Look at me being all productive and getting a chapter up!


"I love you too man." Prompto sniffled, pulling back from the prolonged hug. "Is this the part where Gladio appears out of nowhere and kills the mood by telling us to kiss, and then Ignis scoffs, calls him a posh word for ass hole and hug me too?" he asked, chuckling through the tears.

"Crowe tells Gladio to pull the stick out of his ass or she'll do it for him."

"Where does Aranea fit it in this?" Prompto asked, running his hand under his nose and sniffling. "Gods I'm like a toddler. Can I rub my nose on the bottom of your shirt?" he asked, reaching out. Noctis jerked back, possessively grabbing at the bottom of it. "Aw come on, it's just boogers!" he whined, reaching out again and Noctis snorted,

"You rub your nose on me I'll shove the whole shirt up your nose!"

"Hey, that'll stop the running!" he agreed, "so hand it over, come on! If I was Luna," he teased, stretching out the vowels in her name, "you'd let her rub her snot all over your shirt. Admit it man, we've been on the road for like seventeen years and she's already got you under her thumb!" he reached out, poking Noctis in the chest. "You… you really don't care that I'm Verstael's clone?" he asked.

"Hell no! Why does that change anything?" he asked. Prompto replied with a nod and another sniffle, tapping his hands against his thighs,

"I… umm… Luna won't mind? It's still Verstael." He wrinkled his nose saying the name.

"Trust me, she won't care." He slung an arm around Prompto's shoulder. "Now come on, before everyone starts rumors we ran off to make out let's hurry back so they can get this blood transfusion started so Luna can get back on her feet." Noctis suggested, getting another chuckle from his friend whose sobs were finally tapered off to the occasional stuttered breath.

"Let me just…" Prompto ducked down and picked up his bandana, wrapping it around his wrist. "I'm… I'm not ready to tell the whole world yet." He explained, using his teeth to finish the knot. Noctis nodded,

"It's your secret to tell."

They walked back to the medic room, Noctis noticing with a passing glance one of the beds previously occupied was now emptied. He scrunched his face as they passed it, wondering when it had been vacated. Did I just not notice earlier? He wondered. He shrugged it off, sitting on the edge of Lunafreya's bed. She stirred once he sat down,

"Hey it's okay sleep if you need to." He reassured her.

"Uh Lady Luna, sorry for running off like that." Prompto felt his face heat up, and began to bounce on his heels. "Like I promised I'll totally give you all the blood you need. Like, totally the creepiest gift ever." He smiled at her, and got one in return.

"Thank you." She nodded. "I wish I could have kicked this on my own." She drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I wish for us to be back on the road. We must make our way to more royal arms. Noctis, perhaps you and the others could take the Regalia until I recover so I do not slow us down any longer?" Her suggested was shot down by the trio around her.

"First of all, we've been here for like, a fistful of hours. Half a day? I dunno… I'm all lost. So stop trying to play martyr." Crowe chided. Lunafreya flushed, opening her mouth to protest, finding herself lost for words and closed it again quickly, shifting on the mattress. "You took on a damn god. Let yourself rest for more than fifteen minutes!" she reached out and gave the Oracle a light slap on the side of the head. "Speaking of. Pretty surprised that you're still on your feet," she pointed at Nocits.

"Well I feel like I've been hit by a bus. My hip is really killing me." he answered. This drew Lunafreya's attention, but he saw the shift in her expression and pointed at her, "worry about yourself for once. I'll be fine." He insisted. She sighed, and nodded with a slow shrug.

"Everyone else?" she asked.

"We're all still kickin!" Prompto cheered, sticking out two thumbs up again. Lunafreya smiled again and held out a thumbs up again to mirror him. He dropped his arms back down to his sides and resumed bouncing on his heels, chewing on his bottom lip. "Should I go find that medic to do this blood stuff?" he asked so quickly he had to repeat himself a second time to actually be understood.

"Umm… I'll go." Crowe answered him, quirking a brow. "Take a valium dude, you're so hyper you're making me want to take a nap." She teased, getting to her feet. She gave him a thump on the arm as she passed by. Noctis gave her a moment to vanish from the room before looking up at Prompto, nodding at him to try and prompt him into asking Lunafreya the question that was clearly still bothering him.

"So before we do this you should know…" he hesitated, avoiding her eyes. Her expression was too damned soft, too kind. He didn't want to see her smooth brow furrow with lines, her neutral half-smile curl into a frown while her nose lined in a sneer. He wondered what rejection from her usual soft voice would sound like. "I'm… I'm a Nif." He started, eyes flicking back up to search her face for a change in expression. But she remained passive, and as he studied her he saw just how damned tired she was. She needs your blood man. Bad. He began to doubt bringing these concerns up. What if despite Noctis's reassurances she rejected him?

"It matters little where you're from, you're Noctis's friend." She answered.

"Not… not just any Nif." He continued, holding up a hand before folding his arms and digging his fingertips into his arms. "I'm…" he swallowed hard. He looked up to Noctis who simply nodded, and Lunafreya was quietly giving him the space he needed to get these words out. Would this be easier if she was just less nice? He wondered. "You should know whose blood you're gonna let get put in you." He paused. "Okay that sounded like, super creepy." His foot started tapping when he stopped bouncing on his heels.

"Prompto… you can talk to me, it's okay." She reassured.

"I'm a clone." His eyes locked to the floor when he spoke the words, waiting for her response before daring to look up.

"That doesn't-"

"Of Verstael!" he snapped, squinting.

"That doesn't change anything." She answered him. He opened his eyes and looked up, and there was that gentle smile still on her face. Her eyes were a bit wider, and he wished her arms were above the blankets so he could see what she was doing with her fingers. Was she balling angry fists? Drumming her fingers waiting for him to go away? "You're helping me… I. I can't thank you enough. "

"It… it doesn't bother you?" he asked, and she shook her head. He smiled, dropping his arms at his sides. "Oh good! Well… we… we need to get you back to normal so you can go back to being like, all badass and pissing off Gods. Umm just, can you not tell the others just yet?"

"I promise." She answered.

"I'm gonna go catch up with Crowe so we can start all this stuff." He smiled, waving her off and dashing out of the room.

"Verstael made clones?" Lunafreya murmured after Prompto was gone from the room. "I should not have expected less from him. I wonder why Verstael let him go. The man is usually quite possessive of the people he considers his."

"He said something about his mother getting him out but didn't give me much detail. I just remember going to school together when we were little." Noctis offered. "So it doesn't bother you?" he asked. She hesitated for a moment but shook her head,

"He's your friend. I trust him." She answered. She wondered what Verstael would think if he knew that his clone, blood identical to his own, would run through her veins. Goosebumps rolled down her arms, taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly through her nose as she tried to push images of his face out of her mind. She could almost hear the experiments he would want to conduct as a result of this, testing her magic. Testing her blood. Caligo watching over them. She closed her eyes and tried to will away the image of that lab room from the back of her eyelids. Suddenly the room smelled too sterile. The bleach, the strange tang in her nose from the saline running from an almost-empty bag on a hook. The starchy sheets scratched her skin in an all-too familiar way.

"Luna?" she opened her eyes, feeling Noctis shift closer to her on the bed. She moved her arms out from under the heavy blankets and reached for his hand, gripping it tight.

"I promise, I take no issue with Prompto or his origin. She kept her concerns to herself, a pang of guilt settling with the anxiety taking over her mind, remembering the look of her own hand writing as she promised not to keep secrets from Noctis. Talk to him about it later. She assured herself. You're not breaking any promises just by telling him later. It did little to soothe her guilt, and she tried to shift her attention to the warmth of the fingers wrapped around her fingers.

"Before we go get royal arms let's go to Lestallum and get some really nice street food, some ice cream. Before you get worried about being noticed once you're back to your old self and in clean clothes pull your hood on and no one will notice who you are." He offered.

"It feels wrong to hide, but I understand why we must." She sighed. "Once I feel normal again before we depart I wish to repay the kindness of everyone here by healing those still injured." She counter-offered. "then we can gorge ourselves on junk food." She compromised. Noctis smiled,

"Fair enough" She agreed, a smile crossing her own features. He leaned forward and placed a small kiss atop her lips, and she closed her eyes and tried to lean into him, not expecting him to pull back. She flushed, realizing that while unconscious there were still others in the room. She hitched herself up, shaking her head when Noctis reached out to press a hand to her shoulder. "If you want me to lie back down then bring yourself over here." She asked, leaning back on her elbows, ignoring the lightheadedness creeping up the back of her scalp from her attempt to sit up.

Noctis shook his head at her stubbornness, leaning over her bed in spite of the creaking springs to press his lips to hers once more, earning a huff of air from her nose, and her arms possessively winding around his neck. She tugged him down to her better, wishing for the privacy of their tent. The kiss lingered, her thumb playing with the hair on the back of his neck.

"Your hair is getting long." She remarked when she drew back, hand sliding from the back of his neck to the side of his jaw, her thumb now rubbing against the stubble on his cheek, "and you haven't shaved. It looks nice." She smiled.

"Been kinda preoccupied the last few days." He answered, returning her gesture by cupping her cheek, leaning forward to kiss her again. "I guess I can get my razor from the Regalia." He suggested, Lunafreya shaking her head no.

"You look quite good." She insisted, both hands how playfully rubbing his cheeks with her fingers.

"That tickles!" he protested back, grabbing her wrists to pull them away and she resisted to stubbornly keep brushing the stubble on his cheeks against the grain. He laughed at the way her tongue poked out slightly through her teeth as she smirked at him.

"Careful now, don't tell me that you're only shooting yourself in the foot."

"Well considering I know your tickling spots," he slid his hands under her shirt and began to wiggle his fingers against the skin just below her ribs and she curled in on herself and broke into hysterics,

"Gah! Stop!" she started slapping at his hands, "you're the worst!" he laughed, straining to keep at it while she turned onto her side, "I… I'm dizzy." She managed between laughs. He quickly stopped and withdrew his arms.

"You okay?" he asked, knitting his brow.

"I'm fine, just a tad lightheaded." She shrugged at him, still smiling at him and reached out to tap at his hand, "stop pouting. They'll have me feeling better soon." The nervousness she felt began to creep back in, and she rested against the pillows and tried to find her center, squeezing Noctis's hand tightly. Memories of Verstael threatened to creep back into the forefront of her memory but she shifted her thoughts over to Prompto. That hyperactive blond man who had sat beside her and excitedly shared his photographs with her. Something good actually came of Vertael. A dear friend to Noctis, and the power to get me back onto my feet so we can resume our quest.

[Prom] Hey man am I a wuss if I think this needle is like terrifying?

[Prom] I mean yeah sure I kinda am a total wuss dont tell gladio I admitted that but this thing is like a drinking straw!

Noctis chuckled reading the messages after his phone buzzed.

[Noct] Need moral support?

[Prom] Nah I got gladdy here reminding me how much of a girl I am while Ignis tells him Im the brave one and some fancy way to say Im helping Luna

[Noct] Cant thank you enough man

[Prom] Of course!

Noctis tucked his phone into his pocket, letting his head rest back and closed his eyes for a few moments. His phone buzzed, but his come-and-go headache was starting it's come cycle, settling behind his eyes and reminding his hip that it hurt. He hoped the rest of this transfusion wouldn't take long. He wanted to give Lunafreya all the time she needed to recover but sleeping in these short bursts in a chair was beginning to get to him. His phone started buzzing again, and he pulled it out to see that his father was calling him.

"It's my dad." He stated, looking at a very groggy Lunafreya.

"Answer it." she suggested, and he nodded. A quick glance around the room and he decided that he would rather take the call outside.

"Hey dad." He thumbed the phone while he walked past the other resting patients.

"Son, I've just heard on the radio, the meteor has fallen."

"Yeah." He answered, trying to collect his thoughts to bring his father up to speed as a wave of guilt passed through him for having not called him sooner. He sank down against the outside wall of the medical building. "We made the covenant." He explained. He could hear the worry in his father's voice, and he scratched at the back of his neck while he told him about their current situation.

"Is Luna all right?" he asked. Noctis nodded at the air, before answering.

"Yeah she just needs rest." He felt more guilt as he left the details out, but he didn't want to bring his father excess stress by telling him the details about Lunafreya's condition. He wondered when the next time they could make it back to Hammerhead would be. He pinched the bridge of his nose, the headache beginning to grow stronger.

"And you son?"

"I'm okay. Worried." He admitted, "I used my armiger against Titan and I've had a headache ever since." He rubbed at his hip, sure that the growing ache was probably a pulled muscle. "Will that get worse when I get more weapons?"

"The armiger is hard to use, give yourself some rest and you'll feel normal in no time. It takes a little getting used to." His father assured him.

"How are you doing dad?"

"Just a bit concerned." He sounded tired,

"Have there been more daemon attacks?" Noctis asked.

"Yes… we've been sleeping in the garage. We purchased some stronger daemon repelling lights. Takka's latest shipment of vegetables came in rotten and black so we had to make the travel up to Lestallum for some supplies and got lights while there." His father explained.

"Is everyone okay?" Noctis sat up straighter, gripping the phone harder.

"No one is hurt." His father assured him, ,letting out a long sigh on the other end. "It's just tiring." He wasn't used to hearing his father talk like this.

"Can we do anything? Maybe we can find information on how to set up a haven at Hammerhead." Noctis wondered.

"The havens were created so long ago the knowledge has been all but lost. There may be a book or two containing the methods once used but… alas, those books are kept in the royal library of the Citadel." Regis explained, Noctis squinting to push away the images of him home aflame from his mind's eye.

"We'll take back our home. We have two covenants… I have three arms. Once Luna feels better we'll get more." Noctis promised. "Just… stay safe, okay? Those lights strong enough? We're near Lestallum we can get more for you." He offered.

"No, the daemons seem to be kept out of the actual garage, and Cid has been greatly enjoying the opportunity to tinker with some machinery for better protection. You focus on your task and caring for Luna."

"Okay, I will."

"Walk tall son,"

"I will dad…" he waited a moment in case his father had more to say before ending the call, pushing his phone back into his pocket. He let out a long huff of air, fingers weaving into his hair before dropping his arms by his side.

The transfusion took longer than Noctis was expecting, maybe I'm just impatient he thought. Sandrina was staying in the room for the duration of it. He couldn't help the uneasy feeling seeing a bag of blood hanging there, wondering to himself about how dark it was like that. Prompto had been given a solid meal after his donation and made to promise not to drink any alcohol for a couple days. The retinue were all given bunks in another part of the camp to sleep properly, but Crowe had insisted on staying with Noctis and Lunafreya until she was well enough to leave.

They had been assured that she should be fine to move by morning, though the medic had insisted they return to the nearest hospital immediately if Lunafreya started showing any further signs of bleeding. There had been a round of teasing when Noctis sprouted a nosebleed shortly after this warning, Crowe taking to calling him Prince Tusk with the way he had twirled tissues shoved up his nose. The others had been given bunks to get some proper sleep, but Crowe had insisted on staying with her charge, as did Noctis.

"I feel much better, I assure you." Lunafreya insisted after she had woken up near noon. Crowe glanced up at Noctis, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes woken by their conversation.

"Why don't we do one more hunt? Get a little more cash, give Sparkles a few more hours to finish recharging her batteries, then back on the road?" she suggested in the pause allotted by Noctis's hesitation.

"Great idea." Noctis agreed with her, grasping at the excuse.

"Or rather, I come with should something go awry." Lunafreya argued back. "Don't look at me like that Noct, I've proven myself capable already. And I honestly do feel better today." She continued, reaching out and patting the back of his hand.

"I…" he hesitated, "Okay." He agreed. "Just… please, be careful."

"Lady Lunafreya?" she flinched, turning quickly to look up at Sandrina,

"I apologize… I've been told before I should wear a bell." The medic gave her a sheepish smile. "You have a visitor." She was drumming her fingers on the back of her clipboard and bouncing slightly on one leg.

"Who?" Lunafreya asked, casting a concerned glance to Noctis.

"The High Commander of Niflehiem's army," the woman flushed slightly, "your brother' she added quickly. "Excuse me," she left quickly and once she was through the door Lunafreya looked up to see Ravus walking into the small building.

"Ravus?" she asked, sitting upright in the bed, grateful that no lightheadedness forced her to lie back down.

"Luna…" she smiled, in spite of the tiny flicker of residual anger from his last visit.

"It's good to see you." She turned when she saw Noctis stiffen beside her.

"Uh… Come on Noct, let's go check out the hunts and catch up with the others while Sparkles chit-chats." Crowe suggested, making a talking gesture with her hand. Noctis paused but Crowe reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, jerking him to his feet, "Let's go." She enunciated carefully and he followed her tug with a gag, scowling and jutting his jaw at Ravus as he was half-dragged, and half-followed Crowe from the building.

"I should knock that smug-"

"Ravus!" Lunafreya snapped.

"Sorry…" he apologized, sighing. "I just-"

"I am quite versed in how you feel about him." She interrupted. He winced at her tone, sitting down on the edge of the bed,

"I didn't' come here to argue with you about him. I heard through the radio that the meteor fell. I was tasked with investigating and I saw that Titan was gone… you formed the covenant didn't you?" he asked.

"How did you find me?" Lunafreya asked, lifting a brow. "We were so careful."

"Not careful enough." Ravus answered her, shaking his head. He reached out to grab her hand, giving it a squeeze. "Why are you in a… can I even call this a hospital?" he asked, looking around with a grimace.

"You know the price I pay to awaken an astral." Lunafreya answered, squeezing his hand back. "You didn't' answer me about how you found me." she asked.

"It was foolish if you to raid the research base." He started, shaking his head. "You took out the communication tower but not before everyone's phones pinged their signal. The Nifleheim engineers went through every ping on those towers before the blackout to gather the signal from everyone's phone, and now can track all of you. The pings have been traveling but they stayed still in this area. I managed to convince Caligo to allow me to come fetch you. I don't know how much longer I can keep him off your trail. It's… It's what I had come to tell you the last time I saw you." Ravus explained, hanging his head. "But I allowed my anger to get the best of me." Muscles stood out in his neck as he grit his teeth together, avoid his sister's gaze.

Lunafreya felt the color drain from her face, nausea settling in a firey knot in her stomach. She gripped Ravus's hand harder, and he saw the black of her pupil overtake the pale blue. He tightened his own grip on her hand, the other reaching out to grip her shoulder,

"I am never letting him near you again Lunafreya, I swear." He vowed. "Besides that man thinks himself above the chore of coming to get you himself." He tried to reassure her, but she shook her head.

"I know that man better than you do Ravus. If you fail to bring me back to him he will come for me himself. We best leave this base… immediately." She suggested.

"It would be fore the best. Everyone should turn their phones off, to be used only in emergencies. Or better yet discard them altogether." He advised.

"Noct will be quite disappointed to lose his movies and games." She chuckled sadly.

"There are more important things here than movies and games." Ravus sneered, curling his lip.

"Yet it allows me a small bit of relaxation on this journey." She countered quickly. She relaxed her grip on his hand he and let her go, both her hands folding in her lap. "You should join us brother…" she requested.

"I can't. My best chance at keeping you safe is to stay within the military." He answered her. "Unless you come with me, I can take us both far away from here." He suggested, catching her gaze.

"You know that's impossible." She answered and frowned. I can't return to another prison under the guise of safety. She thought to herself. Safe meant locked up, hidden, tucked away for no one to see. "I must see this to fruition. What good is hiding in safety if the blight scours our star?" she asked.

"It's why the Empire is researching the blight, they may be cruel but they can cure it. Let some good come about from their evil." Ravus insisted.

"Do you know what their research entails?" Lunafreya asked. "Did you see that base you call us foolish for stopping? Read the notes of that disturbed human who called themselves doctor? Have you seen what has been born of desperation? Such mad cruelty…" she whispered, shaking her head. "I must purge our star." She answered. "Alongside Noctis." She added, and held up a palm.

"I just want you safe."

"I am safe." She insisted.

"You're in a hospital!"

"Because Noctis and his friends brought me here safely!" she shot back. "Why must we argue?" she asked, brows knit together.

"Why did you inherit mother's curse…" he sighed. "Don't recite the words to me." he cut her off.

"Mother's gift was no curse. She helped our people, all of Tenebrae loved her."

"You think Niflehiem would have murdered her were she not Oracle?" he asked.

"Yes." She stated simply. "The light has kept the blight at bay but its growing stronger." She sighed, dropping her head. "You wish for my safety. And I wish for yours. Tread carefully, Noctis told me of a cave filled with the black patterns you see on victims of the blight. The meteor as well. Titan himself was infected." She explained, "you said you visited the meteor?" she asked.

"Yes, I had to ensure you were not trapped there. I could only gain access by airship." Ravus explained.

"Did you exit your airship?" he nodded to her question and she immediately reached out her hands, but he gripped her wrists and pushed her away in a gesture that felt too familiar. She pursed her lips at him and when she reached out again he didn't stop her, recognizing that stubborn expression. She shifted so she sat up on her knees, giving herself a few seconds when she felt a mild dizziness in the back of her head but it faded nearly as quickly as it came. She pressed her forehead to his, Ravus needing to bend down for it as she poured her light into him, reciting her prayer.

"Thank you. I… I forgot how peaceful that felt."

"You're lucky you found me." she chided. But his words brought back memories. Sitting in her mother's lap, crying and pointing to her scraped knee. Her mother telling her to stop acting like her reckless brother as she helped accelerate the healing process the sting fading with the warmth of her mother's light. Of lying in bed with a cloth over her forehead, respirations raspy as she struggled through the intense infection. Her mother coming in, returning home early from a diplomatic trip to cure her daughter, the light filling her and replacing the chill of fever with that comfort soothing her to sleep. She hoped that her own light brought this same comfort to those she healed, and that she could give her brother back this one piece of their lost mother. "Travel with us." She asked again. "Noctis will get used to you if I have to smack the sense into him. I miss you. The real you. I miss our silly games, stealing treats, for once acting very much unlike a princess while you goad me on." She smiled a bit.

"I… I want nothing more sister but…"

"The empire. It seems our family is destined to be kept apart by their hand." She sighed.

"You should hurry from this place. They may send more ships… I don't know how much longer Caligo will trust me."

"I love you brother."

"And you, sister." He bent down to place a kiss on the crown of her head before standing up, Lunafreya watching him leave with a frown, anxiety filling her heart as she thought about the airships coming for them.


Okay I promise this is the end of this super-slow mini-arc and the next chapter is them getting their asses moving. But I do hope you enjoyed the gang's reprieve. I felt a little unsure about speeding through the transfusion itself, but I also felt like I had gone over everyone's doubts and insecurities enough and repeating it would only belabor the point. Thoughts?