“Watch it!”

  “Then get out of my way!”

  Prompto gritted his teeth as he shot at one of the swamp alligator things, then hurried three steps to the side to hurl Ignis up and backwards, firing off another shot at the monster that was charging them, the last one.

  “I wouldn't need to get in your way if you'd learn to defend yourself!”

  “Ah guys?” Prompto tried, his voice hesitant.

  “What?” both Noct and Gladio snarled at him at once, spinning to face him. Prompto instinctively curled in on himself a little, but a glance to Ignis, standing off by himself a few feet away strengthened his resolve.

  Realising they had both snapped at Prompto and each blaming the other, Noct and Gladio were glaring at each other when Prompto spoke again. “There's a haven just up there and it's getting dark already. We should probably make camp, don't you think?”

  “Bit early, isn’t it?” Gladio asked.

  “If you want to fight daemons in the dark, be my guest,” Noct snapped. He started climbing up to the haven.

  Prompto sighed softly to himself. “So much for that,” he muttered under his breath.

  “Prompto,” Ignis said, quietly.

  Prompto looked over to Ignis to see that he was still standing off to the side. He walked over, thinking maybe the man was just unsure of his footing. Ignis let Prompto lead him towards the haven, but he walked deliberately slowly and when he spoke, he pitched his voice low.

  “We need to end this bickering between us, specifically those two,” Ignis said. “Talk to Gladio. Convince him to try listening to Noct without losing his temper. I will speak to Noct.”

  “I’ll try but…” Prompto trailed off, looking up towards the Haven where Gladio was setting up their camp with sharp, angry movements. “Why would he listen to me? I’m just…” The enemy, he was about to say; these guys had grown up together, shared mutual successes and losses, experiences that Prompto could never be a part of. That had been made all the more obvious when he had tried to break up a shouting match between the two men and been shoved into a train seat by his face. It hadn’t hurt—he knew Gladio wouldn’t deliberately hurt him—but it had made Prompto withdraw away from Gladio slightly.

  “He’ll listen,” Ignis said. “You’ll find a way to get through to him. You must. We cannot succeed in Gralea without the four of us. Together and united.”

  Prompto had his own doubts about how they could succeed in Gralea—he had lived there, he knew what was awaiting them—but he didn’t feel he had much of a choice. That was where the crystal was, and they needed the crystal’s power to defeat the Empire, to drive them out of Lucis. It was Prompto’s only chance to have a home, have a family, a place to belong, and he wanted that. It still hurt to want something so badly, but that hurt only reminded him of how true it was, how much he longed for it to be so.

  “I’ll do my best,” Prompto said.

  “And that’s all any of us can do. Our best,” Ignis replied, his tone wistful.

  Prompto smiled sadly and guided the man to a seat that Noct had set up by the fire.

  -l-l-l-

  Another day, another slog through an unforgiving swamp with a spoiled brat of a king leading them. Gladio was thankful for Prompto taking the active role in looking out for Iggy, but he nonetheless wished that the others would listen to him for once, to take his advice, to leave Ignis in the care of their friends in Hammerhead. He would be looked after there, could adjust to his disability safely, and then there would only be one liability he and the gunman would have to keep an eye on.

  While the princess was off sulking last night, Prompto had come up with the rather transparent request that the two of them patrol around the perimeter, to make sure no monsters would get close. Gladio had seen it immediately for what it was—an excuse to talk—but the fact was he felt guilty about the way he had shoved Prompto the other day. The least he could do was agree to the request, to make sure things were still cool between them.

  In the end, they had had quite the heart to heart. Even if it had ended in the Nif setting him the challenge of expressing his doubts to Noct, of letting him defend himself against them and actually listen to him, without losing his temper. Watching Noct now, ahead of them, Gladio grit his teeth. He was striding ahead, faster than Ignis could keep up. As usual.

  Glancing back, ensuring that Prompto was keeping Iggy safe, Gladio jogged forward and grabbed Noct’s shoulder to stop him. “Hold up,” he said. As expected, the prince yanked it away, stepping back, but he did stop. Gladio looked over his shoulder briefly, but Prompto and Ignis had stopped a distance away. Good. “You sure you’re ready for this? You got what it takes?” Gladio demanded.

  “To do what?” Noct asked sullenly.

  “To face your ancestors and convince them to lend you their strength,” Gladio said. It was obvious, wasn’t it? Noctis didn’t have anywhere near the strength of his father; surely it was obvious that Gladio would be having doubts. “Got a long road ahead. Can you see it through? To the end?”

  “As if I have a choice,” Noct snapped. “You think I like the idea of people sacrificing themselves for me, one after the other?”

  Gladio shook his head in disgust; just as he suspected. “Enough. Forget it,” he said, not bothering to keep the disappointment from his voice. He had promised Prompto he wouldn't get angry, but he didn't need to worry; it wasn't anger he felt anymore. Brushing past, he walked a few steps, but then stopped. Looking over his shoulder, he said to Noctis’s back, “I thought you’d accepted your duty. I thought wrong.”

  “No!” Noctis snapped, spinning around to face Gladio. “You think just because I'm sick of people dying for me, I'm just going to shirk my duty? I am not so shallow! I will retake our home and I will not let their sacrifices be in vain! I am King, and it's about time you saw me that way!” Noct was shouting by the time he was done, fists balled and eyes hard.

  “Hmph,” Gladio said, though he was wearing a small smile. “Damn right you're king. Which means you better start taking this seriously and stop slacking off.” With that, Gladio turned back towards the mine, leading the way down, feeling Noct’s eyes on his back but knowing they had finally got somewhere.

  -l-l-l-

  “That was awesome!” Prompto shouted, punching the air.

  “I’m just glad it worked,” Ignis said. Modest as always.

  Things had been looking particularly dire. Prompto had seen pictures of a marlboro before, in one of his monster theory classes. Seeing one for the first time, though, was completely different. And nothing could have prepared him for the smell! The Empire’s advice? Run. Not exactly helpful here when they had to get through it to get to the royal tomb. Which meant they were one up on the Empire, having roasted that thing! Well, Ignis was anyway.

  Eggs fried, royal arm obtained, now they just had to get back to the train before it left without them. As they were leaving though, Ignis stopped.

  “A moment,” he said, pausing just outside the doorway.

  “Is everything okay?” Gladio asked, half turning to face him.

  “It bloody well isn’t,” Ignis snapped. Prompto’s eyebrows shot up. Ignis actually sounded angry. Like genuinely angry. Ignis never got angry! “And I won’t suffer this pointless bickering in silence any longer.”

  Prompto looked aside, uneasy with where this was going. He had thought that things were sorted between Noct and Gladio; he had managed to convince Gladio to talk to Noct by challenging him, betting him one hundred gil that he couldn’t do it (and now he had to ask Ignis if he could borrow one hundred gil). And while he hadn’t heard everything, Noctis’s shouting was clear, especially at the end. He had thought ‘Fantastic, now things could get back to normal,’ or at least what counted as normal for these Lucians. But it hadn’t resolved anything; they had gone right back to snipping at each other during the fight. And, by the guilty look the two wore, they both knew it as well.

  “Let us be frank. My vision hasn’t improved, and probably won’t,” Ignis continued. Prompto grimaced uneasily at that; he hadn’t realised until then that the man had still held on to hope that his eyesight would return. “Yet, in spite of this…” His voice drops, quiet. “I would remain with you all. Till the end.”

  Glagio sighs loudly. “Sorry, but I object. War is a matter of life and death.”

  Prompto was unable to help himself; they had been over all these arguments before, in Altissia. Ignis had still come along then and, what’s more, he had just saved all their arses. No matter how much it hurt, Prompto wasn’t able to stay silent. “We’ll be there!” he snapped. He gritted his teeth but glared at Gladio, daring him to continue.

  Of course he did. “It’s not about us looking out for him!”

  “Uh huh,” Prompto said, decidedly unamused. “Just like it wasn’t about you guys looking out for me when my head feels like it’s gonna explode? Like it wasn’t about Noct when he was paralysed with that stasis thing? Like it wasn’t about you when you took off to fight Gilgamesh! Just like all of that, Iggy should be free to choose.” Prompto’s head was pounding, but he refused to back down. He couldn’t

  “There’s more to it than just what he wants!” Gladio snapped.

  “I know full well!” Ignis shouted. He wasn’t looking at them—well ‘looking’—but he had his head turned to the side, an ear facing them. “Gladio, I was raised with the same duties instilled in me as in you. We may have different roles to play for our king, but both of us know that our duty, to protect the king, comes first. I am not asking you to slow down. If I can’t keep up, I will bow out.”

  Prompto was determined not to see that happen, not after all Ignis had done for him, but he could see Gladio starting to wear down so held his tongue. For now, at least.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “What says ‘his majesty’?” Gladio said, his tone full of mockery.

  Before Noct could answer though, Ignis spoke up. “Noct, you are king. Remember what we spoke about last night.” Noct, who had been staring at the ground, looked up at Ignis then. “One cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back.”

  Prompto bit his lip a little, watching the play between Ignis and Noct, seeing how Noct seemed to cling to Ignis’s words like a lifeline; Ignis had earned his title of ‘Advisor to the King’. It wasn’t just because he was a good cook and, frankly, the most mature of the three of them, or because of his keen intelligence and analytical mind. It was that skill, the one that enabled him to cut to the heart of the matter and convey it to Noctis in a way that made him listen. Prompto envied that.

  “Gladio, Noct will take his rightful place.” Ignis walked unerringly towards Gladio as he spoke. “But only once he’s ready. That is not for you to decide.”

  Prompto gave a sharp nod, not willing to say anything further—his head was still throbbing lightly from earlier—but agreeing wholeheartedly with Ignis. He may be the outsider, he may be the only one who hadn’t grown up with Noctis, but he knew what he saw and what he saw was someone who had more grit, determination, and innate leadership skills than anyone who had ordered Prompto in Niflheim.

  Gladio’s arms were folded defensively across his chest, but at that he lowered them and looked aside; perhaps he had been overstepping the mark a little, even if it was with the best intentions. “Have it your way. We’re still taking a big risk,” he said, unable to completely concede defeat but willing to go that far. “We better all be ready.”

  “We will,” Prompto said quietly. Gladio started to stride away, walking away from the tomb and, glancing back to see Ignis and Noct speaking quietly, Prompto hurried after Gladio; they shouldn’t split up and, truthfully, Prompto wasn’t sure that Gladio wasn’t about to run off again.

  -l-l-l-

  Noctis stared out the window at the Niflheim landscape, the weird desert meeting the snow. He had heard of it, of course, been forced to study the phenomena, but studying it was completely different to seeing it in person.

  Hearing someone running down the carriage, Noct tore his gaze away from the window to see Prompto heading towards him. Prompto, seeing Noct, skidded to a halt and leaned on the table as he spoke.

  “Woah! There you are, buddy! Did you see this? It’s unreal!” he said.

  Noct frowned. “Didn’t you say you had trained out here?”

  “Well, yeah, but it was a few years ago now. And that cloud thing wasn’t so big then either. Just a kind of mist or something. This is insane!”

  “Yeah,” Noctis said, looking back out the window. “Never seen anything like it. Doesn’t make any sense.”

  Noctis shivered, a chilling tingle spreading over his skin. The hair stood up on the back of his neck and, slowly, he turned around. The light was strange, kind of blueish-white instead of the warm yellows the desert sun had provided. And the carriage was silent. Not just quiet, but completely silent, no rail sounds, no coughing, no chink of glasses from the bar, nothing. Prompto had vanished; he had just been talking and now he was gone. But, even more than that, everyone was frozen still. It was as though time had stopped for everyone except him.

  “What’s going on?” Noctis asked slowly as he got out of his seat, looking around.

  “It’s a real mystery,” a familiar voice drawled.

  Noctis gasped as he spun around, his heart leaping into his throat. The last time he had seen Ardyn, he had just stabbed Luna and then taunted Noct about it while he lay helpless, too exhausted to move. And now, the bastard had the gall to show up here on the train! Smiling all the while!

  “I’m not liking that snow cloud. Kind of gives me the chills and it looks like it’s getting closer,” Ardyn was saying, for all appearances looking out the window and admiring the view like one of the frozen passengers. “Like, who comes up with this stuff?” he continued. “It’s nothing like I remember.”

  Noctis has had enough. Striding forward, anger surging, he growls, “The hell are you doing here?” He doesn’t even think before he throws a punch.

  <><>

  It was only Prompto’s highly trained reflexes that stopped him from getting a broken nose as he dodged Noct’s punch. He had gone to get them a drink and was waiting for the bartender to serve him when Noct had suddenly run up to him. “Whoa, what’s going on?” he asked uneasily. “Easy there, buddy.” Noct just tripped, he told himself. He stumbled and tripped, that was all. “Whoa, didn’t see that coming.”

  A few people had turned to see and one woman clutched her young daughter to her, leaning against the window, afraid that a fight would break out. It wouldn’t, would it?

  It was as though Noct didn’t even see them though as he summoned his sword. “Shut up!” he shouted.

  Was there something going on? Prompto risked a glance behind him, half expecting to see some kind of demon and only just saw the flash out of the corner of his eye, warning him to dodge back to avoid being slashed by Noct’s sword.

  “Be careful there!” Prompto shouted. He backed away further. There had been something there, that had to be it. Noct was sometimes careless in battle, focusing more on the enemy than on where his friends were. There had been a couple of close calls before.

  But the expected guilty ‘sorry’ didn’t come. Instead, Noct kept on advancing, and it wasn’t something behind Prompto that he was staring at. Those dark blue eyes, filled with anger and hatred, were locked on Prompto.

  “Wait - is this for real?” Prompto said. Noct didn’t answer, merely charged at him. It was real! Noct was furious with something and attacking him, completely ignoring the terrified passengers!

  Prompto turned and ran, darting down the carriage, forgetting about their drinks. He couldn’t fight Noct! Wouldn’t fight him! He didn’t even know why Noct was acting that way. Pausing long enough to yank open the door, Prompto darted through. A sleeper carriage! Surely there would be… there! An empty room. Pulling the door open, Prompto slid it shut as he heard Noct open the carriage door himself. He threw himself under the bed and held his breath. What was going on? They had been talking all friendly just before. And to just attack him like that? Prompto squeezed his eyes shut. Not even when he was furious at Gladio had Noct physically attacked one of them! It wasn’t his style.

  But then, Prompto wasn’t one of them. And so he hid.

  One second. Two. Then the door was flung open.

  “Show yourself!” Noct growled.

  No. No no no no. Prompto gripped at his hair, pulling it slightly as he fought the order. He could do this, they had been practicing. It hurt, it hurt so much more when it was real disobedience instead of just pretend. But he could do this. The moment passed, the pain with it. And then… nothing. Prompto barely dared to breathe. Noct had seen him come in here, he had to, that was how he was able to know exactly which door to open. But… he wasn’t doing anything. Still, Prompto waited, keeping as quiet as possible, trying to decide whether to summon his gun or not. He wouldn’t shoot Noct, of course, but it was made from quicksilver, it would make a fair club. Maybe if he could knock Noct out, he could get help. But if he summoned it, would Noct feel it? Would it give him away?

  A minute passed, then two, then four. Still nothing. Slowly, Prompto peeked out from under the bed, then hurriedly ducked back. Noct was there, standing in the doorway! There was still no sound though, no movement, no shout of discovery. Hesitantly, Prompto looked out again. Noct was still standing there, but he wasn’t looking at him. He was just standing still, staring, only occasionally blinking.

  “Noct?” he said quietly.

  No response.

  Prompto wriggled out from under the bed and stood before his friend, right in front of him, but there was still no recognition, no movement. Something weird was going on! Maybe he was sick, or, or confused. Some monsters caused confusion, made them mistake their friends for enemies, that had to be it! He had to get to Ignis and Gladio; maybe they had some idea of what was going on or at the very least Ignis would know how to cure this confusion. Careful not to touch Noct (though he couldn’t say why), Prompto slipped past his best friend and started towards the front of the train where he had seen Ignis and Gladio go.

  He was at the doorway, hand on the handle, when he paused, looking back. Noct was still standing there, staring. What if… what if whatever this was put him in danger? Prompto couldn’t just leave him there, he was his best friend, the one who had allowed him to come along when he had nothing else!

  Hanging his head with a sigh, Prompto turned away from the door and back to Noct.

  <><>

  “Show yourself!” Noctis growled as he threw the sleeper cabin’s door open. He stared. The carriage was empty. He had just seen Ardyn go in there, but now there was no one. Where could he have gone?

  “Uh.. Noct?”

  Noct felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around, flinging his arm wide, but only caught a glimpse of Ardyn before he vanished again.

  “That son of a bitch…” Noctis cursed, his frustration rising.

  <><>

  Prompto fell back again, heart racing. Nope, Noct was still trying to attack him! Not kill him, Prompto couldn’t believe that he would try to kill him. If he had wanted him dead, he had plenty of opportunities, so why now? He had to get help, there was no other way around it. He had to trust that Noct would be able to handle himself for a little while on his own.

  He turned to run again, not noticing how Noct seemed frozen once more. He got two carriages away this time (why did the train have to be so damn long anyway?) before Noct caught up with him.

  “C’mon, Noct!” Prompto shouted, stumbling along the carriage’s passage. It was a joke, it had to be! “You're scaring me!” he said, narrowly dodging another punch. The only response Noct gave, though, was a furious, almost animalistic growl when his attacks kept missing. “Seriously, man, cut it out! This isn’t funny anymore, it’s not safe!” he tried.

  Had to be a joke. Had to be had to be had to be- whoa! Prompto just managed to throw himself to the ground to avoid having his head chopped off by Noct’s blade, the passengers screaming as he only narrowly avoided hitting them as well. “Noct, you’re causing a scene. Quit playing around!” he tried; surely Noct cared about the other passengers, it was a king’s job to care about people, right?

  “You think this is funny?!” Noct growled and Prompto’s heart dropped even as he physically dropped himself again to avoid another sword slice.

  “I… I didn’t mean it like-” he started to stammer as he scrambled backwards. Another time he was scrambling away from this man flashed into his mind. It was hot then, and there was sandy stone beneath him. Prompto had worn armour to protect him; he had none of that now. But even back then, when Noct had been trying to kill him, his expression was just determination to do what was necessary; he didn’t have the hatred he saw in his eyes now.

  “Dude, are you seriously trying to kill me?” Prompto asked, almost dreading the answer. Getting his feet under him again, he turned and ran once more. It was a dream. That must be it. A dream, one of those forever running ones. Next time he falls, he’ll wake right before hitting the ground like he always does.

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Noct snapped.

  <><>

  “Why wouldn’t I?” Noct snapped.

  He couldn’t believe this guy! How could Ardyn really think that he wouldn’t want to kill him? He had killed Luna! Stabbed her in the stomach! It was a deliberate act, a torturous one, one that would have killed her slowly and painfully had the Hydraean’s waters not claimed her first.

  Why wouldn’t Ardyn just face him and be done with it?! Noctis was sure he was the one behind all the passengers seemingly frozen in time, so he clearly wanted something! And then, finally, Ardyn pulled on a door that didn’t open. Noct had him trapped.

  “What’re you after, following me around this whole time?” he growled as he approached. “It’s your fault!”

  <><>

  Eventually, as Prompto knew it would, his luck ran out. A door he tried to yank open was locked.

  “What’re you after, following me around this whole time? It’s your fault!”

  Prompto spun around at that. Was that… was that really what Noct thought? Prompto had begged to come along with them, way back in Hammerhead when he had felt so lost without orders to follow. He knew it had been a risk the Lucians took, but… did Noct hate him for it? See him as nothing more than a stray dog? It certainly seemed that way as Noct shoved him back against the metal wall of the train, arm across his throat.

  The broken rifle dropped to the ground as an arm pressed across his throat, cutting off his air. Even as his hands grasped futilely at the arm, Prompto knew this was it. He closed his eyes and waited for the fatal strike.

  “What are you talking about?” Prompto got out through the pressure against his windpipe. What was his fault? Ignis’s blindness? Was it because he wasn’t there to save Luna, had only seen her body? Did Noct secretly blame him for the Empire’s attack on Insomnia? He knew that both Gladio and Ignis had shared that suspicion and uneasiness at first, but he had thought Noct was different. Maybe he was wrong. “Do… do you really mean that Noct?” he asked, hating how his voice was breaking.

  “Of course I do!” Prompto closed his eyes at that as pain welled in his chest, at the anger and the hatred that rolled off Noct towards him. “You can’t talk your way out of this!”

  Prompto shook his head slightly. “I won’t,” he whispered. He didn’t know what he had done to cause this contempt and rage from Noctis, but he was still his commander, his leader. If this was what he wanted, then he would obey.

  <><>

  “I won’t,” Ardyn whispered.

  Noctis frowned. That was… unexpected.

  Growling, frustrated, he shoved against the neck under his arm. “Stop… stop messing with my head!” he snapped.

  Ardyn couldn’t answer; he was making small choking sounds. Finally, this was it! He would have his revenge and the added satisfaction of doing so with his own bare hands.

  Noctis barely had time to recognise that it was an explosion that ripped into the train, throwing him across the carriage, before his head slammed into metal and he saw only darkness.