Chapter Text
It was official; Prompto was the only sane person in their group.
Gladio? He was meant to be the King's Shield, but clearly that job didn't extend to shielding him from ridiculous ideas. He claimed to have such incredible survival skills, superior to the rest of them, of course, but then where were his survival instincts when it came to this stupid plan? It must have been all of those muscles, they were stopping him from thinking properly or something. Too much brawn and not enough brain, that was it.
Ignis? There was no doubting that he was an intelligent guy, he was trained to be the King's advisor after all, but he was so very clearly a sociopath at this point that it wasn't even funny. It was possible he was even a sadist. He had that potential glint in his eyes, and it would definitely explain his need to spout off all of those damn puns and sharp jokes while the rest of them were busy getting their asses handed to them.
And Noct? Well, Noctis was just straight up crazy.
Yeah, Prompto was the only sane one, because only a sane person would know that splitting up into two separate groups was never a good idea and it was likely to get them all killed. Didn't these guys ever watch movies? Well, at least he could remember countless movie nights he and Noctis had had back in Insomnia, but had his friend actually taken any of it in or had he simply snored his way through them all?
"I'm telling you, man," Prompto said. "This is such a huge mistake, I'm not even joking."
Noctis, walking a few feet ahead of him, threw him an exasperated look from over his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm beginning to think it is."
Prompto stared at him. "Really?"
"Yeah. Listening to you whine for fifteen minutes straight is making me want to throw you off a cliff."
"Hey," Prompto made a show of pouting at him, even when his friend started smirking. "It hasn't been fifteen minutes."
"I'm pretty sure it has." At his silence, Noctis looked back at him again and smiled briefly. "Just keep on looking, okay? The sooner we find this guy's gear, the sooner we can meet up with the others and get out of here. I'm thinking burgers for lunch, sound good?"
"A burger sounds so good right now. Hey, I know, why don't we meet up with Ignis and Gladio now instead, so then there's a higher chance of us living to get those burgers?"
Noctis chuckled. "Prompto, eyes peeled, mouth closed."
"Hey, that's my line!"
It was Cindy who had asked them for their assistance with this job. A hunter friend of hers had been out here some time ago and had apparently lost his backpack and gear when he had been overwhelmed by a pack of coeurls. His injuries had meant it had been easier for him to take the bare essentials and make a run for it, leaving the rest behind to pick up later, which also included a few personal, irreplaceable items. Except now he was still recovering from his injuries and couldn't make it out into the area to get the gear himself, hence Cindy requesting their help.
They were miles and miles from Hammerhead out here, bordering into Duscae, but a job was a job, it meant more gil and if it rewarded them with Cindy's bright smile then so much the better.
Except, of course, for the fact that his friends were insane morons and were determined to get them all killed.
"Prompto," Noctis said suddenly, quietly, crouching down and motioning for him to do the same. Prompto quickly ducked down and approached slowly, noticing that the path they had been following had brought them to a break in the trees and to the beginnings of a downwards slope. Beyond the slope was what appeared to be a quarry, clearly abandoned a long time ago, the only signs that it had ever once been occupied by people being the occasional rusted cranes and the wooden shelter near the far off end.
"This looks like a good place to search," Noctis murmured.
Prompto also noticed the two coeurls walking along in the quarry. They were off to their right and some distance away from them, but still close enough to be a problem. "I don't know," Prompto whispered back.
"It's just two coeurls," Noctis smirked. "We can take them, no problem."
Prompto stared at them and shook his head slowly. "Dude, there's nothing 'just' about coeurls. They're big. And scary. And vicious."
"And so is Gladio the first thing in the morning, and yet you face him without even blinking."
"That's Gladio, he's like a kitten on the inside."
"Prompto," Noctis rolled his eyes. "We've fought coeurls before."
"Yeah, with all four of us fighting together. It'd be so much easier if we were fighting that way, but noooo, we just had to split up today to 'cover more ground'. That excuse is so full of crap, I can't even tell you. You know who decides to split up? Huh? Do you?" Noctis was staring at him now, lips twitching like he was fighting back a smile and eyes sparkling, and damn it Prompto couldn't really be the only sane one here could he? "Rookies, that's who," he continued. "Rookies in movies. And do you know what happens to them?"
Noctis raised an eyebrow, still looking amused. "What's that, Prom?"
"They die, that's what. They die because they think they're so tough but, hello, strength in numbers, man. Strength. In. Numbers."
"Right," Noctis's voice seemed to shake and his lips pressed tighter together. He ran a hand over his face and shot Prompto another amused glance. "Tell you what. Since you're so concerned about those coeurls, how about you wait up here and I'll go and search the quarry myself?"
"What?" Prompto stared at him. "Wh—you—I—were you not just listening to me? That sounds a lot like splitting up. Splitting up is bad, man, how many times do I have to say this?"
"Well, then you'll have to come down there with me, won't you?" Noctis full on grinned at him this time and, still crouching, slowly started to make his way towards the slope.
"No," Prompto hissed. "No way, I didn't agree to this, you—"
"Sorry, can't hear you over the sound of us splitting up. All of this distance, you know?"
Oh, oh no, he did not just say that. Well then. Royalty or not, Noctis was so going to pay for this later. Provided they made it out alive, of course. Prompto bit his lip and followed after his friend as they descended the slope. This area wasn't too steep, lucky for them, but there were plenty of loose rocks and so it was a little tricky to make their journey downwards as quiet as possible. So they went slowly, keeping low and gripping at the dirt, and soon enough they were back on flat ground, still trying to stay low and out of sight of the coeurls.
"Okay, I'm thinking we take them by surprise instead of just charging in," Noctis murmured. "I'll warp-strike one, you shoot at the other. If you can get it in the head, even better."
There was still so much about this plan that he didn't like, but Prompto summoned his gun anyway. "I'll try my best. Just don't get dead, okay?"
Noctis smirked and nodded. "Okay, I won't. You too."
The quarry was full of small mountains of dirt and rock, some only as tall as their waists while crouching, and some big enough to cover them completely. They made their way over to a particular mound nearer to the coeurls, crouching behind it. It just say reached past the top of Noctis's hair while they squatted, and so remained a good place to keep an eye on the two creatures as they waited for the right opportunity to strike.
One of the coeurls seemed happy to lie down, curled up like a regular cat. Its companion was almost pacing, sniffing at the ground curiously, as if it had picked up a scent and was searching for something. It turned towards the quarry wall nearest to it, just opposite of Prompto and Noctis, and continued following its nose, starting to step a little more gingerly the further it went.
Huh, that's kinda weird, Prompto thought, peering over the mound they were hiding behind. The coeurl didn't seem to want to approach the wall any further, almost as if it was spooked by something.
Noctis had moved further to the left of the mound, at the edge of it, his sword summoned and gripped tightly. "On three, okay?" the prince whispered.
Prompto nodded, swallowing and readjusting his grip on the gun. He moved to the other side of the mound until he could take aim at the sleeping coeurl, slowing his breathing so that his hands would be steadier.
"One," Noctis shifted a little further, no longer shielded by the mound now, and he turned slightly in preparation, getting ready to throw his sword.
Damn it, this is crazy, Prompto thought. This is so gonna end badly. I just know it.
Still, he tightened his grip, readying his finger on the trigger, and he held his breath. He would lecture the others on the dangers of splitting up later.
"Two—"
"Kweh!"
Noctis glared at him, and Prompto winced as another chocobo noise erupted from his pocket, indicating a second new text message. He quickly fumbled for his phone, turning it to silent, but the damage had already been done. It hadn't been a terribly loud sound, but this area was so quiet and coeurls had those big ears, so of course they were instantly aware of the two of them, and they just had to be in plain sight at the exact moment, didn't they?
"I am so gonna kill you for this later," Noctis hissed. He rose to his feet and slowly backed away as the two coeurls started to stalk towards them.
"I'm sorry," Prompto hissed back. "How was I supposed to know we'd end up sneaking around monsters? I bet you haven't even turned your phone on silent, either."
As if wanting to confirm his theory, Noctis's phone let out a little jingle in his pocket. He glared at Prompto again, as if it was his fault, and Prompto would gloat if he wasn't so aware of the two large creatures looking ready to jump them at any moment.
"Fine," Noctis huffed. "Forget being silent. Let's just kill them."
Everyone moved at once. Prompto shot at the coeurl nearest to him, catching it in one of its hind legs as it lunged towards his friend. Noctis threw his sword towards the other one and warped out of the way of several swiping claws, reappearing behind both coeurls in an instant. Prompto quickly ran around them, sliding along the ground on his way, and he started shooting the same coeurl Noctis was slicing at, trying to make as quick work of this as possible.
It went down surprisingly quickly, especially when Noctis rolled forwards and shoved his sword through its throat. "Yeah!" Prompto cheered. "Nice!"
Noctis grinned. He spun around and started swinging his blade at the other coeurl, taking a slice out of its side as it whirled in a circle. He let out a cry when a huge whisker slammed into his chest, sending him flying backwards into the quarry wall, dust and small loose rocks spilling over his shoulders and tumbling to the ground like mini waterfalls.
"Noct!" Prompto ran towards him, sliding across the ground to dodge another swing of those huge whiskers, letting off a few shots at the coeurl just for good measure. His aim was true, because a bullet struck the coeurl straight through its throat, another in its belly, and a final one went through the side of its skull. With a choked off growl, it collapsed down onto its side and didn't get up again.
Prompto let out a relieved laugh, stumbling the rest of the way over to his friend. He reached Noctis and helped the prince to his feet. "You okay?"
"Sure," Noctis said, looking up with a grimace. "That could have gone a lot smoother, though."
"You're telling me!" He gave his friend a sheepish smile, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "Hey, uh, I'm sorry about the whole phone thing. I should have turned it on silent right before we came down here."
Noctis smiled and shook his head. "It's all good. I didn't really give you a lot of time to do that, anyway. Let's just not mention any of that to Ignis or Gladio, okay?"
"Dude, deal," Prompto grinned. "No way do I want to suffer through that lecture."
Noctis chuckled and shifted on his feet, then frowned. "Hey, uh...does the ground feel weird around here to you?"
Prompto glanced down to the dirt below them, purposefully scuffing his boots and then tapping the ground gently with his heel. "I dunno, maybe? Why?"
"I don't know, just thought something was weird, that's all," Noctis half-turned to look at the wall behind him, to the spot he had collided with just moments before. When he turned back to Prompto, he froze. "You're kidding me."
Prompto stared at him. "What? What is it?"
"Another one."
Prompto looked behind him and, sure enough, there was a third coeurl stalking towards them. "What! Where did this one come from?" Prompto exclaimed and backed away, coming to stand beside Noctis.
"No idea," Noctis muttered. "Must have been hiding behind something."
"That feeling when a coeurl is a better hunter than you," Prompto said, summoning his gun once more.
Noctis chuckled, but then he summoned his sword and straightened his stance when the coeurl sped up. "Here we go!"
The coeurl charged towards them and leapt. They both rolled in opposite directions, watching as its huge body sailed over them and skidded along the dirt as it landed, just barely avoiding a crash landing into the wall, dust kicking up everywhere around it. It swung its body around, the whiskers flinging towards them, and Prompto ducked down with a cry. He aimed his gun and shot at it, a bullet grazing one of its hind legs, another taking a chunk out of a whisker, and the coeurl swung at him again with a vicious snarl. He couldn't dodge this time, it moved too fast for him to keep up. His breath was knocked out of him as a whisker caught him and flung him sideways into the wall. He grunted, feeling dirt and rocks dislodge under his weight. He thought he felt the wall move where his shoulder was pressed against it.
Noctis flung his blade at the coeurl with a yell. The weapon buried into its side and the creature let out a roar that echoed around them. The prince warped to it and the sudden weight had them both toppling over, towards Prompto.
The sudden shaking below them had him realizing that something really was wrong with the ground here, and Prompto could only take a second to think about that before the dirt was giving way beneath them entirely. The three of them were suddenly toppling downwards into the ground, into the wall, into the dark, grunting as they slid down a slope and banged into rocks and each other, eventually coming to a stop when they reached a flat surface.
Prompto's head smacked the ground and he blinked against the stars in his eyes and the ringing in his ears. "Oh, oh gods, what happened?"
"No idea," Noctis groaned out from somewhere. "But this thing just ain't giving up."
Sure enough, the coeurl was scrambling to its feet and lunging at Noctis, claws swiping, teeth snarling, a silhouetted figure against Noctis's flashlight. Prompto groaned and stumbled upright, reaching down to turn his own flashlight on before trying to take aim. If he could just get it in the head, if it would just stay still long enough—
The coeurl lunged again, slamming into Noctis this time, knocking him further away and down towards the ground. He took the opportunity, not wanting to wait any longer, not willing to let his best friend fall any further into danger. Prompto fired. Noctis swung his sword.
The bullet hit its mark, straight into the back of the coeurl's head. The sword swung upwards and buried itself straight into its heart. The coeurl collapsed forwards onto Noctis as he hit the ground with a loud thud.
There was a strange noise, a loud clicking that echoed around them, and smoke suddenly exploded into the area ahead, completely obscuring Noctis and the coeurl, giving Prompto only a brief glimpse of the familiar sparkle of a weapon disappearing before his friend was swallowed up into the gas. Noctis's flashlight cut out, whether because of the smoke or the coeurl or something else, he wasn't sure, but it didn't help to ease his fears.
Prompto backed up and covered his mouth with one hand, cupping it slightly so that his voice wouldn't be too muffled. "Noct!" he yelled. "Oh shit, please don't be dead! Noct!"
The smoke was such a strange colour. A dark, unsightly green, and good gods, it stank. Prompto coughed and retched against the smell, grateful that he hadn't been anywhere near as close, hoping that whatever it was wasn't poisonous. Noctis could be dying over there, swallowed up by the green stuff, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
"Noct!" he yelled again. It was horribly silent now, too silent, like Noctis could be dead silent. "Come on, buddy, answer me!"
It was a few minutes until the green smoke began to clear, thinning away into nothingness. Prompto gagged against the lingering stink of it and walked forwards, cautious in case any more gas decided to shoot out from nowhere, or anything else for that matter. What if there was something else down here with them, like a daemon or, gods forbid, even more coeurls? But no, he couldn't hear anything, no random scuttling, no snarls, just his footsteps and his own breathing speeding up with panic.
"Noct?" he called out.
There. The coeurl lay a few feet or so in front of him and, below it, a black shape that remained horribly still. Prompto's heart lurched to his throat and he lunged forwards, shoving at the coeurl until its body rolled over and collapsed to the side, revealing the body underneath it.
The body of a child, laying just where Noctis should have landed.
Prompto froze. What the hell? He moved his jacket so that his flashlight could shine over the kid, taking in his appearance, and he suddenly felt a slight bubble of hysterical laughter building up in his chest. The boy appeared to be dressed in complete black; black jeans, black sneakers, a black hoodie with short sleeves. His face was round and pale, and his choppy hair was as dark as his clothes, flopping into his eyes and fanning out on the ground below him.
It might have been nearly ten years since he had seen this face, but he would recognize it anywhere.
"Oh what the hell," Prompto groaned, then crouched down. He touched the boy's - Noctis, it was Noctis and he was a freaking kid! - throat and felt for a pulse, relief nearly making him double over when he found it there, steady and strong. Now that he was close enough, he could see the kid's chest rising and falling.
So he was alive, thank the gods for that. Noctis was alive. He was a kid, somehow, but at least he'd be able to wake up and complain about it.
Although, how would they go about fixing this? The four of them had had numerous ailments and effects inflicted on them since they had started out on this journey, but they had never come across something like this. Prompto reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, feeling a stab of disappointment at the lack of signal down here. "Okay, Noct, it'd be great if you could wake up right about now," he said. He reached out and took a hold of a shoulder, surprise going through him once more. Noctis was so small as a child. Of course he was, he was a kid, but he was just so—he was tiny.
Noctis groaned, eyes squeezing further shut before they cracked open a little. Prompto grinned in relief. "That's it, buddy," he said. "Let me see those eyes. Gotta check you're completely okay."
Noctis's eyes flew open.
"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa," Prompto held his hands up as the boy scrambled backwards. His small hand knocked into the dead coeurl at his side and he jumped as if he had been burned, looking at its body in the dim light with widening eyes. He choked out a gasp, his hand slapping over his mouth as he turned and shifted backwards into the nearest wall, sneakers scraping along the stone noisily. His small shoulders moved rapidly as he gasped for breath. Prompto frowned, beyond confused, and he could feel his mouth hanging open as he stared. "Dude, what's going on?"
Noctis's eyes darted around wildly, head moving this way and that, but his gaze always snapped straight back to Prompto, as if he didn't quite want to let him out of his sight. If he didn't know any better, he would say that Noctis was frightened of him. The prince's eyes darted over to the coeurl again, as if expecting it to jump up at any moment. "Don't worry," Prompto told him. "It's definitely dead. We killed it."
Noctis looked at him again, eyes wide.
He shuffled forward, then hesitated when the kid - not a kid, this is Noct - flinched. "Noct?" he asked. "Come on, man, tell me what's going on."
Noctis stared at him for a long moment, and then, very gently, he said, "Who are you?"
Prompto's blood ran cold, and for a minute he could only stare, dumbfounded. "What?"
"Who are you?" Noctis repeated, a lot stronger this time. His voice was so much higher pitched than normal, and Prompto would laugh if he wasn't on the verge of freaking out. Noctis squared his shoulders and tried to draw himself up even further, but the effect wasn't really that great considering how small he still was and how those large eyes and that floppy hair made him look more like a cuddly toy than anything else. "Where are we?"
"I—" Prompto glanced around, at the dark stone walls, at the shadowed areas where his flashlight couldn't reach - gods, please don't let there be anything hiding away in here with us - and then he glared at his friend. "Dude, this isn't funny."
Noctis glared back, although his expression looked genuinely angry. "You're damn right it isn't funny," the prince snapped. There was a faint tremor in his voice. "Who are you? What do you want from me? Is this a kidnapping?"
Kidnapping! Hell no, this isn't happening. "It's me," Prompto pointed at himself frantically, jabbing himself in the chest. "It's Prompto. You know, your best bud?"
"Never heard of you."
"Dude, this is a joke right? Please tell me this is a joke." Panic was starting to seep into his voice, but Noctis either didn't notice or didn't care. Instead, his eyes stayed hard and wary, hostile even, and Prompto found a chill running down his spine from it. He had been on the receiving end of many glares from the prince before, but it had never been like this, it had never been so genuine. He dug in his pocket for his phone again, meaning to call Ignis or Gladio, and cursed when he remembered that there was no signal down here. Prompto stared down at the screen, an idea striking him, and he quickly brought up Noctis's contact details, turning the phone to show the screen to the kid. "See?" Prompto said. "If I'm not your friend, how come I have your phone details?"
Noctis looked severely unimpressed.
"No?" Prompto felt his shoulders slump. If not his phone, then maybe...
He looked around, hoping Noctis's phone hadn't disappeared with his outfit - and his sword and, oh yeah, his grown up body - and he found himself grinning when he saw it lying a foot or so away. He lunged for it instantly and sat back, going through it until he found his own contact details, then showed the prince. "See? You have me listed in your phone."
Noctis stared at the screen, then looked at him blankly. "This isn't my phone," he said. "I've never seen this thing before."
"But—hey, it's got your other contacts in too, you know?"
"Yeah, because it's not like you couldn't have easily copied them from my real phone to back up your story."
"Dude, seriously?" Prompto yelped. Noctis flinched back again, eyes darting away, and Prompto finally began to realize the gravity of the situation. "You really have no idea who I am?"
"Nope," Noctis replied. The prince watched him carefully, body tense as if ready for a fight, and Prompto hoped to all the Astrals that it wouldn't come to that. He was quite confident that he could overpower the prince while he was in this particular condition, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to the idea. Noctis was clearly frightened of him, even if he was trying his best not to show it, and any sort of struggle might traumatize him further.
This can't be happening. It might have been easy to deal with if Noctis had just been transformed into a child, but to lose his memories as well? This wasn't good.
Prompto bit his lip. He needed Ignis and Gladio. They were probably either going to flip out or laugh their asses off at this, or, more likely, they were going to blame Prompto and kick his ass for getting the prince into this situation, whether it was his fault or not. It didn't matter, though, because he needed the backup. The problem was, if Noctis had no idea who he was, would he still remember the others? Would he trust them? Would he agree to go and see them or would that just make him even more wary? Could he convince Noctis that he was safe and with friends?
Could he convince him that he was supposed to be a twenty-year-old instead of a child?
"Noct—"
"Noctis."
Prompto blinked. "What?"
"My name is Noctis," the little prince said. "Only certain people can call me Noct. You aren't one of them."
Oh. Yeah, okay, that stung, but he guessed it was to be expected. Prompto knew of only a small handful of people that could call the prince by his nickname. He had been included in that group for years now after having earned that particular right a few months into their friendship, but if the prince couldn't remember who he was, then it made sense that he no longer had that privilege. That didn't mean it didn't hurt, though.
"Noctis," Prompto said slowly, and it felt weird rolling off his tongue. "What's the last thing you remember?"
Noctis stared at him, then shrugged. "Math class."
"Okay. If you were just in math, then how do you think you ended up here?" Prompto watched the prince think about it. "Don't you think your teachers would have noticed if I had kidnapped you from school?"
"Maybe you hit my head and it happened after school," Noctis said. "My dad says your memory is tricky like that. If you hit your head, you can forget things." The prince glared at him then. "You do know my dad's the King, right?"
Oh gods, Prompto swallowed past a sudden lump in his throat and quickly looked away. If he had needed any further confirmation that his best friend wasn't actually screwing with him, then this was it. It had been a month since the destruction of Insomnia and, while Noctis was dealing with his grief a little better now, the death of his father was still very much a raw wound. He wouldn't be bringing the King's name into a prank this soon.
"What's the matter?" there was a new strength to Noctis's voice now. "Didn't you know who you kidnapped? Scared now that you know the King is gonna come after you?"
Prompto squeezed his eyes shut. They had to get out of here. He couldn't deal with this on his own, or he'd end up blurting out something horrible to this kid in a moment of panic. "Look," he said and winced at how strangled his voice sounded. "I get it, you don't trust me, and that's okay. But we need to get out of here, okay? We need some help with this one, our friends will help." Ignis would know what to do, he would know how to explain everything to this younger version of the prince.
Noctis raised an eyebrow. "Our friends?"
"Yeah, Ignis and Gladio—"
"Ignis?" Noctis's voice was sharper this time, tinged with panic, and he jerked upright. "You've got Ignis?"
"Wait, so you remember Ignis, but not me?" Prompto couldn't help the small twinge of hurt, although, logically, he knew it was stupid. Ignis and Noctis had known each other long before Prompto had worked up his nerve to talk to the prince. "Yeah, Ignis is with us."
Noctis's breaths were shaky again, his bottom lip trembling, but he glared fiercely anyway. "I swear to all the gods, if you've hurt him—"
"Hurt him? Dude, he's gonna kick my ass for this, you—" Prompto stopped and realized his error. Noctis, this Noctis, couldn't be more than twelve at the most. That meant that, in his head, in his version of events, Ignis would also be a lot younger than he really was. So to him, Prompto would be guilty of not only kidnapping him, but of kidnapping his friend too.
Oh damn it, what a mess.
Prompto sighed. "Look, let's get outta here, okay?" he pointed towards his right, towards the slope they had tumbled down earlier. "We're gonna have to climb that to get back up to the surface. Do you think you can do that? And then we can go and see Ignis."
Noctis looked at him, then looked at the slope. "Ignis is up there?"
"Yeah."
The prince turned to stare back at him, silent for a long time. Then he nodded slowly. "Okay."
Prompto felt like an asshole. It was probably the thought of going to see his supposedly kidnapped friend that had suddenly made him so compliant, and he hated the idea of using that over Noctis. He could explain it to him, could tell the little prince that Ignis wasn't the same anymore, that he was a giant twenty-two year old man, but that would most likely end up in completely making himself untrustworthy.
But then, how would Noctis feel once he saw the real Ignis and Prompto didn't warn him of what to expect? Would he recognize an older Ignis? Or would he feel tricked and they would lose any opportunity of gaining his trust?
Prompto sighed, made sure their phones were secure and safe in his pocket, and they made their way to the slope to start climbing. There was only one way to find out how this would end, and he had a sinking feeling that it was going to be one hell of a shitstorm no matter what he would do.
I freaking knew splitting up was a bad idea!