welcome back! sorry for the delay, got on a Gladio kick with the new stuff out. i'll give some love over here! thanks so much for your support!

...

"The journey for oneself is often lonesome and not always completed by all who try." - Ignis Scientia.

The sound of nervous footsteps sounded in his ears. Ignis knew based on the echo that they were heavy steps and that it was a metal floor. Which meant that he was back on the airship. He brought his hand to his head and rubbed his forehead. He summoned up Noxima's powers in order to heal the pain he felt there, probably a result of being dragged into a crystal. Once he had felt no more pain he sat up slowly, taking a look around him. Gladiolus had stopped his pacing and looked over at his friend with relief.

"Hey Iggy, you okay?" he asked.

"Fine, thanks," replied the adviser, taking a drink of water that was placed beside his bed.

Gladiolus sighed in relief, sinking into a nearby chair, "You gave us all quite a scare."

"What happened on your end?"

Gladiolus shrugged, bringing his arms across his chest, "You were screaming for a few seconds and then it looked like you were absorbed into the tree. I managed to grab your arm to keep it from taking you completely. Took a couple days but we detached you and then were forced out. Haven't tried to go back."

"We cannot return," said Ignis gravely, looking down at his hands.

He was already in pain from being separated from Noxima. He sighed, his heart heavy knowing that he wouldn't be able to see her again. At least, not that way. He kept his gaze on his hands folded carefully on his lap while his face contorted into a thoughtful frown. It was still hard to believe that he had really seen her, that he hadn't truly killed her the way he had previously thought. He knew it was real, that it wasn't just some sort of dream. He could still feel her lingering touch, the feel of her in his arms.

"How do you know?" asked Gladiolus, taking him out of his thoughts.

"Because Noxima does not have the strength to allow us safe passage," replied Ignis, keeping his eyes on his hands.

"You saw Nox?"

The sound of the Shield's voice made Ignis snap his attention towards his friend. Gladiolus was staring at Ignis in alarm, his face showing unrecognizable emotions flickering through it. Almost like Gladiolus already knew that she wasn't entirely dead. Ignis knew that the two of them were close, and as of late he was learning the nature of it. Perhaps there was more that Noxima and Gladiolus shared he wasn't yet privy to.

Ignis nodded, "I did."

"So she's alive."

"Indeed."

Gladiolus breathed a sigh of relief. In that very moment Ignis saw that the grief the man was carrying around these passed few years. He had always known that Noxima's death affected everyone, but he never knew how much it was hurting the others around him. She had usually seen them on their own time, hardly ever in the same room with more than one person. He was sure that she had never really wanted it that way.

"How is she?"

"Bored it seems. She never was one to be still for too long."

Gladiolus huffed, "Yeah that sounds like her."

Ignis nodded, "Seems her dying was planned out, a necessary stepping stone to complete her task."

"I told you that you didn't kill her."

"Indeed, you seem to know much about that night."

"Not the night, just her task."

"She told you what it was?"

"I pieced it together when she told me there was no helping her after she was infected with the starscourge. If you didn't kill her, that would have. We had a long talk in Cartanica before we parted ways on the train."

Ignis wasn't exactly shocked to hear this, he had his own suspicions, "Care to enlighten me?"

Gladiolus heaved a heavy sigh, "You know the legend of the Phoenix? It dies and is reborn from its ashes?"

"Indeed."

"That's part of Nox's purpose. To learn how to come back from her own ashes. But she had to die to do it. When Iris was poisoned she couldn't heal her."

"Of course!" Ignis' eyes widened in realization, "The nature of her own powers. She cannot heal something she does not experience for herself."

"You got it."

"It was right in front of me this entire time."

"You were too busy feeling sorry for yourself."

Ignis nodded, "Thwarted by my own grief."

"Well, now you can stop beating yourself up about it."

Ignis was unsure of what to say. Gladiolus seemed to know this entire time and just waited until he himself came to that conclusion. He wasn't angry with his friend, because it wasn't like he wasn't told before. He really was far too caught up in his own grief to see the full picture. Now that he had some clarity, he felt refreshed in a different way entirely. He was ready to face Noxima's book and anything it had planned for him.

.*.*.

Inside of the hotel room at Lestallum, Ignis and the others rested. They had returned after regaining the Reglia back only to find out that the Empire had come and Jared was killed in the process. A distraught Iris and Talcott were waiting for them and it was with heavy hearts that they learned of the news. Ignis had returned to the room they were sharing just as Noctis was sitting up on the bed. Prompto and Gladiolus were behind the adviser but no one spoke. It was hard to deal with grief, and lately it seemed that they had so much of it.

"In other news," the radio news caster spoke from the speaker, "It seems that another one of the Empire's bases was taken out. After the devastation in the Aracheole Stronghold one of the bigger ones came down not two days later. Reports and sources have confirmed that Lady Charlotte Forentince, the Voice of the King, was seen at Fort Vector and brought it down to shambles all on her own. Though no one has is certain as to whether or not she survived the High Commander had this to say:

"Lady Charlotte is a thorn in all of our sides," the sound of Ravus' voice came through the speaker, "If anyone has any sort of sighting or has spoken with her, contact us immediately. Do not engage, she is highly armed and dangerous-"

"And they say you never hear anything good about yourself when eavesdropped."

All four men turned their attention towards the source of the new female voice that entered the room without them knowing. All of their mouths were agape in shock. Charlie was leaning against the frame that lead out toward the terrace. She had a grimace on her face, obviously in some sort of pain. Her hair was done up in a quick bun but most of it had fallen out. Her left arm was horizontal against her abdomen as she leaned on her upper arm. There was blood dripping from her right thigh, a bullet wound that wasn't treated just yet. There was also blood on her pink shirt but it wasn't fresh.

"Charlie!" Prompto was there instantly.

Noctis came to the other side and the two of them helped her into a nearby chair.

"What happened?" asked Noctis.

"Exactly what the radio said," she nodded towards it, wincing as she moved her leg.

"You took down an Imperial base all by yourself?" asked Prompto in horror.

"Yep. Definitely not one of my brighter ideas but I feel do a lot better now."

"You didn't heal yourself," stated Ignis with an edge to his voice.

"Yeah about that. Can't really do that until the bullet is out of my leg. I was kind of hoping you could help me out with that," she met his eyes.

He frowned angrily at her, "I'm not a surgeon," his voice was harder than the last.

"You don't have to worry about any damage I just need the damn thing out so I can stop bleeding and use my leg again. Oh and someone needs to set the bone in my arm to or I can't fix that either."

"Your own people are incapable of such an honorable task?"

"Indisposed."

Ignis glared at her in a way she had never seen before. Gladiolus also had a hard look towards him as he regarded her. Nonetheless, Ignis walked towards their medical kit and pulled it out of one of their bags. He then gathered all the towels he could find and brought them with him as he approached her. He practically slammed the kit down on the table beside her, causing Noctis and Prompto to take a quick step away from them. Ignis pulled up another chair and turned the lamp on behind her before having a better look. He kept a scowl on his face, not saying a word while he observed the wound.

It wasn't a clean shot and he could see that blood wasn't pouring out of it. Instead it was a steady and slow stream that he was going to disturb by reaching in to try and find a bullet. He had absolutely no idea what he was doing but knew that she couldn't go to a hospital to have it done. For whatever reason she had chosen to make the trek all the way over here and have him do it. That wasn't fair but he wasn't just going to leave her like this and she knew that. He supposed the first thing he could do was try and find what he was looking for and how deep it went.

"It's straight in there, just pry it out," said Charlie between clenched teeth.

"Be my guest," replied Ignis in his curt tone.

She didn't respond to that. Ignis began his work, trying not to hurt her as he did so. She winced here and there but there really was no help for that. As he previously stated, he wasn't a surgeon and he didn't exactly have the proper tools for such a procedure.

"What were you thinking?!" growled Gladiolus finally, his arms crossed as he glared at her.

"Something along the lines of, shoot the target," she replied with a simple shrug.

"Be still," commanded Ignis.

"You could have been killed!" Gladiolus continued his tirade.

"But I wasn't," came her nonchalant retort.

"What you did was completely reckless," Ignis joined the reprimand.

"Arrogant and stupid to!" said Gladiolus.

"Look who's talking," she shot back at him.

"Don't twist this around, Charlie! Losing your head and going it alone is dangerous!"

"What's it matter to you? You aren't my shield, I'm always alone in enemy territory!"

"The hell I ain't! I been watching your back longer than you think!"

"Oh really? Where were you the day that I left?!"

"Enough!" Ignis ended the come back that was on the tip of Gladiolus' tongue.

Charlie's nostrils flared as she tore her angry gaze away from the Shield. Ignis continued his work undisturbed by their fighting as the tension in the room rose a hundredfold. Prompto and Noctis tried to keep to themselves quietly, trying to avoid the stare of Gladiolus or Ignis. Even Charlie's usual warm smile was replaced with a scowl that showed no trace of the happy person they knew her to be. She didn't look at them, just at the work being done to her leg as she kept her broken arm still.

"Your actions have cause for concern. Now there are sightings of Lady Charlotte within enemy territory. Oydis' absence was also noted around the same time. They know exactly who they are hunting for now. You've almost exposed yourself completely, and could have been killed in the process," said Ignis.

Although his voice wasn't raised like Gladiolus, it was dark, filled with a calm rage. It cut through her like a knife and she looked away from him despite that all his attention was focused on digging out a bullet in her leg. She could only feel guilt right now despite the rage she carried around when she had decided to take out the base.

"You've been told consistently of the people around you, here to support you in a time of need," Ignis continued, "There is absolutely no excuse for what you have done. Frankly I'm disgusted that you would think so little of yourself and the repercussions of your actions should you have been killed," he finally yanked out the bullet which caused her cry out slightly to herself.

She brought her right hand towards the wound and concentrated on it, healing it up quickly before his eyes. He then began to clean up the blood that was all over her leg because of it. She didn't feel anymore pain there but he was still gentle with his work. The room was still tense while no one said a word during this time. Ignis finished his work quickly, removing his bloodied gloves and placing them nearly into the trash bag. He held his hand out expectantly and she placed her left wrist into it. She couldn't meet his eyes so he gave her a slight squeeze to signal he was ready. She jerked her arm quickly, crying out as the bone set. She was quick to heal it and breathed a sigh of relief as the pain subsided.

Ignis held her wrist in his hand firmly, his gaze not faltering in the slightest as she looked at him. He wasn't finished with her just yet so he wasn't going to let go of her. She picked up on it, looking almost scared at what he was going to say to her next. In all her years she had never seen him to angry with her and she was completely unsure of how to react towards it. She could feel anxiety bubbling within her as she waited for him to say or do anything. It was easier if he yelled and screamed like Gladiolus. But he was so abnormally calm with his words and that made it hurt so much worse.

"I sincerely hope this foolish behaviour desists before you make a mistake you cannot return from. I will feel no sympathy for a girl that chooses to put herself in unnecessary danger for the sake of blinded rage," said Ignis coldly, releasing her wrist and rising from his seat. He walked towards the door opening it, "We are not through, so do not even think about leaving before we've spoken further," that same hateful tone rang from him before he closed the door firmly behind him without even slamming it.

Charlie's hand shook slightly at what just happened. She was having trouble keeping her breaths steady as more anger filtered through her veins. Gladiolus growled at her and she instantly brought her flat amethyst stare towards him. But he didn't battle her this time, simply followed suit and left the room. He, however, did slam the door. That only left Noctis and Prompto, spectators to what had just transpired here. She didn't meet their uncomfortable stares, completely unsure of how she would react to them. Instead she got up and walked towards the terrace, looking out of the city of Lestallum.

"I've never seen specs to angry before," said Noctis in a hushed tone towards Prompto.

"Me neither. It was pretty scary," replied Prompto.

"It's almost like he took it personally."

"Yeah I picked up on that to. Are you sure they aren't dating?"

Noctis shook his head, "They both said no, but..."

"Yeah... I know what you mean."

The Prince looked back towards the woman with a thoughtful frown. Her eyes looked distant as they observed the city from her vantage point. He got up from where he was sitting and noisily walked towards her, making sure that she knew he was there. She didn't acknowledge him as he came to stand beside her. He leaned his arms on the railing, taking a look as well. The city was mostly quiet, but he caught Gladiolus stomping around on his way to blow off some steam. He didn't see Ignis anywhere. Given that he had never seen his friend react so negatively before he was unsure of what the man would be doing.

But he could see how protective they were of her. He completely understood where they were coming from. But at the same time, he knew exactly what she was feeling. There was more of course, but he was unsure of how to speak with her. The last time he had seen her, she was pointing a gun at Ignis' head in the form of General Oydis. It took him a while but he was able to see that she really was there to protect them from Ravus, even if it didn't make sense at the time.

"They're just worried," he finally said. A stupid thing to say but he had to start somewhere.

"I know," she replied lightly, keeping her eyes distant.

"We all are."

She smiled sadly, looking down at her hands, "I know," she said again.

"You're not planning on doing something like that again... are you?"

She met his worried gaze, looking down seeing as she was standing straight and he was hunched over. He was guilty and she had absolutely no idea why. It wasn't like he was the one that burst into Vector and took it out. So why did he feel the guilt that she was consumed with? She could only answer him the most honest way possible.

"I don't know," her voice was weak.

He frowned, looking back out toward the city. She sighed quietly to herself, her gaze returning to her hands. She wasn't sure what to say to him, how to tell him that there was no guarantee that she wasn't going to take out her enemies. So much had happened and she hated being unable to stop it.

"I saw you do it," he stated finally. She gasped, her head snapping towards him instantly, "I saw most of it. Pryna was there to, right?"

Her heart was heavy at that question, "Yes..."

"You were almost overwhelmed, barely made it out alive."

She nodded, "Yeah..."

"I thought it was just a dream. But here you are, telling me exactly what I dreamed about."

She was silent. There was no way for her to explain exactly why he was seeing her in his dreams. No way without revealing herself that is. She knew exactly why he had seen it she just had no idea how to tell him. His eyes were distant now as he thought about the night before.

"I saw my dad die to," said Noctis in a small voice.

"You did...?"

"Yeah. Saw Glauca push his sword right through him. That's it. Thought it was just a dream to until I woke up and found out the city was taken."

"You've never told anyone before," realization dawned on her.

"No. I didn't know how."

She sighed, watching as he stood up straight. She took his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder. It wasn't awkward in the slightest, in fact, the two of them welcomed the connection. It soothed their souls in a way like no other and helped them deal with the pain they had been through. There was nothing left to say between them, so they just stayed like that for a while. Because they both knew that moments like these were few and far between.

Later on that night Ignis had finally returned to the room. Prompto and Noctis were playing King's Knight on their phones happily chatting away until the door opened. They didn't look at the man as he walked in, a little afraid of the calm temper he showed earlier. But Ignis wasn't even looking at them. His eyes scanned the room for Charlie and finally came upon her standing on the terrace into the night sky. He walked towards her, drawing the curtains from the inside and closing the door firmly behind him. He did not need any extra ears listening to his conversation.

Charlie didn't acknowledge him as he came to stand beside her. Her gaze went from the stars and then straight to her hands. She was completely unable to face him. He gave her a thorough look, noting that she had showered. He could smell his own shampoo that she had no doubt used. Her hair was still a little damp but back into a messy bun at the back of her head. She wore the same clothes, black shorts and a red shirt with boots that came to her mid calf. Her skin was still that creamy colour and her tattoo was hidden being as she was Lady Charlotte and not Noxima.

She was waiting for him to speak. Every passing second felt like agony and she wished that he would just get on with it already. It wasn't like she didn't deserve it after the way she had shown up expecting help. She really could have gone elsewhere and not worried him. But she wanted to see him and the others before she went back to work. She wanted to know that they were all safe after she was forcefully pulled away from them by Ardyn.

"Perhaps I spoke a little out of turn," began Ignis tentatively.

"No, you didn't," she replied, turning so that her back was leaning against the railing.

He faced her then, "Please, allow me to finish."

She met his gaze, and she had no choice to but grant him his request, "Okay," she nodded.

"After seeing the Chancellor take his hold upon you I saw the danger you were in. I know you've always been there, however, this was the first time I had actually seen it. And there was nothing I could do to assist you. As soon as I heard that new broadcast I grew fearful that you had fought your way out because they had discovered your identity," he brought his lips closer towards her ear, speaking in a whisper, "I could not bear if something were to happen to you, Nox."

He was finished, pulling himself back away and waiting patiently for her response. All he accomplished was making her feel even worse than she did before. Damn he was a smooth talker. Damn him! She gingerly reached for his gloved hand, taking it within her own. He held it lightly, holding her gaze as he did so. She could feel tears wishing to well up within her eyes but she was not going to let that happen. Finally she looked down at their intertwined hands and sighed quietly to herself.

"I'm sorry," she whispered finally, hating herself right now.

He released her hand and used it to bring her face back to his by her chin. He was only smiling gently, looking at her in that loving way he usually did. For once, she didn't question it, only smiled sadly at it despite being happy it had returned.

"There now that's better isn't it?"

She let out a small laugh, "Yes."

He released her face now that he had her attention. Now that everything was okay again, "Have you eaten at all?"

She shook her head, "No."

"Then allow me," he replied.

He politely offered her his arm. She only smiled as she took get, letting him lead her back toward the room just to leave again through the exit together.

.*.*.

...

thanks guys!