Ignis knew Gladio had a disliking towards Nyxia, but as he was the most able of them to import her out of the massive cathedral, it had to be done. He couldn't understand why he was so bitter; he was usually so charismatic to most, but Ignis never bothered to ask. He expected Gladiolus would have some sort of half-baked excuse that would prevent the truth from coming out, and Ignis hated not knowing the truth.

"I don't mean to burden you. I hope you understand," he prodded delicately at the subject, paying little mind as Prompto used his pistol to draw out a grappling hook that would take them back to the higher floor.

"It's not a burden," Gladio snapped back - almost too quickly, Ignis observed. "I just didn't want to get daemon blood all over the leather."

Ignis dismissed the subject. When the shield was up, it was strong (though to be fair, the shield was never truly lowered). There was nothing more to discuss, and so they made their way through the labyrinth that was the forgotten sanctuary. Prompto resumed his oohs and ahs at the gothic architecture, even if a lot of it was dilapidated and blanketed in dust.

There were far too many stairs for his liking, but his inner griping was halted as he saw a room on his left that he was surprised he hadn't spotted on the way down. Was that a bookshelf he spotted through the archway? "If you don't mind, I think I'd like to take a small detour." Ignis wandered from the group, though the other two merely stopped to see what had caught his attention. A lot of the wooden shelves were old and broken. It was a shame to see the books left to this sad home, but there was no way he could take them all with him. He browsed one particular title - one that described a very interesting history about these halls, and how the religious affiliations that once resided here had been either killed or chased out during The Starscourge.

It was tragic to realize that in that horrific time, not even a holy place was safe from daemons.

Soon, they were back at the entrance, and Ignis was nearly blinded by the brightness of the morning sun. He noticed that during the entire journey to the surface, Rubia had been occasionally chiming in with a cry to Gladio's lethargic cargo. Not even Prompto could distract her from her obvious concern.

From a distance, he could hear water trickling through rocks. It was coming from the back side of the old, abandoned temple. "There's a river around the back. We might want to get her washed off before we continue."

Then, there was a tiny gasp coming from Gladio's direction. Was that Nyxia?

"About damn time," Gladio's rough voice groused as he walked around the side of the building. Meanwhile, Prompto's camera was snapping away; he was obviously taking advantage of the sunlight being provided. Ignis followed Gladio around the side of the dilapidated building, primarily to ensure that he didn't recklessly toss her to the ground the moment she stirred. Meanwhile, he kept an eye on Prompto, making sure he didn't wander off too far. Sometimes, he tended to be a tad too eager about his hobby that he meandered into trouble.

Ignis realized he was starting to sound like a babysitter.

Someone had to keep the others in check.

"How do you know this!?" Gladio's demanding voice stirred Ignis's attention back to him. Nyxia was lying beside the river rocks, sharing a heated conversation with the brawny man. Again.

"The Reaper told me," Nyxia mumbled just loudly enough for Ignis to catch on. He was hurrying to them now before things escalated.

"It's lying, Nyxia. It's all shit." Gladio was standing up now, despite that the girl was clearly uncomfortable as she sat there on the ground.

"Enough!" Ignis shouted over him. He couldn't comprehend how one of the closest friends he had (he could safely call Gladio a brother to him, just about) could be so callous to a lady. This wasn't like him. "Nyxia, what did the daemon tell you?"

"Iris... She's in trouble," Nyxia replied, her voice shaking. Whatever happened in that chamber down below, it must have caused some extreme distress. "Gladio, you know something isn't right. Please, believe me." Gladio's only response was an angry growl, but he got up and stormed off. As he did, Ignis could hear him punching buttons on his phone. He could only assume he was calling his sibling. Iris hadn't exactly been answering her brother's calls for the past couple of days, but none of them had really thought twice about it. Not until now.

"Any indication where she might be?" Ignis drew out a cloth from his pocket and crouched down beside her, dampening it in the stream before he would cleanse her bloodied arms.

"Necromancers took her to The Cryotower. Ignis, it's not even her they want. They're trying to lure Gladio into a trap. To separate us, to make us vulnerable... He can't go alone."

"I understand, Nyxia. Can you stand?" He offered a gloved hand to help her to her feet.

"Yes." She paused, looking down at the rushing river beside her. "Thank you. I can finish cleaning up. If you can just delay him as much as possible..."

"Of course." Ignis sacrificed his handkerchief to her, and he followed the sound of Gladio's angry pacing back towards the car. His heavy boots pounding the ground sounded like an Iron Giant. "If you're planning on going after her, you're not going alone."

"No offense, Ignis, but yes, I am," Gladio snapped. "She is not going to slow me down anymore. I need to make sure Iris will be alright."

"Nyxia is our responsibility, Gladio. You forget that the King Cingarus - the one that we are sworn to - has sworn us to her. Otherwise, our world is lost to the Shadows."

"Every time we turn around, there's always something with her. She's like a child. I'm not going to be held responsible for her over my own sister!"

"Take a step down, Gladio!" Ignis demanded. "Prompto and I will handle Nyxia, but I will not allow you to take this task in solitude. Maybe you don't care about Nyxia, but she informed me that the necromancers are using Iris as bait to pick you off. At least she looks out for you, despite how spiteful you tend to be to her."

For a moment, Gladio remained silent, but Ignis could tell he had talked some sense into him. "Fine. But as soon as she's done, we're going."