Prompto Argentum (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-06-20 05:25 pm
hashtag_chocobro) wrote2022-06-20 05:25 pm
En Route to Tenebrae; Niflheim; Eos; Monday, 07/04 ET [Monday, 06/20 FT].
It was hard to imagine that anything could be even more devastating and troubling than the fact that Noctis had apparently gone crazy and started attacking his friends, but Prompto soon found out that there was a lot more to be worried about here. He felt terrible, leaving Noctis where he was, but this was a desperate situation that he could not handle by himself.
Something was wrong, something had gone amiss. That had to be it. Because if it wasn't, if Noctis had really meant the things that he said…
No. No! It couldn't be! Prompto couldn't let himself think otherwise. It must have been those dark clouds, it had to be something with one of the gods, it had to be. Something. Anything but….
Ignis. Gladio. Pushing through the car door, he hurried forward, wondering where they might be. He had to find them, he had to…
Prompto staggered a little as the train started to move again….no, wait, it wasn't moving, he realized, with the burst of an explosion ringing in his ears. The train had been hit!
He barely had time to process it before another blast came rushing toward the side of the car. The impact send shards of glass and metal shrapnel flying by as the people around him cowered and screamed. "The Empire!" he breathed out, eyes going wide, hand reaching for his gun. "They're attacking!"
Just the thing he needed right now!
Prompto's mind reeled. He needed to find Ignis and Gladio, but he should also help all these people, make sure they were safe. Well….as safe as could be, anyway. Edging toward the blasted open window, he looked out to see a few magitek troopers approaching. Nothing a few quick shots in succession couldn't take care of, for now, but there would surely be more on the way. He could already hear the gunfire and screams further down the train, he turned his focus toward the trembling citizens. "Come on!" he called out to them, moving quickly toward a young family with a small child, trying to give the terrified little girl huddled between her parents an encouraging smile. "We have to get you out of here."
No small feat, with more bombs going off and blasting through the side of the train, and there weren't just MTs and tanks on the ground, either. A glance overhead saw transports as thick as clouds incoming. This was a full on attack, no doubt about it, and as he hurried to get the citizens to safety, he couldn't help but wondering where the others were. No doubt Gladio and Ignis had managed to charge forward to take care of the Empire as best they could, or were similarly trying to keep the people safe, but what about Noctis? Fear gripped his stomach as he realized that he'd left him back there, vulnerable, confused, with something terribly wrong…
Okay. Okayokayokay, new goal. He'd done what he could for the other people in the car, but now he had to get back to Noctis.
He shouldn't have even left him in the first place!
With the last citizen in the area hurried off to relative safety, Prompto set out to find him, shouting his name, for what little it did in the absolute chaos that surrounded him. Other trains were moving around their stalled one, freight trains and transports, dropping more magitek soldiers and mechs, tanks were rolling by and blasting the side of the train when they could. Prompto was sure his heart was beating so fast it would explode out of his chest, just as an explosion from a missile launcher burst at his feet and propelled him forward. He landed in a rough roll, stunned for a moment, before he pushed himself back up to his feet. He had to keep moving.
"Noct!" he shouted out. "Iggy! Gladio!!"
Nothing but the sound of battle and screams ringing in his ears. He'd gone back to the car where he'd left Noctis, only to find with an icy stab of dread that he was gone. Had he gotten up again? Had he joined the fight? Or had the Empire gotten to him first? That icy stab burned away into panic.
"Nooooooct!" Prompto shouted out. "Noctis! Where are you?"
Not here, that was for sure! And so Prompto had to keep moving. In a spark of inspiration, he hurried back to the car with the blown out side, swinging up through the gaping hole to pull himself up on the top of the train. He'd been hoping that the view would give him some perspective, but all it seemed to do was highlight what a terrible mess they were in. Surrounded by the Imperial Army, their guns blasting from the ground, from above, all around them. One managed to zing right by him, and he pulled back enough to avoid it, and then, quickly, promptly, fired a few shots right back in response.
And his aim was much better.
But he wouldn't be so lucky for so long, and so he started moving, running along the top of the train for a better view of the action. At one point, he'd lept off, certain he saw Noctis down below, making his way through a small cluster of soldiers, but by the time he'd gotten there, he must have moved on, leaving just smoking magitek wreckage in his wake. Back to the train, then, climbing aboard and throwing himself to the top like a monkey, trying to race his way toward the action while avoiding the blasting results of his own attention.
A burst of an explosion from the side. Prompto hopped onto the fast-moving freight on the track next to theirs, hurrying along it for a better view. A flash of blue light. Noct's warping energy! "Noct!" he called out desperately over the chaos, knowing he couldn't hear, knowing he couldn't catch up, but at least it seemed as though Noctis wasn't alone, he could see someone fighting with him, a large and looming figure, and his heart jumped with a bit of hope.
Gladio. Good. He'd found….
Prompto drew in a sharp breath as he got close enough to see that the bulk of the figure was not from muscles at all, but from a long, heavy coat.
That wasn't Gladio.
That was Ardyn!
Why would Ardyn be fighting alongside Noctis? Or was he merely following him? What was going on?
Another flash of blue, this one zinging far overhead and Prompto followed it up toward one of the transports, and let out the shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Noctis was warping into the transports, taking out the enemies inside. This assumption was confirmed as the lifeless bodies of a few MTs came crashing down on the train at Prompto's feet. He stared down at them and their empty eyes stared back. A strange coldness filled Prompto as he stepped toward them, put out his foot, about to nudge one off the side of the train with his boot…
But a loud, grinding sound caught his attention. The train to Tenebrae. It was moving again! "Shit," Prompto breathed out, hurrying to make the quick jump back to the original train and looking up just in time to see Noctis zipping through the air to another transport.
"Fuck," he added, straightening again as the train started to crawl into motion again, looking up desperately and trying to think of how to get his attention. His hands cupped around his mouth. "NOOOOOCTIIIIIIISS----"
But he stopped, the call cut off short as he felt the undeniable presence of another figure there on the roof of the train with him as it started to gain speed. He lowered his hands, he slowly turned his head…
And immediately drew his gun again, eyes blazing with intent down the barrel.
"You," he breathed out, cocking the gun as it stared straight into the face of Ardyn Izunia.
Ardyn staggered back for a moment, lifting his hands as if in surrender, the wind whipping his scarves and his long hair about his face. "Well, well, well," he said softly. "This is certainly unexpected. But you do have excellent timing. If you could just wait ….one second longer…."
"What's going on?" Prompto demanded, finger poised tight against the trigger. "What are you doing here? Are you the reason why Noct was acting so…"
"Prompto!"
Noctis' voice rang out, as sudden as his appearance, there on the roof of the train with them, and he didn't hesitate for a moment to charge forward and attack.
Only it wasn't Ardyn that his sword went for.
The gun went flying out of Prompto's hand as the blade went crashing down on it. It went skittering out of reach across the the top of the train. Prompto was almost too shocked, too startled, too confused to even react, but, thankfully, his mind moved fast enough to know that the next swing was going to be going for him. He leaned back to avoid that wild swing across his chest.
Leaned back…a little too far.
"Noct!" he shouted out as he felt nothing but air and gravity behind him, pulling him down from the now speeding train.
He liked to think, in that split second before everything fell away, before he hit the cold hard ground, that he could see Noct's face of surprise at what had just happened. Prompto desperately reached out for him, but he could only clutch at nothing. And all he could really be sure of seeing was Ardyn looming behind Noctis with a faintly triumphant grin. He had Prompto's gun in his hand, and he brought it smashing down on the back of Noctis' head.
Prompto closed his eyes, felt the impact of the ground as he tried to avoid seeing Noctis' crumpling body.
And then there was nothing more.
[[ end of Final Fantasy XV Chapter 11 - "In the Dark"...or at least as much of it as I could wrangle up from an alternate perspective than what we get in the game proper. It's definitely a tricky one to transcribe, but you'd better believe it's time to buckle up for Episode Prompto heading your way soon! OH BOY! Standard terms and conditions apply! ]]
Something was wrong, something had gone amiss. That had to be it. Because if it wasn't, if Noctis had really meant the things that he said…
No. No! It couldn't be! Prompto couldn't let himself think otherwise. It must have been those dark clouds, it had to be something with one of the gods, it had to be. Something. Anything but….
Ignis. Gladio. Pushing through the car door, he hurried forward, wondering where they might be. He had to find them, he had to…
Prompto staggered a little as the train started to move again….no, wait, it wasn't moving, he realized, with the burst of an explosion ringing in his ears. The train had been hit!
He barely had time to process it before another blast came rushing toward the side of the car. The impact send shards of glass and metal shrapnel flying by as the people around him cowered and screamed. "The Empire!" he breathed out, eyes going wide, hand reaching for his gun. "They're attacking!"
Just the thing he needed right now!
Prompto's mind reeled. He needed to find Ignis and Gladio, but he should also help all these people, make sure they were safe. Well….as safe as could be, anyway. Edging toward the blasted open window, he looked out to see a few magitek troopers approaching. Nothing a few quick shots in succession couldn't take care of, for now, but there would surely be more on the way. He could already hear the gunfire and screams further down the train, he turned his focus toward the trembling citizens. "Come on!" he called out to them, moving quickly toward a young family with a small child, trying to give the terrified little girl huddled between her parents an encouraging smile. "We have to get you out of here."
No small feat, with more bombs going off and blasting through the side of the train, and there weren't just MTs and tanks on the ground, either. A glance overhead saw transports as thick as clouds incoming. This was a full on attack, no doubt about it, and as he hurried to get the citizens to safety, he couldn't help but wondering where the others were. No doubt Gladio and Ignis had managed to charge forward to take care of the Empire as best they could, or were similarly trying to keep the people safe, but what about Noctis? Fear gripped his stomach as he realized that he'd left him back there, vulnerable, confused, with something terribly wrong…
Okay. Okayokayokay, new goal. He'd done what he could for the other people in the car, but now he had to get back to Noctis.
He shouldn't have even left him in the first place!
With the last citizen in the area hurried off to relative safety, Prompto set out to find him, shouting his name, for what little it did in the absolute chaos that surrounded him. Other trains were moving around their stalled one, freight trains and transports, dropping more magitek soldiers and mechs, tanks were rolling by and blasting the side of the train when they could. Prompto was sure his heart was beating so fast it would explode out of his chest, just as an explosion from a missile launcher burst at his feet and propelled him forward. He landed in a rough roll, stunned for a moment, before he pushed himself back up to his feet. He had to keep moving.
"Noct!" he shouted out. "Iggy! Gladio!!"
Nothing but the sound of battle and screams ringing in his ears. He'd gone back to the car where he'd left Noctis, only to find with an icy stab of dread that he was gone. Had he gotten up again? Had he joined the fight? Or had the Empire gotten to him first? That icy stab burned away into panic.
"Nooooooct!" Prompto shouted out. "Noctis! Where are you?"
Not here, that was for sure! And so Prompto had to keep moving. In a spark of inspiration, he hurried back to the car with the blown out side, swinging up through the gaping hole to pull himself up on the top of the train. He'd been hoping that the view would give him some perspective, but all it seemed to do was highlight what a terrible mess they were in. Surrounded by the Imperial Army, their guns blasting from the ground, from above, all around them. One managed to zing right by him, and he pulled back enough to avoid it, and then, quickly, promptly, fired a few shots right back in response.
And his aim was much better.
But he wouldn't be so lucky for so long, and so he started moving, running along the top of the train for a better view of the action. At one point, he'd lept off, certain he saw Noctis down below, making his way through a small cluster of soldiers, but by the time he'd gotten there, he must have moved on, leaving just smoking magitek wreckage in his wake. Back to the train, then, climbing aboard and throwing himself to the top like a monkey, trying to race his way toward the action while avoiding the blasting results of his own attention.
A burst of an explosion from the side. Prompto hopped onto the fast-moving freight on the track next to theirs, hurrying along it for a better view. A flash of blue light. Noct's warping energy! "Noct!" he called out desperately over the chaos, knowing he couldn't hear, knowing he couldn't catch up, but at least it seemed as though Noctis wasn't alone, he could see someone fighting with him, a large and looming figure, and his heart jumped with a bit of hope.
Gladio. Good. He'd found….
Prompto drew in a sharp breath as he got close enough to see that the bulk of the figure was not from muscles at all, but from a long, heavy coat.
That wasn't Gladio.
That was Ardyn!
Why would Ardyn be fighting alongside Noctis? Or was he merely following him? What was going on?
Another flash of blue, this one zinging far overhead and Prompto followed it up toward one of the transports, and let out the shaky breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Noctis was warping into the transports, taking out the enemies inside. This assumption was confirmed as the lifeless bodies of a few MTs came crashing down on the train at Prompto's feet. He stared down at them and their empty eyes stared back. A strange coldness filled Prompto as he stepped toward them, put out his foot, about to nudge one off the side of the train with his boot…
But a loud, grinding sound caught his attention. The train to Tenebrae. It was moving again! "Shit," Prompto breathed out, hurrying to make the quick jump back to the original train and looking up just in time to see Noctis zipping through the air to another transport.
"Fuck," he added, straightening again as the train started to crawl into motion again, looking up desperately and trying to think of how to get his attention. His hands cupped around his mouth. "NOOOOOCTIIIIIIISS----"
But he stopped, the call cut off short as he felt the undeniable presence of another figure there on the roof of the train with him as it started to gain speed. He lowered his hands, he slowly turned his head…
And immediately drew his gun again, eyes blazing with intent down the barrel.
"You," he breathed out, cocking the gun as it stared straight into the face of Ardyn Izunia.
Ardyn staggered back for a moment, lifting his hands as if in surrender, the wind whipping his scarves and his long hair about his face. "Well, well, well," he said softly. "This is certainly unexpected. But you do have excellent timing. If you could just wait ….one second longer…."
"What's going on?" Prompto demanded, finger poised tight against the trigger. "What are you doing here? Are you the reason why Noct was acting so…"
"Prompto!"
Noctis' voice rang out, as sudden as his appearance, there on the roof of the train with them, and he didn't hesitate for a moment to charge forward and attack.
Only it wasn't Ardyn that his sword went for.
The gun went flying out of Prompto's hand as the blade went crashing down on it. It went skittering out of reach across the the top of the train. Prompto was almost too shocked, too startled, too confused to even react, but, thankfully, his mind moved fast enough to know that the next swing was going to be going for him. He leaned back to avoid that wild swing across his chest.
Leaned back…a little too far.
"Noct!" he shouted out as he felt nothing but air and gravity behind him, pulling him down from the now speeding train.
He liked to think, in that split second before everything fell away, before he hit the cold hard ground, that he could see Noct's face of surprise at what had just happened. Prompto desperately reached out for him, but he could only clutch at nothing. And all he could really be sure of seeing was Ardyn looming behind Noctis with a faintly triumphant grin. He had Prompto's gun in his hand, and he brought it smashing down on the back of Noctis' head.
Prompto closed his eyes, felt the impact of the ground as he tried to avoid seeing Noctis' crumpling body.
And then there was nothing more.
[[ end of Final Fantasy XV Chapter 11 - "In the Dark"...or at least as much of it as I could wrangle up from an alternate perspective than what we get in the game proper. It's definitely a tricky one to transcribe, but you'd better believe it's time to buckle up for Episode Prompto heading your way soon! OH BOY! Standard terms and conditions apply! ]]