Hey guys! Managed to get another chapter up within 7 days. Enjoy!

Lunafreya clicked the trailer door carefully behind her as she stepped inside. Noctis reached for the handle when he felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see his father standing behind him, free hand on his cane. He took his foot off the bottom step of the trailer to turn and face his father, gesturing to the folding chairs outside so he could get off his bad leg.

"Thoughtful of you son." He sat down, and gestured for Noctis to sit in the other chair. The Prince frowned at the trailer door for a moment before following his father's hand and sitting next to him.

"How is our dear Luna?" he asked.

"I was gonna go check on her." He answered, unsure how much Lunafreya would feel comfortable with him revealing with everything already that had just been exposed to air. He knew that his father always held a fatherly fondness for the girl they visited in Tenebrae, and felt bad falling back to his old withdrawn ways. "A little shaken up." He added after a pause. "Your new Shield seems a little…"

"Rough around the edges." Regis supplied with the space of Noctis's hesitation. "Please remember Noctis that Sir Nyx Ulric hails from Galahad."

"So that gives him a right to scare the shit outta Luna?" Noctis asked, and then bit the corner of his lip and began bouncing his bad leg. "I get he doesn't really trust us but is someone like that really the best person to pick to protect you?"

"I understand your concern Noctis, but please understand my position. Many have thought… ill, of my treatment of the situation in Lucis and neighboring nations." Regis admonished. Noctis had discussed this with his father before, and at times with Ignis. But it had always felt like a faraway concept, a danger separated buy the Insomnian wall.

"Not your fault the Nifs like to burn everything to the ground."

"It is… far more complicated than that. But by making the Galahadans my Glaives… I was trying to show that I do indeed care for Citizens outside of Insomnia, and trust foreigners. That those of Nifleheim have not left a bitter taste on my tongue for all outside of our borders."

"So you made that bull-headed jackass-"

"Noctis. He is the King's Shield and as such I expect you to show him the respect you would give one of that station."

"He is not Clarus." Noctis ground out. Clenching his teeth and dodging his father's gaze." He could not picture a man who could hold the honor and intimidation of his friend's father.

"He turned his back on his countrymen to honor his vows as a Glaive, and followed Clarus's final order to spirit me from the Citadel. If that does not earn him some measure of honor, then I not do know what else he could do. I plan to have words with the man for how he treated Luna. But I must ask, do you know what happened?"

"Yeah. Nyx noticed a bruise on her ribs and long story short accused me of being the cause." Regis exhaled sharply though his nose, closing his eyes for a moment and kneading his knee roughly with his fingertips. Noctis let the words hang for a moment, hoping letting the accusation hang would clue his father in to how everyone got so angry so quickly. "And she told him that it was Caligo Uldor." He explained.

"Damn." Regis sighed under his breath. He knew Caligo was a monster. He recalled the year Noctis returned form a trip to Tenebrae demanding they invade and drive out the Nifs after an incident with a soldier beating his dear friend. His son had refused to talk to him for many days after attempting to explain the corner he was painted into in regards to the situation with Nifleheim. He had never managed to shake that image of Lunafreya slipping her hand out of his to stay behind in Tenebrae as her home burned behind her and her brother screamed his name. "I have yet to forgive myself for her remaining in their clutches when I spirited you away from the Manor… I have as strong a hand in her abuse as they." He admitted, and Noctis jerked upright, staring at his father, silence hanging between them.

"You aren't those bastards! I know I… I know I was not always nice whenever we talked about Luna… but you aren't Caligo. I don't blame you…" Noctis offered, wracking through his memories for any harsh words and accusations he may have thrown to his father in the past.

"Is she in much pain?" Regis asked.

"She says she's okay, just tender." Noctis answered after a pause, gripping his knee to try and force his leg to stop bouncing before he aggravated the pinpricks starting in his lower back.

"Go check on her. Just… we have enough enemies. I wish not for discourse amongst our own ranks, we have so few allies we need every one we can get. I know you distrust Sir Ulric, and he hasn't made a very good case for himself. But I assure you, he is an honorable man." He paused for a moment and held up a palm, "I'm not a fool Noctis. I know you were as eager to attack Nyx as Gladiolus had. You may not talk to me as much as you did as a child, but I still know my son."

"Dad…" Regis smiled, standing with a groan, letting out a slow sigh. Noctis stood too and walked up to him, and threw his arms around him. "I love you dad… I know I suck and don't really say it enough."

"Love you too son. And please… show our Lady Luna proper decorum now," he smirked, patting Noctis roughly on the shoulder before walking away from the trailer. The Prince sighed, running a hand through his hair and stepped up to pull on the trailer handle half expecting to find it locked but the handle gave way and the heavy door swung open. He swore loudly when the sharp corner of the metal door struck the knee on the top step, Lunafreya's voice calling from inside.

"Huh?" he groaned, cursing and rubbing at the abrasion on his knee.

"I asked if you're all right." She repeated, moving so he could see her from the door.

"What a coincidence, was gonna ask you the same thing." He answered. He stood up, climbing the stairs and clicked the door shut behind him, and after a moment of hesitation turned the lock. He straightened his clothes to occupy his hands.

"I am now." She answered. "So I suppose everything that happened in Tenebrae is no longer secret." She admitted, and sat down on the trailer's pull-out bed that had not been stored back into a couch, the sheets atop it messily pulled straight in the illusion of being made. Noctis couldn't help but wonder when the last time his father made his own bed was, and now had the image of watching his old man stare at the sheets like they were a complex puzzle.

"Well they know about this one time. Not sure if they implied it happening more than once. And my dad's gonna go talk to Nyx."

"He was just trying to help in his own odd way I suppose." Lunafreya offered with a shrug, looking up from her clasped hands when she saw Noctis walking towards her. He sat down next to her, grimacing at how loudly it creaked.

"My dad told me to make sure I show you proper decorum," he teased with a smile, bouncing slightly to make the cheap springs creak. "pretty sure this bed would make anything else impossible." Lunafreya giggled, placing her palms on the edge of the bed and bouncing once to make it creak.

"They'll hear this creaking assume the worst when in reality we're just bouncing on the bed like children."

"Seriously, I've never heard something creak like this. Is this what other beds are like?" she mused, Nyx's voice calling her sheltered Princess echoed in her ears for a moment but the loud creaking of the bed as Noctis threw himself back on it pulled her attention. He sighed, resting his palms beneath his head.

"But comfortable in a really weird way."

"I think you're just comfortable no matter where you're sleeping as long as you can sleep." She offered, leaning back and turning her head to look at him over her shoulder. She smiled to match his own, a yelp changed into giggling when he pulled her wrist causing her to fall back on the pull-out bed beside him. She shifted so she could pull her legs up, and quickly turned on her side to face him.

"That's better. Now I know why I found this loud as hell bed comfortable." He grinned, and shifted up on his elbow so he could reach over with one hand, lightly brushing her cheek.

"Hmm…" she hummed, closing her eyes at his touch, tilting her head into his hand. "I think I'm realizing what you see in this bed… I suppose it does suddenly feel quite comfortable." She offered back to him. She kept her eyes close and heard the springs creak some more as he leaned over her, and smiled against his lips when they brushed against hers. His fingers danced along her cheek, tracing down her neck and back up behind her ear, his lips ghosting over her skin to nip at her neck. She lifted her arms around Noctis's shoulders, her fingertips tickling his skin causing him to scrunch his shoulder and pull back.

"Hey!"

"I had to test if you're still ticklish," she answered with smile, and tapped at the tip of his nose causing him to jerk back and scrunch his nose. "It's far too adorable to resist." She continued and sat up slightly to meet his lips and he humored her for a moment,

"Well now things are unfair." He pouted. She furrowed her brow and tilted her head slightly but got her answer with his fingertips going to a spot high on her ribs, her quiet voice falling into a fit of giggles. She brought her knees up and tried to turn on her side to pin his arm, batting at his hands. He wiggled his arm out from under her and tried for her stomach, and she curled in on herself even more,

"You're terrible!" she managed between giggles. He drew back, letting her catch her breath. She looked up at him with narrow eyes, but couldn't help laughing again.

"I don't think I've heard you laugh like that since we were kids." Her smile faltered but remained, and she reached out to brush some of his hair from his face, letting out a short laugh as it merely came back to place.

"You're the only one who can get me to laugh like that. But you cheated that time."

"It worked." He insisted, "so I don't call that cheating."

"Okay, I suppose I can let you have this one." He smiled and leaned down for a kiss, Lunafreya rolling onto her back to make it easier, wincing as the bed groaned with their movements. "I do hope no one things we are doing something… untoward, with all the giggling and creaking." She remaked. Noctis pulled back expecting to find her bearing a distant and tensed expression, and lifted his brows when instead he saw her with a small smile. He returned it, and leaned down to taste her smile. She seemed as eager as him, and was the first one to prod his bottom lip with her tongue, and he responded with enthusiasm. He let his weight press down on her, getting a small sigh from her, her breath tickling his cheek.

They wanted to lose themselves in each other, grasp at this moment of solitude behind a locked door but the creaking of the bed, and the presence of people milling about the lot just outside led Lunafreya to push gently on Noctis's chest, cupping his cheek when he pulled back from her. She traced his cheekbone with her thumb, another smile pulling at her lips.

"I love you." She stated simply, and blushed at the unprovoked endearment.

"I love you too." He smiled at her, and leaned down for one more quick kiss. He rolled over and she nestled up against his shoulder, his arm resting around her. His thumb brushed against her hip as he stared up at the ceiling of the trailer and turned his head when he felt her lips against the crook of his neck.

"If only everyone wasn't just outside…" Noctis whispered to her, and smirked at the flush it brought to Lunafreya's cheeks.

"Is that you talking, or Cindy's clothing I'm still in?" she inquired, and clicked her tongue. "These clothes have influenced you," she lifted her hand from its place against his chest, pointing a finger in the air and pouting before tapping him on the nose, "I knew that terrible Oracle was a bad influence on you." She tisked again, patting at his chest.

"You're right. Terrible influence. The only thing I can think of is to take those thought-disrupting clothes off you." He teased.

"Perhaps tonight when all is dark and the others sleep we can find an excuse to steal this trailer for the evening you can remove these offending clothes." She winked at him. "As long as we collapse onto the actual bed, rather than this creaking monstrosity."

"I guess I can't argue with your logic." He answered her, but pouted his bottom lip anyway. "Speaking of being logical… I guess at some point I should talk to my dad about the next royal arm so we know where we're going next.

"I feel quite embarrassed that of all the things I studied, I seemed to have forgotten to read on the locations of these arms rather than merely on the history of them." She admonished herself.

"Hey… the royal arms are on my end. And we have Iggy helping us too. Actually… he probably knows all the royal tombs." He suggested. But he still wanted to talk to his father about it. He wondered if he would accompany him to the second royal arm or remain here in Hammerhead. He already did it once. Now it's your turn. He reminded himself. He thought of his father's brace, and his newly butchered hand, and put away any thought of asking for him to join them. "Did I ever thank you for healing my dad's hand?" he asked her.

"I wasn't going to let him be hurting…" she offered back, unsure herself on the answer to his question but felt it mattered little.

"Still." He answered back. His began to brush her side with his fingers, her shirt bunching up. "How are you so cold when it's so warm out?" he asked, feeling her skin beneath his touch. She laughed lightly, and shrugged.

"I could give you an actual answer, but I sense that you would prefer something cheesy and romantic." She answered back.

"I thought I was the cheesy one?"

"Guess you're rubbing off on me a bit."

"I should go talk to my dad so I can talk to Ignis about what our next step should be… then we can all get a good night's sleep and leave first thing in the morning." He sighed, sitting up. Lunafreya whined for a moment when his arm left her, and she fussed with her shirt to cover herself back up.

"Well now I really am cold." She stated. He turned to her as she sat up beside him and he cupped her cheeks, his thumbs rubbing small circles just behind her ears,

"Well I will have to take care of that later tonight." He leaned in to kiss her, and felt the heat rising in her cheeks beneath his fingertips as he traced the line of her cheekbones.

"I shall bear the discomfort meanwhile." She whispered when he pulled back. He gave her one more quick kiss before standing from the bed, giving her a moment to adjust her clothing before exiting the trailer. "I think I shall change into the sleep clothes I purchased in Lestallum. I've been in these clothes for two days now." The words sheltered Princess echoed in her mind again as she wondered how she could wash the clothing before turning them to Cindy. The staff at the manor always laundered her clothing for her. Even a child, before being relegated to her room for most of her passing days, the Manor staff would launder her clothes and put them away. She suddenly felt quite foolish for not knowing such a basic task.

The Tomb of the Conqueror, to obtain the Axe of the Conqueror, was their next destination. The sun was sinking behind the horizon, Hammerhead's lights coming on to bathe the garage in dim light. Everyone sat together, enjoying the cool evening air to talk and play cards. Cindy had even managed to cease her endless tinkering to join them. Two decks of cards had been located and counted, and despite a missing card from the older deck they split into two groups to play poker, betting the gil they had in such small amounts no one felt they were actually risking anything, merely making the game more fun.

"You guys are killin' me!" Prompto complained as he swapped out two cards, chewing on his bottom lip and squinting at his cards.

"You have the worst poker-face. Take a lesson from this one over here." Gladiolus thumbed at Lunafreya.

"I knew there was a reason I wanted to play poker with you, kickin' all our asses! For once, a challenge!" Crowe added, playfully nudging Lunafreya. The Oracle shrugged, and couldn't help but smile. The small pile of gil before her was larger than anyone else in her group.

"I heard that!" Nyx shouted from his spot where he was playing with his King, Cid, Cindy, and Ignis.

"Oh come on, all of you sucked at poker. How do you think I afforded my bike?" she quipped back. He narrowed his eyes at her, and she blew him a kiss which caused an eyeroll and a sigh before he turned back to his game. "Awe, it's okay big guy. Maybe over there you stand a chance."

"Nope!" Cindy chimed in, "My pappy's got us all licked good." Crowe let out another barking laugh.

"You're an ass, Crowe." Pryna, who had started following Lunafreya after waking up from an afternoon nap, yapped, head lifting and ears tilting.

"See Nyx, even the dog agrees it's fun to see you getting your ass kicked!" She answered back. Pryna yapped again, and Lunafreya looked at her,

"She's normally a very quiet dog." She remarked, and reached over to ruffle the fur at her scruff, and saw her fur beginning to stand on end. "Pryna? Settle girl… it's okay."

"It's getting dark, maybe she's just hearing the daemons?" Prompto offered. "It's okay Pryna, come here," Prompto patted at his lap, beckoning the dog. Pryna looked up at her mistress who made a go ahead gesture with her palm and she trotted over to Prompto, her ears pinned as she settled next to him with a low growl resting in her throat.

"Regis," she called, feeling somewhat awkward referring to the Lucian King by his first name but knew he would accept no other address from her. He turned his head to her, acknowledging her with a yes? "Was she doing this last night when we were all in Lestallum?" He hesitated to answer her, and looked at Cid and Cindy who each shrugged in turn with a shake of their heads.

"I can barely hear that dog barkin' half a meter from my face. I'm not the best one to ask." Nyx and Cindy both answered they weren't paying enough attention to recall if the dog had barked as darkness settled, Regis admitting the same. Lunafreya let out a small hmm, but dismissed it, assuming daemonic noises were louder here than back in Tenebrae where the solar-powered repelling lights spanned much of the property around the Manor. Another low rumble caught her attention, but it didn't sound like Pryna's usually soft growl. Prompto looked down at the dog who had her ears pinned, but was silently fixated on something in the distance.

"Pryna?" The high-pitched whine of metal meeting stone sent the group collectively scrambling to their feet. Nyx helped pull Regis and Cid to their feet shouting for them to get inside, Cindy promising to watch over them. Lunafreya was trembling on her feet, leaning her weight on the trident held in her left hand, groaning as her right was held out before her, arm straining as she tried to hold up her shield against the cleaver that came down against it. Her shield shattered into a series of sparks, the magic sounding like broken glass as it faded with each piece that fell to the pavement.

"Thanks Luna!" Noctis shouted, summoning his engine blade and warping towards the large red beast that was roaring in annoyance that its cleaver had failed to find blood.

"How the shit can this thing be here?!" Crowe balked, summoning fireballs in either had. She saw two daemons that resembled larger versions of her hand-held flames with faces were hovering just beyond the edge of the garage's lights, "the other fuckers can't come into the light, why can this thing?!" Noctis couldn't hear her voice over the roar of the beast, his blade sunk deep into its shoulder as he struggled to maintain his grip, realizing how far from the ground he was. He tugged at his blade, but it was buried deep and likely wasn't going anywhere.

"Damn!" He cursed, and summoned the ethereal blade, feeling the odd magnetic pull in his palm before the unnaturally cold metal feel greeted his palm and the Sword of the Wise was in his hand. He used it to warp safely to the ground nearly four meters down. He felt vaguely dizzy from the warp, reminding him of when he first learned how. He recovered fast enough, "Ignis! Instructions!" he shouted, not sure how the hell to take this thing down. Prompto's guns barked as he aimed for the same shoulder joint where the Engine Blade remained impaled. "Ignis?!" Noctis asked again.

"Gotta agree with Noct here Specs, could use some advice! I only got four shots left, the rest of my spare clips are in my bags!" Prompto bounced back and forth, wondering where to aim on this thing.

"Aim for the shoulder holding the cleaver! Noct has one shoulder limited, take out the other and it'll be weaponless!" Ignis shouted after a short delay. Prompto fired, a small hole appearing in the daemon's shoulder. Noctis saw his opening and warped at the daemon again, aiming for Prompto's fresh bullet hole, but the giant stepped back, rolling his shoulder causing Noctis to soar past him, impacting the pavement four meters away.

"Noct!" Lunafreya shouted, and ran off towards her Prince ignoring the warnings from the others in the group. Crowe cursed, chasing after her, and tackling her to the ground as the giant swung it's cleaver again. Their friends took advantage of the daemon's distraction to focus their attacks on the shoulder Prompto shot, drawing its attention back to them to allow the two women to scramble to the Prince who was lying still on the ground. "Noct…" Lunafreya whispered urgently as she fell to her knees beside him, hands lighting up,

"Come on Sparklefingers, this is a pretty good time to live up to your name." Crowe pat her firmly on the back as she reached to her unconscious Prince. He was covered in abrasions, deep bruises already blossoming on his skin. "He really overshot his target." She commented as she watched the faint glow that poured through the young man, his slow breathing giving way to a hacking cough, arm swiping around causing both women to pull back, Lunafreya falling onto her bottom.

"Whoa! Noct! It's me!" she shouted quickly and he sat up, rubbing at his eyes.

"Ugh… what?" he looked from her to the scene behind them, "shit!" he scrambled to his feet and warped back to his friends to take another shot at the giant's shoulder.

"Wow. That was impressive." Crowe answered.

"I fear he'll be feeling it later."

"Well if he helps kick that thing's ass before he cuts Hammerhead in two, I think we can call it even." Lunafreya nodded at her shield and ran back to the fray. Noctis's second attempt at warping the Sword of the Wise into the giant's shoulder was more successful, and he was able to vanish it and summon it back into his hand, warping to the ground next to Ignis, panting heavily as he wiped a hand under his nose, seeing the smear of red on his hand. He remembered warning words from his father and cursed, wishing he had the sense to vanish his Engine Blade rather than leave it impaled and risk the toll of the ethereal weapon.

"Gladio, I can't use this weapon much longer,"

"Okay you hold point, I got this!" His shield bragged, thumping on his chest.

"Remember the last time we all got too cocky?" Ignis snarked, "It's having more trouble lifting that cleaver, keep focusing on that arm!" He directed. "I'll hold it's attention, you go for the shoulder Gladio!" Ignis called. The large man charged forward, bellowing as he poured all his strength into a momentous swing of his great sword. The daemon closed its fist around the sword, lifting it up with Gladiolus still clinging to the hilt, his grip slipping as he dangled in the air and hit the ground with a deep grunt. He felt something warm dripping onto his skin and looked up to see blood oozing from the daemon's fist before it raised it up with a deep croaking groan and the Shield shouted as he rolled to the side, and looked up to source the sound of grinding glass.

"Move." Lunafreya pleaded, straining to hold her Shield against the immense strength of the daemon, falling to her hands and knees with a grunt once the man finally rolled away and the hilt of his great sword burrowed several centimeters into the pavement where his chest had just been.

"Well. This sucks." He remarked, scrambling to his feet and backing up multiple steps, staring at his sword as the daemon left it embedded into the ground and stepped towards Noctis.

"What did I tell you about being cocky?" Ignis shot back. He stared the giant's arm where Noctis's Engine Blade remained burrowed, "Why isn't it pulling it out? It must be immensely painful."

"Not painful enough to stop it from slamming my sword into the ground like a damn tent spike!" Gladiolus barked back.

"Noct! Do you have any fire stored in your pocket?"

"Not so lucky!" the Prince called back. Crowe swallowed, looking at her palm and summoned the flames to her hand,

"Everyone back up! Time to light some shit on fire!" she called. She looked at the sword, and an idea came to mind. "Luna, think you can hold a shield around the daemon's shoulder once I throw my fire there?" she asked.

"I've never tried something like that before." The Oracle answered honestly.

"Well, let's take your badassery for a test drive. On my mark!" she saw Lunafreya brace herself with her trident, right hand reaching out before her and nodded to her Shield. Crowe counted, and threw her fireball, Lunafreya summoning a shield. It trapped the fire around the Engine Blade, and after several seconds burnt meat began to waft over the royal retinue. "It's working!"

"What's working?" Ignis inquired,

"Look at the sword!" the metal of the Engine Blade was glowing red, and Crowe barked a laugh, "hah!"

"I can't hold this much longer!" Lunafreya shouted as she struggled to retain her strength and focus on the daemon as it began to thrash and scream, its cleaver dropped to the ground as it madly bat at the shield holding Crowe's fire against the shoulder. After several more seconds Lunafreya's form crumbled to the ground, her shield vanishing, and the flames spread and vanished now free of the spell. The daemon was wailing, the flesh at its shoulder peeling away in places, skin blackened patches of orange and red burns. It grabbed at the now white-hot metal, and wailed again as it curled its finger and threw the offending object away, staggering back with a whine.

"Get the cleaver!" Ignis shouted. Noctis ignored the command, rushing to Lunafreya, shaking her shoulder while allingc her name, getting no response.

"Nyx! Help me!" Gladiolus bellowed as he charged for the oversized object that felt as if it weighed two hundred kilograms. The two men together dragged it away while Noctis lifted Lunafreya in his arms and ran towards the garage, tailed by Crowe.

"I'll watch over her, they need you." She insisted, pointing as Ignis, Gladiolus, and Nyx prepared their next assault.

"But-"

"I'm her Shield, it's my job to protect her. You're the Prince, you protect your people now get your ass out there!" Noctis paused for a moment and nodded. He looked at his still glowing Engine Blade and grunted in frustration, calling forth the Sword of the Wise, wincing at the cold feel and the sudden fatigue in his sword arm.

Gladiolus had freed his great sword from the pavement and took point between Nyx and Ignis. Noctis attacked the daemon's right leg, sinking the blade into the flesh and was kicked back for his efforts, grunting as he hit the ground, gasping for air. Gladiolus forced himself to momentarily put his charge to the back of his mind and he swiped at the daemon's left leg to antagonize it to attempt a defense with its right arm, Nyx and Ignis focusing their attacks on the burns. Caught between defending the painful shoulder and the leg Gladiolus was swinging for the daemon staggered, trying to swipe with its left arm resulting in a clumsy barrage of limbs. Ignis threw his daggers at the daemons face in the chaos, the blades sinking deep. It wailed, collapsing to its knees trying to claw at its face, taring deep gouges into its own flesh as it reached desperately for the slim weapons with thick fingers. Gladiolus shifted his weight, turning his hips to force all his momentum into his upper body and tore through the daemon's neck, blood spraying across the pavement and the fighters. It took a half-step back before collaping to the ground, a gurgling hiss escaping its throat and all movement ceased.

"Well… that…" Nyx panted, "sucked ass. May wanna make sure your royals are still breathing." He added, thumbing over to where Noctis was curled on his side, coughing and wheezing.

"Shit!" He ran over to Noctis, patting him on the back, "Hey tough-stuff. We kicked it's ass!" Noctis held up a shaky arm to give a thumbs up, groaning as he dropped it back to the ground.

"Luna?" he whispered, still trying to find his voice between gasps for breath. Gladiolus looked over his shoulder and saw her sitting up with Crowe's help, the pair exchanging words.

"I think she'll be fine." He paused for a moment and looked around, realizing he hadn't heard Prompto bragging about their victory or singing or doing something else that would feel grating so soon after such a difficult fight. He was imaging his sore joints in the morning and wasn't looking forward to it. His eyes found Prompto's form lying several feet away and cursed loudly before running over to him, Ignis having apparently noticed as well and charged at the gunman. "He okay?" he asked, watching tapping his hand against his palm as Ignis looked him over,

"I think he hit his head." Ignis remarked. "I don't know how long he's been out."

"Can it be serous?"

"Any loss of consciousness can be indicative of an injury. Would be most prudent to treat him assuming the worst so we do not take any unnecessary risk"

"Maybe Luna can fix the worst of it. I mean, she's fixed us up good before." Gladiolus suggested. Ignis nodded, hoping he wasn't asking too much of her after seeing the way she collapsed from holding up that fire-containing shield that allowed them to fell the beast. Gladiolus was quick to run over to where Crowe was looking over the young woman. "We need your help." He directed to Lunafreya.

"You shittin' me? In her state? She needs rest!"

"I appreciate your concern but I am quite capable of deciding for myself." Lunafreya offered and groaned, pressing a palm to her forehead. "What's wrong?"

"Prompto's out. We think he wanged his head pretty good. Can you help him?" Gladiolus asked. Crowe let out a short exhale through her nose, clearly uncomfortable but kept her comments to herself. Lunafreya nodded and slowly got to her feet, ignoring Gladiolus's extended hand to help her up. He led her over to their unconscious friend, Ignis having located the offending injury with a large swollen lump behind the gunman's left ear.

"I am sorry to impose on you Lady Lunafreya, but I fear how severe the injury may be. We could bring him to Lestallum but that drive is very far."

"I'll see what I can do." She folded her hands in her lap for a moment, her eyes closed and head bowed as she prayed to the Six to grant her the strength to give him her light. Noctis had made his way over their side, arm wrapped around his chest as he continued to pant and try to catch his breath. He wanted to protest her using her light after she had been pushed so far beyond her limits, but one look at Prompto told him that it was a necessary risk. Crowe had walked over to them, and she too realized the gravity of the situation.

"Come on Sparkles, you can do it." She encouraged, and Noctis chewed on his bottom lip, drumming his fingers on his arm not trusting himself to speak. Lunafreya's fingers glowed, her eyes were closed as she reached to cup Prompto's face and whisper her prayer, her forehead resting against his. After several seconds Prompto began to groan and Lunafreya pulled back, swaying but Noctis was quick to kneel beside her and help hold her upright. Prompto groaned, and made what sounded like at attempt at speech, his eyes blearily looking around him as if searching for a face.

"Man you got your ass kicked in Lestallum and now here? Guess I gotta train your ass more!" Gladiolus barked, a smile plastered on his face.

"You okay dude?" Noctis asked, giving Lunafreya's arm a squeeze to extend the question to her, and she pat his hand in response.

"Ugh… I feel like someone stepped on my head." He answered.

"You kinda look like it." Noctis answered him, Gladiolus expressing his agreement.

"Ugh… did we manage to beat it or are we all dead and talking from the other-side?" he asked. Ignis chuckled,

"Indeed the daemon is gone and Hammerhead is safe." He again pondered the question how the daemon was able to step into the light. "Let's get you to the trailer so you can sleep you need some rest after that blow to the head." He added.

"I thought you weren't supposed to sleep with a head injury?" Noctis asked.

"On the contrary, sleep is the best thing for it. So long as you have people nearby to monitor you. Sleeping alone rather than seeking medical help is what's dangerous." Ignis explained, and fell into technobabble that left the others confused enough to cut off his ramble. Gladiolus helped his friend stand, hooking an arm behind him for support. Ignis followed, agreeing to be Prompto's watch while he slept off the worst of his injury.

Noctis stood with a groan, wrapping an arm around his ribs and reached a hand to Lunafreya to help her stand. She reached up to his face without a word, and his initial thought to tell her to save her strength was stalled when her fingers touched his cheeks and some of the pain in his chest faded.

"I'm afraid I cannot do much more…" she admitted, biting down on the corner of her lip.

"You used a lot of magic… maybe Cid has an energy drink lying around so I can make you an Ether." Lunafreya hesitated and nodded.

"Gotta agree with the Prince you were pretty bad-ass!" Crowe cheered. Regis and Cid left the garage, Cindy standing just inside the doors. Inquiries were passed, and everyone assured each other they were okay. Regis walked up to Noctis, placing both hands on his shoulders and offering him a sad smile. He could see in his eyes the toll the Sword of the Wise had cost. He still had a trickle of blood coming out his nose which his son had been wiping on the back of his sleeve, the dark circles around his eyes remining him of the ones that surrounded his own.

"I'm so proud of you son…" he pulled Noctis into his arms, and after the barest moment of tension Noctis lifted his arms and returned his father's embrace.