Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting

Bagpipes5K2: Indeed, he managed to make it through in one piece. ;w; And yesssss, I figured people would like that part since it's so unlike him, but I can actually see him getting fed up enough to do that. lol

twaxer: Just a little bit. XD As awkward as Noctis is when it comes to this stuff, I see him actually being decent at it when he cares about the person. AND YESSSSSS, well, his name does mean fire in Latin, so it makes sense. lol PLOT TWIST, the spirits didn't move on and just switched bodies. lol I'm glad you stuck around too. XD See, it didn't get too scary. ;D

MysteriousBean: Don't worry, it shall now only go uphill...until the next couple stories, then it plummets.

Weaselandcherry: Yesssss, whenever Ignis does anything remotely not legal, I eat it up. :D And I would kill to have someone like that honestly. XD Someone who cares that much. ;w; Their story is covered in this one, so not to worry, also Luna is the real MVP in this. Ohhhhhh yeah, he's definitely worried about meeting her legitimately. lol And thank you so much for reading, means a lot that you enjoyed it. ;A; But here it is, the last chapter before I do worse things.

websky: LIGHT 'EM UP UP UP~ This song will forever be my jam. Thank you so much, kinda sad that it's over though. ;w;

Noctis glanced up as the others returned, but otherwise stayed where he was, "What were you two up to? Sneaking off like that." Not that he particularly cared.

"Just wrapping some loose ends," Ignis replied, heading to the kitchen to get their meal under way, "I hope everyone is alright with stew, since that's what I plan on making." Of course, no one objected to it, knowing he had only planned on that so that Prompto could have simple broth. "I suspect Lunafreya will be joining us?" he asked, flicking his gaze to the king, "After all, she wanted to check up on Prompto, and this is probably the best time to do so."

The raven sighed, glancing over to his phone on the side table, "Yeah, besides, I still haven't told her that he woke up and was...himself." He scooped it into his hand and stared down at it for a moment, "I'll go let her know, so I'll be right back." Carefully, with a watchful eye on the blond, he eased himself off the bed, being extra cautious not to disturb him. And, now that he was in the clear, made his way out the door.

"You ever wonder what he says to her that he always has to be alone?" Gladio asked with a sly smirk on his face.

Ignis rolled his eyes, "Do try to keep your thoughts to yourself. The Lady is a bit too modest for such things."

The shied held his hands up defensively, "Hey, I didn't say anything, you're the one that filled in the blanks." He lowered himself in one of the chairs at the table with a grunt, "Man, I am tired," he lightly complained, rubbing the palms of his hands over his eyes. "I'm ready to hibernate for about a week."

"Well, there is a second bed, you know," he put the water on the stove and began heating it up, "The sheets have been replaced, so it's fine."

"Yeah, I know," he replied, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. Yawning, he gazed back down at the other, "How much longer ya suppose we'll be here?"

He hummed to himself as he began chopping an onion, keeping his attention on his task, "Considering recent events, we could still be here a while. What with travel still being a sensitive matter and security being more cautious than ever, it could be well more than a few weeks. Not to mention Prompto can barely move at the moment, so even if that weren't the case, we'd still be required to take some time here."

The other nodded slowly, hands now drifting behind his head and he cracked an eye open to glare in the other room, finding the blond still out like a light and straightened himself back up, "Reckon he's gonna be like that for the majority of the next few days." He wasn't sitting long before he had to get back up, "I need something to do, Imma go crazy if I have to stay stuck in here for that long."

"Then go for a walk," he dropped the onions in the pot and reached in the fridge for the carrots, "It's still rather early, so the chances of you getting lost are slim."

"Don't feel like it," he mumbled, slowly walking over to the window to peer outside and folded his arms over his chest, "Ya'know, I still can't help but feel a little worried about this whole thing," Ignis' gestured noise for him to elaborate sounded out, "How much do you suppose he remembers about everything? I mean, about that stuff he was saying? Obviously, we all know it wasn't him, but I don't think he would differentiate the two," he turned to face back towards the other.

Idly, the brunet went about his business, having thought about the same thing himself earlier, and honestly it nibbled at his mind on and off. "If what that thing said was true, and he really was checked out, then I have no doubt he'll remember any of that. But, malevolent forces aren't known for the truthful natures, so there is the sliver of a chance." He breathed out heavily though his nose, "If he doesn't though, we are not to say a single word on the matter; I think we'd all prefer that certain memory to be extinguished."

"Don't have to tell me twice, I assumed that was common sense," Gladio shrugged and walked over next to the bed to sit at the foot of it, "I'd prefer if he were to just forget everything over the last few days if I'm being honest with myself."

Ignis finished dropping all his chopped components in the pot and gently placed the lid over them, "I'm sure we'd all wish to forget, but I do believe it would be best if we didn't. It provides a very important reminder of what could happen, of how vulnerable we all really are. And, of course, things aren't always what we assume them to be," he sighed on that one, the guilt still clinging to his chest. "Best we can do is learn from it, and learn to trust one another a bit more."

That particular part stung at the other a bit, "Yeah, yeah, I think I figured that out already." He felt the light shift and glanced over. "Awake again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "That didn't last long, but I guess you did sleep for about a day." He lifted himself up and made his way to crouch before the blond, quickly checking everything out, "Well, at least you don't feel as warm as earlier," he mumbled taking his hand from his cheek, "How ya feelin'?" He got an annoyed mumble in return and cracked eye to glare at him with, "I'll take that as a 'crappy,'" he lightly chuckled. "I'll get you some more water," he offered, taking the now lukewarm water in order to replace it with some fresh and cool, "Didn't go through all that just to have to die from dehydration," he muttered.

"Thanks," the blond uttered as Gladio helped him to sit up, the process going a bit easier this time around than it had earlier; that's not to say it went smoothly though. Again, the glass was held for him as he took a few generous sips, the liquid going down a lot easier than earlier. Once he had enough, he glanced around, "Where's Noct?"

The shield nodded towards the door, "Talking to Luna, asking her to join us tonight."

The other blushed slightly, "So she's uh, she's coming here?" he looked absolutely horrified. "In this room...tonight?"

"We don't know yet, but that's the plan," Gladio narrowed his eyes, "Do you not want her to?" He watched as Prompto darted his eyes a bit, looking a bit nervous.

Taking a deep breath, he finally settled on the other, "I-I do wanna meet her, but not like this," He scanned over his body, his barely working body and back to Gladio, "It's embarrassing. When I thought about meeting her, I didn't think I'd be stuck in a bed." He cleared his throat and leaned his head back, "I wanted to at least be able to stand before her, ya'know."

Gladio nodded as he listened on to the light rambling, "Prom, calm down," he motioned his hands in a downward gesture, "Trust me, this is an improvement from what she saw yesterday; I'm sure she will be more than thrilled." The shield placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "You're overthinking it, deep down, she's a person just like us, so trust me when I say, she really won't give a shit."

"You sure?" he asked, still not completely convinced; seeing her as such a higher being, his standards had been set pretty high for the day they'd finally meet face to face.

"Positive," he promised, patting his hand down before getting up, "Alright Iggy, I know you've been itching to get your hands on him, so it's your turn." He brushed his hands together as he gave Prompto an overly sympathetic look to take his place back at the table.

The blond's eyes widened when he saw the adviser disappear and reappear with the medical supplies in hand, "I apologize, but your bandages need to be changed, and it's not going to be pleasant." He strolled over and placed the white box on the bedside table, "Gladio, keep an eye on the pot, make sure it doesn't spill over, will you?" He got the accompanying 'sure' and set himself to work. "Other than some pain, does anything else feel wrong?" he scanned his eyes up to stare into the other's, "Anything at all?"

Prompto shook his head as Ignis took hold of his left hand and began unraveling the wrappings, eventually revealing the ugly and maimed fingers underneath and he found himself cringing and glancing away. He could tell they were bad just by how they felt, but to actually see them... "This shouldn't take long," Ignis whispered, knowing how uncomfortable this had to be for him, both physically and mentally.

Once they were all pulled away, he dabbed the antiseptic over them, working quickly to get this done as fast and efficient as possible. As he carried this out, the door opened and they heard Noctis' footsteps slowly saunter in, hand stuffing the phone back in his pocket. "Well," he started, "That's it, she said she'll be able to join and check in." He paused to look over to Prompto, "You sure didn't sleep long." The gunner shrugged, followed closely by a wince as the cotton swab was pulled away.

"Just woke up," he replied plainly, cringing again.

"Sorry, almost done with this one," Ignis assured, exchanging the swab for some fresh gauze and began redressing. As soon as that was done, he placed the limb gently at his side, "Alright, next," he started, realizing what he was asking. "I'll just go over there," he awkwardly coughed, gathering the things as he remembered his lack of mobility.

Prompto breathed out heavily in annoyance, "I'm not completely helpless," he complained, attempting to lift his left arm, but only getting it a few inches before the shaking set in. "Just mostly," he mumbled, looking away.

"Don't worry about it," the brunet began repeating the process, "All in due time, be patient." He got this one done much faster, the damages being quite less severe than on the right. And with that, it was time to get to the part he dreaded the most and climbed onto the bed next to Prompto. Pulling the cover down, he peered at the red speckled bandages, "This one will most likely be a bit worse, so just try to stay still."

"I know, just get it over with."

He wasted no time in obliging and swiftly peeled the coverings away, cringing himself as they clung slightly. "I'll try to be as gentle as I can but I need to get it cleaned thoroughly," he warned, not giving the thought much time to process before pouring a generous amount over the open wounds. He hated the way the blond gasped and whimpered quietly, obviously trying not to make a sound. So, he gave the substance time to do its job and patted it away, "The worst is over, just need to cover it now."

Luckily, that part was easy going and in no time he was able to relax again, albeit slightly out of breath, but calmed down. "We done?" he asked, subtle pleading in his voice.

"Yes, I believe that's it," Ignis gathered everything up and put them away, "That's it for now, but it won't be the last time we have to do this." He caught the concerned expression, "But it shouldn't be as bad in a day or so, this will have been the worst of it." That seemed to pacify him a bit, "Everything going fine in there, Gladio?"

"Well, nothing's burned," he called back, sounding almost bored, "So, I'd say things are going well." Ignis still didn't buy it, this was the same man that considered cup noodles a viable meal.

Prompto kept his eyes on him until he vanished around the corner, his right hand trying to drift to his chest, which took far more effort and time than he would have liked. "Noct?" he asked, beckoning his friend over, who sat next to him, "I was wondering, aside from breaking Iggy's nose and uh, biting you, did I do anything else? Did I hurt anyone else?" His eyes shined as he thought about it, "Did I do anything to Luna?"

Noctis' heart skipped as he recalled some of his words, 'Miserable tamp, go suck a dick and choke on it,' "No, don't worry, you didn't hurt her in anyway, alright? Trust me, I was there to make sure." He pulled his legs up to cross them, "In fact, other that those couple things, you didn't do much of anything," he lied through his teeth, "Mostly just sat there."

Fortunately, Prompto dropped his head back, "Good," he breathed out, "Was worried there for a moment, I mean, don't get me wrong, feel terrible about what I did to you two, but if I...did anything to her, then it'd be a different story." His hand, what little it was able to, gripped at the cover that draped him, "And you sure...that they're gone?"

"One hundred percent."

"I'm relieved, they had it rather rough, so, I'm glad they were finally able to move on."

"Prom, they were destroying you, you realize that, right?" he raised an eyebrow, finding this amount of sympathy for them to be slightly unnerving.

He blushed a bit at that, "I know, but they, they didn't mean for that to happen; they were trapped and confused. I don't think they meant any of it." Slowly, he brought his other hand to join the first, "I think they just wanted to move on, but they were here for so long, it warped them, and they became lost and corrupted. I don't think they were originally horrible people, but the time they spent here ruined their perception."

"Well, they don't have to suffer anymore, so everything's right then," the king summed up, "Everything can go back to normal...mostly normal," he corrected, his face faltering.

"Right," Prompto looked down, "I doubt things will be the same, but there's always hope?" he tried, not sounding convinced himself. "Yeah, I knew that was stupid before I said it, but, nothing to really be done about it, I guess."

"We'll have to come to terms with it and get over it somehow," Noctis agreed.

As if sensing the souring mood, Gladio peeked around the corner, "Hey, when is she gonna get here, it shouldn't be too much longer before the food's ready." He spoke loudly, completely cutting off their conversation.

"I dunno, she said she'd be on her way as soon as possible, so how should I know?" He took out his phone to check for any messages, but instantly lowered it again at the knock, "Well, does that answer your question?" He looked over to Prompto who visibly paled at the sound, and for the first time since waking, he wondered what sort of shambles his appearance had to be in.

"How's my hair?" he quickly asked, unable to check it for himself. Rolling his eyes, Noctis turned his camera on and switched it over to the front camera before facing it towards him. He groaned at what he was looking at, "I look like a mess," he complained, noticing the different angles of his normally styled hair, and the paleness of his skin along with the darkness under his eyes. "I look like I've died," he mumbled, lined with humor. The king wasn't quite as amused considering how accurate he found that statement to be.

The raven shook his head, "Dude, she's really not going to care, trust me, she understands well enough to know you aren't gonna be exactly in presentable conditions, alright?" He groaned at the way he continued to stare at himself, and without much thought, he reached over with one hand and crudely combed through his hair until it was at least parted in its usual place, "There, happy?"

"No, but it's better than it was." He jumped slightly and shot his eyes to his right when he felt another presence, "Oh, uhhhh," he was frozen on the spot, eyes locking with another set of blue, "I'm sorry, I didn't-I didn't notice you."

Luna laughed lightly to herself, "It's quite alright, I should have said something sooner." He chewed the inside of his cheek, his nerves were obviously on edge, "You can relax, I'm only here under casual circumstances this time." She smiled warmly at him and quickly bowed her head, "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in the right state of mind though."

Prompto was almost awkwardly staring back, "Yeah, uh, same," he looked down, "It's nice to see you and actually remember it."

"Feel free to have a seat anywhere," Ignis called over, "We'll be eating in there, seeing as, well you know." he avoided pointing out the blond's temporary incapacitated state mostly from his own currently fragile pride. "I'll let you know when it's ready."

"Thank you," she decided to take a seat at the edge of the bed, "Have you had any issues since yesterday?" she got right to it, wanting to know instantly if things hadn't fully worked out.

He quickly shook his head, wincing when it stabbed subtly, "Just a tad of soreness," he admitted, "But other than that, it's been...calm. But, there is something I wanted to talk to you guys about. I mentioned it to Noct, but he suggested I save it for everyone." He lifted his gaze to meet hers, "I know what they went through, and I thought that you all would want to know as well."'

Lunafreya looked genuinely interested to hear what he had to say, having not had the opportunity to hear much of the matter herself. "I think that'd be nice," she folded her hands in her lap, "I do wish to know exactly what they went through, to shed some light on the cause of their misery and regrets."

Prompto shared her compassion towards the two of them, especially after having felt their emotions and grief firsthand; he felt what it was exactly they were sensing, "One thing I can say for sure is, they didn't want this."

"Everything's ready," Ignis peered in to them, "Come and get you a bowl." He didn't wait for the others to do so and went ahead and scooped a few spoons of broth into a mug of the blond; he figured drinking it from that would be a fair amount easier. Cup in hand, he walked by the other two as they made their way, "Think you can hold it?" he asked, holding it out. Prompto nodded, and moved his hands enough for the mug to be gripped between them. "Careful, it's hot," he needless warned.

"Iggy, I got it, go get you something," he cocked his head in the other direction. "I'm not that hungry right now, so I can wait. And, from the looks of things, you guys are in worse shape than me."

He was set with one of the man's famous glares, the one that said he wasn't taking that kind of nonsense, "I'll get some once you drank that," he stubbornly crossed his arms, "And I'm not moving until you do. You can't very well do so by yourself yet, so let me know when you're ready." He didn't care about the fact that this obviously made him uncomfortable. Sure, being helped with drinking water was one thing, but to literally be spoon fed was a different on entirely. "No one is judging you, so the faster you comply, the faster we can get this over with."

Prompto took a deep breath and gave up, he knew there was no arguing against the man, "Alright." He ignored the fact that the others had come back with their own dishes, each of them taking a seat to dig in while he was stuck having Ignis literally lift his hands for him.

"Look on the bright side," Gladio started from the other bed, "Once you actually get your strength back up, you won't need this kind of treatment any more. But, the only way to get to that point is to suck it up and let us help you." The blond cut his eyes over, but said nothing, knowing he had a valid point. "Just enjoy it while you can, because you can bet your ass the moment you're better there won't be any leeway."

With that in mind, and as long as no one watched on, he finished that cup of broth, ecstatic to have it over with, "There," he mumbled when he was done, "Now, go get you something."

"As you wish," Ignis took the cup in his hands and was more than willing to get his own now that Prompto was taken care of.

"So," Noctis pulled his attention, "About those two, what exactly do you know about them?" The blond perked up as everyone was watching him now.

He thought about it for a moment, and got started, "Well, I don't know all the details, but I can try and sum it all up for you. All I really know is the one was a woman, and the other was a man. The female, she was an artist, an artist that got dragged into all that mess. She was held there, in that cellar, forced to complete that painting, they promised her they'd set her free and let her go once it was finished."

"And the guy?" Gladio pressed, "what did he have to do with it all?"

"He was, well he was one of the men that held her there," he looked back down, "He got a bit...touchy," he chose his words carefully, "And she fought back. There wasn't much she could use as a weapon, aside from her brushes, and I think you can figure out how that went." His voice faded off as he took a moment to collect his memories, "Anyway, she finished it, she got it done, and instead of letting her go, they killed her," he shrugged, blinking rapidly.

Noctis lowered his bowl to his lap, "How do you know all this anyway?"

Prompto jerked his focus back up, "I, uh, I dunno, I think I dreamed a lot of it, so I don't know if it's true or not, but it felt real enough." He fiddled his thumbs, seeing as they were the only unharmed fingers, "I'm pretty sure it was what happened though, it had to be."

With what they had heard the previous day, it did add up. "I see, well they don't have to endure that pain any longer," Luna reminded him, "They've moved on and are no longer bound to this world by their remorse."

The blond nodded, "Thank you, thank you so much. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it," he lowered his head to hide his face, feeling his eyes sting slightly, "I'm sure they appreciate it as well." He lifted his gaze as a soft and delicate hand wrapped over his own.

"There is no need for thanks, I did so simply because it was something that needed to be done, something that could not go unattended to." She slowly pulled her hand away, "It's quite astonishing though, that even after all that you've gone through, you still hold no ill will against them, and that shows just how caring your soul is, and I think they noticed as well; that's why they chose to cling to you. They knew you'd want to help them."

He didn't know why, but hearing that gave him a small sense of gratitude and pride; he wasn't sure if it were the words themselves, or the fact that it was coming from her, but whatever is was it made him feel a swell of honor. "Just don't think that gives ya permission to go and do it again," Gladio swiftly ruined the mood.

"Trust me, I'm not gonna go looking for any spirits in need of vacancy," Prompto assured with a snort.

"Good, I don't think we can handle any more of that," he pushed himself up and gathered everyone's finished bowls, "So, hurry up and get better so we can leave this place, I'm starting to lose it here myself." He flashed the blond a sly grin in passing.

Taking a deep breath, he relaxed into the sheets, already feeling tired again, "I just woke up," he complained and yawned.

Luna eased her way off the bed, "You should get some more rest," she urged, "No need to force yourself to stay awake, I'll be here for a few days more. Or at least until I have to give my speech, so there's plenty of time to talk about this if you still desire to do so." He nodded and slowly slithered down to lie flat, slightly relieved he actually managed it on his own this time. "Take care," she bowed and waved a hand as she turned.

"Thanks again," he mumbled, sight quickly being swallowed up, "And be careful," he quickly added. And, he found himself to be much more at ease with his anxiety draining him and having the comfort of knowing that they were right about her, she really didn't have an ounce of judgement in her. He caught her warm and heartening smile before he again lost the battle against wakefulness.

Welp, now that this is over, it's time to move on to bigger and "better" things.~

Hope no one is expecting things to go uphill. lololololololol