They'd explained, finally, why everyone was so tense. Why, when the doctor said that Noct might not be able to walk, Clarus stood up immediately and stormed out the room. Cor following close behind him, it also made sense why after a bad hunt, Noct could be found curled up in bed with ice packs on his lower back or just be in a foul mood for the majority of the day.

When Noct had been eight there'd been a daemon outbreak from the labs. CrystalTech had been trying to find a cure for StarScourge from within daemons themselves, only to have the daemon they were working on break free and go on a rampage through the building. They managed to subdue the daemon, killing it before it got a chance to cause mass damaged, however not without casualties. Noct and his mother had been visiting the labs that day, Aulea Caelum was a researcher at CrystalTech and although it had been her day off, was called in to take a look at something. She brought Noct along as well as the two of them had been at the park, only when they arrived they found the whole building on lockdown.

The casualties that Ignis had mentioned, Noct and his mother. Whilst Noct had gotten away with a deep slash to his lower back, paralyzing him from the waist down and confining him to a wheelchair for two years. His mother, unfortunately, died protecting him. Although Noct got better, through numerous surgeries he never fully recovered from the shock of what happened. His shock, that later turned to rage against his father, whom he blamed for everything.

Regis Caelum, never forgave himself for the daemon outbreak and saddened over the loss of his wife, distanced himself from Noct, throwing himself into his research. Even after his death, just before Noct's eleventh birthday, Noct still hadn't gotten over his hatred.


"I mean, he would become moody, or sit in a bath with ice cubes, but we just assumed, he twisted wrong, or slept funny," Prompto explained once Gladio had questioned how he hadn't known anything about what he'd just been told. "We don't ask questions. I've seen the scar but never asked. If Noct wanted me to know he would have told me."

Gladio just nodded, he understood in a sense. Whereas he was used to just getting answers, either by asking or looking. He understood that other people weren't the same as him. They'd been told not to ask questions, and Prompto had followed that logic, Noctis' saw this new life as a way to escape and had embraced the rule, by not supplying the information he was effectively burying his past.

Noctis had finally been brought back into the room, asleep and on medication, the doctors had said it would be best to let him sleep and forced them all out into the corridor. Gladio's dad, through some connections, had managed to let them allow one person to stay with him (Ignis) whilst everyone else went home to rest up. Which is how Gladio became a babysitter for a rather worried twenty-year-old.

Not that Prompto wasn't a handful, heck his own sister could be more of a handful than Prompto was, Gladio just didn't know what to do. Especially with his big reveal from earlier. Gladio knew without a doubt that neither he nor Ignis had expected that sort of bombshell, to hear first hand that MagiMite, forcibly injected innocent people with StarScourge to research the effects was sickening and he had no idea how Prompto was holding himself together.

Cor had given them a lift back to Gladio and Ignis' apartment, Prompto didn't look to be in the right frame of mind to drive, and Gladio still was non-the-wiser about the extra pedals and gears of a manual gearbox.

No sooner had Gladio unlocked the door and ushered Prompto inside did Prompto's phone ring. Startled, he looked apologetically at Gladio, before pressing the phone to his ear.

"Crowe?"

Gladio tried not to listen in, but if he had managed to hear a female voice, sounding relieved and then slightly panicked before the phone was passed to a slightly authoritative male voice that made all the colour drain from Prompto's face, then he wouldn't have been able to hear anything due to the fact it was all in Nifillian.

"Ja. Aber Noct…"

Prompto cringed as the person on the other end of the phone yelled at him, the poor kid looked close to tears and Gladio didn't need to understand to know that whoever it was, wasn't happy.

"Lestallum? Morgen? Er…" He glanced helplessly at Gladio, eyes wide as he struggled with what to say.

Gladio himself was at a complete loss, and he tried to think what would Ignis say in this situation. "Whatever it is," he whispered carefully, making sure that he couldn't be overheard by the man on the phone. "We'll figure it out, we'll help."

Prompto gave a grim sort of nod, before making some sort of verbal agreement on the phone. Gladio couldn't hear what was said, the voice bringing his volume down to a respectful level, Prompto nodded again, before saying something else, a farewell, and then hung up the phone, stuffing it back into his pocket.

He sighed, either in relief or in frustration before he plonked himself down on the couch, curled his knees into his stomach and lay down, staring into space.

Taking another leaf out of Ignis book, Gladio head into the kitchen grabbed a couple of cans of Ignis' 'good stuff' before returning to Prompto. He sat gingerly on the edge of the sofa, pushing the black can into the younger man's hand.

"Don't tell Iggy, that we cracked open the good coffee," he said lightly, but Prompto merely sat up and stared at the can. "Do you want to talk about it?" Gladio pressed, not holding out much hope but still asking out of kindness more than anything.

"That was Ardyn," Prompto said to his can, and Gladio shifted slightly, waiting for Prompto to continue. "He'd been trying to call Noct, but of course he wasn't answering, so Crowe phoned me…" he trailed off and tapped his fingers on the edge of the can nervously.

"What did he want?" he was just trying to make conversation, let Prompto know that he wasn't alone. He wasn't expecting to get an answer, but Prompto seemed to be in a talkative mood, he obviously trusted them. Which, if Gladio was being honest, would help with getting Noctis trust back.

"Noct was supposed to check in after the mission, but he obviously didn't and we're meant to be heading out to Lestallum tomorrow. I tried to explain but he just yelled at me for not answering any of his calls. I don't even know where Noct's phone is," he said, his voice rising in despair. "And of course he wants us to meet a contact in Lestallum tomorrow and take up a new hunt, I mean…. Gah!" he flung his hands up in the air and ruffled up his hair in frustration.

Gladio frowned, who does this Ardyn think he is? "I take it you didn't mention Noct's current position?"

"I couldn't get a word in," Prompto admitted quietly, head bowed in defeat. Gladio honestly didn't know what to do. "The contact, Calico or something, is heading to Niflheim tomorrow night so we're to meet him and give him the whiskers for… ah, shit! I didn't pick up the whiskers!" there was another frustrated groan as he flopped back on the couch, head in his hands.

"Would it help if we went back and got them?" Gladio asked slowly, it wasn't the best idea he had and if Ignis were here he'd shoot it down in an instant, come up with a better one. Now, however, in this moment, it was the only thing Gladio could think off. Prompto lifted his head, eyes wide and questioning.

"Honestly I don't want anything to do with Ardyn or MagiMite, but I know nothing good will come out of running away. We could go back and get those damned whiskers, the thing is dead so it shouldn't be hard right? Then I can take the car, go visit Caledonia - or whatever the heck his name is - hand over the whiskers and come straight back. That way Calpickle can report back that we're fine…"

"We won't let you go alone…"

"And I can't ask you to help any more than you already have…" Prompto countered just as quickly. "This is mine and Noct's problem, and with Noct hurt, I'll have to continue alone…"

"Bullshit," Gladio growled, placing a hand on the younger boys arm. He knew that if he let Prompto go back out there to meet someone from MagiMite then he would never forgive himself, Noctis would never forgive him and they needed his trust right now. Ignis would never sanction this, but Gladio also knew that if Prompto didn't go there would be more trouble on the horizon. He didn't know what had transpired during the phone conversation but he knew enough about body language and tone of voice that Prompto wasn't telling him the whole story. Lestallum was only a couple of hours away, they could be back in Insomnia before it got dark and no-one would know, especially not his father or Ignis.

"Listen here's what we're going to do. We need to get Ardyn off your back, give Noct more time to heal and if seeing this Caligo dude is the way to do that then so be it. In the morning we'll tell the others that we're going back out to Hammerhead to collect Iggy's car. Once beyond the city wall, we can go down into Crestholm, pick up those whiskers and drive to Lestallum. Meet Caligo, convince him that everything is fine and return home, with Ignis car. I'm not letting you go alone," he added when Prompto looked ready to argue. "You've done us a great favour in bring Noctis home to us, and Noct thinks highly enough of you that it's the least we can do."


After an early night and a simple breakfast of cereal and toast, the two of them were on their way back out of the city gates. Gladio had called Ignis that morning to explain what was happening. Well to explain that they'd gone to pick up the car. As predicted, Ignis wasn't that impressed but agreed that it was at least something to do to distract Prompto from thinking about Noctis. Noctis still hadn't woken up yet but the doctors had hope that it wouldn't be too long.

Getting out of the city was no problem, Ignis and Gladio's visa from before still held, so they parked up and traipsed back down into Crestholm to retrieve not only the whiskers but various pieces of weaponry that had been deserted in their haste to get Noctis to safety. Prompto also found Noctis' phone, wet, cracked and broken.

The journey to Lestallum was an almost three-hour drive and so they reached the bustling city a little afternoon. The journey had mostly been done in silence, Gladio only speaking to give quick directions based on the map he was reading. Ardyn had texted Prompto again that morning, with a time and a place to meet Caligo Ulldor, a representative of MagiMite. They were to meet him on the outlook at 1 p.m., where he would take the whiskers and give them their next hunt.

Gladio and Prompto had already vowed to not do the hunt, to just take it and head back to Insomnia, if they needed to they could come back later with more help to complete the hunt, but their objective right now was to prove to MagiMite that nothing was wrong.

"You think that's him?" Prompto whispered as a middle-aged man with dark hair strolled towards the edge of the outlook, leaning casually against the coin-operated viewfinder.

"Yes," Gladio agreed, as the man in question raised a wrist to check the time and brought out a phone. A few seconds later the Prompto's phone vibrated in his pocket.

"Hello?" he said answering the phone, his voice and hand shaking as he did. "Yes, I'm almost there. Are you standing next to the viewfinder?" He nodded as he listened before putting his phone back in his pocket and looking grimly at Gladio.

They both shared a nod, and Prompto straightened up, before heading down the slope to the main portion of the outlook. Gladio stayed hidden for a bit longer opting to instead double round and go down the west slope to reach the outlook. He'd just arrived at the top of the stairs when Prompto reached Ulldor and he was fortunately close enough to hear everything.

"Argentum?"

"Yeah, that's me," Prompto said and Gladio was impressed at how calm he sounded. "Here are the whiskers for Izunia," he handed over a zip locked bag of the dropping whiskers and Gladio was pleased to see the damn things go.

"Where's the other one?"

"Other what?"

"Izunia said there would be two of you, skinny blonde," he pointed a finger at Prompto. "And, lightly muscled raven."

"Ah, Noct's stocking up on supplies," Prompto said quickly. "We used quite a bit getting those whiskers and figured that if you were sending us on another hunt…"

"I can wait," Ulldor said suddenly and Gladio felt his blood run cold.

"What?" squeaked Prompto.

"I have orders to see both of you, can't leave without following through."

"I er... Can get him to call you? Voice is fine right?"

"Are you hiding something Argentum?" Ulldor's eyes narrowed and Prompto stepped back hesitantly. Gladio ran a hand through his hair, he was sitting at the bottom of a set of stone steps, sunglasses on, reading a book, pretending to be a normal tourist, however, he wasn't liking what was happening.

"Nope, just you know Noct's at the market, shopping." he gestured vaguely, and glanced around, gaze locking with Gladio's, the panic apparent on his face. Gladio stood up and placed his book in the side pocket of his cargo pants.

Gladio watched as Prompto took another step back, trying to make it look casual, but Ulldor grabbed a hold of his arm.

"Then show me," Ulldor growled and Prompto shook his head.

"He should be here soon, I could call him you know, just let me call him…" Gladio could see Prompto struggling against Ulldor's grip.

"He's not here, is he? You came alone," Gladio took another step forward, fighting the urge to just run over there and help. Him butting in wouldn't convince Ulldor that Noctis was at the market. As he tried to act casual, Ulldor's looked towards him. His features twisting into one of recognition. "Amicitia," he growled and Gladio swore. Ulldor turned back to the struggling Prompto, grabbing both arms and pulling him close. "Caelum went home, didn't he? I would recognise that tattoo anywhere," he jerked his head in Gladio's direction.

Gladio, having now been recognised, threw caution to the wind and stormed towards Prompto.

"I met your father once Boy," Ulldor called stopping Gladio in his tracks, allowing two other men to appear from seemingly nowhere to block his path. "He was no match for me then and I doubt you'll be no match for me now," he turned to Prompto. "Izunia warned me about this. Said that the lure to return home might prove too strong for out young heir and if that happened I was to take you as compensation."

Prompto's eyes widened as he struggled in Ulldor's grip. "No he's here, I promise, let me just call him, please!"

"Tummelt, Nox. Keep Amicitia busy," the two men, both blonde, took a step towards Gladio, blocking Gladio's view of Prompto and Ulldor. Gladio growled and tried to push past the men, but they were surprisingly strong. He could still hear Prompto promising that Noctis was only a phone call away as Ulldor dragged him away.

Gladio growled, and again tried pushed against the two men in an attempt to reach Prompto. Tummelt, the younger of the two, grinned and pushed back, but Gladio anticipated it, side-stepped and spun, pushing Tummelt into the ground, leaving only Nox standing there. Nox raised a gloved fist, pulling it back to give power to a punch that Gladio ducked under. He wrapped his arms around Nox, forcing him backwards and swinging him around before pushing him away. Nox staggered backwards, caught off balance by the bigger man's manoeuvre and subsequently tripped over Tummelt who was just trying to stand up.

Not bothering with the two of them, Gladio whirled around to see Ulldor loading, a now unmoving, Prompto into the back of a white van. Swearing loudly, he rushed up the steps towards the van, only to be pulled back sharply as someone grabbed onto his tank top. Whipping his head around, he saw that both Nox and Tummelt had gotten to their feet and were determined to stop him. Using Tummelt's hand on his shirt as leverage, Gladio turned sharply, causing Tummelt to stumble towards him. Gladio pivoted and slammed his elbow into the back of Tummelt's neck. There was a strangled cry before he crumpled to the floor. Nox stared wide-eyed, gaze flickering between Gladio and his fallen comrade before charging towards Gladio. Gladio stood his ground and when Nox charged into him, Gladio placed a hand on his chest to hold him back before thrusting his other hand upwards into Nox's nose.

Nox faltered, hands covering his nose, which gave Gladio the time he needed to run up the steps and into the car park, searching wildly for the white van, to no avail. In the time it had taken to get away from Nox and Tummelt, Ulldor and most importantly Prompto had gone.


A/N: So sorry I missed a week! I started a new job last Monday and the weekend before I was busy preparing and learning lines (I'm in a play - that's my job, I'm a touring performance artist). I was going to grace you with a double feature but this weekend grandad and his girlfriend were in town, so we had to entertain (he took us shopping - not complaining there). So again sorry!

This gig I have lasts three weeks - I'll try to be better organised and stay on track, but I can't promise anything especially with Episode Ignis and Christmas.

Quick Translations:

Ja. Aber Noct - Yes. But Noct

Morgen? - Tomorrow?