Beta read by: SinikkavonWolperting

Day five for FFXVWeek

Prompt: Glitching in Real Life

Ok, so you don't need to read "My Inner Daemons" before this story, but I highly suggest it, things will make a lot more sense. And I ask that you just trust me on this. XD I can't explain anything here. And I'll be honest, this is the one I think I am the least proud of.

"-ey," he easily picked up on the words as well as who it belonged to, but he just didn't seem to be processing it properly. It was like reading something, and you see the words in front of you, but your brain refuses to retain any of it. Prompto vaguely listened as Noctis tried to get his attention, but he was too far gone in his day-dream like trance.

The prince leaned around to peer at his face, and snapping his fingers a mere few inches from his face, called out to him. "Prompto," he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Hmm?" the blond asked, his eyes fluttering over to meet the other's. Noctis could see the underlying confusion within them. "What is it?" he cleared his throat and blinked a few times after realizing how dry they had become from staring off for so long. For a moment, they only stared at each other, the raven trying to get a better read off him, but he seemed to sober up quick enough.

Sighing, Noctis took a step back. "We're about to leave," he thrust a thumb back towards the Regalia, one in which the others had already packed and hopped in their respective seats.

"Oh, I thought we weren't leaving until later," he glanced to the sky, realization brightening in his eyes, "Oh." It was already getting pretty dark; how long had he been sitting on that pier? It certainly hadn't felt that long. "Guess I was enjoying the view a little too much," he joked with a shrug and hopped up to his feet with a bit of a bounce. As the two of them started heading back, he looked back over to Noctis, "So, ya catch anything?"

He cut his eyes over, trying to read whether he was serious or not. "You were there," he needlessly reminded, "I caught a few. Ignis even said he'd be cooking them tonight." The baffled expression flickering on Prompto's face did pique his curiosity. "Are you sure you weren't just sleeping with your eyes open?"

The other pursed his lips in thought, "Well, I've never done it before, but I guess it's possible." He yawned as they reached the car, the hand that wasn't covering his mouth pulling his door open and he wasted no time in hopping in. Flashing the adviser a quick and small grin, he asked the question they all expected by now, "So, camping or hotel? Because, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I think we could all use a bit of a clean up...no offense."

"For once, I think I have to agree," Gladio called replied, sniffing his own jacket and wrinkling his nose at the musky scent that had apparently been absorbed into every fiber. "Wouldn't hurt to clean a few clothes either," he mumbled, dropped the collar back down.

Noctis let our a muffled groan as he stretched his arms out over his head, "And I wouldn't complain about sleeping in an actual bed tonight." He turned his head from side to side, earning a few satisfying cracks from his protesting joints. "We have enough funds for that, right?" he sat up just enough to make out the adviser's face in the mirror.

The brunet gave a curt nod, "Indeed we do. I guess hotel it is then." He sounded way too happy to oblige with that request, wanting a nice hot shower himself. Not to mention it'd give him the chance to pick up a few things they needed to restock back up on. "There should be one just an hour from here. Not too far, and we should be able to make it before we are greeted with our beloved company."

"Woohoo," Prompto cheered, mostly to himself and relaxed back into his seat, "Finally, gonna get some real sleep." He reached his hands to rest behind his head as Ignis started the Regalia up and gently pulled it back onto the road. The soft and familiar purr of the engine had worked its magic in swiftly lulling the prince off. At the same time, it had managed to put the others in a relaxed and comfortable silence.

It was just as Ignis had said, in less than an hour, the subtle lighting could be seen, it's orange hue contrasting highly with that pale blue tones of the sky. As they drove closer, the blaring letters spelling out 'Hotel' was like a beacon in the bleakness of a harsh battle. "I can already smell the freshness of the sheets," Prompto sighed longingly, closing his eyes and allowed the crisp image to grace his mind.

As Ignis pulled in, Gladio tasked himself with the arduous task of nudging the prince with his elbow until he began to stir. "Rise and shine princess, we're here...unless you'd prefer spending the night where you are."

"Yeah, yeah," the raven complained, smacking the shield's prodding appendage away in annoyance. "Would it hurt to wake me with a better method for once?" he question, rubbing the palms of his hands over his eyes.

Gladio shrugged casually, "Tried it once, not as much fun." He smirked to himself at that expected groan and exited the vehicle. "Prompto, pop the trunk, will ya?" he asked, folding his arms. And, he stood there, waiting for the 'click' that never came. "Prompto!" he called, peeking his head around to gaze towards said person's window.

This time he got a jolt, "Huh? Oh, yeah, got it." The gunner offered him a quick thumbs up before leaning over to the driver's side and pressed the button.

"Thanks," he muttered, grabbing a hold of a few of there bags. "There's only two bags left, I'm fairly confident the two of you can handle it."

"And if we can't?" Noctis asked, primarily to be a pain in the ass.

The larger man grunted at that, "Then you better figure something out. Now hurry up before Ignis comes back wondering what the hell is taking so long." That was apparently all the convincing the two of them needed; both of them moving as if a fire had been lit under them. "Is that really all it takes to get you two to do something?" he arched an eyebrow and slowly shook his head.

"The man just knows the right words to really hurt a fellow," Prompto muttered, grabbing hold of his own belongings. "Been on his bad side once, and it was not a pleasurable experience," he gave an exaggerated shudder.

The others followed close behind, and soon they found their room due to the adviser standing promptly outside their door, one foot tapping in near impatience. "I'm going to go ahead and get a shower and then get our meal started," he announced as the others strolled through the doorway. "While I'm cooking, everyone else can get cleaned up." None of them complained about this notion. Sure, they were all craving a shower like it was a drug, but they were also quite hungry; the sooner Ignis could get started on that, the better.

"That sound's like a plan to m-ah!" Prompto cried out, dropping his bag with a prominent 'thud' as he grabbed his upper left arm.

"You alright?" Ignis knit his eyebrows together, genuinely startled by the unexpected outburst. He watched as the blond squeezed at the muscle before finally nodding.

"Yeah," he said tightly, "Just a cramp." He stretched his arm out, flinging it out a few times to test it and make sure it was through with its tantrum. "It's fine, just came out of nowhere," he muttered, looking a bit frazzled and taken off guard by the whole thing. "That was weird," he mumbled, leaning down to pick his back back up with his right hand.

Gladio kept an eye on him until he got his belongings where he wanted them. "I'm sure your things will relax more once you get a hot shower," he shrugged, "Usually does the trick."

"Yeah," Prompto began rubbing his arm again, a residual of soreness lingering behind that needed to be chased away. "Hey Noct," the cheery tone was back under his words, "Up for a bit of King's Knight while we wait." He pulled his phone out in order to wave it from side to side in a near teasing manner.

The prince was on the verge of denying the blond of a quick game, but that subtle challenge he held in his voice easily beckoned him to change his plans. "Well, I was just gonna take this time to relax, but I'd much rather kick your butt."

"Dream on," Prompto plopped down on the nearest bed and instantly pulled his legs up and crossed them. He froze mid opening the app and the sound of a throat being harshly cleared. Glancing up, he found a pair of emerald eyes staring daggers straight at his feet. "Oh," he nervously chuckled, "Right, no shoes on the bed. Read ya loud and clear."

Ignis lightly shook his head and pressed his glasses up before getting his own things and retrieving a fresh set of clothes. He opted for a more casual choice, seeing as he didn't plan on going anywhere until the morning. "I ask that you guys try not to break or dirty anything in the meantime. Paying for repairs is a bit out of our price range at the moment." He made sure to set each of them with a moment of a death stare before turning on his heel and closing the bathroom door behind himself.

Noctis rolled his eyes once he was out of sight, "What does he take us for?"

"Reckless and messy?" Gladio offered with a snort, "You have to admit, he's not wrong." He made a point to cut his eyes over to the prince's bag, which had been tossed carelessly in the middle of the floor.

"That's hardly a mess," he quickly defended.

The shield's face hardened, "We've been here a total of two minutes." He glanced around to everyone else's belongings, all of which had been placed to hug closely against a wall or piece of furniture.

Blinking slowly, Noctis stretched his foot out, and slowly dragged his bag by the handle until it was tucked neatly under the bed. "There, now it's clean again," he smirked, finishing with opening his app as the title music filled the small area. "Alright, Prom, ready when you are," he kicked off his own shoes and sat in much the same position as the blond, only even more slouched.

"Heck yeah," the gunner already had his phone at the ready, same music radiating from it as he scooted back to lean against the backboard. "Just so you know, I've been getting' a bit of practicing in."

"Good, you needed it," Noctis stated flatly, "Maybe it will be a bit more of a challenge this time around."

As the two of them went on with their bantering back and forth and playful insults, Gladio took this opportunity to catch up on a bit of reading. Retrieving his book from his own luggage, he strolled over to one of the chairs occupying the corner of the room. And, dropping himself comfortably within the welcoming confines, he propped his legs up on the other and flipped open to where he left off.

Ignis had finished his shower and started preparing dinner while Noctis took the next shower. Gladio was so engrossed in his literature, he had already made it quite clear that he'd be willing to take the last one. No way he could stop in the middle of his chapter, not when it was getting this interesting. So, the moment the prince was out, Prompto jumped up with a spring in his step, itching to step under that cascading and warm bliss that he had missed so much.

Noctis had barely made it out the door before there was a blur rushing by and the sound of the door closing once again. Once on the other side, the blond was struck with an overwhelming amount of steam; he could hardly see in there. But, who needed to see to take a shower anyway? He shrugged it off and wasted no time in getting undressed. With the last article dropped into a jumbled heap, he stepped over to the shower.

His hand flew out to brace himself against one of the walls, his vision blurring seemingly out of nowhere, it was just like that cramp had, there was no warning for it. He honestly felt like he was about to pass out, and he wasn't sure if it was due to the heat in there, but he figured it was safe to blame it on that. And, just as quickly as it had assaulted him it was gone again, just like that. He felt completely fine again. Prompto ran a hand through his hair to scratch at his scalp, his eyes wandering around for a few seconds to make sure everything still appeared to be in order.

Shoving all concerns from his mind, he carried out the rest of his washing up without further incident. No more unwarranted cramps, and now more unexpected dizziness. Though, he still couldn't shake his uneasiness with the both of those happenings; even he knew that couldn't have been normal. Stepping out, he pulled one of the towels off the rack and swiped it down his face, breathing in deeply and sighing it back out at the freshly washed scent it produced. As he pulled it away, another smell filled his nostrils, one that was subtly more inviting.

He finished up and did any clearing up that called for attention and joined the others. "All yours, big guy," he huffed out, the contrast in temperatures nearly taking his breath away. Gladio gave him a grunt, but still seemed to be more focused on his book than anything, and he wasn't sure the man even heard him. The blond waved a dismissive hand and strolled over to lean on the table and stared at Ignis' back as he cooked. "So, what's on the menu?"

"I'm just preparing some simple curry, nothing too special," he shrugged, not taking his gaze from his simmering pot.

"Well, it smells amazing," he stood back straight to clap his hands together. He leaned to the side to try and peer around the adviser; to be honest, he did always find the guy's handiwork to be quite mesmerizing to watch. He just knew how to make all of it look so easy. And, here Prompto was barely able to fry an egg.

Ignis felt his brow instinctively twitch with the close presence, "I don't mind if you wish to observe, but if you'd be so kind as to not hover directly behind me, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Oh," he stepped a couple steps back, "Sorry about that. Kinda forget about boundaries sometimes."

The strategist hummed to himself and glanced over to the others, his eyes focusing on the brute for about the tenth time since he'd started cooking; his feet still propped up, and from here he could see the dirt stains coating him. "Gladio," he called across the room, lowering his gaze back to the pot. He waited until he was sure he was listening, "This will be done soon, and I'd much like to enjoy a meal without smelling a weeks worth of hunting while I do so."

"Alright, don't get your panties in a bunch, I'm goin'," the shield got to the end of his paragraph before marking his place.

Once he was out of sight, Prompto decided to join Noctis in the other room and sat back in his previous position against the headboard. He rolled his head to the side in order to gaze at the back of the prince's head. That's all he did, just stare, never saying a word and a single thought never passed through his mind.

It was a repeat of earlier, he sat there unmoving, only snapping back to reality when he felt a hand prodding his shoulder as the owner of it repeated his name until he had no choice but to look to them. "What is it?" he questioned, eyes focusing to reveal Gladio. His amber eyes stared into his own as if searching.

"Hey, you alright?" he arched an eyebrow and slowly took his hand away.

Prompto looked from him to the others who were sitting in the chairs, both of them holding a bowl. "Uhhh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I guess zoning out is a new skill of mine," he joked, a forced grin pulling at his lips. But, no one else found it to be the slightest bit amusing.

"Probably just tired," Noctis guessed, "I mean, we have been taking jobs one after another, bound to catch up sooner or later."

"You're probably right," Prompto agreed, hoping that was the case.

Ignis nodded as well, but he remained a tad anxious on the subject. "Anyway, you should go get a bowl before it gets cold." The blond gave his compliance, and the brunet kept a watchful eye on him, subtly making sure nothing happened out of the corner of his eye. Fortunately, everything seemed alright now, no stumbling, nothing out of the ordinary. When he sat back down, Ignis took the chance to ask some other things. "Anything else happening that's a bit...strange?" It was painfully obvious that something was up; there was something he wasn't saying.

Prompto froze with his spoon in his mouth, blue eyes resting on the other. "Mmm," he hummed in thought, pulling the utensil away, "Not really."

"You're lying," Ignis stated flatly and matter-of-factly. He saw the blond about to protest, "You always keep eye contact when lying." He narrowed his eyes, "So tell me, what else is there?"

The gunner dropped the spoon in the bowl and lowered his gaze, "I mean, not much really. There was just that...random cramp earlier. And, uh, before my shower I kinda got light-headed." He looked up long enough to see the Noctis' concerned expression, "But, it was hot in there, so that's not a surprise."

"And that's everything?" he pressed, not wanting any small detail to be left out.

Slowly, Prompto nodded, "Yeah, all that I know of. I told you, it's no big deal, all of it can easily be explained." He shrugged it off and went back to his meal, honestly wanting the subject to be changed; having this much attention on him was making him a bit uneasy. "So, where're we headed to tomorrow?" he asked, pitching his voice with injected curiosity and cheerfulness.

"First thing in the morning, I need to stock up on a few things," Ignis answered, taking another bite himself, "And after that, I'm hoping to head towards Lestallum. That is, if nothing else hinders us."

"You mean if someone doesn't agree to help out more people," Gladio corrected with a knowing glare in the prince's direction.

Said man just shrugged, "What can I say, I got a heart of gold." He cut his eyes over when the blond made the mistake of letting a small chuckle escape. "Glad you find my kindness entertaining."

By the time they had all finished up, Ignis was already busy cleaning up the dishes and whatever else had been dirtied during the preparation. The others were two busy playing a game of cards after repeatedly getting denied to help out in the kitchen. Prompto glanced from his own hand over to Gladio, and then over to Noctis, and there was no doubt he was struggling to decide if it was a better idea to fold or not. He chewed on his lip in deep consideration. That's when he felt it; a minuscule and persistent twitch in his left thumb. At first he shrugged it off, but when it quickly spread to the other fingers as well, he placed his cards down in order to try and hold them still,.

The other two picked up in this immediately, both staring at them quizzically. "Prompto?" Noctis asked as his entire arm started trembling.

"I-I don't know," he answered before the question could be asked. It was like the whole limb was shaking almost uncontrollably. It didn't hurt or anything, but it was a bit violent and showed no signs of stopping anytime soon. He placed his other hand over his upper arm as it continued to get more intense, and by that point he could feel his muscles beginning to tense up under his fingers.

The blond went to stand up, hoping moving around would do something, but his he stood at his full height, that dizziness returned with a vengeance, and this time he had nothing to reach out for to gain some support. Before either of the others could get to him, he was down on his knees. The thump from the force of it caught the adviser's attention over the rush of the water.

Ignis swiftly cut the faucet off and swiveled his head towards them. "What's going on?" he asked, voice seasoned with concern and a bit of fear. All he could see was Prompto on his knees, head bowed while he clutched one arm to his chest. He quickly dried his hands off on a hand towel and rushed over.

Prompto was staring straight at the floor, a vacant and unseeing look in his eyes. "Hey, what's wrong?" Noctis asked, his tone taking on a panicked sound. He got no response and then turned towards Ignis, "He was fine just a minute ago."

The brunet hardly paid the prince any mind, too busy in his unanswered attempts at claiming the gunners attention, never so much as a reaction leaving his form. He placed one collected hand on his shoulder and gave a gentle nudge, one that escalated with every failed try. "Prompto," he uttered, leaning until he was staring into his eyes.

He jumped back as something seemed to flash behind them, like a flash of color, but looking back, they were still that normal striking blue shade. Just as he was unsure if he saw right, it flashed again, this time lingering in the orbs for a fraction more of a second. It was a weird crimson shade, dull, but definitely red. To be honest, this terrified him deep down, he's only seen eyes that color when it came to...something else. "Prompto?" he tried again, this time a bit of an edge to his voice, one that the others couldn't have missed.

Noctis looked between the two of them, his gaze going from the blond to the other, his eyes only settling once the purplish hue tainting the gunner's vibrating fingertips pulled him in. "Ignis..." he whispered; the man instantly followed the raven's widened gaze, watching in stunned horror as the darkened tendrils snaked their way up.

"I see it," he swallowed thickly, a jolt running through him when Prompto let out a pained gasp and finally lifted his face back up, a single droplet of black liquid trailed down the side of his cheek.

Now it was Gladio's turn to step in, "Dammit, Iggy, you need to get back." He tried to warn, the signs utterly clear to him; they've fought enough to know some of the features daemons carried, and this was no different. The red eyes, purple tones, and now the black ooze.

"Noctis, I think you should get some antidotes," Ignis informed, ignoring Gladio's words.

"Ignis, you know as well as I do, that's not gonna wo-"

"Have you ever tried?" he shot back, cutting him off, "There is still much we don't know about such things, and if there is a sliver of a chance to reverse the effects, then it's worth a shot." Not a minute later and a vial was handed out to him. He didn't bother with a thanks, the word never crossing his mind. "Prompto, I need you to take this."

He was a little surprised to see the blond nod at the request, but the movement was sluggish and a bit stiff. His hand unfurled from around his arm as his fingers straightened out to accept the curative. "I-Iggy?" he asked, voice hitching, "W-what's...happening?" There was an undertone of full-fledged terror. "Ig-" he choked, the same dark goo dripping out of the corner of his mouth.

"I'm not sure, but everything will be fine, just give that a squeeze," he instructed, not wanting to waste time with any explanations. Prompto's discolored gaze flicked down to the antidote, and his heart began thrumming against his chest; he could have sworn he felt the throbs running down the length of his arm as well. Without further delay, he crushed it in his palm. The warmth could be felt throughout his body, every inch tingling with prickling sensations. But, to his dismay, his arm was still trembling.

The others had the same reaction, their chests clenched as an empty feeling occupied their hearts. Without much thought, Ignis held his hand out for another. "Wait," Noctis stepped closer to kneel next to him, "I hate to say it, but I-I think Gladio is right." He ignored the adviser's confused expression at the level of calmness in his voice considering the situation. It was odd, and he couldn't help but assume the man to be in denial.

"Noct, I don't think you understand the severity of th-" He turned back to Prompto as a cough sounded out and more of the tainted liquid seeped out.

"I understand," the prince assured, determination engraved in every feature of his face. "I-I wanna try something, alright?" he looked into ember eyes, silently begging the man to step aside. Reluctantly, Ignis pushed himself up and stepped back; Gladio, however, kept a close stance should anything go wrong.

The raven took the adviser's spot, and carefully took Prompto's face in his hands to force him to meet his gaze. "Hey," he whispered, "I, uh, I've never tried this before, so I'm not sure what will happen, or if it's gonna hurt or anything. But, I need you to trust me."

He met Noctis' gaze, and he genuinely didn't see any dishonesty. "I trust you," he whispered, taking a deep breath.

"Good, ok, just try to relax," he helped the blond to lie down on his back, making sure he was settled down before doing anything more. He nodded, quietly telling the other that everything would be alright, he'd make sure of that and do all he could to keep that unspoken promise. Noctis took in his own collecting breath and closed his own eyes, concentrating on nothing but the power of the crystal that he always felt running through him deep down. And he prayed to the six that this would work, but why wouldn't it? It chased away the darkness in the past, and this was exactly the same, so there was no reason why it shouldn't.

As he focused more on it, the feeling and cool touches of its magic became stronger and more tangible. And, already he could feel the efforts taking a toll on his body; it was absolutely exhausting. But, he didn't have a choice, this was the only thing that he believed could work. Potions already proved useless for this kind of daunting task.

Now that he felt as though he had a solid grasp on it, he tried to focus the sensation into his hands, he could feel the icy tingles running through his veins to gather into his palms. Feeling as though he had a handle on this, he slowly opened his eyes to see what he was doing. Giving the blond a quick glance and a nervous half-smile, he gingerly placed his hands on his chest and tried to visualize the coldness flowing from his hands through to the other. He could feel a small jerk beneath him as well as hear a subdued gasp.

At the first sign of a twitch or a jerk, Gladio was at Prompto's side, securely holding his shoulders in place to prevent him from moving. Ignis did the same with his legs. As the adviser held the gunner's feet in place, his eyes watched the scene before him closely, and to his astonishment, the purplish hue seemed to be retracted, chased away by another hue...a bright blue one. It looked like purification to him. "Noct," he muttered, mostly to himself, cutting his eyes over to see that familiar violet light in his stare.

The raven kept this up until he no longer felt an inkling of coolness in his hands, his breaths were coming out in quickened pants and he felt slightly light-headed. He lifted a hand to swipe some of the sweat form his face and looked over to Prompto, his breathing mimicking his own. But, it was his eyes he was paying attention too, and he stared holes into them, his heart racing as he waited for him to open them. As soon as they fluttered, he sighed at the hint of blue.

"Your Highness?" Ignis asked, instantly switching his hands over to grab at the man's upper arms as he swayed slightly.

He stubbornly tried to push the other away, "I'm alright." Though, Ignis refused to let it go until he was sure he was sitting up without any struggles. "Really, it just...takes a lot," he pressed his palm against his forehead at the fist throb of a headache, one he knew was gonna be so much worse come tomorrow. He instead turned back to his friend, "Prompto?"

"Hmm?" he hummed, not moving.

"You alright?"

"Yeah," he opened his eyes the rest of the way to look him straight on, "What the hell did you do?"

Noctis shrugged, unsure how to explain it. "I-I'm not entirely sure," he answered honestly, "I just figured, since the crystal lets me tap into its power...then maybe." He pressed his lips into a straight line, "It chased away the darkness once before."

Gladio was the quickest to recover from the shock of the whole thing, "That makes sense and all, but what doesn't is why you were turning in the first place." there was no harshness, but it did come off as slightly accusing.

"Surely this can wait until lat-" Ignis tried to reason; they were all still shaken and emotions were running rampant in all of them.

"I don't think this is something to wait on. What if it happens again?" Gladio cut off, putting the prince's, as well as their, safety above anything else. "What if this happens and we're asleep, or Noctis can't fix it."

Said man felt a small surge of anger at that. "It won't," he nearly spat. "Believe me, it's gone for good, I could feel it. Alright. He's not a danger to any of us." He ignored the annoyed huff of his shield, "Can you sit up?"

Prompto nodded, "I think so." Which wasn't a lie, he was actually feeling pretty alright for the most part, aside from some overall soreness and small cool tingles that still sparked throughout him. "And I have to side with Gladio on this," he sighed, clearly not happy to admit that, "I-I have...no idea what that was. I can't explain it." He made sure to avoid eye contact with any of them, not sure how any of them would view him after that; he wasn't even sure how to view himself. He felt like such an abomination, and...maybe he was.

"It's not gonna happen again," Noctis reiterated, "Trust me, it won't."

"I do, really," Prompto slowly pulled himself back up until he was sitting back straight. "But, I still can't explain why that happened..." he wrapped his arms around himself and lowered his gaze, "What if there's, I dunno, other surprises? What then?"

"Then we'll deal with it," Ignis replied, pushing himself up to his feet, "When the time comes, we'll handle it." He gave the blond a genuine grin when he was on the brink of protesting, "I don't know about you, but I'm going to take Noctis' word on this one. I for one, as much as it pains me to say this, am not as well knowledgeable when it comes to such things. Him having a direct link to it, well, let's just say if anyone would know, it's him." As he finished up his little speech, he gave Gladio a warning look, telling him to drop it for the time being.

Gladio relaxed his shoulders, "Alright, whatever, I guess it's settled then. But, if something like this happens again, don't be surprised if I say I told ya so."

"That's good," Noctis responded within a fraction, "Because it won't."

"I hope you're right."

He got to his own feet with a groan as he stretched out his back. "I need some fresh air," he muttered, a bit on the bitter side. Without another glance back, he swiftly exited the room, closing the door a with a bit more zest that was necessary.

"Don't pay him any mind," Ignis commented, "This isn't the first time he's been like this. And he may be like this for quite some time. But, I urge you not to take it to heart. He's just protective, understandably," he shrugged. "And Noct, you on the other hand, I suggest get some rest. You're looking rather...unwell."

Noctis glared up at him, "I said I'm fine." The bags under his eyes told a different story. That, and the way he seemed to have a hard time keeping them open. "Just a minor headache," he mumbled, rubbing at his temples.

"Go ahead, I'm alright...thanks to you," Prompto made his point clear by getting to his feet without issue. "If anything, I feel more than ok." Still sore, but he left that part out for his sake. "Go to sleep, you need it."

He would have argued further if only the room would quit its spinning. "If you say so," he opted for instead. "But, if anything seems wrong, I expect someone to wake me up." The prince looked to both of them, wanting the to know he was completely serious on that request.

"We will, I promise," Prompto chuckled, but it was anything but humorous, "Just go to bed already." Finally, he seemed to agree that it was a good idea and even held a hand up for Ignis to help him over. That alone told them how weak he must have really been after that, going as far as to accept assistance for walking. "G'night," the blond called over his shoulder, grinning at the small wave he got back.

As soon as Noctis was lying down, he was gone, his light snores filling the space. "Are you going to bed anytime soon?" Ignis asked, already knowing what answer to expect. He shook his head and the brunet simply hummed, "I'll make some coffee then, enough for the three of us."

"Thanks," he replied, dragging his feet over to one of the chairs and plopped down in it, the realization of what had just happened finally catching up to him. He couldn't help but ponder it; what...what if Noctis hadn't been there.

He would have turned, there was no doubt about it. And if that happened, there would be no helping him. He'd kill others, and eventually either be killed by a hunter, by some other monster. Or, the worst, killed by them. These thoughts followed him as he drifted, clinging to the outskirts of his mind and carrying over into his dreams.

"Prompto," the prince called to him, beckoning him to get up; it had been the fourth time in the last thirty minutes that someone has peeked in and asked him to come out. He waved a hand to signal that he was on it, not trusting his voice, afraid it would cause new stabs through his skull. "Dude, if you aren't feeling well, all you have to do is say so," he muttered and left the blond to himself. He sighed deeply, knowing he couldn't stay there forever, despite how much he craved it.

He curled in on himself, preparing both mentally and physically for the discomfort that was about to come; and, holding his breath, he sat up and waited for his world to cease in its rotation, nausea became something that came with the package. Honestly, he wanted to curl back up and be sucked into oblivion, anything to escape this misery. Raising a hand to press it against his head, he hesitated, something that hadn't previously been there catching his eye. He froze, arm suspended mere inches from his face as darkened veins stretched from beneath his wristband, subtle pulses navigating under his skin with each burdensome beat of his heart.

His breath hitched has trembling fingers touched the edge of it, teasing it as they debated following the order. Swallowing roughly, a trickle of sweat sliding down the side of his face, he lifted the leather, icy grips claiming him as his breath caught in his chest. "Wha-what the hell?" he croaked to himself, his headache and faltering hearing momentarily abandoned with a fearful replacement. The quickened breathing and near hysterical state hastened his heart rate, causing the tendrils to snake further up his arm, agonizingly palpitating through his arm, leaving a numbing sensation in their wake.

"Stop," he begged desperately, gripping his arm in their path.

"Prompto?" His head snapped to the side, blurred vision staring into questioning emerald ones, "Everything al-" Ignis cut himself off to see the way the blond had his arm cradled to his chest, hiding it from view. "What's going on?"