Chapter Text
With Cindy awake, Loqi starts keeping a tally of the days as best he can. They don't have any real indication of time passing, past their prior methods: the doctors and scientists show up twice a day—once in the morning, once at night, so far as they can tell—and Ardyn shows up a long while after the night visit.
Cindy goes missing more often than naught, whereas Loqi goes days at a time without being taken out of the labs. Normally, he's just assessed from his own tank, annoyance evident as the humans work away at the computers and the little panel of buttons on the side of his tank. Prompto still doesn't quite understand what the buttons do, but he knows they make the monotonous voice sound above them and say things he can't keep up with.
Prompto's not sure if his brother's been keeping track from day one, but he hears the scientists talking about the tally marks on the side of his tank. One of the few times they move all three of them, Prompto manages to look into Loqi's tank and sees the small scritch marks. Some of the lines are circled and, if he's keeping up with the days properly, the circled "days" are the days Loqi goes missing. Cindy's days are marked separately with a small "x" above the tally in question. Another part of his tank has correlations to when all of them are moved or when only him and Cindy get moved; intervals of five. Cindy gets taken…somewhere, every other day. Loqi every third day. All of them every fifth day, always to the big tanks, always separated; Cindy and Prompto in one tank, Loqi in the other.
Sometimes the days overlap—sometimes Cindy and Loqi are both missing; or, if their day falls on a fifth day, they stay missing a little bit longer after the humans retrieve them from the big tanks. By the time the pattern emerges, it's been a full two months.
Two months of confinement in the most minimal of comfortable spaces, only allowed to fully stretch when they were all taken out. Prompto isn't sure where his siblings are when they're taken, but they always come back looking massively uncomfortable and neither of them can actually explain what's happening. Can't or don't want to, Prompto isn't really sure; he suspects the latter, whenever he sees his siblings exchange worried looks when they're returned.
About three weeks after the Trench Sleeper incident, the scientists finally stop testing Loqi's speed and strength. He explains that much: during the first three weeks, they have weird obstacle courses for him to swim through, with human-made things to fight; things similar to the cranes that captured them, but smaller. After the three week mark, they start making him shift back and forth between human and aquatic forms. That isn't too abnormal, until they have his brother change and bring his tank back, with Loqi still in his human form, still hooked up to various restraints, with the strange addition of a bubble-like mask over his face that does nothing to hide his discomfort.
He manages to hold the human form for the entire three days until the humans came back before he finally gives up and changes back, clearly exhausted from holding the form. Which, as Prompto thinks further on it, is odd in and of itself.
Shifting doesn't hurt, according to his siblings.
There are stories of some Leviaens residing entirely on land and only returning to the sea maybe twice a year as communal-specific festivals called for it. Some only returned once a year, to pay respects to Leviathan, before returning to the land. Ardyn, so far as any of them know, resides entirely on land. At least, none of them have seen his Leviaen form, even after two months. If Loqi's right and Prompto's actually remembering things correctly, there's an entire nation comprised of Leviaens that resided on land. The nation Ardyn had mentioned the first night Prompto was awake—Tenebrae? Is that what he'd said?
With all of that evidence, Loqi should have been able to hold the form longer. Maybe it just took practice? They didn't go on land often and, lately, they've been so cramped that it probably wasn't comfortable. Or maybe it was harder to hold the human form in water? Prompto still doesn't understand how shifting works and, as much as he wants to ask, Loqi doesn't look like he wants to talk about it and this… probably isn't the best place to ask about things like that.
Cindy admits, after Loqi's brought back from that particular trip—finally back in his Leviaen form, curled up at the bottom of his tank, and fast asleep—they had her shift as well. They hadn't made her maintain the form nearly as long as Loqi, but long enough to assess how well her vocal control extended to her human form and study any internal changes while she was a human. Which made… a little sense, maybe. Prompto can't imagine their internal structure changes too drastically when they shift but there had to be something that triggered when they did, since their bodies made the shift so easily—according to his siblings—and, if nothing else, their bodies knew to switch between gills and lungs and that their legs required independent motor functions completely separate from how their tails worked.
Prompto still isn't positive of that, either—he's kind of figured out that the machines monitor their health on a rather large scale; can monitor their heart rate just as easily as any external injuries—but he still doesn't understand it. Ardyn, for whatever his word may or may not be worth, has made multiple passing mentions about the humans scanning their genetic structures and monitoring how that pertains to their ability to shift, just as much as their personalised adaptabilities.
It could, honestly, be something just as simple as studying the genetic makeup of Leviaens, but it couldn't be just that. If Ardyn was a Leviaen he could easily provide all of this information without testing on any of them. They wouldn't even need to test on Ardyn, probably; so far as Prompto's witnessed, the man is an endless fountain of knowledge. He had thoroughly walked Loqi through holding his human form, for the three days he managed, giving him idle tips to keep his body from trying to breathe through his gills, even though he was submerged; tips to keep his body from instigating the change in water. Weirder still was that Ardyn could summon his claws and fangs in his human form; something he promised to share with Loqi if he managed to hold the human form for an entire week.
Loqi hasn't tried again since the first attempt, either still too tired or not willing to trust Ardyn's word.
Cindy's given a similar promise, when it becomes apparent Loqi isn't going to play along. If she can hold her human form for an entire week, Ardyn will teach her how to use her sonar more efficiently above water and, more importantly, in her human form. But, she doesn't take the bait, either, and only maintains her human form when given incentive by the doctors.
The incentive has to be a lie—if Cindy could use her sonar above water, the humans would never remove her mask. What's more is that it can't actually be possible that Ardyn has that knowledge on a personal level, can he? They still aren't sure what his adaptabilities are; but the way he talks, he has rather intimate insight to most skills. Fighters. Witches. Sirens. And… maybe even Prompto's abilities. He doesn't talk about the magic often; but, some small part of Prompto is constantly hoping the man might know something about it.
Unfortunately, whenever he actually works up the nerve to try asking, it's either as Ardyn's leaving or when the scientist humans enter the room, always oddly surprised to see Ardyn conversing with the three of them.
Their reactions would be easier to try assessing if the threats weren't constantly hanging over their heads. The knowledge that if any of them choose not to comply, the others suffer for it. There haven't been any outright threats that Prompto's heard; but, it's still there. Lingering. Always lingering. Loqi's words about Prompto having been threatened. The tension that shoots through Cindy's body whenever any of the scientists show either of her brothers favour for longer than a few minutes at a time. Even Prompto feels a sense of dread when he's asked to do something, uncertain if failure to comply will result in one of his siblings being hurt worse than they already are.
After the first month, the humans separate all three of them.
It's not uncommon, necessarily; just strange, since this should be a day they're dropped into the tank; but, Prompto's memorised the path to the tanks and the humans take him down a completely new one. He's still not sure where he is—another room that looks like their lab, but a lot less white and a lot less blinding lights—but he's been taken out of his tank and laid out on a slab of the shiny gray material—metal. A metal table that has just as many restraints as his tank—no. More restraints. A lot more, but not something he can really process too well, at first.
His body struggles to make the change to lungs and sustain the change after weeks of only surfacing whenever he's dropped into the large tank. It hurts, but not nearly as much as the straps down his right arm. His left arm isn't nearly as heavily restrained—a strap across his bicep and one over his wrist. His right arm has four straps at carefully spaced intervals and, instead of securing his wrist, a fifth across the back of his hand so he can't really move his hand. He can wiggle his fingers a little, but that's about it. A large band across his chest and just above his hips keeps his torso still. A rather strangely shaped cushion is placed around his head and keeps him from trying to look around, along with securing a metal bar in his mouth. He doesn't try to bite down on it too hard but it still feels weird and makes him gnaw a little to try relaxing his jaw.
An almost positive note is that the humans remember that part of them always needs to be in the water to maintain their membrane. His tail hangs off of the table he's on, down some sort of container filled with water. Enough water that at least his fins and a few inches of his actual tail are submerged; only almost positive, because he can feel a band around his tail, just above the water and another just before his fins start. He can't move, but… he doesn't worry about drying out, at least, and he's not terribly uncomfortable. The table is a bit cold but not unbearable.
As he's working on trying to talk around the bar in his mouth—trying to ask what's happening—a sharp pain suddenly shoots up his right arm. Even knowing his arm is completely immobile, his body tries to jerk away on reflex. Not just his arm, even though he can feel his muscles protesting and trying to find a way to move; but, he can feel the rest of his limbs writhing in a vain attempt to alleviate the pain. The most he can manage is curling his fingers against the flat surface of the table, trying desperately to find a grip that doesn't exist. The bar muffles the choked scream, to some extent, and he finally realises it's there to keep him from biting down on himself. His jaw protests when he bites the bar and he can feel his teeth protesting just as much, if not more.
The pain travels across the top of his wrist in a slow, deliberate and precise manner, at timed intervals. At the top of his wrist, down towards his hand, probably an inch. A pause; the first pause, he hopes it's over, only for the pain to return in a slightly wider area just next to the first source of pain. The pattern continues from the outside of his wrist to the inside and, by the end, he's stopped trying to count the intervals and is barely even aware that the pause is a little bit longer than the pattern established. The screaming stopped, his throat sore and protesting, and reduced him to silent sobs. His fingers are still bent from trying to find a grip and he can tell that all of his joints have locked in that position; just trying to straight his fingers out so they're flat against the table again is almost enough pain to distract him from his wrist.
Almost enough. It hurts, but not nearly as much as his wrist hurts.
Before he can fully straighten his hand out, the pain returns, this time in a small section just above the original source of pain, and another scream rips from his throat. This isn't the same precision pain from before; this is searing and heavy—like when Cindy has to hold a kelp wrap to a scrape but worse. This isn't his sister telling him that the pain will go away, that the wrap and ointment are to make the injury heal faster. This is something entirely different and he only barely registers a second press, closer to his hand, opposite of the first press.
Most of the pain is numb at this point. He registers it on some subconscious level; but, overall, his nerves in the area seem to be completely fried. He does, at least, register when the pressure leaves, when the restraints on most of his body are removed—all of them except the ones across his hips and tail—and immediately turns and tries to curl in on himself, pulling his right arm close to his body.
For whatever relief it may be worth, there's no blood, at least. When he finally chances looking, there's small, black marks burned into his arm. Lines and numbers and letters that he can't make out through the blur of tears. What he can make out is various thickness in the lines across his wrist. Across the full width of his wrist. What isn't covered in the black burn is an irritated red, especially around the letters and numbers he finally realises are where the pressure was.
As much as it feels like a burn, the edges aren't frayed the way Loqi's burn scar is and, when Prompto tentatively touches the tips of his fingers to the mark, it isn't raised. Smooth as the rest of his skin, just painful and sensitive enough to immediately make him retract his left hand. He's not sure when the last three bands come off, but the next thing he knows he's back in his tank, the monotonous voice talking above him, and the sting of the water slowly becoming soothing. He hiccoughs a little as the crying comes to a slow stop and tries to clear the tears before he gets back to the lab. It ends up being irrelevant as, when he arrives, he realises his siblings are in the same condition.
Loqi's eyes are irritated the same as his and he's holding his right arm tight to his chest, even when he presses up against his tank to try checking on Prompto. Cindy's trying to rein her own pain in, but Prompto can still see how puffy her eyes are. The humans didn't put her mask back on, apparently certain she either screamed herself hoarse or not concerned with her attempting sonar with the pain all three of them are evidently in.
It takes a full week, even with the healing properties of their tanks, for any of them to comfortably move their right hands. Prompto heals a little bit faster, being the only one not really taken wherever his siblings go when the humans take them. Then Cindy. Then Loqi.
After the two months, all three of them are finally dropped in the giant tank together.
Even other times they're all taken out of the lab, Loqi generally ends up alone in the second tank; sometimes Loqi ends up in the second tank, Prompto alone, and Cindy nowhere to be found. This is the first time they haven't been separated since they first woke up—that alone feels like forever ago—and Loqi immediately pulls the other two into a tight hug. Prompto squirms a little, trapped between both of his siblings, with Cindy hugging nearly as tight as Loqi is; but, he doesn't try to get away and just clings as best he can. Even when they slowly start to loosen their holds to pull away from the hug, Prompto keeps a firm hold on each by a hand. They should probably be using this time to stretch and swim while they can; but… just a few minutes.
Cindy breaks the silence first, getting straight to the point when she does, despite the hesitation on her face.
"M'sure we both got plenty of stories to tell, but likely we ain't got long. How many times've they drawn blood from you, Lo?"
Prompto blinks, looking between them for the stretch of silence in confusion. They keep saying that. Everyone keeps saying it. Besithia says it, some of the assistants do. Ardyn has. Loqi has and so has Cindy, though not quite so often as the humans, and there's never any context to any of it. What does that even mean? He wants to ask; but, he just kind of ducks his head and lets his siblings talk, opting instead to listen and see if he can't figure it out on his own.
"Every time they've taken me out of the lab, so… near thirty, I think? Probably a little less? Don't think they took blood that first day, but I was bleeding from the fight, so they might've, I don't know." Loqi's fins give small, anxious flickers. "You?"
"Only twelve, I think… only when it's just me." Cindy pulls her lip between her teeth, looking between her brothers for a long moment before she lowers a bit to be at eye level with Prompto, gently taking his face in her hands. "Prom, I need ya to think real hard for me: those few minutes we're separated? The humans ever do anything weird or say anything about blood?"
Prompto blinks at her, blank expression likely telling just how confused he is. It doesn't take him long to answer—maybe a split second where he's trying to figure out what she's asking—but the answer is a simple, "No?"
"Yer positive?"
"Pretty sure they haven't, Cin." Loqi interrupts, making an indicating gesture to the inside of his arm. Prompto blinks, and follows the pointing; a soft frown starts to set on his lips when he does.
Since the fight against the Trench Sleeper, the humans have been a bit more forgiving with the restraints. Loqi's only restrained before he's transported and Cindy's only restraint is her face mask. The mask only stays on in their individual tanks, thankfully; but, it's still often enough that there are tiny bruises on her jawline and beneath her eyes where the mask digs into her skin. If it hurts, she never says as much. There haven't been any other fights—at least none nearly as deadly as that first fight, that Prompto's aware of. He figures it'd be pretty obvious if Loqi had been fighting anything worse than the few times he mentions the cranes or other weird human inventions. The marks on their wrists are finally healed and don't hurt to touch anymore. It doesn't hurt to rotate their wrists or move their hands too much. All of them are mostly injury free.
Mostly.
Now that Prompto's looking, there are tiny abrasions on the inside of his brother's elbow. Tiny little pinpricks that are still red and clustered together to make a rather nasty looking bruise. His other arm has a matching mark and, when Prompto glances at Cindy, she has a matching one inside her right arm. Her left arm is mark free—for now; hopefully forever, but… Prompto has a feeling it's only a matter of time. Regardless, the small abrasions look painful and Prompto finally releases his siblings' hands to hug himself, using the gesture to rub the insides of his own arms. Discomfort spreads through him in a slow, steady manner, along with a chill crawling up his spine.
It probably says quite a bit that he doesn't jump when he feels a hand, gently rubbing one of his shoulders, and finally looks up at his brother, wondering if the misery shows as plainly as he feels it. Loqi just offers him a thin attempt of a reassuring smile.
"It's gonna be okay. Alright? They're focused on me an' Cin right now, and there haven't been anymore weird fights since that first day."
Confirmation never hurts; no matter how many times Prompto tries to tell himself that, sometimes he still doesn't really believe it. This time, for whatever reason, it makes Prompto frown a little. Besithia always made a big deal about Loqi being a fighter. About him having 'exceptional potential' he hasn't grown into yet. Prompto's glad his brother hasn't been in any other fights like the Sleeper, but it still made something uncomfortable gnaw at the back of his mind. Judging by the fact Loqi doesn't question the silence—that his smile goes just a little bit tighter—he realises it, too. So, instead of thinking too much further on it, Prompto just gives a slow, steady nod and finally stops rubbing his arms, instead looking down at the spot where the marks are on his siblings. Where they might potentially be on him eventually.
It's hard to imagine the bruises on himself; but, then again… two months ago, he also never would have imagined his brother looking as exhausted as he does or the with as many tiny injuries as he's sustained.
The humans did heal him after the fight with the Trench Sleeper. But, there's still tiny marks on his back, peeking between scales and showing in a few tears in his ridge. Some of the scales on his back are scratched and broken from where he hit the tank, or maybe that's from the night they were captured, when he was forced to hide in the tiny fissure. Prompto isn't sure and he doesn't want to ask, in case Loqi hasn't noticed the marks yet.
Cindy's a bit better off. She only has the one bruise inside her arm and the smaller bruises on her face. Even then, those are hard to see with the way her hair makes a slight curtain. Even in the water, the soft curls frame her face and make it hard to see the angry lines along her jaw. The ones on her cheeks peek out sometimes; but, overall, they're fairly easy to overlook. For now. They'll probably get worse the longer she has to wear the mask; but, so far, they aren't terrible.
He pulls a slow breath, looking up at his siblings, and takes their hands again, holding as tight as he can. "Is the blood… thing… what Ardyn was talking about? The gen… genetic study… thing?"
Loqi gives an absent nod, pectoral fins starting to give impatient flickers that are a rather telling sign of anxiety for him. "I think so. Just a fancy way of sayin' they're looking for what makes our abilities different. Probably figured that already," his lips quirk up in a tiny smile when Prompto gives an affirmative nod, "but, so far it isn't… terrible. It feels weird, sure; but, it's… not so bad."
Not as bad as the marks on their wrists. Unsaid though it may be, the sentiment hangs between them.
Cindy gives a mild nod of agreement, momentarily worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, before she finally breaks the awkward silence. "Agreed. C'mon, we best stretch while we can… no tellin' how long they're gonna let us stay here or if it's even just us in the tank."
Wariness fills her voice as she looks around. There haven't been any other breaks from the surface since they were dropped in, that Prompto's noticed. Then again, he wasn't particularly paying attention… but, he figures Loqi or Cindy would have noticed if there was. Still, Loqi gives an agreeing nod and gives Prompto's hand a gentle tug to encourage him to swim. A few paces and Prompto finally, tentatively, releases the hold on his siblings to swim a bit ahead of them to try stretching out. Barely seconds later, he sees Loqi dart above him, easily swimming tiny circles around him and Cindy.
That, more than anything and despite the fact he kind of smiles, just serves to makes Prompto realise how cramped his brother's been; and, a few minutes later, Cindy's turning small flips and circles that interweave with Loqi's path, as well. For the first time since they woke up, Prompto realises that the tanks are exceptionally worse for his siblings.
Prompto's smaller—the tank is cramped, sure, but he has a little bit more room for the time being. Loqi doesn't quite have Cindy's height, but his ridge doesn't fold nearly as neatly or easily as Cindy's flourish; likewise, Cindy can pull her flourish to herself, but there's a lot of it. Her tail is longer than either of the brothers, too, so she already has less room than them. Loqi's still growing and steadily catching up—Prompto realises his brother has grown a few inches since he saw him last—and that's probably not making the confinement anymore comfortable. Worse, still—maybe the worst—is that Loqi's the only one with the more rigid fin structure. Prompto's always realised that his spines are rigid; but, as he's watching Loqi swim, he realises his brother's trying to stretch the spines out and finally remembers that Loqi's the only one that has the giant band around his torso. A giant band that constantly folds his ridge and spines down.
Prompto startles out of his thoughts rather suddenly when a flourish of gold enters his field of vision, a bit closer than he's expecting, and he finally realises he nearly swam into his sister. Cindy doesn't look bothered; she just turns a quick u-bend to change directions, so she's facing Prompto, and offers a small smile. "Y'back with us, Sparkles?"
"Uh…? Yes?" It takes Prompto a few seconds to realise she's asking if he's actually listening to the conversation again; as soon as he does, he gives a quick, kind of embarrassed nod. "M'listenin'."
It's more of a relief than he can really understand, hearing his sister laugh; but, it still helps him relax and smile a little when he feels his hair ruffled.
"Dinnit miss nothin', darlin'. Lo was just tryin' to get your attention."
Prompto immediately looks around for his brother, quickly locating him about arm's length above them; Loqi soon sinks down to join them, looking a lot more awake than he has in weeks, and leans so one of his arms is resting around Prompto's shoulders, weight comfortably leaning into Prompto's back, while his attention remains on Cindy.
"Sounded like you had somethin' you wanted to tell us earlier. Figured Prom should prob'ly hear it, too. So…?"
Cindy blinks, clearly a bit startled; but, just as quickly, the look fades to contemplation. Not quite hesitation, but a bit confused. "Yer not wrong. Might be able to help me figure it out, actually."
Prompto blinks. He's not really sure why he needs to be part of this conversation; but, he doesn't really question it and just waits, patient and quiet. He doesn't have to wait too long before Cindy finally sighs and apparently decides that a straightforward answer is her best bet.
"Y'all mentioned there were s'posedly others, right? Seen plenty of other tanks, but… ain't seen no one. Might've figured out why, but…"
The way she trails off is pretty telling. Prompto feels his fins droop and he looks between his siblings. Loqi doesn't look bothered; if he came to the same conclusion, he doesn't react past a quirked brow. Cindy gives him an annoyed look, but lets it go to continue.
"Y'all positive ya heard the captain that first night?"
"Pretty sure I didn't imagine being that angry." Loqi's tone deadpans; even so, he finally reacts at least somewhat. Enough to straighten up from leaning on Prompto, at least.
"There weren't just holes in their subjects, Lo… there ain't no one else." Cindy looks uncomfortable. "I been in three different labs. Each one of 'em had more tanks like the ones we been trapped in, yeah? But… no signs of anyone else. Had clipboards hangin' from the front—like that one Besithia carries 'round with him. Couldn't make out none of the writing but… looks like they ain't been touched in a long while."
Prompto frowns and squirms around a little. "…But the captain was in the same lab we were… c-couldn't he still—"
"Seven others, though? Said there were eight of 'em left, right?" Cindy's still chewing on her lip. "Other labs ain't got that dark corner like ours does. Said y'all dinnit see him. Just heard'm… and we know they can capture voices."
The reality of the situation—not even a reality, a possibility—slowly sinks in and Prompto just looks up at Loqi, waiting to see if he finally reacts even a little bit to the news. But, Loqi just meets Cindy's eye, evenly, and carries on without missing a beat, without so much as a mild flinch.
"Okay. So, maybe they manipulate voices. So what? To have the voice, he was here at some point and now he isn't. What's your point?"
"Lo, could ya try to at least pretend yer a lil' worried?" Cindy scowls, her hands flexing a few times before she finally lets out an agitated sigh. "Look, regardless how we personally feel about anyone from the old commune, can ya least be worried 'bout why they'd go outta their way to tell y'all that? Don't gotta care about any of 'em. But why make somethin' elaborate 'nough an' give y'all answers—answers we don't even know're true anymore—when they could just tell us straight to our faces? Why the act?"
That, for better or worse, gets Loqi's attention. He still doesn't look too worried about the implications behind the fact the humans have voices from their commune. But, he does look annoyed that Cindy has a point and finally pulls his arms back to himself, crossing them just below his chest as he thinks for a few long minutes before he lets out a slow breath.
"A'right. Let's pretend I care for five minutes. Assuming the voice came from the weird little capture boxes they have, they would've needed to hear him talking enough to manipulate the words into seamless sentences. They have the weird voice in the tank that responds to the tanks being adjusted, right? So… it's possible the voice is just a part of their programming now, I guess. But…"
He falters and Prompto looks down, trying to think back to the first night, trying to remember the exact conversation. It had felt weird, sure; but…
"His voice didn't… sound the same as the tank lady." He doesn't realise he's spoken until he looks back up and finds his siblings staring at him. His tail gives a nervous flick and it takes a lot not to immediately sink to try wrapping himself in his tail; but, he manages and offers a nervous, one-shouldered shrug. "I-I mean… the tank lady… has that weird emphasis when she talks. And when the—y'know, when the humans talk into the small box it has that weird layer. Like…"
He makes a vague gesture, not really sure how to explain himself any further. He knows part of it is the fact they're listening through the tanks and whatever strange water they're submerged in. But, what exactly that difference is, he's not sure. Muffled, sure; but, more than that it's like a layer of steady, low crackling. Like when Loqi used to take him storm watching—listening to the thunder and lightening from just below the surface, only on a smaller scale and much quieter.
"Like short bursts of lightning hitting the same spot too many times?"
Prompto gives a quick nod, endlessly relieved that Loqi understands the leaps between association that Prompto can't explain. His brother goes quiet again for a long moment before he finally meets Cindy's eye again.
"Think we can rule the box out, at least for the moment. But…"
He trails off again, his spines extending and relaxing a few times, like he's trying to stretch them. A sign of anxiety. Prompto blinks and watches for a few seconds before looking back towards Cindy. Her expression is set in a thin mask of patience; but, just beneath the calm is an equal sense of anxiety that she's rather clearly trying not to show.
"Just makes a million new questions. Ain't no other Leviaens… plenty of other humans, though."
That manages to draw Prompto and Loqi's attention both. Prompto just tilts his head in a confused gesture between his siblings. Loqi looks surprised, but… they already knew there were a lot of humans. Why would more humans be worth any worry? They were in a human facility, so that made sense, didn't it? Before he can ask, Cindy's already continued.
"Supposin' you've seen 'em, Lo." Cindy lets out a slow breath, the mask of calm control finally falling when she starts wringing her hands and turning her attention up to the surface for a few seconds, like she's expecting the cranes to drop into the water to return them to solitary confinement. To take Cindy and Loqi… wherever the humans take them when they draw blood. "Bodies pile up a touch too fast here… don't s'pose you've noticed what they need 'em for?"
Oh. Not humans. Human bodies.
Prompto squirms a little before he finally reaches out to take both Loqi and Cindy by the hand once more, looking for some small sense of security. Cindy gives his hand a gentle squeeze and, after a short moment longer, Loqi does, too.
As much as that would normally work, this time it just… serves to remind him that things have a very real chance of not being okay.
If Loqi has an answer regarding the bodies, he never gets to voice it. The second he tries—almost exactly the moment he opens his mouth to answer, all three of them perk up at the sound of the water's surface being broken. Loqi straightens up from the relaxed slouch, ears twitching to try sourcing the noise. Prompto can feel the anxious sort of tension shoot through him as he works his hand free to be at the front of the three of them. Or, what they suspect is the front anyways. Cindy apparently agrees, given the way she works her hand free, as well, and falls in line just a few paces behind him, already starting to pull and release deep, steady, and slow breaths in preparation.
On one hand, they have no idea what was just dropped in the water. If it's an enemy or one of the humans' devices that monitor them. To date, the strangest thing Prompto's seen is the strange metal ball that follows them around, tiny red circle continuously fixed on them like an eye. Ardyn called it a surveillance drone—something the humans had specifically built to monitor them and follow them around in the large tanks. If they're lucky, it's just something like that, again; or… they could be unlucky and it's something they have to fight.
But, on the other hand, the impact hadn't been nearly as jarring as when the Trench Sleeper had been dropped in. Clearer, so the drop was definitely in the tank they're in; but… smaller. Much smaller. Still bigger than the sound any of them make when they're dropped in, but not gigantic. So, manageable. Some small part of Prompto quietly hopes that it's another Leviaen, just so they can quell the arguing and questions for a short spell. Just long enough to determine which of his siblings is right and figure out where to go from there.
The second they finally spot what broke the water, Prompto regrets the wish. Immensely and immediately regrets it, as he shrinks back to give his siblings room for the fight that's coming.
Cindy freezes up for a short moment, though Prompto isn't quite sure it's from shock or confusion. Probably both, honestly. Loqi, though… Loqi barely pauses for a short moment of confusion before his spines are standing on ends, before his hands flex into claws, before he's baring his fangs in a warning. For the first time in a long time, Prompto sees the scales down his back light up a bright, violent red that lights his ridge up, darker towards his scales—a warning sign, to other Leviaens and enemies alike.
The show is met with a similar glow—an abysmal black, like staring into the depths, that's lined in a haze of dark purple and practically bleeding off of the body. Prompto can't tell if it's tainting the water, but it definitely looks like it; Cindy apparently agrees, because she catches Loqi's arm before he can engage with the first strike. It doesn't stop him from thrashing in retaliation for the restraint; but, it gives him a moment to assess the situation better and for Cindy to find her voice.
"Don't be reckless, Lo… we don't know what that stuff comin' off 'im is."
Loqi lets out a slow breath, eyes narrowed but clearly surveying the sight for some idea of what's happening. He doesn't sound nearly as nonchalant as he did before when he finally answers with, "Guess we were both right."
Not exactly the answer either of them—any of them wanted, honestly. Cindy doesn't look pleased with the answer and even Loqi looks upset by the idea he was kind of right.
There weren't other Leviaens. There may have been before, but they're long dead and gone by now.
Whatever they're looking at now may have been the guard captain at some point—Prompto kind of recognises the scars along what's left of his tail, what's left of the human parts of his body—but now… honestly, he's not sure what they're looking at. Bits and pieces and, in some places, chunks of flesh are missing—human flesh and Leviaen flesh, alike—and in their stead is a rather inconsistent blob of… something. It looks familiar—the dark ooze that coils around the man's body from the various wounds and orifices. Black and purple, mingling together in a mockery of an aura and blood.
As visually disturbing as the situation is, the perhaps more alarming part is when Prompto finally realises the man is… bigger than he recalls. That part he might be imagining; it's been two years and Prompto had been considerably smaller and absolutely terrified of the situation as a whole that had been happening. But, he's almost absolutely positive that his memory is correct about the man being rather average sized—not bigger and not smaller than anyone else in the commune. But now… this is definitely different. As much as he'd once towered over the three of them, he's still towering over them. Substantially towering over even his siblings who are nearly at the peak of their physical growth.
Prompto never really gets a chance to ask or comment on the observation before the captain finally moves. The second he does, Loqi wrenches his arm free of Cindy's hold, darting forward to meet the man and keep him as far from where they were as possible. Even when they lock clawed hands in an attempt to push each other back, Loqi seems aware of where the mist and ooze are coming from and is rather blatantly trying to avoid it to the absolute best of his ability.
The captain's motions are remarkably jerky, like someone's yanking on each section individually—puppets. That's what Loqi calls them, the strange toys they found in a ship once—human shaped, with strings attached to the various limbs and joints. Prompto still has one back in their grotto. As similar as the movements are, and as grateful as he is to have some understanding of what's happening, it's rather drastically unsettling, thinking about anyone trying—and succeeding, at that—to puppeteer another living creature.
Or… as living as the captain may or may not be at this point. Some of the strange wounds are in places that look like they should be fatal, but the man is definitely moving and—given the way Loqi looks to be struggling to keep him in place—he's definitely still retained something that resembles strength. Well, worse than retained; retained would imply that Loqi should be on an even remotely equal standing as the man. Even when they'd still lived in the commune, Loqi had held his own well against all of the trainers he'd been paired with—everyone he's ever had a "friendly" bout of sparring with, he held steady.
Right now? Right now he's definitely struggling. Likely because he's focused more on staying away from the weird ooze as much as he possibly can, but… it also doesn't look like the captain's really trying. Like he could push Loqi out of the way quite easily if he wanted to, honestly.
Before he really registers much else, he hears a short growl to his right and looks over just in time to see Cindy dart forward. Luckily, Loqi notices her, too, and manages to wrench himself out of the guard's hold and get a little distance. Just enough that he can ram back into the older Leviaen at the same time as Cindy, while he's still righting himself, still struggling with his limbs, and manage to send him back a small ways. Still, it's far enough that Cindy can get around Loqi and barely waits for Loqi to cover his ears when she pulls a deep breath and releases a short, shrill blast of sonar. Even knowing it was coming, Loqi recoils from her, clearly resisting the urge to curl into a ball and likely only succeeding because he knows he's still in a fight; Prompto doesn't have that incentive and immediately wraps himself in a single coil with his tail, both hands pressed tight to his ears in some vain attempt to block the noise out.
Cindy's voice is getting stronger. He hadn't noticed before and she hasn't really had a reason to use her voice since the Trench Sleeper; but she's definitely stronger than she was two months ago. Strong enough that Prompto can see the water disrupt around them, can see the waves vibrating against the walls of the tank, can see the walls vibrating with impact. What had taken the force of a nightmare creature before, Cindy can do with her voice, now. He can already see tiny cracks forming in the walls.
The scream dies off, his sister breathing much heavier as her own claws begin to form and she lowers herself in a wary, ready stance. Loqi doesn't exercise the same sense of wariness and immediately darts by her, claws going straight for the guard's neck as the man's struggling to regain a sense of balance.
That should be it. Even from as far back as he is, Prompto can see the blood-like ooze begin to spread from the guard's neck, can see Loqi make a face and immediately start shaking his hand out, like he's trying to get the ooze off of himself. Cindy perks, ready to swim over and check on him, clearly convinced the fight is over as well.
It should be over. Nothing should be able to survive that and neither of his siblings seem to notice. Prompto barely manages to find his voice before Cindy gets too far.
"Cin—Lo, move!"
Loqi's attention snaps back to the guard, a startled swear escaping as he darts upwards, out of range, just barely escaping the spike that ejects from the guard's body. Cindy backs up, clearly alarmed, her flourish flaring out the way it does when she's agitated, when she's startled; a warning sign. For most Leviaens built like Cindy, their fins and flourish flaring out like that is a warning to others that humans are nearby, that traps are being set, that the area needs to be avoided.
This situation isn't much different…. except there is no escape. There's nowhere for them to hide, no way to avoid the area or the situation and they all realise it.
Prompto backs up a little bit further, doing his absolute best to stay out of his siblings' way and Cindy moves so she's blocking any direct path to him. Loqi finally seems to let the aggression go in favour of trying to analyze the situation even a little bit more than they could before.
He definitely ripped the guard's throat open. That definitely should have been enough, they shouldn't still be preparing for a fight. Protruding from the gaping wound in the man's neck, however, is a rather cragged, rock-like mass that's clearly made from the strange ooze pouring from his body. It still looks liquid-like—thick, like tar—but solid enough, sharp enough that it probably would have hurt if it connected with Loqi. The other blobs of the strange substance on his body begin to pulse and writhe, like they're actually alive. It almost reminds Prompto of a trapped octopus, watching the tentacles writhe as the thing tried to squeeze out of the small avalanche. It's a weird comparison, but that's all he can really focus on for a short moment—the moment he's still trying to work past the fact the man should be dead—before it leaves him altogether.
The very second he starts to come to terms with the fact the man somehow survived, all of the areas infected by the ooze get sucked into his body for a short moment before ejecting in a sudden motion, like watching a pufferfish blow itself up, only much more dangerous. The spikes don't fly off, thankfully; but, they make it obvious it isn't going to be easy to get close again.
The solid form only lasts for a short few seconds before retracting, one more returning to the slightly calmer writhing masses they started as. There doesn't seem to be much of a difference between the calm writhing and the writhing just before they turn to spikes—a short warning, when they pull into their wounds—and his siblings seem to realise that, as they keep a wary distance, waiting for the guard to make the first move.
Cindy flexes her hands a few times, trying to sharpen her claws, clearly worried that Prompto is the target. Loqi seems to be under the same impression, his posture tense and ready to dive to intervene as necessary.
He ends up having to dart backwards out of the way, clearly surprised, when the guard instead resumes the assault on him. He's not quite as lucky this time; even though he manages to dive out of the way, a short hiss of pain escapes and Prompto can see blood streaming near the bottom of his tail. Not a deep mark; but, clearly enough to hurt. Enough to make him writhe for a short moment before he's moving again to stay out of range from another attack. And another. And another.
Steady intervals—two swipes from claws, spikes; two swipes, spikes—and Loqi isn't always far enough away to do much more than minimize the damage. Cindy can't get close enough to help him—too much erratic movement; the spikes are horrendously unpredictable which makes Loqi's path unpredictable—and, even when she tries, she can't draw the attention to herself. Even when she's having to dodge the spikes, as well, the guard's focus is solely on Loqi and Cindy soon falls back, in some vain attempt to stay of his way.
For how big the tanks are—Cindy's followed the walls when they were dropped in before, trying to find some way to measure the area they're allowed to stretch in; they haven't come to an exact measurement, but the tanks are definitely large enough that they haven't actually managed to circle them completely during their allotted time. Regardless, Loqi isn't using that and Prompto isn't sure why. Instead of trying to lead the man away or get some more distance by swimming further into the tank, he's drawing shapeless, looping patterns in a rather confined area around the guard. Prompto's pretty sure there's a reason—there's always a reason for the things Loqi does—but he can't, for the life of him, figure out what this reason is supposed to be.
Cindy might know. Her expression is pulled into a rather thin-lipped, observational one, her body still tense, still looking for an opening, but unsure how she's going to be able to help. Before Prompto has a chance to try asking her—before he can even think about moving closer to her, just as much for a sense of security as a potential answer—everything goes numb, alarmingly fast.
It's hard to process too much of what's happening in the moment. One moment he's just worried and trying to ask his sister for any sort of idea as to what's going on. One moment everything is as fine as it can possibly be—not perfect because nothing about any of this is perfect or even really fine, but it's… manageable.
That's a better term. One moment everything is manageable.
The next—the very second Prompto considers that Loqi's doing even kind of okay—the pattern of the spikes break. Two swipes, spikes. Two swipes, spikes. That's still the same; but, the spikes react much differently than they have been. Instead of maintaining the rigid structure they've been displaying when they shoot out, like the stalactites in the grotto they had been living in, the spikes give a short shudder before more, smaller spikes shoot out independently, writhing like tiny tentacles.
Tiny, sharp, dangerous tentacles that go rigid and expand the second they make contact with Loqi's body—just below his ribs and down into his tail, pulling him in so that more of the tiny spikes hook into him.
Even from where he's still hanging back, Prompto can see Loqi biting down any noise that would come across as pained. He's trying desperately not to writhe, not to make it worse, and both hands are gripping the base of the largest spike, though Prompto isn't sure if he's trying to pull the thing out or just keep it from pushing any further into his side or tail. What he does know is that the smaller spikes are now in his hands.
This time, when Cindy moves to help him get loose, the guard turns on her. He doesn't release Loqi and just sends another spike towards Cindy.
One tiny detail comes across as important and some sort of blessing. The spikes can only go so far and when Cindy moves back to avoid getting caught as well, the spike doesn't retract. It's still writhing, still trying to get to her, but it doesn't get any longer. A small blessing… so much as anything in the situation can be a blessing.
Even though he's registering all of these things as they're happening, Prompto can't find it in him to react. His limbs feel lighter than they should, more than the usual sensation of floating when he's underwater. Light like he should be drawn to the surface, but he can't move.
And then, the light feeling is replaced by tension and panic as a familiar sensation begins to build and settle in his core. Cold, at first, and steadily growing warm. He doesn't even register the temperature at first—he registers the glow of his scales, the way attention is suddenly on him. The way Loqi's expression goes from struggling and pained to surprise and fear in a split second. The way Cindy immediately follows the look, her own expression quickly becoming a mirror of Loqi's. And then… the way the guard's attention is suddenly zeroed in on him.
For the entire fight, the man's attention hasn't been on Prompto at all. His focus has been on Loqi. A little bit on Cindy in the past few minutes—since he'd immobilized Loqi. But now… now it's solely on Prompto, for better or worse.
He wants to say better. If the focus is on him, his brother and sister should be left alone. But, just as quickly, it's worse again. The spikes in Loqi's body retract in a sharp, jerking motion; enough to finally pry a short cry of pain from his brother as the motion leaves gashes where the smaller spikes were. Worse, as the guard makes a beeline towards Prompto, he doesn't even try to get around Cindy. The black ooze retracts into a singular mass—the new shape kind of reminds Prompto of an eel; maybe a third arm that's easily as big as the man is—and effortlessly throws her out of the way, towards the tank wall. A sickening crack echoes in the area, though Prompto can't quite discern if it's just the wall cracking or any injuries his sister sustains from the impact.
Leviathan forgive him, he doesn't really care right now. Not the way he should. He definitely registers the panic when Cindy doesn't immediately push off of the wall, doesn't immediately right herself; but, past that? Nothing.
The only thing he registers is the rush of fear, the panic, and the unsteady surge of exhaustion that follows the expulsion of magic. He's not even sure he means to; but, the second he recoils, trying to brace for the worst, he feels the magic leave him. Different than when the electricity left him. Not the same sense of being poked and pricked along his arms. This time it feels… light. He's not sure if it's the situation or the magic itself; but it leaves his arms—his entire body, honestly—feeling even lighter than before.
A guttural, strangled shriek makes him recoil further, tense and trying to curl into a ball; but, simultaneously, it finally makes him open his eyes. Just a sliver at first, expecting the captain to be right in front of him or… honestly, he's not too sure what he's expecting. But, this definitely isn't it.
After a long moment of trying to process exactly what he's seeing, he finally uncurls himself from the tense ball he'd started to become and blinks, confused and still more than a little horrified.
The guard is still quite a few feet away—not close enough to reach Prompto and probably just out of range for his spikes to have reached. If he could use them. The mass of ooze that had been surrounding the man, that had been seeping from gaping wounds, from his eyes and his mouth—all of it is frozen solid. Pretty specifically, the areas around the man's neck and gills, where the 'bleeding' had been heaviest is now jagged, purple and black tinted ice that is slowly spreading. It's not as obvious in some places; but, when Prompto looks a little closer, he realises that it's true. The ice is slowly spreading from the gaping wounds, digging into the flesh around it, and likely into the wound itself; the ice on his face is slowly inching into his mouth, over his eyes. With the excessive wounds on his arms, comes excessive ice that renders him incapable of clawing any of the ice away.
Normally, Prompto's pretty sure he'd be seconds from passing out; but, the worst that happens is his vision going blurry for a few seconds before he feels his anxiety spike and swims back a few paces when the guard gives a short, aggravated growl and begins fighting against the ice. He's clearly trying to free himself—or regain any sense of mobility, likely—but the ice keeps him still and continues to slowly encase him rather thoroughly.
In that moment, Prompto's ears give a tiny twitch as a new sound reaches him. Something more comforting than the agitation and writhing just in front of him. Swimming. A very hurried pace that can only belong to either of his siblings; and, when he glances towards Cindy and finds her still struggling to right herself from the impact against the tank wall, that only leaves one possibility.
The very second he considers that Loqi's alright—or… well enough to move—is a split second before Prompto actually sees him. Pain is still evident in his expression; but, more than that is determination when he manages to get behind the guard, snapping one of the larger icicles from the man's back and, before the agonised scream even really escapes, driving the pointed end straight through the man's back so it emerges from his chest.
The force successfully drowns the scream into a gurgling bubble; even so, Loqi has to put his entire body into pushing the icicle all the way through until it finally falls from the large, new cavity in the man's chest.
For a short second, Prompto feels his stomach give a violent churn, feels the bile burning in the back of his mouth as the anxiety spikes once more. Fear that the new wound will mean more ooze, more of the weird weapons that formed.
What happens is arguably worse.
Not necessarily worse for them, but a hundred times more terrifying and all they can do is look on in horror. Loqi swims backwards as fast as he can, pectoral fins and the spines along his back all standing on ends in alarm as the man begins to melt. Slowly, like he's dissolving into the ooze; like he's being eaten alive by it. As he does, the ice dissolves in the same manner, being drawn into the mass of black and purple, until all that's left is the ooze.
The strange ooze doesn't disappear though. Apparently, now that it doesn't have something solid holding it in place, the ooze begins to spread through the water—specifically out towards each of the siblings, like it's trying to find a new host. For a short moment, Prompto can't find it in him to swim and can only stare on, still back on the gut-sinking fear of watching the guard captain dissolve into the mass. He doesn't even register how immediate the danger is, the mass barely an arm's length from him—before he feels his arm grabbed and realises Cindy's dragging him out of the way.
Snapped from the daze, Prompto wiggles free of her grip to swim on his own and Cindy immediately goes to help Loqi instead. He's still bleeding rather profusely and clearly having trouble swimming with the various stabs along his side. A hiss of pain escapes when Cindy wraps an arm around him; but, he doesn't fight and just lets their sister pull him along, following just behind Prompto. Against his better judgment, Prompto chances looking over his shoulder, merely intending to check on his siblings.
The look ends up being a horrible mistake as he's forced to realise that, without a host, the strange mass doesn't seem to have limitations to how far it can spread. The entire area they were just in is almost entirely tainted purple and black now, and is following them in a slow, albeit steady, wave. How long until the entire tank is full of the weird ooze? Could it fill the entire tank? There wasn't anywhere for them to hide, they couldn't even surface.
His siblings probably could; they haven't tested it yet, but both of them are fairly certain they'd be able to haul themselves on to land if they broke the surface, based on how their individual tanks are always waiting right there whenever they're taken from this tank.
As though summoned by the thoughts, their collective attention is drawn to the familiar sound of the cranes being dropped into the water, just a few feet away and encouraging all of them to swim that much harder. Prompto reaches his first, panting hard, and squirming anxiously as the bubble starts to form. He sees Cindy help Loqi to his before she goes to hers. It feels like the bubbles don't form nearly fast enough; but, they do manage to close just before the ooze reaches them.
Almost worse than being chased, is watching the ooze surround their bubbles. He quickly loses sight of both of his siblings and immediately hunches in on himself, his tail curling and wrapping tight around his body. He doesn't even realise the crane is moving until the ooze starts to slide off the bubble and he blinks, hard, confused and immediately unwraps himself, pressing up to the side of the bubble to watch.
Whatever that ooze was, it's a lot heavier—a lot denser—than he thought. As it drips off the bubble, back into the water, even the smaller globs—barely as big as his hand curled into a fist—make a rather sizable splash for how close they still are to the water. Which is a weird thing; normally they're immediately returned to their individual tanks. But, as he finally tears his attention from the water below them, he spots his siblings. Loqi looks similarly fascinated by the ooze; even with both hands pressed tight to two larger gashes on his ribs, his attention is solely on watching the ooze dripping from his bubble. Prompto can kind of see him mouthing something to himself, but can't quite make out the words.
Cindy, on the other hand, has her back up against the top of her bubble, trying to put as much distance between herself and the remaining ooze dripping down her bubble as possible. Her fins are all still flared out in agitation, clearly signaling her still extreme anxiety with the situation, along with the way her hands are still sharpened into claws.
Prompto's apparently the only one not still focused on the ooze and lets his attention drift around what he can see of the room. For how many times they've been brought to the giant tanks, none of them ever really get to look around. They're normally dropped in too fast. Are they stalling because of the ooze? Were they scared of it too? Or… well, with the way it's dripping, it would probably end up in their individual tanks and that would probably be unfortunate. Whatever the reason, Prompto's glad the ooze is almost gone.
For now, now that he has the chance to look around, there really isn't much to see. The room is dark as the first day and he can't even really make out where the walls are. Lights in the distance but he can't tell if they're from a room, like the strange observation rooms they pass in the halls sometimes, or just wall lights. He at least confirms his siblings were right—the tank connects right to the ground; they could easily surface and pull themselves onto land, with there barely being an inch between the water's surface and whatever the floor is. Metal? It looks like metal.The humans seem to really like the shiny grey surfaces—
His thoughts break as the cranes finally move again and he realises the ooze has apparently completely dripped off. They're moved over their tanks and dropped in without further fuss. Prompto lets out a startled yelp, all the same, and hears his siblings echo. The water is much colder than usual and his tail thrashes a little in protest. Around him, he can kind of hear the monotonous voice of the tank, but isn't really listening to her, trying to find a way to generate heat and combat the horrible water. Gradually, the water begins to warm up; it doesn't stop him from writhing, but it does feel a lot better, even if it's only a few degrees warmer.
As unsettling as the logic is, Prompto's never felt safer than he does when he's back in his individual tank; and, now that it's warmer, he finally tries to move. Moves so he can press himself up to the front of his tank—still shaken, still unsteady and exhausted from the surge of magic—and he can tell his siblings are equally unsettled. Cindy's pressed up to the front of her tank, as well, mask already in place and trying to keep an eye on both brothers, though it's difficult with Loqi's tank turned just a bit away from her and opposite of Prompto's.
Loqi doesn't fight nearly as hard as he normally does when he's put back in his tank, when his restraints come from…wherever they come from. The only good thing Prompto gleans from this is that it's not the full body restraints; just the cuffs around his arms, though that takes the pressure from his side and he immediately starts writhing. His water is already starting to tint a light red and Prompto can only watch as his brother's taken away. A few minutes later, Cindy's taken in a different direction, leaving Prompto alone with the remaining humans and the tank.
When he glances back at the large tank, he realises the water is still stained and muddied in the strange purple and black ooze. Now that he finally has a moment to think it through and really look without worrying about his own safety or either of his siblings, he realises it's the same strange purple and black that the creatures on the beach come out of. What even is that? Was the mist on the beach the same as the ooze in the water? And what did they just see?
In the relative safety of his tank, Prompto can finally try to piece together his thoughts from before the fight. He knows some Leviaens are bigger than others. Some took on their species size. Well… supposedly. He hasn't seen proof of it, himself. But, supposedly there are some Leviaens that are long as the kraken. The captain hadn't been that big, no; but the fact that he was considerably bigger than all three of them was unsettling. Not as big as the Sleeper had been; but, given that the man had once been a rather average-size Leviaen, the fact he was suddenly the same length as an orca, the fact his body had been rather thoroughly made up of the strange purple and black substance, that parts of his body had become more weapon-like… unsettled feels far too weak. And safe feels like an understatement.
Prompto doesn't realise he's been moved until the blinding white of the lab finally hits his eyes and he gives a short hiss, immediately dropping straight to the bottom of his tank, both hands balled into fists to rub at closed eyes. The few seconds it takes him to adjust to the stupidly bright room—gods does he hate this room—feel too long. When he raises up, his siblings are still missing. Wherever the humans take them for the blood drawing thing. Probably. Hopefully.
Something heavy settles in his gut as he considers the words.
What if the humans weren't drawing blood? Cindy and Loqi both seem pretty sure that's what they're doing; but, they were also pretty sure the guard was either dead or irrelevant to anything happening to them at present. Which… not wrong; but suddenly facing the man, especially in his altered form, was jarring and Prompto can feel the tank trying to work the tension from his muscles. It's a weird feature, but not entirely unwelcome at present. Especially when he considers that Cindy had been pretty battered, too, from what he could see; now he just has to hope that Loqi's okay.
The last he he'd been able to see and properly register, before the surge of magic, his brother had a number of open wounds all over his body—his chest and arms, especially; nicks and gashes going down his tail and some on his sides. He hadn't gotten too good a look while they were trying to escape from the weird ooze and hadn't been able to see his tank any better. Had any of them hit his gills? Had he absorbed any of the weird ooze in the water? Had Cindy or Prompto inhaled it?
Granted, the ooze hadn't begun to spread until the man… dissolved… but, they'd all been in the water a few seconds longer as the cranes lowered and the guard had appeared to bleed the ooze. Loqi had been in the most immediate danger of absorbing any of it; then, Cindy; and, then Prompto. Forced to keep his distance to stay out of the way as his brother and sister fought, but…
He frowns a little as he considers it. Normally, being the one sectioned off meant things focused more heavily on him. Whenever Cindy and Loqi have pushed him aside before, things still tried to get by them to get to him. This time? He'd been almost entirely and utterly ignored until the magic started building up in him. The first sign of the spark that made his scales light up, the first sign that the magic was present, and the attention was on him. As much as he suspects the sudden panic from realising he was noticed—along with the rest of the situational stress setting in—helped push the magic through faster, it's… not something he's used to.
The bursts and charge time between bouts of magic is getting shorter.
The first encounter two years ago with the sharks, he hadn't even realised what was happening but he still knows there was some sort of stretch of time between build up and release.
The cranes, he'd actively tried to keep the magic inside. Tried to push it back down, even when he had nothing to lose, with how the situation had been going; but, it still felt shorter. Maybe because of everything that was happening at the time, because he was worried about Cindy getting hit by the magic this time, or maybe he'd just failed to notice any real time passage with the worries.
The third time he managed to pull it under control. The build up felt different, but he also couldn't really clarify if that was because it had been ice magic or because it really was just taking less time to charge the magic. Regardless, he had managed to pull it under control that time. Proved to himself it was possible, even if it took him a while to realise it.
This time? The time between realisation and release had been so short, he's only a little surprised it hadn't just knocked him out the way it had when they were captured. He feels exhausted, sure; but… he stayed conscious. Part of him wants to brush it off as the anxiety but that seems… not quite right. Like it's definitely part of the reason, but not the whole reason.
Before he can think on it too much longer, the telltale hiss of the door opening draws his attention. For the shortest, briefest moment he lets himself hope, desperately hope, it's his siblings. Even just one of them. Hope that's all but dashed, immediately, and he feels his tail starting to coil in anticipation. He doesn't quite retreat down in on himself just yet; but, he feels the tension shoot through his muscles.
Ardyn tilts his head in a vague gesture of a greeting, before taking an ever leisure pace towards the row of desks and computers. The same place he always stands. The same relaxed pose, as always: hip and one hand leaning against the table, while his other arm is angled so he can see the band around his wrist. A watch? Is that what he called it? Prompto's asked before, he knows he has, but he's not quite in the right mind to consider what he has or hasn't learned. Ardyn showing up always means weird information… but normally he only shows up when it's all three of them. In the 'middle of the night'. Had they been in the tank that long? Or was the pattern breaking?
"Dr. Besithia informs me that you three had a rather unfortunate run-in with my puppet… perhaps you would like to elaborate for me, dear boy?"
Puppet—?
Prompto blinks and, for reasons he's not really sure of, he immediately remembers the strange, jerky motions the guard had exhibited and frowns. So the man probably really hadn't been in control of any of his motions. Not that that's entirely relevant, but it's still something that jumps out at him. Assuming he's even made the right conclusion. He shakes it off, with an effort; just a distracting thought to help him handle everything. Maybe if he answers Ardyn he can get some answers as to what even was happening.
"The… guard captain, you mean? From our commune?"
"Indeed, I do mean him." The hand on the table starts tapping out a short, steady rhythm, one finger after the other: One. Two. Three. Four. Pause. One. Two. Three. Four. Pause. The same pattern Loqi displays when he's irritated, when he's flexing his hands into claws. Prompto only barely manages to tear his attention from the rather thinly veiled agitation when Ardyn speaks back up. "I will have exceptionally cross words for Dr. Besithia soon enough for using my belongings without first asking me… but, he tells me there was rather astronomical data to be gathered from this little venture of his. Specifically where you're concerned."
Prompto blinks and tilts his head. They already knew he had magic—knew he could use it. He's told Ardyn about the ice magic, too. So, what data did they gather from that?
"Of course," Ardyn continues, before he can answer, "Your brother and sister also surpassed their expectations. Your sister, in particular, has impressed them; your brother, however… if he does not find himself pulling that temper of his under control, there could be rather dire consequences. Not just for you, but I would so hate to lose such a magnificent example of a fighter specimen."
Prompto bites hard on the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything. To keep from arguing that his brother is more than just a specimen—that they're all more than just specimen. It takes an effort, but he does manage and tries to think back to what Ardyn had asked him. The man still looks to be waiting for an answer of some sort and Prompto doesn't want to upset him if he can
help it.
"He… got dropped into the tank with us and… he attacked Lo—uh… Twelve." The mark on his wrist tingles and burns and he flexes his hand a few times to ignore it. "He… my brother's going to be okay… right?"
His voice feels too quiet. He knows it's easier to get answers when he uses the designations; but, right now, worry overrides logic and he feels a knot of anxiety trying to twist and settle in his gut. Loqi was okay. He had to be.
"He is not dead, if that is what you intended to ask." Prompto's attention snaps to Ardyn; the man meets the surprised look evenly, nonchalant as ever. "He merely needs to be quarantined until they can assess if he has been infected. T'would be quite the shame if he were, especially since this could have been avoided. However, I do not suspect that to be the data they were referring to. Continue, child."
Prompto frowns and wracks his brain for whatever Ardyn could be looking for. There wasn't anything to tell. They were attacked. Loqi was attacked; Loqi would be the one sporting evidence of the attack, possibly even after the humans and the tank worked their strange healing magic.
"I-I don't… know what answer you're looking for, sir." That's an unsettling thing to admit to. Like he's going to be punished for not having answers. "My siblings—Twelve and Three, I mean, did most of the fighting, I didn't—?"
"Oh, but you did," The glow in the yellow eyes is unsettling and Prompto feels his tail trying to coil in on itself. "You've made rather marvelous progress for being the only one not actively observed. I do believe this calls for a celebration of sorts."
A celebration? Prompto blinks, uncertainty starting to build even higher. Before he can asks, the restraints in his tank emerge and the thoughts leave him completely with the surprise. It's been two months since he was restrained. What warrants him needing to be restrained—when did Ardyn even touch the computer? That's where the tanks, and ergo restraints, were controlled from, right? And why did he suddenly have four cuffs on his arms, he only had the two in the beginning, didn't he? Just the ones on his biceps, his wrists were cuffed last time, he's almost absolutely positive of that much. And he definitely didn't have the large band just below his ribs, just shy of agitating his gills.
The smile Ardyn spares him sends a slow chill up his back, like a bundle of kelp slowly being dragged up his spine, and he tries to shrink in on himself, tries to sink down to the bottom of the tank.
"Well. I call it a celebration… but, you see, I can also be a rather petty individual. One who very much dislikes having his property appropriated and used, without his permission. I will indeed be having words with Dr. Besithia in the very near future; but, I also wish to teach him exactly why this is frowned upon… though, I suspect he'll only be cross for so long. He may even consider this a gift. Now, then… do try to hold still, dear boy."
Hold still—?
The second Prompto even thinks to question the words, he feels a sharp, heavy prick in his hip, just above where his tail starts, and a startled, agonised scream escapes before his body gives a violent, protesting lurch and his chest begins to burn. Before his body tries to make the change between breathing through gill and lung and he realises he's taken in a mouthful of water and his gills aren't filtering properly.
The tank drains as he's struggling not to start coughing, struggling not to swallow more water. The second the water is below his ribs, the watery coughs escape as he feels his body desperately trying to expel the liquid from his lungs.
As strange as that was—his body's never made such a sudden change in the water—it's nothing compared to the pain that follows. Pain that's easily comparable to the mark on his wrist but much bigger.
It starts as a burning sensation—like swimming through the prickly plants that irritate his scales—before it turns into outright pain. Pinching, pulling pain centered where the prick had been and spreading along each scale like an infection. It's not until Prompto tries to curl in on himself that he finally realises what exactly is happening.
Only his arms are restrained, he should be able to coil his tail tighter to his body. He should he be able to try putting some sort of pressure on the pain. Should be able to.
At first, it's a tugging feeling. Like when Cindy or Loqi used to pinch his arm and give the smallest tug to get his attention, but so much worse. Where his siblings only pinch hard enough to get his attention, this is pulling at his skin where skin shouldn't even be.
The effort it takes him to open his eyes, even a sliver, against the pain is immeasurable and, the second he succeeds, he immediately regrets it.
The tank is still draining; he's not sure where the water goes when it drains, but the levels are definitely still dropping. Slower and slower, as the water steadily changes from the light green but clear colour to red. Blood runs down from his hips and parts of his legs where some of the scales have already fallen away, but not all of them. Some spots on his legs—and it's so weird to consider the limbs his own, even if he can't really grasp the concept or the situation around the pain at the moment; but, most of it is smooth skin, just like the rest of the human portion of his body. Some places, the scales take slivers of flesh with them, leaving open wounds exposed to the strangely cold air inside the tank.
It's only in passing he really registers that his scales don't dissolve. Whenever he's seen Loqi and Cindy shift, their scales turn into sea foam and wash away. For him? His scales are blue specks against bloody water, serving as a constant reminder of what exactly is happening, even if he doesn't understand. By the time the water's down to where his fin stars, only half of his scales have fallen away. He can bend his legs—knees. Loqi called the joints knees, humans had knees—Prompto has knees. If this were any other situation he might be fascinated; right now, all he can do is try to endure the pain. Everything hurts. His vision keeps blurring in and out—whether from the tears or because he's seconds from losing consciousness, he can't tell—and everything hurts. Not just his legs. Everything.
His arms, pulled out in rigid positioning the same way Loqi had been in until Cindy woke up. He can't even find the strength to try curling his fingers into a fist, but he can feel his hands shaking. His entire body, at that, is wracked with a faint tremble. His back hurts and he wonders if the scales up his back fell off, as well, or if they faded into his skin like Loqi's and Cindy's do.
His throat hurts, hoarse from the crying and coughing up water and the screams that have long died off. His ribs hurt, as his entire weight is being held up and supported by the large band as the water drains. The band pushes under his rib cage, forcing him to try keeping a somewhat straight posture. It quickly proves to be too much effort and he slowly just gives up and accepts that the pain is inevitable. It's at least distracting him, a little bit, from the pain in his legs.
Everything is starting to sound muffled. More than usual. The tanks are always muffled, honestly; but, right now, everything sounds like it does when he surfaces and the water takes too long to drain from his ears. He thinks he hears Loqi and Cindy. Maybe Besithia. Ardyn might be talking to him, again. But, he can't find the energy to raises his head to check.
The last thing he really registers is how heavy his body feels. A brief sense of relief when he feels the restraints loosen, easing him to the bottom of his tank. Slow. Careful. Better than collapsing, he knows that much. His legs protest the motion, protest bending to accommodate the cramped space becoming smaller as he's lowered; but, instead of pain, everything just feels numb. Everything still hurts, absolutely; but, he's not actively registering it as pain anymore. Not really. If absolutely nothing else, the side of the tank feels nice—cool, soothing. Helps distract him from the fact he's sitting in some strange mixture of tank water and blood and his scales.
All he can really do is hope that, when he wakes up, maybe everything hurts a little less. Hope that Loqi and Cindy are there to help him figure this out.
Or, to at least tell him everything's going to be okay, even when they all know it isn't.