Locked to Real_life_rpg

[starless_sky]

Things had been going well in Noct's life ever since he got a boyfriend. It wasn't what most people thought of when that word was used. He was still a virgin and while that was a bitter pill, it was better than being a virgin with no prospects. He had Prompto and they had a promise. Now they waited his father out. Eventually his dad would hand over the throne to him and retire, or worse, pass away. He didn't want to think about that but... it was how his family had worked since the beginning of the nation. Regis was a stubborn old alpha to boot.

 

Noct had been working more in the citadel, attending more meetings, talking to more people, doing his own Working Royal stuff which he had previously shrugged off with the excuse that he was in school. It got Ignis' attention as well as his father's which hopefully would work in his favor in the future. 

 

He had to get the public, the advisors, and the counsel on his side, or at the very least he had to get to where they couldn't oppose him when he took the throne. That meant he was building alliances now so years in the future, whenever he took the throne, he will have built a place for Prompto by his side. A nest of sorts. If that isn't the most omega way to think about it... a nest. 

 

It's what brought him to work most days. Today he was at a public garden maintained by the royal family. He was meeting with some of his citizens, many of them social workers and outreach professionals for the poor and underprivileged. A perfectly banal sort of day. 

 

It wouldn't stay that way. He was trusted enough to handle this on his own so he was attending with his civilians with minimal security. He was within a stone's throw of the citadel after all. It's what the Nifs were counting on. 

 

Some time later there was a great boom and then a siren sounded in the training yard. A voice pinged each glaive and crownsgaurd with earpieces, delivering several codes, each referring to a scenario. This event had several codes; Active shooters, fire, multiple casualties, and a note that Rosebud was not secure. Rosebud was among hostiles. 

 

Rosebud was Noctis' security code the crownsguard and glaives used. Not that he knew that. 

 

Things went to shit real quick and to help it along, there had been a small camera crew playing Noct's talk with the social workers he was with. One channel was broadcasting it from the nearby jumbotron and the chaos unfolded. Noct was talking, suddenly there was an explosion, screaming, fire, gunfire could be heard. Nif soldiers appeared on screen. In seconds it was happening. Other screens around Insomnia began showing the footage. 

 

One could hear the explosions and guns in real time, not from the screen but from the park itself a block over. 

 

Comments

[starless_sky]

Cor won't pretend he doesn't know exactly what that was like. He didn't smile or joke but he had his ways of getting through the pain without coping. Still, he hated to see it in Prompto. He wanted better for the kid, the kid deserved better, he should have done better for him. Hopefully... someday Prompto would let him in and tell him the truth.

The two photos together were kind of what he wanted all along, other than there should have been a litany of other photos of Prom and himself. Or at least just Prompto being a kid.

"Keep it, it doesn't need to be in the file."

He pet the kid's hair, he didn't seem to mind it so Cor just... kept it up, don't mind him and don't mention it. Really. Don't say a word.

"Dunno about that, you were preeetty cute." he smiled, the light in his eyes warmed. He didn't respond to the text chime in his pocket and in fact he wouldn't but Prompto may see it later as his wallpaper.

"They can wait on you, trust the king is busy with other matters, he expects you to rest. They both do." and if they have an an iota of a problem with Prompto sleeping longer Cor would deal with it personally.

"...You can at least nap once more, can't you?"

[real_life_rpg]

How many other people could say they had gotten their hair petted by Cor the Immortal? Prom imagined the number was low - like, able to count on one hand low. Noct, maybe? The King, possibly? It was most likely a very elite group that Prompto was privileged to be a part of.

How many other people could say that Cor the Immortal was practically their dad? That was an even more elite group of people. In fact, Prompto was probably the only member of that group.

"I guess I probably created a world of paperwork and diplomatic issues for you all, huh? The Empire probably didn't take kindly to me killing their own. That Loqi jerk totally deserved it! And don't even get me started on Caligo. He deserved so much worse." Prom killed him too quickly. He should have made him suffer more. The way Caligo made Noct suffer.

He wanted to argue that it was bad form to keep the King of all people waiting, but the hair petting, the drugs, and the emotional rollercoaster of the day were all taking their toll. Prompto shuffled down the bed a little. The rest of his soup and the files forgotten as he leaned into that petting more.

"Do you need to leave or are you staying?" Please stay? Was the unspoken plea.

[starless_sky]

Zero. Zero other people could say that. Prompto could technically say he got his hair pet by the Immortal again. He did it when Prompto was a baby to keep him quiet while traveling home. Also for emotional support.

Cor chuckled at the paperwork upstairs. "Oh more paperwork than you want to think about. Good paperwork. You cleaned a lot of the king's problems up in Niflheim. A lot of them." like, basically all of them. "He'll wait..."

Ah, Caligo. "While I understand your heart, Prompto, you did well with them. Torture isn't a one-way interaction, it hurts you too, it corrupts the person who does it. You needed to dispatch them quickly and you did, that's what matters."

He continued the petting, remembering how this put Prompto to sleep without fail. "If you promise to nap, I'll be here." as if he had anything else to do. He'd cleared his schedule to be here, this was his post until Prompto was discharged. When Prompto woke, Cor would be in his same seat, arms crossed, half dozing.

[real_life_rpg]

"I promise," Prom half-whispered as he drifted off to sleep. His sleep was relatively peaceful, save for a few mumbles and twitches. It was likely that when he didn't have Cor's magic hair petting or the good pain relief to rely on that the nightmares of what he did in Gralea would haunt him.

Eventually he stirred. Those blue-violet eyes blinked open slowly. He was a little surprised to see that Cor had actually stayed. He shouldn't be. The man was a man of his word, after all. Again, he found himself wondering how many people got to see Cor Leonis like this. Part of him wondered if he was living in some bizarro alternate universe where Cor was a lot more human. Made sense to Prom's drug-fogged mind.

He couldn't help but smile. "You stayed," he said, quietly. Not wanting to disturb Cor, but also not wanting the guy to be uncomfortable and suffer for it later - gotta take care of those old man bones!

Prom needn't have worried about disturbing him, because an overly loud knock at the door followed that would no doubt do the trick. Titus Drautos stepped in. "Leonis! Orders from the King - go get some rest. I'll watch the kid."

[starless_sky]

They'd have to work on the sleep issues but for now, Cor was satisfied he didn't wake up.

Later, he thought he was mostly awake. He blinked up at Prompto and raised am eyebrow.

"What did you expect?"

He blinked at the sudden rap on the door. He knew that knock anywhere. Titus Drautos knocked like a damn cop about to kick in a door.

"Hm? Since when- nevermind." he knew better than to question orders from Drautos. Even if they were bullshit it was easier to step around the guy than to get him to admit fault. He wouldn't show any of that in front of Prompto.

"Understood. Argentum. See you around." he was back to The Marshal and out the door he went. Drautos waited, faced the door and listened for silence before turning on one heel and approaching Prompto with his typical aggressive gait. Too fast and too hard for anyone not currently in a fight.

He didn't look at the kid, merely his IV. He didn't speak to him and he produced a vial from his uniform.

"I was asked to give you this." his voice was the typical gruff and dispassionate leader. This sort of thing was beneath him.

"It helps the glaives, it'll burn a bit but don't fight it." he drew the pearly white contents of the vial into a syringe and was ready to inject it into Prom's IV.

[real_life_rpg]

There was something about Drautos that made Prom uneasy. He had never been able to put his finger quite on what it was though. Maybe it was because he showed even less human emotion than Cor. He desperately wanted to beg Cor to stay. But he couldn't disobey a direct order from the King just because Prom wanted a grown-up to hold his hand.

"Sir," he acknowledged as Cor left.

Left alone with Drautos, Prom immediately felt uneasy and on edge. Why was the King sending the Captain of the Kingsglaive to play babysitter? It didn't make any sense.

"Sir, no offence... but I think I'd rather get my medication from professional doctors... What even is that stuff? Really, I'm feeling much better. On the mend already. I'll be back on the field in no time..."

Prompto's words fell on deaf ears though. Drautos paid him little mind as he injected the contents of the syringe into the IV. The pain was instant, burning through Prom's veins like... like poison... Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Prom ripped the IV out in a blind panic, trying to halt the damage. "... Why?!"

"You've become quite the thorn in my side, Argentum. To think, such an insignificant runt like you could single-handedly jeopardise all the plans we've been working towards for years."

[starless_sky]

"I'm trained as a field medic, they've all got their hands full with the glaives right now." with he war stopped in its tracks? Really? Most of them were busy logging all the bodies and the spoils from Prompto's kill spree. That or watching the security tapes of said spree. Again. With popcorn.

"You're just like that sniveling prince. He wouldn't die when he was supposed to either." referring both you the daemon attack in Noct's youth and the attack on him again in Tenebrae.

"Alpha Daddy keeps saving him and now you, you little runt." he gripped Prompto by the arm, holding it in a menacing grip.

"I prefer there be no questions when I get rid of people. Your IV was easier but it can go in anywhere." he stuck the needle into Prompto's skin directly.

[real_life_rpg]

Terror surged through Prompto. The poison burned through his body, attacking his veins, his muscles, his blood. What a cruel twist of fate! He survived the Keep only to be poisoned to death in the Citadel. He'd laugh if it didn't hurt so damn much.

Although, people really needed to learn that talking shit about Noctis in front of Prompto was a really, really bad idea. He glanced at the IV needle he'd yanked out of his skin. Before he lunged at Drautos, the needle was dangerously close to his jugular vein. "You wanna run that bit about Noct by me one more time?"

Meanwhile, not too far down the corridor Nyx passed Cor, greeting him. "Hey Marshal. Thought you were on babysitting duty with the kid? I was just going to poke my head in and see how he's doing since the boss cancelled training. Apparently, he had some meeting or something to attend."

[starless_sky]

All of this will make a hell of a book, movie, or tv series... once Prompto lives and writes it all down.

Titus Drautos knew the kid was in love with the prince but he didn't take him seriously enough. He'd never met an alpha he couldn't subdue. Especially this little twerp. Even if he surprised him with the needle to his neck. Drautos wasn't afraid. He'd buried his emotions and his soul decades ago.

Cor slowed down, turned on his heel, thinking. A meeting...? "He's in with Argentum. I don't remember any missives about him coming down the line though." he reached for his phone and his pocket was empty. Forgotten on Prompto's nightstand. He casually turned around to walk with Nyx. "May as well pop my head in too."

Back in the room, Titus exhaled softly, almost smiling. He liked destroying his victims emotionally before they died.

"Your little omega doesn't know when to die. He'd have been eaten alive twelve years ago if Regis hadn't interfered. Then again at Tenebrae. I'd have finished the job and cut him in half... but the king is old and weak now. Your prince is asleep... once I'm done here I can finish it. So don't fret, kid, your beloved Prince Noctis will be with you in hell very soon."

[real_life_rpg]

"The Captain is with Argentum?" That didn't make any sense. Why would he say he had a meeting if he was just going to visit the kid? Why not just say he was going to visit Prompto? Unless the meeting was with Prompto? What kind of meeting could they possibly be having? Was he trying to lure the kid over to the Glaive? Good luck, kid was Guard through and through.

Nyx couldn't shift the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, his pace increased just a little.

Back in the room, Prompto growled at Drautos. The poison was making him feel quite sick and collapsing on the floor seemed like a fine plan, but he pushed through the pain. "I will not let you lay a single hand on Noct. Not now. Not ever." His insides were burning, but he could do this. He could keep Noct safe one last time.

He twisted his wrist, plunging the needle into Titus' jugular as he leaned in closer, rumbling. "I'll see you in Hell."

[starless_sky]

It was the rumble that Cor would remember. He had heard it on the security cameras from Zegnautus but to hear it in person, even from a distance... he knew an angry alpha when he heard one. He ran then, into the room. He knew it was Prompto, knew that things were very wrong.

He made it through the doorway just in time to see the needle plunge into Drautos' neck.

Titus had his back to the door.

"You little shit. You think this is going to hurt me? Dig it in, you'll be dead before I finish my work." he grit his teeth as the needle bit into his neck. He was bleeding out of his neck but not enough to bleed out. Hopefully.

Cor took a moment, an instant to register just what was happening. Was Drautos... had he really been a turncoat? All this time?

[real_life_rpg]

Nyx was on Cor's heels, skidding to a stop when he reached the door. Whatever he expected to see in that room - this was not it at all. He didn't know what he had expected, but Prompto stabbing Drautos hadn't been on his bingo card at all.

Without thinking, he warped across the room to try and separate the pair. "Easy, kid. Easy..." He tried to calm Prompto, pulling him back from Drautos.

Prompto wasn't having it though. Drautos was still breathing which meant Noctis was still in danger. Protect Noct. Protect his best friend. Protect his omega. Those were the only thoughts going through Prompto's head. He broke free of Nyx's grasp and lunged at Drautos once more, this time sinking his teeth into the man's throat, hellbent on tearing it out just like he did to Loqi and Caligo.

[starless_sky]

Cor should have been the one but it was like a bad movie. He couldn't get to Prompto in time and he watched it unfold. Watched Prompto's eyes turn predatory, his stance change and Cor knew then that Drautos would die.

'You fool' he thought as Prompto's fangs dug into his skin. There was a popping sound of sinew, the ripping of flesh and blood everywhere.

As a last ditch attempt to defend himself, at the moment of Prompto's lunge, Drautos activated his imperial armor. Donning the suit known as General Glauca. It wasn't complete. But it was enough to identify him.

Prompto was faster. The man's throat was gone before the transformation could finish. He gripped the kid too hard on his bad shoulder. His gloved hand the armor of an imperial.

The same imperial who killed Queen Sylva in Tenebrae. The same imperial who tried to slay Noctis in his wheelchair. His eyes were wild. Furious. He gurgled... And then he was gone.

"You deserved worse." Cor muttered, standing over him. His eyes moved to Prom.

"You ok?"

[real_life_rpg]

They didn't cover this in Glaive training! What to do when your Captain turns out to be an Imperial General. Nyx looked to Cor for guidance. "Is... do we... do we need to lockdown the Citadel? Code Red?" He was prepared for a lot of things, but this wasn't one of them.

Prompto spat a mouthful of Drautos's blood and flesh out of his mouth, wiping it as best as he could with the back of his hand. Drautos had really done a number on his already injured shoulder, agitating the barely healed wounded, causing them to bleed anew and the bruising to worsen.

He didn't look in a good way. Not too shocking, considering he had just murdered a man in cold blood - and not just any man, but the Captain of the Kingsglaive. A man handpicked by the King himself. If being a clone of a mad Imperial scientist wasn't treason, then this definitely had to be.

He nodded in response to Cor's question. "Guess I just bought you even more paperwork... soz..." That was all he managed to get out before he dropped.

Luckily, Nyx was close enough to catch him before he hit the ground. He lowered Prom to the ground, cradling him. "Shit... He's poisoned. We need an antidote... Hopefully we're not too late..."

[starless_sky]

Cor was already on the phone. He may have been blindsided but he could move faster than Nyx after the fact. He was muttering into the phone exactly what Nyx had been asking.

'Clarus you need to get down here. It's a code red. Drautos is dead. Cor Out.'

He returned the phone to his pocket as Prompto was trying to apologize. He was woozy, his eyes were unfocused, Cor suspected poison and Nyx confirmed it. His veins were getting dark at the injection site.

"Not today." Cor pulled an antidote out of his armiger and cracked it over Prompto. "Fucking hell kid." he sighed.

"Ulric, this place is about to get busy. If you don't want to be caught in it I suggest you leave now."

[real_life_rpg]

"You don't need me to stick around? Fuck... I can't believe it... The Captain and Glauca... the same guy, all this time. Fuck. I knew he was bitter about the King only protecting Insomnia with the Wall and not the outlying lands. But I never expected... shit..."

Nyx continued to cradle Prompto as Cor cracked the antidote over him. It took a couple of agonisingly long minutes before the kid woke up. "Back with us? Take it easy, kid."

He helped Prompto to his feet and got him back into the bed. "Keep this up and you'll be stealing my nickname."

Prom didn't reply, he just stared at Drautos' lifeless corpse.

"Kid? You okay in there?"

[starless_sky]

"I could use you but this is your chance if you want out kid. Clarus can get your testimony later but you have about ten seconds to escape if you don't want to be locked in the citadel for a while."

He looked at Drautos. He should have known. He should have seen it but he didn't even consider that had a double agent.

"Regis never did it on purpose. It's all his body could handle to hold a wall over Insomnia. He hated it but it would have killed him if he tried to hold it over the entire nation... Titus never understood that. He always thought the king could have if he really wanted to. Holding the wall over Insomnia aged him before his time, he can use the crystal but he isn't super human."

He sighed.

"Drautos was bitter. I thought he'd gotten over it but he just hid it."

Then Prompto was awake but unresponsive.

"Kid... Look at me." he moved in closer. "It's over. He's gone... Noctis is alright." maybe that would get him out of his head.

[real_life_rpg]

Nyx considered it. He didn't really want to be stuck inside the Citadel during a lockdown when he could be out drinking with Crowe and Libertus. But he didn't want to walk out on the kid. He knew if the roles were reversed then Prom would stick by his side like glue.

Besides, he was invested. He had looked up to Drautos. Respected him. Fought for him. Bled for him. He needed to know just how deep within the Kingsglaive this thing went. "You think he's been working alone or do you think they are others?" It was a disturbing thought. The Glaive were supposed to be his brothers and sisters. How could they lay down their lives for their King if they had to worry about being stabbed in the back by one of their own?

Prompto blinked at Cor. "Noct? Yeah... Safe. Noct's safe... He's safe..." He kept his omega safe just like a good alpha should.

[starless_sky]

Likely, Crowe and Libertus would be stuck in the citadel too. The Glaive would be called into question. They'd go through everyone with a fine toothed comb. If Nyx left, he'd be brought back eventually. Everyone who wasn't on duty would be summoned.

"He was good but he wasn't that good. He had to have help. Whoever helped him today... Clarus will figure it out." and Dustin. The man was polite until he was terrifying in interrogation.

"We'll get to the bottom of it... I just hope we can stay in one piece as a military." treachery was poisonous and Regis was busy enough he couldn't keep his thumb on it. Busy... Because of Drautos. He kept their king distracted enough that he didn't see. None of them had.

He did notice that Prompto wasn't present. He was off in... Who knows where. Cor wanted to tell him it was going to be ok but he couldn't. He didn't know what to expect anymore. What if someone else was a traitor?

"Prompto... Look at me. Stay with me." he needed a doctor but they'd have to deal with that later. He pulled a potion out and cracked it over Prompto's bleeding shoulder. It would have to be enough for now.

"Noctis needs you. You have to keep focused. We don't know how many more there are. You did well and I need you to stay with me... I just got you back, I don't want to lose you."

[real_life_rpg]

Nyx watched as Cor cracked the potion over Prompto's shoulder. He moved to fetch a bowl of water and a washcloth so he could wipe the blood from Prompto's face and hands. He'd never personally torn a man's throat out with his teeth, but he could imagine not being covered in blood after the fact would help him feel better.

It was unnerving to see the kid so still. He was almost always fidgeting or talking. To see him so dissociated was painful to watch.

"So, the rumours about the kid and the Princess are true? They're bonded?" Everyone in the Citadel had heard the rumours - Noctis and his runt alpha best friend. What people didn't know was that they were in fact not bonded - not in any of the official ways that counted.

Nyx held Prom's hand in his as he wiped away the blood, getting under his fingernails as much as the washcloth allowed - they'd need scrubbing properly to get them completely clean, but it was better than nothing. "You ever seen it before? An alpha go feral like that to protect their omega, I mean. I haven't. Only ever heard about it. Seen plenty of alphas rile each other up on the battlefield. But never anything like... that. Didn't even know the kid had it in him. I remember his first day of training. Could barely even do a push-up. The Glaive were taking bets on how long it'd be before he walked. Now he's single-handedly wiped out most of the Empire and discovered a mole within the Citadel. Not bad work, huh?"

Prompto blinked down at his hands and then back at Cor. Everything felt fuzzy. Like he was dreaming but still awake. "He... he hurt Noct. I... I had to..." Hadn't he and Cor only just had a conversation about not murdering everyone who threatened Noct? That had happened. Yet, another dead body was added to Prompto's count.

"Noct's safe. He's safe. He can't hurt him. Safe."

[starless_sky]

"No. They're not bonded. But they want to be." meaning Prompto had toppled the empire for an omega he loved but didn't have claim to. He'd triggered the primal alpha rage most alphas never saw in their lives and he controlled it so effectively that he became a one man army.

"Kid's got balls of steel." mostly in reference to the fact that Prompto helped Noctis with his heats while keeping him a virgin. That had to come from somewhere deep. No alpha was that strong. Not the king, not Clarus.

"Never have." he'd heard of ripping throats out with your teeth but it was mostly urban legends. "Didn't think he had it in him either. I knew he and Noctis were... Close. Maybe being allowed to bond would help calm him down. It'd help the princess too."

He started to pet Prompto's hair again. Maybe that would work like last time. "Come on kid snap out of it..."