Chapter Text
When had all of this started to go so horribly, unexplainably wrong? The plan had been simple enough; evacuate the citizens of Altissia and then stop the Empire from getting near the altar.
They hadn't expected to be facing the entire Niflheim army though.
Time had lost all meaning after the drop ships opened up to release wave after wave of MTs over their heads. They could have been fighting for hours but they weren't too sure. It was taking all their concentration to just simply stay alive. Gladio and Ignis were covered in cuts and bruises but nothing serious enough to hold them back. Prompto was trying to stay back and provide cover fire, so he was barely wounded at all.
Leviathan was loud and angry, that much they could tell. The roars of frustration and hurt told them that Noctis was still fighting her. The walls of water prevented anyone from getting in there but it wasn't stopping the foot soldiers from keeping the three boys busy.
But then all of a sudden, the roar became one of screeching agony; it shook the very ground beneath their feet, sending some MTs tumbling over. The others stopped firing upon the boys, lowering their weapons to their sides. Gladio, Ignis and Prompto remained cautious, but the working MTs turned around, marching right back towards the drop ships.
"Are... are they giving up?" Prompto asked after he jogged over to rejoin the others.
"It would certainly seem that way. Leviathan's walls are receding as well; Noctis must have finished the fight" Ignis said, his focus on the disappearing water. They were too far from the altar to really see if Noctis was alright, but they would need to get to him before the Empire could.
"Iggy look out!" Prompto shouted. Ignis had no time to react to the yell; by the time he turned his head towards the blonde, Prompto had already pushed against his chest, shoving him back and out of the way of whatever danger the gunner had seen.
He heard the unmistakable fire of an MT laser rifle and the pained yell of his companion before he'd even hit the wall behind him. He turned sharply and threw his dagger at the offending MT, piercing its head and shutting it down immediately.
"Oh damn, shit, Iggy!" Gladio shouted at him. He let his weapons fade into the ether and dropped to his knees at Prompto's side.
Prompto was curled on his side, knees drawn up to his chest and hands pressed tightly against his face, fingers digging into his head and blood seeping out between them. He whimpered and sobbed, shoulders shaking from pain.
"He's already in shock" Ignis observed quickly, gently trying to pry Prompto's hands away from his face. "Prompto, you have to let me look" he insisted. Gladio waved him off so he let the larger man take over for a moment.
Gladio slid an arm under Prompto and shifted him slowly, bringing the small man against his chest so the he could hold him steady. "We got you Prom, calm down" he muttered, carefully rubbing circles into his back. Ignis shuffled closer to once again take hold of his wrists and pry his hands away. This time he met less resistance.
Ignis couldn't stop the shocked gasp that escaped his usual composure. Blood was steadily pouring down the left side of Prompto's face from what looked like a deep, painful burn that hadn't cauterized itself. He couldn't even see where the blood was coming from, there was just too much of it. The laser had grazed that side of his face, cut across the bridge of his nose and then left another smaller burn that wasn't bleeding on the right brow. Where was he even supposed to begin?
"God dammit" Gladio cursed as he took it all in too, carefully tightening his hold on Prompto so he couldn't cover it again when he tried. "Iggy we don't have any damn curatives" he growled in frustration.
"I... I know... I don't..." Ignis clenched his fists. Damn it, this was his fault. He shouldn't have let his guard down so easily. Why couldn't he compose himself?! He tugged his gloves off and carefully pressed them against the left of Prompto's face, since that was the worst wound. Prompto immediately gasped in pain, arms trying to push away from them but Gladio held him tight until all the tension suddenly left Prompto's body with his faded consciousness.
"What the hell do we do Ignis?"
"I don't know! I can't even see where the bloody hell he's bleeding from!"
"Alright, calm the hell down Ignis! Get your head screwed back on! You're not going to help like that"
Ignis tried to take in a deep breath. Gladio was right, he needed his composure. He had to help Prompto. He spared a glance back to where Noctis had been fighting. There was nothing there anymore. He moved closer to Prompto to slide an arm around his back, keeping pressure on his wound.
"I'll handle this. You have to find Noctis" he insisted as he moved Prompto into his own arms.
"Ignis-"
"Noctis has to come first, Gladio. We have no idea of the outcome of his fight but you must get to him before the Empire can. I believe the Oracle would be most helpful for Prompto right now with her healing abilities" he reasoned. Gladio looked like he wanted argue but he knew Ignis was right. He sighed heavily, pushing himself to his feet.
"Take care of him Ignis. Goodness knows if he's not alright then Noct will tear the Empire apart by hand if he has to"
"I know... now go"
Ignis had waited as patiently as he could, holding pressure to Prompto's wound and praying for any damn miracle at this point. When Gladio had returned with grim features and an unconscious Noctis, his heart sank right to his gut. The Oracle was no more, and with how much time had passed it was too late to administer a curative to Prompto even if they managed to find one.
They carried the two youngest members of the group across the city, back to the hotel they had stayed in the night before. At the very least, they had been able to contain the fighting to one part of Altissia, sparing most of the city from ruin.
With the retreat of the Empire came the steady return of the people. Gladio had quickly gone to find a doctor or a healer of any kind.
Noctis was unharmed, but deeply unconscious from exhaustion and overuse of his Armiger. He would wake, given time to rest.
Prompto was a different story altogether.
"There's nothing that can be done. It needs to be kept clean and covered; until he wakes we won't know the condition of his sight in the right eye. The left is completely sealed; the skin has burned together too much to get it open again" the medic explained, coating the burn in cream and a clean dressing. Ignis felt like he could crumble right there.
"Would a curative at least make it heal faster?" He asked.
"Probably. It'd make it scar over rather than waiting for the healing time but at this point, it'll scar no matter what. It's probably a good idea to administer one"
"Thank you... I'll get him one as soon as possible"
"Well give me a call when he's awake and I'll see what we can do with his sight" the medic said, packing up his things and making his departure. He was going to have plenty of patients after all that had happened.
Ignis let his head fall into his hands. This wasn't right. That attack had been meant for him and Prompto had seen it coming a mile away. He should be the one lying in a bed recovering, not Prompto. Definitely not Prompto.
He felt Gladio's heavy hand fall on his shoulder, but he couldn't bring himself to look at him. Gladio slid an arm around his shoulders and pulled him forward into his large chest, letting the advisor crumble against him. Prompto and Noctis didn't get to see the collected man break; Ignis wouldn't ever let them. But for Gladio it was different. The shield was his rock to fall against.
"It should have been me. It was meant for me" he muttered, hands tightly clenched in the back of Gladio's vest. "I let my guard down. I was so focused on Noctis that I... I didn't pay attention. There were still enemies around and I didn't even... Prompto shouldn't have..."
"Prompto wouldn't want you beating yourself up" Gladio mumbled. It was enough to break Ignis' last wall down, a choked sob escaping him. He knew. Prompto was always giving and giving and never taking; so completely unselfish in every action. Even if he never recovered from this Prompto would suffer silently and only blame himself and it wasn't fair on the gunner at all. A man who found beauty in almost anything with that camera of his shouldn't be facing the prospect of blindness.
"You should care for Noct. Leave Prom to me" Gladio said, fingers rubbing soothing circles on Ignis' back.
The notion sent a chill down Ignis' spine. "No, I should be the one to-"
"You are Noct's attendant. He'd feel much better waking up to you at his side. Better than me at least" Gladio reasoned and Ignis knew he was right.
"Just... please get him a potion or something. It'd be better for him to wake up without a need for more cleaning and pain... he doesn't deserve it"
"I'll sort it. You alright now?"
"No... not really. But perhaps I will be when they wake up"
Prompto woke up first and Gladio almost wished he had stayed unconscious. He'd given Prompto a hi-potion and when he'd taken off the bandage he'd realized how awful the scarring was. It fully covered his eye, spreading down his cheek a little and over his brow. The gash to his nose had scarred and so had the other small burn, but seeing the large one over his eye had been awful.
But it was more awful when Prompto had fearfully whimpered that he couldn't see even in his right eye; the vibrant blue dulled to a deep grey. Gladio had been there at his side immediately as a shoulder to lean on, wrapping an arm around him to comfort him.
"Is Iggy okay?" Prompto strained to ask.
"He's perfectly fine, thanks to you. It was quite a stunt you pulled but... he's grateful. You probably saved his life y'know" Gladio assured him. Prompto nodded a little, head tipped down to his clasped hands.
"Where is he?"
"He's with Noctis. Prince Charmless hasn't woken up yet; the doc said he's exhausted himself and used up all his magic. He'll be out for a little while I think. But mostly I wanted Iggy to look after him because I want Iggy to rest for a bit. He spent a lot of time looking after you" He explained.
"At least they're okay. Wh-what about Leviathan? And Luna?"
"We're pretty sure Noct gained the blessing but... Lunafreya didn't make it"
"Oh... Noct is gunna be pretty devastated huh?"
"That's the last thing you need to be thinking about Prom. Noct is King, he will have to push forward. Think about yourself for now"
Silence descended on them but Gladio didn't mind. He stayed sat on the bed with Prompto leaned against him and his arms firmly providing him the support his tired body needed.
"... How does it look?" Prompto asked eventually. Gladio gave a gentle sigh.
"It doesn't matter what it looks like, Prom. It only matters that you're alive. You scared the hell out of us"
Silence again. Prompto's hands twitched with a need to feel something. Anything. Normally he would hold his camera, finding that the familiar grip eased his anxiety. But he couldn't even do that anymore.
"Prom, just wait and see what the doctor says. We don't know what the damage is" Gladio said, gently squeezing Prompto's shoulders.
"I can't see. I don't need a doctor to tell me that... I mean, I'll adjust I guess but... I-I guess Cindy might let me stay at the garage for a bit" Prompto muttered, fingers rubbing against the bed sheets.
"Cindy? What are you talking about?"
"Well this is it, isn't it? I can't... I can't fight... you guys are gunna go on... without me"
The words sat heavy on Gladio's chest. He hadn't even begun to consider the impact this would have on their journey. Of course Prompto couldn't fight; you can't work a gun blind. But was it fair to just dump him off? He was like this because he saved someone, he didn't deserve to be dropped.
"Hey, if you think for a second that Noct would let anyone leave you behind, I'm afraid you've got another think coming buddy. That's a bridge we've gotta cross when we get to it but for now you have to hang tight. Noct could be out for a few days so we're hanging here for now. It'd be better if you just rest and let yourself recover" Gladio muttered, feeling Prompto leaning heavier against him. He was sure Prompto was still tired. He shifted slowly, helping Prompto to lay back down. He pulled the blanket up over him. "Sleep, I'll wake you in a little while" He assured, only receiving a nod in reply as Prompto rolled over.