In the morning, Prompto was stirred from his slumber when he heard barking. Carefully, he scooted away from the sleeping (Y/n) before getting to his feet. Leaving Decratom Haven, he mounted the snowmobile and followed the barking. He crossed the snowy terrain until entering the forest. There, he finds a magitek axeman laying on its back in the snow. Dismounting the snowmobile, he strolls over to the corpse. He sits down in front of it and closes his eyes.

Prompto seemingly falls asleep and when he awakens, night has fallen and the magitek trooper is gone. Hearing the crunching of snow behind him, he leaps to his feet and turns around. A few feet away, he sees Noctis conjuring his sword and walking toward him.

With a horrified expression, Prompto begins stepping back and raises his hand to ask Noctis to stop. However, he couldn't find his voice when he saw his hands were that of a magitek trooper. Seeing Noctis was ready to attack him, the blonde begins to run away.

Noctis warp-strikes after him and swings his blade at  Prompto. "This'll be quick," the raven-haired boy said.

The magitek trooper, aka Prompto, ran through the forest to escape Noctis. The snow proved to not be a deterrent and he was able to get away safely. Realizing he was safe, he glanced back down at his hands and sees that they appear to be his own again. His mind wandered, wondering what was going on until he heard more barking. Searching for the source of the noise, he spotted a familiar white dog—Pryna. She was trotting away and Prompto didn't hesitate to follow her.

Eventually, they emerge into an open snowfield with several magitek troopers scattered about, seemingly dead. One of them, laying on its back, appears to still be somewhat functional. It raises its hand toward Prompto, as though pleading for help. He stares into its eyes and envisions seeing himself laying in the snow reaching out with his own hand for help.

Prompto shakes off the vision and looks back at the MT, seeing it for what it is once more. He then slowly, shakily raises his gun. Briefly, he lowers his weapon and looks away. He then just as quickly finds his resolve, raises the gun once more as he sheds a tear, takes aim, and pulls the trigger. The MT was dead. As its body collapses, it reveals the child version of Prompto huddled behind it. He kneels behind him and places his hand on his child self's back with a sorrowful expression.

•••••

Prompto as a child was sitting on the steps of the Citadel looking up at falling sylleblossom petals. As he watches the petals dance through the sky before landing on the ground, he discovers Pryna sitting in front of him with a letter in her mouth. He reaches out and takes the letter from the divine canine, unfolds it, and reads it. It was a message from Lunafreya.

'All I ask is that you continue to support Noctis, and that you remain ever at his side.'

Young Prompto pulls a few photographs from among the pages of the letter.

"How does she expect someone like me to support him? Am I good enough?" The child questioned himself.

He looks through the photos to find pictures of him, the guys, and (Y/n). His eyes focused mainly on Noctis.

"Does he want me around?"

Young Prompto comes across a picture of the royal retinue and the guardian at the Wiz Chocobo Post.

"Is that really what Noct and everyone else wants? For me to be with them? Does (Y/n) really want me around?"

He reveals another photo, which was the one taken at Cape Caem before the royal retinue and the guardian departed for Altissia. Seeing the faces of all the people he cared about, realization struck the child.

"Wait—but what about me? What do I want?"

Young Prompto stands and becomes his adult self as he does so. Now grown, Prompto also speaks out loud.

"It took me a while, but I finally found my answer."

He bends down and picks his camera up off the steps, then looks up at the Citadel. Hearing someone call his name, he looked to the courtyard and saw a four-year-old (Y/n) walking towards him. As she got closer, her body aged until she was twenty-four. She stopped in front of him, flashing him the smile he loved oh-so dearly. Smiling back, he took her hand in his.

"You're just one of the many things I want, (Y/n). It's thanks to you I can finally be selfish and reach out for everything I've always wanted."

Prompto held her hand tightly.

"It's time. Let's go together, (Y/n)."

Prompto runs up the steps of the Citadel while still holding the girl's hand.

•••••

Prompto opens his eyes and sees he's still sitting on the ground. Pushing himself to his feet, he turns to see (Y/n) standing not far away. He was surprised to see her, but his determined expression remained. Closing the distance between them, he didn't say a word. He watched her expression morph from one of solace to bewilderment. He saw her mouth open, but no words came out.

The moment Prompto reaches her, he wound one arm around her waist while his other hand clasped the back of her neck. Without hesitating, he covered her mouth with his and kissed her fiercely. She was taken aback at the intense kiss, but it only took her a few seconds to kiss back.

After the heated kiss ended, Prompto pulled away slightly so he could stare into her golden eyes. "I can be selfish, right?"

(Y/n) was perturbed by the question. "Everyone deserves to be selfish from time to time. Did something happen?"

Using the hand he had behind her neck, he combed his fingers through her (h/c) locks. "I...I think I finally know what I want, but it's kinda selfish."

"What do you want, Prom?"

"I want you and the guys. You four mean so much to me and I don't wanna let that go."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Noctis, Ignis, Gladio... They all care deeply about you." She trailed one of her hands up his arm towards his face, caressing his jaw with a single finger with a smirk. "Maybe not much as me, but I can tell from how they treat you. I know you may still carry some doubts, but the only way to get rid of them is to conquer them."

Prompto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and I think I know just how to do that. C'mon, (Y/n)." The couple hop on the snowmobile and ride back to Decratom Haven. When they arrived, Aranea was just about to leave. "Aranea," he called out to the ex-mercenary. Aranea turns around, eying the blonde as he dismounted the snowmobile and approached her.

"I'm ready," Prompto said with determination. "I thought about what you and (Y/n) said, and I've decided to face my fears once and for all. I can't choose where I came from, but I can choose where I'm going. I want to conquer the truth just like (Y/n) did."

"Alright—but slow me down and you're going to get left behind," the woman smiles at him. The guardian climbed off the snowmobile, allowing Aranea to have the seat. "What're you doing, firefly?" The older woman asked.

"You and Prompto can take the snowmobile. I'm faster than it anyway," the spirit answered.

Aranea smirked. "Damn, if only loverboy was a little slower on the uptake, you would've been mine."

(Y/n) blinked in surprise. "What?"

"I-It's nothing!" Prompto chimed in with a frantic voice before climbing back onto the vehicle.

"Anyway," Aranea mounted the snowmobile, sitting behind the blonde boy. "You're that nutjob-of-a-scientist's guardian, right? Got any idea where to go from here?"

"There is an annex research facility not far from here. I can lead the way," (Y/n) said.

"Then let's get moving."

The spirit transformed, her warm paws melting the snow around them. Taking the lead, she guided them away from Decratom Haven. When they arrived, she lowered her large form behind a boulder. Aranea remained by her side while Prompto took out the soldiers near the watchtower. Once they were dead, he went up to the top of the watchtower and grabbed one of the sniper rifles on the weapons rack.

Aiming the sniper rifle, Prompto took down many of the soldiers by utilizing the explosive barrels in the vicinity. After taking out more enemies, he was discovered by one of the imperial troopers and dove behind a wooden box to avoid their bullets.

(Y/n) and Aranea heard the frantic cries of the imperial troopers as they came running towards the watchtower. They both sprung into actions and joined the fray, stopping the soldiers from reaching Prompto. The fox swatted them away while Aranea used her lance to impale them. The marksman kept shooting from his vantage point, killing the final enemy. With the area outside the security gate cleared, he ran down the stairs and regrouped with his companions.

Proceeding to the sealed gate, Prompto wandered into a small building nearby and found the controls. He opened the large gate, allowing them to enter the inner courtyard. Crossing the threshold, they were immediately attacked by soldiers and an MA Veles.

Aranea and Prompto dealt with the imperial troopers while (Y/n) took it upon herself to fend off the mech. She dodged its missiles before leaping onto its metallic body. Using her tails, she yanked both of its arms out of its sockets and tossed them aside. Sparks shot out of the joints before it fell to the ground. Hopping off its body, she latched onto one of its legs and used her strength to toss it into a group of soldiers. When it exploded, it took out the rest of the enemies in the area.

"Oh-ho, nicely done, (Y/n)!" Prompto cheered, lowering his submachine gun. The fox was overjoyed to hear some form of delight from him. It reminded her of the time they were with Noctis and the others.

"You sure I can't have her, blondie?" Aranea asked, dispelling her lance.

"No way, not in a million years. She means way too much to me."

Aranea smirked at his declaration as the guardian changed forms. (Y/n) was smiling at Prompto's words as they headed towards the blast door. The guardian used the control panel to open the door. "I'm...a little surprised I remember the code."

"Wish my memory was that good," Aranea commented. "Let's go."

Entering the facility, they walk down a long, sloping corridor. It was dimly lit, making it almost impossible to see their surroundings.

"According to my intel, they're housing the new model here," the silver-haired woman explained.

"It's some kind of magitek armor, right? What's so "new" about it?" Prompto inquired.

"This one's got a ghost in the machine: Chief Besithia himself. Managed to fuse his soul with the core. No wonder you're still alive, firefly."

Prompto suddenly came to a stop. He eyed the ex-mercenary, unsure what she meant. "Why wouldn't (Y/n) be alive?"

"She's told you about her kind, right?" Aranea remarked, coming to a halt a few feet behind the boy. "A guardian dies if their master is killed. If Chief Besithia's little experiment failed, she wouldn't be standing here right now."

The spirit covered her gemstone with a sigh. "His physical form is gone, but his soul remains inside his newest creation."

Prompto had forgotten all about that part. His heart was racing in fear. "Th-Then if we destroy the machine, we'll kill (Y/n)...?"

The spirit spoke up to try and assuage his concern. "We don't know that for sure, Prompto. I'm a mere imitation of a deceased guardian. It's possible I'm no longer bound to Verstael's soul."

"It sounds like you've already prepared yourself for the consequences, firefly," Aranea stated.

She hung her head. "I was prepared many years ago..."

"I'm not going to do this if it means risking (Y/n)'s life!" Prompto bellowed.

"Then you better hightail it out of here, blondie," the older woman remarked. "Guess you really can't send a man to do a woman's job."

Before Prompto could argue, the guardian intervened. "This isn't a time to argue. I know the consequences and am willing to go through with this. Whether we're the ones who destroy the machine or someone else, we'll find out the truth one way or another."

"But (Y/n)—!" Prompto tried to protest.

"If you can't go through with this, I don't blame you. But Verstael must be stopped. I'm sorry, Prom..." She walked past him and headed towards the elevator located at the end of the corridor.

The boy stared at her until Aranea clapped him on the back. He turned his gaze away from his beloved and towards the older woman as she spoke. "Listen, this won't be easy for either of you, but she's right. Whether it be now or later, that machine will be destroyed. It'll be only a matter of time before the truth is revealed. So you with us or gonna run away with your tail between your legs?"

"I...I don't want to lose her," he whimpered.

"Sometimes you don't get a say. Just stay by her side for as long as you can."

Reluctantly, Prompto nodded. He followed Aranea down to the lift. (Y/n) summoned the elevator and they stepped aboard it once it reached the top. As they rode it down, the ex-mercenary said, "The daemons this guy created destroyed Insomnia. If we don't take him out now, he's liable to destroy the whole world."

"He truly has become a monster," (Y/n) muttered.

"Don't tell me he once had a sweet side."

"You might not believe it, but he did."

"You're right, I don't believe it," Aranea commented.

"Not surprised," the guardian chuckled.

Prompto fiddled with his fingers. He pushed their earlier conversation to the back of his mind and asked the one question that was nagging him. "Did you...love him?"

She had a feeling this exact question would arise sooner or later. "I didn't love him like I love you. It was more of a brother-sister bond, but Verstael believed we were much more than that. That's why he was so determined to recreate me."

"But aren't he and I...the same person?"

"You may share the same face, same DNA, but you're both opposite sides of the same coin. Verstael and I had a rocky relationship at the beginning. He was convinced he didn't need me, but he soon realized he was wrong. He never showed me as much kindness as you did, Prompto. You both are so different it boggles my mind..."

Prompto placed a hand over his mouth with a gasp as he remembered Verstael's appearance. "Oh, Six... I'm gonna look horrible when I get old.."

(Y/n) bursted at the seams with laughter. "That's what you're worried about?"

"Can't a guy worry about not aging like fine wine?"

"Just try not to linger on it."

The trio step off the elevator once the door slides open. They wander into a circular room illuminated with red lights. Passing through it, they move to the hallway located on the other side of the room. Walking down it, they hear an eerie sound somewhat like a mechanical howl.

Prompto swallowed in fear. "What was that sound?"

"Our cue to go," Aranea replied.

At the end of the short hallway were metal doors. They slid open when they stepped towards them. Entering a large room, they were immediately spotted by a defense node. The loudspeaker came to life with a familiar computerized voice. "Targets detected. Eliminate immediately. Commence elimination of compromised units."

On the metal catwalk above, imperial troopers used their rifles to shoot at the trio. Prompto was able to get a few shots in, but the soldiers were using railing's metal plates as cover. They located a flight of steps to the second level, killing any troopers blocking their path.

Prompto picked up weapon after weapon to deal with the enemies. Aranea used her lance to pierce soldier after solider while (Y/n) wielded the Creator's Blade to slice them in half. When they thought they'd kill the last soldier, MTs poured into the large room.

Prompto threw a grenade at the group of MTs who were on the first level from the catwalk. He watched in satisfaction as they exploded into pieces, but frowned when seeing two of them escaped the proximity of the bomb. (Y/n) ran past him and vaulted over the railing. She landed in a squat before charging forward with her sword by her side. She cut down the two remaining MTs on the first level. Aranea and Prompto continued to fight against the enemies on the second level.

Killing the last MT triggered the third wave of enemies. They poured into the large room just like the second wave. Prompto and Aranea joined (Y/n) on the first floor after dealing with the enemies on the second one. As they sliced through another group of MTs and soldiers, an MA Hoplomachus rounds the corner from the rear of the room. It was the last enemy they needed to face.

"You going to turn this one into a chew toy too, firefly?" Aranea asked.

"I'd rather not. Metal doesn't taste very good," (Y/n) answered.

"I've got us covered!" Prompto shouted as he grabbed a nearby bazooka. He aimed it at the mech and fired every missile loaded inside it. Each missile hit its mark, but it wasn't enough to destroy the MA Hoplomachus. Aranea and (Y/n) performed a synchronized attack, stunning the boy and tearing down the mech. The women jumped back just in time to avoid the explosion.

"Wha–when did you two get to practice that?" Prompto asked in amazement.

"Never did. Firefly and I are just in perfect sync," Aranea said. "You better keep her close or I'll take her from right under your nose, shortcake."

"Hey," (Y/n) chimed in before pointing to the back area of the large room. "There's a set of doors we can try."

Passing through the metal doors, they entered a hallway. Down a smaller hallway to their left, they found a pair of Ebony vending machines. The spirit sauntered over to them and peered through the glass. "Isn't this the stuff Ignis loves?"

"Oh, definitely," Prompto said.

"Let's take a quick breather," Aranea advised. She leaned against one of the vending machines, crossing her arms.

(Y/n) sat on the floor beside the machine with a huff, her back leaning against the wall. She reclined her head against the wall, closing her eyes for a few seconds. Prompto sat beside her, one leg propped up while the other was stretched out in front of him. He took her hand, trailing his thumb over her knuckles. Her head rolled against the wall until it fell and landed on his shoulder. "You okay, Prom?"

"Still worried, is all," he mumbled.

"About what?"

"Everything."

"I can't promise anything, but I do pray I'm still here once we deal with Verstael."

Prompto leaned his head against hers. "That's what I'm worried about the most."

"I really wish I could comfort you, Prom," she sighed melancholically. "But I don't want to feed you lies."

He ceased caressing her knuckles and laced his fingers with hers. "I'll just have to make every moment count then. And if everything's okay in the end, I'm gonna hug you and never let go."

She giggled. "You won't hear me complaining."

The couple fell silent and rested their weary bodies, unaware of the tough battles that waited ahead.