AN: Riku: There is still so much to cover in the start of this new section, but onward we go!

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Back outside in the hallway, Regis was pacing back and forth. All he could do was wait for the boys to be done so he could go back inside and talk to them. Clarus and Cor soon came down the hall, both of them looking very cross.

"Regis, thank the Astrals we were able to find you. Do you know how much you have been worrying us today?" Clarus asked as he stepped forward to his King to make sure he was alright, taking in every spot of dirt as it could signal a hurt.

"I'm fine, Clarus. The boys are fine too, and that's all that matters," Regis stated.

"You ran outside the wall!" Cor stated. "You left without warning."

"I kept the magic up," Regis replied rather stubbornly.

Clarus just barely held back a sigh. "Regis, we can't protect you or your family if we don't know where you're at. You rushed ahead so much we couldn't protect you. What happened?" Clarus asked as he finally got to put his hand on his King to assure his mind he was okay.

"Noctis was shot," Regis replied grimly. "I made it in time to heal him, but if I had been a second late..." he lowered his head. "Thankfully Prompto was there to fend off Drusus from doing anymore damage."

"We were able to get him back. Is Drusus dead then? I remember hearing several of the hostiles were coming back dead." Clarus said as he put a reassuring hand on Regis's shoulder.

"I checked with the Kingsglaive who retrieved him," Cor answered. "He was on the verge of death upon being found. Fatal wounds to his abdomen, and his wrist was nearly severed. He is being kept in a medical coma until we decide anything further."

Clarus gave a snort of amusement at that. "The best place we could keep him, while we keep getting more evidence to try him. What about the boys? They're alright now that they are back here, correct? And how are you doing Reggie?"

"I'm fine. But this isn't about me, it's about the boys, remember? Also Clarus, there is something I must ask of you."

"I think this is about us on some level. But, what do you need to ask me Reggie?" Clarus asked curiously, only relaxing a little.

"Noct's friend; Prompto. He needs as much care as possible after what he has gone through. But... we still have yet to get into contact with his parents," Regis started, his tone soft.

"Who have you put in as power of attorney instead? Yourself? Or would you rather have a third party to represent Prompto at this point?" Cor asked matter of factly.

"It's not about that. The case can be dealt with later, but what I want is to place Prompto in a safe home where I know he will get the love he needs. And that's where you come in, Clarus," Regis replied, smiling at his dear friend.

Clarus narrowed his eyes some. "And why is that? You could easily do that as well."

"I am not around enough anymore for my own son. You may be my Shield, but you have much more time with your kids than I do. Besides," Regis leaned in to whisper something else. "If he is to be my future son in law, I can't be adopting him as my son, that would only make it weird."

"Regis, you cannot be serious," Clarus protested before letting out a sigh. "I'll do it only if Prompto agrees to the situation. He's been forced to deal with enough."

Regis smiled. "I won't force him, but I know I can advise the subject. This would be the best choice, Clarus."

"You've had plenty of time to think about this. How are they? How's Noctis?"

Regis looked between Cor and Clarus before sighing. "Let's sit first," he said.

The three walked further down the hall until they came to an atrium that had chairs and tables for them to sit at. Regis sighed as he finally was able to sit down and rest his weary body.

"Noctis... I fear, as well as Prompto, are heavily scarred from this. While the reports and analysis aren't finished, I can see how shaken they are in their eyes. "

Clarus leaned forward a bit to listen. "I imagine an ordeal like this would be traumatizing for anyone. What kind of scarring are you worried about?"

"Since they are mostly unharmed in the physical sense, I fear it will be mostly emotional. You remember the videos, how they put Noct through that humiliation."

"I don't imagine I could ever forget those videos. We will need to make sure they have some people they can talk to to deal with this."

"Yes, I am looking into a therapist that could help. Though I believe your son may need one too. I heard what he did to the training room."

"No one has gotten through this without hurting in some way. I suppose at this point, that was part of their attack." Clarus replied. "I'll make sure to speak to Gladiolus about seeing someone."

"I also believe Ignis will need one. He does well to try and conceal his worries, but I know this has hurt him too."

Clarus nodded at that. "We will make sure the four of them come out of this whole. Don't think you're getting out of talking to someone. I've heard enough from Cor about your terrorizing that guard."

Regis sighed. "I did what was needed. You tell me you wouldn't do the same if it were your son?"

"I'm not arguing that, but you can't say this didn't affect you either."

"I'm not saying it didn't," Regis said as he looked to the side.

Holding back a sigh, Clarus reached out to squeeze Regis's shoulder. "We got them back. Now we can use our time recovering from all of this. Don't forget we are here for you."

"Thank you, Clarus," Regis smiled. "Now how about we go back to check on the boys? They should be done cleaning up now."

"Yes, that sounds nice. I'd like to see how they are doing, especially since one might be my new son." Clarus said with a little laugh.

Back in the hospital room, Noctis had managed to convince the nurse to let them share the bed, so he was holding Prompto as best as they could around their IV lines. Now that they were clean and in hospital gowns, they looked much smaller and more tired and younger than when they were rescued.

The two of them were seemingly fast asleep, breathing steadily with one another. But they looked peaceful within each other's arms despite the circumstances.

Regis couldn't help but smile. "As glad as I am that they were able to discover each other's feelings, it hurts that it had to be under such events."

"I know. They deserved to work through their feelings like any other teenager. Regardless, I imagine their relationship will stand out amongst their peers." Clarus mused.

Their voices were enough to make Noctis snap awake with a little jerk. He moved to try and shield Prompto a little bit. "Oh, Dad, you're back," he said as he tried to relax.

"Yes, and we came to check how you and Prompto were feeling," Regis said as he stepped forward.

Noctis looked between the three adults warily. "Tired. The bed feels nice though."

Regis smiled. "That's good. Anything you need Noct, you let me know, okay? Prompto too. If you two have any requests, we are here to listen."

"Yeah? Okay, I'll let Prompto know that," Noctis replied with a sleepy nod of his head. "How long are they gonna keep us here?"

"As long as it's needed for your recovery. We will take it one step at a time." Regis placed a hand on top of Noctis's head, running his fingers through the hair.

"As long as Prompto can stay here too, fine. I'll do what they want," Noctis caved. He yawned and let his eyes drift close as the gentle affection from his father.

"That's good, we won't take him from you. We'll make sure he can stay right by your side."

Noctis didn't respond as he drifted off into sleep once more.

"I suppose we shall talk with them later," Regis said as he turned to exit the room. "Let's give them their rest."

Cor waited till they were away from the hospital room to speak his thoughts. "We'll need to be careful about how we treat them in the room. They could easily see us holding them prisoner there. Noctis is already bargaining good behavior for rewards."

Regis's expression soured. "I won't let him think we are holding him prisoner! He's my son!"

Clarus held his hand up to try and calm Regis. "I know you aren't, and I imagine part of him knows the same, but remember what his instincts have been doing for him for a while. We have our work cut out for us."

Gritting his teeth Regis began marching down the hall again. "I will do anything I can for him. We will make this recovery as smooth as possible."

Cor pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed a little bit as he followed Regis to make sure he didn't terrify someone else. He knew this would be a long recovery for everyone. This whole entire process was just beginning and time would only tell what would happen next.

-

AN: GG: And thus we begin to see what the road back to normality might behold. And the many plans Regis has up his sleeve.