didn’t say anything else. He didn’t trust himself.
”So, uh. Nice view, huh?” he said instead. It was lame. True, but lame. Prompto looked away, rubbing his neck sheepishly. ”Sorry.”
[attr=class,lyric1]gonna keep on keeping on the only
[attr=class,lyric2]way i know how
[attr=class,bulk] The witch smiled at him. Kind of. It was a dry, crooked smile that made it feel like something bad was going to happen. But he was back now and everything had gone like she’d said it would so he didn’t know what else bad could happen. So he just smiled back. Apparently, she didn’t think that Alex had great manners either.
”You’re leaving?” he asked as she stood. All at once, the frogs were back to accompany her like the world’s weirdest guard. He squinted at them. They were definitely frogs, but like a frog in a cartoon. It walked around and stuff. Kind of like a frog butler, he thought, which would have been just fine on tv but in real life was super weird.
He wondered if he’d hit his head and this was all just a really, really long dream.
Alex threatened her with something called “frog legs.” Ignis had made them all toadsteak sometimes. Did Alex want to cook for her? That didn’t sound right, but maybe he was a really bad cook.
Prompto’s head still felt pretty loopy.
”Bye!” he called out to her as she shuffled out the door. Then he was left alone with Alex and his thoughts. He didn’t know where his thoughts were going. Alex, on the other hand, seemed…nicer.
”Take it easy, get a plan going, and we’ll figure it out from there,” Alex said as he clapped Prompto on the shoulder. It felt like something Gladio would have done. Prompto felt his stomach twist.
”Y-yeah. Got to get a plan.”
Alex left, humming to himself, and Prompto sat there, dazed and confused. A plan. He needed a plan. And he needed it now.
Prompto let out a long breath and stood on shaky legs. Ignis and Gladio, wherever they were, they were in trouble. He didn’t have time to sit around. It would take a lot to find them and even more to rescue them. He’d infiltrated military bases before. He’d even done one by himself in the cold. He didn’t like to think about that one.
”I can do this,” Prompto muttered to himself, and then because he didn’t really believe it for the first time, he said it again. ”I can do this!”
Yeah. That sounded better.
He needed to find them. He needed friends. Friends, he realized, that were not Alex. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Alex could help – he knew Alex could do all kinds of amazing things. It wasn’t that he thought Alex wouldn’t help when he’d done so much for him already. It was more like…he didn’t think Alex should help. This was personal business. Dangerous business too. It’d be a miracle if someone didn’t get hurt, helping him on this one, and if that person was just there because of him...
Prompto would never live it down. That’d be the worst feeling in the world. If Alex got hurt trying to help him. They didn’t really make the best team anyway.
Prompto rummaged around in the cabinets behind the bar until he found a pen and piece of paper. Once he had that, it was just a matter of writing it down.
’Dear Alex,’ he wrote in a style that his teachers had called messy chicken-scratch. ’Thanks for helping today. I mean it. What you did meant a lot. Because of you, I know where to find my friends. They need me. I can’t sit still and do nothing.
’I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. If you hadn’t shown up in Sonora, I don’t know what would have happened! Sorry I couldn’t ever pay you back for that one. Maybe someday when I get back. I really owe you one.
’That’s why I’ve got to go alone. It wouldn’t be fair, asking you to do more for me. I’ve got a lead on someone else from Eos who might help. I met a friend in Torensten while you were gone. I think I’ll ask her about her friend from the Kingsglaive. I don’t want anyone getting hurt cause they wanted to help me out, but if this guy’s a Glaive, maybe he’d know Gladio and Ignis and will want to help anyway. This is my problem. I can’t have you getting shot at for me.’
Prompto paused, biting thoughtfully at his tongue. Then he added, ’Thank Matoya for me when you see her. And thanks again. For everything.
’- Prompto’
He read it over again for any mistakes, crossed out a few words he’d spelled wrong, then left the paper on the bar countertop. Alex couldn’t miss it there. Not with all the time he spent cleaning glasses.
With that done, Prompto went back to his room and packed up his things in a backpack he’d found in a box somewhere. He didn’t really have many things of his own, but he didn’t think Alex would mind if he borrowed some supplies for the road. That’s what he was doing. “Borrowing.” Because he’d pay it back someday if he got out of this alive. If he didn’t then he guessed it was stealing, but he didn’t like to think of it that way so he didn’t.
He borrowed a tent, a sleeping bag, a fire-starting kit, and enough food for the journey. He could pay all that back easy. So it wasn’t wrong. Not even a little.
He just had to keep telling himself that until it came true.
He left within the hour. By sunset, he was out of Provo and started down the road to Torensten. He didn’t have enough gil for an airship or a chocobo. But he was moving, and that was what mattered.
”Don’t worry guys,” he muttered to himself as he shifted the weight of his backpack and quickened his pace. ”I’m coming for you.”
