Iris gasped as he entered, dragging Ignis over his shoulder.
"Noct!" she cried, quickly clambering to her feet. "Are you okay? I heard sounds in there but I couldn't get inside. What—"
"I'm not ready to talk about it just yet."
Iris glanced at the floor. "Right, sorry."
Noctis adjusted Ignis's weight on his back. He wasn't massively heavy, but his height was a problem, and it meant every move was cumbersome.
He stared down at the two prone figures lying on the cavern floor. Prompto and Gladio weren't going to be easy to shift either. Especially not with just him and Iris dragging them.
"I can move Gladdy," said Iris, guessing what he was thinking.
"You sure?"
Iris glanced down at her brother. "Well he might get a bit scuffed, but...yeah. I can do it."
"Okay," said Noctis, too tired to argue. "We need to get back to the canyon, get these three to hospital. I dunno how much damage the ice has done."
For a moment, a flicker of fear crossed Iris's face, but it quickly faded to a look of determination. "Right."
Noctis staggered over to Prompto, moving Ignis to one shoulder and balancing Prompto on the other. He felt as though he was being crushed, and had the nasty feeling it was only his magic keeping him upright under the weight of two people. Which meant when he did reach the surface and stop using it, there would be hell to pay.
For now though, he just had to focus on getting there.
Iris had heaved Gladio's huge arms over her shoulders, leaving most of the rest of him trailing behind her. Given the circumstances though, it might be the best he could hope for.
"You ready?" he asked.
"Yep," said Iris, though she was clearly already feeling the strain, sweat beading on her forehead.
"Let's go."
The journey back through the cavern was long and treacherous, longer than it had been on the way in, it seemed.
There were steep downwards slopes, uncertain, rocky inclines, large rocks sticking up out of the ground which were easy to trip over. And all the while the weight of Ignis and Prompto strained his back, burning him down to his core. Or was that just his magic? It was hard to tell the difference.
But neither he nor Iris made any complaint as the trudged through the cavern. Perhaps it was because they were both too tired to try and say anything. Perhaps they were too caught up in their own thoughts to try and convey them to one another. Either way, most of the journey went in silence.
And in the silence, dreadful thoughts began to haunt Noctis's mind.
He'd been right in his guess, though it was not a comforting feeling. They'd all come out here to try and save him—tricked by Shiva, preying on their fears. Gentiana had warned him about this, but he hadn't taken her seriously enough. If he'd only stuck around, only kept an eye on them... If he hadn't blown up on them at camp would any of this have happened?
But that was only the temporary trigger. He knew why this had happened—blurted out as much when trying to talk Ignis down. There was a reason they were so convinced he could still be saved. He'd kept the truth from them. Again. If they found out what he'd known—ever since Leviathan, he wasn't sure they'd forgive him. But they'd almost died for him out here. Might still die, a dreadful voice in the back of his mind sneered.
They had a right to know.
If only so they didn't try it again.
A light at the end of the long tunnel they were trekking through signalled that they were nearing the surface again.
"Not much further now," he panted, his voice cracking from the strain.
"Yeah," murmured Iris, whose face was an alarming shade of red. He hoped carrying Gladio wasn't too much for her.
Then, at long last, they emerged from the tunnel.
The ice that had created a shimmering network of holes and passages above had vanished, leaving only the light from the sun shining down on them from above.
There was a sharp cry from somewhere above them.
"Hey, Cor! I see 'em!"
It was impossible to see the details from so far away, but whoever it was appeared to be carrying a megaphone so they could hear perfectly clearly.
A second figure on the bridge ran over and took the megaphone from the first person.
"Hello!" a voice that was unmistakably Cor's bellowed. "Noctis! Iris! Is that you down there?"
Noctis wasn't sure how to convey as much when he could barely speak, but Iris took that task from him.
"Yeah!" she yelled weakly, and raised one hand in a thumbs up.
Apparently Cor saw, because he continued, "Can you warp up?"
Noctis shook his head vigorously and Iris made a 'no way' gesture by sliding her hand across her throat.
They must have had binoculars or a telescope up there, because Cor understood this.
"How are we going to get you out?"
That was putting rather a lot of emphasis on them, Noctis thought, but Iris seemed to have an answer. She pointed directly across from them, to the other side of the canyon, where, now Noctis looked, there appeared to be a pathway leading up to the top.
Well, that solved the mystery of how the others got down, but Noctis didn't fancy their chances of getting all the way up on their own, let alone heaving three people with them.
"We'll meet you there!" said Cor, then the megaphone cut out.
Noctis glanced at Iris, still very red.
"Want to swap?" he asked, gesturing at Prompto's limp form on his back.
"'S fine," murmured Iris, though he could see she was beginning to flag from exhaustion.
"Come on," he said, letting Prompto gently down to the ground.
"But what about you?"
"I've got magic, remember?"
Iris gave him a tired grin, then let Gladio down, picking up Prompto in his place. Noctis heaved Gladio onto his shoulders, immediately feeling the pain shoot through him with a hundred times its previous intensity. Then it faded. Noctis was not keen on finding out what would happen to him when it returned, but for now he had to focus on just getting them to the top of the chasm.
The path leading up to the top was almost as treacherous as that inside the cavern, and Noctis found himself having to pause several times to catch his breath, and make sure neither Gladio nor Ignis fell from his shoulders, all the way back to the ground below.
Iris was going on just ahead of him, and he could see Prompto's limp feet dangling behind her as she moved. The only relief they had was that it was still a cold day, the chill somewhat offsetting how warm and sticky they were getting from all the exertion. And for Noctis, at least, it took his mind off the knowledge that he'd soon have the magic within him build to a boiling point. He needed to get them to the top before that happened.
Climbing and panting, the two of them shuffled up the pathway, by now far too tired to speak.
Noctis thought they must have gotten about halfway up the path before a familiar voice sounded just ahead of them.
"There you are!" cried Cor, rushing over to them. "We thought we might have lost you for a moment—terrible visibility from the top of the bridge—here, let me help with that."
He reached towards Iris to get her to give him Prompto, but Cindy's voice called out behind him, "Hey, don't you think you should handle the big one?"
Cor looked ahead at where Noctis was standing, barely able to stay upright.
"Right," he said. "Now this'll be difficult, won't it?"
He wasn't wrong. The path, while stable, was quite narrow, and he'd have a job squeezing around.
"Iris," murmured Noctis, his words slightly slurred with exhaustion, "if you could just let Prompto to the ground...then Cor can get by you."
Iris, having no energy to talk, just nodded tiredly and slowly let Prompto down off her shoulders, laying him carefully on the ground.
Cor managed to just about get by her, and as soon as he was in front of Noctis he began helping him hand him over.
"I take it this lot need to get medical attention," said Cor, pulling Gladio onto his shoulders and sighing a bit, just as Cindy picked up Prompto.
"Yeah," said Noctis.
"What about you two, are you alright?"
"Just want to...sit down..." panted Iris, though some of the red was finally fading from her face.
"You can sit once we've reached the top," said Cor.
He didn't ask any further about how Noctis was doing, which Noctis was grateful for, given the honest answer was 'I'm probably going to die within the hour'.
Ignis now safely positioned on his back, they all made their way up the rest of the path, stumbling and swaying but never quite falling over. Cor and Cindy, who weren't quite as exhausted as Noctis and Iris, kept up a steady stream of conversation—though Noctis only ever caught snippets—too busy concentrating on not passing out.
When they finally broke onto the surface once more, Noctis immediately let Ignis down onto the floor, and was quite tempted to join him—but he didn't want the others to see what was about to happen. Blinding pain was building within his muscles, his vision flickering dark then light. It would happen soon.
"We'll take them over to Lestallum Hospital," Cor was saying, but Noctis was only half-listening.
"Great," he murmured, his words coming out slightly disjointed. "Just gonna find a place to sit down for a bit. In the shade."
"Alright," said Cor, and Noctis didn't need to hear anymore.
There was a small copse of trees not far away, and he stumbled over to them, his limbs screeching and stretching as he did.
As soon as he was out of the line of sight of the others, he let his feet fall out from under him and fell roughly to the ground, not caring as the pain shot through his knees and elbows. He rolled limply onto his back. The magic was building, building—there was a fire within—real fire, this time, burning through from the inside out—his bones, his flesh, his skin, and then—
He was in darkness again.
"Noctis."
He knew that voice—the same one that had guided him to Titan, in his dream. The same one he'd met in this darkness before.
"Mom?" he said, turning around to face her.
She looked the same as ever, though there was now a small frown on her face.
"I know I screwed up," he said immediately, not wanting to hear the words from her. "I know I should have told them."
"Indeed," she said quietly. "Though I fear your pain is not yet over. There will be consequences for this."
"Right," said Noctis. He didn't dare guess at what those consequences might be.
"You blame yourself deeply," she said, watching him carefully.
"If I had just told them the truth from the start none of this would have happened!" he cried, the reality of it finally catching up with him. "I have no idea what's going to happen now—what if they all die because of me? Because I was too selfish to tell them? Because I was afraid they'd leave? Now they might have no choice."
"Noctis," his mother said, "calm yourself. You do not yet know what might happen."
"But it could."
"Yes," she said. "But equally, it might have happened anyway, regardless of your input. I think you underestimate the dedication your friends show towards you. Mr Scientia in particular I doubt would have been swayed by your tale alone."
Noctis gave a deep sigh. "He just can't leave things well enough alone, can he?"
"That's a rather harsh judgement."
"It's true! And it's not just him—all of them. They refuse to let me go."
She gave a sad smile, and there was a tired look in her eyes. "It can be difficult to let go of the ones we love. Especially if there seems to be no reason for it."
"There's plenty of reason—"
"I know. But they do not see. Your magic is strange to them, Noctis. They don't understand how it pains you. It would be easier, perhaps, if other sources could verify your sickness, but I know they cannot."
Noctis gave a deep sigh. "Yeah. No doctor's ever dealt with anything like this before."
"Telling them may help."
Noctis closed his eyes, tears already beginning to prick the corners of his eyes. "I know," he said, though his voice was trembling. "I think I've always known."
"It is not surprising that you are finding this hard."
"But it's still my fault."
She looked at him, her dark eyes like portals to that other world she'd come from. Like staring death straight in the face.
"You are not alone, Noctis. The Mother of All watches over you, guiding you from harm. If She believes you are still worthy of life, surely your friends will think the same?"
There was a kind of double meaning to her words, he was sure of it, but he couldn't quite identify why he thought that.
"It was Eos back there then?" he asked. "I thought so but I wasn't sure..."
"She is closer to those of us departed from the world of the living. Her life is our life, Her thoughts our thoughts, Her words our words."
Noctis's heartbeat quickened.
"She's controlling you?"
"No. Quite the opposite. There is no us. There is no Her. We are one and the same. All life derives from Her, and when that life dies it returns to Her. You are a part of Her. Your friends another part still. I speak to you from a position of being reunited with Her once more—so I confess my voice is not entirely my own."
"I don't remember any of this," said Noctis, massaging his forehead. "When I died..."
"Your memories of that time are incomplete, yes?"
Noctis glanced back at her. "Yes."
"It is impossible for someone still living to comprehend the state they exist in in the Beyond. You too had returned to Her—but you can no longer see it."
"Right."
"They will not hate you, Noctis." Her voice carried an odd certainty to it.
"You won't force them not to hate me, right?" he asked, unsure if he was speaking to her or Eos itself.
"We cannot force anything to occur," she said with a distant smile. "You ought to know that by now."
Noctis couldn't help but smile back, thinking of the number of times he'd managed to screw up his own prophecy. "I guess you're right."
"Go now, Noctis. Your companions await."
And for once he found himself fading not to darkness, but to light.
It was already dark out when he woke.
The moon still shone down from above, but its light was dim and faded. True darkness was coming, and it was coming fast. He pushed himself upright and took in the space where he'd collapsed. The shadowy trees obscured most of the world from his vision, and the creaks and groans of the boughs drowned out most noise.
He got slowly to his feet.
His body seemed to have mostly healed—he had all his limbs in the right place, and that was the important thing.
He wandered towards the edge of the copse, wondering if they'd all just forgotten about him in the rush to get everyone to the hospital. But wait—were those voices?
"He was right around here, according to Cor," said a gruff male voice.
It didn't take a genius to guess what they were talking about.
He stepped out of the trees and a torch immediately illuminated him in its glow.
"Who are you?" barked one of the strangers.
"Noctis," he said tiredly. "You know, King of Lucis, etcetera."
"Is that him?" the stranger asked his companion.
The other man stepped forward, making the glare of the torch on Noctis's face still worse.
"Yeah, that's him," said the second man, and now he was standing a bit closer, Noctis could see who he actually was.
It was Dave, the de-facto Head Hunter in Lucis. It'd been a long time since Noctis had last seen him.
"Told you," he said, watching Dave carefully.
"Come with me," said Dave, quickly taking control of the situation. "I've orders to take you straight to Lestallum once we found you. Come along then, don't dawdle."
Noctis hurried along after Dave, who was already heading for the road, leaving the other Hunters behind.
"Cor's been worried sick about you," said Dave, directing him to a broken-down old car. "Thought you'd died out here or something. I have to admit, I didn't like your chances out here once night fell."
"I didn't realise how tired I was after getting out of the canyon," said Noctis, clambering in the passenger side and fastening his seatbelt. "Once I sat down I pretty much passed out straight away. Sorry for worrying everyone."
"Eh, it's not me you've gotta apologise to," said Dave, pressing down hard on the accelerator. "Cor, Cindy and that little girl are waiting for you in the Leville hotel in Lestallum. You know where that is?"
"Sure do," said Noctis.
The rest of the drive passed in relative silence, the only sound the hum of the engine, and the wind battering their car. The lights of Lestallum were as bright as ever, which was something, at least. That would give them some time once the darkness truly fell.
Dave must have had the special lights that drove away daemons as well, since they didn't run into any on the long drive into the city.
Instead of thinking about combat, now all he had to think about was how to deliver the news to his friends that this was far from the second time he'd done all this. If they were even alive for him to tell them, that was. He'd been such a fool, keeping this from them... At least he'd found them. That was the thought he clung to as they drove into the city, the orange lights shining down on them as Dave parked the car in one of the spaces along the outlook.
Lestallum was as bustling as ever. That shouldn't have been surprising—it was likely more people had moved there as the darkness crept in, but Noctis still found it strange that life in the city seemed the same when so much had changed since his last visit.
The whole world had been upended, turned upside down and twisted, but for the people of Lestallum life went on. Did they even know that at this very second Bahamut was preparing to smite them all from the earth? Of course not. How could they?
People passed by him, going about their daily lives, oblivious to the danger that awaited them as he followed the streets to the Leville. And for a moment he thought he understood how Luna felt, when she'd been so reluctant to tell him of his fate in those letters they exchanged. It all seemed so normal. Was it really so bad to want these people to have that?
Perhaps it was. After all, everyone had to grow up eventually.
The Leville rose into view above him, the hotel doors still open wide, in spite of the hour and the cold from outside.
The warm air conditioning shook some of the cold from his bones as he stepped inside, and there, in the foyer, they were all waiting for him.
In an eerie mirror of a few months ago, Cor, Cindy and Iris were sitting in the hotel lobby, anxiously awaiting his return, just as Ignis and Gladio had all the way back then. It was hard to believe that was only a few short months ago. Noctis felt as though years had passed since he last stepped inside, unknowing of why he'd travelled in time, unable to think why things had happened as they did. He knew better now though. And so did they.
"Noctis!" cried Cor, rising to his feet the moment he caught sight of him. "Where have you been? We thought you'd disappeared."
"Easy, Cor," said Noctis, raising his hands as Cor strode menacingly towards him. "I was just a bit more tired than I thought. The moment I sat down I passed out. When I woke up it was already dark out."
"You're lucky the daemons didn't get you."
"I know."
Cor sighed deeply. "Come and sit down then. I expect you want to know about what happened to your friends."
Noctis nodded, and Cor guided him over to their seats in the corner of the lobby.
"How are they?" he asked once they were all nicely seated.
None of the faces staring at him looked happy. That didn't bode well.
"Well, they're not gonna die..." said Cindy, sounding deeply uncomfortable.
"Gladdy's going to be fine," snapped Iris. "The doctor said so."
"They believe Prompto and Gladio will make a full recovery, given a little time," Cor explained. "Ignis on the other hand...he appeared to have additional damage."
Noctis's stomach contracted. The Ring. He hadn't gotten there in time. Godsdammit.
Cor kept speaking, but it was as though through an odd misty haze. "Whatever it was that hurt him, it seems to have gotten his eyes the worse. They're worried about his sight when he wakes."
Images flashed before Noctis's eyes, of Ignis walking around with a cane, Gladio glowering at him across the train, Prompto catching Ignis as he fell, over and over again...
He hadn't managed to stop it this time. Sure, he'd delayed it. Stopped it happening with Leviathan. But now... What would they do if Ignis was blinded? He wouldn't be able to fight, that much was obvious. It would take time to adjust to life without his vision—the first time he'd had ten years. Now they had barely any time at all.
"Of course, they can't say for sure until he wakes," said Cor.
"Right," he said hoarsely.
"He still might be okay," said Iris, clearly hoping to cheer him up. "And he's still alive and everything so..."
"I know," said Noctis. "I just..."
He wanted to say 'this is all my fault' but he knew that wouldn't exactly go down well they were clearly trying so hard to keep him from reacting badly. There was only one thing left to do.
"I just need some time to think this over," he said, rising from his seat.
"They're in the hospital just off the lane leading up to the powerplant," said Cor. "Just in case you felt like visiting."
"Yeah...yeah," said Noctis, still feeling dazed. "I'll do that. When are they likely to wake up?"
The three of them exchanged a glance.
"Doctors didn't really seem to know, to be honest with you, Highness," said Cindy with a shrug.
"I'll go and see them tomorrow morning," said Noctis. That was something at least. Something he could still do.
"Noctis," said Cor, as though he was reluctant to mention it.
"What?"
"Your speech. It's arranged for tomorrow."
"Right." He'd completely forgotten about that. "When for?"
"We're undecided, but it would probably be best if you gave it while the sun was still up."
"What time would that be?" With the darkness growing day by day it was hard to tell when the sun would rise—if it rose at all.
"Most likely around two o'clock in the afternoon."
"I'll meet you there," said Noctis, by now far too tired to argue. "I'm going to bed."
"I think that would be a good idea for all of us," said Cor.
"Aw, come on, it's only eight," said Iris, grumpily.
"We've all had a pretty long day," said Cindy. "I wouldn't say no to a bit of shut-eye. See you tomorrow, Prince!"
"King," said Cor, quietly, but Cindy ignored him as she bustled off with Iris.
Noctis began to head over to reception to book a room, but before he could get far, Cor grabbed him by the shoulder. "Here," he said, pressing a keycard into Noctis's hand.
"Cor, I can afford—"
"I know," said Cor. "But you saved those boys down there today, Noctis. It's the least I could do to repay the debt I owe you for that."
Noctis sighed and took the key. Room 243. The same one they'd had before. How ironic.
"Thanks Cor," he said, "I appreciate it."
"It's nothing," he said, stepping back. "Get a good night's rest."
"I'll try."
Try being the operative word there. But there was nothing to be done now.
He pressed the button in the lobby to call the lift down to his floor. No need to walk if he didn't have to.
Eventually the doors slid open to reveal an empty, golden interior, and Noctis stepped inside, pressing the button for the second floor. The lift doors trundled shut, and it began moving upwards, making his stomach lurch unpleasantly. Last time he was in this lift he almost passed out. Perhaps this time he'd be a bit more successful.
Room 243 was much like he'd left it, albeit, much tidier. He had no luggage now, no things to call his own, all lost in the sea, or the sky, or somewhere on the ground. All he had was himself. And far too many thoughts racing around his head.
But perhaps it wasn't the time for them now.
As he lay back on the bed, it's surface feeling entirely too soft after weeks of sleeping on little more than glorified mattresses, he found that all those troubling thoughts began to fade and slip away. He was so tired now. Perhaps it would be best to just rest for a while. That was all he wanted, after all. Just for a moment.
Just to rest.
