Noctis awoke to the sound of water splashing faintly at the edges of his hearing. Behind his eyelids he could tell it was very bright, and as he breathed deeply, the scent of clean cotton and sea air filled his lungs. He was no longer in Steyliff, that much was certain.

His chest was oddly tight as he breathed in and out, as though the air was a little too thin. There was a tight pressure around both his arms as well, though it wasn't an unpleasant feeling. Instead he just felt incredibly heavy, and he found himself wondering why he'd woken up at all.

Something was nagging at him though, telling him he ought to open his eyes—come back to the world of the living.

It took him at least a minute to get his eyes to open fully—the light hurt his head as surely as if he were staring into the sun. But slowly, very slowly, he got used to the brightness, and he began to see where he was. He was lying in bed, in a small, bright room, with a huge window on his right, though it was half-covered by cream coloured curtains. There was a pale brown door in the corner, and it was slightly ajar. That was strange, anyone could come in with the door open like that. He had to be in a safe place then. The water…

He was on the royal boat, he realised, now presumably fixed, if the brightness outside and the sound of waves lapping at the sides were any indication.

He struggled to push himself upright, his arms felt like lead, and he had to worm his way into a sitting position with them lying limply by his sides. Now he could see why they'd been so uncooperative. The pressure on his arms was from tightly wrapped bandages. He knew that underneath lurked the Starscourge, spreading slowly through him like poison.

They knew, then.

It was strange. He'd expected to be angry about it, or upset, or anxious, but instead he just felt...oddly numb. They knew. And they'd bandaged his arms and taken him towards Altissia anyway. Of course, it was possible they were still angry (he'd be very surprised if they weren't still angry) but he no longer felt the crushing anxiety that had been consuming him day by day. He was probably going to get a strong lecture later, and was definitely in serious trouble either way, but they hadn't...abandoned him.

That was what he had been most afraid of, that they would find out about his arm, or their future, or his death, and rather than face all that pain and suffering and misery, they would just...leave him. He couldn't have blamed them if they had. But he was here, and they were here, somewhere on the ship. He wasn't alone.

Then something moved next to him, and he flinched back automatically—something was there, something he hadn't seen, could it be a threat?

His heartbeat only slowed slightly when he saw the familiar face of Ignis leant against the side of his bed, completely asleep. He hadn't even spotted him there, so caught up he had been in the revelation that they knew about the Starscourge and he hadn't been abandoned.

In a strange way it did remind him of other times though. First, when he was very young, almost too young to understand what had happened, but old enough to remember vividly the pain, and the anguish, and how sad everyone had looked when they came to visit him in that massive hospital bed. Now he understood he'd probably been suffering the same ailment as he was now, only making the whole thing doubly ironic.

Then, of course, there was that more recent, and darker time. Then it had been Ignis who was injured, and even though he was the one in pain, he'd come to visit Noctis anyway. Noctis had been a fool, too caught up in his own pain to acknowledge the pain of others. Oh, he'd guessed at the agony Ignis had been going through, but he had never said a word, never dared to speak of it. He'd been...afraid. Afraid of everything.

He would not be afraid this time. Ignis would not be blinded in the battle. He was going to make sure of it.

He noticed, as he looked at Ignis, that his glasses were half-way off his face, and liable to fall and break if someone didn't do something. Reaching out, he carefully removed the glasses from Ignis's face, and set them down on the bed next to him, safe, for the time being.

His head was oddly heavy as he leant back into the pillow, and everything around him had a vague, blurred quality to it. Perhaps he was sick? Or perhaps it was just the effect of the Starscourge, running rampant through his veins. He ought to have asked Luna the symptoms back in Lestallum, but then, how could he ever have predicted this?

They couldn't be far from Altissia now—not if they'd had time to bandage him up and Ignis had fallen asleep beside him. He should check though.

Lifting his head again, he pulled himself into an upright position, and, with an immense effort, he managed to swing his clumsy, unresponsive legs over the side of the bed. He'd have to be careful now, if he got up too quickly his legs would just fall out from under him.

He inched himself onto the edge of the bed, placing his good foot onto the floor first, then slowly applying pressure. His leg trembled, but then steadied as it adjusted to the weight. Then the other foot. This was where he would likely run into problems. His bad leg had never been the same since the accident, even without additional sickness to slow him down. It hurt this time, when he tried to roll his weight onto his bad leg, but the other was still there, still supportive, so he just about managed to push himself to his feet.

He stood there for a moment—there was pain in both legs now—and tried to focus on staying upright. He'd been in so much pain these last few months. Why give up now?

Breathe in...and out…

That was better. It still hurt, but he could attempt to walk now.

He didn't rush things—there was no sense rushing when that might only damage him further, and so he took slow careful steps over to the half-curtained window. It must have taken him a minute to reach it, though the cabin was quite small. He gently tugged the curtain away, careful not to make too much noise, and peered outside.

The sea surrounded them on all sides, and had this been the first time he'd taken the journey, Noctis might not have recognised where he was. But it was not the first time, and between the deep blue of the sea and a few familiar outcroppings of rock in the distance, he guessed they were a day away from Altissia at most. He had no idea how long he'd been unconscious (and now he thought about it there had been no nightmares either, which was curious) but he hoped it hadn't been too long. It wouldn't do for them to be too worried about him, after all. Though perhaps that didn't matter now—they knew about the worst of his ailments, after all.

There was a light cough from behind him. That could mean only one thing—Ignis was awake. He took care not to turn around too quickly, he didn't want it to seem like he was alarmed, nor did he want to fall over, with his legs in the state they were in.

He expected Ignis to be angry, or disapproving, but to his surprise neither expression was on his face. Instead he seemed...relieved? A bit anxious, perhaps, but certainly not angry. It was odd seeing him not wearing his glasses.

"Noct," he said. The relief was clear in his voice. "How are you feeling?"

Noctis thought about it. He wasn't really sure. He wasn't feeling good, that much was certain, but lately 'not good' had been more or less his baseline. He didn't feel much worse than usual, that was probably the thing he ought to hang on to.

"Not great," he said, "but not terrible either."

"That's good to hear, Noctis," said Ignis, (and was he actually smiling?) as he rose to his feet. "We were...well..."

Noctis could guess at how that statement had probably ended, but didn't particularly want to think about exactly how his friends must have reacted to finding out about...all that.

"Listen, Ignis, I'm—"

Ignis cut him off with a short gesture. He moved over to Noctis's side.

"It's alright. Before you say any of that, let's go and meet the others, shall we? They'll want to know you're awake."

The others...he knew he had to face them. But having to talk about it after he'd gone to such lengths to hide it… For a moment he wanted nothing more than to throw himself into the ocean and be done with it. But Ignis was still staring at him, so really he had no choice.

"Okay," he said, and began to make his way over to the door, trying not to look as though every step was sending his head spinning.

Apparently Ignis was wise to his tricks now though, because he hadn't moved three steps before he felt a hand on his arm, propping him up.

"Lean on me, until we find you somewhere to sit," said Ignis, and for once, Noctis was happy to let him take the lead.

Noctis noticed he was trembling as he stepped outside, onto the deck of the ship. He wasn't entirely sure why. Possibly it was nerves at having to face them all, now they actually knew, but possibly it was just that his body was giving out beneath him. Either seemed likely, and neither were good. He swallowed in an effort to dislodge the nausea building in his throat. It was just his friends. What was he so scared of? They wouldn't take him all this way only to abandon him now...would they?

"Can you keep going, Noct?" asked Ignis, who must have noticed his tremors. "Do you need to lie down?"

"Just let me sit down somewhere," he said, willing his voice not to tremble as much as his body. "I'll be alright."

"I'll get you to those seats," said Ignis, nodding towards the long sofa just up on the main deck.

Noctis let Ignis propel him forward, in no state to try to argue. As they surfaced, it was Prompto who was first to see them. He had been leaning against the rails, staring out into the sea with a melancholy expression on his face, but the moment he noticed they were there he jumped up like someone had electrocuted him.

"Noct?" he cried. Noctis hated the confusion and desperation in his voice. "You're awake?"

"Just about," he said, and did his best at cracking a smile. Prompto quickly grinned back at him, thank the Astrals, though there was a kind of strain to it there hadn't been before.

"Here, lemme help," he said, rushing over to them and putting his arm under Noctis's shoulder, sharing his weight with Ignis to help him over to the seats.

A few days earlier Noctis would have thought this excessive. Now he was quite sure that not commenting was the best way to avoid getting his head bitten off, so he held his tongue. He practically fell onto the seat, and he noticed Prompto wince as he hit it with a dull thud. For Noctis's money the rest of him hurt so much that a small bump was practically nothing to him.

It seemed Gladio had spotted them by that point, because he had snuck over, and was now standing in front of him, with Ignis and Prompto. They were all standing up. Noctis felt a little like he was about to be put on trial. He let his gaze wander to the glass doors just behind them, in an effort to avoid having to look them in the eyes. The doors were shut but Noctis could clearly see the short, hunched figure of Cid at the steering wheel.

"The door is soundproof," said Ignis, apparently following Noctis's gaze.

"Right."

There was a quiet pause. Noctis knew he should probably be the one to broach the subject, being as this was all his fault in the first place, but by the Six it was hard when your best friends were all looking at you like they were surprised you were even still alive.

"So, the Starscourge, huh?" Not the most eloquent way he could have put it. Not the most graceful or sensitive either. But this was his confession dammit and he'd start it how he pleased. "Pretty horrible, if you ask me."

Prompto gave a quiet chuckle, but Ignis just thinned his lips. Gladio appeared to have no outward reaction whatsoever. Humour probably wasn't going to work in this instance.

"Honestly, I just want to know what you know, at this point. I've obviously been under for a while, so...why don't you fill me in?"

His friends all glanced at one another, as though asking who should step up and speak. Eventually the answer landed at the person it always did, and Ignis stood up a little straighter, and adjusted his glasses.

"Well, Noct, after you...exploded in Steyliff, we, Ravus and Aranea took you back to Cape Caem. There we parted ways with the two of them, though it's likely we'll run into Ravus in Altissia when we get there. Then we repaired the boat, and well...here we are."

It was a very factual dissection of events, and very Ignis, but not precisely what Noctis had wanted to hear.

"I meant, what do you know about...this?" he asked, waving his right arm about, and ignoring the twinges of pain. Though now he really thought about it he noticed his left arm was in quite a state too. Damn Ardyn.

"Ah," said Ignis, drawing breath sharply between his teeth. "Well, Aranea informed us you'd likely been infected for at least a week. Possibly longer… Was she right?"

No point lying about it now, then.

"Yes."

He knew he should say more, explain what had happened—the fear, the pain, but the words were stuck. Or he just couldn't think of them at all.

"That's it?" asked Gladio, and he wasn't quite angry yet, but Noctis knew if he remained silent he would be. He had to speak. Even if he could barely muster the words.

"You know when I got captured, after Titan?" he said, and now his voice was trembling, but he couldn't help it. Ignis nodded encouragingly while Prompto's expression flickered slightly; he was probably remembering what Noctis told him before. "Well, I didn't tell you everything. Ardyn was the one who captured me and he's…"

Could he really tell them? If he told them about Ardyn, about what he really was, they might ask more, and Noctis couldn't trust himself to keep secrets anymore. He was too tired, too bone-deep exhausted to keep up the deception. No, he wouldn't be able to keep his silence like last time. He simply couldn't afford to keep second-guessing his every word. But if he didn't tell them the truth now they might never trust him again. He couldn't let that happen.

So it was decided then.

"He's...a kind of daemon."

"I knew it," hissed Ignis, taking Noctis very much by surprise.

"You...did?"

"Well, I, ah, suspected," said Ignis, pushing his glasses awkwardly up his nose and having the decency to look a little embarrassed. "The man clearly has supernatural powers of some sort."

"He's the source of all of them," said Noctis, a little less stressed about telling the truth now. "Or something like that, anyway. He's different, that's the point, and when I was on-board he...infected me with the Starscourge."

Prompto had looked pretty angry back when Noctis had told him he'd just been tied up by the Imperials, but now he looked absolutely furious, his face pale and his hands balled into fists. Noctis almost felt a little afraid of him, as ridiculous as it seemed.

"I take it that was...deeply unpleasant for you, Noctis," said Ignis, his expression softening slightly. "You don't have to go into detail if you don't want to."

He could see it in his mind's eye, Ardyn's horrible, daemon-ravaged face, his skin being scored apart, the terrible numbness as the infection had spread under his skin. The nausea was taking hold again. He swallowed several times, and tried to ignore the tears now dripping from his eyes.

"Thanks," he mumbled.

Prompto was by his side in a second, grabbing him by the shoulder and thrusting some tissues in his face, which Noctis took gratefully. It was odd to be on the receiving end of that gesture, for once.

"I can understand why you wouldn't want to tell us about exactly what happened," said Gladio, looking at him with disapproval, though there was no longer the menacing glint in his eye, "but why didn't you mention your injury? We didn't know you were hurt—if you'd mentioned you were in danger sooner…"

Gladio trailed off and settled into a kind of melancholy frown. Noctis felt another stab of guilt, but he knew full well why he hadn't told them.

It all came back to suffering. Who should, and who shouldn't. He'd earnt his fair share of it by failing to save them last time, so the least he could do was make sure they were okay this time. But here they were, despite all his efforts, and everyone was still in pain. Him, them, all of them. What a fool he was.

The words came spilling out of their own accord.

"Listen, I know it was stupid not to tell you at the time, but I was…afraid, I guess. I didn't want you to know—I knew all of you were already sick of me being weird so I didn't want to add being Starscourged to that list. I thought I could just go to the boat and get to Luna and it would all be fine. Telling you would only have made you worried, and really there was nothing you could do about it, so why bother? I was...it could have been fine."

He glanced up to see if it was going down well. It obviously wasn't.

"And it doesn't matter really, we'll see Luna soon and she can fix it, so really you don't have to worry about me. There's no point. I'll be fine and you don't have to suffer for my sake—"

"Noctis!"

Ignis had grabbed him by the shoulder and was holding him in a firm grip. He was standing up. When had he stood up? Ignis was glaring at him, all the way through Noctis's explanation his expression had been getting darker and darker, and this must have been it. This was the breaking point, he knew it. They were going to toss him overboard, or leave him stranded in Altissia, they didn't want to do this—why would they? It was all suffering, endless suffering—

"Noctis," he said again, and his tone was a little more gentle but still had a certain sharpness to it. "Look at me." Noctis reluctantly flicked his eyes in Ignis's direction, saw he was still angry, and immediately looked away again. Ignis sighed. "You don't seriously think that by not telling us you were sick, you were saving us from worrying about you, do you?"

Well, what sort of question was that? Of course he did. But the way Ignis had said it was so sincere it made Noctis feel like an idiot child again. Tears pricked the corners of his eyes, and he willed himself not to cry. His voice trembled as he spoke again.

"It wasn't fair on you—it isn't fair that you should have to worry about me all the time. I'm just…" A burden? It was true but he knew saying so bluntly would elicit the wrong reaction. "It's my life, not yours. I'm the one who should be concerned about it. You don't have to… I didn't want to cause you any more pain."

"Noctis," sighed Ignis, and his tone made Noctis feel the simultaneous urge to burst out crying and kick him in the shins. "It's our job to worry about you. You aren't causing us pain by talking about your problems."

"Yeah, Ignis would feel empty if you stopped doing stupid shit all the time," said Gladio, and Noctis dared to glance in his direction, and saw, to his surprise, that he was smiling. "Not that that means we want a repeat. Try to cut it short of nearly-dying next time, yeah?"

Noctis would have given a short laugh, but it came out as more of a half-sob. His entire head felt like it was splitting in two—why were they taking it so well?

"Plus, I'm your best buddy," said Prompto, who had appeared at his other shoulder and was holding it tight. "So that means we've gotta do stuff together. Next time you get Starscourged, you've gotta get me in on the action!"

"Please, do not do that," sighed Ignis, looking more like his old, exasperated self than he had in weeks.

"I don't...understand…" said Noctis, unable to stop the tears from flowing now. He wiped frantically at his face with the tissues, but it did little good, and his eyes were getting sore.

"We're not just gonna stop caring all of a sudden because you've been acting a bit weird, y'know," said Prompto. He was grinning at Noctis for what felt like the first time in years. "I mean, what are friends for, right?"

"Yeah, we swore an oath to stay by your side," said Gladio.

"But it's not just because of that," said Ignis. "We are your friends, Noct. We care about you. We wouldn't just stop caring because you contracted an illness, or indeed, because you were acting oddly, and being out of sorts."

"Even though I didn't tell you?" asked Noctis, still not quite able to believe his ears.

"Even then," said Ignis. "We'd have appreciated it if you did, of course, but we aren't going to abandon you over it. You're too important for that."

"Not that that means you're completely off the hook," said Gladio, frowning. "We need to talk about this later."

"Later," said Prompto, looking pointedly at Gladio. Gladio rolled his eyes.

"We understand there may be other things bothering you, Noct," said Ignis, turning back to him. "If you want to tell us then please do, but we know we cannot force you to speak. Even if you never feel able tell us, we won't abandon you. That much I can promise."

Noctis tried to laugh but found instead he was sobbing, finding it hard to breathe as he took great gulping breaths of air, but he felt lighter than he had in months. They...they really weren't going to leave, were they? Six, they were idiots. But then, so was he.

"I've been...so stupid," he muttered, as best he could through the tears.

"Well, yeah," said Prompto, clapping him lightly on the back. "But we don't hold it against you."

Noctis just laughed through the sobs, until he finally felt somewhere close to normal. Then he took one great, deep breath, and looked up at them all, unable to keep the smile off his face. Could it finally be time? He wasn't sure he had it in him to keep it secret anymore. But it was so much more than just the Starscourge this time…

He took a deep breath and sat back down.

"You tired, buddy?" asked Prompto, sitting down next to him. "I can take you back to your room if you want."

"No, I'm just…thinking." Should he tell them? "You guys must think I'm crazy, right? With how I've been these last few weeks."

"No, what? Come on, dude. You've been off but not crazy."

Noctis glanced over at Ignis and Gladio. Their expressions were not so reassuring.

"Really?" he asked. "I know I've been acting strangely. You must have wondered why, right? I mean, I know I wasn't like this before. I don't think I was, anyway."

"What are you saying, Noctis?" Ignis's brows were slightly furrowed.

"I'm saying…" What was he saying? "I'm saying I do know why all this happened. I can tell you why I've been acting like this, it's just…I was afraid you wouldn't believe me, until now."

It was silent for a moment, as his words sunk in. Ignis was the first to look at him.

"We're listening, Noct."

Well, we're halfway there at least? The Starscourge has been fully outed now, and the guys kind of have answers, but they're about to get a whole lot more!

I was kind of iffy about this scene, I didn't know precisely how angry the guys were gonna be at Noct, but honestly I think they're just relieved he's actually talking to them now. I didn't want to do a rerun of the train scene with everything blowing up again, (especially since Noct would never ever ever actually tell them about the time travel if they did that) so we ended up with this slightly more reconciliatory turn of events. I hope you guys liked it!