Here it is, last chapter of this story. But I do have two more ideas in my head for the future, so I will be writing more of these very soon. ^-^ Hope you all enjoy this story.

Ignis was pleased to see that Prompto had managed to keep his eyes open since he last woke up. He had been quite out of it, but he stayed awake despite that. He had also been willingly taking in the water, he clearly didn't want to or feel like it, but he did it mainly to keep the others from worrying too much. He still shivered from the cold, but he was also still sweating. But, the fact that he was was also a good sign.

Gladio felt the chill slowly drain away from the blonde's body as he began to warm up again. He wrapped the jacket tighter around him as he remembered he still had nothing on underneath that. He glanced over to Noctis who had been carrying them, then to Ignis. "Umm?" He asked getting there attention. When they were looking at him, he looked from Prompto to the clothes, "Shouldn't we, you know?"

Ignis understood what he meant, "Is he dry?"

"Yeah, mostly." He answered looking at his hair. It still appeared damp, but it was hard to say if it was from the water or not. Ignis nodded in agreement and Gladio lied him back down for the time being. Prompto was still staring at the ceiling, not acknowledging anything else. It was somewhat of a blessing for him to not know much of what was happening.

The two of them worked together to get him decent once again, and as Gladio was picking him up, his eyes seemed to focus finally. "Prompto?" He asked, hoping for a cognizant response.

He was silent before speaking, "What is that? It's so bright?" He continued to stare up without blinking or looking away.

Gladio sat confused, as did the other two. "Prompto, what are you talking about?" Ignis asked, suspecting this was just another act of delirium.

Promtpo took in a couple deep breaths, "Lights." He caught the looks the others were giving them, "I'm serious." He gradually raised a shaking hand and pointed towards the top of the tunnel. "Look."

Gladio followed his gaze first, seeing what the other had been talking about. He smiled to himself, "Well, I'll be damned." The other two then looked up next and had about the same reaction. Above them were clusters of shiny, bright blue stones.

"Are those?" Noctis asked, staring at them in unbelievable awe.

Ignis hummed in confirmation, "That they are. The gems we came after." He got to his feet, "I suppose we may as well get them while we're here." He looked over to Noctis, "Would you do the honors?" He asked, gesturing to the stones.

"Yeah, I got this." He replied, calling his bow and took aim. He only shot a few down before gathering them up.

"Is that all you're getting?" Gladio asked, looking at the small amount.

Noctis slipped them into his pocket and replied bitterly, "The way I see it with how this job has gone, this is all he deserves." He turned without another word, ready to get going again. The others read the situation easily and Gladio lifted Prompto back up, noticing that he was starting to go out of it again. He still knew what was going in, but his eyes were fogging over a little as his focus dwindled.

"We'll be out soon, Prom." Gladio promised while he could still understand.

"Kay." He mumbled, growing tired again. He closed his eyes willingly this time around, falling asleep almost instantly. The look on his face was much more relaxed now, not completely, but much more than it had been. Gladio's Jacket was still draped over him, keeping his bare arms covered.

Seeing that he was at the very least sweating now, Ignis let Noctis know he didn't have to worry about the water now, wanting to let Prompto get some real sleep finally. His breathing was a little labored, but it wasn't anything to be over concerned with.

They rounded another turn, still in pursuit of the river, to see glowing in the distance. To start with, they were rightfully skeptical of the sight, not sure if they believed it or not. After two days of being almost total darkness, seeing natural light so far away seemed too true to be real. Noctis took up the front, walking slightly faster as he was overcome with pure gratitude at the sight. Ignis kept his pace, as did Gladio, though his was more of not wanting to slip while carrying a sick man.

As they grew closer to sunlight, they could feel the sweet warmth flowing in, warming all of them up. They had grown so accustomed to the cold that the heat was almost overwhelming. Ignis was aware of this and removed Gladio's jacket, not wanting him to get too hot again. The blonde didn't react and kept on sleeping semi-soundly, held securely against Gladio.

After what seemed like a lifetime, there they were, standing in the sun once again, feeling the wind blow through their hair as it blew away their dread. Looking up towards the sky, their joy dropped a degree at seeing how low the sun was in the sky now. It was getting late.

"We need to find a haven." Ignis spoke the obvious. "We do need to get back to civilization, but it's not worth the risk of traveling at night." He turned back towards Gladio and the younger man he held. "He'll be fine for another night. With those few signs of improvement, I am certain of it."

Gladio looked down, then back, "Alright."

Ignis scanned the area, "If I was able to keep up properly, we should be able to locate our previous camp before nightfall." He looked a little longer and settled on a direction. The other two trusted his intuition and trailed after him.

The sun was setting quickly as they walked, slowly cooling off as it did; luckily it was nowhere near as cold as in the cave. "Ah, and there is it." Ignis announced, heading towards the faintly glowing markings. It was still a bit away, but they had a chance of making it in time. They broke into a light jog, making sure there would be no question about beating the night. With the light rhythm that came with the speed, came the waking of Prompto.

He partially opened his eyes, quickly closing them back and groaning as the dimming light was still enough to blind him and warrant the pain in his head to increase. He turned his head and buried it into Gladio's should, trying to hide his face from the intruding rays out of instinct. Gladio heard the sound as well as felt the shift, and wrapped his left arm further around in order to place it on the back of his head and help support it. He coughed lightly and tried to suppress it as it agitated his still sore throat.

They were all worn out by the time they reached it, not just from the jog, but everything was catching up with them now. None of them had gotten any real sleep since entering that place, and the sleep they did get was not at all pleasant. Without being told, Gladio brought Prompto into the tent and placed him under the sheets, receiving zero protests. Once he was sure he was settled in, he went back out to the other two.

Noctis was actually making the fire without anyone asking him to, and while he did that Ignis was already cooking. None of them had eaten it at least two days, and he knew they could all use it. Feeling exhausted himself, he only made a simple soup. Setting his own aside, he spooned some plain broth into the fourth bowl.

Entering the tent, Ignis found Prompto to be asleep and looking much more comfortable than he had in days. He pushed his regret aside and proceeded to wake him up. "Hey." He spoke softly as he gently shook his shoulder, getting him to stir a little. He lifted the gunman's head who in turn opened his eyes and gazed up at him through the haze.

"Hmm?" He started to close his eyes again, still feeling extremely tired.

"No, stay awake." Ignis encouraged, "You need to eat something."

Prompto tried to turn his head away, "Not hungry." He mumbled.

Ignis tried again. "You don't need to eat a lot, just try a little, ok?" He lifted his head a little more. "This isn't the time to be stubborn. You haven't had anything in almost three days, and I am not leaving you alone until you try."

Prompto let out a quiet whine as he eventually gave in. "Fine."

"Glad you see it my way." Ignis smiled, propping the blonde up enough so he wouldn't choke. He placed the bowl against his lips, and carefully tipped it, allowing a very small amount to get through. Prompto compliantly swallowed that, still lacking the appetite to try any more, but did anyway for Ignis. After about half was gone he refused to drink any more of it, using his hand to try and pushing it away. It was quite obvious the strength he lacked as the push was little more than a brush.

Ignis pulled the bowl away and eased Prompto's head back down. "I believe that's good enough for now. I give you permission to sleep now." He gazed down, amused that his eyes were already drifting closed.

He exited the tent and placed the uneaten broth aside, to retrieve his own bowl and set in his own chair next to the others who had both finished their portions. Once he was finished with his own, they all contributed in cleaning up and joined their sleeping comrade for the night.

Prompto woke up to intolerable heat, almost like it was consuming him. He tried to crawl out from under the material that suffocating him just to find that he couldn't move his limbs. He forced his eyes open, but everything was a blur and he couldn't make anything out. He opened his mouth to speak, to ask for help and only got a whimper out. His heart began to beat faster as panic was gripping it. He tried calling out again out of desperation, "No-Noct?" He asked weakly. He got no response and tried another. "Iggy?"

At that he felt movement next to him and the next moment he was floating. No, not floating, he realized someone was holding him. By the size it could only be one other person, "Gladdy?" He asked, voice weak and croaky. He heard a response but had no idea what he said. He was about to ask, but his senses began to waver, going in and out until they ceased altogether.

Ignis heard a small noise, but ignored for the time being, assuming one of the others was mumbling in their sleep, which wasn't uncommon. As he was about to fall back asleep he heard it again, only it sounded an awfully lot like his name. He pushed him self up, still half-asleep and was immediately drawn to Prompto who was sweating profusely and breathing quite heavily. He shoved the sheets off and was hovering over the blonde, completely sobering up. Checking his temperature, he wasted no time in shaking the Gladio awake.

He sat up with a grunt, rubbing his eyes. "Gladio, get up and get Prompto, we have to go now." The panic in his voice was disturbing to say the least, he rarely carried that tone in the years he had known the man. Turning his attention to Prompto he understood his state of urgency. The kid looked horrible.

He gathered him up in his arms and internally cringed at how hot he was. And to add to that, his back was absolutely soaked. "Gladdy?" His eyes shot down and his voice; it was so low and he almost missed it.

"I got you, just hang in there. We're getting you help now, alright?" He heard a small mumble, but couldn't make out any of it. When he checked again he was out. "Dammit, come on." He ground out, moving faster now. He didn't even know if the others were following or not, them being forgotten in his alarm. He glanced behind him, happy to see the others weren't too far behind. For once it seemed Noct had gotten up on the first try.

With his set speed, they reached the Regalia in a short time, and in what felt like a few seconds they were headed down the road. Gladio had Prompto's head in his lap as he used one hand to hold it still so the bumps in the road wouldn't jostle him too much. "How long?" He asked Ignis, he would know what he meant.

"At the speed I'm going now, it should only take about twenty minutes or so." He was already going faster than he normally would. Noctis was sitting silently in the passenger seat, gazing over the landscape in hopes that it would calm his nerves. It didn't, of course, but that didn't stop him from trying.

They rode in silence until the got to their destination where the man was located waiting for his gems. Noctis got out and strode up to the man to make the trade. From where he was sitting, Gladio couldn't hear what was being said, but could tell he wasn't accepting the gems from his body language. "I'll be right back." He said as he gently laid Prompto's head down and got out. He stalked up to the two men, "Is there a problem?" He asked, not hiding his clear anger.

"Yeah, there is." The man said, folding his arms. "What the hell is this? Do you think this is a joke? You bring me three measly rocks, and expect the reward. That's what's wrong."

Gladio had had enough and something inside him snapped. Grabbing the guy by the collar he forcefully lifted him and shoved him against the wall. "Look, I am not in the mood to deal with your nit picky bullshit. You're going to accept these and give us the reward, or I'll shove them up your ass." He made no move to release the man until he got the answer he demanded.

The man was visibly shaking by the time Gladio had finished his threat. He was by no means a large or strong man, and knew he would be no match for this giant of a man. "F-fine, just take it." He reached into his pocket and handed over the gil to Noctis. In return Noctis dropped the stones at his feet before heading back to the car.

Gladio glared at him for another second before dropping him. He pocketed the coins and went straight into the shop next door.

Ignis watched on as he emerged with only one vial, and as he walked by he tossed the rest of the money over to Ignis and got back into the backseat without a word. He pulled Prompto back against him, and grabbed one of his hands, wrapping his fingers around the vial. "I hope this works." He whispered as he helped him squeeze and break the vial.

His body glowed green for a few seconds before it faded away. For a little while nothing happened. Then he let out a quiet moan as his eyes fluttered before finally opening part way. He gazed around, seeing three sets of eyes staring at him. "What?" His voice was still hoarse, and his throat still burned, but he was lucid.

Noctis smiled at him, "How ya feeling?"

"I feel like crap." He went to sit up, but his arms gave out and he fell back down against Gladio.

"Hey, take it easy." Gladio said, "You're not fully recovered."

Ignis agreed, "It will take a few days until you are well enough, so until then, relax and accept our help. That means no whining or arguing. Do you understand?"

"Ugh." Prompto pouted for a second. "I guess." He was honestly just tired and felt terrible, and taking it easy for a little while didn't sound half bad anymore.