I apologize but this chapter is a bit shorter than average. However, the next chapter is already in progress. I hope you enjoy!
Ignis threw the report down, a headache settling behind his eyes. His stomach felt hot, and an acidic taste lingered on the back of his throat. He grabbed his glasses, slipping them off his face and pinched the bridge of his nose, squinting hard as he tried to banish the mental images. He heard his name, looking up to meet Noctis's gaze.
"The answer to what happened to those men we came upon" Ignis replied to his friend's query. "And do not read these notes to ascertain those answers for yourself. I would advise Cor Leonus to check the name badges for a doctor Lorran. And gather these notes. I believe your father should be made aware of their contents." Noctis reached down for the notebook and picked it up, knitting his brows as he stared at the cover and ignoring Aranea repeating Ignis's warning about not wanting to read what it contained.
"Noctis?" Lunafreya's voice drew his attention, Ignis reaching out to pull the notebook from his hands.
"Hey you look like you're about to pass out…" Aranea commented.
"I'm all right." She replied, shaking hear head. Noctis furrowed his brow, stepping up to meet her. "I'm all right." She repeated. "I… did the best I could. I merely eased their suffering." She sighed, shaking her head. "I am not nearly as fatigued as I appear. When Gladiolus sent me a message he had also mentioned that a second barracks with people was located?" she asked. Noctis nodded at her, then quickly reached out to place his hands atop her shoulders,
"Whoa whoa. Where you going?"
"To see if there are more people in need of aid." She insisted.
"Umm we checked it out, everyone inside seemed to be okay." He offered.
"Well based on what I just read, a second opinion wouldn't hurt." Aranea stated, everyone turning their attention to her. "Look, the Empire was up to some really… fucked up things here. May be worth a closer inspection of these people." She added, crossing her arms in front of her chest taking on a defensive tone. "I know you don't trust me-"
"I agree with Miss Aranea."
"Oh ick, don't call me that. Makes me sound like a gradeschool teacher." She immediately countered, shaking her head.
"Call her Nif." Gladiolus quipped. The woman flinched, turning around sharply,
"Where the hell did you come from?!" she snapped, taking a few steps back.
"Gladiolus that is quite enough!" Ignis snapped. "We have enough enemies that I do not wish to gain another."
"She's a damn Nif!" He bellowed back. "I've been dealing with you pal-ing around with her-"
"I'm right here." Aranea snapped back, bending down to pick up the notebook she had been reading, reaching out and snatching the one from Noctis's grip, stepping towards the broad man and shoved them both at him, "you think I want to ally myself with people capable of this?! Read these! I want to put a stop to this as badly as any of you!" She started to stalk off, raising a middle finger when Gladiolus tried to ask where the hell she thought she was going.
"Gladio… will you just, back down. A little?" Noctis asked.
"I ask too Gladiolus, that you do try to give her a chance." Lunafreya added. "As you recall, I too was a citizen under the rule of Nifleheim yet you do not constantly question myself or my motives." She continued. Gladiolus broke eye contact, mumbling under his breath.
"Fine. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. But the moment she gives me any reason to doubt-"
"All of us on are on edge as it is man." Ignis interrupted. "Perhaps she was right, and you need to read these notebooks to regain some perspective as to who our real enemies are. Now I do believe the Lady has asked us to assess the men of the barracks, I wish to join her in the event aid is needed. You sit here and read." He insisted.
"I'm not leaving Noct unguarded."
"Clear your head first."
"What are you, my father?" He snarled.
"I am your friend and merely trying to help you see reason. You need to calm yourself." Gladiolus sighed, throwing open the cover of the first notebook, walking to burn off his agitated energy. Lunafreya let Noctis lead her towards the second barracks, Ignis following right behind.
"Hey, where's Prompto?" Noctis inquired.
"Walking around with some of the hunters. He felt too restless standing around so he's helping them inspect every last inch of the place as Cor instructed." Noctis nodded and glanced around wondering if he would catch a glimpse of them walking around. He had always admired the Immortal, and seeing how a ragtag team of hunters could be drawn together and follow his instructions like they were his soldiers reminded him of how well disciplined the Crownsguard were. I wonder if it would have made a difference if he was in Insomnia. He mused. He had had his ass kicked by the man on more than one occasion and even Gladiolus had several scars from training with him. Noctis lifted his arm, pointing to a building with a pair of hunters standing on either side of the door, telling Lunafreya it was that one.
One of the hunters typed in the code and opened the door to allow them inside. It took a few moments of blinking to adjust to the dim lighting. Like the room he had tried to sleep in, bunks were laid in tight rows, each containing a mean. The room smelled like burnt plastic and metal, Noctis letting a huff out his nose and curling his lip a bit. Lunafreya stepped passed him, pausing to give him a small smile and a nod before she started to walk past the first row of the Nifleheimer prisoners. They were all in a similar red jumpsuit with blocky numbers just below the black collar. Below those were iron-on number patches in a double digit. Noctis noticed Ignis tensing up beside him, and glanced at his friend.
"Hey you okay?"
"The notebook… simply referred to the men as patient dash, then a double-digit number. It must be these numbers they ironed on to the jumpers. The things they were doing… were they planning on doing it to so many people?" his voice was low, and Noctis reached out to squeeze his shoulder.
"Hey, we got here and stopped it, right?" he tried to offer but Ignis shook his head.
"Plenty still suffered. Is this what the Blight drove people to?" he asked. "So desperate for a cure." He sighed. Noctis opened his mouth, but found no words to offer his friend. He had no words to offer to himself. The pair watched Lunafreya walk down the rows of men, smiles appearing on some of their faces. She paused to talk to someone who had called her name, but they didn't see any light in her hands. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he noted there were two hunters flanking a man who was sitting in the back corner of the room. He appeared to have had his hands and feet bound together.
"I didn't' know they found a human solider in here. I thought they were all MTs?" He asked, turning to Ignis who only had a shrug to offer in reply. Feeling awkward standing by the door Noctis stepped up to join Lunafreya, and began to wonder where these prisoners came from. She saw his approach, turning her head to him. "Hey," he nodded.
"This is Ty," she introduced, gesturing to the man she was speaking to. He had blonde hair, freckles dotting his face and the sides of his neck.
"Prince Noctis?" the man's brows lifted. "Umm Ty is short for Tiberius." He offered when he turned his attention back to Lunafreya.
"I have a cousin with that name." she mused. Noctis tried to control the sneer on his face at how quickly the man disregarded him. I wonder what Aldercapt must tell them about the Lucians he mused, assuming the man to be Niflheimer with his fair complexion and hair.
"We had heard you both died in the fall of Insomnia." He turned and looked back up at Lunafreya, "I can't believe you're alive! I had thought the Blight would take over for sure."
"Do not lose hope, for light still shines on our star." She smiled down at him.
"Did they bring all of you here all the way from Nifleheim?" Noctis asked after a moment's pause. The man glanced between the Prince and Oracle, his attention kept on her. He explained that all of them had been transported from a prison near the mountains. They had all signed up for a work detail, in hopes of just changing the monotony of daily prison life. She gave the man a blessing and continued to walk through the rows, pausing here or there. As they drew closer to the corner of the room something began to itch in the back of Noctis's memory when he looked at the face of the man bound between the hunters.
Lunafreya's gasp and jerking flinch jarred that itch into a slap. Images burst into the forefront of his mind. Lunafreya curled in on herself, hands gripping her head, her agonized cries and grunts punctuated by a laughing and cursing voice. The sense of helplessness, guilt, rage, all boiled to the surface again.
"You!" he bellowed, snapping the attention of all in the room. He walked up to the bound man and stared down at him. The years may have added lines to his face, highlighting his once blonde hair in place with gray. But he would never forget that face, the way he smirked at Noctis so you think you're tough shit, huh? His mocking tone before his question would be punctuated by Lunafreya's pained cries as the man beat her senseless. Noctis balled his fist, and Lunafreya's hand clamped down around his wrist.
"Noct." Her voice trembled as she said his name and he turned to her, trying to force back the rage that swelled within him when he laid eyes on that old face. He took in a deep breath and struggled to let it out slowly, to control the urge to repay every blow the soldier had given Lunafreya. He wanted to know why, of every damned human solider in Nifleheim, did it have to be him. Corporal Nettmann.
"Holy shit, you actually survived? Even the Lucian radio stations were saying you were dead." He remarked, brows quirking up and shifting slightly, fingers scratching at his uniform's pants. Noctis curled his lip, taking a step forward to keep himself between the Nifleheimer and Lunafreya. "You still look like a wet noodle." He added. "And you are radiant as ever, my Lady."
"You don't look so hot yourself." Noctis quipped back. "Black eye might make you look like more of a man."
"That didn't go over well last time, now did it?" Nettmann taunted.
"You won't touch her." He balled his fist, feeling an impulse to pay back every bruise, abrasion, contusion; every pain he gave to Lunafreya. He felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see her with her brows knit, pupils dilated. She tightened her grip and gave a light tug, taking a step closer to him.
"Don't." She pleaded. "I… Let's get some air." Lunafreya suggested, the rise and fall of her chest growing more rapid. "Ignis, if you would not mind, please take a walk through these final rows and bring to my attention any would may be in need of my light."
"Of course." He answered with a bow of his head and furrowed his brow. She nodded back, failing to manage the smile she wanted to force. She walked quickly up the row, her hands tightly gripped before her. She listened for Noctis's footsteps behind her, searching for the sound of a second set. She reached for the door handle, hardly registering the voice of someone telling her he had to punch the code in first as her first attempt to pull the handle down failed, waiting until she got the okay to try a second time and pushed the door open with more force than necessary. Noctis was close behind her, but she turned around the corner of the building, out of the sight of the two men guarding the door.
"Luna?" Noctis asked, reaching for her. But she spun around, head turning to search for any more people. More wandering hunters, more of Noctis's friends, more MTs, more soldiers. Her body ached with phantom pain, her racing heart threatening to drown out his voice calling her name. Her throat began to burn with her rapid breaths, shoulders aching as she gasped for air. She felt his hands on her shoulders and flinched, quickly reaching out to him so he wouldn't pull away from her. A sob broke through her breathing, and she stepped towards him to bury her face against his chest. "I got you, I 'm here." He assured her.
Noctis ran a hand down her back, feeling how the sobs wracked her entire body. He tilted his head to press his lips to the crown of her head, arms wound tight around her. Her fingers gripped his shirt, pulling on it so his collar pressed uncomfortably against the back of his neck. He squinted, trying to will away the memories. Will away the self-hatred that came with it. I did this to her. I did it then, and I did it now. He bit down on his bottom lip, wondering why the hell he couldn't have controlled himself better.
Pain exploded in his fist, shooting through his arm until it apexed at his shoulder and a ringing numbness ran back down into his fingertips. Pain in his chest, then an impact against his back. He looked up at the soldier who wiped a hand under his bleeding nose, shaking his fist staring down at the twelve-year-old Noctis who was holding his trembling fist to his chest, staring back at him expecting another blow at any moment. He glanced over at Lunafreya, and promised himself to be brave during the impending beating. It was worth it. Worth it for her. His friend. He had found several bruises on her shoulder, and it didn't take a doctor to know what caused it.
He had charged from her room, ignoring her reassurances that she was okay, that it didn't hurt. But he wouldn't just ignore those bruises when he saw on her arm. He had pleaded with her to tell him what happened, who did it. After a few refusals he asked if it was that asshole who had kicked Pryna a few mornings ago. Her slight flinch goaded him, and he asked again with more determination and she nodded, admitting that it was the same soldier who had kicked Pryna. The one who had escorted them to their respective rooms the night before. So he ran through the hall, found the man, and punched him. Landing the hit to the side of his nose despite the difference in height, the soldier caught completely off guard.
"So you think you're tough shit huh?" he asked, sniffing back some blood. "Well I'll wipe that cocky little smirk off your face." He declared. Noctis lifted his chin, keeping eyes locked on him. His brows furrowed when he turned away, and walked towards Lunafreya.
"N-No!" he called out. "Hit me!" he called out. "Fight me!" he insisted, and screamed when he saw Lunafreya lift an arm to try and deflect the first blow. It knocked her off her feet with a grunt, and once on the ground the soldier motioned to kick her but Noctis clenched his fist around his wrist. The man spun around, pushing Noctis to the ground again with ease.
"Touch me again and I'll make it twice as bad. Every time you touch me," he paused, turning back to Lunafreya who's eyes were wide, and limbs trembling. She curled up to try and protect her stomach when he kicked, the blow striking near her hip. She tried to restrain it, to control her voice, but the cry burst from her throat. "I'll add another minute to this." He spoke evenly, like he was simply stating the time.
"No! hit me!" he tried to insist, getting up to his feet. He stared at Lunafreya, stepping towards the sight as he fought with what to do. He couldn't let him do this. He couldn't let this happen to her. But the man was stronger than him, stronger than her. He began to sob, the south pathetic to how own ears. "Luna! I'm sorry!" he shouted. Oh gods what did I do? And he wept. He watched as the man kicked her, bent to punch her. She tried to protect her stomach, her face. Curled as small as she could make herself. Her soft voice was razor sharp, yelping and grunting. She panted between cries, but soon her voice grew quiet, and the soldier stood tall again.
"That should teach you. Boy." He sneered, looking down to give Lunafreya one last kick, striking her in the back before turning away from her. Noctis was frozen in place, fearful that he might accidently brush the soldier if he moved and it would bring this wrath down upon her once more. He tried to walk but his legs gave out.
"Luna… I… I…" he stammered, crawling towards her as his body failed to pick him up off the floor. "I'm sorry…" he wept, kneeling beside her. He placed a hand carefully on her arm. She initially flinched, curling tighter in on herself but couldn't keep up the position any longer. Her limbs were slack, and her face held a distant appearance.
"Noct…?"
"I'm sorry." He cried, placing his hand on her arm again. "I… I need to. Let's get… let's go back to your room. Or the library. You like it there." He suggested. She groaned, trying to shift, but cried out when she tried to sit herself up.
"You didn't do this Noct." She managed between gasping breaths. She tried again, managing to get herself to sit up with tremulous arms. She tried to move but ended up laying back down again, squinting her eyes. Bruising were forming in patchwork across her arm s, and he didn't want to picture where else they were blooming. The side of her face was beginning to swell and darken, and he squinted to fight back more tears, sniffling. "I need to rest before. Just rest." She stated. Her fingers were curled, and she brought her arms up over her chest, hugging them to herself.
"I got you… I'm here…" he offered, slipping an arm under her knees and behind her shoulders. She was taller than him, but he was determined. He got up to his knees, then crouching standing on the balls of his feet. She tried to hook her arms around his neck but it simply hurt too much to lift her arm that high. "It's okay, I got you." He repeated. He stood with a grunt, but stood tall, and carried his dear friend back to her room wondering if she would ever forgive him for this.
The pair pushed back the memories, Noctis running his hand along her back while the other hugged her close around the shoulders. As her sobs slowed her breath began to stutter, and she pulled back from him shaking her head,
"I feel quite pathetic." She remarked, forcing a chuckle. Noctis furrowed his brow and frowned. "I saw him around the Manor from time to time, I don't know why it affected me so in there." She continued after holding up a hand to halt Noctis from trying to reassure her. Her eyes flickered for a bare moment before meeting his gaze.
"I never saw him after that visit." Noctis remarked, shifting his weight to his other leg and gripping her shoulder tighter. Lunafreya brought her hands together and began to knit her fingers together, hesitating before responding.
"Caligo was…. Displeased that there was such a long delay in being able to bring me before the people and reassigned him as well as demoting his military rank." She explained, pausing between some words to chose them carefully.
"Surprised he didn't give him a medal and a promotion." Noctis huffed. "What do you say we go lie down?" he suggested, noting the darkness around her eyes.
"I don't think I can sleep here. I'll lie awake all night." She admitted after a hesitation, her brow knit together. "I suppose this shall be quite a long night of pacing, or staring up at a ceiling." She pressed her lips together and quirked an apologetic smile.
"Those bunks do suck. The ground is probably more comfortable." Noctis admitted. "Hey, I have an idea." He suggested, "You still have my phone, right?" Lunafreya looked down and reached into a pocket, pulling it out and holding it out to him, nodding. He grabbed it and stared for a moment before a smile eased the lines in his forehead. "Perfect!"
"What?" She asked, tilting her head and quirking a brow.
"I have enough service on my phone we could watch a movie. Let's go pull the mattresses off a few bunks and go lay down and watch movies until morning or until we pass out." He suggested.
"That sounds far better than letting my own thoughts drive me to madness while I stare at a wall." She chuckled. Noctis's eyes crinkled as he smiled, tucking his phone into his pocket and wrapping his arms around her for several moments. A response came to his mind about other ways to drive her to madness, but had the sense to keep it locked within. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, holding her tighter for a moment before stepping back and taking her hand.
"Come on, let's go lie down." He suggested, tugging lightly to get her to try and move. She held up a finger to forestall him, pressing the back of a hand beneath her nose and gave a sniffle, running her thumbs under each eye and the heel of her hand across her cheeks to wipe away the remains of her tears. Her breath stuttered for a moment, and Noctis squeezed her hand again.
"I'll be all right." She reassured him, her voice slightly hoarse. She cleared her throat, taking a step closer to him and stood on her toes to kiss him, and after another light tug she walked beside him to watch movies to pass the night.
Lunafreya found her joints too stiff to lie down comfortably. Passing time with a movie had helped put her at ease, but it had finished and the quiet settled back in. Noctis had fallen asleep beside her on the pile of thin mattresses they had laid out, and she sighed and suppressed the urge to wake him. The rest of their retinue had come into the barracks as well, including many of the hunters save for those guarding the Nifleheimers, or watching over the former prisoners. People had been coming and going, the activity making it difficult for her to rest. She got up and gave a cursory glance down to Noctis who remained fast asleep, glad that he could find some rest himself.
She walked up to the door and tapped in the code, pulling on the heavy door taking care not to let it slam behind her. Not that it mattered with how often the others were letting it fall shut. She turned and was surprised to see Prompto sitting on the ground leaning against the opposite building, head down as he looked down at his camera. She hesitated, wondering if he had come out here to be alone. If he truly wanted to be alone he would have perhaps wandered a bit further away. She mused. Remembering the time he had comforted her with pictures from his camera and walked up to him.
"Prompto?" she inquired. "Couldn't sleep either I take it?" He looked up at her with a slight flinch and quickly offered her a smile.
"Oh hey Luna. Yeah, not exactly a palace of unicorns and rainbows. This place gives me the creeps." He mocked an exaggerated shudder, scrunching his expression.
"I find the same for myself. Mind if I join you? Noctis is asleep and I find myself in need of company."
"Yeah, sure. Take a seat." He pat beside him and she sat down, folding her hands in her lap.
"Any good photos?" she inquired, a blush coming to her cheeks as she recalled the one he had taken of her and Noctis. He nodded, smiling again and leaned slightly, holding the camera out.
"Lots of them on the way to where we left the car. We passed a herd of anaks grazing near some garulas. Took a bunch!" he thumbed through the photos, and paused at another one, his excitement clear in his tone as he pointed to where a newborn anak was grazing near a garula calf, and neither baby's parent tried to attack.
"That's quite adorable." His excitement was contagious, and she found herself leaning in to better see the photos as he went through them and talked about the ones that were his favorites.
"The guys sometimes get uncomfortable when I start taking too many pictures of them, but I want pictures of all of us. Y'know? It's nice to have them." Her smile faltered for a moment, sighing lightly and nodding.
"Noctis would send me photos, and I would cherish them." She flushed, her brows furrowed slightly as she bit down on her lip.
"See, you get it!" he sat back up, the awkward position making it difficult to continue leaning over. "I can't wait till morning and get out of here. I tried to take a few pictures of this base, because I dunno. Maybe they could be useful or something. But they all just wig me out."
"I too cannot wait to leave this place. Were it not for the odd abundance of daemons I would have suggested braving the darkness to return to the car and make camp." She dropped her gaze to her feet, lifting a hand to massage the skin just behind her shoulder with a phantom tingle beginning to itch.
"We could make a mad dash for it, I'll take a thousand pictures so the flash keeps daemons away and we can sleep like babies." He suggested, nudging her lightly with his elbow. She laughed at the mental imagine of him running through a pack of bombs flicking his camera as they all ran away, and then began to laugh harder at the thought that they would be camera shy.
"Catch them all in their underwear."
"Have some giant whine I don't even have my makeup on!" Prompto lifted his voice an octave, fluttering a hand over his face and shaking his head.
"I hate pictures of myself! Ick, delete that one!" Lunafreya added, trying to add a gravely tone to her voice. Prompto joined Lunafreya's laughter, and gods did it feel good. They slowly regained control of themselves, sighing and smiling. "What time is it? I haven't bothered to look."
"Uh… three AM. Ew… a man needs his beauty sleep. I'm gonna have bags under my eyes all day tomorrow." He complained.
"I'll likely match you." She reassured him.
"Hey let's tell Gladio that we fought some extra-stealthy MTs that snuck past everyone. We both got clocked right in the face. Twice, 'cause you know, both eyes will look like we have shiners, but fought them off! Heroes of the day! We saved everyone!" He puffed out his chest, holding a fist in the air. She chuckled, shaking her head.
"Because this twiggy Oracle is known for her fighting prowess, I am sure that this tale will be accepted at face value."
"Okay, more realistic then. How about we got in a slap fight?"
"Now that one sounds like something he would believe. While we pass this night as a pair of Insomniacs, why don't you show me more of your photos?" she inquired. Prompto met her gaze for a moment, and she wondered if her tone was off. "You're quite good at it," she added.
"Yeah, sure." He agreed. "Here I'll go back to right before we left Insomnia."
"Do you have any of the city? I… I've never seen it." she flushed a bit, feeling embarrassed that she shared such a detail. Prompto frowned at her for a bare moment but then nodded, pressing several buttons and going through several pictures before finding the ones from Insomnia. Prompto gave her a virtual tour of the places he had on his camera, starting with his apartment. It was small, but he preferred it. He had a shot of the four guys at a table enjoying some beers the night before they were parting for Altissia.
"Don't get mad at Noct, this was Gladio's idea for a bachelor party!" Prompto said defensively when the next picture made it clear that they were at a strip club, a mostly naked woman sitting in Gladiolus's lap, his hands gripping the sides of chair he sitting on, a broad grin on his face and his eyes clearly locked on the woman's bare breasts. Noctis was beside him, and even in the dim lighting of the photograph the red coating his face was obvious. His hand was tightly clamped around the pint glass he was chugging beer out of, eyes wide and partially crossed, brows knit tightly together. On Gladiolus's other side sat Ignis, legs crossed sipping at a beer himself, eyes trained on the woman giving the broad man a lap dance.
"Noct looks like he wants to crawl out of his own skin." Lunafreya commented from her brief glance at the photo, Prompto having flicked past it, holding himself tight. "I'm not about to go wake him up to slap him if that's what you're fearing." She remarked, trying to get him to ease up. She couldn't help but ponder if his discomfort was the photo, or the situation. Then a mental image of a naked dark-haired woman sitting atop his lap invaded her mind, and a blush crossed her own cheeks as a spark of jealousy ignited in her heart.
"Yeah like I said it was all Gladio's idea. I promise Noct didn't get a dance." Prompto added with a nervous smile. She trusted Noctis, and accepted Prompto's explanation without probing further, trying to distract from her blush by asking him to continue showing her the pictures. There were more of Insomnia; of Noctis's favorite fishing spot, birds at a park near Prompto's apartment, the odd ethereal appearance of the world through the lens of Regis's wall, one of the Citadel as they were pulling away from it the day they left for Altissia. Lunafreya's smile fell, brows lifting slightly as she wished she could have seen Insomnia before the fall. To have Noctis lead her around his home, bring her to his favorite places, sit beside him as he fished at his favorite spot. "Hard to think most of this might be gone." Prompto spoke in a low tone, a slight tremor to his voice. He gripped his camera tighter, staring past his camera, beyond the ground between his feet. Lunafreya lifted her hand, resting it atop his shoulder and squeezed. He flinched, turning his head to meet her gaze, frowning a bit at her. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get all mopey on you."
"Do not apologize for your emotions." She reassured him. "You lost your home, that is a pain not easily soothed."
"Yeah. Noct told me about when the Nifs attacked Tenebrae. You guys were just kids." She bit her lip slightly, maintaining her posture as she allowed the memories to rise before pushing them back down again.
"I believe that we all shall feel better away from these reds lights." She stated after a long pause. Her intent had not been to halt Prompto from speaking about his pain regarding Insomnia, but she had enough of tears and bitter thoughts, of old fears and images swarming in her mind. A thick silence hung between them, and her thumbs kneaded against her hands as she thought of a way to break it. "Did you take any pictures of chocobos when we were at that ranch?" His smile returned, eyes fixated on his camera once more, cheerfully explaining he had taken plenty of pictures. And again they were able to pass the time talking about photos and chocobos, the young man succeeding in getting Lunafreya to talk about her favorite books and the movie that she had watched with Noctis. The night passed, the pair eventually forcing themselves to attempt to lie down again when fatigue threatened to claim them.
Noctis shoved his phone back into his pocket, running a hand through his hair and releasing a long irritated sigh. He had called his father and given a more detailed explanation of everything that had happened and clarifying what to do with everyone and everything involved. The call took up a near an hour and a half, yet he still felt like he needed to get more off his mind, decisions feeling too haphazard. Cor had packed up all of the notebooks, binders, and loose pieces of paper from what he dubbed the hospital of horrors, as well as the prisoner roster from the second barracks. Trucks were being brought from a nearby hunter hub to loot any available supplies from the base lest anything go to waste. The Nifleheimers who had run the base were all bound and being escorted by several of Cor's hunters, the former prisoners being brought to the collection of buildings, generously called a town, to be watched over by a member of the Crownsguard named Monica Elshatt.
"Hope the prisoners know how to behave. I sure wouldn't want to be someone who pisses that woman off." Gladiolus huffed after Noctis had run through everything with the retinue. "Anyone trained by my dad is someone who's bad side you never want to know." He flinched at the reference, expression souring and lip curling. He tapped at his thigh with his fist, his eyes looking up to stare into the base. "I'm ready to get the hell out of here." He remarked.
"I too am feeling like I need to shower for a week after reading that notebook and could do with a change of scenery." Ignis remarked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Aranea was standing beside him with her arms crossed, a shiver coursing through her,
"Ugh… why remind me of that. I think I'm gonna barf." She groaned. "How's the Oracle doing? She doesn't know when to quit, does she?" she added. "I mean, I gotta admit I admire her stubbornness. But doesn't she know a lost cause when she sees one?" she asked.
"If she thinks she can help someone she will. But I'll go check on her." Noctis answered. Lunafreya had wanted to offer her light to the three blight victims one more time. She wanted to ease their pain for the transport to a quarantine hospital five kilometers outside of Lestallum, one hunter agreeing to stay behind with the three men until a pair of trucks from the city could transport them there. Crowe had gone with her, an ether in her pocket provided by Ignis after Lunafreya had refused to take it with her, insisting that she didn't want them spending more of their curatives on her.
Noctis typed the code into the door, tugging it open and peeking inside and quickly backing out again, a hand pressed under his nose. Holy shit I forgot about that. He swallowed hard, then second time, and a third to keep the bile in the back of his throat and the protein bar he had eaten for breakfast in his stomach. He took a deep breath and grabbed the collar of his tee-shirt to hold over his nose before stepping back inside, meeting Crowe's gaze and giving a middle finger at her expression.
"Luna?" he called. She was kneeling near the center of the room, her head bowed, voice in a low murmur. She whispered a few more words before turning to him. She nodded, pushing her palms against her knees to stand, wincing at the momentary ache from the prolonged period of time spent kneeling. "I don't want to interrupt if you're still trying to help."
"I was just offering a final prayer. I've done all I can." She cast a glance at the men, fearing that the most critical of the three would not survive transport but had done all she could for him, and that their options were limited.
"You did good. They're all sleeping now." Crowe offered, closing the distance and resting a hand on Lunafreya's shoulder. She nodded at her Shield and let out a sigh, eyes downcast. Noctis suggested that they leave to meet up with the others and put this godsforsaken place behind them.
"I just wish we could burn it to the ground." Noctis complained once they started walking away. But with the prisoners and blight victims all waiting transport they would have to wait for hours just for the pleasure of torching the place and the desire to get the hell away from it was a far stronger urge. They met up with the others and walked together to where they had parked the Regalia.
