Prompto thought he had been inured to hot environments. He’d been locked in saunas that blasted hot steam into the room every few minutes. He’d been burned, both deliberately and accidentally. He’d even gotten a little too close to one of Noct’s fire spells once. But nothing had prepared him for the heat of molten rock erupting from the earth itself.

  The ice from the spell they had thrown at the Titan (that was so awesome, to be handed a vial and be able to actually throw magic!) had been relieving for a few seconds, but already it had melted and evaporated, leaving them just as hot as before. But at least it had worked, judging by the golden glow that had surrounded both Noctis and the downed god. A god! Prompto would never have dreamed of being able to defeat such a being back home in the Empire.

  Though he may never get to dream again if they didn’t get out of there, and soon.

  “Doesn’t get much worse than this,” Gladio said as he yanked a still dazed Noct away from a sudden eruption of lava.

  But, of course, it can and it does, as the arrival of a drop ship heralds. “Not more MTs,” Prompto said, already breathing heavily. He was running dangerously low on ammunition and had mutinously slipped his left arm out of its sling. A potion had numbed the pain for now and he was trying not to use it, but that was hard when the robots and his former countrymen kept trying to kill him and his new friends.

  The four of them watched cautiously as the door to the dropship opened, but instead of the expected enemies jumping out, a solitary figure strode forward to greet them. Prompto recognised him before he even spoke.

  “Fancy meeting you here!” Ardyn called out over the roar of the volcano. “It occurs to me that I never formally introduced myself. Izunia. Ardyn Izunia.” He lifted his hat and made a sweeping bow.

  Heart racing, Prompto kept his eyes steadily on the prince, doing his best to keep his mind blank, to think or feel nothing during this encounter. And besides, Noct looked exhausted, was pale and swaying on his feet; someone had to make sure he was okay.

  “We know who you are,” Ignis said, wariness in his voice.

  Prompto didn’t have to be looking at him to feel Ardyn’s eyes snap immediately to him; he could feel that cold amber gaze under his very skin.

  “I see your… friend, has been speaking about me behind my back. How rude!” Ardyn said, his voice pouting. Prompto risked a glance over, then quickly averted his eyes once more; despite all that had happened since that ill-fated attack on the prince, Prompto could still not manage to meet a superior’s eyes, especially not one that was practically snarling at him for ruining his grand introduction. “Regardless,” the Chancellor continued, “I am at your service and, more importantly, to your aid!”

  Head pounding, Prompto was shaking his head; no aid was worth whatever price the Chancellor wanted. He felt a hand clap down on his shoulder and looked up at Gladio. The man wasn’t looking at him, though; he was staring intently at the Chancellor, as though trying to figure him out. Nonetheless, Prompto appreciated the silent support.

  “I guarantee your safe passage,” the Chancellor was continuing. “Though you’re always welcome to take your chances down there.”

  “We can’t,” Prompto whispered. The pain that admission caused to shoot through his head was enough to make his legs turn to water, but Gladio’s hand on his shoulder kept him grounded.

  “Buried among the rubble, is it?” the Chancellor taunted them, trying to drive them to make a hasty decision. Or maybe just knowing that they legitimately did not have much time before the ground beneath them collapsed and they were all burned alive.

  “Dying here is not an option,” Ignis said. “We have no choice, Noct.” A pause. “I’m sorry, Prompto.”

  “I know,” Noct said. He turned his attention to Prompto. “It’ll be alright, Prom. We won’t let him harm you.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Prompto said, his quiet voice barely heard over the volcano. And he did know; despite their vastly different upbringings, or perhaps because of it, Prompto trusted his new commander. He trusted that Noct would help him.

  Decision made, the four men hurried into the drop ship, its doors closing behind them.

  A drop ship was never silent, not even the Chancellor’s, but even with the hum of the engine, the loss of ambient noise from the volcano was sudden when the doors sealed. Prompto looked up when he heard Ignis tsk at him.

  “Really, Prompto, if you don’t start looking after this shoulder I can’t be held responsible for any permanent damage caused,” Ignis said, stepping in front of him so he was between Prompto and the Chancellor, and helping to fasten Prompto’s sling again.

  Prompto shot him a shaky grin, grateful for the distraction even if the tone was scolding. “You could never be held responsible for that anyway, Iggy,” he said. Ignis had been there when he had removed it, anyway; it wasn’t like it was news.

  “I must admit, I am surprised the young King of Lucis is travelling with an MT,” the Chancellor drawled.

  Prompto’s back stiffened. “I’m not an MT,” he said. He tried to put force behind his voice, to sound certain, but it came out as more of a squeak.

  “Oh sorry, a ‘magitek soldier’. As if there is a difference, really,” the Chancellor said. “Look at you, you can’t even look at me.”

  Prompto tried, really he did, but it hurt so badly he could only do so for the barest of seconds before the pain forced him to look away. Nonetheless, it had been enough to see the mockery in the Chancellor’s face.

  “Enough,” Gladio growled.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” the Chancellor said, sounding anything but. “I didn’t realise you were so sensitive about a machine.”

  “I said enough!” Gladio snapped. He stood between Ignis and the Chancellor, his broad shoulders completely blocking Prompto from view.

  “My, my, let’s not get violent now. Especially not over a thing like-”

  “Noct, perhaps you could help me,” Ignis said, effectively cutting off what the Chancellor was saying. With a hand on each of Prompto’s upper arms, Ignis guided the gunman back until he was sitting on one of the seats that ran along the sides of the dropship.

  “Sure, what do you need?” Noct asked, coming up to stand beside Ignis. The three of them were now between Prompto and the Chancellor, Noct and Ignis facing him and Gladio facing outwards, watching Ardyn. Prompto didn’t really notice. His mind was blank, a still lake; he heard everything the Chancellor said, but instinctively retreated into his training, back to not responding, not thinking, not feeling.

  “Some ice please,” Ignis said. “Just the tiniest amount. We don’t want it to be too cold.”

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  “Right,” Noctis said. He sat next to Prompto and placed both his hands on Prompto’s shoulder. Frowning with concentration, he summoned a tiny bit of ice magic.

  The sudden coldness was so unexpected that Prompto gasped a little, shocked out of his trance-like state, and turned to watch.

  “I can teach you to do this, you know,” Noct said, still focusing on what he was doing, completely ignoring the Chancellor.

  “What, for real?” Prompto asked, enticed by the idea despite himself. The magic he had thrown earlier against the Titan had been handed to him by Ignis; magic was not something a magitek soldier could ever hope to wield.

  “Well, sort of,” Noct said. “Not like this, I can't even control it well enough to use it in battle like this, but to access the armiger where I store magic flasks? Sure.”

  “Awesome,” Prompto said with a grin.

  “That's enough,” Ignis said quietly, and Noct lowered his hands. Used to the cold, Prompto’s shoulder felt unnaturally warm now, but it was throbbing less and, with another potion that Ignis handed him downed, the pain was barely noticeable.

  “So… how does it work?” Prompto asked.

  “Are you really sure you want to do that with it? Do you truly trust an MT with that kind of power?” the Chancellor asked.

  “First, I have to give you access to it,” Noct said, completely ignoring Ardyn. Prompto followed his lead as best he could; Prince Noctis was his new commander, but he couldn't stop the words “it” and “MT” from circling around his mind.

  Noctis took Prompto’s gun and set it aside before holding his hand in both of his own. For a moment, nothing happened. Then a warmth spread, a golden glow encasing both their hands, though Prompto could swear he felt a hot cord or something winding around both their wrists, binding them together. He blinked, and it was gone, the heat, the binding, all of it, to the point where he wondered if he had just imagined it all.

  Noct removed his hands with a weary smile and, after sending Prompto’s gun to the ether, said, “Now you summon it. You've just got to will it into existence.”

  Prompto squeezed his eyes shut and screwed his face up as he tried to will the gun into his hand. And then, feeling its familiar weight, he opened his eyes and his face broke into a bright grin. “I did it!” he said.

  Noct laughed at his new friend's reaction and rested his head back against the wall. Even Ignis was smiling at him. Prompto sent the gun away before summoning it again, without the facial expression this time. He sent it away and summoned it again. And again. And again.

  Feeling a weight against his shoulder, Prompto looked to his side to see Noct had fallen asleep and slid sideways to rest against Prompto’s shoulder. He really could sleep anywhere. Prompto let him be; he had looked exhausted after the battle with the Titan. He doubted any harm would come to him just now.

  Ignis and Gladio had moved off to the side and were talking quietly with one another. Neither had noticed that Ardyn had moved closer to Prompto and Noctis. At least not until he spoke. “How sweet. A picture of innocence. One might even believe you to be human, with thoughts and feelings that are your own.”

  “Can it,” Gladio snapped, immediately inserting himself between his prince and the Chancellor.

  Prompto, meanwhile, had summoned his gun again and started to raise it. His head erupted with pain. He managed to raise it a little further, but that caused dark spots to swim before his eyes.

  “It's alright, Prompto,” Ignis said, his hand on Prompto’s upper arm serving as an anchor.

  Prompto sent the gun away as Ardyn laughed at him. Trying to distract himself, he looked across at Noct who had slept through the whole thing. “Is he alright?” Prompto asked, voice still tight with pain. Surely it was unusual for even him to sleep through that.

  “He will be,” Ignis said. “Each time we access the armiger to summon weapons or magic, or whenever Noct warp strikes, it takes a little bit more energy. Energy he then needs to recover by sleeping. After a fight like that with the Titan, I'm honestly surprised he stayed awake as long as he did. That's why we try to limit our magic use and only use two weapons each.”

  “And cause Sleeping Beauty there likes to look good,” Gladio added.

  “That too,” Ignis conceded with a small smile.

  Prompto felt guilt well up. “And I was just continuously summoning my gun to see if I could,” he murmured, voice stricken.

  Gladio laughed. “Don't worry, he's tougher than he looks,” he said.

  “The energy required to allow you to do that would have been negligible. He may have felt it, but of itself that’s not enough to cause this. I wouldn't worry about it,” Ignis assured him.

  Prompto nodded, but nonetheless resisted the urge to summon his gun again. Instead, he rested his head back against the wall, mirroring Noct’s pose. He couldn't sleep, he couldn't allow himself to relax and let his guard down, but he could rest just a little. At least the Chancellor seemed to have lost interest in taunting them for the moment, allowing Ignis and Gladio to rest as well.

  They didn't have too long to themselves before Prompto felt the familiar shift in air pressure that indicated they were descending; drop ships were a lot faster at crossing great distances than a car was. He nudged Noct awake, then stood as the doors began to open.

  “I'm afraid I must bid you farewell for now, little Lucians, though I do hope to see you again soon,” the Chancellor said.

  Prompto hoped nothing of the sort—the Chancellor made him extremely uneasy as well as bringing up thoughts and feelings that caused pain despite his best efforts. He led the way down the ramp and jumped the small distance to the ground, glad to be out of the dropship.

  “Thanks for the lift,” was all Noct said about that as he followed Prompto down, Gladio and Ignis beside him.

  “Just a friendly warning,” Ardyn called out from the mouth of the dropship. “Make sure to keep a close eye on your personal MT unit. You never know when they might malfunction. Right C1094?”

  Prompto felt his old world come flooding in, hearing his unit number spoken by that voice. He again felt the urge to stand at attention, awaiting and obeying any and all orders. The biting cold of Gralea—units do not need heating—the ache of previous training lessons, the burning of some unknown substance pumping through his veins from the latest Inurement.

  He didn’t see the satisfied smile on Ardyn’s face as the drop ship doors closed, didn’t hear the questions his new friends asked. He didn’t hear Prince Noctis telling him to follow, but his body did, and his body obeyed.

  -|-|-|-

  “Right C1094?”

  “What are you talking about?” Noct asked, but Ardyn merely lifted his hat slightly in a salute, smirked, and retreated inside the dropship as the doors closed and the thing rose upwards.

  “Noct.” Ignis tilted his head towards Prompto, who was standing stock still, back straight, pale enough that his freckles stood out starkly.

  “Prom? You okay?” Noct asked hesitantly.

  Prompto didn't respond. He acted as though he didn't hear him at all.

  “Shit, now what?” Gladio asked. “You don't think-”

  “No, I don't,” Noct said, cutting him off. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, looking around. Ardyn had dropped them near the chocobo ranch. Convenient, since they had been forced to leave the Regalia behind.

  “I should speak to the proprietor,” Ignis said eventually. “Sort out our accommodations, some birds to hire in the morning. I think we can afford to relax for a day.”

  “Right,” Noct said. Looking over the chocobos in their pens, he got an idea and started walking towards them.

  “Ah, Noct?” Gladio said.

  Looking back, Noct saw that Prompto hadn't moved, though his eyes were following him. Running a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable, Noct rose his voice and said, “Prom, follow me.”

  He didn't know if he was relieved or dismayed when Prompto did as he was told. He supposed it didn't matter; if he would obey Noctis, then at least it wasn't Ardyn he was obeying. Walking over to where the chicks were, Noct picked one up, ignoring the indignant squawks it gave. “Sit down,” he said. Once Prompto had sat cross-legged on the grass, Noct dropped the chick in his lap and sat opposite.

  Prompto blinked and looked down at her. The chick cheeped up at him and hesitantly he rose a hand to stroke her feathers. She nuzzled his hand.

  The effect was almost instantaneous. “She's so cute!” he practically shouted as he gathered her up in his free arm and held her close, nuzzling her like a mother chocobo might do, and, surprisingly, the chick didn't seem to mind.

  Noct laughed and sat back, relieved beyond measure that his friend was back to normal. He didn't know why Prompto had reacted like that to Ardyn’s words when nothing he said on the drop ship had caused that reaction, but at least chocobos seemed to break through it.

  Hearing the crunch of footsteps approaching, Noct looked up to see Ignis walking towards them, eyebrows raised. Standing, clapping Prompto on the shoulder as he passed, Noct walked over to his advisor, wearing a smug grin.

  “Well, this is a surprise,” Ignis said, still watching Prompto as he played with the chick. “How did you know he would even respond to that?”

  Noct gave a one-shouldered shrug. “Had a hunch,” he said. Ignis rose an eyebrow. “Saw him eying off that dorky chocobo t-shirt you and Gladio got me last time we were here. Figured he hadn't seen one before and might like to.”

  “Noct! Can we keep her? Please?” Prompto called from where he sat.

  “Didn't think it would be this effective, though,” he admitted with a laugh.

  “Indeed,” Ignis said and, though his tone was displeased with the childish antics he was smiling fondly.