It's been a little over three years since I've started working on this story and lord, has it been an adventure. I've made a big decision, not that it will show right away, but it should ramify. As has been made clear with the wedding, this story is reaching the descent to hell stage. I know Noctis has already been going to hell far too much as it is. But I need to carry this out to the fullest. I just know that Insomnia will not be the final stage. There was a metropolis of an imperial city that could have been in that game. And I will use it. I can't wait to open the final stage. I might try to focus on this story because it has been long coming and if I finish this one, there's no way I can't finish the other ones I've been working on right? I wish I had a month of free time to just sit down and write the hell out. But we're getting there. Thank you for bearing with me for so long!
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Unexpected
Chapter 93 – One last message
Time was etching by, slow and tedious. Noctis hated his phone for ringing about a new problem every few hours of the day. Ignis still being on the mend was starting to show, since his advisor had always taken away the brunt of his work to ease the burdens he was carrying as a brand new King. When it wasn't Ignis, it was either Cor or Monica taking over and neither of them were in a state to do so. Noctis was slowly realizing the amount of work Lucis needed to be kept afloat. And he wasn't even there, despite many demands for him to fly back. He couldn't bring himself to leave Luna's side, so instead, he sat in bed with her and all the paperwork, getting a laptop to try and keep up, and often ending up sitting in the weirdest positions to allow for Luna to lean on him as she dozed off. He often had her head on his lap, his free hand stroking her hair while he typed on his phone or at the keyboard. His back hated him, but in between her visits to their friends or the people asking to see the Oracle, she wanted to spend all of her time with her husband.
She'd called him that once and he had decided she was right. The wedding might have been crashed, but she was his queen and his wife, and it was one of the only things keeping him sane. Because he had patrols to run and a militia to train and soldiers to recruit so he would have people manning the ships Cindy was putting together for him. In two months, she had managed quite a lot, six ships were already together and she had four more on the way.
"Noct, we need to do something about Ignis and Aranea," Luna declared after closing the door of their room.
He looked up at her, his eyes filled with gloom, the bags sitting underneath looking larger than the previous day.
"Have you gotten any sleep last night?"
"I…" He blinked. "There was a law Libertus needed changed and I spent a couple of hours with Ignis talking it out."
"What law?" she asked him, walking up to him, one of her hands ruffling his hair as she felt his forehead with the back of her other hand.
"I… I'm working on another one right now, I can't really remember."
Her skin lit up and he felt the warmth of her magic taking away the awful headache he'd been fighting against. His eyes cleared up and he tried to remember what the doctors said. Whether or not she should use her magic already. It had come back naturally, about two weeks after her brother had disappeared into the wilds.
"You're not going to achieve anything good if you push yourself this hard, Noct."
He grabbed her wrists, turning her hands around to kiss both of her palms, pulling her into his lap, bending his neck backward to keep his eyes on hers.
"I'm sure I can achieve a smile on your face. And a blush on your cheeks."
"You corny man," she laughed, giggling as his beard tickled her neck with his first kiss to her jaw, angling her head to catch his lips with her mouth.
They kissed for a good minute, sighing with relief as they parted.
"Okay, I'm focused now. What were you planning when you stepped in?"
"Right! Aranea and Iggy. I want to set them on a date."
"A whaa…?"
"You're not really focused it seems."
She gently tugged on his hair, Noctis wincing as he was met with the seriousness in her eyes.
"They do need help. Iggy's getting worse."
Noctis was almost afraid of going to sleep if he hadn't made sure Ignis had really gone to sleep. His friend was growing so dark and pessimistic. Even Gladio had voiced worries. It didn't help that in the last week, Ignis had been trying to sneak off on his own and even managed once. He barely knew his way around Altissia before losing his sight and when Gladio and Noctis had found him, Ignis had gotten mad, saying he didn't want to be found. And his voice had cracked over the words…
"And Aranea is not taking the rehab well. We're done healing her, but…"
"It's been about… two weeks since they've talked to each other." Noctis whispered.
He was acutely aware. Ignis had been such a mess ever since…
…
"When?" came Cor's question.
It had been three months since Monica had fallen into a coma. Three months since Ardyn had crashed the royal wedding. About 7 weeks since Luna had recovered her magic and used it every day to heal everything that was broken inside of Monica and fix the wounded in every hospital in Altissia. But this wound was too deep for either Luna or Iris, despite both women taking turns at healing her as soon as their powers resurfaced.
"Today." Luna admitted, keeping a straight face as best as she could.
Today, they were unplugging the machines keeping Monica alive. At this point, she was just a soulless shell, her mind long broken down by the damage sustained by her brain. The doctors had been walking on eggshells around the Immortal, who was clearly restless but also breaking down from the inside a little more every day. Luna felt guilty for keeping him going. For encouraging the tiniest glimpse of hope considering things looked pretty bleak on the first day she started healing Monica.
Iris was also present in the room, trying to hold herself together, because with Ravus gone and her brother split between worrying for his friends and his wife, she wasn't sure where to look for support or who needed her help the most. She'd convinced Cor into going out to train instead of staying trapped indoors, but she would also watch over Monica with him, taking over when his eyes watered too much to keep on reading the latest book he'd picked for her.
"When.. today?" he insisted, lines crossing over his face.
Keeping his voice steady was an effort, Iris could already tell and Luna felt an apology burning at the back of her throat.
"I'm very sor…"
"Do not…! It's not like it's the first time I… I've known…"
He raised his hands to grab fistfuls of hair, his face falling a little more as the loss started registering.
"When?"
"I…"
Iris stepped in, seeing as both Luna and Cor couldn't seem to understand each other.
"We don't know the exact time, but they'll warn us. I… I'll be there with her when…"
Her voice betrayed her, Cor shaking his head, his hands falling back to his neck, fingers pinching at the nerves and muscles. He didn't want to tremble. Not yet. Not with an audience.
"Are you expecting me to be there?"
Both women blinked at him.
"Don't you want to?"
His arms dropped, shoulders following and his chest seemed to deflate as he sighed, his eyes looking away.
"Why? I was there when it mattered and didn't make a difference. I was there when she was already gone and I might as well have been looking at a wall. So why would it…?"
He cursed at the waver in his voice.
"I can't."
"As long as you don't regret…" Iris carefully started.
"Don't be naive, Iris, of course, I…! I'm tired of people leaving first, okay? I don't want this Immortal shit anymore and yet… Twice I went to the Sacred grounds and I survived against all odds. I get to bury two kings, and countless friends, and… We'd made plans. For the first time ever, I was mad enough to make plans. Getting a house someplace quiet. Cape Caem. Just us, no guest in any room. Fill it up with cats so she would feel fully at home. We'd have the sea, the garden, the lighthouse and just…"
He looked up at the ceiling, breathing out hard and rough.
"I can't go through this again."
"Cor…" Iris managed.
He let out a shaky breath, pressing his palm against his forehead.
"We still…"
"Don't say anyone needs me, girl. I'm old and tired and…my stupid body can't even fight right anymore."
Another breath let out, the shaking of his tensed jaw visible now. Luna shook her head, the words eluding her. Cor tried to make a gesture that would let her know he didn't resent her or anything. The Oracle felt guilt so easily. But it ended up looking more like he was chasing her away. Iris stayed behind, tears rolling down her face as she wondered if this had been how her father had reacted to her mother passing.
She parted her arms for him when the door closed behind Luna, Cor shaking his head for the shortest while.
"I don't think I can get up again if I…"
"You're still up, uncle Cor."
That nickname was so old, he'd almost forgotten it, but was enough for him to let go of his last defense.
"The family card, really?"
"I'm sorry if I was raised by three freaking tacticians."
Clarus. Gladiolus. And the Immortal himself. She was giving him more credit than she should have, but if that was the only way to tie him back to the living… Gods, he wanted to be set free so he could see all the fallen again. Hold Monica against his heart again and feel her smile. But that was gone.
He took a fragile step, engulfing Iris between his arms, accepting to wallow for just this moment. It would be a quick, painless death, and Cor realized he wasn't sure which was better. Painless in either case, but for once, he wanted more time.
She'd made him selfish and greedy and he wished he'd thanked her for it more. Except he wasn't a good talker. He showed his feelings through his actions and what he could do now was to be her witness in this.
"Take your time," Luna told him as they stepped into the room.
Surely he'd made his goodbyes by now. He took in a breath and held it, watching Monica's chest rise and fall. His throat was too tight to let out words, his hand closing around Iris's hand as she whimpered. He could stare at Monica's face for an eternity and still, he doubt his memory could do it justice. This room wasn't doing her favors, not with the lighting, or the pale blue gown she wore and the tubes he kept trying to erase when he looked at her. They would soon be gone. Taking her away.
He gave a nod to the nurse in charge. Then he tried to tune out everyone that wasn't the brown haired administrator he'd come to rely on more than anyone in Lucis.
I'll watch you die. I'll watch you die, and I will not look at the time even if it has been dragging for weeks. You don't have to rush. You won't ever have to rush again.
Iris was pale as a ghost, wondering if this had been how her father and Gladio had felt when her mother had passed. Machines were turned off, the rise and fall of Monica's chest stopping. The world should have come to a still, but things kept moving, Cor hearing the distinct ticking of a clock. It had been over in a matter of minutes, but Cor and Iris both thought it lasted agonizingly long.
When everything felt calm again on the outside, within the room but not within his heart, Cor stepped forward, squeezing the lifeless hand of the poor woman, whispering in her ear "if we're to find each other in the same plane of existence again, keep me a spot close by, will you?".
Iris heard him, but decided to think it was sweet. Her brother would soon realize just how bad the Immortal felt about this new loss.
…
The arguments had pilled up into an invisible mountain of hurt feelings. Ignis would wake up with the load weighing on his chest. He would shuffle out of bed, feet dragging, his shoulders lagging. Then he would go through one of his many new hells. First was his wardrobe. He knew the fabrics well enough, but he always felt like he was forgetting a pattern, forgetting creases. He would wrap himself up in clothes that hopefully matched. Gladiolus had learned not to make a comment and Aranea certainly held back on snark when it came to the way he dressed. One small saving grace.
The next hell was dealing with his hair. Convincing Noctis to line up his hair product for him hadn't been hard, asking had been. Now it was all about learning where to start, about memorizing the order. One pot was up at 45 degrees, the next one closeby and his comb would almost inevitably end up in the sink at one point or another. Ignis would trudge on. Leaving his hair loose and wild was something for rest days, something for days spent in bed with Aranea and those were gone. Going back to his former hairstyle also felt wrong, but it took him some adjusting to shift to something that would allow him a regained sense of dignity. It was actually Iris who gave him the solution, bringing up the one Halloween where Ignis and Gladio had really gone all out with hairspray because of some bet.
Shaping it up was a complex dance, but he'd mastered it in the first week. Had been surprised to hear people complimenting him on it. Had not been surprised that Aranea teased him about it when in a good mood. In fact, the teasing had been so welcome, so similar to how things used to be, he stuck to this pompadour hairstyle in the hope she would keep at it.
But Aranea had her own hells. One was the rehab itself. It was a concert of clicking noises and grunts and Ignis had no idea how to help her through it. She had yet to let him do so much as touch her legs, barely accepting to lean into him as they would stand next to one another at the beginning of her rehab session. That was when she accepted to let him be around for those. She was going through such anger, an anger nurtured by the pain she was feeling on a constant basis. And she fought the pain the best way she'd learned how. By diligently taking the pills she was offered.
At first, her asking for another pill was normal enough. But despite the cecity, Ignis had found a way to keep track of time and quickly realized Aranea was not respecting the prescription. She'd ask him, ask the nurse. There was already a cocktail of drugs needed to keep her sane, but it wasn't about sanity. It didn't feel that way.
Ignis wasn't sure what to call it. Over the weeks, Aranea had regained enough freedom of movement to get out of her room. She rejected the wheelchair that could have served as a crutch for Ignis. He wished his eyes were working enough to notice any sort of clue as to how she could be feeling. What she could be doing when she'd let him sit in her room but wouldn't talk to him. Would move around, but not enough for him to put things together.
One day, he'd suggested she was taking the medicine for more than just pain and Aranea lost it. It escalated quickly. How, he couldn't understand.
"You can still walk!"
How she was pushing him away.
"Feels like you can't stand me anymore."
How neither of them had any patience left for it.
"If you're going to doubt everything I do and why I do it, I guess there's nothing left to be said."
"That's not…"
His hand searched for her, finding the edge of her bed's mattress and she shrieked, shuffling away, her prosthetics clinking together.
"Don't touch me!"
He hadn't touched her for weeks now. Not a brush of the fingertips. Not a hair on her head. He was starting to believe she was just a voice floating in space. Not the woman he used to know. Not the deamon he'd seen her becoming. Just a ghost to whom his heart belonged.
He'd dropped the drug issue for now. The nurses and doctors had already seen the signs and had given strict rules to follow to her friends and to the dragoon herself. After some thinking, he'd realized that Aranea had to have been under a lot of drugs to even get through the surgeries done on her legs after falling from the cliffs back in Lucis. She might have battled with something like this before. And unlike before, he was around, expect he couldn't offer her proper help. All of his attempts felt like failure. Which was why today too, as he was preparing himself to try, he didn't expect much. He grabbed a breakfast tray on his way over, asking for extra potatoes and bacon.
On good days, Aranea would share the meal with him. On bad days, she didn't eat anything and on off days, she'd just ask for the bacon and refuse everything else.
Today was a good day.
"Morning, scarface."
A mostly good day. From the sound of her voice, he assessed she was already sitting at the table, which meant she had gone through getting herself out of bed and walking the short distance. She might need help to further her chair, but if she didn't ask him, he wouldn't offer. He knew better.
"Good morning to you too, Aranea."
She had gotten mad at him for calling her Aria, so he'd made sure to correct himself. Maybe she was right. Maybe every part of her that made her that woman was gone. There were only so many times a human could be destroyed and put back together.
"Is the scar looking that bad?" he asked her as he set the tray of food on the table.
"You look good Iggy. I was trying to tease you," she heaved a sigh. "It seems I need rehab for everything."
"Including interacting with me?"
"Especially that."
Her voice sounded good, having him wondering if the pain was entirely numbed at the moment. If she could go a full day without pain, he would thank any god.
"Maybe I need some rehab in that department too."
He took the initiative of pulling a chair closer to her, sitting by her side instead of in front of her. Aranea had already grabbed the forks and knives, and she made a funny little sound as she gathered food on her fork.
"Open up, Iggy."
"What?"
"You've been looking after me, so I'll feed you, what do you say?"
Since it'd been weeks, he had mostly gotten the hang of eating without sight. But for once, he didn't feel bad about being offered help. She put one hand on his shoulder, Ignis jumping as he realized just how close she'd been.
"I'm sorry, I just…"
Gods, did he want to see her face, even though she sounded vulnerable. He would know with one look what to do, what to say. Or maybe not, but he liked to believe he would.
"Don't be sorry. I'm still raw. You don't have to make up for things or…"
"I feel like I do, though."
His stomach groaned, soon followed by hers and they agreed to try this feeding experiment. With how tall he was, it wasn't quite as easy as Aranea had presumed, Ignis quickly deciding that a fork was not the best option.
"You can use your fingers," he suggested.
"For you to lick them clean?"
"Saw right through my plan," he chuckled, hoping his voice wouldn't sound too sad.
Pushing his luck might not be the best idea, but her sudden shift in attitude made him want to be bolder. To show her he actually needed more attention.
"Let's hope this doesn't turn into a mess," she said, offering him roasted potatoes.
The light brush of her fingertips against his lower lip was like pure oxygen pumped into his system, Ignis restraining himself to not take a finger in his mouth. He wanted a taste of her so badly, even with his stomach sated, he felt starved. He wasn't sure how to voice it. Wasn't sure she wouldn't back away. But she had taken a step towards him. As she declared their plate was cleaned up and quickly cleaned her hands, Ignis mustered the courage to take his own step.
"You know, Aranea, lately… I've been learning how to walk again. How to eat on my own again. How to get dressed again. It feels like I'm taking everything back from the start. Even us. So what do you say we go on a "first date" together?"
He heard the shuffling but couldn't see her pushing her hair behind one ear, although he could hear the short breath she exhaled.
"I'd like that. I have no idea where to begin."
"We are, right now, we're beginning Aranea. Just going with the flow."
He couldn't hear her smile. But when he felt her hand slipping between his own hands, he could almost see it on her face.
…
Crowe was trying to divert her mind from pure boredom by reading. Bedrest throughout a pregnancy was really, really taking a toll on her morale. Especially considering Aranea was not the best company despite feeling better than she did during the first two months following her accident. Luna had little free time considering how much she wanted to catch up with the patients all over Altissia, and Iris was a jumpy thing lately; glued to her phone in hope of hearing news, closing up on herself after Monica's passing. Cindy could have vanished from the face of the earth considering how little anyone from the team actually saw her. Noctis was swarmed with work, Ignis and Gladiolus trying to help him and whenever Gladio could, he would spend hours with Crowe in her room, or bring stuff to her room to have extended dates that made her heart melt and her pride itch for something more adventurous. He'd confessed how he regretted not getting to make her dance in her red dress and despite the fact Crowe had never been one to waltz, now she couldn't wait for the time where they'd have their dance. Their wedding had been too casual for it, both of them too nervous to even think of suggesting it.
Gladiolus was at the desk he'd installed in her room, getting through some paperwork he'd taken to help Noctis. They'd found a program to have some of it read to Ignis, but both Gladio and Noctis didn't like the idea of overwhelming the advisor with work when he was still on the mend, and trying to mend things with Aranea. The constant tapping on a keyboard was a comforting sound by now, reminding her that he was right there.
A sudden shift from the baby made her yelp, and the result was instantaneous. Gladiolus dropped everything, rushing to her side, one arm slipping under her back as his free hand hovered above her belly and she rolled her eyes at him.
"It was just a kick, no need to…"
His bright smile made her want to both pinch him for always overreacting and kiss him for being so happy about their future. His remaining fears and doubts were gone, at least most of them, Gladiolus merely making her wish their little Marius was already out so they could both shower him with love.
"He's been kicking you a lot lately, hasn't he?"
"I must admit, feeling him moving so much reassures me. It felt so unreal at first."
It was still unreal, with everything else they'd been through, but she was warming up to the idea of being a mother.
"As long as he stops kicking me when he's out," she added.
Gladiolus covered her stomach with his large hand, pushing her shirt aside to be skin to skin and the shifting around and kicking receded.
"Why does he always calm down for his dad?!"
"Little champ knows I love his mom too much to see her hurting."
"I think he likes your voice and presence. They do calm me whenever I'm stressed."
"You've been stressed lately, sunshine?"
"I… I've tried not to, but… Having you looking after me like this is… I'm afraid of the time when Noctis decides he has to go to the empire. I can't travel in this state and I will not put our Marius in harm's way."
Gladiolus pinched his lips, knowing full well where she was going with this. They had had that talk with Noctis before. How safe was it for a pregnant woman to stay in their group?
"When that happens, you have every right to ask me to stay."
"No. No, I don't. You're the King's Shield. And we're almost done with all of this nightmare. I won't hold you back."
"Crowe…"
He clearly wanted to wrap his arms around her waist and despite her round stomach, he could, but that involved a lot of shifting and the struggle of not laying any weight on her. So he laid next to her, balancing himself on one elbow, his breath reaching her neck as he leaned forward. He kissed her, rough and needy, taking her breath away, Crowe moaning and cupping his face with both hands to keep him where he was. They parted after a few minutes of desperate making out, both aching for more.
"Listen babe. You can always, always ask me, and ask me anything. I don't care if it's going to make things hard for me. I want to know you need me. Be it my help, my arms, I wanna know."
Crowe blinked at him, fighting against the tightness in her throat.
"Will you do the same for me, Gladio? Even when you think I can't provide help or…?"
He brushed her hair, cupping the back of her head.
"I always need you. And even if I have to go away for a time, I'll be calling. I don't want to miss a thing."
"For fuck's sake, Gladio, now I'm bound to cry. You can't be that sweet!"
"I'm sorry?"
She laughed at that, despite the tears welling up and he kissed the corner of her eyes, her temples and her forehead, making every worry vanish. She would miss him so bad if he was to leave. All she could do was hope it would be as far away as possible for the shortest time.
…
Noctis woke up to cold feet kicking his legs and struggled awake, hearing Luna's gasps of terror and instantly knowing what she was seeing in her dreams. While he heard voices from his ancestor, his wife was haunted by the day of their wedding. He wrapped his arms around her, preventing her from whipping away in her sleep and squeezing her close, whispering her name.
She blinked, her breathing barely calming down as her entire body went still.
"N…Noct?"
"It's okay Luna."
She fought against the tears, trying to grasp at the reality. She was alive. Noctis was alive. She was safe in his embrace and the blade in her flesh was a fading memory she needed to keep at bay, despite how everything twisted and tightened after those dreams. She didn't want to be left trembling. She didn't want Ardyn to win over her like this. She'd stood her ground against him. And now, she was terrified by the idea of facing him again. She hadn't even gone out in the streets on her own once, not that Noctis would let her, but she felt weak for being so dependant. So scared.
"I… Oh fuck, why can't I just…?"
"Luna!"
"It's been the same thing every other night," she protested to his alarmed voice, sounding almost apologetic.
"It's only been a few months," he reminded her.
"Which should feel like a lifetime. How long have been on this journey? How long since we finally meet each other? A year and a half?"
"I… If I had our notebook I could tell you."
She frowned at that, her fears forgotten as she focused entirely on him.
"I made a note in it while Umbra was around not long after finding you. About how we wouldn't need paper anymore."
"Did you? Why didn't you tell me?"
"It was cheesy as hell. And pretentious too. I want every means to talk with you."
"I want to see you. Even if the letters are sweet, I really don't want to be apart anymore, even for a short time," she whispered, her arms wrapping around his neck.
"You won't catch me leaving your side willingly," he promised.
The words he'd picked were cautious and Luna swallowed despite the knot in her throat, wondering why she felt only half reassured. Life had been pulling them apart so often, she didn't want to call it their fate, but she also couldn't help her fear.
…
Noctis had been meaning to visit the construction site to make sure Cindy was taking breaks, and maybe also to drag her back to her room. He felt exhausted but also restless and it was growing harder to convince himself staying in Accordo was the best course of action. He still had no clue what the state of the empire was, and with Prompto gone and the whole team in such bad shape, he wanted to at least give Ignis a chance to be back on his feet. Even though he feared that laying any more responsibilities on the man was wrong. He'd gotten his friends hurt over and over and he was sick of it. He wished he could have been the only one suffering.
As he crossed the street with brief, slightly staggering strides, an excited bark stirred his attention from the road ahead. And the black dog gingerly limping toward him had him running.
"Umbra?" he called, answered by another bark, weak but excited, the shiba inu's ears raised high, his tail wagging at the sight of the King. "Umbra, what happened to you?"
Noctis crouched to look at him better, realizing that Umbra's back legs were crooked and trembling under his weight. The dog climbed into his lap, panting and huffing, his eyes shining with sheer happiness. Noctis scratch behind his ears, feeling guilt and his own pain waging a war inside him. The poor thing had been broken down just like him when Ardyn had been torturing him. Which was why it took him so long to make it back.
"I'm sorry, buddy. I'm so…"
A sharp tongue cut him off, Noctis chuckling. Then he felt the crinkling of paper and realized that Umbra was bringing him a message. He lifted the dog in his arms, pushing himself back up as he unfolded the rough sheet. And then his eyes could barely read. He rushed back into the hotel where every of them were staying. Nearly throw Umbra in Iris's arms, simply saying, "Prom's alive." Her scream of surprise had everyone raising their heads in the lobby, but Noctis was already on the move, not giving the brunette so much as an explanation.
His phone was already in his hands and he was texting both Ignis and Gladiolus, warping out of the hotel and zipping up into the air to reach the roofs and get to Cindy's workshop even faster.
He nearly gave her a heart attack as he phased through the wall, but he was simply too frantic by then to calm down.
"Oh my gods, Noctis, what…?!"
"It's Prompto, Cindy! Prompto's alive!"
It was a good thing he'd warped close to her, since the mecanic dropped her tools, her legs turning to mush right as he caught her.
"It's not a bad joke, Cindy, I just got the news, here, look, it's his handwriting and…!"
She couldn't hear him over the ringing in her ears as she stared at the piece of paper.
Hey guys,
Was that really his handwriting? She was trying to remember if she'd ever read him on something other than a phone screen and her heart was clenching too hard, but then she found her name on the paper and blinking away tears of relief was all she could do.
Cindy, babe, I miss you so much. … I love you…
"Oh gods, he's…"
Noctis wanted to rush to Luna and tell her the news, but he had the sense to help Cindy into a chair, offering her a glass of water, both of them surprised to see tears in the other's eyes. A hint of shame went with the tears, as though they meant their lack of faith that Prompto would come back.
"Can we try… looking for him?" she managed.
"I'll see what we can do. But we're going to find him, Cindy."
Noctis wanted to reassure her more, but he needed to make actual plans before telling her something he'd regret. And he needed to process this news. His friend. His best friend which he'd almost buried in his mind already…
"You can keep the letter, I… I need to tell everyone else, okay?" he managed, feeling his throat choking up.
Cindy looked lost and confused, but she held the message from Prompto with whitening knuckles, shrugging him off. She was fine with basking in relief and new worries for a little while, it wasn't like she wanted to be carried to the hotel by a warping warrior King. Her stomach was still fragile and easily upset by the very smell of oil, making her extra careful.
If asked, she would also admit that she wasn't exactly in control of her voice or mind to muster coherent words. She was simply glad.
…
Noctis had already crossed the few kilometers between him and the hotel, finding Luna in a patient's room and barely waiting for her to finish healing them to whisk her away. He needed walls around him, and he needed privacy, because his heart was about to explode.
Prompto was alive, but that only meant that he could lose him again unless he managed to regroup with him. And his poor friend was currently off to some cold and dark place, forced into a mission to hunt his own father at the hand his last clone brother.
He's been through so much shit, and yet…
Noctis had to wonder when was the last time he'd been the one cheering Prompto up. When he'd actually looked after him. They'd had a few beers and a ton of fun at the coliseum a few days before the wedding, but it seemed forever ago that Prompto had even voiced any of his problems. They were mostly over, things were better, but Luna had told him about the interrogation session with Otto-2 while they were desperately looking for him.
Had Prompto whined about being forced to relive painful memories? Had Prompto cut himself off from his friends like he had?
And when he was lost at sea and we had no idea, no idea where he could be, all I could think about was Luna and myself…
Luna followed him back to their room, not even protesting when he threw her over his shoulder to phase between buildings. Oh, she was shocked and growing a little more scared, but she waited until he'd stopped rushing and had turned to her to speak up.
"Noct, what is happening?"
His mouth hung open, a broken sound coming out. A cheerful bark had them noticing Umbra sitting on their bed, Luna gasping at the sight.
"Noctis, talk to me."
"He's alive," he managed, feeling as though the weight of every loss, every fight and every last task he'd have to take since the beginning of their journey was pilling up over his chest. "Prompto sent a message through Umbra. He's…"
His voice shuddered and he bit his tongue, unable to hold back the trembling in his body.
"My best friend's out there and I've been acting as though he was already…"
"Noctis, don't think this way. It's good news, the best news we've had in…!"
"We need to find him. We need to get him out of his predicament. He helped us through so much."
Luna was entirely agreed with him, remembering quite well Prompto's support when Noctis had been held captive.
"First, you need to calm down. You can tell me everything. And it seems you had a lot bottled up, you can't…"
A sob made it past his tight throat, Luna bringing him into a hug, following him down to her knees as he sunk to the floor, whispering to him softly in that comforting voice that helped him stay rooted to the present.
"He's alive, Noctis, focus on that."
"If it wasn't for me, Umbra's legs would be fine and we would have heard sooner. I might have moved sooner, why is it that I'm always waiting for a sign to get a move on?"
"This is not how things are and you know it. Noct, please, let it out now, you're hurting yourself."
He knew she was right, he knew choking down the sobs he felt inside was wrong, but he couldn't accept it.
"If I'm this weak now, how can I…"
He didn't protect her, he didn't protect anyone and now he wanted to go out and save someone?
"Noctis, you're not listening to yourself. What did Prompto say in his message?"
"He said not to come after him… He said he'd come and find us himself, but I can't…"
He somehow found enough air in his lungs to relate everything he remembered from the letter. He'd wished he'd taken a picture of it and he could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket, surely the guys and Cindy asking him something about this news.
"Noctis, breathe, breathe for me," Luna asked him.
She sounded shaken and he mentally chided himself for even showing her how terrible he felt. But she wouldn't let him apologize, lifting his chin as the first story tried emerging.
"Noctis, you have a right to be shocked. If I do, you have right to feel like this."
"But I…"
He could almost hear Ardyn laughing at him. He remembered crumbling before him, ruled by fear and falling down like this right now… Wasn't that the same thing? Luna stroked his hair, understanding in her eyes and he fought against the voice telling him he was weak. She'd seen him cry before. She'd cried in his arms just the other night.
"I just wanna be strong enough."
"Noctis, you kicked Leviathan's ass," she reminded him.
His tears rolled along a rough chuckle.
"Aranea is really rubbing off on you, isn't she?"
"What you need to remember is that everyone in your retinue is alive. And we will all be reunited soon. We'll go find him together."
He nodded, swallowing back another apology, holding on to her instead as they allowed the storm to pass. Little did they know, another storm was coming.
…
I: Hey Polarbear. I could really use hearing your voice.
I: I miss you a lot.
I: Your phone still works, but whenever I call, I'm sent to your voicemail and I…
I: Ravus, please!
I: You've forgotten me, haven't you? It's been weeks, Ravus, weeks
The call came in the middle of the night and his voice was so raspy, Iris couldn't help her worried gasp.
"Hey."
"How bad is it? Why haven't you…?"
"Ris." He coughed over her voice, cleared his throat roughly. "Shhh. I'm sorry, I can't… write well and I've been… My phone's on silent."
"Rave, do you have any data. I wanna see your face."
"Dear flower, you don't, trust me."
Her throat tightened as she fully sat up in her bed, shivering despite how warm the room was.
"How bad is it?"
"I… Iris it's… Almost all of my right side is… I don't think I should call again."
"Ravus, you need to come back! My powers are back and Luna's too, we can…"
"I've been… patenting a serum…"
"While chasing after Verstael?!"
"Yes, I…" he groaned and Iris wished she could see him so bad, even blighted. "I like to multi-task when I can."
"If you're capable of making joke, you're capable of getting your ass back here," she insisted.
"I can't. Got a lead on Ardyn and I'm so far, I don't think I could get back fast enough…"
Gods, Ravus, why do you always…?
She didn't have time to voice her next thought. The call cut off in a garble of static and she desperately called back and tried texting, but this time, she received messages telling her the number she was dialing didn't exist or was currently disconnected.
Ravus wouldn't be calling back. And that meant she was done waiting on him.
To be continued…
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A cliffhanger! I know I'm terrible, but everyone still needed hurt/comfort and I want to get things moving along. So it's time for the last big mission of Noctis's retinue. They have two persons to rescue, and sadly, a bunch of persons they will have to left behind. How will things go and how are Ravus and Prompto doing out there? Hopefully, the next chapter will come out a lot faster than this one.