Ignis shifted a bit in his seat, trying to stretch his side less. Strange. His side really should have been healed fully by now, but, then again, it had been a deep wound. Prompto tried to hide it, but Ignis could tell his knee was still hurting from time to time, so perhaps his own injury still throwing an occasional fit wasn't unusual after all. He was going to have to brush up on the effects of magic on serious injuries later.

"Okay, good! Now just tap here to finish the guy off."

"Here?"

"Yeah."

The victory Prompto always liked singing blared from the phone's speaker, and Lunafreya laughed in delight. "Oh, I did it!"

"Of course you did – you're pretty good at this so far. Plus… if you get into real trouble, I'll make sure we get through it."

"Well, then I'm certain we'd prevail."

Ignis' lips pulled upwards. In all the years he'd known Noct, he'd never been this openly happy. It was as though the rest of the world and its troubles didn't exist to the boy – man – as he taught Lunafreya how to play King's Knight in their shared bench on the train.

Gladio groaned lowly from his seat across from where Ignis and Prompto were sharing their own bench. The three of them were on the other side of the aisle as Noct and Lunafreya, so Ignis doubted the two of them would hear anything unless they spoke up.

"I think I'm gettin' a cavity being near these two…" Gladio muttered, looking at his newspaper.

"Duuude. Come on." Prompto gave him a flat look. "You got something against happiness?"

Gladio frowned, looking up at him. "This isn't a vacation, Prompto. We're still on a mission here."

"Nevertheless…" Ignis cut in before the debate could take a more unpleasant turn. "It's been twelve years, Gladio. There's nothing more of importance that we can do before we reach Cartanica – let them enjoy their time together."

Gladio relented with a shrug, going back to his newspaper.

Prompto covered his mouth, fake-coughing out, "Killjoy."

Ignis frowned at him. He couldn't put a finger on it, but something was different about Prompto now. "Are you quite well, Prompto?" There was something simply… off about him.

"Hm?" Prompto looked confused. "Uh, yeah? You do know that was a fake cough?"

Ignis studied him, unblinking. "That's not to what I was referring."

Prompto looked startled for a moment, then his eyes widened with just the briefest show of panic before evading his gaze. "Nah, I'm fine, dude! Everyone's happy! What could be wrong?"

…Something was very wrong. And… Gladio knew what it was, given the way he was purposefully ignoring the conversion. If Gladio hadn't known something, he would have been pressing Prompto as well.

"Gladio," Ignis said pointedly.

Gladio didn't even glance from his newspaper. "You heard the kid. He's fine."

Now that was just insulting. "I wasn't under the impression that the Crownsguard were to withhold information from each other unless ordered by the King." Ignis sat back, crossing his arms. "I was even less under the impression that our friendships were ones where trust was so easily foregone." That was low, he admitted, but there was truth in his words, and that was bound to get Gladio to at least grant him the courtesy of looking at him.

It worked. Gladio's glare was sharp. "That's a cheap shot, Iggy."

Ignis didn't back down. "I won't pull punches when I'm being kept in the dark about information I may need to protect our King–"

Noct and Lunafreya appeared by their seats then, cutting him off. "Hey, guys, Luna and I were gonna head to the dining car. Wanna come with us?"

Ignis tilted his head. "I don't believe dinner's served for another half hour at least."

"Yeah, I know. We were just gonna go ahead and grab a seat before it gets crowded."

"I'm in." Gladio stood, setting his newspaper down. Hungry or not, Ignis suspected he wasn't letting Noct out of his sight when Noct was so obviously distracted from his surroundings.

"I'll join you shortly," Ignis agreed, grabbing Gladio's discarded newspaper. He'd been waiting for his comrade to finish with it for a while. He thought he'd caught sight of something he wanted to read.

"Kay." Noct nodded. "Prompto?"

"Nah." Prompto shook his head. "I'm actually kinda tired, dude. Think I'll grab a nap before we hit Cartanica."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Noct laughed softly before heading off with Lunafreya and Gladio.

Prompto dragged himself out of his seat, tossing a "laters" over his shoulder.

How entirely troubling. He was absent for a while, and suddenly Gladio was insisting on keeping him in the dark?

Ignis found himself unable to focus on the paper after a few minutes, and he tossed it back into the seat across from him, wincing as his side twinged again. Perhaps a visit to the lavatory was in order to check on his former wound before he headed to the dining car.

Remembering the layout of the train from his prior journey, Ignis navigated his way to his destination with ease.

Occupied.

Very well, then. There was another lavatory past the overnight rooms that was likely to have less traffic. He doubled back, reminding himself that, for once, he didn't need to be in a rush. He'd almost made it past the rooms when the screaming started.

He snapped his head around, easily recognizing the voice. He bolted for the room he'd just passed, throwing the door open.

Prompto couldn't have been asleep for more than a few minutes, yet he was clearly caught in the state of unconsciousness as he thrashed around under his sheets.

"Prompto!" Ignis darted over to the bed, pinning Prompto's arms as best he could without hitting his own head on the upper bunk. He spoke as calmly and as clearly as he could. "Prompto, listen to my voice. Wherever you've found yourself, you're not truly there. Listen. You're safe."

None of this seemed to have any effect. Damn. Prompto's nightmares were a different beast than Noct's. What could calm the boy?

Ignis started to hum, hopefully loud enough for Prompto to hear over his struggling. Slowly but surely, the boy's movements stilled. Encouraged, Ignis repeated the few beginning notes of that blasted chocobo song Prompto had always enjoyed and then continued on to the rest of the song. He released his hold on Prompto's arms, and Prompto's eyes shot open as he gave a small gasp.

"…Iggy?" Prompto's voice wavered as he blinked back tears.

"It's all right, Prompto. We're aboard the train. On the way to Cartanica." Ignis rested a gentle hand back on his shoulder.

Prompto blinked a few more times before bursting into tears, burying his face in Ignis' shirt and sobbing in full force. Ignis froze for a moment, then looped his arm fully around both of the blond's shoulders.

This was… not normal. Prompto had always been the most emotional of the four of them, but this went beyond that.

Patiently, Ignis silently supported his friend until his sobs had finally quieted minutes later. When Prompto pulled away from him, his eyes were downcast and puffy, a weak sniff being the only sound in the room.

"How long?" Ignis asked softly.

Prompto sniffed again, staring at the floor. "Since Altissia."

As he thought. "Something to do with what you and Gladio are keeping from me, I assume?"

Prompto didn't say anything.

"I won't push you for the specifics. Just a yes or no."

Prompto gave a slow nod.

"Well, I won't claim to know what's going on in Gladio's head currently, and Noct is obviously occupied, but I am here if you should need anything."

Prompto gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Iggy."

Ignis nodded, trying to keep his face open and comforting. "You're quite welcome. It is no problem."

This was definitely a problem. Gladio wasn't trusting him with information that could well get Prompto killed. Just a few too many nightmares throwing off his focus… That might be all it would take in a battle.

In the years Ignis had known him, Prompto had never cried like that. That was no simple stress or sorrow cry. That had been a borderline breakdown. What could possibly have their optimist this shaken?

One thing was for certain: his friends truly had changed while he was away. Noct was more confident and responsible. Happier, even. Not all of the changes were for the better, though. Gladio was now… secretive. And Prompto… Prompto had… lost something. Some key part of himself. In some ways, Ignis could see that he'd also grown more responsible, but he was also… cracked. On the verge of shattering.

And apparently neither Gladio nor Noct seemed to see how serious this had become.

Well, then. Ignis was going to have to keep an eye on the gunner in the days ahead himself.

Cartanica would be a true test of where they all stood now.