I want to ride my chocobo all day!

Well. Despite what Prompto said, things were not entirely alright. After all, there was little time for them to dwell on this reunion, and still a long ways to go. Mind racing, body sore from the elaborate device they had strung him up on to wait for Noct to come and find him like some sort of booby trap, and the general weight of the last few days in captivity finally lifting off his shoulders, Prompto followed them through the stations and hallways, until Ignis' voice stopped them all again.

"Noct," he said firmly, and then quieted with his question. "Do you hear that?"

( Hear what? )

"Unless you'd rather not be," said Ignis, smiling as he regarded Prompto in passing. Not really looking at him, obviously, but still seeing him all the same.

And Prompto, ducking his head with one more soft smile, followed them into the chamber.

[[ at least the last parts are relatively short ones as this mess of a chapter ties up what it needs to before we can move on! Part 4 of 6 of Final Fantasy XV Chapter 13 "Redemption", where I had to alter a loooooot because half the dialogue in this scene wouldn't have even made sense for FH!Prompto, but that's not reason to not try to squeeze in just a little bit more clone drama while I can! ]]

Prompto awoke the next morning to the sound of barking in the distance, something oddly familiar about it, and, needless to say, it caught his attention. The night had been a rough one, his sleep fitful and distressed as Aranea's questions marched through his brain relentlessly.

What did he want? What was he after?

( But he knew what he wanted…. )

In the next moment, Prompto was back to sitting there, in the snow, but there was no Pryna, there were no magitek corpses or Noctis with his sword. It was just him...and his camera in his hand. And a new resolve, a new determination, a new goal.

Or rather, a very needed reminder of an old one. He knew what he wanted, and he promised he'd try, no matter what. And he wasn't going to let anything get in the way of it. Not anymore.


[[ because what existential crisis doesn't need a nice mystical dog-fueled fever dream of reconciliation, you guys, am I right? Obviously lifted from Episode Prompto, with the usual little fandom-flair here and there. Only two parts today! NFB, NFI, OOC, blah blah blah]]

Prompto stood before the door that would lead him into the chamber where Verstael awaited. Even with the thick door closed, he could hear the machine working inside, pumping miasma into the tubes, and he tried not to think about how that could have been his fate. He tried, instead, to think of what had been his fate….and to remind himself that the only thing separating himself from the man to blame for the fact that all of that was now gone...was this one single door.

He breathed out. He could practically feel the sweat from his hands through his gloves on his grip on his gun. He held out his wrist toward the console. It lit up. Beeped. And opened the door.

( And Prompto, trying to ignore the way his whole body shook as he tried to hold his gun before him steadily, slowly crept inside. -- CW for mild body horror, patricide, emo )

As they approached, though, Aranea reached for Prompto's shoulder, turning him roughly toward her and shoving a map into his chest.

"Head there," she directed. "I'll catch up later."

With a shaking, confused, indecisive breath, Prompto watched as she turned to stride back into the fray, and then, frantic, he called out, "But what about you?"

Aranea didn't turn back, though, pulling out her lance and already crouching for an attack. "I said I'll catch up!"

"But what if you--" Prompto began to protest.

"Just go!"

Prompto stared back at her, then stared down at the map in his hand. Tried to remember how to breath and then, with a few backwards steps and a new resolve, turned toward the snowmobile to hop aboard. A few seconds later, the engine was revved and he was ready to gun it, back out into the unknown frozen wilderness of Niflheim.


[[ Part 3 of 4, there's still one more to go after this! NFB, NFI, OOC always appreciated, today is a very big day, and also, Aranea is GOAT. True facts. ]

When Prompto woke up again, he was still face down, on his stomach, but beneath him was hard metal instead of snow, and, as he slowly started to become aware and push himself up, he realized he was indoors. A strange, unfamiliar, round chamber, with odd canisters and tubes against the wall, heavy metal doors. Boxes. Papers. Files. Some sort of office? Or laboratory? As he started to slowly push himself up, Prompto noticing the barcode on the back of his wrist staring up at him. The leather straps he usually wore around them to hide them….gone. And his confusion only grew once he finally managed to make it to his feet and give a better look around.

( What...what is this place? --CW for unethical science stuff/baby experiments )

Well armed and ready to do whatever it took to make it through this facility, Prompto was surprised when the next door he found opened itself up to a bright, nearly blinding burst of light from the outside, greeting him with a rush of fresh, frigid air. The cold was so deep it instantly made him shiver, but he'd done it! Freedom! He rushed out into that frigid freedom, eagerly rounding the corner around the tower mountains that fenced him in….

…only to be greeted with the door to yet another facility.

"Fine," he sighed. "This is fine. Totally fine."

With no way around it, Prompto closed his eyes to prepare himself for another round, as he walked up to open the next door.

[[ And here we go, into Episode Prompto proper! Part 1 of 4...for today, and I swear to god, the timing actually was coincidental, but kind of perfect. We're just learning all sorts of fun things today! Anyway, you know how it goes. NFB, NFI, OOC lovely, please to enjoy the carefully placed spam throughout the day ]]

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….--CW for bombings/explosive attacks/terrorism )

"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! ]]

The King of Lucis and his Kingsglaive were back on the move again, not through the comfort of their own lands, or even the familiar comfort of the Regalia, but first by boat again, and now by train, rumbling through the arid deserts, deeper into Empire territory. Their final destination: Gralea, the capital of Niflheim, where the Crystal that had been stolen from Insomnia had been taken. But, before then, a pitstop: Cartanica, a station located southeast on Fodina Caestino, a long abandoned mine where the Marshall's research may have located another royal tomb. Another weapon for Noctis to add to his arsenal, especially since, at this point, they truly did need all the help they could get.

But the real difficulty, it would seem, would come from actually getting there first..

Not because of any outright danger or Imperial attacks or violent gods, as they'd dealt with weeks, months before this moment. But because of themselves.

( The train car was quiet, only the steady clacking of the wheel on the rails below and the soft murmur of the conversation of other passengers around them… )

And Prompto just sat there, useless, not knowing what to say, not having any way to make any of it better.

Eventually,though, Noctis meandered back, and Prompto used that opportunity to at least try. "Hey," he offered up softly. "We're almost to Cartanica."

"One step closer to finding the next tomb," murmured Noctis, as he collapsed into his seat, and looked out across the bright deserts of Succarpe passing them by.



[[ Welcome to Final Fantasy XV Chapter 10 - "Heart of a King", or as I like to call it: this meme." NFB, NFI, OOC always ]]