I'm not sure how far this will go, I have ideas for at least 5 or 6 chapters and, depending how evil I feel, what could happen after Prompto is pushed off the train.

I don't plan for any relationships to occur in this story but we'll see how things pan out and what the characters tell me. Current tags cover what I have planned already, and I'll add additional tags as more ideas come to me.

Tags: MT!Prompto, Hurt/Comfort, Psychological Torture, Psychological Conditioning, Alternate Universe

-l-l-l-

Prompto stared down the sight of his sniper, took a breath, held it, and pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and he mentally cursed when his target simply vanished, leaving a blue outline where he had been, the image slightly distorted from where Prompto's bullet had passed through it. It had been a perfect shot too.

A commotion to his right alerted him to where his target had reappeared. His shot, or one of the ones let off by others in his unit, had alerted their targets to their presence, drawing their attention from the melee units they had been engaged in.

"Noct! Slow down!" the big one shouted as he ran to catch up.

Prompto tried to aim his rifle at him instead, to take him out, but was distracted by a gurgling scream immediately to his right. His gaze flicked towards it to see Arvid's throat slashed by the prince's sword. Breath catching in his throat, Prompto forgot about his earlier attempt to target the big guy and scrambled backwards to get away from the prince.

A fireball erupted to his left back down in the gully, taking out the remaining melee units, most of them MTs that crumpled without a sound, but Prompto ignored it. He was too busy trying to get away from the Lucian prince. He was so focused on that goal that he didn't realise he had backed right into the big guy. With a shout he ducked under a swing of the greatsword, the blade only just narrowly missing separating his head from his shoulders, clipping the top of his helmet instead and knocking Prompto forward. Feeling the zap of electricity into the back of his head as the aim assist shorted out, he reached into the visor to rip it off, tossing the damaged thing aside; he hated wearing it anyway and were it not for assistive technology he would prefer to go without. Prompto winced as pain shot through his head. Magitek soldiers do not have opinions. His mind went carefully blank once more as he scuttled forward still half on his knees.

Hearing a sound behind him, Prompto flipped over, half sitting, still trying to get away. The prince was there, the sword that had killed Arvid disappearing in a shower of shining tiny crystals to be replaced by a huge greatsword like the one his hulking bodyguard used. A greatsword that was swinging towards Prompto's head.

Instinctively he raised his rifle to block it, the force of the sword striking the barrel causing a shock down Prompto's arms. The barrel cracked and Prompto to winced; rifle barrels are not meant to block crystalline swords!

With a twist he deflected the sword away and got his feet up under him. Heart pounding, he tried to back away again - he was a sniper unit, he had no melee weapons! - but gasped in surprise when his back hit the stone wall of the cliff face.

Prompto had to get some distance between himself and his target or he would never bring them down! He started to move sideways, to try to duck away but the prince sent his greatsword away and instead a pair of daggers appeared in his hands. He charged forwards, slamming into Prompto and knocking the wind out of him as he struck the stone wall. The broken rifle dropped to the ground as an arm pressed across his throat, cutting off his air. Even as his hands grasped futilely at the arm, Prompto knew this was it. He closed his eyes and waited for the fatal strike.

-l-l-l-

Heart pounding, chest heaving, Noctis stared at the magitek soldier before him, at a face that looked about the same age as his own.

When the drop ship had descended and all the MTs jumped out, he had charged into their ranks without thought. All the melee ones were MTs, he had known that by the way they moved, the way they jumped and landed easily from that height, the way they just crumpled amid bursts of sparks beneath his onslaught. It was a glint of metal armour that had caught Noct's eye first, drawing his attention to the snipers on the ridge. Some of them had been MTs too, but some had been human, though still made somewhat in-human by their face-concealing helmets. Then this one had pulled his off.

The dagger was in his hand, a quick strike and it would be over, the Imperial boy wasn't even trying to defend himself now. But still he hesitated.

The Empire had attacked his home, destroyed it, killed thousands, killed his father, killed Gladio's father. But still he hesitated.

The sound of fighting behind him began to die down but all Noct could do was stare at the face before him, a face that had his eyes squeezed shut, awaiting his strike, unshed tears dampening the ash-blonde lashes.

"Finish it already," Noctis heard Gladio growl behind him.

With a sigh, he sent his daggers back into the ether and stepped back, the magitek soldier sliding down the rockface to sit at his feet, staring up wide-eyed at him.

"We're done here," was all Noctis said as he turned on his heel and strode away, confident that the boy wouldn't attack him. Gladio and Ignis hesitated only for a moment before following their prince's lead and leaving the battlefield, heading back to the Regalia to continue on their way.