Still alive, still writing, hi there! Just to say it again: I put Galahd north of the Cleigne region because when I reseached it, I found several posts saying it could be there. It fits in the story. Please don't be mad xD

A soft groan made Gladio pull his eyes from his book and over to the prince, who was still leaning against him. They hadn't changed positions for about an hour now.

"You still with me, bud?" he asked, slightly readjusting the cloth that still covered most of the raven's face.

Noctis' face scrunched up, Gladio's voice was way too loud for his liking. "I feel sick," he muttered, trying to change his position just a little without moving his pounding head too much.

"You gotta puke?"

Another groan was the only answer.

"Because I'd like you to tell me if you have to, I don't want you vomiting all over the place. And me."

His hand shot up, lifting one corner of the cloth to give Gladio a squinted glare. "Would you stop?"

The brute chuckled, gave him a short nod and Noctis let the cloth plop back down on his face. It was completely dry by now but it wasn't about the coolness, it just felt kinda soothing to have his eyes covered.

"How are you feeling?" Gladio's voice again, grating in his ears like fingernails on a chalkboard.

He bit back a snappy answer and tried to make out how he actually was feeling. "Sick. Tired. Wanna sleep," he said in a monotone voice.

"Let's stick to just dozing for now, okay?"

"Why."

"Because, Noct, you have a concussion and I don't want you to fall asleep just yet."

"B't I wanna," the raven slurred, swallowing hard a few times. This didn't go unnoticed by Gladio and he kept a close eye on the younger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ignis' head pacing by the window. He was still trying to reach everyone he could think of it seems.

Putting his book down, he watched the prince closely for any other weird behaviour. Though he was acting weird enough since he got hit, this was new.

"No chance, Noct," he said, to get his attention again and keep him busy, "It's either staying awake for a bit and, at best, getting better on your own, or we'll get you to a hospital somehow."

"Tha's both shit," Noctis said, shifting nervously in his position now. He hated to admit it but, something felt off. And it got worse.

Suddenly Noctis moved really fast, eliciting a surprised gasp from Gladio. On all fours on the ground, he started emptying his stomach, the raging headaches blurring his sight. He felt hands holding him so he wouldn't just crumple down to a heap on the floor and somewhere far away Gladio's voice calling his and Ignis' name.

Noctis' head jerked up and a few coughs sounded out. The memory of that day still vivid in his head, he rubbed his eyes to force his brain to push them further back again. It was no use though. There hasn't been one night where he didn't dream about it.

Prompto was still out there. Somewhere, he just knew it! But after countless days of searching and following even the smallest hint, Ignis and Gladio stopped him. They had to go on, of course, he knew that but, without Prompto?

They fought. For a long time they were at each other's throats about the smallest thing. This only calmed down once they reached Altissia. For a few days it was okay, he actually dared to think that things would become better; they found Luna, were so close to finally talking to her...and then it all went to shit.

He forced his body to move and got up from his bed to walk over to the window. From there, he could see the part of the city that has been wrecked by the rampaging goddess Leviathan and Niflheim soldiers. There were still some thin smoke columns rising from the ruins. Hundreds have died, the evacuation only saved part of the people. Luna had passed, thanks to Ardyn. And the weight on the prince's shoulders felt unbearable.

A soft knock pulled him from his thoughts and he turned around to see Gladio's head peeking in. "You're finally awake," he said and, for a moment, Noctis felt the anger rise. The brute's voice was void of any emotion, but that comment still felt like an accusation. Biting back a snide comment, he half shrugged and acted disinterested.

"I am. Is something wrong?"

Gladio shook his head and stepped farther into the room, pushing the door open. "Not wrong, but you've been sleeping quite a lot." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder. "You should come out and eat something. Ignis has been asking about you nonstop, he's worried."

Noctis bit his lip as a pang of guilt shot through his chest. Ignis. When he woke up after the fight, his adviser had changed drastically. And since then, he was barely able to look at him. This all felt like it was his fault, despite Ignis saying otherwise.

He combed through his hair with his fingers, cringing slightly when he felt how greasy it was. Of course, he barely left the bed for nearly a week now. Maybe eating wasn't such a bad idea. And then a shower.

"Might...not be a bad idea," he said hesitantly. For a moment he could see relief flashing over Gladio's face, which made him only feel worse. They worried about him and he was just...numb, spending day after day sleeping. He followed Gladio into the next room, his gaze instantly flicking to Ignis on the sofa. The brunet had lifted his head a little when he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching, but he only slightly turned his head in their direction, eyes still staring straight ahead into nothingness.

"Noct," he said, a weak smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "I'm glad you're up."

"Yeah..." this was the most awkward response, but everything the raven could muster. It all still felt like a bad dream. A few minutes later they were all situated around the large desk, the food that had been brought to them looking and smelling delicious. On any other occasion, Noctis would have enjoyed the luxurious hotel in every way he could think of but right now the only reason he was eating was because his body was screaming for more than a few bites of bread like he had the last days.

They ate in silence, nobody really wanting to talk about anything just yet. In this silence, the sound of Noctis' phone went off. The raven jumped at the noise and, for a few startled seconds, he wasn't even sure where the noise came from until he turned around and saw it lying on a shelf. Hesitantly, he got up and walked over to look at the flashing screen. An unknown number.

"The Marshal?" Gladio asked, getting up himself to walk over to Noctis, who shook his head.

"Don't know the number," he muttered, his finger hovering over the decline button for a moment, before he changed his mind and took the call.

"Who's this," he asked, trying to sound demanding, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded. For a moment, there were only a few crackles, then he thought he heard someone breathe in.

"Uhm..hey, Noct."

Noctis' eyes widened, his body felt like it was tuned to ice. This can't be. A few times he opened his mouth without making any sound, not able to fully comprehend what was happening. Then his voice came back.

"Prom?"

Ignis' head jerked up and Gladio winced visibly next to him. His legs felt like they were about to give in and his whole body started shaking. This was unmistakably Prompto's voice. Crackling as if he was having bad reception, but it was him. Alive.

With stiff movements, he walked over to the sofa, ignoring the calls from Ignis and Gladio, demanding to put him on speaker and asking other questions the raven ignored.

"Prompto," he said again, voice quivering, "Is-is that really you? Prom...Prom, where are you, where the hell are you, we thought you were dead!"

The silence on the other end of the line lasted way too long and Noctis had to call his name again to get a reaction.

"Galahd," he heard Prompto say, "Noct, I'm...I-I'm so sorry about what I did, I was just-"

"Are you alright?" Noctis interrupted him. Right now he didn't care why he did it, the gunner could answer that when he was back with them, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm okay", this time the answer came faster, "I'm okay, don't worry. Listen, I...heard what happened in Altissia. Is everything alright with you guys?"

Noctis' expression grew dark and he nodded slightly, before mentally slapping himself for the nonverbal reaction and answered with a short "Yeah. We're...still kicking."

"That's good. I'm glad."

They all fell silent, both friends not sure what to say next and Ignis and Gladio didn't dare to speak, fearing they would miss something. When Noctis finally remembered where exactly the region of Galahd was, he raised his voice again.

"Do you have a way to get back? To some place in Duscae or Cleigne. Any place where we could...meet up. Pick you up."

He heard Prompto's breath hitch and gave him a moment to compose himself. Whatever had happened to him, it seemed to have made him believe they wouldn't want him anymore.

"I..." his voice came back, shaking even more now, "Yeah. I hav-I have a...a friend, who can take me there. It might take a while though."

Noctis nodded more eagerly now, shifting around nervously. "That's okay," he said, not hiding his excitement, "We have to get back first too, so..."

"The Vesperpool," Ignis perked up, interrupting the raven, who was now looking at the brunet curiously, "Galahd is quite large, but that lake is very close to it. It might be the best spot to meet."

Noctis' heart raced when he relayed the information to Prompto. "You think you can get there?"

"Yeah, I think I know where that is. But, are you sure you-"

"Promise me," he interrupted the blond when he was starting to sound more insecure again, "that you'll be there. That we will meet up and go on together again, promise me that."

"Noctis, I..." Prompto stammered and Noctis could hear some voices in the background. They sounded urging but not aggressive. The thought that his friend might be held hostage by someone still made his stomach churn for a moment. But when he heard Prompto answer calmly and sounding like he knew them, he pushed those thoughts aside.

"Prom," he said again, when the blond took too long to answer, "Can you promise me that? That you'll be there?"

He heard the blond draw in a deep breath and it took all his strength to not urge him some more, to not force him to answer with a 'yes'. He just prayed silently.

"I promise."

Noctis release a breath he held and closed his eyes for a moment. He hadn't felt so relieved in a long time.

"Good," he said, voice cracking slightly, "That's good. Thank you, Prom. And...I promise that too, alright? We'll be there."

"Yeah."

They exchanged a few more awkward words, none of them exactly knowing what to say, Noctis felt like he was in a daze and when the call ended, his hand dropped in his lap, the phone still in a death grip.

"I don't care what you guys say," he finally said, slightly shaking his head, "I will go back. I will get him and I won't go anywhere else before I do that."

Gladio sighed deeply and Ignis straightened up in his chair. "I may be a little bit indisposed," the adviser began, his voice showing the slightest hint of amusement, "And Your Highness didn't even bother to put the phone on speaker so we could hear Prompto's voice too. Also, I know exactly that we should keep going forward as we still haven't found all the Royal Arms."

With every word he said, Noctis sank deeper in his spot. He couldn't be serious. "But, I also just provided you with a place to meet up, so...I'm with you."

Noctis coughed out a shot laugh at that. He got him there.

His next look wandered over to Gladio, who had been silent the entire time, standing there with his arms crossed and an unreadable face.

"Gladio, if you don't want to-"

"Are you kidding me?" the brute interrupted, voice a bit louder than he had planned, "Imma go with ya and whip that kid's ass for giving us such a hard time!"

Noctis could only snort at that. "We should take turns, then."

"For putting up with your princely tantrums during the whole time, I'll have to be first with that."

"We'll see." Noctis got up, feeling better than ever now. Motivated. "When will we leave?"

"As soon as possible, I may say," Ignis said, getting up from his seat. He still was visibly unstable in his movements, but after this news, the brunet seemed more eager to do whatever he could. "Let's see if our ship is ready to head back to Caem."

"Let's do that, Iggy."