A few hours ticked by as they continued to traverse the snowy landscape. Night was beginning to creep over Eos and it would be dangerous to travel. Prompto and (Y/n) located a hut like the previous one, but this time it was much smaller. They dismounted the snowmobile and headed inside for the night.

The hut only had a bed, desk, and fireplace to offer. The guardian found some blankets underneath the bed, brushing off the dust that had collected on them. Then, she closed the small window and locked the door. Hearing a loud 'thud,' she turned around to find a shirtless Prompto sprawled out on the floor. He was missing one of his boots. "Y'know, it would be easier to take your boots off if you sat on the bed."

Prompto lifted his head. "I knew that..."

"And why're you taking your clothes off? You'd be warmer with them on."

He looked away, cheeks turning red. "I-I, uh..." He cleared his throat. "Th-They say skin-to-skin contact is a good way to get warm."

She knew he only wanted to touch her and decided to tease him. "Why would we do that when we have a perfectly good fireplace here with plenty of wood?" She walked over to the fireplace, tossing a few logs into it and setting them ablaze with a minuscule fire spell. Even that was enough to cause her to become dizzy. Shaking her head, she turned back to Prompto as he was now sitting on the edge of the bed. "See? Warmth."

"Oh, c'mon, (Y/n)!" Prompto whined. "You're totally ruining the mood..."

She kept herself from smirking. "There's a mood?"

With a groan, Prompto flopped down on his back. (Y/n) grinned from ear to ear as she walked over to him. She sat down beside him. "I'm only teasing you, Prom. I already know what you want, but make sure to keep your pants on. It really would be bad if you took off all your clothes, especially since the temperature drops at night." She grabbed the blankets and threw one across the boy once he was lying down properly on the bed. She grinned in amusement when he lifted the blanket and patted the space beside him. It wasn't necessary for her to think about it and she climbed into the bed with her back facing him.

Prompto wrapped the blanket around both of them. He snuggled up closer to her, slinging one arm around her waist. He placed a kiss on her exposed shoulder. "I will never get over how warm you are. We should've slept together sooner."

"You say that now, but wait 'til we're somewhere hot. You'll be sweating bullets in no time," (Y/n) remarked.

"I can handle a sweat bath if it means I get to hold you."

She laughed lightly at his words. "Look at you being all mushy."

Prompto smiled. "You know you love it."

"Maybe," she snickered. "Now get some rest."

They both fell asleep a few minutes later.

However, their peaceful slumber was ruined as the sun peaked above the horizon. (Y/n) woke up when she could hear the low humming of airships. She crawled out of Prompto's embrace and hopped to her feet. She extinguished the already dying flames in the fireplace before quickly waking up the boy. "Prompto, we need to go."

Prompto's eyes opened, a groan slipping past his lips. "What's wrong, (Y/n)?"

"I hear airships. I don't know if they've found us, but I rather not stick around to find out."

At her explanation, the marksman flew out of bed and promptly put his clothes back on. As he was sliding his boots on, the sounds of the airships were much closer. He grabbed his pistol just as they heard a taunting voice from outside the door accompanied by knocking. "Do open up. It would be a futile endeavor to slip away."

Prompto and (Y/n) froze at hearing Ardyn's voice. They both remained quiet, gazes locked with each other's in a silent debate on what to do next. They were both still exhausted from yesterday and wouldn't be able to fight their way through a horde of imperial forces.

Backing away from the door, the couple prepared themselves for the enemies that would be pouring into the hut in mere seconds. If they could fight through a few soldiers to make it outside, it's possible they could make a quick escape either on the snowmobile or if (Y/n) transformed. Both their hearts were racing a mile a minute as they tried to weigh their options.

Suddenly, the door was kicked in by an imperial soldier. Prompto immediately raises his pistol and shot them in the head. He fired round after round as more soldiers tried to enter the hut. (Y/n) set a few ablaze, but she was still weakened from using too much magic yesterday. They tried to make an opening to escape, but there were too many enemies and were overpowered.

A soldier disarmed Prompto by ramming the stock of their gun into his gut. The blonde's grasp on his pistol slipped as he crumpled to his knees. (Y/n) tried to summon her sword to help him, but a trooper smacked her in the face with their gun. She fell to the floor, her vision blurry and a single trail of blood trickling down from the fresh cut on her forehead. More shoulders flooded into the small hut to help their comrades drag the two outside.

The two soldiers restraining Prompto forced him down to his knees into the snow. Across the way, (Y/n) was being restrained in the same position. The boy looked up, glaring at Ardyn as he walked between him and the guardian. "The hell do you want?" Prompto spat.

"Come now, dear boy. Did you honestly believe your actions would go unpunished?" The chancellor retorted. "And I do believe I've the perfect punishment for both of you. Take them to separate airships, and do be doubly sure to sedate the guardian. It'd be troublesome if she were to break free before we return to Gralea."

"You bastards just love your sedatives," (Y/n) hissed. Turning her head slightly, she saw one of the soldiers restraining her reveal a syringe gun. She gritted her teeth and wouldn't go without a fight. Using what little magic she had left, she burned the two soldiers and broke free. She pushed herself off the snowy ground and onto her feet. Readying another fire spell, she set her sights on the two troopers restraining Prompto.

Just as the sphere of flames manifested in her palm, the sound of a single gunshot rang out. A sharp pain tore threw her back, causing her to gasp. The fireball vanished as she stumbled forward. Looking down, she saw the hole in her abdomen from where the bullet exited her body. Pressing a hand against it, she desperately tried to stop the bleeding. Her vision was blurry and the sound of Prompto desperately calling out her name was fuzzy, almost as if he was far away.

(Y/n)'s body collapsed in the snow, blood tainting the pure white a deep crimson. Through her blurry vision, she saw Ardyn kneeling next to her. He clicked his tongue a few times. "I was hoping such extreme measure would be misappropriate. It seems I was sorely mistaken." He stood up and gestures to the soldiers who she burnt. "Be doubly sure to treat her delicately. It'd be a shame if she were to perish before her meeting with the devourer."

Prompto struggled against the men restraining him. He continued to shout the girl's name repeatedly as his anger and desperation skyrocketed. He managed to get to his feet and dig his heels into the snow, but his foothold didn't last long. One soldier walked up from behind and kicked his back, forcing him to the ground. He grunted as his body fell into the snow and felt a knee digging into his back. The feeling of metal handcuffs being secured around his wrists didn't mark the end of his struggle. He only grew even more desperate when his eyes landed on the bloodied snow.

The two soldiers that had dragged him out of the hut yanked Prompto to his feet and started escorting him to an airship. He continued to fight against them, trying to dig his boots into the snow. "Dammit, don't touch me!" His eyes drifted over to (Y/n), whose bloodied body was haphazardly being dragged through the snow by her arms. Ardyn, although seeing the rough treatment after distinctly giving the soldiers orders to not treat her roughly, said nothing.

"(Y/n)!" Prompto bellowed at the top of his lungs. "Let her go!"

Ardyn only smiled in amusement, watching the desperate and furious marksman be dragged aboard one of the airships. He held up his hands as the two airships containing his newest prizes flew in the direction of Gralea. "All the pieces are nearly assembled." With a small chuckle, he boarded the third airship and returned to the capital of the empire.

<----------------<<<<<

Inside Zegnautus Keep, Prompto was stripped of his winter attire and was back in his tank top, leather vest, and normal boots. He was thrown into a cell, where he grabbed the bars and occasionally yelled out for anyone. His anger hasn't subsided and he only grew more enraged as minutes turned into hours. Along with the fury boiling inside his veins was worry for (Y/n). Every few minutes, he would glance down at the gemstone bracelet to ensure it still contained its normal luster and undefiled surface.

After six hours of screaming, Prompto exhausted himself. He slumped against the cold metal bars of the cell, staring up at the ceiling. Closing his eyes, he recalled one of his many memories with the girl.

•••••

A young, somewhat chubby Prompto around the age of six ran towards the nearest convenience store to secure some first-aid items. With the money his adopted parents gave him, he snuck out of the house with (Y/n) to go to a nearby park to play. While playing, the ten-year-old girl tripped and scraped her knee. He had dashed off, already exhausted before he left the park, but he pushed himself until he reached a store he knew that sold what he needed.

Prompto paid for a box of bandaids, a bottle of water, and a pack of tissues. While paying for the items, he received a questioning glance from the cashier. Although she was suspicious of the boy, she said nothing and let him leave the store after he paid.

Running back to the park, Prompto found (Y/n) curled up beside the slide, crying. He ran to her side, clearly out of breath and having issues filling his lungs. As he took in a few deep breaths, he revealed the bag he had to his spirit.

"P-Prompto..." She whimpered.

"It's okay, (Y/n). I've got you covered," he smiled, his glasses sliding up his nose slightly from the action.

Pulling out the water bottle and pack of tissues, he began disinfecting the wound and removing the bits of mulch stuck to it. Once that was done, he lightly dabbed it to dry the wound so the bandaid would stick. Finally, he pulled out a single bandaid from the small box he bought. It was blue and had yellow chocobos printed on it. He placed it over the scrape, smile widening when his job was done. "There! All better!"

(Y/n) ceased crying and let out a final sniffle, wiping away her last remaining tears. "Th-Thank you, Prom." With his help, she got back to her feet. She was a few inches taller than him due to their age difference. Looking down, she peered into his face. "You know what would make me feel even more better?"

"Ice cream!" Prompto cheered. He connected their hands and swung them side to side with a giggle. "Let's got to that ice cream shop by our house! They've got this new chocobo flavor and I wanna try it!"

She blinked in shock. "Ch-Chocobo flavor?"

He laughed at her expression. "It's lemon, you goofball!"

"Do you have enough for ice cream after buying all this?" She gestured to the bag from the convenience store.

Prompto nodded. "Yep! Let's go!"

The two best friends left the park and headed to the ice cream parlor close to the house. They enjoyed their sweet dessert and headed back home.

The moment Prompto snuck back into the house, his adoptive parents were waiting for him. They were clearly angry and upset he had snuck out. (Y/n), who had returned to the gemstone before they arrived home, returned to his side after his parents finished scolding him. She found him curled up on the bed, crying. Her heart ached at the sight, feeling guilty. It was her fault they left. She was desperate to get out of the house. His adoptive parents didn't know about her and she wanted it to stay that way, but she was the reason he got into trouble with them.

"Prom?" (Y/n) muttered weakly. She climbed onto the small twin bed and crawled over to him. She placed a hand against his arm with a sorrowful sigh. "I'm sorry. It's all my fault you got in trouble."

"I-It's not your fault, (Y/n)," he sniffled. "I-I wanted to go to the park too. Th-They wouldn't have let me go if I told them..."

(Y/n) was familiar with Prompto's adoptive parents. At times, they were strict while others they didn't care one bit. They weren't the best parents, but they weren't the worst either.

Searching the bed, she found the stuffed chocobo she'd won him while playing a crane game during one of their outings a few months ago. She grabbed the plushie and tapped its beak against his cheek. "C'mon, Prom. You know Mr. Bubbles doesn't like it when you cry!" She continued nudging its plush beak against his cheek until she heard him giggle. "There's that smile! Mr. Bubbles and I always miss your smile when it's gone, Prom, so keep smiling for both of us, okay?"

Prompto giggled again, his smile widened as his tears vanished. "I promise!"

•••••

Prompto was startled from his thoughts when the sound of the door at the end of the cell block opened with a 'screech'. Quickly, he jumped to his feet and turned around. Gripping the bars, he glared at the approaching figure.

"I will never understand what a guardian sees in loving a human," Callyx sighed, rolling his shoulders. His right eye was foggy while his left was slitted, revealing he had ridded himself of the contacts. "Your kind is inferior in every aspect. Of course, there are some exceptions, but you clearly aren't one of them."

"It doesn't matter who's superior or inferior," Prompto grumbled. "That has nothing to do with how we feel."

"Oh, please. Spare me the talk about the true might of love and how it conquers all." Callyx folds his arms across his chest. "What I'm more interested in is your interest in her. You've learned the truth about her. She is a perfect copy of Verstael's guardian. I was hoping you'd be disgusted with the truth. Then again, you're one of the millions of copies of that mad scientist. Same face, same strand of DNA. Maybe your infatuation stems from Verstael's twisted infatuation with the real (Y/n)."

Prompto gripped the bars tighter, his knuckles turning white. "I don't care what (Y/n) and I are. What matters is our past and future."

"Spoken like a true man blinded by love. Makes me sick..." Callyx groaned. The spiky-haired guardian licked his lips as he looked away from the marksman. "There was something else I wanted to mention. What was it? ...Oh! Yes, that. The real reason I'm here. Are you familiar with torture?"

Prompto's eyes widen. "What?"

"Guess it doesn't really matter. You'll be familiar with it soon enough. After all, I will be the one to break you. I really wanted to be the one to torture (Y/n) after what she did to me at Fort Vaullery, but Ardyn's taken it upon himself to deliver her punishment. After roughing her up a bit, she'll be fed to the devourer. Of course, we wouldn't want you to miss the finale." Callyx smirked menacingly when seeing the boy's horrified expression. "That'll be your true breaking point. Losing the one you love breaks even the toughest souls."

The guardian searched his pockets for the key given to him by Ardyn. When he found it, he placed it in the lock of the cell door. Before unlocking the door, he looked back at Prompto and saw he was ready to attack. Holding out his hand, Callyx sent a bolt of lightning at Prompto. The boy cried out in pain as he was struck in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards and fall on the floor. A maniacal cackle fell from the spirit's lips as he opened the cell door and immediately closed it behind him. Holding out his hand, a wicked grin spread across his face as a sphere of pure lightning manifested in his palm. Taking a step closer to the boy, he glanced down at him. "I'm going to take my precious time with you, Prompto Argentum. Prepare yourself for the hell you're about to face."