It never seems to fail that the Regalia breaks down when the guys are a few miles from a city or town. At least it wasn't anything Prompto caused this time. The radiator blew out on it, probably because they weren't paying attention and driving the car too hard getting away from Niflheim soldiers the day before. Either way, the guys were now drenched in sweat, pushing the Regalia into town catching the eyes of several people.
"Finally!" Prompto whined dropping to the ground and laying down. Noctis sat next to him with a huff as Ignis stepped out of the car. Gladio shook his head at the two as he walked to Ignis.
"How much do you think the repairs are going to cost this time?" Gladio asked.
"Too much. We'll need to procure some work to be able to cover the costs." Ignis said patting the Regalia. "First thing's first, we need to find a repair shop."
"Come on you two," Gladio said tapping Noctis and Prompto with his foot, "we have to get her moving."
The two younger members groaned, but got up to take their spots and push again. Prompto smirked as he looked over at Noctis. "Man, how nice would it be to sleep in a hotel for once. Right Noctis?"
Noctis gave a small smile in return. "Yeah it sure would be nice to sleep in a bed after walking all day."
"Warm blankets, fluffy pillow, an actual shower." Prompto sighed with a smile.
"We don't have the money to rent a room." Ignis replied. "It is unfortunate, but we'll just have to settle for camp and a cold stream."
"Oh man, and I was hoping for a comfy bed. Oh well. Hey, we do have enough for some food right?" Prompto asked pointing at a burger restaurant.
"Prompto, push!" Gladio snapped.
"Oh right, sorry."
They finally got the Regalia to a repair shop and the owner took it in then pointed them to a nearby diner. Prompto's and Noctis's mouths was already watering at the thought of food, but before Ignis could tell them no, his own stomach grumbled. Gladio laughed when he gave in and let them all have a meal. As Ignis ate his burger, he studied the wall with a few bounties trying to figure out the best ones to take in order to pay for everything. Hunting down garula outside of some farmlands seemed reasonable, but the reward wasn't enough on its own. There was a Malboro nearby causing some chaos, but the reward wasn't worth the risk. They didn't have any potions left let alone any antidotes. Ignis sighed to himself and he munched on his fries.
Once they were finished eating, Prompto stretched out and relaxed in the chair as Noctis dozed off leaning against the wall. Gladio shook his head looking at the two before grabbing the trash from the table and tossing it. By this point, Ignis had been in front of the bounty wall looking at the posters for a few minutes now, fingering at the garula bounty.
"If you're going to take it, then take it already." The tipster behind the counter said. He had been watching Ignis stare at the board the whole time. "If you're too scared to take on a bounty you shouldn't even look at them."
"It's not about fear, it about the reward. Is the risk worth 1000 gil which won't cover even half of what we need?"
"Well if you're looking for a big reward, I know this guy who needs some help with something. He's offering some big money for this job, but there a big risk."
"Big rewards tend to be that way." Gladio said. "Why not have it up with the other bounties?"
"It's a recent incident, so he hasn't really made a poster. If you take the job you can sort the details out with him. His name is Professor Gale, he's renting out a two story house a few streets down. Tell him Max sent you for the job."
"And what exactly is this job?" Gladio asked.
"I don't have a lot of the details. All I know is he lost some research and needs someone to recover it, everything else you need to get from him."
Ignis and Gladio looked to one another then at the sleeping duo at the table and sighed.
Prompto whistled as the four of them looked at the fancy, white two story house surrounded by a black iron fence. He raised his camera and snapped a photo of the house as Ignis pressed the doorbell on the gate doors. A speaker above the doorbell crackled before a female voice spoke.
"Yes? Who's there?"
"My name is Ignis. Max from the local diner told my friends and me about a job that Professor Gale had. Is this the right place?"
"Yes. One moment please." The speaker cut out and the four of them waited outside. Prompto was taking a few pictures of the house and of his friends, before the gate started to slide open. The speaker crackled once more. "Please come in. Professor Gale is waiting to speak with you."
When the four of them entered the home they weren't surprised to find it decorated with antiques and paintings. They were surprised to see every table and chair covered in stacks of paper. A young woman with brunette hair tied up in a bun and wearing a business suit was clearing off one of the couches. She had thin, black cat-eye frame glasses and a mole above her right eyebrow right next to a thin scar. She held a serious expression as she moved the last papers and motioned for them to sit. There were only three seats so Noctis, Ignis, and Prompto sat while Gladio stood by with his arms crossed.
They weren't waiting long when a thin old man with a white mustache and bald head walked into the room. He was wearing a white colored shirt and khaki business pants, but had on bright blue slippers. He sat down in a chair that the brunette woman had just cleaned off.
"Thank you, Eloise." He said and looked at them with a small smile. His eyes were surround my crow's feet wrinkles and a couple of age spots were on his cheek. "Gentlemen, I thank you for coming. As you may have guessed I'm Professor Gale. What are you names?"
"Is it really important who we are?" Gladio asked.
"I suppose not, just as long as you complete the job."
"Max didn't tell us much about it, nor how much the reward would be." Ignis stated. "If it's not worth it, then we will decline."
"I see." Professor Gale said rubbing his chin. "And how much would of a payment are you looking at getting?"
Prompto and Noctis looked towards Ignis. He stared at the professor for a moment, studying him. "Our car is in the shop for repairs, so we'll need to cover that as well as supplies. I estimate—"
"Very well." Professor Gale said putting his hands together. "I will pay for the repairs as well as a tune up. On top of that I will pay you each 10,000 gil."
They were all shocked by the Professor's interruption, but Ignis recomposed himself quickly. "What is the job exactly?"
"For the past five years I've been researching an ancient civilization. Five months ago we found a temple outside of this town and I have made three important discoveries so far inside of it. Last week, I made a fourth discovery, but while we were there we were over ran by monsters. In the haste of escaping I had to leave my research behind. This is my life's work and I need it back. I want you for to retrieve it for me."
"What monsters attacked you?" Gladio asked.
"The temple was full of goblins, but they were nothing for Eloise to handle. It was the horde of Mesmerize that came through that caused us to evacuate. However, the real danger was getting back to town. It seems that sabretusks have filled the surrounding areas making it quite difficult to get back. I doubt you'll have to face the Mesmerize since they often move around, but the sabretusks will be an issue."
"How far is the temple from here?" Noctis asked.
"It's about a half day's ride by chocobo to get to the forest and after that it depends. For us it takes a couple of hours, but you may not be use to the terrain. I'll give you a marked map so you can find it of course. If everything goes well you can leave in the morning and be back a couple hours after sundown."
"Can you give us a moment to talk?" Gladio spoke. The professor nodded and left the room with Eloise in tow. Gladio turned his attention to Noctis. "Our first priority is keeping Noctis safe and this job has too many risks. I say we do the smaller jobs and make up the money that way."
"Gladio, he's going to pay us 10,000 gil each" Prompto said with a smile. "I think we can handle a few sabretusks and some goblins."
"Besides, when's the last time we actually had some money. We can get resupplied and we don't have to worry about paying for the Regalia." Noctis said. "I say we do it. It'll be one quick job and then we can get back on the road."
"I agree with Gladio." Ignis said, "However, Noctis has a point as well. The other bounties in town may barely cover the costs of repair for the Regalia. We'll still need to buy food, gas, and potions for the road. This job may very well be worth it."
Gladio sighed. "Fine, but we play this smart. Ignis how many potions do we have left."
"I'm afraid we have none." Ignis said. "However, we have enough gil to buy a few."
Gladio shook his head. "Okay, then how are we going to afford chocobos? I doubt a breeder will just let us borrow four of them."
"I bet if we ask the professor, he'll pay for them." Prompto said. "Maybe he'll buy us some potions, too."
"Professor Gale!" Ignis called and after a few seconds he and Eloise walked back into the room. "Would you be able to get us some chocobos to use for this job?"
"Of course, you four can borrow some of my personal ones." The professor said with a smile.
"Would you be able to provide some potions as well?" Noctis asked. "We're a little short."
"Eloise, how many can we spare the young lads?"
Eloise tapped her glasses, pushing them up a little. "We can give you five potions and a hi-potion. Any more than that would pulling from our own reserves."
"How about it boys?" Professor Gale asked. "Do we have deal?"
Prompto was humming as he petted the chocobo that he was currently riding. He pulled out his camera and took a picture of Noctis riding beside him and turned slightly to get a photo of Ignis riding behind them. He turned forward to get a shot of Gladio who was in front of them, even though it was only a picture of his back. Prompto took this chance to take some landscape photos as well. They were passing some boulders when Gladio jerked for his chocobo to stop, barely dodging the sabretusk that had jumped from a large boulder. They all stopped their chocobos just as ten or so sabretusks came running down the boulder. They all jumped off calling their weapons out.
Gladio easily swung his large sword, slicing a sabretusk in half as it tried to jump on him. Noctis warped into a grouping of three and started taking them out one by one as Ignis and Prompto stood together fighting the others. Gladio was quick to run to their aide and help take out many of the remaining sabretusks. Within a few minutes, the monsters were all dead and Prompto was fist bumping with Noctis. Gladio ran to get his chocobo who, like the other three ran from the fight. He reached the anxious bird and petted its head, but the chocobo squawked and jumped back.
"Gladio!" Noctis screamed, but Gladio didn't react in time to dodge the sabretusk that jumped on his back. The monster clawed down Gladio's back making him grunt out in pain, but Gladio reached behind him and grabbed the sabretusk by the head. He threw the monster off and stumbled back. The sabretusk landed on its feet and jumped to attack again, but Noctis warped between them stabbing the monster with his engine blade. He pulled his blade out and slashed across the monster's neck before they landed back on the ground.
Gladio had dropped to one knee by the time Noctis turned to him and rushed to his side. Ignis and Prompto were both there in seconds. Ignis inspected the large gash and smaller claws marks on Gladio's back before pulling out a potion.
"I'll be fine without it." Gladio waved his hand but Noctis grabbed the potion from Ignis and shoved it into Gladio's face.
"Drink it."
Gladio stood up and rolled his shoulders. "I'm okay."
Prompto placed his hand on Gladio's shoulder. "Hey I know you're tough and all, but we need you at your best. We still have a while before we even get to the forest and like you said it's our first priority to protect Noctis. We can't do that properly if you're injured. Besides, we'll still have four potions and a hi-potion left."
Gladio sighed and nodded, giving in. He took the potion and drunk it while Ignis made sure the wound healed enough for them to continue on.
The next time they encountered a pack of sabretusks, there were more of them and the amount almost overwhelmed them. After the battle Ignis needed a potion as did Prompto, but Noctis managed to get away with only a small scratch on his face and Gladio didn't receive any injuries this time. As they continued, they didn't see any more packs of sabretusks and Prompto took out his camera. He started snapping pictures of the landscape and of his friends.
Gladio shook his head. "Prompto pay attention. We don't want you falling off your chocobo."
"You know I've gotten pretty good at multitasking right?" Prompto said taking another photo.
"The last time you drove the Regalia you almost went off the road trying to take a picture."
"I did not!"
"Only because Ignis grabbed the wheel." Gladio laughed. "Seriously though, taking pictures while on a running chocobo isn't a good idea. You might drop your camera."
"I guess you have a point." Prompto mumbled before putting his camera away. As he did, his chocobo slowed a little so when he looked up he noticed the tear down the back of Gladio's shirt. Prompto could see a faint red line from his earlier injury. He urged his chocobo to run a little faster to match Gladio's own pace. "Hey Gladio?"
"Yeah?"
"Is you back okay? From earlier I mean?"
"I'm fine Prompto. Even better since I had the potion." Gladio said with a smirk and Prompto's face lit up with a smile.
"Hey, we have another pack coming!" Noctis yelled. "This one looks big."
They all looked to the left and saw a pack of about thirty sabretusks. Gladio gripped his reigns tighter as he looked ahead at the approaching forest. "Let's try to outrun them!"
"You think we can?" Prompto asked, but nobody answered. They pushed for the chocobos to go faster but the sabretusks seemed to be getting closer and Ignis looked between the pack and the forest ahead.
"They're going to cut us off at this rate!" Ignis shouted.
"Damn it." Gladio mumbled. "We'll have to fight."
They stopped their chocobos and quickly dismounted before shooing the birds to run. They called their weapons out as the pack came in to attack. Prompto ran to the side to keep from shooting his friends with his rifle. Noctis warped right into the fray and started attacking with his engine blade. Gladio swung his broad sword through two sabretusks and moved to get to Noctis's side. Ignis backed Gladio up as they pushed through to get to the prince, but Noctis kept warping deeper into the pack.
Prompto started moving to help, but made sure to keep his distance. He wouldn't be able to take on more than a couple at close range. The four were taking down the pack swiftly, but the fast pace was taking its toll on their bodies. Gladio and Ignis stood side by side as they were surrounded by the pack. Noctis was in the same position by himself, but Prompto was shooting at the pack to try and draw them away from the prince if not kill the sabretusks. Three that were looking at Noctis turned to Prompto and started to run to him instead. Noctis warped to one side of the circle and easily took out two of the sabretusks as the others ran toward him. He turned in time to slash at one's head before it could bite. However, another came from the right at the same time and bit down on Noctis's leg.
Gladio and Ignis took down the last of the attacking sabretusks that were around them and turned in time to see Noctis being pulled down by sabretusk. They yelled out his name as he screamed out and they ran to his aid as the other three sabretusks started biting into his limbs. Prompto shot two of the three approaching sabretusks when he heard Noctis's scream. He took his attention away from his current target and started shooting at the sabretusks attacking his friend. Two of them fell quickly from the gunshots, but when Prompto squeezed the trigger again, his gun clicked instead of fired. He was out of ammo. Prompto went to reload when the sabretusk that had been charging at him jumped in the air. He quickly raised his gun up into the sabretusks mouth as it tackled him to the ground.
Gladio and Ignis ran to the prince's side slashing the remaining two sabretusks into pieces. There were still a small amount of the pack left and they running toward Gladio and Ignis. Gladio took a quick glance at Noctis to find him breathing, and turned back to defend him from the remaining pack. Ignis threw his daggers, impaling two of the sabretusks' heads as Gladio swung his down on another. There were only five left.
Prompto grunted as he struggled to keep the rifle in the sabretusks mouth while it tried to pull the weapon away. The sabretusk growled as his dug its claws into Promto's right bicep making his scream out, but he kept his grip on his gun. The sabretusk jerked its head to the side, and it was taking everything that Prompto had to keep a hold of his weapon. It growled once more as it raised its hind paw and pressed it down on Prompto's left thigh. He screamed out as a searing pain went through his thigh down to his knee. It was enough that he lost his grip on his weapon and the sabretusk threw it to the side. The rifle vanished as the sabretusk turned back and Prompto was aiming his pistol at its head. He didn't hesitate to shoot the monster in the head.
Gladio ran forward slashing through two of the sabretusks at once as Ignis threw his daggers at the other two, but he had to recall them and deliver finishing blows to each. The fifth sabretusks ran past them during this and Gladio turned to chase after it as it went towards Noctis.
'I'm not going to make' Gladio thought, watching as the sabretusk jump to attack the motionless prince. A gunshot went off and the sabretusk fell to the ground just before Noctis's body. Gladio glanced back to see Prompto laying on his stomach holding his pistol. Gladio smiled before he and Ignis ran to Noctis's side. The prince was unconscious and barely breathing. Gladio held Noctis's body up as Ignis pulled out the hi-potion. He carefully poured it into Noctis's mouth.
"Come on Noctis, hang in there." Gladio said. He looked passed to Ignis and spotted Prompto still laying on the ground, this time his head and arms were down too. "Prompto's hurt."
"Hold Noctis a little longer." Ignis said pouring the hi-potion a little faster.
When the bottle was empty, Ignis took Noctis from Gladio's hold and took out a potion to give to the prince as well. Gladio rushed over to Prompto's side and gently turned him over making him grunt. Gladio took in the damage on his friend's body. Prompto had three deep claws marks down his upper arm and another four on his thigh. Both injuries were bleeding profusely.
"Hey, is Noctis okay?" Prompto gasped. "Please tell me he's okay."
"He will be." Gladio assured his friend and pulled out the last potion. "Let's get you fixed up. Drink this."
"Wait, Noctis might need it."
"You need it."
"He's in worse shape than me. He wasn't fighting anymore. That's not good." Prompto said. "These are just scratches we can wrap up. Noctis might need the potion."
"Prompto drink the potion. We need you to help protect Noctis and we can't do that if you're not at your best."
Prompto laughed. "Thanks for throwing my own words at me. For real though, I'm not worth it. You and Ignis are needed more than me and Noctis needs to have that potion more than I do."
"This isn't a competition, Prompto. Drink the damn potion before I force you to." Gladio said lifting Prompto's body up and he pressed the bottle to Prompto's lips.
"Gladio!" Ignis called. He looked up to see Ignis running toward them. "His wounds aren't healed all the way. I need the other potion."
Prompto pushed the bottle from his lips and smiled. "I told you so."
Ignis made it them and noticed the state Prompto was in. "Prompto…"
"I'm okay. Get the potion to Noctis. Quickly!"
Ignis nodded his head and took the potion from Gladio. "Call the chocobos back. Professor Gale packed a first aid in their satchels."
As Ignis ran back to the prince, Gladio whistled out to the chocobos.
It took a minute of whistling for the chocobos to finally come out of their hiding spots in shrubbery and rocks in the surrounding area. All four trotted toward Gladio and he gently laid Prompto back down to go through the satchel on his chocobo's side. He spotted the kit right on top and pulled it out before sitting back down. He started with Prompto's arm, wiping it down with an antiseptic liquid to clean it off. Prompto squeezed his eyes shut from the burning sensation and whimpered when Gladio rubbed an orange medicine on the wound before wrapping it up in white bandages.
Gladio moved to the other side of his friend and sat down by his injured leg. He heard a chirp and found Prompto's chocobo sitting down. The bird rubbed his head against Prompto's own and the gunman laughed petting the chocobo.
"Hey, don't worry I'm okay. Gladio is fixing me right up." Prompto laugh.
'He even tries to assure his chocobo not to worry.' Gladio thought with a smile as he moved to start unbuckling Prompto's pants.
"Um, Gladio, what are you doing?" Prompto asked nervously, grabbing Gladio's hand to stop him.
Gladio pushed his hands away and kept working on removing his pants. "I have to put medicine on your thigh and I can't do that with your pants on. Just don't think about it, okay."
Prompto was red faced as he looked up to keep petting his chocobo, thankful for the distraction as he felt his pants being pulled down. It wasn't long before he whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the burning pain of the antiseptic cleaning his wound. He took deep breathes as the pain faded, but he flinched feeling the medicine being rubbed on.
Gladio worked quickly to clean and wrap up Prompto's wound. This wasn't exactly comfortable for him either, but at least he was trusted enough with this sort of intimacy. Once he was finished, Gladio grabbed the hem of Prompto's pants to start pulling them when they both heard someone walking up to them. They both looked up to see Ignis carrying Noctis on his back.
"Why, did we interrupt something?" Ignis said with a smirk.
"Didn't know you two were that close." Noctis said lowly, but he had a smile so they knew it was meant to be a joke. Both Prompto's and Gladio's faces turned bright red. Prompto spazzed out trying to reach down to pull his pants up, but flinched and hissed as pain shot up his arm. Noctis lost his smile when he realized that his friend was seriously hurt.
"Prompto… please tell me I didn't drink the last potion." Noctis said and when he didn't get an answer he glared at them. "Why would you give me the last potion if he was hurt?"
"Its okay, Noctis." Prompto said with a smile. "I told them to. I'd much rather you have it than me and beside I'll have some pretty sexy scars to show off to the ladies."
"That's not funny, Prompto." Noctis snapped. He got of Ignis's back to stand on his own, even though Ignis had to help support him. "How do you think it makes me feel seeing my friends hurt? Seeing you guys sacrifice so much for me. I hate it! I wish you just stop and be selfish for once!"
"But Noctis," Prompto said, still smiling, "you'd do the same for us in a heartbeat. We're willing to sacrifice ourselves for you because we know you're willing to sacrifice everything for us. We're a family and family protects each other."
"I couldn't have said better myself." Ignis said patting Noctis's back.
Noctis closed his eyes. "We should head back to town. Tell the professor we failed and work on the other bounties instead."
"Noctis, you're not one to give." Prompto said. "Beside we're already at the forest. We might as well go the rest of the way."
"You're hurt." Noctis said softly.
"And you're tired. You didn't really believe we'd come out of this unscathed right? It's an occupational hazard to do jobs like this." Prompto said. "I say we keep going. Guys?"
"We might as well." Gladio agreed and Ignis nodded.
Noctis sighed, giving in. "Fine, but Gladio, I want you to stay at Prompto's side. I want you to be his shield for the time being."
"Okay, but if you're in mortal danger again I won't hesitate to go back to your side. That means possibly leaving Prompto to die."
"Yeah let's not let that happen." Prompto laughed nervously.
"Don't worry I'm sure the prince can take care of himself," Gladio said and smirked, "Most of the time."
"Hey!" Noctis whined.
"Now that that's settled, pull up Prompto's pants so we can get moving." Ignis said. Prompto's and Gladio's cheeks heated up again.
Getting Prompto onto his chocobo was easier than expected since the bird remained on the ground until Prompto was seated on it. Gladio had to help him limp two feet to the chocobo, but Prompto guaranteed that he was okay even though they half believed him. The four made their way into the forest and Ignis was leading using the old fashioned way of navigating with a map and compass. Noctis followed close behind with Prompto next to him and Gladio last. Both kept a steady eye on Prompto since he was only riding one handed. They were making slow progress through the dark forest. There was little sunlight making it through the tops of the trees, but it was bright enough for them to make out their surroundings and guide the chocobos with ease.
As the birds hoped over a log, Prompto spotted a lone purple flower growing in a stream of sunlight. He pulled at his chocobo to stop and worked on getting his camera out with his left hand. Gladio stopped next to him and waited patiently for the gunman to snap a photo, but the click of the camera never came. Gladio looked at Prompto and found him rubbing his eyes with his wrist. He looked out straight ahead blinking and tried take a photo again, but everything seemed to blur a little. He snapped the photo realizing he was taking too long and hoped it turned out good.
Prompto went to put his camera away, but he lost his grip on it and dropped it. Luckily, Gladio managed to catch it and hand it back. Prompto nodded and successfully put his camera away this time.
"Ignis, how much further?" Gladio asked, still staring at Prompto. The gunman felt nervous and looked ahead to where Noctis and Ignis were waiting.
"We're close. We should be there soon."
"Well then, let's get moving." Prompto laughed and motioned for his chocobo to start moving forward.
Gladio took note of the blood seeping through the bandages on his thigh and moved up beside him. "If you're not feeling well, say something. We don't need you passing out and falling off."
"I'm fine, really." Prompto assured, but Gladio held his stern look.
"Prompto, its okay to rely on others every once in a while. Don't think you have to tough this out just because you feel that you're weaker than us."
"But…I am weaker." Prompto whispered, hoping his friends didn't hear him.
"We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Just because you're not good at one thing doesn't mean you're weak, it just means you much better at doing something else. In this case, you're much better at taking photos than pretending you're not about to pass out."
"I think I can make it to the temple at least." Prompto mumbled, too tired to pretend he was okay anymore. "I'll let you know if I think I'm going to pass out."
"You better, because if I have to get off my chocobo to pick your butt off the ground, I'm going to have to tell the whole world you weren't able to ride a chocobo properly."
Prompto let out a soft laugh. "Yeah, that would be embarrassing."
Gladio kept up the small talk with Prompto to make sure he remained lucid enough to keep riding on his own. It wasn't too long before they came across a large square stone building wrapped in moss, trees, and other plants. There was a small opening that they headed towards. Ignis and Noctis got off their chocobos first and stretched out. Noctis let out a big yawn as he petted his chocobo and moved to tie it up on a nearby tree. Ignis did the same and the two headed inside to scout it out. Prompto rode his to the tree with Gladio who got off first. Prompto felt his face heat knowing that he was going to have trouble getting down. Gladio tied both his and Prompto's chocobos up before going to Prompto's side.
"Come on I'll help you."
"Please don't tell anyone about this." Prompto whispered. Gladio took in Prompto's red face and his hands clenching into fists.
"Hey this stays between us. Come on."
Prompto took a deep breath before swinging his good leg over, but the pressure on his wound made him whimper and his knee buckled. Gladio was quick to catch Prompto before he fell onto the ground. The motion startled his chocobo and it jumped squawking, but it soon calmed itself down. Prompto leaned heavily into Gladio's hold, not trusting his own legs at the moment. Gladio waited for Prompto to recover and stand up on his own, but he still needed support on his left side.
Ignis and Noctis entered the dark temple slowly, turning on their flashlights and calling their weapons out. They were expecting some goblins to come out of nowhere, but so far they were alone. They walked deeper inside until they found several corridors around the room.
"Which one did he say his research was in?" Noctis asked.
"I believe it was the north wall, third corridor to the right." Ignis replied and took the lead. They walked into the corridor and found the walls covered in wall art, weird writing, and cracks. As they moved forward they heard a small screech and suddenly five little goblins dropped down all around them. They were quick to attack, but Ignis and Noctis had no problem dispatching them and moving on down the corridor.
A few more goblins showed up, but were easily defeated and soon the two found a small room. It didn't take long to spot some equipment and near it was a leather satchel. Ignis looked through it and confirmed that it was the professor's research. He slipped the bag over his shoulder and they headed back to larger part of the temple.
Overall getting the research was the easiest part of the whole mission, and they were relieved to have found it fast. Noctis was looking forward to getting back to town and getting Prompto proper treatment. As they walked out of the temple they spotted Gladio by the doorway with Prompto lying next to him, sleeping. Noctis walked to Prompto's side and sat beside him.
"We got it, let's head back." Noctis said.
"I think it might be best to rest here for the night. I don't think it'll be wise to be caught in the forest when it's dark out." Gladio said. "Besides, your highness needs his beauty sleep."
"Hey!" Noctis whined.
"As do we all." Ignis said. "Might I suggest we move inside then? We'll have better protection in the temple."
"What about the goblins?" Noctis asked.
"I'll put up a barrier and we'll each take watch to be safe." Ignis said.
Gladio started a small fire as Ignis put up a barrier around them and Noctis laid out some blankets from their packs. Gladio was able to pick Prompto up and move him inside without disturbing his sleep. Noctis used his blanket to cover Prompto up and slept on the bare ground as Ignis took the first watch. Gladio tried to doze off, but remained in a state of rest, but not quite sleeping. Noctis took the second watch, but stayed sitting beside Prompto in case his friend needed him for any reason.
When Noctis's turn was over, he woke Gladio, who stretched out and yawned, but quickly got up. Noctis was going to lay on Gladio's blanket when a noise caught their attention. Something big was moving outside the temple, and they weren't the only ones who heard it. They heard the chocobos making soft noises and moving around. Gladio and Noctis moved quietly to the entrance when the chocobos started squawking louder. They peeked out and saw a behemoth walking to the chocobos. It growled out as it bit down on one of the chocobos and the others pulled at their reigns as the behemoth ate its catch. The remaining chocobos managed to break free and run away while the behemoth was distracted.
Gladio pulled Noctis away before the prince felt the urge to avenge the chocobo. They quickly smothered the fire with a blanket and woke Ignis up. Gladio gently placed his hand on Prompto's mouth and shook him. The gunman moaned as he stirred awake, and was suddenly alerted to the hand over his mouth.
"Shh." Gladio hushed softly and whispered in Prompto's ear. "Stay quiet. There's a behemoth outside."
Prompto took steady breaths realizing his friend was the one who startled him and nodded. Gladio helped Prompto up to his feet and the gunman bit his lip when pain shot through his arm and leg.
Noctis got on Promto's side to be his crutch so they could move faster. They heard the behemoth moving and growling. They looked at the opening of the temple and saw the beast's nose press though it sniffing. It let out a deep breath and a low growl as it backed up. They heard it moving back and took a deep breath, but before they exhale they heard and felt the behemoth charging forward.
"Move!" Gladio yelled pushing the prince and Prompto forward. They ran as the behemoth slammed through the temple wall and roared out. It spotted the four of them with ease and started to charge again. Gladio grabbed Prompto and pushed Noctis to run. Ignis reached out to grab Noctis's arm to pull him forward. Gladio hated to be rough, but he pushed Prompto to the side and called out his broad sword. He ran toward the behemoth and swung his sword down, forcing the beast to slam into a stop.
Prompto groaned as sat up and watched Gladio try to push the behemoth back.
"Gladio!" Noctis shouted. He called out his engine sword and threw it at the behemoth and warped to stab it in the head. The behemoth roared as it stumbled back, but shook Noctis off its head.
"Noctis, Gladio, Prompto, keep it distracted and get ready to run." Ignis shouted in the darkness.
"What are you doing?" Gladio asked as he slashed into the behemoth, but it only seemed to piss it off more.
"Finding the weak points in the walls." Ignis said. "If we hit them just right we can collapse the ceiling on top of the behemoth."
"But Prompto can't run." Noctis yelled warping to evade an attack.
"Don't worry about me. I can make it out." Prompto said forcing himself to stand up, but he had to use the wall for support.
"No, Noctis is right, you won't be able to run." Ignis shouted.
"Prompto start heading to opening," Gladio ordered. "When you get there give us cover fire."
"Okay." Prompto shouted and started limping around the fight, hoping the behemoth won't notice him.
Noctis and Gladio were doing a great job keeping it distracted, but the damn thing started slamming into the walls of the temple, making the whole this shaking. Noctis was using his warping to draw the behemoth's attention and it was working until it spotted Prompto limping away. It growled out as it charged towards him, but Gladio intercepted it blocking it with his broad sword. He managed to slash up the behemoth's face causing it to roar and back up colliding with the side of the room. Pieces of the ceiling fell as the behemoth charged forward, so Gladio grabbed Prompto and they jumped, narrowly dodging the massive head butt that hit the wall instead.
More rocks from ceiling fell and the sound of rocks breaking echoed throughout the room. The behemoth growled as it glared down at Gladio and Prompto below it. Prompto called his pistol out and fired a shot into the beast's eye. He hissed as the recoil caused pain to shoot up his arm, but he took aim again. The behemoth roared out as it shook its head splattering on the floor. Prompto smiled as he fired a shot in the beast's other eye. The behemoth let out another roar as it charge into the wall again.
"This thing is going to do the work for us." Ignis shouted. "Run for the exit!"
Noctis was able to warp there with ease, but waited for his friends to leave the temple. Ignis managed to get around the behemoth as it trampled around, but Gladio and Prompto were still trying to escape the beast's rage.
Prompto was trying his best to run, but the pain in his leg was becoming too much and it made him fall. Gladio lifted him back and practically dragged him. The behemoth spun around and its tail went over their heads and slammed into the wall breaking a hole into it. It swung back, coming down this time, but they didn't move quick enough to dodge it. It hit them both and sent them flying through the air. Gladio slammed hard into the ground, but was able jump right back up.
"Prompto?" He shouted, but didn't get a response. He looked over and found that his friend had landed a little further away. Gladio ran to him quickly and carefully turned him over. He could make out the blood running down Prompto's face, but he didn't have time to investigate. The ceiling was starting to fall and the walls were crumbling. He threw Prompto over his shoulder and started running to the exit. Gladio only focused on the exit, not the rocks falling around him, not the behemoth going berserk behind him, just the exit ahead. He heard a something big crash into the floor behind him and he pushed himself to go faster. Gladio spotted Ignis trying to pull Noctis out of the temple, but the prince wasn't leaving until his friends were safe.
"You idiot!" Gladio shouted as he jumped forward, tackling both Noctis and Ignis out of the temple.
The forest became eerily quiet after the temple finished crumbling on top of the behemoth. Noctis slowly opened his eyes and sat up rubbing his head.
"Was tackling us both really necessary?" Ignis asked.
"I wanted out and you guys were in the way." Gladio groaned sitting up. He looked down at Prompto, who was lying unconscious beside him. He shook the gunman's shoulders gently. "Hey, Prompto…"
Noctis and Ignis became alert to their friend's condition. Ignis helped turn him over to inspect the damage. Prompto's injured arm was bleeding through the bandages and looked a bit crooked, his thigh was bleeding more than his arm, and now he also had an injury to his head which covered half his face with blond. Their friend, however, was still alive.
Gladio started whistling for the remaining chocobos, hoping they'll return, as Ignis and Noctis worked on bandaging Prompto's injures. Ignis was happy he decided to keep one of the first aid kits on himself instead of on the chocobos. It made this process easier to bare. Gladio whistled once more before giving up and sitting next to his friends.
"We have to get him back to town soon or—"
"Don't say it, Ignis." Noctis interrupted. "Prompto is stronger than you think, he's going to survive."
"I have no doubt. I was merely going to say that Prompto will get an infection if he stays out here any longer." Ignis said, but Noctis had his doubts that's what the advisor really meant.
The some of the rocks moved behind them and Gladio slowly stood up just before a puff of air blew out causing more rocks to roll off revealing the behemoth's nose.
"I think it's time we leave." Ignis whispered and as if on cue they heard a chocobo squawk. One of the birds walked slowly into the clearing, looking around as it did. It moved closer to the group eyeing them closely and then the other two chocobos slowly came out from the trees. The first one came closer and sat down next to Prompto and rubbed its head against his uninjured arm. It let a small chirp and nudged at the gunman.
Gladio patted its head. "He's hurt. You don't mind both of us riding on you together do you? I'll keep him upright on your back and make sure he won't fall. What do you say?" The chocobo let out another chirp and nudged at Gladio's leg.
"I think that's a yes." Noctis said greeting his own chocobo.
The sun was shining by the time they four made it out of the forest. Ignis had taken the lead with Noctis in the middle, and Gladio in the back. Gladio held Prompto in front of him and basically hugged the younger man against his chest. They have no intention of fighting anymore and were keeping a look out for any sabretusk packs. The spotted two and managed to avoid them completely, but it was still several hour before the made it back into town.
When they did arrive, they went straight to Professor Gale's home so they could collect their cash and buy some potions for Prompto. When they got to the house, the gate opened up right away for them and the professor along with Eloise came outside to greet them. They were surprised to see only three chocobos left, but Noctis didn't take time to explain. He jumped off his chocobo and took the satchel from Ignis to give to the Professor.
"We need the money now. Prompto got hurt and needs to be treated."
The professor took the bag and looked to Eloise. "Go get some hi-potions from our reserves." He looked to Noctis after Eloise ran back inside. "Bring him in, I'll treat him. Come along now, quickly."
"A behemoth?" The professor gasped, pulling a blanket up to Prompto's chin. "I had no idea there were any near here."
"It could be the only one then." Ignis said leaning by the doorway. "It may have been pushed out of its own territory and made its way here."
"Quite possible." The professor said. "Your friend will be okay, we'll make sure he's good as new before you leave. Although it may take a few days for his arm to recover fully since it was broken. You're all more than welcome to stay here until then."
"That's very kind of you." Gladio said.
"It's the least I can do. My research is my life and you four brought it back to me. I'll have a room for you each to stay in tonight. And no worries about Prompto, Eloise and I will take care of him while you rest."
Noctis yawned stretching in his spot on the floor. "A nap sounds really good right now."
"Well then let me go ahead and get the rooms ready. I'll come back to get when they are." The professor said and walked out of the room leaving the four of them alone. Gladio let out a loud yawn before walking to the king size bed where Prompto was sleeping. Gladio kicked off his shoes and carefully laid down next to him.
"What are you doing?" Noctis asked.
"Taking a nap." Gladio yawned again.
"Can't you wait for your own bed like the both of us?" Noctis asked and Ignis let out a short laugh.
"I think it's wise for one of us to be here in case he wakes up, and with Gladio here, he'll protected from any surprises." Ignis said. "You did place the king's shield in charge of looking after Prompto after all. He's going to do his duty until the end."
Gladio smirked at Ignis, but neither he nor the prince saw as they left the room. Gladio looked over at Prompto's sleeping form and let a smile grace his lips. "We wouldn't have made it without you, you know. I'm glad you joined us. Get plenty of rest though because we still have a long way to go and we need you at your best to help protect the prince."