AN: Omatase itashimashita. Sorry to keep you waiting, guys. I took a break from Tool a little too long, maybe, but here it is. I dunno if it feels sudden, maybe, but this is the last chapter to Mind of a Tool. I've been meaning to end it when the things are looking up, and my beta and I came to the conclusion that this would be as good as any. I'm not saying I'm 100% sure I'm definitely done with Tool yet, but the part 2... this is it.

For the first time in my life, I actually have reading instructions for this chapter. When you come to the end of the first scene, there is the invitation to listen to a song and you'll see the lyrics in italics. At that point, I am humbly, pleadingly asking you to please listen to the song (Broods - Free) AND PAUSE THERE FOR A MOMENT. Please don't read further than the lyrics and the dash indicating a scene break until the song is over, for there is almost a 180 mood shift in the text, and the song and a little pause in reading through are intented to smoothen that transition. So, when you reach that part, just click on the song and watch the video, or go grab a nice cup of coffee and take a break and just enjoy it. I promise you, this is for the best reading experience and this is how I intend it to be read. I hope it's not too confusing.

I had so much fun writing this. Thanks, Elillierose, for beta reading and your constructive ideas. Also, Bagpipes5K2, I hope Tool has lived up to the expectations. It's yours as much as it is mine.

Now, I think it's finally time to give Prompto some love. For heaven knows he deserves it.

The rain had died down by the time they had finished their dinner. Prompto inhaled the fresh, crisp air in deep, savoring breaths, cherishing the scent. At the moment, it represented everything opposite to what he had learned to know in the past few days – staleness, industrial fumes and closed-in spaces – and he wanted to hold onto that. A leg propped up to his chest, the other dangling over the edge, Prompto leaned himself further against the metal-grated surface as he gazed at the stardust shimmering in the now clear sky. He couldn't help a sad smile as it rose to his face, a look of mesmerizement and yearning when gazing up at the heavens that had given him so much, and yet demanded even more as the price.

Tomorrow, Noct had decided, they would set out to face the trials of the Fulgurian. But, they would take their time, have themselves the slow morning all of them more or less openly hoped to get to enjoy. No-one would want to rush anything, and Prompto had a feeling it might end up being less the morning and more like the earliest convenience when they would finally hit the road. Not that he minded.

He should be asleep, he knew. When they had left the diner, some four-ish hours ago maybe, it had seemed like everyone was about ready to crash where they stood. They must have looked like a bunch of drunkards, or still cognitively functioning zombies, practically dragging themselves forward on lead legs. Noctis had gone out like a light, and Prompto still chuckled at the mental image.

The prince had literally thrown the room door open, bent down for long enough to take his shoes off, and then beelined towards his bed, stripping himself of his clothing on the way, piece by piece, the discarded garments forming a path. He'd gotten down to his t-shirt by the time he reached the bed, and apparently had decided that it was good enough. Noctis had slumped down onto it and wriggled himself under the bedcovers, and hadn't been seen since. Ignis, who had invited himself in by insisting on wanting to clean the wound and change Prompto's gauze before they would settle in for the night, had rolled his eyes, urging the prince at the very least to please place his belongings with a little more care. He had received nothing but dismissive mutters and shifting of bedsheets as his reply. And if Prompto would have said that he hadn't internally chuckled at the face the man had made, well, Prompto would have lied.

He should be asleep. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, one in the string of many. But somehow he couldn't catch an eyeful. Wasn't he tired? He was, very much so. His body felt like it had been beaten with a baseball bat, then thrown into a hydraulic press and then gone through a turbo speed tumble dryer for a good measure. Yes, he was exhausted. But his body's need to lie down didn't reach his mind, which longed to linger on the memories of his very own personal helter-skelter.

He sighed deeply and closed his eyes to cherish the little gust of wind gently whisking against his face. The sky-blue eyes cracked open again, to gaze at the arcs of stone reaching over the land, painting a dark portrait against the starlit sky. It was beautiful, really. A scene of calm contrasting greatly with his quaking heart.

Who was he really? Prompto had thought he had known, but as it turned out, he had no clue, not anymore. He traced the clean bindings over his wrist, wincing at the pain that shot up his arm immediately when he accidentally put a little too much pressure on it. He swallowed against a lump of disgust that rose into his throat, the memory stain of the blood and his own quivering hand assaulting him. What had he been thinking?! He hadn't; Prompto sighed and reached his hands around to hug his knee into his chest. He had just wanted to make it go away, the symbol of his deviation. Maybe then things could have gone back to normal. Maybe then he didn't have to spend the rest of his life hating himself.

He cringed at the word. Hate. Did he? Hate himself? In some ways, yes. Yes, he did. He hated that he would never again be able to go back into pretending to be just like everyone else. Until recently, he had managed to fool himself. The brutality of his self-denialistic delusion hadn't quite left him. For so long he had kept to his lies – was that the right word for it, lies? – that he had started to believe in them himself. Truth hurt, it really did.

As he gazed at the distance, a sudden sound of a door being slammed open and hasty footfalls jerked him from his reverie. Noctis had at least found his clothing, he noted as the prince dashed onto the motel parking lot, looking frantic, his head swishing from one side to the other like he was looking for something. "Prompto?!" The said man's heart skipped a beat at the urgency in his friend's voice. "Prompto?!" Realizing the raven perhaps didn't come to think of looking up, Prompto called out a little apologetically,

"I'm here, Noct!"

Noctis' head spun into the direction of the voice at breakneck speed, and he visibly relaxed at the recognition of the fond figure. His shoulders dropped with a half-pant of relief, and the prince shook his head a little to assure himself that his fright had been for nothing. Prompto was sitting on the roof, leaning against a fuse box, dangling one leg over the edge and looking like Noctis had interrupted something. Well, no matter. "Prom?! What the hell are you doing up there?" He didn't wait for a permission before closing the majority of the distance in a flash of blue. His world decrystalized just in time to get to see the blond shrug.

"Just… thinking. It's no big deal." Noctis came sit down with him.

"What do you mean, 'it's no big deal'?! Sheesh man, I thought–" Noctis' voice faded away with an abrupt stop that held a degree of worry; it drew Prompto's attention, only for the sky-blue to catch Noctis' gaze lingering on his hands, a look of disturbance washing over his face before he could hide it from him. Prompto swallowed and turned his face away as he understood. Understood what Noct had feared to find.

"Well, it's not what you thought, okay?" he said, coming out a bit bitterly.

"Prompto…"

"I just needed some fresh air, is all."

Noctis looked taken aback. "I, uh… sorry. I just…" he trailed off again, not sure what he wanted to say, how to word it. He felt heat rising over his cheeks, and there was the sting of guilt.

"It's alright, though," Prompto said so lowly he only barely caught it; the blond held a sad smile as he shook his head a little. "I'm happy that you came for me." Taking the other's surprised silence as his cue, he turned to look at him in the eye again and asked, "Tell me… were you worried about me?"

Noctis gasped silently. Hadn't he just dashed out alone in the middle of the night because of the guttural fear that Prompto might have been injured – lying somewhere in a pool of his own blood – and needed him? Hadn't he been worried sick? "Of course, I was. What kind of a question is that?"

Something leaped inside him. Something warm. He hadn't wanted to make them worried, to make him worried the least of all, had hoped no-one would notice, but… hearing the honest concern for him in Noct's voice, it was touching. Unexpected, but dearly appreciated. It made him feel like this all wasn't just a huge mistake. That he belonged, or at least someone really thought so.

It gave him a purpose.

Prompto's lips stretched into a soft smile, and the sky-blue orbs were shining. "Thanks." He left unvoiced the obvious. 'You have no idea what that means to me.' For Noctis knew. He saw it. The prince, too, smiled sympathetically, communicating silently what he couldn't word. The moment was short-lived, though, as Noctis caught himself, and coughing a little, averted his eyes into the landscape.

"So, what're you doing out here, anyway?" he asked with a little exaggerated nonchalance. Prompto shrugged, also turning his gaze forward.

"I told you. Just thinking."

"About what?" The blond glanced at him with a look that spoke volumes of his lost state of mind.

"About… whatever, I guess. All of this that… happened." The tone of the other got Noctis to pull his leg up to sit more steadily, and he briefly glanced back at the gunner before averting his eyes again.

"Yeah. It's a pretty heavy load to take in," he mused, drifting into the memories a little himself. They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts as they gazed over the night-shaded land.

"What do you think it's gonna be like? The trial of the Fulgurian?" Prompto suddenly mused.

Noctis blinked. "Who knows? Iggy said that he knows the rough locations but not what the actual trial is like. I guess we'll just have to figure it out once we're there," he shrugged.

"And by we you mean you'll have to figure it out. You and your ego," Prompto sniped, chuckling. Noctis smirked but wasn't phased.

"You'll back me up," he said as he closed his eyes and reached behind to stretch his arms. The 'like you'd need to ask' was so quiet it was almost missed by the raven. "Huh?" He recoiled from the stretch, careful not to do it too fast and sprain something, but his undivided attention was on Prompto's playful face. "What's that?"

"Nooo-thing," he drawled, grinning. The intense blue eyes grew stinging, like Noctis was trying to pry out what the blond wasn't saying, and Prompto's grin melted, replaced by a look of sincerity, and the humor was gone from his voice. "I just want you to know that... I'll be there for you, Noct. By your side." He hesitated for a moment before adding, his voice trembling at the end, "If you'll have me."

"Prompto… what are you saying?"

The blond didn't answer immediately. Instead he looked like he was tasting the words before speaking them, mulling them into a form that he would be able to work with. "Noct, are you sure that it's a good idea that I'll be tagging along?" he asked, without any ulterior motives, just the honest uncertainty.

Saying that Noctis looked dumbstruck would have been the understatement of the century. "What're you talkin' about?! Of course! We've been over this, Prom." Noctis wanted to just grab the blond and knock some sense into him. Where was this coming from now, the prince didn't understand.

"Yeah, but–"

"No buts."

"But," Prompto insisted, paying no heed to Noctis' tightening expression, "are you sure? I don't want–" He had to pause, not able to say it. 'I don't want to see you getting hurt because of me.'

It was like Noctis had read his thoughts, for he grabbed his shoulder tightly, waiting for the blond to look at him before speaking, and when he did, it held grace and dedication, and for a moment, Prompto thought that he saw a glimpse of the king Noct would one day be. "I want you there as much as Iggy and Gladio. And if Izunia's using that somehow, it's a risk we're gonna have to take. But do you honestly think that he didn't follow up with whatever this master plan of his is regardless?"

The blue eyes widened, a small gasp was barely audible. He held Noctis' gaze like a drowning man holds onto a piece of driftwood; at that moment, Prompto saw him not only as his friend but as his sovereign, his leader. His beacon, his guiding light in the midst of the haze that was his mind. He felt moisture prickling behind his eyes but refused to let that show. Nevertheless, the blue orbs softened, shining with a myriad of emotions. There was relief, there was salvation. But most prominent was the gratitude. The blond looked both fragile and headstrong as he grabbed Noctis' arm to grasp it like his world depended on it, his gaze never leaving the other's. Faltering, becoming a bit clouded with the water that sheened over his vision, but never leaving.

"So, no more second-guessing yourself, Prom," Noctis said calmly, and yet the tone held a certain finality. That he would have no more of it. "That's what they keep preaching to the Glaives, too" he added with a small smirk.

Prompto's heart beat so hard he could swear it was carving itself out of his chest. His lungs clenched, making breathing difficult, like he was holding back a sob that fought to be released but he was determined to keep it in. He wanted to shout out his relief, to drop down and roll on the ground laughing but he couldn't do either of those things because Noctis had petrified him with that piercing stare that had become his hope. It was unbearable, the feeling of salvation. And in that moment, Prompto pledged himself to the young king. Not just as a friend; mind, body and soul, he would follow Noct to the end of the world. No matter what, Prompto would stay by his side. Not just because he himself wanted to, but because Noctis wanted him to.

Would it matter that he was what he was? That at any given moment someone could try to use it against him? No, Prompto decided. It wouldn't matter. He cringed inwardly at Izunia's words, the cruel mockery of a parting gift he had left them with. 'You cannot undo what it is.' He drew in a shaky breath. That's right, they couldn't. But Prompto himself could. He would best him. Find a way to make his peace with that. Turn those words into naught. Because Noctis believed in him. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," the raven smirked. Seeing that his friend was more back to his usual self, Noctis let go. Less than casually changing the subject and driving away the lingering sentiment, Noctis glanced at the time. "We should get back," he mused, glancing at the other with a meaningful look. "You think you're up for it?" The other simply shrugged, his eyes averted.

"Yeah, I guess so." He didn't particularly want to go back to the room, he still wasn't feeling sleepy, but he could tell Noctis was. And he knew that Noctis could never be persuaded into going by himself, not now. He would insist on staying up with him, perhaps, Prompto figured, to make sure that he didn't try anything reckless. And it would have been selfish to keep him from his sleep. So, reluctantly he got up from his spot against the metal box and dusted himself before nodding towards the ladder, asking him silently to lead the way. Noctis shrugged and headed for the way down, turning his back just in time to miss the soft smile of joy that crept over the blond's face.

Broods – Free

I'd lose everything so I can sing
Hallelujah, I'm free
I'm free, I'm free
I'm free, I'm free

I have lived my life so perfectly
Kept to all my lies so carefully
I'd lose everything so I can sing
Hallelujah, I'm free
I'm free, I'm free
I'm free, I'm free
Hallelujah, I'm free

Gritting your teeth, you hold onto me
It's never enough, I'm never complete
Tell me to prove, expect me to lose
I push it away, I'm trying to move
Hoping for more, and wishing for less
When I didn't care was when I did the best
I'm desperate to run, I'm desperate to leave
If I lose it all, at least I'll be free

It's clear you think that I'm inferior
Whatever helps you sleep at night
Whatever helps you keep it tight

Gritting your teeth, you hold onto me
It's never enough, I'm never complete
Tell me to prove, expect me to lose
I push it away, I'm trying to move
Hoping for more, and wishing for less
When I didn't care was when I did the best
I'm desperate to run, I'm desperate to leave
If I lose it all, at least I'll be free

The morning came, brutally quickly and with vehemence. Every fiber in the gunner's body begged for him to stay in his slumberland for a little while longer, just a little longer. But it was getting increasingly difficult to ignore the knocks at the door, the persistent sound that, against his will, dragged him into wakefulness.

Prompto couldn't remember the party, but judging from his current state, it must have been ace! He felt like having a hangover: dried-up, groggy and it was difficult to focus on things. Blinking a few times, he pried his eyes to comply with him, and eventually the details got sharper as his vision stopped swimming. Glancing towards the other bed, he found it still occupied; Noctis had buried himself under his duvet, probably in an attempt to escape the noise, but the shifting of the bedsheets told him that it wasn't quite working.

"Noct? Prompto?" Gladio's low voice sounded, accompanied by a few knocks. "You guys up? Hey." Prompto rolled his eyes, couldn't the guy take a hint? What time was it anyway…? Reaching to the nightstand to snatch his phone, Prompto yawned against his pillow.

"Hunh?!" His eyes widened as he read the time: 09:57. He stuffed the phone under his pillow as he buried himself against it, breathing around it in a labored way. Battling with himself, the gunner let out a groan at the resilient knocks. Apparently Gladio wasn't going to give up. With an irritated mutter, Prompto flung the duvet off as he crawled free from the soft confines and strolled to the door. "Coming!" he drawled, annoyance audible in his voice.

The dark eyebrows rose at the sight that greeted him as the door slowly opened. Prompto was leaning against the frame, one hand in his pajama pants' pocket, most of his weight supported by the plywood. The blond locks were a ruffled mess, hanging over his eyes and ears. The sky-blue eyes glared at him behind drooping lids. Gladio snorted. "Rise and shine." The blond made a face.

"Haa-haa. Hilarious."

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"

"Nope. I suppose not," Prompto huffed with mock enthusiasm but moved out of the way to let the older man in.

"Did'ya sleep well?"

Prompto turned to flash him a sarcastic smile. "And I would have loved to continue to, had someone not come bashing on our door."

"I would hardly call that bashing," the brute snorted with a smirk.

"Wah hill houd heehah, hough" the blond yawned as he stretched his arms above his head.

"Whatever. The princess up yet?" Gladio's tone returned to a more serious degree and he crossed his arms impatiently. With a sound of nonchalance, Prompto just motioned towards the wriggling pile on Noct's bed; the shield rolled his eyes with a quiet grunt. "Noct said 'slow morning'. But this is pushing it."

"Is Iggy up already, too?" Prompto asked, aiming for casual but coming out as a little incredulous instead.

"Way ahead of me. He said to tell you he's almost done with breakfast. So let's move it." Without a second's hesitation, he closed the distance to the barely woken prince. "Hey, Noct. How 'bout you dig yourself outta there and get a move on? Breakfast's ready." With a sound of half-wakefulness, the raven eventually pushed himself up and staggered towards the bathroom, slamming the door sloppily behind him. The sound of running water carried through the door quietly, and Prompto tried to focus on that instead of the feeling of eyes on himself. He gulped quietly; it wasn't exactly threatening, but it still made him feel self-conscious and somehow… trapped.

Gladio had sat on the foot of Noctis' bed. His face was unreadable as he tried to put on a facade of casualness, but the younger man had caught him watching, more than once, with an attentive look. The instant he had locked their eyes, though, Gladio had averted his, and Prompto didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't doing much to alleviate the awkwardness, though.

He didn't need to wait for much longer. Apparently, the shield realized that the blond was quickly catching on, and cut to the chase. "How's the arm?"

Blinking and with a slight jolt of surprise, the blue eyes flew to the gauze. For an instant, he almost choked on the words, but gulping a little he got out, "F-fine. It's fine." He internally smacked himself at the sound of his own voice. Sugar-coated with forced cheerfulness. Sounded faulty. His heart beat a bit faster, his palms were sweating. He gulped instinctively as he felt Gladio's studying eyes on himself again, attentive and keen. It was like the shield was a researcher and Prompto was his data. The amber eyes were unreadable as they read him, and Prompto wasn't sure how that was fair. It wasn't.

"Listen, uh…" Gladio started, cutting his gaze to his hands. "Sorry about what I said last night," he said slowly. "It was a pretty low blow."

Prompto didn't realize his mouth had slacked until he snapped it closed. Looking at the shield like the man had just grown a second head, he licked his lips before speaking, "Wait… Are you actually, like, really, apologizing to me?"

Gladio's sincere demeanor was disrupted by a smirk. "Well, we've got a long ride ahead of us. Might as well get along."

It took three heartbeats for the silent stupor to dissolve. "Yeah… yeah, guess we could," Prompto mused, a small smirk on his face. It wasn't the words, but the intention behind them. He knew that Gladio was saying more than he was saying; that excuse of an apology might have been the best the shield would manage, too damn proud to humble himself further, but at least he meant it. It wasn't much, but it did redeem some of Prompto's self-worth to know that Gladio felt guilty. Truthfully, he hadn't been sure that was the case. Not sure at all. "Hey Gladdy?"

"Yeah?" He sounded hesitant, and Prompto blinked a little, momentarily forgetting what he was on about.

"Are we still not alright? The two of us?" Prompto looked him in the eye intently, searching for any indication of dishonesty on the man's taken-aback face.

Apparently the shield caught his gaze, for he swallowed the initial denial that had danced on his tongue before it could have been released. Opening his mouth, the closing it again, the shield weighed on his words before dropping his eyes to the ground and sighing heavily, "I wish I could say yeah to that, Prom. But I can't. Not entirely." The blue eyes slid closed as Prompto nodded deeply, just once.

"I see."

"Sorry. I just… I mean, all this…"

"I know. You don't need to say it," the blond sighed, an edge of sadness in his voice. "I get it that… it's been a lot to take in. But it's been for me, too. I just…" his voice faded as the words left him, escaped into some dimension he couldn't follow them.

He didn't need to. Gladio's deep tone came to his rescue, snapping his eyes back to meet his own, "As long as you're one of us, Prompto, that's all that really matters to me. But I can't just ignore everything that… you know." He held a small pause and sighed, then fixed the blond with a meaningful look. "No use lingering on it, though."

"S-so… what're you sayin'?"

The smirk that spread over Gladio's face was genuine, encouraging. "That we'll find a way."

The tone even more than the words themselves was what made Prompto's heart flutter – with hope. A bubbling feeling rose up his esophagus, consuming and unstoppable, coming out as an awkward half-snort, half-chuckle of relieved disbelief. "Alright." His lips spread into a smirk, "But if you're gonna watch me, I gotta warn you man, you might find out you like what you see." He dared a drowsy wink at the shield, who only smirked smugly in return.

"I'll see about that. Just don't get cocky." He offered the blond a low-five, Prompto returning it a bit sloppily but with a heart-felt grin.

"Will do."

"What will?" Noctis asked as he strolled closer, eyeing them both questioningly like he was expecting an explanation.

"Nothing," Prompto said evadingly.

"Nevermind," Gladio stated with a tone that told Noct to leave it. He pushed himself off the bed and punched the prince on the shoulder lightly, "The breakfast's ready. Get yerselves ready and get goin'." He gave the prince a look before heading out with one last "move yer asses" on the way.

"Yeah, yeah," the prince muttered as he started gathering his clothes. "Prom?"

It was like Prompto had snapped out of it; he looked lost for a moment as his eyes snapped at the prince. "Y-yeah?"

"You still dreamin'? C'mon."

"Y-yeah. Ready in a jiffy."

As they strolled towards Ignis and Gladio's room, escorted by the lingering scents of baking batter and cooking meat caressing their noses, Prompto couldn't hold back a smile. Small and private. Honest. For the first time in a week, he felt closer to whole again. Yes, it was how Gladio had said.

They would find a way.

END OF PART 2

AN2: Noctis *heart*

I honestly don't think I'll ever again be able to listen to that song without thinking Prompto. If only you knew how many times I've listened to that while writing Mind... Well, it's done. I hope you have a cutesey smile on your face right now. If you do, then at least I've done something right. I hope you enjoyed it. Now, I'm gonna go and splash in the puddles, for it has been raining for two days, and the air smells the way I described earlier.

Later, guys! Thanks for staying with me. It means a lot.

The Tool series:

Heart of a Tool (part 1)

Heart of a Tool: End of Days (alternate ending)

Mind of a Tool (part 2)

Life of a Tool (part 3)