Archive of Our Own

He awoke to rain. It battered him, thousands of icy needles pounding his frozen body. Above, the grey sky pressed down on him. Some distant, quiet voice in his head told him to move. Now. Get up. Go. There’s danger. He couldn’t remember what had happened. Couldn’t think…

His eyes opened again. The sky had darkened. He must’ve blacked out.

Think. Everything was so slow. Where were the others? Fear lurched through him, but it was dulled with exhaustion. It took all his energy just to breathe.

He heard nothing except the pouring rain and a distant rumble of thunder. He pulled in a breath, but pain in his chest stopped his lungs from filling all the way. That was bad. It registered in the slowest of ways. Bad. Yes. Something very not good had happened.

He couldn’t remember anything. And the more he tried, the worse the pain in his head became.

He breathed again. Pain again. Sharper this time. It broke through the fog in his head. Okay. He had to get up. Something was wrong, and he needed to work it out.

Noctis sat up.

White hot pain exploded in his chest, in his head, in his knee…

Rain.

Rain.

Silence.

Rain.

Noctis opened his eyes. Grey sky loomed above him. Sluggish alarms rang in his head. He couldn’t stay here. He knew it deep in his gut.

He was hurt. He needed…

Sleep? No. Potion.

Right, he could do that.

It took a moment, but he managed to access the Armiger and pull a potion free. He crushed it and the curative washed over him. Pain pulled back, promising a return sooner than Noctis would like.

Noctis slowly sat up. His head pounded, a nasty migraine squeezing his brain. He wrapped an arm around his ribs, gasping for breath. No good, his chest still hurt. Badly. Noctis squinted at his surroundings. Grey sky. Trees. Lots of trees. Forest. Abandoned house just a few steps away and…

Bodies. One, two, three. Men. Dressed like Hunters.

His body ached with muscle memory of a fight. An ambush? He looked down at himself and saw blood splashed over his arms. It ran off his body in thick, maroon streaks.

He needed to get away from them. Needed to get out of the rain. Okay. Stand. He could stand.

Noctis pushed himself to his feet. His bad knee gave out and he crashed down, hard. Pain screamed through his whole body.

He blacked out.

Noctis awoke to darkness. The rain hadn’t stopped and he had gone beyond cold to total numbness.  He didn’t let himself think this time. He had to get into the abandoned house, and he had to do it now. He would die if he didn’t.

He could feel how swollen his knee was. It wouldn’t take his weight. He dragged himself across the ground, pain tearing through his ribs with every inch he moved. He didn’t care. He didn’t stop. Another potion could be his reward for getting out of the rain.

Except between him and the house was one of the bloodied corpses. The rain had turned its blood into a pool. Noctis didn’t have the luxury of being squeamish. He dragged himself over it, staining himself an even darker red. His mind slipped back through time, to the last time he’d been drenched in blood and stuck on the ground. He pushed himself through the flashback. That was then. People had come for him then. That wasn’t going to happen now. He knew it. He couldn’t remember why, but he knew no one would come for him.

…Phone. He had a phone…

The thought pulled him onwards, lending him speed. He made it onto the old house’s porch. It offered protection from the rain but not the cold. The door had been barricaded. Noctis didn’t know where he’d find the strength to open it.

Hope faded, taking his strength.

Wait. He still had his phone.

He swung an arm around to pull it out of his pocket. Agony tore through his chest, leaving his vision speckled with black spots. He panted for breath, feeling something wet and sticky gathering at the back of his throat. He coughed and something dislodged. A wad of bloody phlegm hit the ground.

Not good. So not good.

Noctis turned away from it and tapped his phone’s screen. It lit up. Yes. Yes! He hit contacts and hit Gladio’s name.

“Noct, where the hell are you? Do you have any idea how fucking selfish this is?”

Noctis struggled to catch his breath enough to speak. “Gladio –”

“I don’t give a shit about what you think you’re going through right now. You don’t have the right to pull stunts like this.”

“I didn’t – ” Pull a stunt. He hadn’t. He was so sure of it. Why couldn’t he remember? Noctis’ vision blurred. He couldn’t get enough air.

“Tell me where you are right now.”

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

“Don’t fuck with me, Noct.”

“I think… I must’ve… fought.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Dead. They’re dead.”

“Noct?” Gladio didn’t sound pissed anymore. He sounded scared. “Tell me where you are.”

He didn’t remember. He couldn’t drag anything solid out of his aching head. “House. Abandoned. Can’t get in.” A shiver ran through him, igniting a fresh wave of pain. A moan of pain escaped him. “It’s raining. I’m cold.”

“Raining? Shit, where are you?”

“Dunno.”

“Alright, just calm down and look around. There must be something you can see to help us find you.”

Which one of them needed to calm down? Noctis didn’t have enough breath to spare on laughing. “Bodies. Three.”

“That’s not gonna cut it.”

“Wait.” Noctis pulled another potion out of the Armiger. He broke it, green healing magic washing over him. It took the pain away, knocking it back far enough that he could stand up.

“Talk to me, Noct. Tell me where you are. That way we can find you.”

It was hard to see anything in the rain. He reached for his flashlight and flicked it on. It didn’t do much except illuminate the three bodies. There could’ve been anything out there in the darkness. There could be daemons. Shit, he was so dead if daemons came right now. He looked at the house. He had to get in.

“Anything?” Gladio asked.

“It’s too dark,” he said.

“Dammit.”

There was two things he could tell. “The land’s flat. Lots of trees.” Wait, three things. “It’s a little house.”

“Little by your standards or little by regular people standards?”

Oh. Good point. “It’s a huge house.”

“And it’s abandoned?”

“Mmm.” Dizziness washed over him. It was no good. The new potion was already wearing off. He turned to the house. This might be his only chance to get in. He pulled a lance out of the Armiger and used it to wrench the barricades down. They fell to pieces and Noctis staggered into the house, wheezing from the exertion.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m inside,” Noctis said. Dust wafted around him. The house was empty, the furniture long gone. Noctis didn’t care. He was out of the rain. That was all that mattered. He kicked the door shut and lowered himself to the ground. The pain came back. “I’ll figure it out,” he said. “In the sunlight.”

“No, no, no, don’t you dare fall asleep.”

Noctis blinked slowly. “Hurts.”

“Stay awake. Talk to me. Are you sure you don’t remember anything?”

A black cloud sat over his memory. “No.”

“Do you even know where we are?”

Why did Gladio have to keep asking so many questions? “No.”

“Lestallum.”

Something flickered in the back of his mind, the market, people in the crowd… It was gone again before he could grasp it. “Oh.”

“You went out to pick up the vegetables in the market hours ago.”

He saw it. Faces in the marketplace turning to him. They smiled, but something in their body language screamed danger. The memory disappeared before Noctis could process everything.

“Talk to me.”

It was getting harder to breathe again as the potion wore off. “Faces. People. Waiting.” Another memory. A feeling, deep in his gut. “They knew me.” They’d waited for him.

“Are they the same people you killed?”

There were more memories. Noctis closed his eyes, trying to remember.

“Answer me! Are they the same people you killed?”

Noctis couldn’t fight it. His hand went slack and the phone smacked against the old wooden ground. Exhaustion dragged him down again. He was asleep before he could tell Gladio that yeah, they were the same.

But there hadn’t been just three people in the memory.

There’d been four.

Rain. Pattering against the glass. Noctis awoke. He stirred, pain igniting. He cried out, and that only made his ribs hurt more. He curled in as much as his body would allow, teeth clenched as he tried to breathe shallowly through the pain.

A buzzing filled his ears. It was his phone. He reached for it blindly. “Yeah?”

“At last.” Ignis sounded frazzled. It was never good when Ignis sounded like that. “Are you alright?”

“Alive.” That was about as good as it got.

“Where are you?”

This again? Hadn’t Gladio told Ignis? “Dunno.”

“How are your injuries?”

Noctis laughed even though that set off his headache. “Injured.”

“The sun will rise soon.”

It would? Noctis had been out for hours.

“Once it’s up, you must survey your surroundings and work out where you are.”

“Yeah.” He could try. He mentally rummaged through the Armiger and found two more potions. Okay. Hopefully they’d give him the boost he needed to do what Ignis wanted him to do.

“You really can’t remember more about what happened?”

Noctis sighed as much as his bruised and probably broken ribs allowed. “No.” Just faces in the crowd, three of which were now dead.

Anxiety crept through him about that fourth person. Where were they?

“You shouldn’t have gone to the market alone,” Ignis said.

That was one thing Noctis did remember. The crushing weight of never, not even for five minutes, being left alone. He longed for space. Just for a little while. Just to not feel like every little thing he did had to be observed in case it might blow up in his face. He’d wanted to get away. Hell, he always wanted to get away. But he was so sure he hadn’t done that, not even once, since they’d left Insomnia. Ignis was wrong, Noctis knew it. But why couldn’t he remember what had happened properly?

“We’re all worried,” Ignis said.

Noctis knew that, and the guilt weighed as heavily as the pain. And there it was again; the sensation he’d forgotten something critical. Nothing was right. He closed his eyes as his migraine gave a vicious thud. “But you’re safe?”

“Safer than you are I should think.”

Noctis opened his mouth to reply, but something else caught his attention.

Sound.

Outside.

Not the rain.

Movement.

Footsteps.

Then a woman’s voice.

“Shit! They’re dead. They’re all dead.”

“Ignis, I gotta go.”

The woman shouted again. “Where are you, you little Lucian bastard? Get out here!”

“Wait, Noct –!”

Noctis ended the call. He pulled a potion out of the Armiger and cracked it. Once again, magic buried his pain. He pulled himself to his feet. If she had to die too, so be it.

He crept to a window. Peering out, he saw a woman with a gun in her hands surveying the landscape. His head hurt, his vision blurring, but he could still make out her Hunter’s garb.

Except that weapon was straight out of Niflheim.  

“I’m under orders to capture you, but there’s nothing in them saying you can’t have the shit kicked out of you first,” she shouted over the pouring rain. “No one kills my men without consequences!”

A smile flickered over Noctis’ lips. Oh, he’d paid the consequences alright. He knew he had broken ribs, and the pounding roar in his skull suggested he had one hell of a concussion. Plus his knee was fucked up and barely took his weight even with the potion…

Whatever he did, he’d have to do it fast.

The woman turned to the house. Noctis ducked out of the way, but not before he caught a glimpse of her face.

Memory blocked out the present.

She approached him. Noctis couldn’t make out anything behind her. The world blurred in a haze of orange light and darkness. He tried to move away, but his body wouldn’t respond. She reached him, her hand darting out. It landed on his shoulder, close to his neck. He flinched at the short, sharp pain he felt.

“You’ll be coming back to Niflheim with us. The Emperor expects you.”

A flash of lightning chased the memory away. Stupid. How had he let her get so close? And why?

She was doing it again, now. She approached the house, weapon ready. Noctis moved, but he was too clumsy. He caught his own foot and crashed against the wall.

“Don’t make this hard, boy,” she called out. She was at the front door now, hand inching towards the handle. “Come with me, and you’ll only have to hurt a little bit for killing my men.”

Noctis thought fast. He could either hide, or he could face her.

He’d killed the other three, somehow. He didn’t remember…

Lightning. Faces flashing. Fear in their eyes when they realised the Crown Prince wasn’t some spoiled brat. The butt of a rifle crashed against his skull. Head ringing, vision blurring, he ripped the Engine Blade out of the Armiger and fought back.

He couldn’t be soft on anyone who intended him harm. They’d underestimated him. He would use that against her, just as he’d used it against the other three.

Before the potion wore off. Shit. He didn’t have long.

“Alright!” he shouted, voice hoarse. He resisted the urge to protect his broken, grating ribs. “I’m coming out.”

The woman opened the door. She had a large gun trained on him. “A wise choice, Prince Noctis.”

He’d rarely heard anyone put so much venom into his title. Noctis reviewed the Armiger. He didn’t have any flasks available. Shit. He needed to stay on top of things like that. Whatever he hit her with, he had to be fast.

He limped towards her, not having to exaggerate much. “Your men put up a fight,” Noctis said, already breathless.

They came at him with fists and booted feet. None of them seemed willing to use the small guns strapped to their thighs. Maybe they really would follow their orders and leave him alive.

He didn’t have to treat them with the same kindness.

A flicker of apprehension shot through her eyes. “So I see.”

The potion’s magic washed away. Noctis staggered, knee threatening to give out. Not yet. He couldn’t collapse.

The woman laughed. “Look at you. You couldn’t even blow out a candle in that state.”

And then she did something so stupid, Noctis almost felt sorry for her.

She lowered her gun.

He didn’t hesitate. A dagger materialised in his hand and he threw it. His aim was clean. The dagger, sharp and lethal, sliced neatly through her skull between the eyes. She released a funny little gasp of surprise. She tried to form words, but they drooled out of her. The dagger dematerialised, returning to the Armiger. The woman tipped backwards, her body going into a terrible seizure until, at last, she was still.

Noctis didn’t waste time. His body wanted to collapse, but instead he took the final potion. It hit hard, leaving him so light-headed he was amazed he didn’t float away. He could hear all Dad’s warnings against potion overdoses, but he didn’t care. He had to get away from this place. If she’d come, more could follow.

He came to on a cold metal deck, air rushing around him. He looked down and saw just how far he was from the ground.

Jump ship.

Niflheim.

Captured.

Escape! Now!

Where were the others? He looked but they weren’t there. It was just him and the four Hunters.

No. Four human Niflheim soldiers.

Noctis didn’t hesitate. He threw himself out of the jump ship, warped to the ground, and ran.

Three followed, falling to the ground without parachutes. They landed hard and immediately took off running after him.

“Fuck!”

No normal human could survive that. What the fuck did Niflheim do to its living soldiers?

Noctis limped away from the abandoned farmstead, leaving the four bodies in his wake. An old track led through the centre of it, heading east and west. Noctis only partially recognised the landscape. He followed his gut and headed east. The path was level, heading into trees but not up or down any hills. Good. Level was good. It meant gentler walking, which would be great for everything from his knee, to his broken ribs, all the way up to his pounding head. Sleep called to him, told him everything would go away if he closed his eyes, but Noctis ignored it. He needed to find help.

It was painfully slow going. He reached the trees, raindrops splashing over the leaves. They’d grown through the path, creating a natural barrier. No wonder he’d never seen the house before; it’d be impossible to see from the other side. He squeezed through the tightly packed trunks and followed the winding path onwards. He kept going, breathing ragged. The path would lead somewhere, right? It had to. Paths to nowhere made no sense. No sense at all.

Shivering in the rain, Noctis heard his phone ringing from his pocket. He pulled it out. “Yeah?”

“Finally!” It was Prompto this time. “How’s it going?”

“Better,” Noctis said. Which was kind of true.

“Okay, good. Listen, we wanna come find you, but there’s no point us driving ‘til we have a location. Ignis and Gladio are in agreement about that. Kinda. I think Ignis would totally drive all over Eos looking for you.”

“Forest.”

“Yeah, Noct, buddy, there are a lot of trees just about everywhere.” Prompto sounded strained. “You gotta give us more to go on, or you’re gonna have to get yourself out of there.”

Then he was gonna get himself out of here, because he had nothing else to offer. He saw trees. He saw a path, and way above all of that he saw the early morning grey sky. If he got to a road, maybe he’d have a better idea. They’d been all over the continent, and even with his napping habit, he’d memorised a lot of it.

“Noct? You there?”

“Walking,” he said, voice ragged. “I’ll call back.”

“Whoa, wait, don’t just hang up! Keep talking so we know you’re alive.”

He’d love to, except he couldn’t spare the air. Noctis shook his head even though Prompto couldn’t see him. “I’ll call. Soon.” He ended the call.

The path led on and on, deeper into the woods. He tried to recognise the landscape, but it could’ve been anywhere. His balance was shot too. He kept staggering left and right, and keeping himself moving forward sapped his waning energy. He really needed to get out of here while he could.

His walk became a shuffle. Slower and slower. His vision tunnelled. The pain in his head sent bolts of lightning shooting across his vision. He didn’t have much left to give.

Which was why, when he heard a familiar bird cry, he nearly wept.

And then, suddenly, he was out of the trees and approaching Wiz’s Chocobo Outpost. Hope and relief gave him one last spurt of energy. He made it. People stopped and stared at him. Oh, yeah, he was covered in other people’s blood. Probably some of his own, too. He didn’t care. He’d finally found a safe haven.

Wiz approached, concern etched into his weather-worn features. “You need to come with me, kiddo. Before you fall down.”

No. No, no, no, he needed to call the others. He reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out.

It was shattered, the screen broken, the battery casing cracked. It didn’t respond to anything he did. What…? When had he broken it? He’d spoken to Prompto barely an hour ago. This wasn’t… it couldn’t…

“Whoa there.” Calloused hands grabbed him as he pitched forwards. “Okay, boy. I gotcha. You’re safe now. Just rest and – ”

And Noctis passed out before he could hear the rest.

They chased him down, their bodies absorbing the impact of their fall like it was nothing. They ran after him with inhuman speed. He was going to have to make a stand. Up ahead, he saw an abandoned house. If he could get there, maybe he could get the high ground, find a place to fight back. He reached into the Armiger for a weapon, but it was already too late. The trio reached him, and he had to block their punches with his bare hands.

“You really think he’s okay?”

“Yes. Wiz had a doctor treat him before we arrived.”

“Tch. I’d be happier if he woke up.”

“Best not hurry these things.”

“Can’t believe he broke his phone.”

“Cid will see to it.”

“I’ll call him.”

Footsteps. Nearby but walking away. Then, a door opening and closing.

A sigh. “That guy wouldn’t know how to sit still even if you glued him to the chair.”

A chuckle. “Stillness was never his strength, I agree.”

“Not really mine either.”

“Go for a run. I doubt you’ll miss anything.”

“You’re sure?”

“Go.”

“Call, okay? Just… just call.”

“Of course.”

Another set of footsteps got up and walked away. The door opened. “You’re gonna stay?”

“Yes. Go on. I’ll be fine.”

“Alright.” The door closed.

A few moments of silence. And then, “I’m here, Noct. Rest until you’re ready to join us.”

Noctis wasn’t ready. Exhaustion reached up and pulled him back in.

He punched until his fists were bloody and gashed. He took more hits than he could count, but he wouldn’t go down. He couldn’t. They’d take him to Niflheim, and he couldn’t go, not yet, not with so many Royal Arms and Astrals to deal with.

“You’re not gonna beat us, you dumb shit!” one of the three bellowed, his boot cracking another of Noctis’ ribs. “Stop fighting us!”

Something crashed into the back of his head. He blacked out. When he came to, mud in his mouth and coating his face, they were dragging him away from the abandoned house and back to the jump ship. Thick, bitter bile gathered in the back of his throat. He choked on it, rolling his head to the side and vomiting. Not good. So not good. He tried to rip a weapon out of the Armiger. The dizziness hit hard, made so much worse because of the pain, but he pushed through. He’d had worse. His mind closed around a dagger, and at last it appeared in his hand.

Noctis kicked out, freeing himself. He launched himself at the soldiers, pushing through the pain and dizziness. His dagger swung at them. Apparently, despite their enhancements, their bodies still couldn’t withstand blades. Three swift slashes and all three were bleeding in the rain.

He had to be sure.

Noctis pulled a gun out of the Armiger. Teeth clenched, he made sure the trio wouldn’t get back up.

Noctis stirred awake. His eyes opened and he saw the familiar sight of a caravan. A gentle breeze washed in from a nearby window, warm sunlight glowing through the window. He heard a familiar sound. Chocobos.

Wiz’s.

His memory kicked back in. Adrenaline kicked in. He grabbed the slats on the overhead bunk and pulled himself up. Dangerous levels of pain stirred in his chest and head. He doubled over, trying to breathe.

“Noct!”

Footsteps closed in. Hands grabbed him. Noctis looked up and saw Ignis staring back at him.

“It’s alright. Don’t speak. Just catch your breath.”

“I’m sorry,” Noctis gasped. “Shouldn’t have gone out.”

Ignis hesitated only briefly. “Not now. Just relax.”

Noctis slumped against the pillows. “Sorry,” he gasped through the pain.

“I know you are,” Ignis said. “Although I do think you might be a tad confused.”

The pain wouldn’t subside. Noctis could hardly breathe. He needed to make Ignis understand. It was an accident. He’d just wanted some space. He’d only –

“Relax, Noct. You’re safe now. Calm yourself and slow your breathing.”

Noctis managed to calm himself bit by bit, muscles loosening, lungs finding a bit more space to breathe. The room settled, the spinning stopping. Black spots faded from his eyes, taking the light-headedness with it.

“Better?” Ignis asked after a few minutes.

Noctis nodded.

“Good,” Ignis said. He held out an icepack. “For your head.”

Noctis took it, sighing in relief as the chill ate away at the constant ache. “Others?” he asked.

“Running errands. They’ll be back.”

“Ignis, I – ”

Ignis held up a hand. “Noct, you had a serious head injury. You must’ve taken a heavy blow. I don’t think you recall events correctly.”

Noctis frowned.

“We were betrayed,” Ignis said. “A group of Hunters requested backup near Greyshire. But they weren’t Hunters at all.”

“Niflheim,” Noctis said. No one else could launch themselves out of a jump ship and not die.

“Correct,” Ignis said. “And they were ready for us.”

“It wasn’t in the Lestallum market?” Noctis asked.

Ignis shook his head. “Not exactly. That’s where we bumped into them while you were shopping for Takka’s vegetables.” His expression darkened. Noctis knew that look. It was Ignis’ look when he was blaming himself for everything. “Seems unlikely we met them by chance.”

“I thought…” Thought he’d screwed up. Gone to the market alone. Been captured there. “My memory’s wrong. What happened?”

“We met at the glacial cavern, sat down and ate with them before we went to deal with a daemon. Not that there was a daemon. Anyway, you very politely refused the vegetables. Perhaps the drugs affected you differently because of that.”

“Drugs?”

“In the food,” Ignis said. “Because the next thing we knew, we were waking up and you were gone.”

A faint smile tugged at Noctis' lips. "See? Not eating vegetables is good for me."

"So it would seem," Ignis said.

“How long were you out?” Noctis asked.

“Six hours,” Ignis responded. “We were lucky not to be slaughtered by monsters or daemons.”

Weary anger stirred. Noctis stared at the ceiling. “I killed them all.”

“Do you know where?” Ignis asked without missing a beat, like Noctis was known for killing people. “Because we should probably bury the bodies.”

Noctis shook his head carefully, mindful of the headache waiting to pounce. Maybe he could find the farmhouse, maybe he couldn’t, but he didn’t want his friends seeing the mess he’d made of those people. “I thought I was talking to you all while I was out there,” he said instead. “On the phone.”

“No, you didn't. I spoke to Cid. He thinks he’ll be able to fix it. Although he did want me to tell you he thinks you should take better care of your belongings.”

Of course he did. Noctis closed his eyes. He could deal with Cid’s lectures later. Much, much later. "Even when you're all hallucinations, you keep me going." He hadn't known. Not even for a second. All those calls, and he'd been talking to himself into a broken phone. Those bastards had hit him hard.

A warm hand pressed against his forehead. “Sleep,” Ignis said.

“Really?” Noctis asked. Ignis was usually telling him to do the literal opposite.

“Rest is what you need.”

Noctis’ body didn’t disagree. But Noctis forced his eyes open, meeting Ignis’ gaze. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine,” Ignis said.

Noctis’ eyes slid shut. “You’re not.”

“No,” Ignis said. “But I will be.”

A campsite. Gladio was edgy not to be at a haven, no matter how much the Hunters insisted there were no signs of recent activity from any kind of wildlife – daemonic or otherwise. They sat down to eat, talking to their temporary comrades. Noctis pushed his veg off to one side. He didn’t need to be on his best, most diplomatic behaviour. Not here, not when he was supposed to be just another Hunter.

Talk slowed as they ate. The Hunters watched them closely, and Noctis noted how they barely touched their food. Maybe they were anxious about the upcoming hunt; they’d asked for help after all. The woman noticed Noctis staring and gave him a bright smile before shovelling a mouthful in. Noctis smiled back and ate his own dinner.

Prompto was the first to start yawning. Noctis didn’t really worry until his friend faceplanted in his food. That was when Ignis tried to get up, only to fall to the ground. Gladio didn’t even get that far. He tipped back, asleep before he hit the dirt.

Noctis scrambled to his feet, dizziness washing over him. The woman approached him, the fire behind her, the world around her fuzzing out of focus. Noctis tried to get to his friends, but the men stood over each of his friends and placed guns against their heads.

“You’re coming with us,” the woman said. “Or your friends die.”

“Where?” Noctis demanded.

The woman reached his side. “Niflheim.”

The next time Noctis awoke, he found Prompto at his side on his phone, Gladio reading, and Ignis cooking. He smiled. Looked like everything was back to normal.

“Hey,” he said.

Prompto nearly threw his phone aside. “Noct! You’re awake! How do you feel? Do you need anything? I promise I’m really here and not just a hallucination brought on by head trauma this time.”

So, Ignis had talked. “I’m fine,” Noctis said.

“Yeah, right,” Gladio muttered. Noctis could see Gladio was in a dark mood. He also knew that nothing he said would snap Gladio out of it. He’d have to come to terms with everything in his own time.

“Wiz has agreed to loan us the caravan as long as needed,” Ignis called from the kitchen.

“That’s kind of him,” Noctis said. He moved to sit up. Prompto was there, helping him and adjusting pillows when he got there. Noctis’ nose wrinkled. He recognised that smell from the Chocobo stables back in Insomnia. “Are you mucking them out?”

Prompto’s eyes sparkled. “Yeah! And feeding them, and grooming them, and – ”

Noctis held up a hand. “I get it. Go take a shower.”

“I did already.”

“Take another one,” Noctis advised.

Prompto sighed. “I knew Ignis was just being polite.” He smiled at Noctis. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Always,” Noctis said.

Prompto took off, disappearing into the bathroom. Noctis belatedly realised he had to pee, but it could wait. He looked over at Gladio. “I’m alive because of your training,” he said. That, and the lessons Dad had given him on distancing himself emotionally from those he had to kill to protect himself. Because if Noctis allowed himself to dwell on it…

No. He’d ended four lives to defend his own. That was what mattered. People needed him to survive, no matter how selfish that made him feel.

Gladio grunted. “Shouldn’t have left you in that situation.”

“You’re not psychic,” Noctis said.

“Maybe I need to be,” Gladio muttered.

Noctis barely kept himself from rolling his eyes. Gladio really was going to be that difficult.

“Soup will be ready soon,” Ignis called.

“Okay,” Noctis said.

“We were idiots for trusting them,” Gladio said.

“Lesson learned,” Noctis said, shifting to find a more comfortable position. Broken ribs sucked.

“You really killed them all?” Gladio asked.

“Why? Hoping to get some revenge of your own?” Noctis asked.

Gladio laughed darkly. “You know me too well.”

“Next time someone tries to kill me, they’re all yours,” Noctis said.

Gladio cracked his knuckles. “Good.”

“So violent,” Noctis murmured.

“We don’t work with anyone ever again,” Gladio said. “From here on out, it’s just us.”

“Caution would seem prudent,” Ignis said, approaching with a tray loaded down with soup and bread.

“No,” Noctis said, accepting a soup bowl. “We have to help people. We can’t turn our backs on them just because of what happened. That’s what Niflheim wants.” He wouldn’t let people suffer when he could do something to help. There were too many daemons wrecking too many lives for him to focus on himself just because of a stupid decision to work with untrustworthy people.

Gladio looked ready to blow. He opened his mouth to protest, but Noctis silenced him with a look. He wasn’t backing down on this.

“You’re right. We can’t abandon those who need us,” Ignis said. “But we need to be far more careful about who we trust.”

“Fine,” Noctis said. He could compromise.

“You won’t need to have anymore blood on your hands,” Gladio said. “That’s my job.”

Noctis didn’t reply. Gladio would always be his Shield, but Noctis hadn’t trained since childhood to take abduction attempts lightly. When it was them or him, it would always be them. Niflheim weren’t going to drag him to Gralea. He’d get there when he was good and ready, and with the Royal Arms and the Astrals at his command, he’d end the war once and for all.