abstractborders | [CW: GORE, SPOILERS] For lovethelighting

It was cold. Despite being indoors it was as if there was no insulation in the building at all, or at least that's how Prompto's captor wanted him to feel. Each breath that escaped the blonde would be visible and his body probably ached from the cold--and perhaps the way he was bound. Tight metal restraints held him up at his wrists, upper arms and around the center of his chest, keeping him tight against the cross-like device. Several small medical tables surrounded the device, tools of all kinds scattered on them. One of the tables looked as though it had been used rather recently because several of the items on it had been tossed haphazardly onto it and there was something--

Blood. There was definitely blood staining all of them. Prompto would probably be able to smell it if he focused enough, the scent strong as though it was still fresh.

Funny thing about extreme cold. It can make it difficult for one to notice things. Especially injuries. But the slightest movement would let the blonde know just how wrong things were, his head probably swimming if he tried to look around and his abdomen aching.

Could have something to do with the the wires coming out of his abdomen or even the ones coming out from behind his left ear. Fresh blood would seep from all three holes, the two in his abdomen still opened wide by the surgical spreaders still firmly in place. Whatever could the wires be attached to?

He wouldn't have too much time to think on it, though, as the soft tap of boots against metal would break the otherwise stifling silence.

"Ah, awake are we?" Ardyn mused as he came into view, hat abandoned elsewhere as he kept his arms tucked behind his back, a lazy grin playing on his lips. "You had me worried. I thought for sure we may have lost you for a time there but, as one could expect, parasites always find a way to prevail."

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Cold. Right, cold. A sensation a person felt while they were awake, generally. Sometimes the reason for waking. Was it his reason for waking? The room was so quiet, the cold had to be the reason.

A croaking groan escaped his lips, throat sore and raw almost like he'd been screaming at some point recently. A lot of screaming. He couldn't recall. Maybe the cold was making him sick? Maybe he just had a virus that was making his throat feel that way. A virus didn't explain the way he was situated. The blond slowly became more aware of his surroundings, vision blurry and spinning at times as he moved his head to look around. He pulled weakly against the restraints, more confused by them than anything. Why was he bound? There was no reason coming to mind. Obviously the virus couldn't be the reason.

His vision went white as he tried to look around further, and he gasped at the sudden jab of pain when he tried to move his lower body at all. The sudden flood of negative sensation was almost enough to make him pass out again. He ground his teeth and looked down, trying to find the source of the pain. His vision swam and teetered in and out of focus on the obvious holes in his own person. It looked to Prompto like something out of a horror movie, and he couldn't tear his eyes away from the gore, his brain registering absolutely nothing.

Very slowly his blank gaze drifted up to the man before him, his brain finally putting two and two together. Ardyn had him. Ardyn was killing him, or... something.

"Wh... What are you doing?" he drawled dumbly, his mouth slurring the words his brain barely managed to form.

Ardyn let out a huff of laughter, giving the other a look of sheer amusement as he slowly walked closer.

"What am I doing? Even magitek need adjustments here and there, especially those of a more delicate nature such as yourself," he explained, a hand falling from behind his back so that he could wave it a bit. "You have been doing so well up until this point, Prompto, but there are just a few more things that I need to do before you'll be at your full potential. We wouldn't want to disappoint his highness, would we?"

The grin that had yet to faltered sharpened as he reached out with the hand he had waved about for emphasis giving a slight tug on one of the wire sets coming out of Prompto's abdomen and oh yes those were definitely connected to something.

"You have to be perfect for the finale."

"Magitek?" He let out a strangled noise as the yanking of the wire sent another jolt of pain through him. Enough adrenaline finally starting to circulate through his system that he was beginning to panic, and he struggled against his restraints. A wet noise resounded through the chamber as blood splashed out of his abdominal cavity where it had pooled from Ardyn's carelessness. The warm, wet feeling of his own blood running down his body made him feel suddenly very sick, and it made him shiver violently as it contrasted harshly with the freezing cold air of the room, and inevitably cooled.

"Wh-what are yo-you t-t-talking ab-bout?" he chattered, eyes rolling back into his head as he tried to swallow back the rising urge to vomit. His reality was finally hitting him, his body literally open, foreign objects protruding from his flesh.

Ardyn kept tension on the wire, a rather delighted look on his face as he watched Prompto's face rather than the blood that was seeping out of him.

"Why, the fact that you are a fledgling magitek! A plant that I placed in Insomia to look after our dear prince," he practically purred, twisting his fingers to curl the wires around them and pull on them further, blood seeping down the wires and slowly coating his fingers now. "Haven't you ever wondered why you had no family, Prompto? Wasn't it ever strange to you?"

His mind was racing, incomplete thoughts starting and beginning at random intervals, all halted for shocks of pain or searing cold for a split second before they rushed once more. His parents... He'd always believed they were just gone. Weren't they? They were never home. he had parents... Didn't he?

"You're... you're lying," he hissed, forcing his eyes up onto Ardyn's face so he could stop looking at his own blood dripping over the man's fingers in such a strangely hypnotic way. "You're lying!"

An almost delighted chuckle was Prompto's response as Ardyn shook his head, allowing some slack on the wires now.

"Am I? And what proof do you have of my lies, Prompto? Have you ever seen your parents?" He gives the young man a mock sympathetic look, his free hand lifting to brush the backs of his fingers against his cheek. "Have you ever gotten a call from them? Or a letter?"

No. The answer is no, Prompto. You've known it all along, haven't you? Known that something was wrong.

Ardyn's chuckle turns dark now and suddenly he jerks his hand back, ripping the set of wires he'd been holding right out of Prompto's abdomen.

"Oh you silly little clone~"

No, he never actually believed that. He'd convinced himself while he was busy convincing others. Repeat something enough and even the liar begins to believe the lie. It was such a comfortable lie that he'd fallen into it happily. He'd always known, hadn't he? Always made certain to keep himself in perfect check, to never draw attention, to wear a wrist covering...

His attention snapped suddenly to his wrist, hitting his head on the metal behind it as he turned it too quickly to look at his exposed wrist. And of course there it was, right where he knew it would be. The bar code that identified him, the only name he'd truly ever been given and it was just a series of numbers.

A scream tore out of his throat as the wire was ripped free, the spasm that followed sending more blood pouring out. How much more did he have to give? How much longer would he last?

Once that moment had passed and the pain subsided a bit, he let himself slump in his restraints. "Just kill me, then..."

He wasn't going to let you bleed to death, Prompto. That was too easy. Too boring.

"Now why would I kill you?" Ardyn asked sincerely, leaning in to catch Prompto's gaze, an eyebrow lifting. "Why, we've only just begun to get to know one another again!"

Allowing the wires he pulled free to drop to the ground, Ardyn lifted a hand to look at the blood that covered his fingers. He turned his hand as if inspecting every inch of it and he slowly started to walk a circle around Prompto.

"Plus it would be a shame if you weren't able to reunite with your friends again. From what I've gathered they are quite worried about you. Especially our dear Noct," he drawled, shaking his hand to flick some of the blood away as he came up on Prompto's right side, reaching for the other set of wires.

"You do miss them, don't you?"

A hard pull had the second set of wires ripping free, tearing away from flesh in the process as a small metal piece was pulled out of Prompto's abdomen.

[CW: GORE, SPOILERS] For lovethelighting

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