Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ignis didn't like touching people outside of social norms. A handshake here, a clasp on the shoulder there and that was it. He made an exception only for Prompto mostly because the blond always seemed to forget Ignis’ aversion to physical contact until after the fact.

The exception mostly derived from Ignis’ detest to seeing the boy upset. Prompto's sad puppy eyes after Ignis had shoved him off his person during an Ill-fated hug on Prompto's part was all but physically painful to have directed at one’s self. Ignis made an attempted to curb his instant reaction as often as he could even while he loathed it. Prompto would always apologize profusely as soon as he let go of the tense and rather irritated advisor and his response was always the same. Ignis would either sigh or give him a halfhearted glare knowing full well it would happen again regardless of what he said and despite Prompto’s promising not to.

So when Ignis woke early that morning and realized he was pressed firmly up against Gladio's left side, he was absolutely mortified.

It had taken his exhausted mind way longer than it should have to realize he was cuddling the bodyguard in his sleep. His vision may have been blurred from his lack of glasses and the dark tent didn't help either but the smell of leather, steel with the faint traces of cinnamon was unmistakable. Compared to the rest of the party, his stature and physical build also set him worlds apart.

It took him a moment to take stock of his current position. Ignis had both of his hands tucked into his own chest, head cradled on Gladio's shoulder as he lay on his right side. His torso was practically molded all the way down the other’s and he had thrown one of his legs over one of Gladio's as if trying to hold him there.

His face burned so hot it felt like he was on fire.

What was worse was that Ignis knew that Gladio had to have woken up and realized what he was doing. As with the trait of any good bodyguard, Gladio could go from fast asleep to wide awake, armed and ready to fight at the drop of the pin. If there was a sound out of place or if threatening presence approached, Gladio would wake with some unearthly sixth sense and ready for a fight in less than a second. There was no way he wouldn't have woken up to Ignis rolling over to curl up against him. Gladio also had his arm around Ignis’ shoulders, hand draped lazily over his side, gently holding him closer so he had to have known what Ignis had done and yet hadn’t pushed him away.

Ignis cringed. He tried to ease away as careful and subtly as possible from Gladio in an effort not to disturb him. Maybe if it seemed he was just rolling back over in his sleep Gladio wouldn’t react.

It didn’t work. Almost immediately Gladio's arm tightened around him. Ignis froze. His body was tense with uncertainty, which he knew would clue Gladio into the fact he was awake. So much for him trying to pass it off as a sleepy movement.

Instead of saying anything, the hand merely shifted and rubbed lazily at his side in soothing circles. It was obviously an effort to get him to relax again but it only made Ignis more uncomfortable and he tried to move away again. The arm clamped down, forcibly holding him still for a moment as Gladio released a long drawn out sigh. Ignis could tell Gladio had lifted his head to look towards him simply by the play of the muscles in his shoulder which only further emphasized his awkward position.

“Go back to sleep Iggy,” Gladio mumbled more asleep than awake himself. “It's too damn early.”

It was still dark out but it wouldn't surprise Ignis that if he peeked out of the tent he would see the gray skies right before the sun broke over the horizon. It was early -even for him- but he doubted he would be able to fall back asleep after waking up in such a position. “Let me go,” he countered in a hushed whisper, trying to pull away again only to be stopped by the immovable bar that was Gladio's arm.

“Only if you stop shivering,” Gladio sighed as he lowered his head back down to the camping mattress beneath them. Ignis frowned and realized he was trembling. In fact he was downright cold which was odd considering how warm the nights in Duscae were and that he was still wearing his jacket.

Despite the chill he still felt, Ignis tried to force himself to stop shivering through sheer force of thought and will power. Predictably, it didn’t help and only seemed to make him feel more tired than he had before. He huffed and squirmed slightly trying to worm away from Gladio regardless of what he said. He didn’t want to even fathom what Prompto and Noctis would say about their current sleeping arrangement if they saw them like this.

He had assumed that Gladio would just hold him in until Ignis’ insistent squirming got to be too much and then he would release him. Galdio was not the type of person to use his physical strength against a friend for something so petty. Especially when Ignis trying to get away would keep him awake for the last hour or so of the night. He didn’t sleep as much as the Prince did but Gladio would always strive for seven to eight hours of sleep a day with the occasional nap to remain at his peak.

There was just one problem with Ignis’ plan. Gladio was not a very predictable person even at the best of times. The swordsman let out an amused snort and quickly rolled up onto his side. He didn’t waste any time, wrapping his other arm around Ignis and hooking his leg over both of his. Gladio effectively immobilized him and simultaneously cuddled him tightly to his chest. Ignis blinked in shock at his new predicament as Gladio let out a large yawn and buried his face into Ignis’ hair.

That was when it dawned on Ignis exactly who he was dealing with. Ah yes, Gladio –like Prompto- had no aversion to physical contact. Unlike Prompto though, he had more restraint and respect for other’s personal preferences on the matter and tended to remember the fact for more than an hour. Except for right now. Apparently his innate drive to help a friend in need could over power his usual respectful poise.

Ignis finally found his voice and let out a harsh whisper, “Gladio-”

“G‘night Iggy,” the tank grumbled. “We both need our rest for tomorrow. Just relax and go to sleep.”

Gladio did have a point, especially with Magitek troops dropping in unannounced at every possible opportunity. Besides, now that he had a rather constricting Gladio shaped blanket he actually was feeling a bit warmer than he had before. His shivering eased slightly. Between that and the exhaustion that seemed to be clinging to his bones to the point that he ached all over, Ignis found himself relaxing against Gladio’s body without any conscious thought on his part. A hand began to run up and down his spine in a rhythmic motion that was just borderline hypnotic. Despite the ridicule he knew he would face in the morning from the two younger members of the party, Ignis shifted closer to his unconventional heat source and allowed himself to fall back asleep.

-Break-

Ignis woke the next morning under a pile of laundry and the first thought that went through his head was that all of it had better be clean.

Well, he really couldn't call it laundry, but he was definitely buried in a layer of clothing. Noct’s and Gladio's jackets were laying over his torso, tucked down underneath him. Both of Prompto's heavy vests were draped over his legs. The hideous yellow lined, gray vest that Noct liked to wear on occasions was even folded up and tucked under his head like a pillow. In reality he should have been overheating but if anything he was even more chilled that he had been last night.

Besides the chill he had apparently slept through the alarm going off, everyone else getting up and being wrapped up in various articles of clothing. While he wasn't as light a sleeper as Gladio he wasn't typically a very heavy sleeper either. Judging by how wrapped around him Gladio had been last night, the swordsman should have woken him when he went to get up regardless of how careful he tried to be. Typically at any rate. He also hadn't woken up to Prompto's or Noctis’ morning complaints, half-awake death threats or loud expositions on how glorious a day it was going to be.

That was all rather disconcerting. If he was chilled in such a warm climate and exhausted enough to sleep through all that then there was a good chance he was getting sick. He twisted his head enough to catch the light valiantly trying to find a way through the tent. The brightness was heavily muted but still caused him to squint and a slight throb to go through his head like a warning. A headache as well and he had absolutely no appetite. Lovely, he had apparently caught a cold.

With the amount of rain and light drizzles that they had experienced since entering Duscae it was inevitable that one of their number would fall ill at some point. However, Ignis would have thought that Prompto, with his nearly non-existent immune system, or Gladio, who had been sneezing since they left the Crown City, would have fallen ill first. Noct catching a cold would have been more explainable than him. The last time he had been sick had been when he was twelve. His healthy eating and regular exercise regimen had protected him well over the years. He was actually surprised it hadn't betrayed him sooner.

Still, a minor cold was insignificant compared to defeating Niflheim. They had worked to do and they couldn't afford to sit around for such a minor inconvenience such as a cold. He could push through it. He knew his limits he just had to be careful not to over stress himself, to drink plenty of fluids and to get plenty of rest. He would not be a burden to the others like this.

With his mind made up, Ignis sat up, slid his glasses into place and checked his phone. He frowned at the time. Already he seemed to be getting enough sleep considering it was nearly eight in the morning. He forewent his typically morning news scan, instead choosing to fix his shirt and make himself a bit more presentable. He took a moment to fold his unorthodox bedding, setting it off to side and out of the way, before unzipping the tent and stepping out into the way to bright morning.

The first and only person he saw was Prompto, standing before his camp stove and looking more than a little guilty. Their gunner had just finished flipping something in the pan and was clutching the spatula as if he was planning to use it as a way to ward off an attack. Really, what did that boy thing he was going to do? Yell at him for making pancakes?

“Err… Um, morning Iggy,” he finally managed as Ignis walked over to examine his creations stacked on a nearby plate partially obscured under a tea towel. They were a little flat but overall looked delicious. It was almost a shame he wasn't hungry, Ignis did enjoy pancakes on occasions. “Sleep well?”

“Well as can be expected,” he frowned. His voice was a little hoarse. A small scratchy sensation in the back of his throat signaled that this cold was only going to get worse. Perfect. He politely coughed into his glove to try in vain to clear it as he stepped back away from the pancakes. He did not want to chance anyone else catching his cold.

He glanced around the haven noticing the decided absence of their other two party members. “And where are Noct and Gladio? Did Gladio carry him down to the pond for a refreshing bath to wake up to?” It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Nah, they made a quick run up to the Chocobo Post to grab some stuff and check on a few hunts.” Prompto said off handedly with a slightly shrug of nonchalance, obviously trying to downplay the unexpected shopping trip. Ignis raised an eyebrow and was immediately rewarded with a sheepish look having correctly catching on to the gunner’s guilt. “Look don’t worry about it. We’ve got everything under control. You just focus on getting better.”

He sighed and removed his glasses to clean them with an air of resignation. He had no doubt that some of the 'stuff’ that they were going to ‘grab’ included cold medicine. Considering he was in charge of their requisitions and knew that they weren’t in dire straits for anything except maybe a few extra potions it was a fairly good assumption. Really he should have prepared for mundane illnesses. He would have to rectify that in the future.

The downside to this little errand run was that there was no telling what Noct and Gladio would bring back. There was a high probability of more junk food, several fishing lures, another memory card for Prompto’s camera and a couple new books. They had already spent a good chunk of their funds on weapons upgrades and a protective bracer for Prompto the day before. There wasn’t that much remaining in their coffers at this point and there would be decidedly less when the others returned.

“Come on,” Prompto said gesturing to the plate next to him with a beaming smile as if trying to force him to perk up too. “Eat up. I promised them I'd get you to eat something while they were gone and pancakes are a specialty of mine!” He flipped the last one onto the plate and then held the plate up for him to take. “Here! Prompto's healthy choice pancakes! Perfect for sick advisors everywhere!”

Ignis gave him an exasperated look over the top of his glasses as he pushed them back into place. “I fail to see how eating a short stack will help my apparent head cold.”

Prompto didn’t even bat an eye at his look, seemingly immune. At this point he most likely was. He smiled brilliantly as he stepped closer and waved the plate in front of Ignis’ face. “You won’t know until you try them.”

Ignis had been in Prompto’s company long enough to recognize this behavior. The blond was going to keep pressing him until he at least tried the pancakes. This relentless attitude could have its advantages –particularly when there were uncooperative princes about- but it was also infuriating to have it directed at him. He sighed; he really didn’t have the patience to even attempt to deal with this right now. It was best to just give in and save himself from aggravating his headache further.

“Very well,” he conceded taking the plate from him. “Did you make coffee as well?”

Prompto cringed and Ignis had a bad feeling about it even though he wasn’t sure why. He knew they were fully stocked on coffee so they couldn’t be out. He made sure that there was always a large supply as a precaution. Sometimes the morning’s coffee was the only thing that kept him going through the day.

“Er… Gladio said no coffee,” He held up an individually wrapped tea bag with a meek smile. “Please don’t kill me,” he mumbled half under his breath as his eyes darted to the side probably seeking an escape route.

Ignis heaved a massive sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not going to kill you Prompto, but if that doesn’t at least have a small amount of caffeine in it I may very well consider writing my will.” A caffeine headache would be the death of him at this point.

“Right… heheh..eee… you’re joking right?”

-Break-

Ignis managed to eat three pancakes, every one of which felt like a lump of lead landing in his stomach, but Prompto had still praised him for eating over half of the ones he had made. However he had the nerve to admonish him for only drinking half of his tea and to finish it before it got to cold. Ignis was fairly certain he had sighed more times today than he had in the past two weeks.

He spent close to an hour nursing that cup of tea despite Prompto’s insistent badgering on his part. Ignis idly passed the time watching a Catobelpas as it moved around the lake in the distance, wishing that his headache would die down a bit so he could at least scan through the news on his phone. He was alerted to Gladiolus and Noctis rejoining them when Prompto, who had been playing on his phone to pass the time, suddenly bounced to his feet. The young gunner was acting like an excited puppy, asking all kinds of questions as he all but tripped them in his eagerness to finally move and do something. The boy really had a hard time sitting still.

Ignis watched from the comfort of his camp chair, swirling the remaining tea in his cup absently. He was tired from just watching Prompto’s performance which was only foreshadowing of what was to come. It was going to be a challenge for him to make it throughout the day without taking a nap. He couldn’t even remember the last time he had taken a nap.

Gladio met his gaze and Ignis narrowed his eyes and took a pointed sip from his tea. He was going to blame Gladio for being forced to take a nap. Tea was not going to help him power through the day this time and he doubted that the bodyguard would let him have some Ebony regardless of any argument he presented.

“Glare at me all you want, Iggy,” Gladio said as he tossed the larger of the two shopping bags he carried into the tent. “But the last thing you need is coffee. You need to stay hydrated and that stuff is way too acidic for someone who is sick. I’d bet ten gil that a cup right now would make you throw up.”

“I’ll take that bet!” Prompto said from where he and Noct were hovering around the third shopping bag sitting on the table next to the stove. Ignis could easily see the brightly colored bags of candy and what looked like a couple bottles of soda through the white plastic of the bag.

He didn’t get a chance to get after them for ruining their diets with absolute junk as Gladio suddenly knelt next to his chair and put a hand on his forehead. Both surprised and more than a little irritable at how his day had been progressing so far, Ignis lightly slapped his hand away as he pulled his head back. “Geez, a little irritable when you are sick?” Gladio said in good humor as he leaned a bit closer and caught the back of his head with one hand so he could put his other on his forehead. “Or is this because I’m not letting you have coffee?”

Ignis entertained the downright immature response of throwing the remainder of his luke warm tea into Gladio’s face.

“Definitely running a bit of a fever there Iggy,” he continued oblivious to how close he had come to wearing the remains of Ignis’ drink. “This should help,” rooting around in the shopping bag at his side, Gladio produced a small box of cold medicine which he handed over for inspection.

“Thank you,” Ignis said with only the smallest hint of a croak to his voice. Judging by how his eyes flickered to him, Gladio had picked up on it. Ignis ignored his frown as he took a sip of his tea and looked over the directions on the back of the box. Even with his glasses on he had to squint slightly to focus on the small print but he was happy to find this was a non-drowsy variety of cold medicine.

He surprise must have shown on his face because Gladio pulled another box from the shopping bag. “Got the drowsy kind right here for tonight,” he gave it a small shake before tucking it back in the bag and rooting around in it again. “Figure I was pushing my luck as it was with the coffee band.”

“I will have revenge for that,” Ignis said casually as he popped the pills through the foil wrapping holding them in place. “Do I want to know how much this little venture cost?” He took both pills and a large draught from his tea.

“Eh,” Gladio said with a small shrug and an indifferent voice. “Just under a thousand gil.”

Ignis choked.

Chapter Text

Ignis had never been a very emotional child and he was even less emotional now that he was an adult.  As a strategist and personal advisor to the future King, being able to hold one's emotions in check was a necessity that came with the job. He had to be able to keep his mind clear of judgement, his words articulate, and to maintain the poise and dignity that was required of his station.  Emotions would do nothing but clutter his thoughts, dictate his decisions, and cause him to act in an illogical manner when he should be sticking to facts and compiling the information to statistically come up with the best option possible.

Because of this, it took a lot to make Ignis legitimately angry and his anger was more on par with a normal civilian being absolutely livid.

Looking up from where he had been hunched over coughing in an effort to expel tea from his lungs, Ignis fixed Gladio with a glare that could peel the paint off the side of a building.  Patting his back to try and help clear his airways wasn't going to save Gladio from his wrath.  “Gladiolus Amicitia, I swear if you have squandered the remainder of our funds on cold medicine and junk food-”

“And blankets,” Noctis said with an utter lack of enthusiasm as he dug around in the shopping bag in front of him.

“And soup!” Prompto added as he held aloft a can pulled from the same shopping bag.  “See, I told you we had everything under control, you just take it easy and get better.”

His rant effectively derailed and his temper cooled slightly, Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose to try and ease the headache that his tension had only made worse.  It helped to calm him and slightly embarrass him when the majority of the purchases were to aid him in his recovery.  The blankets had to be the reason that the price tag was so steep.  “I assume that you have some plan to recoup what was spent?” He asked tiredly to the man crouched next to him.  

Gladio had gone from patting his back to rubbing it in slow circles.  He finally stopped and leaned back on his heels as he started to talk.  “Simple enough.  We do a couple hunts, make the extra gil and if need be take you to a doctor.”

“There is very little a doctor would be able to do for me and my current condition,” Ignis pointed out as he sat up and leaned heavily against the back of the camping chair.  “All he could do is ease my symptoms  Which is exactly what the medicine you purchased is supposed to do.  It’s more cost effective to let the medicine assist me.”

He was still annoyed that they had spent the rest of their funds.  The gil that they had spent was supposed to be for the Regalia.  Back country roads we're not suitable for the Crown City car despite its custom design and heavy modifications.  Service trips to Cindy were common and usually cost a few thousand gil at a time.  They were past due for such a trip and if the Regalia broke down in Duscae he was not pushing it back to Hammerhead.  On-site service calls were double the normal rate and way out of their current budget.  Why was it every time that they seemed to get ahead something had to set them back?

“Depending on how bad that fever gets you may need one Iggy,” Gladio said while standing up and taking his mug from his limp fingers.  “Especially if we can’t keep you hydrated.  We got anymore hot water, Prom?”

Ignis wanted a cup of coffee not tea.  Fortunately there was enough caffeine in the beverage that he didn’t have to deal with a caffeine headache on top of the dull throbbing headache caused by his illness.  “What hunts did you choose?” he asked Noctis, trying to ignore the half eaten pastry in his hand and the fact that Prompto had another pastry mostly crammed in his mouth.  He felt his eyebrow twitch but forced himself not to say anything.  He would let them get away with trashing their diets for this meal as a silent thank you for taking the time to get him supplies and take care of him.  

“Just a bunch of garulas and some yellowtooths causing some issues,” Noct said as he looked over his pastry.  He shrugged lightly, “No big deal.  The yellowtooths are closer so we'll take them out first.”

Ignis added another sigh to his growing tally.  “They are in fact a big deal, Noct.  Literally.  Depending on the size of the herd and if a garulessa accompanies them, garulas are not to be taken so lightly.  Their size alone gives them an advantage in battle.” He reminded the Prince who seemed to be more interested in determining what the fruity contents of his pastry were than what Ignis’ was saying.  He pressed on anyways.  “And yellowtooths are extremely affective pack hunters.  We've been caught flat-footed by them before.  You’ll do well to remember to pay close attention to your flank in combat so as not to be caught unaware.”

Ignis wasn't going to try and kid himself. Honestly he wouldn't have minded if the Prince had demanded to spend the day fishing down on the pond.  That would be more conducive to his recovery then to do some hunting. He was in no shape to go traipsing around the Alstor Slough, getting into fights with the local fauna especially if he wanted to recover his health in a reasonable amount of time.  

Not that he would ever admit that out loud.

“You're not going anywhere,” Gladio said as if reading his mind while he handed Ignis another steaming cup of tea.  “You're staying right here and taking it easy for the day.”

He didn't want to be left behind but he also couldn’t argue with that logic.  They really didn’t need him there to slow them down or become a liability.  It would also give him a day to recover and hopefully kick this head cold before it developed into something more debilitating.

“Very well,” he still wasn’t happy in the arrangement, knowing that between the three of them they had the impulse control of a toddler surround by cookies, told not to have any and then left unsupervised for a few hours.  Without him there to keep them out of mischief there was no telling what kind of shenanigans the three of them would get into.  Statistically, their track record was abysmal and it wouldn’t surprise him if he received a phone call with a panicky voice or voices on the other end reciting some ill thought out scheme that got one of them injured, maimed or captured by the Empire.  

Honestly, it was like trying to herd a group of cats.

Putting those thoughts off to one side -surely they could think things through for at least the rest of the day and not hurt themselves- he continued, offering some advice in lieu of actually being there.  Hopefully they would take it to heart.  “In that case Prompto should-”

“Erm… actually Iggy, I’m staying here with you,” despite the slight hesitation in his voice it was still a very determined statement.  Even the remains of the pastry valiantly clinging to his face didn't seem to take away from his serious expression.

And then his words finally caught up to him.  “I believe it would be fitting to use one of your vernaculars for this situation, Prompto,” Ignis turned his eyes on Gladio who in turn crossed his arms and stood a tad bit straighter as if preparing for a verbal assault.  As the person that seemed to be in charge of seeing to his recovery, it made the most sense that Gladiolus was the one to press for this arrangement.  “‘Oh hell no.’”

It had the desired effect.  Gladio snorted in amusement at his use of vulgar language, even more so at his attempt to mimic the way Prompto said it, stressing ‘hell’ a bit more than the other two words in the sentence.  As much as he disliked the use of such vulgarity it helped to defuse the rising tension he felt and could see in the others.  

Did they really think that he was stubborn enough to press the issue?  Alright so maybe a little but within reason.  It wasn't like Gladio would physically force him to remai-

-But he would do so underhandedly.  Ignis looked suddenly at the tea in his hand and then back at the bodyguard standing next to him.  “You drugged my tea didn’t you?”

Gladio had the decency to look guilty even if he did try to hide it.  Though he had received some training on how to act in the Royal Courts and Councils, Gladio wore his emotions too openly on his nonexistent sleeves.  Ignis shot him another paint peeling look as he sat the mug down on the ground near his chair.  “Gladio,” his voice both admonishing and disappointed.  “I understand if you want me to get better more quickly but lacing my drinks is not an acceptable way to get me to rest.  I will be alright on my own here and not drugged up on whatever you just tried to slip me.  The three of you should be able to deal with these happenings on your own provided you keep your heads about you and not do something tremendously stupid.”

“You are not staying here alone,” Noctis had put his half eaten pastry down and was giving Ignis a look that could rival his own.  

Despite a slight protest from the tired muscles in his back, Ignis sat up again.  Noctis hadn’t so much as received training to school his expression such as he had but instead had built a wall of apathy around himself after the trauma from his childhood.  He did care but it was all hidden behind that wall making him appear to be constantly disinterested in his environment or half a step away from collapsing into a deep sleep.  Ignis was use to picking up on the small almost nonexistent idiosyncrasies of what Noct was actually thinking so it was easy for him to read the Prince with a single look.

Right now, the faint pinch on his forehead and the sharpness of his eyes indicated that he was prepared to argue with him on this development.  Ignis let out a faint breath and pushed his physical discomfort as far to the back of his mind as possible.  Noctis and he typically didn’t argue but when they did, even Ignis had to acknowledge how stubborn the two of them tended to be.  Saying that their debates were heated was an understatement.  “Noct-“

Noctis cut him off without preamble.  “The havens are protected from deamons but are only warded against predators and they have no effect on magitek soldiers.  If an animal is hungry and desperate enough it can get through the haven and into camp.  Remember what happened back in Leide?  Not risking that again and with the increased patrols through here there is too much of a chance of the Empire stumbling across this camp.  You are in no condition to be fighting anything, especially not a drop ship full of axeman magiteks in your own.”

Ignis let a small smile briefly grace his features.  Noctis was trying to end the argument before it started and had laid out some fairly solid and legitimate concerns but had neglected to take into account who he was arguing with.  Such a tactic would have been most effective on Gladio or Prompto but laying out all his cards on the table was an error when dealing with him.  There was a reason he was Noctis’ advisor after all.

“Well put however,” the subtle pinch to his forehead deepened fractionally.  Prompto looked between the two of them and took an exaggerated step off to the side and out of the way of the verbal crossfire.  “I wish to point out two facts that derail your argument.

“Firstly, the ambush in Leide happened because of the environment we were in.  Those sabertusks were starving, it had been an unusually arid spring, and they had nothing left to lose.  Duscae is currently in the middle of its rainy season, food is in abundance and the majority of the predators in this region use the lack of light at dusk and dawn to hunt.  During the day they typically are at rest in their dens.

“Secondly, magiteks patrols tend to follow a grid based search pattern.  The reason why we tend to switch between this haven and Pullmore while we are in this region is because the patrol routes don’t come within several leagues of them.”

“There’s always the chance that the routes will change,” Gladio pointed out, still standing partially over him with his arms crossed.

Ignis’ eyes flickered to him briefly before focusing back on Noctis, “If the routes haven’t change after that fiasco at the Disc of Cauthess there is an extremely small chance of them changing it now.  I will be safe here on my own, Noctis.  I am more worried about you at this point.  Underestimating your opponent is a sure fire way to invite trouble.”

Noct was quiet but his expression had subtly changed.  Instead of the hardened look of before it had soften just a fraction.  The corners of his mouth were dipped in a barely there frown and he was clenching his jaw.  It was a look he had seen Noctis direct at him often.  The Prince was at a loss of what to do and was silently seeking counsel from his advisor on what to do next.

Ignis reviewed the contents of the conversation and added in observations on the others’ body language.  Noctis was not keen on leaving him alone and undefended as his argument had just indicated.  The fact he was seeking Ignis’ opinion of the situation after Ignis had torn apart his own argument meant that the Prince wanted to protect him but wasn't sure how.  Perhaps he should have gone a tad bit easier on him?  Really though, Noctis had to learn not to rely on such flimsy arguments especially when Ignis had originally vetted both of them shortly after they had initially arrived in Duscae.

His eyes moved to look up at the imposing form of Gladio.  The bodyguard was still standing half a step to close for comfort and his arms were crossed over his chest.  It was an intimidating pose except for how the bodyguard’s eyes kept flicking up to scan the area around them.  He was actively guarding Ignis, quite possibly ordered to by Noctis though the Prince rarely used his title for anything.

Prompto was standing off to the side, weight shifting from one foot to the others, as his eyes constantly scanned the three of them.  He was ready to do something but was letting Noct and Gladio try and reason with him.  Considering the others had more time dealing with and learning his little quirks and nuances, the youngest member of their group was merely waiting for a direction or task too completely or do.  His statement earlier, though slightly hesitant, had been rather firm when he had said he was staying.

If they were refusing to budge on leaving him on his own  and unprotected -at least in their eyes, he knew he would be quite alright on his own- then there was only one solution.  “Then I will accompany the three of you on the hunts.”

“No you’re not,” Gladio said immediately as he frowned down at him.  “The last thing you need is to over exert yourself.”

“I’m hardly incapacitate to the point where I am incapable of fighting.”  He pointed out.  He continued before Prompto or Noctis could say anything to him about his statement.  “While I will agree I should avoid fights as much as possible to reduce the amount of stress my body is under, I can at least accompany you on the search.  I can then stay back and well out of the fray while you deal with the bounties.”

“You’re were the one pointing out earlier how good yellowtooths were at ambushing and now you want us to take you into combat with them?”  Noct was not amused at his apparent double standards, the frown fully visible on his face.

“Of course not,  as I said, once we locate them, I’ll fall back.  Back far enough that I won't be able to directly see or be able to participate in the battle but close enough so I can call for help if necessary.  The yellowtooths will be so preoccupied with you that they won't have the time to ferret me out.”

“But what if one of them gets around us and goes for you?” Prompto finally felt safe enough that the since the argument had shifted more into a conversation that he could throw his two cents worth into the mix.

“Coincidently Prompto that is exactly what you will be preventing.”  The kid stood up straighter as Ignis singled him out before laying out the simple but highly effective plan.  “Stand a little further back than you typically do, remaining between my location and theirs.  While Gladio and Noct rush them you can provide them support and also bring to their attention if one of them tries to run.  Noct can use his warping ability to move through the battle and catch up with them.  It is highly doubtful that any will be able to escape using that tactic.”

Both Noctis and Prompto seemed to relax slightly now that there was a solid plan in place.  The only one that didn't seem to be reassured was Gladio.  “And what are you going to be doing?” he asked, his shoulders had released some tension but not much.  He was still guarded as he looked him over.  “Taking a nap in the forest?”

“Hardly,” he couldn't help but let out a small huff of amusement.  “Most yellowtooth packs are no larger than ten adults.  The three of you should be able to handle that in fifteen minutes if you decided to practice your more ornate moves.  Not enough time for a nap and, though I doubt there would be any other predators in the area, that doesn't mean there aren't any.  I'd do well to stay in my gaurd.”

Gladio gave him a long searching look.  “I don't like this,” he finally relented.  He settled his weight back on his heels and looked out over the marshes again.  “Just got the feeling something bad is going to happen.”

“Ah come, big guy,” Prompto said brightly as he came over and gave Gladio's shoulder a friendly jab, trying to lighten up the dark look on his face.  “Other than those yellowtooths you're probably the biggest predator around here.  It'll be fine.”

“Yeah,” Noct added trying to lighten his bodyguard's pessimistic attitude while picking up his pastry again.  “Keep thinking like that and something bad is bound to happen.”

Gladio looked down at him for a long moment before sighing and stooping down to pick up his up touched mug.  “You need to drink some water before we go,” he said as he tossed its contents off the edge of the haven before taking it over to where Prompto was gathering up the dishes he had dirtied earlier for a quick wash.  He grabbed two bottles from the cooler and brought them back.  

“Drink one and take the other with you.  If a drop ship comes in you stay behind me. No ifs, ands or buts.  Got that?” There were a multitude of things he could say to that but Ignis choose to placate the Shield, nodding in agreement. Gladio turned back around, “Noct, stop picking at your food and help me gets this place buttoned down.  We're wasting daylight.”

Ignis ignored the following conversation after Noct mentioned something about seeds in his pastry.  The Heavens forbid there were raspberry seeds in a raspberry turnover.  He had more pressing concerns at any rate.  He wasn't at his best, he knew that for a fact, and he couldn't help shake the feeling that there was something he was forgetting.  A very small variable that statistically was high improbable but had a slim chance of happening all the same.

He had managed the reassure his friends at least.  Together the three of them would be able to take out a pack of yellowtooths with only a moderate difficulty on their parts.  That was mostly due to their reckless behavior on the battlefield and not the challenge that the yellowtooths would cause.

Maybe it was just Gladio's pessimism or just his exhausted mind playing tricks on him, but the feeling he had forgotten something to factor in just wouldn't leave him be.  He opened one of his waters and sipped at it.  He was sure it would come to him at some point, just hopefully not when it was already too late.

Chapter Text

It bothered him to the point of distraction.  It wasn’t often that he forgot things and it nagged at the back of his mind like an itch he couldn’t scratch.  As the others worked at getting their campsite picked up for them to be gone for the day he stared out at the lakes racking his mind for what he had forgotten, sipping idly at the bottle of water in his hand.  He remembered that it was a low probability that came in less than five percent.  The fact that he had forgotten something, no matter how miniscule, annoyed him more than the very unlikelihood of having whatever happen come to pass.

Blasted illness.

“You ready Iggy?”

He took one last swing from the open bottle in his hand before screwing the cap back on and standing up.  Gladio was giving the ground next to his chair a pointed look and it took Ignis a moment to realize why.  He stooped to pick up the unopened bottle and tucked it in his jacket’s inner pocket before moving to deposit of the empty bottle in its designated holder.  

He turned back to the Shield and gave him a small nod to signal he was ready.  Gladio blew out a big gust of air, the look on his face torn between irritation and resignation.  Saying he was unhappy about Ignis tagging along appeared to be an understatement.  “Alright, let's get moving,” he gave Ignis another look.  “Stay close to me.”

Ignis scowled at the Shield but refrained from actually saying anything.  As much as he wanted to remind him that he was not Ignis’ bodyguard but in fact Noctis’ would probably go over like a demon trying to take a pleasant stroll during the day.  It was obvious that Gladio was not in the mood to be reminded of his duties as much as Ignis was not in the mood to have another argument to contend with.  Convincing them to take him along so that he would have some modicum of protection had taken more out of him than he had thought.

And now he was about to follow his companions out for a pleasant jog through the marshes in the humid Duscae Wilderness.

They hadn’t even gone more twenty feet from the haven and had barely picked up the pace to a light jog and already he was sweating.  Perhaps he should have changed out of his dress shirt and jacket, opting for the more breathable casual cotton tee shirt he occasionally wore.  However, with the way his luck had been going, he probably would have been chilled all day if he had changed.  

Fatigue and exhaustion were already clawing at him, trying to bring him down but he managed to keep moving at a steady clip that kept him in pace and a little behind Noct.  He would have rather been running up alongside him but the one time he tried, Noctis just picked up the pace to stay ahead of him and Ignis knew better than to try and keep that increased pace for long.   As it was he was breathing heavier and sweating more than normal.  It was unsurprising that Gladio picked up on especially considering he was no more than a yard from Ignis’ left side.

“How are you holding up?” Gladio asked, barely sounding winded even as Ignis felt like he was just returning from a brisk ten mile jog.  

“As well as can be expected,” he tried not to sound to out of breath but failed miserably.  He glared off in the middle distance in disgust with himself.  Honestly it was just a cold.  He shouldn't be have this much difficulty.  

“If you need to stop and catch your breath just say something.”

In an entirely juvenile display more suited to Iris than himself, Ignis rolled his eyes, “Gladio, we left the haven not even fifteen minutes ago.  I'm fine.”

“Sweating and breathing pretty heavily to just be fine.”

Ignis sighed.  Again.  “I understand you are worried but I assure you that I will not slow the group down.”

“I’m not worried so much about that as I am about you.  I never seen you sick before and the handful of times you've been injured you still seem to brush it off as if nothing has happened.”. Gladio shrugged, “Wasn't really sure what to make of it last night when you cuddled up to me but figured that it couldn't be good... ‘specially when I realized how bad you were shivering.”

“Speaking of that,” Prompto spoke up from where he was covering the rear.  “You two looked awfully comfy like that.”  The smirk in his voice told of the blackmail pictures he no doubt had stored away on his camera.  Ignis was tempted to twist around and glare at him but was fairly certain that his coordination was off enough that he would end up on his face.  “You going to cuddle together tonight too?”. He added in a sickenly sweet, sing-song voice as he continued to tease.

“If he’s shivering again like a jackhammer, you bet your ridiculous amounts of hair products I will,” Gladio said sternly, missing or choosing to ignore the teasing.

“Put him between us,” Noctis turned slightly so he could see over his shoulder a little better.  “It’ll help keep him warm and I can use him as a pillow again.  He's quiet comfy.”

“I am right here you know,” Ignis reminded them all irritability.

Noct smirked at the rise he managed to get out of his advisor before turning back around.  Prompto was snickering behind him and Gladio didn't help his rising annoyance anymore when he chose to remind him to drink some water as they moved.

It was turning out to be a very long day.

-Break-

They were halfway along the length of the marsh when Gladio made them stop.

More accurately, made him stop.

“Alright enough,” he said putting an arm up to prevent Ignis from moving past him as he slowed their pace gradually down to a stop.  “We're taking a break.”

Ignis would have argued the point if he could have drawn in enough of a breath to say anything.

“Sure,” Noct said quietly giving Ignis a rather concerned look.  He had been glancing back every few minutes with the same look in his face for awhile now as if trying to decide the most tactful approach to dealing with his stubborn and ill advisor.  Ignis had just chosen to ignore it.  Gladio was a bit harder to ignore as he took both of Ignis upper arms in a gentle grip and forced him over to a nearby tree.  

“Sit,” he said as he pushed Ignis down so that he was sitting with the tree supporting him.  He crouched down with him and dug into Ignis’ coat so he could pull out and unscrew the cap to his half drunk bottle of water.  “Get your breathing under control and then you're drinking the rest of this.”

Ignis nodded as he leaned heavily back against the tree.  For the past ten minutes his entire focus had been on keeping in step with Gladio.  Now that he had been forced to stop and sit down, he could feel the muscles in his legs spasming and trembling with fatigue.  He wiped a hand across his brow, unsurprised at the amount of swear there.

“Should have said you needed to stop twenty minutes ago,” Gladio grumbled as Ignis forced himself to take several deep breaths to steady his breathing.  

As much as he wanted to defend his actions, Ignis’ mouth was bone dry.  Taking several small sips from the offered water and taking a moment to swirl each one around his mouth before swallowing it was enough to make it feel like it should again. “As much as I would like to pause every twenty minutes,” he said in a hoarse voice.  “I also like the idea of being safely back at the haven before dark.”

“If it starts to get that late, I’ll carry you.”

“Gladio I will say this once and once only,” he said as acidly as he could.  “Try to so much as lift me up to carry me anywhere and you may very well find my knife in your side.”

Gladio opened his mouth to say something but paused at the glare he was being given.  It seemed to dawn on him that Ignis was being very serious.  Prompto suddenly appeared next to them, looking back and forth at Gladio and Ignis before focusing on Gladio.

“Told you you should let him have his morning coffee,” was all he said before withdrawing to stand next to Noctis.  The Prince was idly looking around the landscape as if trying to keep up a watch but was being to distracted by Ignis’ condition to really be paying close attention to anything.  “He’s got it out for you, bro!”

Gladio sighed and lightly tapped at Ignis’ wrist to remind him that he was holding the bottle.  “Drink,” he said as he stood up and glanced around the area, doing much more comprehensive sweep of their surroundings than Noct was.  “We’ll get moving in a bit.”.

Ignis wanted to ask him how long that would be but he doubted that Gladio would give him a very definitive answer.  It was probably going to be vague and somewhere along the lines of ‘when you're feeling better’.  Still, though it irked him that he was in fact slowing everyone else down, he couldn't deny he needed a few minutes.  His legs still felt like jelly.

Ignis obliged Gladio’s request sipping dutifully at the water in his grasp as the others took to milling around nearby.  Prompto seemed to have found small batch of flowers that had caught his photographer eye as he pulled out his camera and began fiddling with the options in it.  Gadio was standing several feet away, arms crossed over his chest as he continued to stand guard that seemed unneeded.  The largest animal any of them had even seen so far was a squirrel.  

Noctis, with guard duty taken away from him, walked over and plopped down next to Ignis.  He leaned to the side with a sigh and rested his head against Ignis’ shoulder.  Ignis looked down to be greeted with a dark mass of hair, “Noct-”

“See? You’re a good pillow,” he mumbled before yawning into his fist.  

Ignis couldn’t help the small smile that graced his features as he took another pull from his water bottle.  “I didn’t realize that my job description would include acting as a royal pillow.”

“It was in the fine print.”  He shifted about to get a bit more comfortable against Ignis.  He highly doubted that Gladio would let the Prince get away with a nap but while they were taking a break it was obvious the Shield didn’t see a reason not to let him relax somewhat.  With nothing but the birds chirping in the trees and the faint sounds of cicadas in the distance, Ignis allowed himself to drowse against the tree, half watching as Prompto ended up laying on the ground to get just the right angle for his masterpiece.

“Alright,” Gladio’s voice broke the calming silence that had cast itself over them.  It took him a moment to orient himself and even then, Ignis hadn’t realized he had drifted off until he was rubbing the sleep from his eyes.  Prompto was now taking pictures of the marshes, adjusting the zoom as he scanned the fields before them carefully.  “Let’s get moving.  How are you feeling, Iggy?”

Noctis was grumbling something rude about mornings as he shuffled against him, trying not to wake up.  Apparently Ignis wasn’t the only one who had drifted off.  “Better,” he glanced at the sky and frowned when he realized how long it had been.  “You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long,” he chided gently.

Galdio reached back down to give him a hand after hauling a yawning Noct to his feet.  “Don’t worry, you needed a nap and while you two were napping, we’ve been busy.”

“You mean I’ve been busy, big guy.” Prompto said as he lowered his camera and flashed them all a smile.  “Guess what I so happened to see running across the grasslands?”

“I’m hoping it was a cheeseburger and fries,” Noct said slightly wistfully as Gladio pulled Ignis to his feet.  He wobbled slightly at the sudden change in elevation and Gladio was quick to steady him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Sorry buddy, we’ll have to have that as a victory meal at the Chocobo Post or something.  Been watching our bounty for the past half hour.  They're having a bit of a siesta  not even a quarter of a mile from here next to one of the shallower ponds.”. Prompto checked back through the lense of his camera, no doubt using the zoom feature on it to get a better view of their quarry.  “Looks like there's five big guys and a couple slightly smaller ones.”.

“You good?” Gladio asked and Ignis nodded as he fixed his glasses that had slid down his nose.  “Alright,” he patted Ignis’ shoulder, using a lot less force than he normally did.  It barely felt like a series of taps and not the usual claps that could throw the unprepared off balance.  “Iggy, stay here,” Gladio said as he shifted forward slightly intent on the creatures before them.  “We’ll be done before you know it.”

“No I won’t,” He replied a bit haughtily, still sore at being left to nap half the day away.  Gods what he wouldn’t give for an Ebony or a cup of coffee right now.  All three of his friends were giving him an annoyed looks in various levels of intensity so he quickly elaborated before they could draw any wrong conclusions.  “Not here at any rate.  This area is far to open for my liking.  I’d rather have something larger than a small tree or bush to keep my back against.”  He turned, scanning the area behind them.  Further back into the forest but not all the way back to the cliffs the surrounded the Nebulawood was a rather small crag of boulders jutting up out of the landscape.  “I’ll be up there.  The area has a higher vantage of the surrounding forest and is more defensible for a single person.”

“We’ll wait here till you’re in position, Specs,” Noct promised as Ignis started to move towards his prefered spot.  “Be careful.”

“You as well,” He said as he met Gladio’s gaze briefly and got a nearly nonexistent nod from the other.  He would have to trust the Shield to fulfill his duty and defend the Prince without his assistance.  Hopefully they wouldn’t run in anything more than the local wildlife while they were separated.  The Gods forbid some of those magitek assassins from dropping in unexpectedly.

It wasn’t that far to his chosen position but Ignis didn’t drop his guard.  So far the larger and more carnivorous wildlife outside the Crown City had proven to be excellent at ambushing. A barest flick would bring his daggers to his hands but nothing bothered him as he made his way up to the boulders.  He did a cursory look about the area but the only signs of any animal life he saw were that of small rodents and a chocobo judging by the tracks.

Satisfied that where he had chosen seemed even more secure and with little animal traffic he turned back and signaled the others with a nod of his head.  However as he turned to face them he couldn't help but sigh in annoyance again.  Prompto had been watching him closely, gun drawn and ready.  Noctis had out his broadsword, pulled back for the throw and no doubt the warp that was to follow.  Gladio's attention was torn between the direction of their bounty and him but he had shifted his stance so that his feet were already in a position more commonly used by sprinters in case he needed to barrel up the hill.

Really now, he had only gone about eighty feet.

He waved them on with his hand before leaning back against the rocks comfortably.  His at ease stance seemed to signal to his friends better than a flip of his hand and they rearranged themselves to deal with their bounty.  Ignis frowned as he realized between the rise in elevation and all the tree foliage he wouldn't be able see the fight.  Maybe this hadn't been such a good spot.

Still it had its advantages, he pulled out his phone and cringed when he noticed the time.  They shouldn’t have let him slept for three hours.  It was already midafternoon.  He heaved a  sighed and decided to see if he could at least flip through the day’s headlines.   He didn't dare try reading them while not in a secured location or without someone covering for him but browsing and saving articles to read at a later time still gave him something productive to do while he waited for the others to return.  

Unfortunately, it was a lost cause.  He had barely been able to activate one of his apps long when his headache throbbed warningly.  He tried setting the brightness on the screen down as low as it would go but that didn’t seem to help either.  The screen was just too small to focus on.  He heaved a sigh and slid the phone back into his pocket.  So much for being productive.

With nothing better to do, Ignis leaned more heavily back against the rock and scanned the area around him idly as he tried to estimate how long he was going to be there.  Even if the three of them took their time, it wouldn’t take them more than fifteen minutes to deal with such a small pack.  He blinked sleepily and shook his head to clear it.  In was so nice and peaceful out here that the serenity was lulling him back to sleep.  Damn Gladio for withholding his coffee, it wouldn’t do now for him to drift off regardless of how warm and quiet it-

Wait, why had the birds stopped chirping?

Sleep was cast away by the shot of adrenaline that went through his system and Ignis stood up from the rock.  His scanned his surroundings but there was nothing out of place.  No signs of anything in the immediate area but the lack of sound gave the peaceful forest he stood in an ominus feel.  He fidgeted, straining his senses as he tried to locate the predator that caused the forest to fall silent.  

After a full minute, Ignis relaxed slightly even as he kept up his vigilance.  There was nothing out there that he could detect yet there had to be something.  The birds hadn’t started singing again.  He held his arms out away from his body, hands open and ready to grasp the hilt of his daggers-

A deep rumbling growl reached his ears.

That wasn't good.

There was a tremble in the ground beneath his feet as something very large landed a short distances away.  Ignis put a hand behind him to steady himself against the rock face behind him.  Whatever it was, it was big.  

This time the deep growl came from the other side of his chosen fortification.  He wanted to look but he also didn't want to attract attention to himself.  He backed up, slowly and cautiously, pressing against the rock as there were a series of loud huffing noises from behind him.  Whatever it was it must be sniffing the air.  He hoped that whatever it was didn't smell what was left of his cologne.  He didn't apply it while they were camping but if any traces of it lingered and it had a good sense of smell…

As if on cue, the growl sounded again, louder than before and with enough base to it for him to feel it in his chest.  Heavy footsteps were coming closer, the ground echoing each step as it moved.  Ignis quickly glanced around at his limited options.  Moving away from the rock would surely catch its attention and, judging by its apparent size, there was no way he would be able to outrun that thing.  His legs were still a little weak.  Fighting was completely out of the question.  He looked along the rock he was pressed against hoping for somewhere he could hide that didn't have a current resident that would be adverse to him tucking in with it for a bit.

His luck was still exceptionally good if a bit twisted.  He had noticed the small crack in the rock along the ground when he had first reached the crag but since it barely came up his knee he had paid it no mind.  Now he quickly dropped to one knee and peered inside.  It went back quite a ways but it was too dark to tell exactly how far.  He should be able to squeeze in it and, as the huffing sounded again, almost directly above him accompanied by the sound of claws digging into the rocks, he didn't wait any longer.

He dropped to his stomach, shuffling his legs and then torso into the hole.  The space beyond did open up a bit as the ground sloped down a tad.  Water lapped at his shoes and calves but he didn't do more than cringe as he continued to stuff himself inside.  While laying in a puddle of water wouldn't help his illness, it would help to mask his scent from whatever was currently stalking him.

Of course calling it a puddle seemed to be a bit of an understatement when he realized how deep it was.  The water was stale with a thin film of something over it.  As soon as he broke through that film the smell of decaying vegetable matter reached his nose and his stomach flipped unhappy with the stench.  This was a whole new level of unsanitary but it's not like he had a choice.  There was enough water to completely submerge his legs and lower back even with his hips chanted to the side and his legs drawn up so he could fit in the rather tight space.  It really hadn’t gone back very far but at least it was large enough for him.  He kept himself propped up on his elbow so that at least this shoulders and head were above the water.  One hand held up his phone safely out of the water’s reach.  Now all he could do was wait and hope that whatever it was would just move on.

It didn't take long.  The large clawed paw that sank into the ground right in front of his little hidey hole was large and familiar enough that he felt utterly betrayed by his luck.  The scrape of claws on the rocks above as dread filled his stomach and another paw came into view.  They were then joined by a third and a fourth.  Already knowing what he would see but still needing to visually confirm it, Ignis dipped his head enough to look up along the muscle bound legs to see the creature’s head and torso.

Bloody hell , he mouth the words silently to himself as the sight jogged his memory from a few days ago when he was talking to Wiz.  He had been reminding the Chocobo herded that there was a slight but growing chance that another behemoth would eventually take over Deadeye’s former territory and to call them as soon as one did so that they could deter it from attack his Chocobos.  Both Noctis and Prompto had been standing on either side of him agreeing venomously, making promises and death threats against a beast that wasn’t even in the area.  

Apparently it was here already.  

The less than five percent factor he had forgotten.

The behemoth just outside his hiding place looked right and then left, growling lowly under its breath.  It was a half and again larger than Deadeye.  Its coat was a whitish gray with a black ridge of hair going from the top of its head and down its back.  There were scars across its front paws and up its legs though none were half as serve as the one that had adorn Deadeye’s face.  The tips of its horns were whitish in color, a sure sign of its age as if its size hadn’t been clue enough.  He had heard and read about these beasts but he had never dreamed of seeing one himself.

A behemoth tyrant.

Maybe he should have just stayed with Prompto back at camp.

Chapter Text

The behemoth tyrant growled, it's head turning from one side to the other as it looked around the forest.  It sniffed the air, huffing as it did so and growled again, eyes seeming to narrow slightly, obviously picking up on the fact that something had invaded its territory even if it couldn't find him.   In his flooded, cramped cave, Ignis’ mind was a whirl as he tried to figure out what in Eos he was going to do.  

He was trapped.  There was no way around it.  Until that thing left the area, Ignis was going to be stuck, mostly submerged in stagnant water, folded up like a crumpled, soggy newspaper.  Not a very comfortable situation or one that would be conducive to improving his health.  

What was worse was that his three friends  were due back from their hunt shortly.  He double checked the time on the lock screen of his phone and frowned.  Even if he was at peak health to assist them, fighting off a tyrant would be a tall order for the four of them.  Noctis recent gaining the favor of Ramuh would come in handy but Ignis was loathed to bank such a difficult battle on a finicky God's intervention.  No this was a battle better off avoided.

He had to get word down to the others to stay back and not come running up the hill to try an ill fated rescue attempt.  He was still in considerable danger but at least he was hidden from it.  The others wouldn't be as fortunate and this time their was no conveniently place barrels of explosive liquids to utilize during the fight.  Ignis was sure that those barrels had been the only reason that it had been relatively easy to defeat Deadeye compared to the usual arduous battles that came from fighting behemoths.

A phone call was absolutely out of the question.  He didn't want to make anymore noise than necessary so that left a text message.  Hopefully they would heed the warning, but giving their previous actions towards him earlier that day it was unlikely.  Gladiolus a least would have the sense not to charge into such a fight and would hopefully be able to keep the younger two back.  

Ignis queued up his messaging app to send a text message to the bodyguard.  It was not the preferred way of warning them away and that he was quite alright but it would do.  He moved slowly, bringing his other hand over enough to type out a message on the screen as he unlocked the phone while supporting it with the other.  He was glad he had dimmed the screen earlier.  It should prevent it from lighting up the area enough so that the behemoth would take notice.  

He never got the chance to even begin typing.  The behemoth sucked in a huge lungful of air and let loose a roar that was probably heard all the way back in Insomnia.  Ignis nearly dropped his phone into the water as the small cave he was hiding in did an admirable impersonation of an echo chamber.  The sound was so extreme that the water around him rippled from the deafening effect.  Being magnified as it was by the small space brought tears to his eyes and caused his teeth to ache as his headache went from a dull throb to a blinding migraine in an instant.

Ears ringing and gritting his teeth to try and stave off the pain, Ignis forced a watery eye open and looked back out at the behemoth as it sniffed the air then growled and looked about again.  It knew that the invader had to still be close.  Even as he trembled in a combination of pain and cold, Ignis was glad he was mostly submerged in the stagnant water.  At the very least it was masking his scent.  It was about the only positive point to make as the water had practically soaked into his skin.  He could only imagine what this was doing to his already deteriorated health.

He was glad that he had forced an eye open because it allowed him to see his phone light up with an incoming call.  He denied it before his phone could start ringing, silently apologizing to Noctis as he sped through the menus and silenced his phone completely.  Any sound right now would likely clue the behemoth in on his location and he wasn’t sure if that thing had the strength to rip the crag right out of the ground to get at him nor did he want to find out.

He had to deny another phone call from the Prince in the middle of the text he was composing to Gladio.  He quickly sent it soon after already imagining his failure to answer two phone calls after such a loud roar would send the others into an absolute tizzy.   Gladio, I’m alright.  Stay down on the Slough.  Do not come back up into the forest.

It only took a second before Gladio tried to call him.  Ignis rolled his eyes as he denied it and sent a quick text to Prompto, not even bothering to reread it before sending it like he usually did.   Stop trying to call me!  Texzt only

He was sent back a wide eyed chocobo emoji.   Dude, did you just make a typo?   He paused in confusion and went to reread his text only to be interrupted by another one from Prompto.   Does this mean you’re dying? Please tell me you’re not dying!   And another. Oh gods you didn't use punctuation!   Despite the pain in his head, Ignis gave it a small shake and smirked as the fifth line popped up just as quickly as it had for the previous four.   You're dying!!!

Calm down.  I’m not dying.  He sent to Prompto before returning to the text screen for Gladio.  Prompto must have passed the message along despite his tomfoolery considering no one else had attempted to call him.   It’s a behemoth tyrant.  Fighting it would be too risky.  Stay away.

Where are you?  Now how to reply to Gladio without having a well-meaning, utterly suicidal cavalry come racing up the slopes?

Safe but the behemoth is between us.  Our best bet is to wait for it to leave before regrouping.  It was the best most concise response he could think of.

Not what I asked.  Where are you?

Ignis let out a little huff, unsurprised that he hadn't reassured Gladio.  The man had been trained to always assume the worse at all times.  His eyes tracked to the behemoth as it let out another deep growl while he tried to think up a response.  It sniffed the ground and paced a little ways off to the left before spinning around suddenly and going right.   There is a small cave under the boulders.  I’ve tucked myself away in there.  Without many options readily available he might as well be sincere… even if he did omit the fact he was up to his shoulders in water.  Nothing to be done about it now at any rate and it would only worry his friends further when there was nothing to be done.

Nothing sane at any rate.

It took almost a full minute for Gladio to send a reply.  It wouldn't surprise Ignis if it took him half a dozen tries to come up with a semi neutral and not too overbearing sounding.  Alright, we'll cover if it finds you.  Stay quiet.

I know.  Don’t let it see you.  He supposed that he couldn't say too much on the subject of being over protective.  Gladio didn’t respond to him and Ignis settled in to wait.

-Break-

For the third time in the past hour, Ignis was woken by the water lapping up his face.

He shifted himself around, lifting himself better up into his elbows and checking to make sure his phone was still dry.  The last time he had jerked awake it was to find his phone completely submerged.  Thankful it was still working even after it's short dip.  He didn't even want to fathom finding a replacement outside the Crown City.  He doubted that any of the establishments in the immediate area would honor his insurance plan on it let alone have a comparable one in stock.

He pinched the bridge of his nose hoping to wake himself up a bit more.  The nap against the tree earlier that day felt like it was weeks ago and he hadn't slept since.  He lowered his hand and peered outside the small opening, not seeing the behemoth and, for a brief second, his hopes soared only to be dashed as a deep growl sounded nearby.

He heaved a near silent sigh as the behemoth's large nose passed by close enough to reach out and touch if he was utterly suicidal.  The first couple times he had braced himself, preparing himself as well as he could, but now it seemed like an old hat.  The stagnant pond he was laying in was doing an admirable job at hiding his scent as well as ruining his jacket.  The dry cleaning bill was going to be horrifyingly steep.

He unlocked his phone, noticing he had missed a text from Prompto while he had been dozing.  The Chocobo emoji was brightly smiling, with wings upraised and splayed open.  It was completely ridiculous, primarily because Chocobos did not have teeth, but the pearly whites seemed to brighten the small picture even more.  

Of course, missing a text by three minutes meant that he also had a text from Gladio and Noctis.  Gladio wanting to know how he was doing and Noct ‘checking on him’ only because he didn’t want to out right admit he was worried about him.  He sent one back to all three of them, short and brief, simply apologizing for dozing off.  The response from Gladio was immediate and just as brief.   Get some sleep if you can.  We gottacha covered.

Sleep would be nice, if he wasn't fairly sure he would drown in the process.  

He didn't bother responding but glanced briefly at the time before turning off his screen.  Just after four.  It would be dark in the next few hours and then they would have more to worry about than just a behemoth.

Surely that thing had to leave at some point.  It kept going back to where he had leaned against the crag at first and then almost systematically searching outward from there.  He doubted that even a behemoth would wander around at night and he surely didn't want any of them out and about in it.  Of course, if that blasted thing didn't leave soon they would be traveling at night to reach the safety of the haven.

Who would have thought that a behemoth would be tenacious enough to search for an intruder for almost four hours straight?

As if reading his thoughts, the beast raised it's head and growled as it stared off to the north.  It went eerily quiet and still as if trying to hear anything breathing.  Ignis found himself subconsciously mirroring it, holding his breath and not so much as batting an eyelash.  It suddenly took in a deep breath of air and let out a roar as deafening as the first one.  At least this time around he had some warning and managed to cover his ears with the palms of his hand, his phone pinched precariously between two fingers next to his head.

It really didn't help and Ignis found himself panting in pain as tears gathered in the corners of his eyes.  Thank the Six that thing hadn't been roaring like that for the past couple hours.  His stomach rolled unexpectedly and Ignis found himself swallowing repeatedly as the pain reached an all new height.

It took him a lot longer to recover a second time especially with his stomach deciding to flip around like it was.  The smell of the water did little to help the matter either.  Finally, he managed to get a hold of his treacherous body and blinked open his eyes to realize that the behemoth was gone.

He waited a full five minutes before shifting forward enough to see outside the cave better.  Sure enough the behemoth was leaving.  Sauntering slowly towards the north, a faint growl still escaping it that was loud enough for him to clearly hear.

He cautioned himself that it could just be a ruse but, now that the beast wasn’t right standing outside, he could relax a little.  He took the reprieve to lightly stretch to the best of his abilities in the confines of his little cave.  His legs tingled as the blood flow began to properly circulate again and he had to bite his lip at the discomfort.  It felt like there was a permanent crink in his lower back now from where his hips had been twisted to the side.  

He sighed and went to text the others when he heard it.  A faint repetitive rustle. Movement of some kind.  Something coming towards him from the south south west.

He froze and quietly resettle into his previous position regardless of his body’s complaints.  Whatever was approaching was a lot smaller than a behemoth and moving way too quietly.  He frowned as he listened to the steady movement.  The pace was all wrong for it to be a voretooth.

He had barely finished that thought as Gladiolus came into view, sprinting up to the rocks he was under, his head was turned to watch in the direction the behemoth ent and Ignis grumbled silently to himself.  This was precisely what he was trying to avoid.  If that thing turned and saw Gladio…

Best to get this over with quickly.  The sooner they were out of the area the safer they would be. Ignis quickly forced himself to move to meet the bodyguard halfway.  His back and legs complaining bitterly the whole time as he forced them to do what he wanted.  His arms and shoulders weren't particularly happy with him either but at least they weren't rebelling half as much.

Gladio saw him pulling himself free as he reached the rock and was at his side in an instant, pulling him out the last couple of feet.  “Don't tell me you were laying in a puddle of water this whole time,” he half grumbled under his breath.  His eyes were still fixed on the behemoth.  It was only four hundred yard off, its head was still scanning the area, still searching for its prey.

“Nothing to be done about it now and it was perhaps the only reason it didn't find me,” Ignis whispered back as Gladio pulled him to his feet, keeping an arm around his waist to support him as wobbled where he stood.  His muscles finally getting a chance to stretch out after so long.  They felt weak and were trembling with fatigue almost as bad as when Gladio had forced him to sit down earlier.  Not to mention the sudden change in height set his mind gently spinning.  He let his fingers press lightly against his temple.  “I'm a bit dizzy,” he admitted.

“Well we're not sticking around till you can walk again,” Gladio grabbed at his free arm and pulled him closer.

“Don't you dare pick me up,” Ignis hissed and tried to pull free but in a contest of strength –even when Ignis wasn’t feeling as though he had been run over by the Regalia- Gladio had a distinct advantage over him and about half the population of Cleigne in all honesty.

He smirked, “As amusing as that would be, Iggy, I don't feel like being stabbed right now.” It took Ignis a moment to figure out what Gladio was talking about. He had completely forgotten about his earlier threat after everything that had just transpired.

While Ignis' thought back to earlier that afternoon, Gladio pulled Ignis’ arm up and over his shoulders as he reached around with the other hand and grabbed his belt.  He pulled Ignis up against himself between the two holds, supporting a good portion of his weight but still allowing him the freedom of movement.  “Come on, telling me if I'm moving too fast for you.”

With Gladio acting as a firm support, Ignis could move at a fairly good clip even if it wasn't quite as fast as he wished.  The two wasted no time in getting back down the small hill as fast as their slow pace would let them.  Prompto and Noct had been hiding in among a small patch of bushes on the edges of the marshes and perked up as they approached.  “Wow Iggy, you're a mess.” Prompto said as he looked him over.  Ignis had no doubt he looked like a drowned rat at this point.  “What did you do?  Go swimming.”  

Noct’s face scrunched up as he stepped closer to look over his advisor better.  No doubt smelling the new scent Ignis was sporting.

Ignis didn’t give him a chance to say anything.  “Yes as should we all,” he tried to pull away from Gladio but the bodyguard was having none of it.  Ignis sighed feeling emotionally, mentally and physically exhausted to even bother anymore.  He wanted nothing more than to lay down and take a nap but not here, not until they were all safety back at the haven.  “Head out onto the marshes.  We can’t afford to lead that thing back to our campsite or that close to the Chocobo post.”

“Do you want to take a minute?” Noctis was watching him closely, easily picking up on his fatigue.  “We can stay put for a bit and let you catch your breath.”

He wouldn’t deny that he was a bit out of breath but they really need to get moving if they were going to make it back to the haven before it got too dark.  “I want to be as far away from here as possible in case that creature comes back and before night falls.” He gave another half hearted tug at his trapped wrist but Gladio wasn't letting go no matter how hard he pulled so he gave up and settled back against him.  Gods he hated feeling this weak. “I’ll rest after we take the long way back to camp,” he made sure to stress the ‘long’ part in case Noct got any ideas about taking a short cut.

Noct continued to give him that look for another second before sighing and turning out towards the marshes and lakes.  “Alright, let's go.”  He'd only taken a single step before saying over his shoulder, “Gladio, tell me if he needs to stop.”

“Gottacha,” Ignis silently stewed but went along with it if only because he knew this was the only way they would all safety arrive at the haven before the deamons came out.  His pride could obviously be damned.

-Break-

Noct led them on a path that had them weaving in and out of the shallow ponds and marshes.  The water lapped and splashed about their calves as they went.  They had just made it to the other side of the marsh and we're beginning to circle the second largest lake when Ignis realized that if he didn’t slow down he was likely to throw up.  He wasn't sure if it was the sound of the water coupled with how little he had eaten that day or the fact that he was still dizzy and reeked from whatever determinants had been in the water under the rock but he felt himself starting to reflexively swallow repeatedly as he had earlier.  He began to slow his pace, bring his free hand up to his face to lightly press against his mouth subconsciously.

Gladio picked up on the change immediately and forced him to slow down even more so he was standing still.  “Noct, hold up,” he said as soon as he forced Ignis to stop moving.  He let go of the wrist he was holding over his shoulder and pressed his now free hand into Ignis’ sternum to help support him.  Ignis forced himself to take a shuddering breath to try and calm his violently raging stomach.

“I'm fine,” he managed to bite out but it sounded weak and insincere to his own ears.  “I'm alright.”

Noct, who had trotted back to them at Gladio’s call, crossed his arms and sighed at him.  He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a sudden yell from behind them.

“Imperials above us!” Prompto warned.  The faint wisp of sound when they summoned their weapons came from his direction.  The fact that such hulking flying crafts could move so silently was still more than a little unnerving.  Collectively they turned towards Prompto and followed his line of sight to the dropship that was just now lowering itself to an altitude to drop off its cargo.

“Bullock's,” Ignis whispered to himself as Gladio's hold tightened and shifted on him again as the bodyguard put himself between Ignis and their unexpected guests.  Ignis wiggled slightly in his hold knowing that Gladio would be able to fight better without holding him up but the Shield refused to release him.  As the drop ship’s doors opened, Ignis hoped that whatever came out would be relatively easy for the others to deal with.  He was little more than a liability to the other three at this point.  Combat would likely be the death of him in all reality.

The MA-X Patria that landed not even thirty feet away, mercilessly crushed that hope as the ground trembled beneath them from it's landing.

Chapter Text

“So this is bad.  This is really bad.  Really really bad.”

Even though he didn't voice it, Ignis completely agreed with Prompto’s statement.  Between the MA-X Patrica and the three Magitek assassin, they would be hard pressed to win.  He wouldn't be able to help in the ensuing battle much if at all.  The last time they had faced one of these mechs it had taken all four and most of their curatives before they finally managed to drop it.  His stomach was still rolling threateningly and he swallowed again, willing himself not to throw up as he finished assessing their situation.

“Gentlemen, I think we are sorely out class this time around,” he had to pause and swallow again.  “It would be wise to fall back.”

Noct mumbled something under his breath and moved as if to take a step forward but was stopped by Gladio, “Noct-”

Ignis didn't know what Gladio had been about to say but saw the change in the Prince’s demeanor when he looked back at them.  Or, more specifically, at him.  Ignis could only imagine how pathetically sick he looked right now with the majority of his weight still being held up by Gladiolus even though he was certain he could stand on his own for a spell.  Gladio refusing to release him was probably more from the protective instincts honed through his years of training than him actually needing the support.  

Whatever the case was, the Prince’s aggressive gaze softened slightly as their eyes met.  “Prom, try blinding the MA-X’s sensors with your starshot.  Gladio, get Specs out of here.”

The familiar sound of Prompto loading one of his specialty rounds were drowned out by Gladio's voice as he quickly turned to him.  “Iggy, sorry in advance.   Just stab me later.”

Ignis didn't get a chance to respond to him before Gladio, moving with enough speed to send his fever addled and exhausted mind askew, pulled on his hand and dipped his shoulder enough so the Ignis found himself sprawled over his shoulders.  A hand was holding tight to his arm and the other one his thigh as Gladiolus stood back up with Ignis draped over him in a fireman’s carry.  The bodyguard barely gave him a second to realize what had happened before turned and running as fast as he could away from their adversaries.

Ignis nearly puked down his right side in retaliation.

With a hand clamped firmly over his mouth and the other clutching at Gladio’s vest, there was little more that Ignis could do other than hang on for dear life.  Ignis’ weight hardly seemed to be making a difference in Gladio's speed as he ran.  The bodyguard’s sprint wasn’t even slowed by the water churning around his lower legs, the rocks he all but hurdled over, the bush he looped out around and the boulder he scaled and hopped over as if this was an everyday occurrence in his life.

Well… Carlus Amicitia did have an odd idea of what constituted as training so… this may have very well been a common thing for Gladio growing up.

Gladio had scarcely managed to right himself after that last jump before Ignis let go of his jacket and began struggling to get down.  All of that rapid movement had been the last straw.  At least he had managed not to distract Gladio from his wild flight but now he could feel it.  His stomach rolled and there was a feeling of something pressing up through his esophagus and if he wasn’t put down right now he was refusing to do Gladio’s laundry in the near future.

Thankfully the bodyguard seemed to get the hint.  He quickly lifted Ignis off his shoulders and settled the advisor on his knees.  He knelt next to him and helped support his torso as Ignis proceeded to lose his breakfast and what felt like everything he had ate in the past week on the ground.

It was both undignifying and mortifying in equal turns.

-Break-

There were a million things he would have rather been doing at this point and none of them were much more appealing than vomiting in the middle of the Alstor Slough.  As it was though his body had chosen to utterly betray him and no matter how much Ignis wanted to do something, he simply couldn’t.  He sighed and let his eyes close, past the point to care any longer about dignity or appearance.  He just wanted this day to be over at this point.

Gladio’s grip on him changed slightly, holding him a bit closer so Ignis could better rest his head against shoulder a little more.  It had seemed to take hours before he had finished and in the end all it was was dry heaving and cramping muscles.  After several deep breaths, he managed a small nod to Gladio signaling that he was done.  Without a word, Gladio silently pulled him back several feet away from the mess and let Ingis lean into him.  The guard had stayed on one knee, holding Ignis close as he rested after that ordeal.  Keeping up a watch and carding Ignis’ hair back away from his face in soothing strokes.

Ignis wanted to protest that but, in all honestly, it just felt to good.

Gladio sat up a bit more, head turned off to one side as Ignis forced his eyes opened and tried to figure out what had put the bodyguard on alert.   He could barely make out the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching their location over the dull throbbing in his head.  He tried to sit up a bit on his own, at least so that when Gladio moved he wouldn’t end up falling over, but Gladio just held him still.

He needed have worried anyways.  Noctis and Prompto came careening around the boulder as if they were being chased by several packs of voretooths.  Judging by the high fives they gave each other, however, there was nothing amiss.  “Yeah!  That was such an-“ Prompto stopped mid celebration as he got a good look at him, hand halfway up to pump into the air fell limply back to side.

“Ignis,” Noctis said worriedly as he came closer, avoiding the pile of sick so he could crouch down on his other side.

He wanted to at least attempt to greet the Prince properly but even his muttered ‘Highness’ was drowned out by Gladio.  “He’s alright.  Just sick and exhausted.”  Ignis could practically hear the smirk in the man’s voice as he continued.  “Kinda surprised that he didn’t puke on me during that stunt.”

He probably should have in hindsight.  Gladio’s hand suddenly stopped moving through his hair, instead holding his hair back away from his forehead and a smaller hand pressed into it.  Noct’s hand was several degrees colder than Gladio’s by the feel of it and he couldn’t help but sigh in relief at the temperature change.  “A fever isn’t typical of a cold is it?”

The question might have been directed towards Gladio but Ignis was tired of being treated as if he wasn’t there.  His body protested mightily but he managed to sit up and away from Gladio’s support even if he wobbled slightly where he sat.  “No,” he managed to croak out.  He throat was still burning and sore from being sick.  “With these symptoms it’s safe to say I’ve contracted a bit of the flu.”  A cold he could work through but the flu?  It was unlikely he was going to be of much use for a while.  “We should get back to camp before my condition deteriorates any further.”

The rest of the party seemed to physically droop at that statement, as if his verbal omission made it a lot harder to bare.

“Alright,” Gladio said as he moved to lift him.  “Let’s go.”

Without even looking at him Ignis put a hand in his face and pushed back, shoving the warrior away gently.  He was done being manhandled for the day, “I am not so incapacitated yet to not be able to walk back to camp.”  

He managed to roll unsteadily to his knees and from there to stand up on wobbly legs.  He took a moment to brush at some of the dirt and dried, decayed plant life sticking to his jacket’s sleeve from earlier in vain.  At least it made him feel a bit better when some of it fell away from the leather.  “Let us be off,” he said trying to pull his typical polished air about himself again.  Judging by the looks he was getting he only partially succeeded.

“Right,” Noct said with a frown as he turned around.  Gladio sighed in exasperation as he got to his feet next to him and Ignis caught Prompto shrugging to Noct out of the corner of his eye.

He ignored them all and glanced up at the sun.  If they were lucky and his body didn’t give out they should be able to reach the haven before nightfall still.  And then finally, finally he could rest.

-Break-

In hindsight, Ignis wished he had just swallowed his pride and let Gladio carry him.  

The sun was waning in the sky above them, barely throwing out several bright rays into the deepening twilight.  The clouds were coated in a wide range of reds, yellows and oranges with mere traces of blue still peeking through that was more reminiscent of a water coloring painting than anything nature could hope to cobble together.  Prompto had taken half a dozen pictures of it already but most of its beauty was lost to Ignis as all his focus came down to putting one foot in front of the other.  

When his foot finally landed on the glowing rune covered stone, Ignis allowed himself a moment to sag slightly in relief.  He had made it to the haven.  With three overprotective and overbearing friends in tow, after an absolutely hellacious day, he had finally made it.   

Prompto spoke up in a tone to much too bright for Ignis’ current mood, “Let's see if I can heat up some soup.”

“Without lighting the pan on fire like you did this morning?” Noct added and Ignis sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose.  

He really didn't want to know.

“Come on Iggy,” Gladiolus was still hovering at his side.  The bodyguard had barely been more than four feet from him the entire time.  More than once Ignis was expecting the large man to sweep him off his feet and carry him back to camp in his arms regardless of his protests but he hadn't.  Ignis didn't condone violence against someone not actively trying to kill him or his friends, but had Gladio done that, Ignis wouldn't have hesitated slap him upside the head.  “You need to lay down.”

He would love to collapse in the tent in an undignified heap but he had barely finished a cup of tea and two bottles of water, most of which was lost now back in the marshes from when he had tossed his breakfast.  He needed to replenish his fluids.  “Gladio, if I lay down now it will be while before I wake again.  I need fluids and I should see if I am able to stomach something with some substance to it.”

“Soup will be ready soon,” Prompto promised.  A glance in his direction revealed he has the stove's burner set to high to properly warm anything on.  Burn and boil, yes but not to just heat.  Ignis spared a look over the rim of his glasses at Noctis who was standing nearby with a candy bar half in his mouth.  He swallowed the piece guilty.

“I was thinking more of toast,” he started for the camp chairs, too tired to repeat any of his dietary lectures and more than ready to collapse into one for a bit.  “And perhaps some more of that tea.  Definitely water as well.”

The chair protested with a small crunching noise as Ignis sat down more heavily than normal and scooched down a bit.  He fidgeted slightly as he found the most comfortable position to be in while still supporting his head and neck.  He was mostly slouched in the seat in a position he'd normally never take but it was the most comfortable feeling ever right then.  He had just managed to find the right degree of which to curl himself to relieve the dull ache still in his midriff when Gladio knelt next to him with a bottle of water in his hand.

Ignis reached for the bottle of water at the same time the Gladio pressed the back of his hand to his cheek.  Ignis started slightly at the touch but other than that ignored Gladio as he took the bottle of water.  Gladio's hand slid up to rest against his forehead.  Ignis went to break the seal on the water bottle only to find it was already broken.  Gladio no doubt.  “I'm getting you some meds,” the bodyguard said as he stood back up and headed for the cooler where they had stashed the medicine earlier.

Ignis didn't bother responding seeing how Gladio was already up and gone.  He drank slowly from the water bottle, resisting the desire to guzzle the whole thing.  He doubted that his stomach could take that and he desperately needed to keep the fluids down.  He stared into the fire as he tried to figure out what to do next.  

A flu meant he was only going to get worse instead of better.  The fever would leave him feeling weak and he would need rest to curb its symptoms which would hopefully allow him to recover faster.  Being in a tent would be less than ideal but they really couldn't afford to rent a caravan for a week regardless of what the other might say.

Gladio was kneeling down next to him again and broke his train of thought.  In one hand he held two pills, the blue coloration meant that they were the night time drowsy ones.  In the other hand he held a mug of still steeping tea.  “Here,” he said, his voice nothing more than a quiet rumble as if he knew talking loudly would bother Ignis’ still prevalent headache.  “Prom just put some toast down.  It’ll be ready shortly.”

He took the pills first, washing them down with some of his water before setting it next to his chair and reaching for the mug of tea.  He cradled it gratefully in his hands as he leaned back once more in his chair.  “Thank you,” he said quietly before letting out a dejected sigh.  “I'm afraid I'm going to be a bit of a hindrance over the next few days.”

“It's no big deal.   You just need to focus on getting better,” the Shield reassured him.  He patted Ignis’ knee and stood, “We’ll handle the rest.”

Honestly he was kind of worried about that but there wasn't much he could do about it either.  Hopefully whatever damage the three adult children he was constantly chasing about could be easily rectified once he was back up to par.  As long as nothing happened to the car or their own health he was sure he could deal with it later.

Ignis sipped at his tea with a sullen air.  Really he was being a bit unfair and pessimistic but he hated thinking of something happening to his friends when he could have potentially prevented it.  He was an advisor and strategist first and foremost.  He had only begun acting as Noct’s chamberlain when the King requested that he took over the Prince's care.

It was hard to have to admit that he couldn't do what he had been training for all his life.

Still… it wasn't like the others were completely blinded by his lack of insight and knowledge.  Gladio had been trained in combat, tactics and survival since he was a child.  Noctis had received training similar to his own if not as in-depth and Prompto was one of the most natural scouts he had ever met.  The kid had ridiculously good eyesight and had a knack for picking up on the smallest details.  Prompto alone had managed to forage the majority of their fresh produce and herbs for the past couple weeks.  Together the three of them could manage for a time on their own until he was back up to par.

Despite the fact he had reassured himself somewhat, it did not improve his mood.  He sat, quietly sipping at his tea and letting the flow of quiet conversations surround him.  He didn't feel the need to participate in what sounded like planning this time.  His part of any plan over the next few days was recovering and that was that.  If the others required his input or aid he would give it freely but he didn't feel like he had any real saying what they were going to do.

The others must've assumed he was just tired and let him be.  Prompto was even a little subdued than normal when he brought over his toast which was a welcome break from his usual loud and boisterous self.  Ignis nibbled at the toast, his stomach rolling threateningly if he tried to put in too much at one time, but he managed about half the portion before he decided he was pushing his luck.  

He finally took the last few sips of his tea as he straightened up in the chair.  His back was unhappy with that and protested loudly even as he moved to stand.  He couldn't help the flinch that cross his face as he moved.  It felt like he had been punched in both his kidneys at once.

“Are you okay, Iggy,” Of course Gladio had to pick up in his discomfort.  He doubted that he would be able to pass it off as anything unimportant in the bodyguard's eyes.

“Just a cramped muscle,” he said  attempting to anyways.  However even he could tell that his voice was strained.  “I bid you all good night.”

“Night Specs.  We’ll keep it down to a mild roar.”. Even though his response was flippant and it looked like he was still playing on his phone.  Ignis could tell that Noct was following him with his eyes through the fringe of his hair.

“Just leave everything on the table.  I’ll take care of it.”. Prompto said as he looked up from fiddling with his camera.  “G’night!”

Gladio stood up as Ignis stepped over to the stove and left his plate and mug on the table as instructed.  It was nice to leave the domestications to someone else for a change.  He walked over to the tent and was about to slip inside when he realized Gladio had followed him over, his half drunk water bottle in the Shield’s hand.

“Yes?”. Ignis asked after a moment of trying to figure out what Gladio was up too.  Perhaps to get him to finish his water first?

“Inside,” was all the Shield said and after another moment of trying to seek out the reason for his demand, Ignis' sighed and gave up.  He slipped inside like he was told only for Gladio to follow on his heels.  “I want to take a look at your back,” he said as Ignis moved to give him more room.

“Gladio, it's fine,” he said in exasperation as he reached into the arsenal to pull out his bag.  He wanted to get out of the now mostly dry clothes that still smelled faintly of that forsaken puddle.  What he wouldn't give for a shower or proper bath at the moment.  He didn't even get a chance to unzip it before Gladio pulled it away from him.  “Honestly-”

He would have given the Shield a piece of his mind if he hadn't found himself being handed a gray hooded sweatshirt and some navy blue sweat pants.  Ignis’ recognized them as some of the lounge wear that Gladio typically wore in hotel rooms after his shower.  “These will keep you warmer tonight,” Gladio said as Ignis took the bundle a clothes from him.  “And there a hell of a lot more comfortable than any of the clothes you have.”

Ignis had to admit that Gladio had a point on both counts so he took the offered clothes without protest.  The Shield was digging around in his own duffle bag while Ignis changed to give him some privacy but snatched the discarded clothing before Ignis' could put them away.

“We’ll take care of them,” he said as he set them outside the tent.  At Ignis look of horror Gladio corrected himself.  “I’ll take care of them.  Don't worry, I won't let Noct and Prompto try and figure out how to do any of your fancy laundry requirements.”

“Delicate cycle and dry clean only aren't fancy,” he said even as a wave of relief went through him.  He had seen both of the boys failed attempts at doing laundry in the past and it hadn't been pretty.  “It's not like we can even do laundry without a washer.”

“We're getting a caravan tomorrow night.” Gladio said as he shoved both of their bags back into the arsenal so that they were out of the way.  Ignis went to protest but Gladio cut him off, “If you want to argue, you can talk to Noct in the morning.  Wouldn't surprise me if he made it an order.”

Ignis decided to just admit defeat.  If Noct actually did make it and order than he would have to follow through with it as part of the duty to the Crown.  The Prince had him there.  “Very well,” he said tiredly as he moved to lay down.

A hand took his arm and pulled him closer to Gladio.  “What now?” he asked more than a little annoyed.  He wanted nothing more at that moment than to sleep.

“Just come over here,” Gladio said as he continued to pull Ignis' closer.  The sleeping pad under his hands and knees changed slightly in texture and it bunch a bit as he shuffled over to Gladio.  He barely got a chance to glance down at one of the spread out blankets Gladio and Noct had brought back that morning before Gladio was coaxing him to lay down on his side.

Finally laying down, Ignis couldn't help the sigh of relief that left him as he sunk into the soft blanket that Gladio draped over him.  The Shield used it to cover his chest and legs but left it off his back and even pushed the sweatshirt up enough to reach his skin.  “Gladio,” he tried to sound threatening but it came out more like a petulant whine and he cut himself off in embarrassment.

“The muscles in your back are a mess,” he said coupled with the faint popping sound of a cap being flipped open.  “If we don't take care of it now you're not going to be able to move tomorrow without your pelvis feeling like it’s being ripped off at your spine.  This stuff will help keep the muscles in your back from clenching up tonight while you sleep.”

Gladio's large, calloused hand began rubbing soothing circles into his back, smearing the cream along the way.  The cream tingled slightly, before warming up a bit and heating the muscles underneath.  It felt wonderful.  Ignis didn't think he need the cream from the waistband of his borrowed pants all the way up to his shoulders and neck but he wasn't really complaining as the heat worked it way through the tension there.

Then, to make the sensations feel even more heavenly, Gladio gave him and impromptu massage.

Ignis moaned faintly into the blanket and padding beneath him.  This was unexpectedly nice.  Gladio shifted the blanket and shirt out of his way as he worked up Ignis’ spine, searching out the links and knots in his muscles before soothing them away with his thumbs and knuckles.  Not so much as applying brute force but more like delicately picking apart a tangled mess of fine silk yarn.  He paid particular attention to the base of his neck and his shoulders, where Ignis had a tendency of carrying all of his stress, and the advisor promptly melted the rest of the way into a pile of contented and relaxed goo.

Ignis was barely aware of Gladio fixing his oversized hoodie and wrapping him in the blanket before he drifted off into an exhausted sleep.

Chapter Text

Despite Gladio’s efforts and his exhaustion, Ignis had a hard time sleeping that night.  

He wasn't even sure why he kept waking up.  There was a dim sensation, almost like something was trying to warn him of something but not actually saying what was about to happen.  The faint trickles of paranoia would make him open his eyes blearily and stare blankly off into darkness until his exhaustion managed pulled him back under for a spell.  The cycle would then repeat itself what seemed like only minutes later.

It was maddening and he really wanted nothing more than to get up and pace around the haven until his exhaustion forced him to sleep for the remainder of the night.  However, it seemed Gladio had taken it upon himself to share his body heat with Ignis again.  The Shield was under the blanket with him, spooned up tight against his back with an arm over his ribs and curled up to lay along his sternum.  His other arm was curled underneath his head acting as a pillow for him.  Gladio was lying so close to Ignis that he could feel the gentle puffs of his breath through his hair.

And he thought last night had been embarrassing.

Still, Gladio needed his sleep and so Ignis refrained from doing nothing more than lying on his side staring out at the darkness when he was awake.  Sleep seemed to happen immediately and without warning only for him to blink his eyes and suddenly be awake again.  He knew that hours were passing, the time was still continuing it's relentless march forward, but everything was so blurred together it felt like only seconds had gone by.

In one of those instances, he blinked and the darkness of night gave way to muted daylight trying to force its way into the empty tent.  

If he had thought waking up yesterday had been bad it was nothing compared to today.  He felt hot but he could feel himself trembling.  His headache throbbed in time with his heartbeat, his throat was sore and there was a gnawing pit where his stomach should have been.  Even as he thought that, his stomach rolled threateningly and he had to force himself to swallow several times in an effort not to throw anything up.  

He laid there in his misery, listening to the quiet voices of the others outside the tent.  He didn't bother trying to listen in, chosing instead to try and gather the energy required to get up and start his day.  The effort for that seemingly simple task required too great.  He let his eyes drift close again.

-Break-

“Iggy?  Hey, Iggy.”  A hand gently shook his shoulder.  “It's time to get up.”

The voice was coming through a heavy fogged that was wrapped around his mind.  The touch and movement barely registering to him at all.  Fingers lightly tapped at his cheek annoyingly and, even though he wanted to slap them away, he couldn't muster up the energy to do so.  He moaned weakly in response, hoping that it was enough to tell Prompto to leave him alone.

“Iggy?” He waited a breath or a lifetime -Ignis couldn't really tell in his stupor- before speaking again.  “Hey Gladio?  Ignis isn't waking up…” A cool hand rested against his forehead and he let out a happy little sigh.  That felt so good it was borderline sinful. “...and he's really warm!  Like fira spell warm!”

Ignis really didn't care why Prompto sounded so distressed only that he had finally stop patting his cheek.  Whatever had happened Gladio or Noct could deal with it for once.  He was tired.  He sunk back down to his little cocoon of blankets and let himself drift back off to sleep.

Only to jerk awake what seemed like a second later with a small cry as something bitterly cool was pressed to both his forehead and the back of his neck simultaneously.  

“Easy Iggy.  It's alright.  It's okay.”  Gladio was using a tone Ignis had only heard him use with his sister before.  More of a half whispered coo than anything broaching actual speech.  Ignis would have been scandalized to realize it was being directed at him if he was in his right state of mind.  “I know it's cold but we need to drop your fever down.”

Ignis whimpered at the sensation and tried to push Gladio away but he couldn't seem to move his arms right.  They trembled next to his torso briefly before simply giving up on the idea of movement altogether.  The sweatshirt he had been wearing was now missing as were the blankets he had been bundled in.  He tried turning his head to the side in an effort to escape the torment but Gladio held him still.  

“Go back to sleep Iggy.  We gotcha.  You’ll be alright.”

Ignis’ eyes roll back into his head as it all became too much and he slipped away again.

-Break-

He woke feeling groggy and absolutely wretched.  Everything ached and was sore like it had been after his final physical test with the Glaives.  He blinked his eyes opened and stared at the ceiling of the tent as if it could tell him what had happened that made him feel so gosh darn awful.

He frowned at the disjointed, hazy memories he had.  Hadn't Prompto been trying to wake him?  Wasn't Gladio right here a second ago?  Why was there a damp compress on his forehead?  Had his temperature gone up?  

He started to lift his head to get a better look around only to have a hand lightly press on his forehead, forcing him back down.  “Easy Iggy, you're alright.”

Well, at least that answered one of his questions.  “I am most assuredly not alright,” he croaked weakly past dry and cracked lips as Gladio moved about near him.  “What happened?” He asked as Gladio slipped a hand behind his head and lifted it up enough so his lips met with the bottle of water held at ready.  Ignis huffed.  He could have done this himself… maybe?  Gods he felt so weak and tired.

“In a minute.  Drink,” Gladio said as he let the barest trickle of water pass his lips.  It tasted like the very ambrosia of the Gods to Ignis.  “We decided to let you sleep late and you thanked us by letting your fever spike.  Gave us all a pretty good scare,” Gladio indulged his curiosity as he continued to press water on him, backing off in turns so he could breathe.  “Noct used a blizzard spell so we had some ice to help drop it.  Nearly ended up taking you down to the lake and throwing you in that.”

“My apologies,” he managed to whisper during the next break Gladio gave him to breathe.  “Didn't mean too.”

“I know, don't worry.  It's not like we're mad or anything but you’re going to the doctor's this evening.” Gladio gave him an amused smirk despite the worry Ignis could see in his eyes, “Noct's already made it a decree so don't even try arguing it.”

They were both silent for a bit, Gladio continuing to gently force Ignis to drink small sips of water.  In truth, Ignis really just wanted to gulp down the entire bottle but he knew better than that.  The last thing he needed was to throw up now especially with his condition as bad as Gladio was saying.  If his fever had actually spiked that high then this strain of the flu was something not to be taken lightly.  They were right in insisting he went to a doctor much as he was loathed to admit needing to see one.

Thinking of them as a whole made him wonder where the other two member their party were.  The campsite was much too quiet.  “Where are they?” He asked, the water giving his voice a bit more strength.  

“Gave them some busy work so they would stop sitting around fretting.”. Gladio jerked his head towards the open flap of the tent.  “Got them to pack everything up and then sent them to grab some more fungar.  We're almost out.  Promised them I would have you back on your feet by the time they got back.”

Ignis let out a small noncommittal grunt and glanced passed the water bottle and Gladio to see outside.  It looked like it was about midday.  “What time is it?”

“Almost one,” Gladio took the mostly drunk water bottle away and took the compress from his forehead with his now free hand.  “Feel like you can sit up?”

Ignis went to lever himself up but he barely managed to lift up half an inch before all the muscles in his torso decided not to work and he slumped back down.  Gladio chuckled at him and the hand still cradling his head slid down under his shoulders.  “Going up,” Gladio said as he lifted him into a sitting position with ease.  Ignis noticed he kept a hand on his shoulder just incase he began to tip over.  He was silently grateful for the gesture.  “How are you feeling?”

Ignis looked down at his bare chest and let out a small sound of disgust.  “What I wouldn’t give for a bath,” the sweatshirt he had been wearing and one of the blankets were gone while the other lay folded up next to Gladio with one of his novels resting splayed open on top of it.  He was probably reading to pass the time until Ignis woke up from his fevered sleep.  Other than that the interior of the tent and what little of the haven he could see was devoid of their gear.  

“Yeah I can only imagine,” Gladio said as he reached into the arsenal and pulled out Ignis’ duffle bag for him.  “Come on, we can at least get you into a clean set of clothes.  And as soon as the kids get back we can go.”

“Go where?” He asked as he pulled out his more casual attire.  He decided not to wear his belt pack or suspenders, aiming more for comfort rather than wearing something more proper.  “The doctor over at Cauthess?”

“No, first we got to take out the graulas.  He won't treat someone without the cash up front.” Gladio had shifted himself up onto his knees and turned so he was facing out of the tent to give Ignis some privacy as he changed.  “We’re going go get the Regalia from Wiz’s and take that over there.  You can sleep in the backseat until we're done and then we heading straight for the doc’s place after cashing in the bounties.”

That meant that they would be arriving at the Cauthess Rest Area no later than five.  He reached for his glasses only to find that they too had been picked up and packed away somewhere too.  He didn’t even remember taking them off last night.  “Where are my glasses?”

“Here,” Gladio reached into the inner pocket of his vest and held them out.  “Figured you'd want them handy.”

He took them and said, “Thank you Gladio.”  The fact it was for more than just taking care of his glasses didn’t need to be clarified.

They were silent for a time.  Gladio sitting back on his heels staring out at the Duscaen wilderness while behind him Ignis slipped into some clean clothes.  The casual tee shirt and lightweight trousers were clean and made him almost feel like normal until he went to push his duffel back into the arsenal.  Despite his dismissal the bag stayed right where it was.  He frowned at it and, having a sneaking suspicion he knew what was about to happen, tried to summon one of his daggers to his hand.

Nothing, his hand remained empty when he should have been clutching a weapon.

He sighed explosively in annoyance.  Enough so that Gladio glanced back over his shoulder to make sure he was alright.  It took one look at Ignis’ position for the bodyguard to guess what was wrong.  “It doesn’t surprise me,” Gladio turned and took Ignis’ bag, shoving it casually back into the arsenal like it was nothing.  For a fleeting moment Ignis hated the man.  “The fever has zapped your energy and I doubt that you can concentrate on much of anything at all.  Don’t worry, it’s not like you’re going to need anything from there for a bit.”

He just nodded his head.  Gladio was right.  Fighting was clearly out of the picture until he was better.  

“C’mon,” Gladio spoke a little subdued as he picked up the water bottle and handed to it Ignis.  “Let’s get you over in the shade so I can take the tent down.”  

-Break-

Ignis lounged back against his seat in a rather undignified yet very comfortable sprawl.  Gladio had offered to let him use him as a pillow when they had first clambered into the vehicle but Ignis had declined.  Bad enough Gladio was cuddling him at night, he was fairly certain despite the circumstances Prompto had a fairly large collection of blackmail material of the two of them in compromising positions and, as soon as Ignis was on the mend, would ruthlessly tease them about it.  More so Ignis than Gladio in an attempt to improve his mood and make light of his recovery knowing Prompto.  Ignis could only hope that there was something to laugh about after this fiasco was through.

The car was quiet save for the light thrumming of the engine which was soothing enough that Ignis found his eyes drifting shut.  Gladio was next to him, reading from his book and Prompto was staring out the windshield with Noct -who was driving more carefully than Ignis had ever seen him before- trying to spot the group of graulas that were wreaking havoc in the area.  Not like they really needed to.  Apparently when they weren’t destroying the countryside, the oversized herbivores were typical spotted up on one of the hillsides leading down to the Slough.

He sighed and shifted slightly in the back seat, moving his legs off to one side in an attempt to get more comfortable.  It really was a bit uncomfortable but not enough to rouse him out of his slight dose.  He let his eyelids drift down as he let the weight of his head fall back against the headrest.  He could almost fall asleep like this.

“There they are,” Prompto said.  While he was speaking excitedly his volume was down several notches more than normal.  A small blessing as far as Ignis was concerned.  Noctis had insisted on keeping the top up to help him stay warm despite the sunny weather.  Prompto being loud in such a small space would only make his headache worse.  “Down the hill, in amongst those trees.”

“Right,” Noct said, the grin audible in his voice.  The Regalia slowed to a stop as Noct parked her on the side of the road.  “Everybody but Specs out.”

“Come on Iggy,” Gladio said as he popped open his door, reaching over to take his upper arm in a firm grip.  “Lay down and get some rest.”

Part of him wanted to argue.  He wanted to point out that he was quite alright and to stop doting on him but honestly it sounded like a wonderful idea.  Still he had some pride remaining so he let his eyes close in resignation before following Gladio’s lead and laying down across the back seat.  He was just debating adding something snarky as his head rested on the seat, only to be derailed in that line of thought as Gladio snapped one of the blankets out over him.  Ignis hadn't even noticed he’d pulled it from the arsenal.

He took off his glasses but they were taken from him and tucked into the slot in the door next to Gladio’s novels.  “There, you shouldn’t need them but they’ll be right next to you.” Gladio said, a hand lightly touching his forehead to check his fever.  The small smirk must’ve been because his fever was still low.  He had refused to eat anything, worried that he might throw up again, but Ignis had managed to keep down some more medicine.  More of the drowsy variety but he hadn’t complained this time around.  He really did need to get some quality sleep in especially with his prolonged restlessness last night.

“We’ll be back shortly, Specs.  Just focus on resting.”

“And don't worry!  I got everyone covered.”

Ignis sure did hope so.  During the short and for him rather exhausting hike up to the Chocobo Post to retrieve the car, he had taken a moment or twenty to informed Prompto that he would have to make sure that neither Noct or Gladio over did it like they were notorious for doing.  He had some reservations about leaving such a task to Prompto but he was much more suited to the task than the other two.  At least he stepped back and scanned the battlefield occasionally and rarely rushed headlong into battle, swing a sword until there was no more movement from the opposition.  

“There's a bottle of water in the door if you get thirsty,” was Gladio's parting word as he closed the door with a gentle click.  

Their voices drifted away from the car, swiftly becoming indiscernible.  Ignis sighed and let his eyes close, it was a bit too bright for him to sleep well.  He brought the blanket up and over his head and let out a sigh of relief.  Now it was dark enough, quiet and he was reasonably comfortable stretched out across the backseat.

He didn't even twitch when the car door closed softly and the Regalia started up not even five minutes later.

-Break-

Ignis woke to a high pitched, whining squeal that jarred him out of his sleep with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the temple.

“Well shit,” he grumbled to himself, using Gladio's favorite vulgarity.  While he was use to dealing with his own problems, he was tempted to ask his large friend to break whatever was making that infernal racket over his knee.  He doubted he had the strength himself to do it himself and it would still be very satisfying to watch it snap.

He flipped the blanket back away from his head and was just starting to sit up when he realized that there was something very wrong.  He quickly grabbed and slid on his glasses to confirm his suspicions.  That was definitely a ceiling overhead being held up with the large industrial gridders that looked like ones he would have expected to see in a warehouse or perhaps Cindy’s garage.  He definitely wasn't where he had been when he had fallen asleep but why would the Regalia be here and where were his companions.  

After another moment of lying on the backseat asking himself rhetorical questions, Ignis tossed the blanket aside and got out of the car rather stiffly as his muscles complained in earnest about being forced to move.  He wasn't going to get any answers to his questions unless he went looking for them.  He had to briefly closes eyes when he reached his full height, experiencing a small wave of dizziness and feeling rather wobbly in general.  After a calming breath he opened his eyes and started to take stock of his surroundings only to pause at the sudden dread he felt building in his chest.

The Regalia was in fact parked in the center of a large warehouse.  Well, warehouse was more of a broad term, to be more precise it was a rather large workshop.  Other vehicles in various stages of disrepair were scattered about the space along with a wide variety of tools that seemed to be tossed about by a disobedient toddler.  It kind of looked like Cindy's workspace but lack any form of formal organization that he could tell.  

The high pitch whine started up again and Ignis watched as the person bent over at a nearby car butchered the hood to get at the motor.  He tossed the steel aside as if it was nothing having cut straight through the hinges without a care.  This wasn't a conventional workshop.  Ignis was fairly certain he was standing in what was colloquially known as a 'chop shop’.

A click sounded right next to his ear jarred him out of his introspective.  He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see a gun barrel pointed at his head.  It was being held by a grease stained face that looked both angry and a touch scared.  Not a good combination in such a situation.  “Fuck Chas!  You didn't check the backseat!?!”

Ignis had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't be at the doctor's anytime soon.

Chapter Text

“What are you-” someone started to say only  to stop mid sentence with a strangled squeak.

“We check!  We always fucking check!  You never just jump in a car and drive off!” the gunman yelled back.  Ignis glanced over at him from the corner of his eye.  He was skinnier than Prompto and pale as a ghost under the various patches of grease adorning his body.  It didn't look like he even knew what a full meal was and he couldn’t imagine that the boy’s stringy hair even knew what a shampoo was.

“But the keys were-”

“I don't care if the fucking keys were in the ignition and there was a large bag of fucking money in the backseat!  You always make sure the fucking car is empty before fucking taking it!”

Honestly, as soon as he got a chance he was cleaning that young man's mouth out with a bar of soap.  He had thought Gladio could be bad when riled up enough but even Gladio’s vulgarity didn't hold a candle to this person.  Ignis was fairly sure he could turn a list of swears into a dissertation at this rate.

“Enough!” A man as ripped as Gladiolus but barely taller than Prompto was storming across the room towards them.  He wore his black hair in a short buzz cut and a black shirt that barely fit him properly.  Ignis had expect it to rip when he moved but the shirt was made out of stretchy material that moved with him as he flexed.  He had tried to glare a hole into Ignis as he approached.

Ignis glared right back at him.  Judging by how the other two had clammed up and that the other handful of people he could see were now frozen in place from where they had been working, this was the man in charge.  Despite feeling like he was about to topple over, Ignis drew him up and made a point of looking down his nose as the other stepped up to him.  “What is t-”

He hadn't even finished demanding to know what was going on when short and stocky buried his fist in Ignis stomach.

He collapsed, folding over at his stomach and landing in a heap on the floor.  Had he not been as sick as he was he probably would have at least been able to dodge or stop the blow regardless if he had a gun to his head or not.  He was coughing before he even hit the floor but was being dragged back up and slugged across the face before he realized it.  His head slammed into the back quarter panel of the Regalia with enough force to nearly knock him out.

He wheezed as the man grabbed him by the collar if his shirt, twisting the fabric so it cinched  tightly around his neck and jammed his forearm in the back of Ignis’ neck.  “Let's make one thing perfectly clear, pretty boy” he growled in his ear.  “I ask the questions here.  You keep your mouth shut otherwise.” He pressed Ignis harder into the side of the car.  “Nod if you understand.”

He couldn't breath.  The blood struggled to reach his his head passed the constriction that his throat was under.  His headache had become blinding but he managed to choke back a whimper. If only to give him the chance to breath again, Ignis nodded.  

“Good boy,” came a sickenly sweet praise.  Ignis refrained from snapping his head back against the man's nose as his grip loosened.  “Michael, get some zip ties and the duct tape!”

Ignis barely had a chance to pull in a lungful of air before he was being dragged to his feet.  His shirt’s collar was still being twisted and pulled, choking him slightly but not as bad as before.  One of his arms was being pulled behind his back and twisted at a sharp angle.  His hand was starting to go numb and he tried to shift off to the side to ease the pain.  He was quickly jerked back into place.  “Get moving pretty boy and no funny shit or I'll break your arm.”

Ignis didn't doubt that.  In the back of his mind he went through his options.  While he could break the hold he was still out numbered and sick.  The resulting fight would have the odds heavily stacked against him.  The hit to his stomach and the two blows he had taken to the head weren't helping matters either.  He almost wished he had eaten something so he could have thrown up on the man when he hit him in to stomach.

“Chas, get the door,” he was marched across the warehouse to where there were several doors along one wall.  Probably for some kind of administrative function.  Ignis barely got a chance to look around the room which held an old beat up couch and a desk that had seen better days before he was being forced to his knees.  “On your stomach,” he captor growled as he shoved him down none to gently.

In short order both of Ignis hands were bound behind his back with zip ties and so were his ankles.  The thin, self locking, plastic bands were nearly impossible to break and the man in charge made sure they were extra tight.  Several strips of duct tape went over his mouth, one was so long it went all the way around his face from one ear to the other.  He sucked air in desperately through his nose but it still felt like he was being partially strangled.

“Now stay here and be good,” the man in charge said, making sure to shove Ignis down one more time when he tried to lift his head as a parting shot.  Ignis didn't move again until he heard the door shut behind them as they left.  The lock latching seemed to echo in the room he was now trapped in.

Well, that entire exchange could have gone better.

Still it wasn't as though he was expecting it to go any differently.  Really he had gotten off luck all things considered.  He sighed as well as he could through the gag and rested his cheek on the concrete floor.  He needed a moment to calm his breath.  It had taken every ounce of his willpower not to try and fight back while he was being tied up.  The Gods only knew how worse off he would have been if he had tried.

Ignis managed to shake himself awake a few minutes later as his body attempted to doze off in him.  The concrete floor was both a blessing and an uncomfortable curse simply because of its hardness but the cool floor would go a long ways in keeping his fever in check.  He doubted that his kidnappers would be benevolent enough to give him any kind of medication.  The ties weren't budging and he could feel the unyielding plastic bite into his skin everytime he so much as twitched.  After a few more cursory yanks at his bounds, Ignis rested his head back down to the floor.  

Looks like it was a waiting game now.

-Break-

It was obvious that his captors were more than a little panicked at what to do with him.  Dace, the short man who had decked him and muscled him into his current position, was definately the one in charge and called his workforce together.  While he waited to hear the verdict Ignis looked around the room with a more critical eye.  The room he was being held in was small, mostly empty except for two pieces of furniture in desperate need of repairs and had no sources of entertainment for him such as a clock or radio.  Nor did it hold any avenue for escape or someway to contact anyone.  However it did have paper thin walls so at least hear the argument his accidently abductors’ conversation had degraded into.

“Fuck Ifrit in the ass Chas,” his assailant grumbled.  “You sure as hell gone and done it now.”

“Dace I did-”

“Shove your excuses up your ass and fucking twist.  You fucked up and there's no going back now.  We going to have to deal with this mess cause now it's all our asses on the line.”  Dace sighed explosively, loud enough that it was easily recognizable through the thin walls.  “He has friends and they're going to go to the Hunters.  Swiping cars here and there wasn't a big deal, grabbing a person and now they're going to really be on us.”

“Let's just let him go, far away from here.  Dump him off over near Ravatogh or something.”

“He's seen our faces.  We let him go and he can still describe what we look like.  We'd be as good as caught.”

“Set him up in the basement?  Bring him food and water and keep him there till we’re done.”

“This isn't a short term set up!  We can't keep him around like a pet indefinitely.  We-”

“We're going to have kill him,” Dace said calmly.  That was not what he wanted to hear, however it was what Ignis had expected them to resort to.  Now he just had to listen in on their plan and figure out how to prevent his murder.

“We can't kill him!  Murder is way worse then just kidnapping!”

“The Hunters will freaking hang us-”. Lucky for him it sounded like no one like Dace’s plan.  Multiple voice began yelling back and forth, making it hard to discern individual arguments as volumes and tempers began to flare.

“If they find his body!”  Dace yelled above the multiple voices bickering back essentially quieting everyone as he continued talking.  “Hunters don't go into deamons infested areas unless it's in force and for a good reason.  We take him to one right before dark, leave him there and the monsters will do the rest.”  

Ignis tested his bounds again as he looked around the room again but it was still just as empty as it was when he looked around five minutes ago.  He tried to focus, tried reaching into the arsenal but nothing heeded his call.  He was going to have to make a point of carrying around a thin blade if he made it out of this alive in case he ever found himself in a similar situation. 

After a few more minutes of uselessly scrabbling around, Ignis exhausted the rest of his energy.  He let his forehead rest on the concrete floor and let his eyes close.  He focused on his breathing, going through a deep breathing exercise that he used during the more stressful days at the Citadel to help recenter himself.  He didn't dare sleep, no matter how much he wanted to.  He needed to be ready to act when the option presented itself.  He wasn't going to just let them kill him.  

He didn't even realize he had slid into a restless doze until he woke to the door unlocking and opening.  

He jerked awake, trying to figure out how much time had passed as someone approached him.  He couldn't hear the crew arguing out front anymore.  Was the person here to haul him off to a deamon's nest?  

He began to struggle with his bounds again.  The door was quietly closed and someone rushed over to him.  A hand landed on his back and someone hushed him, “Hey, calm down, I want to help.  Don't panic,” the person knelt next to him, talking to him in no more than a hushed whisper.  “I know you're scared but I just want to help.  I swear.”

Ignis glancing over his shoulder at the person kneeling next to him.  He was obviously one of the mechanics working in the shop by the amount of grime and grease sticking to his skin.  He had a light blonde bowl cut the was sticking up at an award angle in a swoop off to one side of his head.  He was wearing jeans and a white tee shirt both liberally streaked with grease.  Some grease was even smudge over the bridge of his nose making him appear a lot younger than he actually was.  

The kid fidgeted for a moment, glanced at the door as if to check to make sure it was closed and then turned back to him.  “Here,” he said in a timid voice.  “I brought you some water.”

He couldn't see what he was doing but he could heard the seal on a water bottle break and the sound of a cellophane wrapper being torn open.  There was a soft snick sound he was use to hearing with certain knives and Ignis tensed up as he braced for pain.  “It's okay,” the kid kneeling near him said, probably in response to the flinch he did when he heard the switchblade open.  “Don't move.”

With a gentle hand the boy turned Ignis’ face towards him and, moving slowly, brought the knife up to the duct tape covering Ignis’ mouth.  Ignis tried to pull back but the hand on his jaw held him still.  “Please don't move.  I don't want to accidentally cut you,” the kid whispered.  If only because the kid was using his manners, Ignis held still after that, and true to his word he carefully cut a line through the tape covering his mouth.  The blade was put away and the boy held up the now open water bottle with a straw stuck in it.  “Here, I brought you some water.”

Oh thank the Astrals…

The straw was pressed through the slit cut into the tape over his mouth and he drank greedily.  The last time he had drank anything was when they had reached the Regalia earlier that day.  Gladio had made him drink an entire bottle before they left for the hunt.  The fact that he had yet to urinate told him how dehydrated he had become in that amount of time.  

“I'm sorry you got caught up in all this.  We weren't supposed to do anything but steal cars and strip them down, sell what we could and scrap the rest.  Ben even managed to get a contract out of that chick over in Hammerhead.  It was supposed to be smooth sailing from now on.”

Cindy was going to skin them alive when she realized they were selling her stolen parts.  If pieces of the Regalia showed up in her shop, she’d probably be in the chop shop within the hour tearing it down with her bare hands.  Ignis was going to be sure to warn her about her new supplier the next time he had a phone in hand.

“Then you showed up and now Dace wants to kill you and I… I didn't sign up for this.  I just needed money for my mom.  S-she’s so sick and Ben said it would be easy steady cash but this is… this is wrong.”

The kid was all but crying while he talked.  With the hand still holding the open switchblade, he scrubbed the back of his hand across his eyes.  Ignis was a bit worried he would stab himself in the face with how viciously he was scrubbing.

“I'm going to go and tell the Hunters everything tonight,” he whispers to Ignis conspiratory.  “Dace is going to leave you near Costlemark.  There's usually groups of hunters over at the Chocobo Post.  I'll go there to tell them.  They'll be able to get you before the deamons wake up.”

And perhaps a Prince and his remaining Crownguard will be there as well given it’s location to the hunt they had gone to.  It would have been the nearest outpost after all.  Though he loathed the idea of needing rescuing or being the reason why Noctis and the others were galavanting off into the night, Ignis couldn't deny that he wanted to see his friends again.  He was almost willing to throw his remaining dignity out the window and hug all three of them without any prompting or blackmail.  Almost.

“Here,” there was a soft snick from his knife again and Ignis felt the handle pressed into his palm.  A hand moved his thumb over until he felt a barely there bump.  “That's the switch, the blade will slide up this way,” he traced the line long Ignis’ palm.  “Dace is going throw you in the back of a truck to take you over there.  Cut yourself loose after he leaves.  If you do it before then he'll just catch you again and really hurt you.”

That was a given.  He curled his fingers into a fist, hiding the switchblade from view.  The kid hurriedly took the empty water bottle and the straw wrapper, shoving them into his pockets as best as he could before slinking out of the room.  

That had been unexpected but Ignis wasn't going to look a guilty gift horse in the mouth.  Though if the kid went to tell the Hunters where he was he really shouldn't be moving around but he wasn't about to wait around for a deamon to find him either.  If he remembered right, Oathe haven was near Costlemark.  He could go there and wait for assistance to find him.

Ignis sighed and let his head rest back on the floor.  It was time to wait again.

-Break-

Dace was about as gentle as he had been previously, grabbing him by his bound ankles and a fist full of the shirt on his back to haul him out of the warehouse and over to a battered green pickup.  Ignis was thrown into the bed and nearly lost his grip on the switchblade still hidden in his fist when he landed.  He had knocked his head on the steel bed and most of his weight had landed on his elbow leaving both areas painfully sore and him in an even worse mood than before.  

His jaw ached behind the gag and he was fairly sure there was a rather phenomenal bruise decorating his jaw now from when he was first punched.  Taking three hits to the head hadn't done anything to help his headache and despite the water he had been given, Ignis was fairly sure he could drain an entire well right about now.  He let his eyes close as the truck peeled out of the of decrepit junkyard where the chop shop was hidden, gathering some strength while he could for the final push to salvation.  

He could only hope that either the hunters or Noctis and the others found him before it got too late.  Even with the concrete and now the steel bed of the truck, Ignis could tell his fever was on the rise again.  The medicine he had taken earlier had long since worn off.

Achy and sore as he was, the trip over to Costlemark was nothing short of absolutely hell.  The illness and bruises magnified each other to the point where they shattered his control completely.  He whimpered against the gag and screwed his eyes shut, trying desperately not to throw up as the truck flew down the road.  The logistics of being sick with duct tape over his mouth were not feasible nor particularly appealing to think of.  His stomach rolled in agreement.

He was so caught up in his own misery that he didn't realize the truck had stopped until the tailgate dropped with a loud clang that jolted the entire bed.  He whimpered as Dace grabbed his bound ankles.  “End of the line pretty boy,” he said as he dragged Ignis down towards him.  “Don’t worry.  It's almost dark.  It won't take them long to find you.”

He was right about that.  The sun was starting to set behind Ravatogh in the distance.  In another hour max it would be gone completely.  Ignis glanced around and figured he was over in the Eastern side of Costlemark, at a small turn out on the side of the road.  He wasn't going to have much time to get free after Dace left and over to the haven before the deamons came out.  

“Almost a shame I have to drop and dash,” Dace muttered more to himself than Ignis.  He heaved Ignis up, shifting him around so that he was perched on the edge of the tailgate.  A finger traced his jaw and ran down his throat in a caress and Ignis suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.  

“Maybe I could take you home,” Dace said to himself more than him.  “I could keep you there and no one would be the wiser.  They would all think you were dead anyways.”

The hand against Ignis’ throat grabbed his shirt’s collar as Dace’s other hand grabbed his crotch.

Ignis reeled, making a half panicked noise in the back of his throat as he tried to jerk away only to have Dace pin his legs dangling over the tailgate in place with his body weight.  “Oh relax baby.  You feel amazing.  Don’t worry.  I take good care of what I owgggffff!”

Unable to escape and with that man’s paws on him, Ignis fought back, slamming his forehead right against the bridge of his nose.  Dace released him, stumbling backwards and clutching at his face in shear shock.  Knowing he only had seconds before he recovered, Ignis thumbed the switch on the blade still concealed in his fist and started sawing at the zip ties around his wrists.  

“You… fucking son of a bitched!” Ingis couldn't see much in the waning light but the stuffy quality to his voice and the way he flicked his hands off to either side told Ingis' that Dace had a bloody nose at least.  A broken one at best.  Either way, Dace was livid and Ignis’ hands were still trapped.  Not a good combination.

“You're lucky I like it when they fight back.”  That chilled Ignis to the core and he sawed more desperately at his bounds.  He felt blood trickling down his hands from where he had nicked his wrist with the blade.  “Keep that attitude up and I'll really have a good time tonight.”

Dace went to move towards him again, Ignis got ready to kick him in the crotch when he was close enough and the sudden gunshot echoed so loudly, seemingly right next to him, that Ignis fell off the tailgate and landed in a heap on the ground with a muffled yelp.

The gunshot was still ringing in his ears, he had dropped the knife and his glasses were who knew where but none of that was as important as the sharp pain in his stomach.  At first Ignis thought that he had cracked or broken a rib but it was to low.  He shifted to try and relieve the pain but the faint movement only caused his right side of his abdomen flare in pain.  He couldn't have landed on the knife.  He was laying on his stomach and had been holding it in his hands.  It would have bounced away with the force of his impa-

“I apologise for taking so long to intervene but I do believe shooting someone you're intending to aid is rather unhelpful and you were in the way for a clear shot.”

Dace’s body was lying several feet away, a hole blown in his chest from a high caliber handgun.  

Oh merciful Shiva he was going to throw up.  

Boots crunched on the dirt nearby as someone approached.  “While it has been an inconvenience, I'm glad now that my hat blew off earlier today and I've spent the better part of the afternoon looking for it.  I typically don't get to rescue many people.  This has all been rather enlightening.”  Ignis ignored him and whined in distress, trying to rub the tape off with his mouth with his shoulder.  “Come now, calm down,” a gloved hand took his chin in hand and another tore the tape from his mouth.  “There, that should be a- oh my.”

The tape was barely off his face before Ignis' was jerking away and throwing up.  It was mostly liquid, racing down out his mouth as he sputtered inelegantly into the dirt.  He began to dry heaved as a light clicked on nearby and he blinked at the puddle next to him.

“You seem to be doing more poorly than I had originally thought.”

Ignis couldn't agree more.  The liquid he had thrown up was a ghastly shade of vibrant green.  It was bile.  He was throwing up bile.

And suddenly everything made sense.

Chills, fever, poor appetite, nausea, a sharp pain in his right side and now throwing up bile.  It all fit.  The headaches and aches could be caulked up to exhaustion from his other symptoms and possible caffeine withdrawal but the rest of them were synonymous with appendicitis.

He wasn't sick, he didn't have a cold or flu, his appendix was about to burst if it hadn't already.

“I do believe this means you need to see a doctor, sooner rather than latter preferably.”

Ignis took a shaky breath and closed his eyes for a moment.  A doctor yes.  He needed antibiotics and to go through with the surgery post haste.  If his appendix had already burst there was a good chance he would develop sepsis.  His head throbbed and he sighed.  He had too much to worry about and was seriously lacking in the mental capacity to deal with it all.  

First though he had to address the issue that was his rescuer.  “Chancellor Izunia,” he said in a polite if strained voice.  “While I thank you for assisting me please do not take me for a fool when you say you were just here looking for your hat.”  He gave the Imperial Chancellor kneeling next to him bleary-eyed glare.  He wished he knew where his glasses had gone to.  “What are you really doing out here at this time of night?”

He could barely make out Ardyn’s face, the light from the flashlight clipped to his lapel was half-blinding him, but he could hear the smile in his voice as he spoke.  “I told you.  I lost my trusty hat and have spent most of the afternoon looking for it.  Having procured it, I was returning to my car when I saw your predicament.  Far be it from me to let anything happen to Noctis’ dear friend and advisor.”

Ignis narrowed his eyes, trying to look down his nose at the man even though he was half lying in the dirt next to a puddle of vomit.  He didn't believe Ardyn’s lame excuse anymore than he trusted him after everything that had happened at both the Disc and at Aracheole Fortress.  However he had no proof to back up his claim only a niggling suspicion about his real reasons.

“Now come, let us make haste.  I happen to know a rather talented doctor over at the Formouth Garrison.”

Ignis tried to roll away but Ardyn's easily grabbed him and pulled him closer, sliding a hand under his knees and behind his shoulders.  He tried to twist out of his grip but a sudden surge of pain in his side was enough for him to abort the move.  “Unhand me!” He snapped as Arydn stood with ease.  Gods he wish he had managed to at least hold onto the switchblade.  “Put me down this instance!”

“Please Ignis do calm yourself.  You are much too important for the Prince to lose at this point.  Especially to something as mundane as a severe bacterial infection.  I give you my word you will be treated and released unharmed.” Despite trying to struggle free, Ardyn's didn't seemed fazed as he started to walk down the road with him in tow.

“As if I’d let an Imperial Doctor treat me,” Ignis half snarled as he tried to bring his knees up to knee Ardyn in the face.  It hurt and Ignis was twisting his head off to the side to throw up again.  

“Ignis,” Ardyn let out a sigh as he shifted his grip a bit to reduce the strain on Ignis’ neck as he heaved more bile up onto the pavement.  “I don't believe I’ve given you much of a choice in the matter.  Now relax and let us be off before the deamons come out.  You’ll be right as rain and traipsing around the countryside with your friends before you know it.”

Exhaustion was dragging at him.  His weak struggles and throwing up had taken the last of his strength awhile ago and he was currently running on reserves he just didn’t have.  He desperately wanted to keep fighting, to escape or at least delay Ardyn until the Hunters arrived but his body had nothing left.  He let out a small grunt as he tried to shy away from the man holding him but other than moving his head off to one side he couldn't find the strength to get away.

A few minutes of walking later and Ignis could make out the red and white convertible parked alongside the road.  “Ah here we are.  See how easy this was without you fighting me?” Ardyn said as he gently lower Ignis into the passenger seat.  The seat was already partially reclined and Ardyn pulled a heavy blanket from where it had been folded in the back seat after clipping Ignis’ seat belt into place.  “This should keep you warm until we get there,” he said as he proceeded to tuck the blanket around him.  

It was too much of a set up.  “You knew Dace would bring me here,” he accused as Ardyn stepped away, going around to the other side of the vehicle and getting into the driver's seat.  “You knew I was ill.”

“Ignis,” Ardyn all but scolded him as he got into the driver's seat and started up the car.  “You of all people should have realized that if someone is desperate enough, a little money for some information is a simple trade.  Your dear Prince's movements are not as invisible as you have been led to believe.”

And to that Ignis really didn't have a reply.

Chapter Text

And when the golden light dost shine,

On the palored earth’s molted grime,

We see the hero, far afield,

Flying in haste, hand upon his steel,

Ignis was fairly sure this was all just a clever plot to break his spirit and mind.  Without the King and the Lucis army much of the classified information he had was useless but he still had contacts.  There were still spies living outside the city before it fell.  He knew where the surviving members of the Glaives and Crownsguard were.  That had to be what this torture was for.  To reveal who and where they were and, no doubt, to eventually get to Noctis.

In the distance, the smoke rose,

Turning the sky a musty gold,

Screams came both from pain and grief,

Spurring him onward into battle and defeat,

This torture had to end or there was a very good chance he would actually break.  It took more effort than necessary to roll his head across the headrest to look at his driver and torturer.  Willing his cracked lips to move and his voice be clear despite the dryness in his throat Ignis managed to say, “Would you stop that infernal prattle? If you’re attempting to torture me at least resort to more primitive means rather than attempting to melt my resolve with half rate poetry written by a sociopathic drug addict.”

Ardyn paused, obviously about to continue onto the next verse but seemed a bit thrown by Ignis’ statement.  “The Fall of Rimestone was considered one of Lord Dumont’s best works and highlights the battle that destroyed the city.  It has been referenced by historians for centuries and herald as the best account of the city's conquest.”

“Only because no one else had the time to sit on their duffs and write about it.  With the city laid to ruins there were much more important things to be done rather than sit in villa on the side of the river, tripping off of numerous hallucinogens and drinking himself into an early grave.”  Ignis hissed back at the man sitting next to him.  He shifted slightly trying to relieve the pain in his bound wrists but that small movement only made his side hurt.  He closed his eyes and tried not to give in to his desire to cry out in misery.

“It sounds to me like someone dislikes Lord Dumont or perhaps epic poems altogether,” Arydn said with a slight sing song lit to his voice.  “Come now, Ignis there must be something positive about the Fall you liked.”

Being forced to read Dumont’s account of the Fall of the Rimestone several times and write more than one report on that travesty of an epic highlighting it in a good light and pointing out the historical facts had left Ignis with a bitter taste in his mouth about the whole thing.  “Not… especially,” he said through gritted teeth at Aryden took a bend in the road a little faster than he liked.  It pulled slightly on the seatbelt and caused it to grind a bit more into his aching side.  “I did enjoy the theatrical performance put on by the Eastern Production Company.” Mostly because it was a satire that made fun of the majority of the poem and it's author.

“Oh, you enjoy theater?”

It was the way he had said it that put Ignis on alert.  It was with a light, breathy voice filled with a touch of wonder and a hint of malice.  In the dim light of the fading sun and the luminescence light from the control panel Ignis could see the smirk on his face, made all the more demonic looking with the strange shadows cast across it.

“How would you like to help me with a play?”

“No,” Ignis said with as much authority as he could muster.

“Very well,” if anything the ease of how Ardyn had agreed with him made Ignis even more worried.  His blood ran cold as Ardyn said, “Then I suppose I'll just have to cast your friends in the lead roles.”

“Don't you even thi-” Ignis tried to sit up in his seat.  A big mistake considering the seat belt that was pressing into his side.  The sudden flare of pain caught him off guard and before he even knew it, Ignis was throwing up on himself.  Or at least on the blanket, it was thick enough that the liquids he had expelled didn't soak through but the smell knocked him back in his seat.  He barely managed to swallow the whimper that threatened to escape his lips.

“I didn't think that you could be doing more poorly than before but I see you have proven me wrong.”  Ignis could feel the car's speed increase, “Rest, we'll be at a medical facility that can cater to your every whim shortly.  Fear not, I'll allow you to do a peer review on the script as soon as I thought up a suitable finale.”

-Break-

Formouth Garrison was a large, imposing structure in the Northeast of Leide.  The Garrison was rumored to be home to approximately three regiments of Magitek infantry, two platoons of mechs and company of Niflheim personnel stationed there according to their intelligence reports.  Cor and his team of surviving Glavies and Crownsguard had been canvassing Formouth and several other garrisons and fortresses across the continent to get an idea of Imperial strength in the area.  There had been skirmishes but there were too few combatants on their side to stand their ground in fair combat.  They were relying solely on guerilla warfare and espionage to fight back.  As the red and white convertible drove up to the main gates, Ignis supposed that he would at least manage to get a more accurate head count.  If he managed to destroy something all the better.

Ardyn stopped the car in front of the doors and Ignis couldn't help but shiver slightly at the amount of Magitek standing around them. He counted at least twelve but there was no telling how many were nearby hidden in the gathering night or how many were up on the walls.  A human wearing a Imperial uniform stepped up on the driver's side to speak with Arydn.  

“Chancellor Izunia.  This is an unexpected visit.”  He looked at Ignis and frowned, “And who is this?”

“A friend in need of medical assistance.  I was hoping that Doctor Marcus could attend him.  Please send word ahead to her to be ready to receive a new patient.  Most likely suffering from appendicitis.” Ardyn said with a wave of his hand as if it was nothing.  Ignis decided to correct him later on his title.  He was certainly not friends with Ardyn regardless of how the other man wished to twist his own words to suit his needs.  

“Isn't he one of the fugitives traveling with the Crown Prince?” The guard said, eyes narrowing at Ignis.  There was no way for him to hide his appearance now.  Not with the floodlights on him and his hands bound behind his back.  

“My dear Sergeant, he is in my custody.  It is not your place to show concern,” Arydn’s normal light, airy tone had changed becoming harsh and cold.  Completely opposite of what he normally sounded like and rather disconcerting.  Ignis couldn't help but fidget as much as the Sergeant was.  The officer took a prudent step back from the car.  “Now, be a good door keep and open them.”

“Yes sir,” the young man saluted Ardyn before looking up towards the top of the gates.  He raised his hand and dropped it, the corresponding grind of gears as they protested moving the heavy fortification echoed through the air. “Proceed at your leisure, sir.”

“Thank you,” he said happily, his voice back to normal.  Ardyn waited until the doors opened almost all the way before driving forward and into the courtyard.  

Ignis still felt like a piece of wet leather -and he could only imagine how much of a fright he looked- but that didn't mean that he wasn't taking mental notes of the armaments and the defense measures he could seen.  He could already tell that they had drastically underestimated the Garrison's offense capabilities.  There were at least three platoons of mechs and a squad of modified drop ships.  They looked as though they were outfitted for long range flying and possibly bombing.

“Go ahead.  Don't be shy,” Ardyn said as he drove towards one of the large warehouse hangers in the far side of the courtyard.  “Please take in the sites.  Quite impressive isn't it?”

“I am surprised that you didn't blindfold me,” Ignis admitted but didn't stop looking around.  He wasn't about to squander a single second of evaluating the enemy’s might.

“There is no need.” Ardyn admitted with a small shrug.  “Most of these are heading to Insomnia for the occupation.” Though Ignis made sure his face didn't betray his emotion, his heart fell at the thought.  “I believe they leave in a fortnight.”

Ignis wasn't sure why Ardyn had added that last bit unless he was planning to Ignis there for that long.  Too bad for him Ignis had every intention on leaving well before then and passing on this information.  Of course, he was about to have an abdominal surgery whether he wanted to or not so there was no telling what shape he would be in afterwards.  He doubted he would be up for much for the first few days afterwards and fighting was definitely out if the question.  He would have to improvise.

Ardyn drove the car right into one of the warehouses cluster near the center of the courtyard.  The hum of the generator vanished as the car drove into through the open doorway.  Ardyn stopped the car next to several people standing around a hospital gurney but there was no sign of anything or anyone else in the large hanger to take note of.  Just a stack of boxes on the far side of the room.  The other two doors into the building was closed but the light cast by the generator flickered against the windows causing weird shadows to dance about the room.  It was decidedly creepy as far as Ignis was concerned.

“So, who's this?” A woman as tall as himself with her brown hair chopped in a short bob asked.  She looked unimpressed with everything and anything around her and the look she gave Ignis made him glare right back at her.  He wasn't very impressed with her either.  “I assume he's my new patient?”

“Doctor Marcus, this is Ignis Scientia, royal advisor and tactician to his Highness, Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum.” Ardyn shifted the car into park and cut the ignition as he introduced them to each other.  “Ignis,” Ardyn undid his seatbelt and got out of the car.  “This is Doctor Annabelle Elissa Marcus, the Third Regiment’s Top Surgeon and Medical Officer.”

“My lady,” Ignis managed to make his voice sound a bit stronger than he had previously but he still continue to give her a hard look.

One she easily returned without missing a beat, “My Lordship.” Her eyes drifted down to the blanket that was still covering him.  Ardyn was taking his time rounding the vehicle.  “Is this the first time you vomited?”

“Second.”

“And how long have you been exhibiting flu like symptoms?”

“About three days now.” Ardyn opened his door and, humming an obnoxious little tune, carefully peeled the soiled blanket off of him without getting anything on him.  

“If it is appendicitis than it's probably burst by now.” She finally looked away from him, glancing at the two orderly standing next to the gurney.  “Hurry up and get him on that so we can get him downstairs.”  Ignis raised an eyebrow at the term.  What did she mean by downstairs?  She pulled a phone from her pocket as the two men brought the gurney up next to the car and Ardyn stepped out of their way.

“Jeanie.  Set up an IV.  I want him on fluids as soon as possible.  Prep for blood samples and an MRI.”  One orderly undid his belt and the two lifted him easily up onto the gurney.  He stayed limp and complacent in their grasp.  He had to bide his time and wait for the opportunity to strike.  

He was settled on his right side on the gurney and he could feel one of the orderly beginning to mess around with the zip ties around his wrists when Ardyn stepped up on the opposite site of the gurney and casually placed a knife to his throat.  “Not that I think you would honestly try,” he said with an oily smile.  “But at any rate I should keep up appearances.”

Ignis sighed but let them do as they pleased.  His wrists and ankles were freed from the zip ties only to be replace with thick restraints built into the gurney itself and kept him laying on his back.  Ardyn only removed the small knife, more of an ornamental pocket knife than anything, when he was properly tied down.

Doctor Marcus had been talking into her phone the entire time and only hung up as Ignis found himself being pushed across the the warehouse’s floor.  No one said anything -though Ardyn was back to humming- but paused together about twenty feet from the car.  Doctor Marcus pressed something on her phone’s screen and the floor beneath them jolted before they began to sink down in what seemed to be a huge cargo elevator.

Of course, 'downstairs’...

Ignis let out a small sigh, this was going make escaping from here a bit more tedious.

-Break-

It was startling how well stocked the underground medical wing of the Formouth Garrison was.  Doctor Marcus had everything she needed to perform open heart surgery or to removing a bullet from someone’s leg and that was only what Ignis could see from his gurney as he was wheeled into the main ward.  If the size of the ward was any indication, the majority of Formouth underground complex was nearly twice the size of the above ground stronghold.

It did not bode well considering the other strongholds dotting across the continent.

Ignis hadn't even been in the ward five minutes before a nurse had taken blood from him.  He was being given fluids intravenously, a series of antibiotics as well as a pain reliever and fever reducer were introduced through the access port in the tubing.  Health wise, he was actually starting to feel a little more comfortable for the first time in the past few days.  If only he was in a regular hospital with his friends and not in an Imperial medical ward there would be nothing for him to complain about.

Of course the good doctor had to kick that pleasant feeling right out the door.

“Your white blood cell count is astronomical so I'm not going to bother with an MRI,” she said as she inject something else into his IV.  “We’ll be prepped and ready for the operation in ten minutes.”

“Excellent,” Ardyn had been wandering about the ward, making small talk with people that were diligently working away before making his way over to sit next to Ignis, humming to himself with his eyes closed.  “If that is the case I will leave him in your capable hands.” He stood and tossed a casual wave over his shoulder as he left.  “I have a production to bring together after all.”

Ignis went to retort but a half hearted mumbled was all that escaped him.  He blinked owlishly and looked back at his doctor and then the IV hanging next to him.

She rolled her eyes, “Of course I just gave you a sedative.  I am not performing surgery on you while your conscious.  I'm not part of the interrogation department for a reason.”

Ignis felt a sigh leave him as everything faded away.

-Break-

He woke, feeling impossible heavy and a mouth more arid than all of Liede combined.

It took him way too long to open his eyes and much longer than that to remember what had happened.  A croaked moan escaped him as he tried to pull himself back together, blinking his eyes and shifting around a bit as much as his restraints would allow as he tried to focus.  The heavy feeling was leaving him and Ignis could only assume that he had been given a number of pain relievers to mitigate the aftereffects of the surgery.

He blamed that on the reason he hadn’t realized that Ardyn was sitting next to him, stroking the his face gently for who knew how long.  

He tried to glare and snarl something at Ardyn as he jerked his head away but even Ignis could tell that his look was too unfocused to convey his anger and the snarl was little more than a whine.  Ardyn chuckled at him and continued as if Ignis hadn’t done anything.  “Hush, my pet,” he whispered softly.  “Relax and just rest for now.  You’ve had a busy day.  I just need you to pay attention to me for a few moments.”

“G-get away from me,” he managed to say.  There was a blanket over him the rustled against what sounded like paper.  He probably wasn’t more than an hour out of surgery.  The anesthesia was messing with his mind and motor controls just as much as the pain medication was.  “Leave m-me alone.”

“And why should I?” Ardyn’s voice was still soft, his hand gentle as it traced his cheek.  There was something decidedly off about this whole encounter but Ignis couldn’t quite place his finger on it.  “I’ve taken away your pain.  Seen to your injuries.  You’re safe here, Ignis, remember.  Rest and heal.”

“What…” he tried turning his head again but Ardyn’s hand followed, still being gentle and soft and wrong in so many ways.  “N-no... stop… stop touching me.”

“It’s alright Ignis,” Ignis tossed his head again and tried shifting his entire body away from Ardyn.  He didn’t make it far before the restraints held him fast, the blankets shifting again and resettling around him.  There was an echo of pain from his abdomen that made let out a faint grunt.  “Relax, I won't hurt you.  I would never hurt something as precious as you.”

The feeling of wrongness only became more intense but Ignis just couldn’t piece it together with so many medications affecting his mind.  “Trust me Ignis,” Ardyn continued in that all too soft and almost tender sounding voice.  “Just relax.  Relax and let it happen.  Trust me.  I’ll take good care of you.”

Ardyn suddenly put his hand against his injured side and pressed down.  

Despite the amount of drugs in Ignis’ system, the pain caused by pressing down on his stitches caused him to let out a rather loud pain filled cry.  One that Ardyn swiftly muffled with the same hand that had been pressing into his side only a moment ago.  The only hand that he had been touching him with.  That was an important observation Ignis would have to think about later.  First he had to stop making the down right pathetic and mortifying whimpers and whines escaping him even if they were being muffled by Ardyn’s hand.

“You’re absolutely perfect, Ignis.  I’m so glad you’re here.”  Ardyn’s voice suddenly became louder, more forceful like when he had been talking with that sergeant earlier.  “You’re mine.”

And then there was a small click and Ardyn removed his hand from Ignis’ mouth.  “Brilliant performance Ignis.”  He praised him, clapping his hand against his wrist, “Bravo.  I say, Bravo!”

“What?” Ignis blinked a couple times, trying to clear the wateriness away so he could see better.  Astrals he wished he had his glasses. The medication had already dealt with the pain in his side, muffling it to a dull ache.  “What are you going on about?”

“You're absolutely stellar performance as the victim in my play.”  Ardyn held up a small recorder that Ignis was only now realizing he had been holding this entire time.  “I know you are not really awake due to the cocktail of drugs Doctor Marcus gave you so I will forgive you for not piecing it together already.  I will give you a hint.  Think of what your Prince will do when he hears that lovely conversation we just had at the end of the soon to be placed ransom call when he will no doubt demand to hear your voice.”

Ignis blinked a couple times, eyes going from Ardyn to the audio recorder he still held up in his hand, trying to figure out why him, drugged up and weak sounding, try to tell Ardyn to stop and leave him alone wa-

Oh.

… Oh …

Ardyn smiled at him, “And what do you think he’ll think of first?”

Noctis would jump to conclusions and think that Ardyn had done more than just touch his face..

“Like I said Ignis,” the smile on the Chancellor's face grew wider and even more twisted.  “Steller performance.  Bravo.”

-Break-

Ignis couldn’t decide if Ardyn Izunia was an unusually charismatic sociopath or just a sadistic asshole.  He really was a blend between the two, taking pleasure in other’s pain and manipulating those around himself to get what he wanted.  It made Ignis wonder how Ardyn became the Chancellor before he wrote that off as obvious.  Ardyn had never earned it.  He had manipulated, coerced and Ignis wouldn't be surprised if he had even gone so far as to make certain individuals disappear mysteriously.  Not by his own hand of course, but they would be gone all the same.  

Taking pleasure from other’s pain was apparent the minute Ardyn brought the recording of his ‘conversation’ with Noctis down to share with him.  Ignis schooled his features and tried not to let on how upset he was.  He didn’t want Ardyn to know how much this was going to bother him.  He didn’t think that the other man bought his act for a second.

Ardyn had managed to get word to Noctis that there was someone who had recently seen Ignis and to call a local number to speak with them.  Judging by the scratchy connection, Noctis hadn’t used his cell phone but one of the old, dilapidated pay phones found outside the Crow’s Nest Dinners.  Smart move on his part.  It wouldn’t give someone he didn’t know a direct line to his cell phone.  The number provided had been a direct line to Ardyn.

Of course, Noctis had known exactly who had answered the phone the minute Ardyn had spoke.

“ Good afternoon, may I help you? ”

“ Ardyn!  Wait… it was…. What have you done with Ignis!?! ”  There was muted sounds coming from over the line.  Ignis was fairly certain he heard Prompto say something in the background but he couldn’t make out what.  

“Now, now.  Is that any way to thank me for taking care of him for the last few days? ”  It had been a few days as far as Ignis could tell.  Doctor Marcus was keeping him all but high on pain medication.  His appendix had burst and leaked matter all throughout his abdominal cavity.  Ignis was fairly certain that there was enough antibiotics in him to run the hospital in Lestallum for days.  The first day alone he had been to out of it to really think about what Ardyn had done or was going to do.

“ Ardyn let him go !”

“ Oh I plan to but first you have to do something for me.  Then I will release him a little worse for the wear but alive .”

“ If you- ”

“I haven’t harmed him Noctis but the interrogation division on the other hand was… thorough to say the least.  Rest assured, I saw to his more serious injuries and have been keeping him… comfortable since .”

Noctis paused for a moment before relenting, “ What do you want ?”

“ Just a simple demolition task that will benefit both of us.  There is an Imperial Base over in the Causcherry Plains under the command of Commander Vailden.  Destroy it and him.  Do that and I will release your advisor .”

“ You want us to destroy an Imperial Base? ”  Ignis was as curious as to Ardyn’s demands as Noctis was.  He raised an eyebrow at the man perched on the edge of his bed but Ardyn just pointed back to the recorder playing the phone conversation earlier.  

“ Commander Vailden has been siphoning money from the Imperial vaults and there are rumors of him and his men oppressing people in the area of his fortress.  It would take to long to build a case to bring before the Emperor and neither Ravus or I tolerate such behavior.  You do this for us and Ignis’ is yours again .”

Noctis didn’t say anything for a long moment.  “ Fine, ” he finally said.  “ But I want to talk to him .”

Ignis’ heart sank.  He had kind of hoped that Noctis wouldn’t demand to speak to him.  “ Very well.  He is due for some more... medication anyway.  Just something to keep him calm and  comfortable I assure you .”

There were footsteps and the sound of a door opening and closing softly, obviously to mask the sound of the recording starting up.  “ Ignis.  Ignis wake up.  Wake up Ignis .”  There was a faint shuffle from the audio his barely there moan as he woke, “ Noctis wants to talk to you… and you’re so perfect laying like that… Ignis, he should hear you .”  There was a faint sound, the weak unfocused snarl he had tried to make when he realized it was Ardyn touching him.  “ Hush, my pet .”

It all went downhill from there.

Unfortunately Noctis reacted exactly as Ignis had thought.  “ Ignis!  Ignis are you… ”  A pause and then a soft gasp as Noctis listened for a moment to the recording, “ Ardyn?  Ardyn what are you… No.  No!  Leave him alone!  Ardyn get your hands off him right now!  Let him go!  Let! Him! Go! ”  Ignis made sure to keep his face blank as he listened to the panicky cries echoing from the speaker.  He didn’t want to give Ardyn the pleasure of how much it hurt to hear Noctis sounding like a terrified child.

There was a commotion from the other side of the line.  The phone was jostled, Prompto was saying something but it was still muted and incomprehensible and then there was a thunk as if the receiver had been dropped.  Some more jostling and then the receiver was picked back up.

Right in time for Ardyn telling Ignis to trust him for the first  time. The line was eerily silent all the way through to the end with Ardyn claiming Ignis as ‘his’ before there was a disconnection on Ardyn’s end.  The fabricated scene had been played out but over the speaker the dial tone was still playing.  The other end hadn’t hung up yet.

“By the power granted to me by the Crystal and the King I Stand Before, I swear I will carve each touch you laid on Ignis out of your skin a thousand times, Ardyn.  You will be begging me for Death before my Wrath is even halfway done with you but I won’t show you any mercy even after the reaper takes you unto his arms.”

Gladiolus voice had been calm and measured.  It was completely devoid of any of its usual warm infliction instead coming across so very cold and harsh, lacking anything that made Gladio himself.  It was frightening that he could be so serious and keep his usually temper from flarring out of control.  Ignis was actually afraid of him even though he knew he had nothing to fear.  Gladio would never hurt him.

The quiet, foreboding click of the phone at the Crow’s Nest ended the recording.

“I will admit,” Ardyn said as he picked up the recorder and set it on the table next to Ignis’ bed in the curtain off area of the ward he was recovering in.  “I hadn't thought I would bring down the Wrath of the Shield with this little stunt as well but I suppose that you two have worked together for a long time now.  It’s not hard to believe that you two became close.”  He leaned forward a bit more, half leering as he leaned over Ignis, “The question now is how close are you two really?”

And finally -finally!- he was close enough.

Ignis ignored the surge of pain in his side as he jackknifed his body and slammed his forehead right on the the bridge of Ardyn’s nose.

The Chancellor reeled, tipping right over backwards and landing in an undignified heap on the floor next to his bed.  Despite his ungainly fall, Ardyn laughed even as he clutched his nose and struggled back to his feet.  He turned to Ignis, blood running freely down his lips and chin to land in large blotches on his shirt.  

“And that is all the answer I need,” he laughed as he left, the sound echoing all throughout the ward, no doubt off to get Doctor Marcus to reset his nose.  

Ignis held his breath for several long minutes, making sure he was absolutely alone before breathing a sigh of relief and smirking to himself.  The distraction had worked for all its ad-libbed finesse.  Of course, now the Chancellor believed that he and Gladio were an item which was a small price to pay for the actual victory he had achieved.  As if Gladio would ever forsake his duty to the Crown for a long term relationship with a man.

His fist curled a little tighter, clutching the small ornamental pocket knife he had hidden in his hand.  The same one that Ardyn had pressed to his throat a few days ago in the hanger above ground.  The one he had just managed to snatch from Ardyn’s coat pocket despite his restraints.

His patience had finally paid off.

Chapter Text

Ignis had to wait almost another hour to make his move.

The nurses had a fairly consistent rotation, stepping in to check on him about every half hour to forty five minutes  to measure his vitals, medications and bindings to make sure he wasn't messing with them in any way.  Doctor Marcus swung through herself about every hour, going through the same series of checks and usually giving him a sour look or some verbal snark for no reason he could honestly discern.  Their schedules were slightly out of sync meaning that he had a visitor sticking their head in to check on him every fifteen to twenty minutes.  

But occasionally he'd have a full half hour with no one checking on him.

The knife was small, easy to hide in his hand but difficult to open and flip around to saw at the straps holding him to the bed.  His wrist ached from being held at such an awkward angle but it worked.  Taking several minutes longer than he had wanted but with a hand free the little pocket knife easily sliced through the rest of the bindings in less than a minute.  

Now came the tricky part. 

He was hooked up to a monitor with three separate little adhesive patches dotting his chest.  If any of those came undone he knew an alarm would start barring.  For an appendectomy recovery he doubted that he really needed them but they were a good alarm for everyone in the ward that he was free.  The curtains they kept closed around him gave him some privacy so the monitor was more insurance than anything requiring a medical reason from what he could tell.

Carefully to avoid making too much noise or dislodging the patches, Ignis slipped out of his bed and knelt next to the piece of equipment.  Using the tip of the knife like a screw driver he unscrewed one of the back panels and sliced through the cabling on the battery back up the machine had incase of power failures.  He waited for a whole minute to make sure that the machine's capacitors to completely discharged before then pulling the plug from the wall.  He paused again to make sure that no alarms were set off by the machine’s sudden loss of power before steeling himself and removing the patch next to his heart.

The machine stayed blissfully silent.  

Breathing a small sigh of relief, he quickly removed the other two patches and tightened the flimsy hospital gown he had been subjected to so that he was a little better covered.  One of his first orders of business would be finding something that would keep him a bit more decent.  He stepped over to the curtains and pushed the edge back just enough to peeked out onto the main ward.  There were several nurses and Doctors Marcus out there.  He wouldn't be walking out through the main doors not that he had honestly expected to.

Turning and heading back for the actual wall, Ignis crouched low and slipped around the back of his now defunct monitor.  He kept his head down and slipped out of his room and into the next curtained off partition to the right of his recovery room.  This was a mirror imagine of his own room except this one held no one and the curtain opposite to him was open to the rest of the ward.  

He stayed low, moving quickly and soundlessly on bare feet along the wall, keeping as many pieces of equipment and furniture between him and the rest if the ward as possible.  He only moved forward to another hiding spot after ensuring that no one was looking in his general direction.  Luckily, everyone seemed engrossed in their work and paid no mind to the escaped prisoner attempting to slip away in nothing but a hospital gown.

The next room had a someone in the bed, hooked up to various monitors like he had been but he seemed to be in a heavy drug induced sleep.  Ignis passed through the room quickly and silently so as not to disturb the patient.  He had more important things to worry about now and he didn't have the luxury of time on his side.

There was no partitioned area on the other side of the wall this time but there was a series of shelves and a door.  He would have to travel about fifteen feet with little to no cover to get outside of the ward and even then there was no telling what was on the other side of that door.  He might be about to run into a platoons of Magitek for all he knew but he wasn't about to stay there either.  

He took a few minutes to make sure that no one in the medical ward was looking his way before making a break for it.  He kept himself low and moved fast, rushing up to the door and opening just enough for him to slip through.  He did not more than a cursory look of the hallway he now found himself in before closing the door behind him with a gentle click.  A small sigh of relief left him.  One step closer to freedom.

The hallway he now found himself in barren of anyone or anything he could hide behind in case someone did walk through.  The ceiling had lights, vent work and pipes run along it and there were several doors leading who knew where.  His guess would be medical store rooms or maybe some extra offices.  Nothing that would prove to be particularly useful to him at the moment.  

Most importantly, he didn't see any cameras monitoring the hallways.

He knew it was a straight shot from the main doors of the ward to the elevator he had been brought down but he also knew that was a heavily trafficked area and he lack the key card required to activate the lift in the first place.  He would have to find another way up and out of the base.  Ignis headed in the opposite direction of the elevator.  He needed a better idea of his location and he needed it fast.  He had perhaps fifteen minutes at least -twenty at most- before the medical staff realized he had escaped.

The hallway ended in a tee which Ignis went right at.  There were a couple doors he tried along the way to the next intersection.  Both of which happened to be locked.  At the intersection, he took a left only because it ended in a door with a small glowing exit sign above it.  As he hoped it was a stairwell and, miraculously, it had signs.  Up went to the storage hanger and the exit but down would take him to the lab and barracks.

He didn't even pause before he started climbing the stairs.

As much as he he wanted to head straight for the surface, Ignis paused outside of door on the next level leading to the hanger.  He took only a moment to deliberate before opening to door.  He didn't have much time but the more intelligence he could gather before leaving to better.  He would take a quick peek, get an idea of the forced still remaining at the base, and then take his leave.  He had to go through the door and down a short hallway before he came to the actual hanger.

And there he couldn't help but stare at it in awe.

The force heading into Insomnia that he had saw above ground was nothing compared to the capabilities being store here in this base.  The storage hanger was huge.  Even with all the lights on, the far wall was partially defused as if he was staring at a faraway mountain.  Rows upon rows of Magitek troops and Imperial mechs were standing at ready, just a single button away from activation.  The sheer military might being stored here was absolutely staggering.

He couldn't just leave it like this either.  Right now he had a golden opportunity to not only weaken some of the Empire’s power in this region but also to indirectly get back at Ardyn for using him like he had against Noctis.  Ignis wasn't much for revenge but this time it was personal.  Noctis’ voice, yelling panicked at Ardyn to stop, was still echoing in the back of his mind.

He'd make Ardyn pay for that.

He only had ten minutes left from what he could guess so he had to move quickly.  Heading for the mechs’ side of the bay, Ignis half ran to the far wall when he saw the silos and racks along the wall.  There was piping running between the rows of mechs coming up behind each one with tubing running up to connection points along the war machines’ backs.  The silos most likely held fuel.  The racks were probably holding weapons.  

Even if the MTs weren't damaged, destroying the mechs all nicely laid out for him would be a big help when considering their current standings in the war.  

There were lockers near the first set of control panels.  A quick check revealed a boiler suit and a pair of boots a size too big for him with a spider he had to evict before he could put them on.  At least now he didn't have to worry about flashing the Imperial army as he ran and the boots would provide protection for his feet even if the blisters were going to end up being murdered without socks on.  He would definitely need them when he got out into the Liede countryside.  

The first thing he did was to deactivate the fire suppression system by turning off the sensors that were littered throughout the room.  He then made sure that the fuel lines leading to the mechs were all charged.  Espionage wasn't his forte but he didn't need to understand it all to know that a piece of ammo would exploded when exposed to significant amount of heat and that fuel was highly flammable and excellent accelerate.

He had went to grab a sledgehammer leaning against the wall with the intent of smashing through one of the closed connectors on the closest fuel tank but as he went to lift it pain shot down his side and he had to let it go.  It crashed to the deck next to him as he fell to his knees and clutched at his side.  That had not been a bad idea.  The muscles in his core were still traumatized from his operation three days ago.  He remembered Doctor Marcus saying something about him not picking up anything heavier than a gallon of milk.  This was going to put a bit of a crimp in his plans.  There was a good chance he had just torn something.

He stumbled back to the control panel clutching his side protectively and opened the valve from there.  He would have rather smashed it so that no one could come along behind him and simply close it  with a push of a button but he guessed it didn't matter at that point.  The pain relievers in his system were already dulling the pain to reasonable levels.  He took a packet of cigarettes, a very out of date newspaper and matches he had seen in the same locker he had raided earlier and the other pair of coveralls that were hung in there.

Taking his prizes with him, Ignis avoided the even widening puddle the was extending from the fuel tank as he made his way to the door.  The fuel was spreading out along the floor, flowing underneath some of the ammo racks and towards the other tanks just as he figured.  Double checking his mental calculations, Ignis set down the coveralls and quickly bunched up the newspaper so that they would burn and smolder for awhile.  He took a quick drag from one of the cigarettes he lit to ensure the pile of flammables stayed lit and at least smoldering until the fuel reached it before adding it to the collection.  

Then he stood up and ran.  

His side liked that even less but Ignis pushed through the pain as he moved.  The resulting explosion was going to be big and if he didn't get far enough away it was going to be more than his side complaining.  As he mounted the stairs, taking them two at a time, he felt a trickle of warmth under the coveralls.  Disconcerting to say the least but he hadn't the time to properly evaluate how well his stitches were holding up.  

He burst through the door leading to the stairwell hardly slowing down.  Again, he went up the stairs two at a time and this time he was positive that one of his stitches tore from the stress of his movement.  He only slowed when he reach the top of the stairs and came face to face with the door leading out into the courtyard.  There was not telling what was out there but he had little choice in the matter.  He had maybe three minutes before the fuel reached his fire and th-

An alarm suddenly blared through the compound.

-e medical staff would be figuring out he was gone soon.  

He went through the door turned so that he was heading away from the storage hanger and bolted.  He stick close to the wall, going behind crates and containers, while avoiding the search lights that we're now all sweeping the area as they tried to locate him.  It had to be late at night considering the lack of human guards at their stations but there was little to celebration with that knowledge.  It just meant he would run into more MTs and deamons once he was outside the fortress.

His mental countdown was still going as he looked about for the easiest way out of the courtyard.  He was willing to take deamons over the conflagration the was about to be unleashed.  If the resulting explosion and fire were bad enough then maybe it would keep the deamon's at bay long enough for him to get to one of the nearby havens though that would be the first place the Empire would look for him.  He should have thought to grab an actual weapon during his flight.

The ground suddenly heaved underneath his feet, throwing him off balance and causing him to fall face first into one of the stacks of crates he had been about to run behind.  The pitch and tone of the alarm ringing through the compound suddenly changed but Ignis was barely aware of that.  His head was ringing almost as loud and twice as painful as his side was.  When he touched a hand to his face it came back covered with blood.  Lovely.

Ignis struggled back to his feet, blinking away the black dots that threatened to overtake his vision, and started to move again.  He had to get going before someone caught him.  His vision was still swimming and his surgery site was definitely bleeding now.  He wasn't going to last long in a fight.

He made it another ten steps before the fire grew hot enough to set off the ammo stores.

This time the explosion was enough that Ignis was thrown completely off his feet and tumbled inelegantly through the dirt.  For a long couple of minutes all he could do was lay there and breath.  The sounds of chaos around him as the human personal started to come around and realize what happening was dulled to his ears.  The flickering of light as the fire raged nearby barely caused him to worry.  He hadn't realized how big the explosion was going to be.  He'd underestimated the power in what he had set into motion.  

What did bring him back to his senses was the pair of silver tipped boots that walked up to him unhurriedly.  Ignis barely had a chance to recognize them before one was slamming into his already injured side.  A choked cry escaped him as he curled defensively clutching both arms over his stomach.

He stepped away, walking in measured steps around Ignis like a wolf circling its prey.  “I hope you're happy with yourself.  While this may put behind our plans for several weeks it won't stopped the inevitable.  Insomnia is ours, the Crystal is ours, and it's only a matter of time before we posses the Ring, the Oracle, and your dear Prince’s head on a pike.”  He completed his circle, coming to a stop next to Ignis head about where he had been when he had started.  “This was just a pointless waste of time, resources and lives.  Really, have you no shame?  What can you just accept your surrender already and admit defeat?”

“Lord Ravus,” every word felt like a colossal effort as he managed to gasp out to the High Commander standing over him.  “I see that your education was lacking when it comes to the definition of the word tenacity.”

There was a snort of amusement from above him.  “Be that as it may I do believe I am not the one lying bleeding and defeated in the dirt.   I guess your tenacity can only take you so far can it?”

Ignis smiled weakly at that.  As much as he would like to get up and make Ravus eat his own words, he would be little more than a nuisance to the High Commander in such a state.  He was fairly sure that a stiff breeze at this point would be enough to knock him out.  

A sword was drawn and the sharp pointed rested against his throat.  “There are so many reason why I should be killing you right now,” Ravus said ominously.  

“Unfortunately, I am a man of my word,” Ignis had kind of been hoping that Ardyn would have been caught in the blaze.   “Ravus.  Stay your blade,” the tip of the sword stay against his neck for a half second longer before withdrawing and being resheathed.  “I promised the Prince I would return to him his advisor and after he did such an admirable job leveling Commander Vailden’s operation for us I'd hate to have to renege on my promise.”

“I was prepared for that loss but not for this.”  Ravus stepped out of his line of sight, walking towards where Ignis assumed Ardyn was standing.  “This will put our operations behind by several weeks.  I have lost a good many men here tonight all because you wanted to play a game with Noctis.”

“Yes but a game that has shown us exactly what the little Prince is capable of.”  There was a shift in his step as if Ardyn had danced of to the side or some other such nonsense, “And think of what else we can make him do while we hold his precious advisor?  After all, I never said when I'd give him back now did I?  Think of it.  To use the Prince’s power repeatedly like that?  There would be little we would ever have to worry about again.”

To be used against Noctis?  Once had been bad enough but the thought of being used as a catalyst to bend Noct to Ardyn's will repeatedly was not something he would tolerate.  Ever.  He pulled out the small pocket knife from the coverall’s pocket and flipped open the blade.  He never thought that this was how he would die but he'd rather it here than have the others suffer the consequences.  He kept his movements short and tight to himself so that neither Ardyn or Ravus would see what he was up to until it was too late.

He pressed the blade to his neck.  The little thing was wickedly sharp, the cut would be swift and easy.  He paused just for a moment and thought about his friends… Prompto… Gladio… Noctis… and everyone else they had met on their journey thus far and bid them all a silent apology and farewell.

The cut was was quick and clean.  A swift slash across his throat going from ear to ear.  Warmth splashed on his neck as his breath hitched.  He gasped weakly, upset that this was it.

And then pissed that it wasn't over yet.

“I was wondering where that blade had wandered off too.”  Ardyn pressed a quick kiss to his cheek that he flinched away from, “I should have realized earlier that you had swiped it out of my pocket.  You played me, Ignis.  Your acting skills are a step above..”

The blade was wrenched from his hand as Ardyn stood, his own hand covered in blood from the deep cut in the back of it.  The same cut that should have been across Ignis’ throat.  Ignis hadn't even heard Ardyn move, hadn't even felt his hand protectively cover his throat until after he’d tried to slice it, the man was a lot faster than he had thought.

“Take him to my ship and prepare to head for Vatticor.  Put him on a suicide watch, tape his hands together if you have to and do something about that bleeding.” Ravus ordered.  Ignis was sized off the ground by several MTs and forced into his knees.  His arms were twisted painfully around behind his back as a pair of heavy manacles locked them into place there.  One of them grabbed his hair and pulled his head back so he could watched as Ravus stalk off.

But Ardyn stayed behind.

He raised his good hand to stop the MTs  from hauling him off though all his attention was on  his injured hand.  He was examining the slice left in it from where Ignis had tried to slit his throat.  “You almost got away with it,” he said shortly.  “Had I not turned when I did you actually would have killed yourself to protect him.”

He looked over his hand again, holding it up and twisting it slightly to the side as he watched the blood trail down along his wrist following the pull of gravity.  “He holds such control over you that you would so carelessly throw your own life away in the blink of an eye.  Such dedication is an admirable quality that it shouldn't be wasted or squaliered on such pettiness.”  He brought his hand down and ran his tongue over the cut before speaking again.  

“You are such a precious gift to him, Ignis.  He doesn't even know how luck he is to have you.”  Ardyn stepped up to him and crouching down so that they were face to face.  He smiled as he ran a finger down Ignis’ cheek and under his chin.  “I wonder how much of yourself are willing to sacrifice for him.  If I gave him back his Kingdom, the Crystal, what would you give to me?”

He then leaned forward and licked his blood off Ignis’ neck.

“What would you be willing to give me?” He whispered to him as he pulled away.  Ignis wanted so badly to kick him, stab him, but his arms were pinned, head pulled back at an awkward angle, and he was on his knees.  He couldn't retaliate no matter how much he wanted to.  

“Think on the matter Ignis, don't take my generosity lightly.  I shall expect an answer the next time you are in my company.” He finger was still under Ignis’ chin and he used it to turn it left and then right slight as if he was memorizing his face before pulling away and turning to leave.  Ignis let out a shuddering breath trying to quell the anger -and even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, fear- burning through him.  “Take him to the ship as instructed and keep him comfortable.  He is far to precious to allow to be damaged or allowed to destroy himself.”  Ardyn called over this shoulder as he left.  

Ignis was roughly dragged off in the other direction, trying hard not to think of what Ardyn was implying.

Chapter Text

The only difference between Ravus’ personal drop ship and one used by the rest of the Imperial fleet was the large Imperial crest painted midship on the outer hull.  There was still the pilot house up above the main hatch.  The foor had clamps on it to lock down MTs during transit.  The two rails on both the port and starboard side of the loading bay that were there to latch down and deploy mechs had been pushed back and locked down for transit.  The ceiling crane used for maneuvering cargo was also on the back bulkhead, rigged up not to swing or break loose during flight.

The fact that it was so unauspicious was rather surprising given Ravus’ ego of late.  Ignis would have thought to have to have seen a rather comfortable chair in the least.  A fully mobilized command center with teak flooring and a bar off to one side at most.  The fact that it was so stripped down and barren was rather remarkable to say the least.  

Ignis was forced by his guards to the middle of the ship, facing out towards the hatch.  Two remained on either side of him, holding his bicep tight while two more aimed rifles at his head which seemed counterproductive considering there were standing orders not to let him die.  Several of the Magiteks went behind him and the sounds of banging and thumping was disconcerting to say the least.  He didn't bother turning his head to look.  He had a fairly good idea of what was going to happen now.

Vatticor was an Imperial stronghold situated along the North Western coast of Cleinge.  It was difficult to obtain information on because it resided on the inhospitable coast on the Northern Ocean, built into the very cliff faces itself.  The area could only be reached by the air but several spies had managed to get close enough to it to dispel the rumors on its existence.  The terrain made it difficult to gather much more than its location.  The Empire had used it primarily as a staging ground during its conquest of the continent and it now served as a supply hub for the fortresses dotting the landscape.

Its location was practically a way point between Niflheim and Leide.  An advantageous point to say the least.  While he planned to gather as much information as he could about the place during his stay, the implications of what could happen were all too clear.  If they sent him Vatticor, it would be all too easy to send him to Tennebre or Gralea or even as far as Zegnautus Keep itself.

He had no doubt that as long as he was useful he would remain alive but the thought of being a prisoner of war was not in the least appealing.  Ignis doubted that he would remain on the continent for long.  He had no doubt that he would be sent through several rounds of interrogation, most likely put in a maximum confinement portion of the Keep's cellblock and, with his earlier attempt to take his life, there would be a twenty four hour watch on him.  His chances to escape had now had dwindled significantly but they would be non-existent if he was taken off the continent.

There was a heavy clunk from behind him accompanied by the sound of chains been pulled through a steel eyelet.  The chains were looped through the manacles on his wrists and then looped around his chest and pulled tight.  Thankfully they were high enough to avoid his injured side but they were still pulled tight enough that it hurt to breathe.  He was jostled as something thunked behind him, not unlike the snap of a padlock being closed but on a much larger scale.  

Two of the MTs behind him stepped forward and grabbed his legs, pulling them a bit more off to the side.  Ignis was glad he had managed to find a pair of boots as the clamps typically used on Magiteks’ were used to lock his feet into place.  The crane above his head whined, pulling his body up despite his feet being locked onto the floor.  It gave him no slack or room to move.  The MTs stepped away from him then, staring at him with cold glowing eyes.

Ignis sighed and let his head hang.

He had to escape before he was incarcerated at Vatticor but as of this moment it seemed naught but impossible.

-Break-

Despite wanting to think up an escape plan in transit, Ignis missed most of the journey to Vatticor.  

His body just couldn't handle it.  He was still recovering from a surgery which he had complicated by tearing several stitches out and the added head wound from his failed escape attempt.  His wounds had been hastily checked on and rewrapped by a haggard looking nurse who was obviously being run ragged by the injuries resulting from the explosion but he wasn't giving anything for the pain.  Being forced to stand stretched out as he was for a flight across the continent was just too much for him to take regardless of what he wanted.  His side screamed in agony with every bit of turbulence or subtle shift as the aircraft changed direction.  He doubted that they made it very far out of Leide before he fainted.

When he came around he was being dragged down the drop ship’s ramp and down across the floor of a hanger.  The temperature was bitterly cold compared to the rest of the continent and the unconscious trembling in his body only caused the discomfort in his side to flare more.  The frozen wind from the north was blasting right through the hanger at them.  Ignis tried to draw his legs up to conserve heat but they felt like there were heavy weights strapped to his ankles.  He barely managed to shift his feet as he was pulled along the floor.

There was an MT on either side of him, holding onto the cloth of his coveralls as he was dragged along.  He managed to lift his head but wasn't able to do much but make out vague outlines and blurred colors as his exhausted mind try to make sense of what he was seeing.  Admittedly it was probably just cargo preparing for shipment or drop ships waiting to move out given Vatticor’s normal operations but if he could confirm that it would be a step in the right direction. It was almost a blessing when he was dragged into a large cargo elevator.  At least now he had didn't have to strain his eyes to see anything and the temperature was getting warmer with every passing second that the doors were closed.

“I see you have decided to rejoin us,” Ravus barely glanced at him to check if he was awake before looking away again.  He crossed his arms and glared at the elevator doors as the lift began to move under them, taking them to a higher level in the base by the feel of it.  “I would apologizes for your rough journey here and current treatment but you have to understand that my manners are a bit lacking when dealing with the man that killed nearly half a regiment of some of my best soldiers by detonating an entire hanger of ordnance and mechs.”

Ignis didn't say anything to defend himself.  He had been aiming to just take out the mechs and offline MTs but the loss of human life was inevitable in such a large explosion.  He really didn't feel remorse for those he had killed.  They were, after all, the enemy but that hadn't been his original intent so part of him squirmed uncomfortably while Ravus continued talking.

“While Ardyn has said you are not to be killed or injured anymore than you already are in the intern, don't think that doesn't mean I am not going to enact a suitable revenge.  If you were in the Imperial Army I'd have you Court Marshaled and confined for  life in the stockade.”

Now Ravus did look at down him, his eyes cold and sharp as he stared down his nose, “As a Prisoner of War however, I have a lot more options at my disposal.”

Ignis let his eyes fall close and sighed.

His had a feeling he knew what Ravus was referring to.

-Break-

The man introduced himself as Sylvester and he was in charge of seeing to Ignis.

Sylvester was a tall man equal to his own height but thin as a rail.  He didn't appear to be trained in combat but the multilayered uniform he was wearing was a way of deceiving those around him.  It was the reason Ignis himself wore multiple layers himself.   It made others observing him underestimate his physical strength.  His dark brown eyes were sharp and Ignis steeled himself as best he could when their eyes first met.  Besides the eyes, long stringy brown hair and hawkish nose, it was as if Ignis' was looking at a mirror image of himself.

It didn't surprise Ignis when he found out who this man was.

Sylvester was a high ranking member of the interrogation division stationed at Vatticor and was considered the best on the base when it came to his trade.  Ravus had left Ignis in his care with a series of instructions, some of which were quite a surprise to him.  He had no doubt that Ardyn was the driving force behind such strange requirements.  Ignis knew that if it had been left up to Ravus he would have had a most excruciatingly painful death back at Fortmouth.

“You are not allowed to permanently mark or maim him.  No physical strikes to his abdomen or his head.  He is to receive medical care and food twice daily.  Make sure he eats it and keep a close eye on him.  He's already attempted suicide once.  We require him alive for the time being.”

“What would you like for us to discuss?” Sylvester asked as Ignis was forced into one of the chairs sitting on either side of a nearby table by his MT handlers.  The chair was made out of metal and his wrist and ankles were strapped separately to the arms and legs of his seat by thick padded cuffs.  One even went around his chest to help him stay upright and another over his thighs to keep him in place. There was nothing else in the room besides a small cot opposite the door and the cabinet directly behind him.  The two men continued to talk off to his right next to the door as the MTs pushed his chair in and then tightened the bolts holding it down to the floor.  

This... seating arrangement greatly complicated his intent to escape.

“Whatever you wish.  It matters not to me.  He holds no information of use.”  Ravus said with a dismissive flick of his hand before turning for the door.  “Just see to it that your discussions are as informative as you wish them to be.”

“As you command High Commander,” Sylvester said with a deep bow as Ravus left and the MTs trailed out of the room after them.  There was a clang from the other side of the door signalling that the two of them had been locked in the room together.  

Sylvester waited a beat before speaking.  “Well… so here we are,” he said as he turned to regard Ignis where he sat locked in place.  

“Indeed,” it was unsettling how the other man regarded him.  A blank almost thousand miles stare like he wasn't really looking at Ignis at all but through him.  It was the same look that Ignis was giving him.  Not so much as looking at a person but looking at their tell tales.  The one language that everyone spoke but were mostly unaware of and not the one that everyone could translate correctly.

When he had started attending Court sessions for Noctis, his Uncle had pulled him aside and encouraged him to go through speech training.  Ignis had thought he could speak well enough and nearly turned the additional class down.  He had had more than enough on his plate back then between all his duties and his own studies that taking on another class was a bit much even for him.  However, he had made the time after his Uncle nearly bullied him into the course and it had been worth it.  

Worth it on so many levels.

Now with a single glance, he could tell so much about someone just by there body language alone.  He knew how someone was doing, if they had just lied, if they were hiding something, if they were hurt or any number of other conditions.  It could be as simple as a frown or a nervous tick of the eyelid that gave themselves away.  It was invaluable on the Court floor where one was always looking out for their own interests.  Lies and deceit were as common as the Magiteks dropping out of the skies on them of late.  It was a verbal game of cat and mouse that Ignis rarely admitting to enjoyed as much as he actually did.

To be receiving such a look now, in this situation, only spelled trouble for himself and Ignis knew it.

“Well, I will admit I am at a bit of a loss,” Sylvester broke the staring contest first, walking calmly over to the locker behind Ignis.  He began rustling around in it but Ignis couldn't turn his head enough to see what the locker held.  Obviously the placement of the furniture in the room had been for such a purpose.  A way to increase his anxiety about what was to come.  “Typically I have a goal in mind, some little tidbit of information that needs coaxing out.  Never have I been told to interrogate someone just for the sake of interrogate them before.”

He rustled about a bit more and Ignis had to calm himself.  Anxiety was starting to set in filling his head with useless speculations on what was about the happened despite him recognizing the tactic.  He already had a pretty good idea.  The interrogator may not be able to physically harm him but that only excluded a small portion of what he could do to Ignis.  

Seeing the two hypodermic needles on the little tray he brought over to set in the table before Ignis only confirm his suspicions.  

“I can't imagine you had an easy time on the trip over so we’ll start a little easy for today,”. Sylvester said as he slipped on a pair of latex gloves and took the bottle of alcohol from the tray in hand.  “Just for today mind you.  I do have a reputation to maintain.”

He dabbed some of the alcohol onto Ignis’ arm with some of the cotton balls he had also stacked on the tray.  He picked up the first needle and tapped the end to remove any air bubbles from it before setting it to Ignis’ now disinfected skin.  He pressed the plunger slowly down, injecting who knew what into his veins.  “After today however, I won't take our talks so lightly.”  He put the used sharp back on the tray and stripped off his gloves, “Enjoy this little bit of charity while you can.”

“I would hardly call anything you plan to do to me as charity.” There was a strange tingling warmth spreading through his body.  He was starting to shiver for no apparent reason ans his stomach twisted in it itself.  Despite this, he kept his tone of voice and face placid.  “If you were truly feeling charitable you wouldn't be doing this in the first place.”  Ignis raised an eyebrow at him, “However, this is after all your job.”

Sylvester shrugged as he took his seat in the other side of the table, “Fair enough.  I suppose I can't argue with that logic.”

Ignis gasped and screwed his eyes shut as a wave of pain shot through his body.  His breathing became labored as he twitched helplessly in his seat.  He gritted his teeth tightly, breathing harsh through them as his hands screwed into fists.  

And just as suddenly as it had started the pain stopped going back to that odd tingly warmth.  

Sylvester continued as if nothing had happened.  “Since we both apparently know what the outcome will eventually be, let’s skip the idle chatter then shall we?” he leaned back in his chair, twisting sideways in it enough to put his shoes up on the opposite corner as he got comfortable.  “What kind of skeletons do you keep in your closet anyway, Ignis?  Let’s start with that and move on from there.”

Ignis didn't get a chance to answer as the pain suddenly came back, crashing down over him like an unrelenting wave.

-Break-

“Ah Cherri,” Sylvester's voice broke through the haze his mind was in.  “Welcome, I've been expecting you.”

“I have to admit I was expecting worse when I was told to do a follow up.”  The voice was unfamiliar, a young lady by the sounds of it.  She sounded almost disappointed in his apparent health.  “You’ve barely even touched him.”

“Yes, unfortunately my orders are quite constraining when it comes to my typical methods. I've been forced to improvise.”  A tray was set on the table before him, laden with a variety of items judging by the sounds it made as it was put down.  A pair of hands gently lifted his head up from where it had been hanging with his chin on his chest.  

She looked to be about eighteen but her eyes told him she looked a lot younger than she actually was.  She had long blonde hair neatly plaited down her back to her belt.  Behind her glasses were a pair of soft brown eyes that vaguely reminded Ignis of someone even though he couldn't quite remember who or from where he knew them.

“What exactly have you done to him?” She asked still holding up his head and searching his no doubt unfocused eyes.  

Sylvester was bring his chair over for her to sit in.  “Gave him a small little cocktail as a welcoming gift.  Just something to keep him calm and let him rest for a bit.  Despite the brave face he was really out of sorts when he first arrived.”

After the first needle’s alternate burning and tingling sensation began to die down, Sylvester had injected the second needle into Ignis.  The drug had forced him to relax, body going limp as a gentle numbness stole over his senses and clouded his mind in a heavy fog.  Sylvester had cradled his cheek in one hand, supporting the entirety of the weight of his head.  “See?  Even if you don't wish to acknowledge it as such: charity.”  He tipped his head down so that Ignis’ chin rested on his chest.  “Rest now.  After Cherri’s visit and a meal, I’ll put you to bed for the evening and we will continue this in the morning.”

She hummed under her breath before sitting in the offered chair and tipped his head so that it was resting comfortable on his shoulder.  She slid on a pair of latex gloves she pulled from her jacket’s pocket.  The tray on the table held a bowl of soup, a small loaf of bread and two bottles of water.  Better than he had thought they would give him for a meal.  She scooched the chair closer to him and gently unzipped his coveralls to better access his stomach.

“This is starting to look infected,” she said after a few minutes of silence as her fingers lightly pressed at the skin around his surgery site.  “Not surprising really.  I’ll need to redo the stitches and he should be given a heavy course of antibiotics and additional fluids for the next few days.”

“That can be arranged easily enough,” Sylvester had agreed readily enough from where he was leaning his hip against the table behind Cherri’s chair.  “I’ll see to it that he eats and get him in bed while you gather what you need.”

Cherri didn’t answer him initially, going over Ignis’ vitals once more before responding as she removed her gloves and slid back her chair.  “Focus on the liquids more than the solids.  I doubt he’ll be able to keep them down in the first place and the last thing he needs right now is to vomit.”  She gestured to the cabinet behind, “I doubt that you have any anti-nausea medicine in there?”

Sylvester raised an eyebrow at that, “Not without several additional side effects that I doubt he is up for at the moment.”

“I thought as much,” she sighed as she started for the door.  “I’ll be back shortly.  Go slow,” she stressed as she punched a number combination in on the door to let her leave the room.  Ignis was a bit disappointed that she stood between him and the keypad so he couldn’t see the numbers but that thought fled his mind as soon as he thought it.  “He’s so out of it he will probably choke on his own vomit.”

“Rest assured, he is in capable hands,”  Sylvester assured her before the door clicked shut.  He took her vacated seat and took up the spoon from the tray.  

“It’s not often that I find myself in such a position,” he gently took Ingis’ chin in hand, supporting its weight as he lifted it.  He filled up a spoonful of broth, “So please do remember to thank me for this in the morning.”

Ingis was incapable of denying him as Sylvester carefully spooned the broth into his mouth.

-Break-

Ignis had one prior experience with hallucinations before now and it hadn't been pretty.

It had all started after overhearing a discussion with Lord Calvantio and Lady Sylvia after a court assembly.  There had just been an interesting report from one of their spies that the Empire was using hallucinogens in their interrogations.  An odd and unusual practice that didn't seem to make sense.  Hallucinogens warped the perception of the person using them it and was hard to imagine them being used for interrogation.  

“It's hard to imagine the Empire using a classic style of street drug to wrangle secrets from someone.” Lord Calvantio had been speculating to the Lady next to him.  “Isn’t the whole point of a hallucinogen to make you feel good?”

“I doubt the Empire is using a standard, run-of-the-mill hallucinogen that you can buy off the street,” Lady Sylvia said with pursed lips staring at the wall behind the other lord deep in thought.  “Still research should be done to see exactly what ends the Empire is hoping to accomplish with this.”

Even as he walked away, Ignis couldn't help but think about what a hallucinogenic trip was like and how it could be utilized in an interrogation.  Their little talk sat in the back of his mind for a good week and a half before he decided just to try it.  His curiosity has been piqued and it was going to drive him nuts until he's satisfied it.

Freddy was a drug dealer that operated several streets over from his apartment. He knew of the man and had run into him several times in the past.  More of just passing on the street but Ignis had seen him selling to more than a few people and was positive that he could get him something for his little experiment off him. Nothing more.  Just a one time thing.  He ignored how clammy his hands were as he tracked him down one evening after all his other duties and chores had been attended to.

“Yo’v never done anything and yer want to go on a trip?” Freddy didn't seem to like the idea of him buying but he also didn't turn down the money he was handing over for a packet of absorbent paper like squares with stylized cartoon characters on them.  “Jeez kid even I can tell yer going somewhere but whatever.  I'm going to make a suggestion to ya, keep someone ya trust close at hand.  Never know what kind of shit yer going to see.”

He didn't bother calling anyone initially assuming it was just an empty warning but he had been wrong.  Very wrong.  The loss of his ability think clearly and straight threw him into a full-blown panic attack for what felt like several hours.  He was numb and shaky.  He felt way too hot as if he had a high fever and his heart was pounding so hard he thought it would burst from his chest.  

His tripping mind had happily provided the visuals for that.  Done up like a badly done black and white cartoon.  His heart had taken the cigar out of his mouth, flicked the ash off it and winked at him.  “How yer doin’ sugah,” it had said in a horribly heavy, northern Cleinge accent.

It had taken Ignis a while to pick up his phone make a call for two reasons.  First off it was on the far side of the room which took forever to cross.  He was trembling badly, feeling exceedingly weak and uncoordinated.  He couldn't get his legs to cooperate so he finally settled on crawling over on his hands and knees and even then he had to stop and rest twice.  Once at the coffee table where he had left his phone,  Ignis realized that it had taken on the shape of a palm sized voretooth that kept snapping at his hand every time he reach to pick it up.  Even knowing his mind was addled by a drug it hadn't been easy to overcome his misconception.  Still he managed to get the phone to stop wiggling long enough for him to make a call and sound mostly normal before tossing it across the room.  He was positive it had just bit him in retaliation for making the call.

He was too out of it to realize when exactly Gladio arrived and even then he thought he had just been another hallucination for what felt like the first hour Gladio was there.  Gladio for his part had been fairly understanding considering he wasn't even sure what was even going on at the moment.  He managed to calmly explain to Ignis that the trash can didn't have teeth and wasn't going to attack either of them before bundling him off to the bedroom where he stripped him of his shirt and turn on a fan to help cool Ignis down.

Gladio stayed with him for the rest of his trip.  Talking him through the worst of his delusions, keeping a cold compress on his forehead and reassuring Ignis that everything was going to be okay.  The only slip up he made was suggesting to Ignis that he took him to the hospital.  

Ignis had freaked and attacked him.  Later he felt ashamed at his actions but then all he had wanted to do was hurt him.  Gladio was only startled by the initial hit but easily pinned him down after that.  Ignis started screaming then, begging Gladio not to take him or leave him, loud enough the Gladio gagged him until he managed to calm down enough for Gladio to promise not to go anywhere and that Ignis just needed to calm down.

He did, eventually, and the drug finally worked it's way out of his system.  Ignis now understood how easy it was to be used in an interrogation, especially if the trip went as south as it had with him.  Gladio for his part, after ensuring Ignis was lucid and feeling alright, exploded at him for using LSD in the first place.  He had found the packet of strips in the bathroom about an hour after he arrived and had waited before losing it so Ignis knew how much of an idiot he'd been.  In general he had browbeat Ignis down enough that even if he hadn't been planning on using again Ignis never would have touched it after that expletive filled lecture.

Sylvester though had none of those hang ups nor was worried that much about Ignis’ health outside of his current orders.  He was there to make him crack, so to speak, and tell him every secret he knew.  To him, Ignis was nothing more than a puzzle that needed to be constructed and then destructed to learn what every piece looked like and how they fit together.

“I have to admit, you're doing much better  than I would have thought considering the cocktail of drugs in your system,” Sylvester said as he rustled around in the cabinet behind Ignis.  “It's been almost sixteen hours since you came into this room and you haven't so much as said a thing.  Well outside of the typical incoherent screams and some disillusioned mumbles at any rate but nothing of interest to expand on.  You’re making this difficult but I won't deny that this will be a most satisfying challenge to remember when I'm through with you.

Honestly, Ignis was about as surprised as Sylvester was that he had managed to last this long.  Like with any court advisor, Ignis had attended several seminars and went through some training to get an idea of what to expect but every instance was different depending on who was doing the interrogation and what they preferred to use on their victims.  No two interrogations were the same but they did follow similar principles to get the victim to talk.  

That was what Ignis had learned about in his training.  He knew what was coming but not how Sylvester was going to go enact it.  Due to the restrictions, he knew that Sylvester was going to have to stick to more non lethal but no less potent means.  So far Ignis had been injected about eight times with various substances some of which caused pain while others were more like the bad LSD trip in his youth.

He had to remind himself for the eighth time in as many minutes that Prompto wasn’t screaming in pain in the next room over.

After being force fed his dinner the previous evening, Sylvester had given Ignis something else that had bowled him right over.  Ignis had fuzzy, disjointed images of Cherri leaning over him where he lay prone on the cot against the wall.  There was an IV already in his arm while Sylvester looked on from where he leaned back against the wall engaging Cherri in idly chit chat as she worked on his side.  He had woken the next morning, already back in the chair with a liquid diet on the table before him.  He was still to out of it due to the drugs in his system to resist Sylvester feeding him again.

After he had managed to eat everything on his plate, Sylvester had given him a bit of time to himself.  Ignis suspected that it was more to do with letting whatever was currently in his system to pass rather than his comfort.  After about thirty minutes of silence, where Sylvester entertained himself by silently reading a Cleinge newspaper that had the destruction of an Imperial stronghold as its cover story, he started to inject Ignis with several things he had pulled from the cabinet.  Sylvester was searching for a reaction to something -anything- and Ignis wasn’t about to give him a line to follow.

“Gladio!” His traitorous mind suddenly gave him a twisted image from the past.  One of the few, rare instances where Gladio had actually been knocked down in the middle of a fight.  Gladio had been down, paralyzed by a cactuar’s poison and the voretooth had been standing over him, ready to bite at his vulnerable throat.  Ignis had yelled his name and thrown his daggers without a thought, driving the creature back away from his friend even as he hurried to cover him.  Even restrained like he was, his hands flicked as if throwing his knives and his legs pulled at the restraints on his ankles as if to move forward.  They were innocent enough gestures except, for the first time since this all began, he had actually said someone’s name.

Sylvester would have been a fool not to notice.

“Gladio?” he asked as the sounds of him going through the cabinet came to a stop.  “Gladio… as in Gladiolus Amicitia?  The Prince’s Shield?”

Ignis borrowed several expletives he had heard Gladio say in the past but even they felt weak when it came to his anger at himself for such a careless slip up.

Sylvester was walking up behind him, he gait relaxed and unhurried, “How about we discuss Gladio for a bit Ignis?” He slunk into his chair giving Ignis a look akin to a cat that had just caught itself a fat mouse to indulge in.  He smirked, “I assume you too have been working together for a very long time.”

Ignis pulled together his tattered defenses and braced himself as best as he could.

-Break-

Ignis grudgingly admitted that Sylvester was very good at his job.

In the span of three hours and despite Ignis resisting him at every turn, Sylvester knew a great deal more about Ignis’ relationship with Gladio than Ignis had ever wanted anyone to know.  Of course most of his success was probably due to whatever else he had injected into him.  Ignis had lost count around three, his mind in such disarray that something even as simple as reciting his own name was a monumental task that took all his current mental capacity.

“I’m not much of a romantic but even I feel sorry for you,” Sylvester was saying as his fingered a bottle of something in his hand.  Ignis was fairly certain it was the drug that was making him so stupefied.  “To love someone and be unable to act on it because of your stations,” Sylvester shook his head in disbelief.  “Gladiolus Amicitia, Shield to the Prince, expected to produce two heirs for every one that Noctis has and you, having sworn off any form of romantic attachments on the off chance that they are used against you either in the political circuit or by the Empire.”  Ignis couldn’t make out his face very well but he was fairly sure that Sylvester had just rolled his eyes at him.  “This is practically a plot line from an Altissian bodice-ripper, complete with the political turmoil and war as a backdrop.”

“Gladio reads those occasionally,” Ignis mumbled but Sylvester seemed to ignore him.

“Part of me almost wishes to help you,” He looked at the bottle in his hand seeming to contemplate it.  “Pull a few strings to set everything up, use the right types of drugs to make you both forget and act on your baser needs for an evening…”  he trailed off with a sigh.  “However, that might be more cruel in the long run.  Give you a night of something you crave before you're shipped off to Zegnautus Keep?  I don't even think I could stoop so low.”

Ignis mind was going in too many directions at once even as the drugs demanded he answer what sounded like a rhetorical question.  One part was off on its own, fawning over everything that he liked about Gladio as a person, friend and potential lover.  Another was running in circles like a dog chasing its tail, yipping something about ‘I knew it!’ and ‘I have to escape while I’m still in Cleinge!’  A third part wanted to point out that there were several more reasons why he would never dream of making a pass on Gladio.  Such as Gladio wasn’t interested in men, Ignis himself wouldn’t dare jeopardize their current friendship and that Gladio was way out of his league to begin with.  Then that was annoying fourth part that was all for Sylvester’s assistance in such a manner and was going into rather vivid and explicit detail of what a night such as that would entail.

Ignis had a feeling that if he remembered even half of this later he would surely die from the embarrassment.  

Sylvester was watching him silently as he tried to form as semi coherent sentence.  “I see the drugs are starting to overcome you.”  He set down the bottle he had been fidgeting with as he stood up.  “Go on and rest while you can, Cherri will be here shortly and it’ll be time for you to sleep anyways.”

“Leave Gladio alone,” he managed to get out somewhat legible even as his chin hit his chest, his bindings the only thing holding him in his chair anymore.

He barely felt the hand that ran through his hair.  “You wish,” Sylvester replied smugly.

-Break-

“Ah Cherri, do come in.”

Ignis woke groggily, his mind even more scattered and fuzzy as it had been before.  Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out Sylvester holding the door open for the nurse, bowing silently and sweeping his hand to gesture inside.  Even though the details were lost and blurred beyond recognition, Ignis could tell there was something off about the way Cherri held herself.  She seemed to be moving more stiffly than previously and as she set the tray down on the table next to him, Ignis could tell she was shaking slightly.

“Are you alright Cherri?”  Sylvester seemed to be picking up on her nervousness as well.  The fact that she had yet to say anything to him also pointed towards some sort of unrest.  “You look scared,”  Ignis could suddenly feel the anger rolling off him, “Don’t tell me...Its Milo again isn’t it?”  He sniffed in disdain before continuing, “I’ve told him before to leave you alone… perhaps I should make myself a bit more clear on the matter.”

Before Cherri could say anything, there was a loud bang from somewhere deep with the fortress and the room was plunged into darkness.

Almost immediately, a siren started going off and emergency lighting came up, bathing the room in deep red.  “ Containment breach on level AA23, ” A mechanized voice came over the loudspeaker system, echoing slightly in the silence of the room.  “ Threat level: Code White.  Power generation compromised.  Containment systems offline.  Security personnel report to your supervisor immediately. ”

“Shit,” Sylvester said, his hand dipping into his jacket and pulling out a rather mean looking handgun.  He cocked it and held it up, “Cherri, stay here and keep an eye on him.  I’ll check with the security office up the hall and be right back.”

“Like hell you will.”

Ignis blinked in confusion at the familiar voice, one that was definitely not Cherri’s.

Sylvester realized it too but a fraction of a second to slow as the fake Cherri was already moving.  She grabbed the wrist holding his gun and twisted it painfully forcing his entire arm to move away from the pain as a natural reaction.  It rotated his elbow up towards her and she slammed the palm of her other hand into it with seemingly all the force she could muster.  

The joint never stood a chance.  

Sylvester screamed in agony as his elbow was shattered.  His assailant didn’t relent and kept twisting the injured arm more.  He felt to his knees which is what she apparently wanted.  The knee to his jaw made something in his skull crack even before the back of his head collided with the table.  She finally let go of him as he slumped to the ground in an unconscious -quite possibly dead- heap.

“Ignis?” He looked away from the crumpled floor on the form and up towards her right as she threw herself at him.  He jerked in concern as she wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his neck.  “By the Astrals, Ignis…” she breathed as she held him in a tight but gentle hug.  He could help but notice the scent of strawberries when she was this close to him.  A scent he knew came from her shampoo that helped to complement the peaches and cream body wash she favored.  There was more than once he had been asked to grab some for her in the supermarket as a favor for her brother.

“Iris?” he asked in confusion, his voice thick and barely audible.  The vague familiarity that Cherri’s appearance reminded him of all coming to a head as he realized who was hugging him.  “Iris?  How...?”

Iris pulled back, she had lost the fake glasses in the scuffle with Sylvester and her eyes seemed overly shiny.  She smiled bright at him as she ran a hand over her head, knocking off the wig and confirming without a doubt that his senses and the drugs weren’t playing a trick on him.

“Don’t worry Ignis,” her voice trembled like she was fighting back tears.  “Just relax,” She brought her fists up and brought them down slightly in a familiar pose he had seen her do more than once meaning she was ready and raring to go.  Her voice hardened with resolve, “I swear on my name as an Amicitia I will get you out of here.”

Ignis could only blink at her in disbelief, still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Iris was actually with him.

He sent up a quick prayer to anyone who might have been listening that Noctis wasn't here as well.

Chapter Text

Ignis’ mind was so scattered that he was still trying to grasp the fact that he wasn’t alone any longer.  He completely lost track of what Iris was doing after she picked up the wig and hurriedly put it back on.  It was so bad that he didn't even realize that she unlatched his restraints until he was slumping forward out of his chair.  She caught him somewhat but he still ended up on the floor on his knees, half against the table and half in her arms.  

“Oof,” Iris said as she started to haul him up, grunting from the strain since he was still realizing he had legs and out weight her by at least eighty five pounds.  “Astrals Iggy.  I didn't realize how heavy you were!”

“You can't carry me,” Ignis said weakly even as Iris hauled him up and managed to get his arm over her shoulders, bracing a good portion of his weight against herself.

“Then it’s a good thing I am not going to try.”  She slid an arm around his waist and pulled him closer to make the strain somewhat easier on her.  “Come on, Ignis.  I know it’s a lot to ask but I need you to walk.”  Iris took a step forward and Ignis stumbled next to her, uncoordinatedly as he took a step.  Besides being mentally muddled from the drugs and weak from his imprisonment, Ignis was bent nearly double to be able to lean on Iris’ offered support.  None of that made it easy to obey Iris’ command.

“That’s it Ignis.  You’re doing great,” Iris said as she gamely led him on.  She wobbled hard with every stumbling step he took.  He did what he could not to put too much wait on her slim shoulders but Ignis was fairly certain he failed at that particular endeavor.  “Just worry about putting one foot in front of the other.  I'll take care of the rest.”

What the rest entailed was obviously not something she was willing to go into detail about.  She punched in the code to let them out into the hall but didn't bother to check the area around them before half dragging him out of the room he had been imprisoned in.  Ignis tried to pull her back which only managed to throw both of them off balance and they staggered out into the hallway.  Again he tried to pull her back but Iris seemed to have borrowed her brother’s strength somehow and forced him to stay with her and not crumple into the floor or go head first into the opposite wall.

“It's alright Ignis.  Trust me.  Everything going to be okay, I just need you to keep walking.  Follow my lead,” Iris coaxed him as they started down the hall.

“Iris, cameras,” he said as she pulled him along.  He felt like he was little more than a over sized teddy bear being dragged around by a toddler half his size.

“Most of the base’s electronics are fried.” Iris assured him adjusting the grip she had on his wrist.  “They're not working.”

“How?” He tripped over his own floppy feet suddenly and nearly sent the two of them careening into the wall for a second time.

“Hn!” Iris prevented them from going head first into the wall but only just.  Ignis was worried if she kept up the manhandling that she would inadvertently hurt herself.  “Something Cid and Cindy made.  I'm not sure how it works but I know that it does.  He tested it on a small scale for Cor at Hammerhead.”

“The guards?” They were approaching the end of the hall where Ignis barely remembered there was a guard station from when he had first arrived.  Anyone who came down this dead end hallway had to walk past them.

“Dealt with them before I came in to get you.”

It was hard for him to remember anything in general at the moment but even with his full facilities it was hard to think of Iris as such a proficient and dangerous fighter for her age.  In the event that Gladio should ever be killed or unable to perform his duties, it was Iris’ role to step in and take over defending Noct.  Despite her younger age she had the same skill set as Gladio even though her fighting style relied more on speed and pressure points to drop an opponent then strength and skill.  Still, regardless of how in depth her training in Amicitia household had been, there was no way she’d been able to get into Vatticor on her own.

“Who’s here with you?”  They had just walked past the guard station.  Two Imperial guardsmen were laying in boneless piles behind the desk.  They only had to get to the end of the corridor they were now in and around the corner about twenty feet to get to the elevator.  From there it was a short ride down to the hanger with the required key card that Ignis had no doubt that Iris had managed to obtain.  Despite its centralized location and the lack of cover they would get down there, that seemed to be where Iris was taking him as she steered him in that direction.

“No one.  I'm technically here by myself,” her voice was strained more than it had been before.  Ignis belatedly realized that he had been leaning more heavily on her as they had gone.  

“My apologies,” he mumbled, trying and failing to ease her burden.

“Don't worry about it.”  She assured him even as she kept tugging him along.  “I knew this was going to be the hardest part.”  She took a deep breath and said seemingly more to herself than him, “We just need to get to the elevator.”

It wasn't until they were rounding the corner that what Iris said caught up to him.  If she was technically here alone than how had she entered the base and how had she known where to get him?  Insomnia didn't have many spies within the Imperial forces and even less now after the city’s fall.  He knew for a fact that they didn't have any spies within Vatticor but someone had to be helping Iris.  “Iris… who’s helping us?”

“I told you, I'm here alone,” they stumbled together up to the controls to the elevator where Iris propped him up against the wall before hitting the call button for the carriage.

“There's a difference between having another member of the Crownsguard with you and receiving aid from someone, Iris.”  Ignis brought a hand up to his head trying to will the fuzziness out of his vision.  “Now who is helping us?”

Before Iris got a chance to answer the door opened and the carriage was not empty.

Ignis didn’t even managed to turn his head to see who it was, Iris was leaping into action reacting to the startled gasp that came from the elevator as the doors opened.  She slammed her knee into their lower stomach causing the to double over hard.  Being bent down like that meant it was easy for Iris to follow up with a double fisted strike to the center of their back.  The person coughed hard even as Iris dropped her weight, grabbed two fistfuls of his shirt and slammed her heel into his chest as she rolled him over herself.  It was a textbook throw.  One with enough power to launch the poor Imperial out into the corridor and head first into the wall across from the elevator.

“Come on!”  Iris was already up having rolled with the throw to be back up on her feet.  She grabbed Ignis and pulled him into the elevator where he partially collapsed on the floor feeling more like a liquid than an actual human anymore.  Iris let him go, only making sure that he didn’t slam his head on anything on the way down before turning to the elevator control panel.  She slid a card key through the appropriate slot and hit the button that would take them to the hanger’s level before repeatedly pushing the door closed button.  “Come on, Come on…” she said over and over again as the door slowly slid shut as commanded.

Ignis got a brief but good look at Ardyn, body propped upside down against the wall on his shoulders, looking dazed at the sudden assault to his person.

“Did I… Did I just beat down the Chancellor of Niflheim?” Iris was still staring at the closed doors as the elevator slowly started to descend.

“... Yes…” Ignis had a good idea of why Ardyn was getting off on that particular floor and he shivered at the imaginary bullet he managed to dodged.  The final words Ardyn had said to him at Fort Farmouth were still fresh in his mind.  

“... I should have kicked him in the balls…” Iris grumped angrily, eyes narrowing at the doors as if they were Ardyn themselves. 

The phone call… Ignis wondered how many people knew of that.  Surely Gladio and Noctis knew the staged happenings but he wondered what they had told the others.  Judging by Iris’ response, it had been enough for her to get the wrong impression.

“Iris… he didn’t…” Ignis sighed.  He wasn't in any condition to be talking about this.  He rubbed at his head with a shaky hand.  The drugs were starting to get to him, as he sat there on the floor of the elevator he realized he really just wanted to lay down and close his eyes.  “Iris… I doubt I’ll be awake much longer…”

“It’s alright,” she moved away from the doors and knelt next to him.  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a loose hug, “Lean on me.  Wedge is going to be meeting us in the hanger.”

“Wedge?”  Had to be an Imperial.  Whether he was a sympathizer or traitor or -most unlikely- a spy remained to be seen.  Despite himself he found himself leaning against Iris, struggling to keep his eyes open.

“He’s helping,” he heard the grimace in her voice which did nothing to help soothe him.  “Look, it’s… it's complicated but Noctis worked it all out.  Don’t worry.  I’ll be with you every step of the way, I won’t let anything happen to you again.  Promise.”

Her voice was filled with conviction but that was the only comfort he had as his eyes rolled back in his head.  

-Break-

Ignis woke to the heavy droning that he was coming to associate with that of an Imperial drop ship.  Considered where he had passed out and his condition at the time, this was not a comforting thing to be hearing.  He moaned weakly, trying to move his arms.

A small hand took one of his.  “It’s alright Ignis.  I’m still here.”

Iris’ voice was a half shout to be heard over the drop ship’s engine but that and the gentle touch quieted him.  Iris was still here.  Whoever this Wedge was, they must be in the process of smuggling them out on a dropship.  Of course the IV that was in his arm was a little concerning if they were being smuggled they should be in a small confined spa-

“He’s finally awake?”

Oh bloody hell…. That voice belonged to Aranea Highwind.

“I think so-”

“Then we’re dumping you off in Meldacio.”

“No!”  Iris’ hand left his and there was a clatter as she moved.  She had probably knocked something over as she got to her feet.  “I’m not leaving him alone with Nifs again!”

“That is not part of the deal.”

It was that dark tone that caused Ignis to force himself to wake up faster.  He wasn’t sure what ‘deal’ had been made but their few encounters with the mercenary was enough to know she was not one to be trifled with.  If Iris wasn’t careful she was going to be in over her head very fast.

“I won’t leave him alone!  I promised to protect him!”

“...Iris…” Ignis licked his chapped lips.  His fluttering eyes finally opening to grant him a blurry view of the drop ship’s ceiling.  He was towards the back of the hanger off to one side of the large space.  He blinked, trying to bring the room into better focus.  By the feel of it he was on a stretcher, a thin blanket covering most of his body except for his arms, shoulders and head.  There were a pair of straps over his thighs and chest holding him down to the bunk.  It was most likely locked in place on the floor, a medical transport work around that the ship had in the event it was needed.   “Iris,” he tried again, his voice a bit stronger but still fairly weak.

This time it was enough for her to hear him.  A small hand curled around one of his.  “It’s alright Ignis.  I’m right here.”

“Aranea,” it took more effort than he would ever willingly admit to roll his head on the small pillow it was on to face the Captain.  “A moment please,” It was hard to make out her facial expression but it was easy to tell by the hip thrown out to one side and the hands resting on her waist that she was not in the least bit pleased with Iris’ refusal.  “I would like to,” he took a moment to gather his breath.  “... Hear the details of the contract's terms.”

Her body language shifted slightly, standing up straight as she looked over at him.  “I can do you one better cutie.  I can let you read the contract your Prince and I signed as long as you can stay awake for it.”  There was more men and cargo in the hold but it looked like none of them were looking in their direction. He didn't doubt it would take a single word from Aranea to pay a lot of attention to them and not in a good way. “If you can’t, I’m still dropping her off.”

“Like hell you will!” Iris snapped, positively bristling at the mere suggestion.  “I’m staying with him!”

Ignis lightly tugged on the hand still holding his.  “Iris, please, stop escalating the situation.”

“But-” she finally looked away from Aranea and down to him.  It was easy to see how worried she was but whether it was for him or about their current situation Ignis couldn't tell.

“I know you made a promise but if there was a contract written and signed by two parties, breaching it could result in both our deaths.” He moved his thumb in small circles, rubbing it into the back of her hand.  “Give me moment to review what was agreed on and we’ll go from there.”

Iris gave a small nod but refused to leave his side as Aranea stepped up next to him and pulled a folded piece of paper from one of the small pockets she had built into her belt.  “Here,” she handed it over to him.  “Do you need glasses to read?”

“No,” the document was handwritten and looked more like an interoffice memo or a personal letter than an official contract.  The handwriting was small but tidy and his near sightedness didn't affect his ability to read.  Ignis scanned over the document to get the gist of it before taking time to read it word for word and actually analyze the contents.

He was going to have to make it a point to go over contractual agreements with Noctis as soon as possible.

The reasons behind the contract were fairly straightforward.  Noctis had hired Aranea for a sizeable fee - and where they were planning on getting over a million gil was beyond him- and locating a person of interest  for her to smuggle in a member of the Crownsguard into Vatticor and assist with his retrieval.  Aranea was tasked along with their transportation and to place a bomb designed to disrupt electrical devices.   She would then get both Ignis and his rescuer out of there during the distraction the bomb would cause.

There were several obvious loopholes that Aranea had mercilessly exploited thanks to the lack of definitive orders and details.  Firstly, Noctis desire to get him back alive and ‘with no further harm done to him’ was the only solid condition in the entire document, word for word.  There was only a handful of places that Ignis could think of where Noctis could get his hands on such a large fee and none of those areas were even remotely safe.  Especially with someone so high sought by the Empire.

Secondly, Aranea had her pick of the Crownsguard.  Noct must've thought she was going to ask for Cor or Gladio and she had chosen Iris instead.  While it was obvious to him at least why she had picked the younger Amicitia, Ignis could only imagine what Gladio's response had been when Aranea requested Iris.  Iris had been sworn into the Crownsguard into an honorary position like her brother had been before he had completed his training as Shield.  The eventual Lady Amicitia, Secundo Surgere still had several years of survival, combat and medical training to go before she would receive that permanent title as Gladio's replacement in the event of something happening to him in line of duty.  

The third clause Aranea was using to her advantage was the one calling out now.  Until she was paid and this Marcus Loundant was turned over to her, Aranea had all the rights to hold Ignis prisoner but not Iris.  If Iris refused to leave or if Aranea held her as a prisoner alongside him, the contract was broken.  

With that amount of money on the table it was no wonder Aranea was trying to boot Iris off the ship.  The fact that Aranea hadn't ordered her killed -the contract never stated what was to happened the the requested Crownsguard assistant- showed that the mercenary had some compassion or perhaps some respect for the girl.  In the very least she didn't want to kill Iris and leaving her near Meldacio meant that she wouldn't have to fear deamons or monsters in the wilds alone if she had been just tossed out anywhere on the continent.

Ignis lowered the contract and shot Aranea a withering look.  “Noctis honestly agreed to such an exorbitant price without contesting it?”

“Hey, give him some credit,” Aranea folded her arms with an obvious smile.  “He managed to talk me down by quite a bit.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow at that.  He was mildly curious as to what the original price had been.  “Which is how you managed to get Lady Iris as your appointed Crownsguard?”

Aranea shrugged with one shoulder  causally.  “Knew she and Cherri looked enough alike for her to get around the base without drawing any attention.” She shifted her stance again, “Didn't have much of a choice so I had to con the Prince into allowing it.”  She favored him a sly smile, “Even if I had explained my reasoning, I doubt if any of them would just let her come with me on her own.”

Since the Fall, the remaining ranks had drawn even more closely together.  Ignis doubted any of the surviving Crownsguard or Glaives would have approved of Iris boarding a dropship commanded by an Imperial Commander all on her own.  “Doubtful,” he had to agree with her.  “But their responses to the reveal could not have been a quiet affair either.”

Aranea smiled brightly, “I didn't know Crownsguards could have such an extensive vocabulary.  And so prone to violence.”  The look she now sported was more on the seductive side as she practically purred, “The Shield broke a solid oaken table in half with just a snap kick.  I didn't know he was that strong.”

Ignis ignore the stab of jealousy that shot through him.  He was more use to it than he cared to think.  “I should thank you in advance then.  The wording of this contract is quite bleak when it comes to Iris’ current position.”

“What?”  Iris had been quietly glaring at Aranea while he read the contract and discussed the various parts with her.  Ignis doubted that Iris had even bothered trying to read over the contract herself.

“What can I say,” Aranea shrugged one shoulder again.  “She's got guts.  I like her.”

“Indeed,” Ignis couldn't help the small smirk that tilted up the corners of his mouth.  He had a feeling that Aranea  liked Iris a lot more than she was letting on.  “Head for Meldacio if you'd be so kind Aranea.  Iris will be getting off there as you commanded.”

“What!? No!  Ignis!”  Iris turned to him as she tried to plead with him.  “I can't leave you like this!  I promised Noct I would protect you!”

“And you have done a wonderful job at that,” he praised Iris, trying to soothe her distress again by rubbing his thumb in a circle on the back of her hand.  “But you can not stay with me any longer without violating the contract and putting both of us at risk.”

“Will you be getting off with me,” she asked as her eyes roved over the compartment really quick.  Most likely taking stock of who she would have to go through to get him out of here.  

“No, only you will be getting off.” He said firmly, making sure to kill any thoughts she might have at recusing him.  Trying to take on a dropship of deamon hunters by herself was a good way for her to be killed senselessly.  “I will remain her as Aranea's prisoner until Noctis has completed his appointed tasks per the contract’s guidelines.”

“But-”

“The contract is very specific in regards to my care.  Aranea won't do anything to harm me.”  He couldn't help but glance at Aranea to confirm  this.  She gave him a quick nod that he interpreted as a yes.  “You on the other hand have no clause for you care or well being in the contract and the longer you remind the higher the risk you are putting yourself in.  It's better for you leave now before something does happen.”

Iris still looked like she was going to argue so Ignis tacked on.  “Besides, I need someone trustworthy to ensure that everyone knows I am quite alright.  Just rather tired.”

She sniffled, nodding her head once before settling it carefully into his shoulder.  “Please head for Meldacio, Aranea,” he said again shifting an arm up to hold her as tightly as he could.

She smirked and waggled a finger at him.  “Don't tell me what to do on my ship.”  Despite that, she turned and walked away, hollering up at the open cockpit above them on the forward end of the ship.  “Biggs!  Bring her around!  The clearing on the east side of Meldacio!”

“Aye Lady A!”

The dropship pitched to one side, rolling up in its side as it banked hard to the left.  Iris shifted her weight, grabbing the edge of his stretcher to remain in place during the maneuver.  The straps held Ignis in place, comfortably all things considering.

“I did promise him,” she muttered sulkily into his shoulder.  Her voice was thick with unshed tears she had to be fighting back.

“And you held up that promise well.”  He pressed a kiss to the top of her head, just like he had seen Gladio do in the past when he was comforting her.  “But be sure to tell Noctis that he is never to sign something such as this again without my expressed approval.”

She choked out a harsh laugh.  “I'll tell him.  I promise.”

-Break-

Iris stayed half cuddled into his side until she had no choice.

“Come on kid,” Arenae said in an uncharacteristically soft tone as the dropship hovered in place.  It had descended enough that Ignis could see the backwash throwing back the nearby tree branches out the small excuse that the ship had for windows.  “It’s time for you to go.”

She pressed a little harder into Ignis’ shoulder and he squeezed the arm he had managed to keep around her this entire time.  “Go on Iris.  Don’t worry about me,” he reassurance seemed to fall on deaf ears even as she pulled away from him reluctantly.  “I will be quite alright.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she wasn’t on the brink of tears any more but she was still clearly upset with being forced to leave.  “Everyone is so worried about you.”

“Please assure them that I am fine, Iris,” giving her a warm smile.  “Take care of yourself.”

She nodded, unable to say anything.  Aranea who was standing nearby watching the proceedings let out a sigh, clearly about to say something but Iris suddenly turned and walked away.  Ignis caught the smirk on the captain’s face as she turned to escort her to the main doors.  With a quick flick of her wrist, the main doors were opened, the mechanical grind rattling everything in the drop ship, including his stretcher which did nothing for his headache.

The two ladies paused at the door as they waited for it to open.  Aranea said something that startled Iris but the words were muffled by distance and muddled by the door mechanisms for Ignis to clearly make out.  The doors open with a loud metal bang and the grinding noise stopped.  Iris took one step forward before turning enough to look back at Ignis one more time.  He smiled at her and made a small shooing motion with his hand.  

She smiled back and gave him a small wave before turning and half running down the lower door to jump down onto the ground again.  

“Biggs!  Take us up!” Aranea said as she turned away from the open doors, making the same gesture with her hand that caused them gears to whine again as the doors closed.  Ignis sighed and let his head fall back onto the pillow, gritting his teeth as his headache throbbed even more painfully as the sound returned.

“How are you managing cutie?”  Ignis barely cracked an eye open at her in acknowledgement.   “And don’t lie just to make me feel better like you did with the kid.”

Ignis couldn’t help but smile at that.  “Rather poorly,” he admitted.  Between the constant dull burn in his side, his overall fatigued and the throbbing in his head, Ignis was very close to requesting a sedative to sleep off the remainders of his aches and pains.  

“I bet,” there was a shift of fabric and a glove hand gentle touched his forehead.  “I was told you were pretty bad off but it wasn't until you were hauled aboard that I realized how bad off you really were.”  There was a short pause before she stood back up and removed her hand from his brow, “At least your fever is down.”

“A good sign for sure,” he agreed tiredly.  He cracked open an eye to look at her as she settled a hip on the edge of his bedding.  “May I be of some other service?”

“I’m really not good at this,” she said after a moment of staring straight at the floor as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.  “So I'm just going to cut right to the chase and worry about upsetting you later.”  She looked at him then, eyes flashing angrily, “Rumor has it that Ardyn raped you.  Is that true?”

That... was a bit unexpected and how she had come by that information washighly  suspect.  Ignis gave her a stern look as he spoke though he doubted it held it’s usual venom just from how tired he was, “No, he waited until I was partially lucid coming out from anesthesia for my appendectomy and then bothered me to make it appear as though he had.  Presumably to upset Noctis and the rest of the Crownsgaurd for his own twisted pleasure.”

She smirked, “That’s an understatement.  They were all up in arms about it especially The Shield.”  She looked away again, staring at the opposite side of the ship.  “Between that and me picking his sister for the operation, I’m surprised that all he broke was a table.”

The corner of his lip twitched up at the thought of Gladio’s excessive reaction even as his as concerned warmed him a bit.  “I doubt he was terribly thrilled with anything that has happened lately.”  Aranea glance at him out of the side of her eye before rolling them in exasperation.  That was odd… as was her previous question.  “May I know why you were so concerned about my virtue?”

She snorted, “I maybe a mercenary but it’s just wrong to take advantage of someone like that.”  Aranea stood then, stretching out her shoulders before refolding her arms.  “I don’t have as much influence as he does but I can definitely give Ardyn a bureaucratic hard time if it came down to it.”

“You were willing to oppose Ardyn on the political stage if he had harmed me?”  It seemed almost ludicrous that Aranea would do such a thing for him especially with the probable repercussions in it for her and the lack of funding.

“We all have our morals,” was all she said as she stood up, glancing down at him over one shoulder.  “Go ahead and rest.  It’ll be smooth sailing to the safe house wher-”

“Lady A,”  Biggs voice echoed from the cockpit above them.  “We got a problem.  Loqi is demanding to talk to you.”

“Shit,” she growled as she whirled and stalking away.  Ignis forced himself up enough to watch her jump up and settle behind her man’s chair.  Not liking the stiffness in her back as she listened to the headset she held to her ear, Ignis reached up and started disengaging the strap holding his shoulders down.

“Easy there,” one of Aranea’s men had come up behind him and caught his hand preventing him from opening the strap’s clasp.  “Just relax for now.”

While he did have the strength to fight if possible, Ignis really didn't have it in him to try.  There would be no gains other than sitting up.  He still watched Aranea, doing what he could to pick up how the conversation was going in her body language.  From the subtle shifts and the clenched hand on the back of -who he assumed was- Biggs’ seat, it wasn't going good.

“I don't think any of us will be able to rest for much longer,” Ignis said absent mindedly to the man still standing next to him.  “The conversation doesn't seem to be going in our favor.”  Arenae was practically hunched over now, her voice raising enough to be heard but the sound of the dropship’s engine made whatever she was saying to indistinguishable to really understand.

“Point,” the imperial next to him mumbled, bending down to reach for something stored under his stretcher.  “You're almost through another bag of fluids so let's pull that needle.”

As the unnamed imperial went through the motions necessary to remove the IV needle from his inner elbow, Ignis watched Aranea.  She was becoming increasingly agitated, going so far as to punch the back of the empty copilot's seat at one point.  Despite all her bristling she finally seemed to acquiesce to the demands of whoever was on the other end of the line.  She half threw the headset down on the floor of the cockpit.

“Break down, double time,” she yelled across the hangar bay.  There was a brief pause as everyone seemed to realize what the orders meant and as one began to scurry around the room.  They began rearrange the entire hold, moving boxes from one side to the other, grabbing smaller things and tucking then into small crevices between the crates.  One man was walking around spraying something in the air, mindful to linger a bit longer when any of the small things had been tucked in spaces between crates.

Ignis would have watched the spectacle a bit longer was he not suddenly lifted up with an arm behind his shoulders.  “Sit here,” the imperial who had removed and bandaged the site where the IV had been.  He grabbed Ignis’ stolen boots from the floor and quickly slipped them on.  He loathed the fact he was still wearing such dirty clothes even if the coveralls and boots had served him well so far.  Ignis was a bit curious who put the socks on him.  He didn't remember them and they were a clean white unlike the rest of his unclean clothing.  

“Bad news cutie,” Aranea had jumped down from the cockpit and marched with determination right over to him with an angry look on her face.  “We're going to have to ditch you.  Loqi is demanding a full inspection of the ship.  There's no place he won't look and if he finds you, we’re all dead.”

“Ardyn put him up to it?” Ignis guessed as he was pulled to his feet by the unnamed  imperial that had been helping him for the past few minutes.  He wobbled slightly as he rose to his feet and took several shake steps away from the stretcher as two other crewmen stepped up to it.  Working quickly in tandem they started to stow it away again in record time.  

“Don't know and don't really care at this point,” She said as she walked away again heading to the main doors.  “He only said something about locating stolen equipment.  I gave him hell for even suggesting one of my men was a thief which bought us some time to swing out over the River Wanneth.  It's deep enough that you should be able to jump in without getting hurt.”

“You want me to jump out of a drop ship into a river at this altitude?” Ignis asked as the imperial pulled him along so that they were following Arenae.

“It's either that or I’ll throw you out,” she said without humor.  “You can tell your Prince that I want at least half for getting you out.” She gave the flip from her hand that was the command to open the main doors and the mechanism growled as it started to move.  

“He in the dreadnought slightly behind us on our right flank,” she yelled over the doors noise as it opened.  It was so much louder this close up and he gritted his teeth behind tight lips.   “So he won't be able to see you jump as we bank back around.  When you step off the lower door, cross your ankles, hold yourself perpendicular to the river, cross your arms over your chest and pinch your nose close with the arm pinned down and hold your breath.”  She demonstrated quickly before stepping closer to him.

“Here,” she reached past him and grabbed the side arm off the man who still has an arm around him.  “Take this, it's a standard issue.  I know you prefer daggers but it'll do in a pinch.”  The gun was small enough that it mostly fit in the cargo pocket on his left thigh.  Just the butt of the handle protruded from it and Aranea shoved it in and lashed it in place with the pocket’s tie down.

“You also need to keep taking these antibiotics,” the chest pockets on his coveralls had a zipper closures.  Without asking the imperial unzipped one and dropped in a bottle of pills.  “Two every four hours.  You don't need to take any for another two.”

“And here,” Arenae unzipped the opposite pocket and dropped in some gil.  “You can take that from my payment.”

“Drop point thirty two seconds and closing!” Came a shout from the cockpit.

“Haul ass incase Loqi decides to sweep the area,” Aranea grabbed the arm opposite her man was still holding and they forcefully walked him down the lower door despite his slight reservation at jumping out of a dropship still at speed.  They were fairly lower but Ignis wouldn't exactly say they were skimming the treetops.  “Jump like I showed you and you'll be fine.  I'll get word to your friends what happened as soon as I ditch Loqi.”

The ship began to till to one side as it started to turn around to dock on the dreadnought.  Ignis doubted he would have been able to remain standing if the two of them weren't holding him up.  “Don't head for Meldacio.  Loqi may back track along our trajectory.  I'll tell your friends that you're heading for Old Lestallum.” Aranea half yelled to be heard over the wind.

The idea of anyone knowing where he was heading who also happened to from or working for Niflheim did not sit well with him at the moment, regardless if their loyalties had been bought or not.  “Tell them to meet me at Prompto's hot dog stand!” He told her.  He looked down at the water beneath them, “He'll know what it means!”

If she had had more time, Ignis had no doubt that she would have questioned him on that comment judging by the look on her face.  As it was the dropship banked a bit harder and he could tell his jump was soon.  “Remember to jump like I showed you,” Aranea told him again.

“Drop charge in three!  Two!  One!”

His two holders let go and Ignis jumped.