New World • Prompto Argentum

chapter eight

A Few Months Later

"Easy now!" Gladio called in a loud tone, shielding himself from Lumina's playful attacks. She laughed as she 'fought' with the big guy, taking a little break from the actual training.

"You're going down big guy!" She threatened and jumped on his back, wrapping her arms and legs around him. "What, you are a koala now?" He asked, easily carrying the woman around. 

"What if I am!" she tightened her grip but that guy felt nothing.

"Promp, take your girl off of me!" He called his blonde friend who smiled as he took a photo of the two, Lumina smiling widely as always and Gladio rolling his eyes with crossed arms.

"Perfect!" He thumbed up, earning a thumbs up back from Lumina. While they were messing around, Ignis was listening at the news on the radio, wondering if they would hear anything about Insomnia. The gang had already done much work defending it, fending off the Empire and they were almost ready for the last strike.

"The situation in Insomnia seemed to be stable for the last few weeks; that was until now."

The announcer said, catching Ignis' attention. Gladio also caught up with the news, making his way beside Iggy, Lumina still on him and Prompto right behind them. Noctis and Mae also got confused by the reporter, everyone's ears open.

"There seems to be some new sort of enemy, actually we still don't know if we can call them enemy. They appear to have powers unknown to the city, using them to fight off the Empire but also killing Lucii soldiers in the process. We are here in Insomnia to get you a live broadcast of the situation, these things we cannot call people have been causing a havoc in the city, destroying almost everything in sight."

The female reporter was cut off as screams and explosions were heard in the background.

"There! Over there!" she called at the cameraman, probably. A loud explosion followed, voices of the MTs delivering orders to kill the new intruders.

"You won't keep her away from me!" a deep male voice screamed. Lumina froze, her eyes were goggled. She must have heard wrong, it couldn't have been who she thought it was. She pulled herself from Gladio, moving closer to the radio. Mae was eyeing her; she had heard it too.

"Lumina!" The same voice called her very name, making it ring inside her head numerous times. She had not heard that voice in a long time, especially calling her name. Now, everyone was looking at the young woman who was clenching her fists, trying to calm her nerves.

"Vanille, watch out!" A woman with a deep voice and a strong Australian accent was also heard from the broadcast, a gasp escaping the sisters' mouths. He had found them! He had found the Oerbas!

"S...Snow.." she muttered the man's name, covering her lips with her hand. Prompto had heard what she said, only now realising who that man was.

"We have to go! They're destroying Insomnia!" Noctis growled, standing up and running to the Regalia.

"No!" Lumina screamed. Everyone's eyes were on her, Noctis eyed her confused.

"Did you not hear that?! They're killing my people!" He fought and she slammed her hand on the table. "These are my people! And they're looking for us, they're no killers!" she defended Snow and the others.

"These are monsters, are you crazy?!" Noctis shouted at her.

"Noctis, you don't know!" Prompto spoke before Lumina could. The prince was confused that Prompto was supporting the young woman, wondering what he knew that he did not.

"Look, we'll go there and Lumina will take care of this, I know she can. Let's not kill anyone before we are sure they are a threat!" The blonde added, trying to give Lumina's friends more time before the prince decided to sentence them with death.

"I agree. If Lumina supports that they are no threat, we should trust her. She's been with us all this time, she's one of these people." Ignis suddenly aided the blonde with his words. "For now, we go to Insomnia." and with no other words, the six entered the Regalia on their way back to Insomnia.

Prompto held Lumina close to him, making sure that she had her distance from Noctis. He was scared. He did not want his best friend and the woman he had feelings for to fight, to hate each other. And he was scared that it would happen very soon.

🐥🐥🐥

No longer than a few seconds after the car came to a halt, Lumina jumped off and headed for the gate. It was broken down, smoke was almost all over the town. They really had created a havoc. Noctis growled, eyes turning red, as he was about to kill anything in sight. Suddenly, there was an enormous explosion that caused the ground to sake, as ice covered a part of the city.

"Snow!" Lumina shouted and sprinted inside the city.

"Lumina!" Prompto held out his hand before running after her, he was not leaving her alone in there. Mae wanted to go after her, but she also wished to stay beside Noctis. Seems like love really beats any bond in the end, since she decided to remain by the prince's side instead of following her sister.

Lumina ran through the city, not really knowing where to go. She halted, looking around for any sign of Snow, Vanille and Fang. Suddenly a hand grabbed her shoulder, startling her as she was turned around, relieved to see that it was simply Prompto.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, figuring he would have stayed with his friends.

"I can't just leave you! We made a promise!" He reminded her, trying to catch his breath. She looked into his crystal blue eyes, seeing the assurance she needed. She leaned in for quick yet tight hug, Prompto slightly taken aback before he also wrapped his strong arms around her body.

"Look, things might get ugly from here on. But I'll be here, with you. Until the end." He poured his feelings to her out of the blue, making her heart melt. Before he could say anything else, Lumina pulled from his arms and crashed her lips onto his, for a quick peck. Prompto was shocked by that, his heart pounding in his chest, but he was quick to return the kiss. The two broke apart, knowing they had other things to take care of.

"Let's go." She linked her hand to his, before the two set off deeper in the city.