Ignis
The ground had shattered into pieces, and four men were tumbling down into the caverns below their feet.
Ignis somehow managed to get control of his own body in the fall, tucking and rolling, sliding along the wall. He caught a glimpse of Prompto scrambling for purchase before disappearing down a crack in the floor. Gladio rolled out of the way of a stalactite that crashed down from the ceiling. And Noct-Where was Noct?
"Nooooct!" Ignis cried.
The shifting floor and a tumble of falling rock swept him away from the others and downward. He was slipping and sliding along with a multitude of rocks and a choking cloud of dust. He tried to hold his body upright, tried to balance as best he could. Puffs of dust blocked his vision. He had no idea how far the rock slide would go and what was at the end. He was going to fast to land anywhere safely.
Coughing through the dust, he drew his daggers, turned and stabbed them at the rockslide. The dagger in his right hand bounced off solid rock, but the dagger in his left sank into a crevice, bringing his descent to a jarring halt. Pain burst through his shoulder. He guarded his head and face as best he could as rocks continued to fall around him, some of them pummeling his arms and shoulders. It was a miracle none of them dislodged the dagger.
Finally, they stopped.
Panting, coughing, wiping dust and dirt from his eyes, he took stock of his situation. He found himself halfway down a slick stone ramp that led to a ledge overlooking a vast drop into nothing. Could the caves this close to the river really run so deep?
Arms shaking from exertion-and perhaps a little, he had to admit, from fear-he turned over on his back and braced himself against the sides of the ramp, carefully withdrawing the dagger from the crevice. He controlled his slide this time, ending up in a shaky, gasping heap at the bottom of the ramp. Sitting up on his knees, he looked back up it. His stomach sank. It was much too steep and too slick for him to climb.
He stood, forcing himself up onto weak knees, and looked around. The beam of his flashlight illuminated rock, rock, and more rock, all gray, some smooth, some rough, hazy with dust dislodged from the rock slide.
"Noct!" he called.
His voice bounced back to him, mocking his solitude.
"Gladio! Prompto!"
Oh, oh, oh, oh, came the echo.
Ignis whipped his phone out of his jacket pocket and saw that, as he had suspected, there was no cellular signal this deep under the ground. He shivered as chilly air whistled up from the gaping maw beyond the ledge. Was there any end to that darkness? He wondered what creatures must live there in the depths of the earth. Surely, something living had hissed and moved through the tunnels, disturbing the ground, breaking it, separating him from his friends.
What now, Ignis?
He spotted a narrow opening in the cave wall and hurried to it. He shone his light through, revealing an open room on the other side of it, perhaps twenty feet away. He squeezed into the opening and made his way carefully along it. Just before he came out on the other side, he heard a tick-tick-ticking sound that sent unpleasant chills running over his skin.
He stopped, held his breath, listened.
Tick, tick, tick. Rhythmic little taps, followed by clicks.
Bugs. He sighed. More bugs. This place must be a breeding ground for them, a nest.
Well, what was he to do besides face them? He had no other choice if he wanted to find Noct and the others.
He took a few steps forward, the beam of his flashlight bouncing into the room beyond the crack.
The ticking and clicking stopped.
Ignis stifled a curse and covered his flashlight, plunging himself into uncomfortable darkness, but hopefully disguising his presence before the insects took notice of him.
The silence lasted a few breaths longer, then the tapping noises continued. Ignis slid forward as quietly as he could, the soft rasp of his jacket against the cave wall setting his teeth on edge.
He finally stepped into the room beyond the little opening. He allowed a brief flash of light, revealing the room to be empty and small, but with archways leading from it-archways that were clearly manmade, as had been, he suspected, the ramp that had nearly broken his neck.
He tiptoed toward the archways, one hand covering his flashlight, the other reaching in front of him in the dark, ready to summon a dagger, ready to bat away any crawling thing that might chance to leap at his face. He was moving toward the insect sounds, but there was no helping that. He was resigned to a fight. He was almost looking forward to making a surprise attack, taking advantage of stealth and position. If he could find a vantage point somewhere in the room ahead, beyond the arches, he might not have to get close to the enemy. He could fling his daggers straight at their weak points and-
A flicker of light ahead halted his pace, and he took cover between the arches.
"Hello?" a familiar voice called. "Is anyone there?"
Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose and steeled himself.
"Hello?" the voice called again.
"Prompto, stay where you are!" Ignis ordered.
The clicking and ticking sounds stopped, then intensified.
"Ignis!?" Prompto's voice rose with excitement and relief. "Where are you?"
"Be still!" Ignis barked. "And get your weapons ready!" His daggers were already in his hands.
"What!?"
"Listen!" Ignis hissed.
Prompto quietened, and the noise of creeping, rustling insects grew louder.
"They're in the room between us," Ignis called to his comrade. "We'll execute a pincer attack. Aim low. I'll go high. Are you ready?"
"Ready!" came Prompto's shaky reply.
Hoping that his friend truly was, Ignis spun through the archway, leaping over the crawling thing that came darting toward him. Prompto's pistol fired, the report echoing dramatically through the cave. Ignis flipped, flinging a dagger at the insect that had attacked him, striking its underbelly and disabling it. With his other dagger, he sliced several legs off of the next creature that came at him.
"Woohoo! Die, bugs, die!" Prompto hollered, firing again and again.
Spinning, rolling, dodging, and flipping, Ignis made his way across the room and around the host of bugs to Prompto's side.
"Over there!" He grabbed Prompto's shoulder and shook it, then pointed. "Stairs! We must get to them!"
"Alright!" Prompto nodded, and the two men began fighting their way toward the stairs.
They were close, so close, within a few yards, and the insects were dying around them, when something winged and buzzing zipped into the room.
Just ahead of him, Prompto froze. "Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no! Not again!"
"Keep going!" Ignis shoved him on, slashing at a creature that leaped at their legs from the shadows.
Prompto had stopped firing, shaken badly by the sight of the type of creature that had wounded him so recently. "Don't let it get me!" he wailed.
Resigned, Ignis grabbed Prompto under the arm and pushed him up the stone stairs, leaving one hand free to fight the remaining insects. They were close to the top-close to the door at the top, a door that they could close in the face of their enemies, a door that would give them a distinct strategic advantage-when the giant wasp came swooping at them.
Ignis knew Prompto would be too afraid to fight it. The boy was scared-understandably so-eyes wide, face pale, hands shaking around the grip of his gun, so Ignis pushed Prompto behind him and stood his ground.
The wasp aimed its stinger, and Ignis slashed at it, but the wasp feinted at the last minute and spun, faster than Ignis would have thought possible. It darted down at him, grabbing hold of his arm with its mouth and legs and dragging him into the air toward the ceiling high above.
Now he was really in a quandary. The wasp swung him around dizzyingly hard and fast. If he cut its legs, it would drop him, and he would fall a good distance, a bone-cracking distance. He had to somehow get it to fly lower before he even thought about freeing himself. In fact-
The wasp released him abruptly, intending, no doubt, to send him hurtling to his death. Ignis was just fast enough to reach up and plunge his dagger into the creature's side. The wasp hissed and buzzed angrily, flying lopsided, biting at him and jabbing at him with its stinger while he twisted out of the way.
"Iggy! I got it!" Prompto cried.
Ignis turned to see Prompto aiming at the wasp with great confidence. "No! Wait!" he called hoarsely. "Wait till it flies lower!" He grunted, swinging his legs out of the way right before the wasp could sting them.
"Okay!" Prompto replied.
With his free hand and dagger, Ignis sliced at the wasp's closest wing, nicking it. The wasp shuddered and bucked, nearly dislodging him, buzzing madly. And just as he had hoped, it swooped lower to the ground, weakened.
BANG!
The wasp convulsed again, and Ignis tore his daggers loose, kicking off of the wasp's falling body and preparing to land as gently as he could from this height of at least fifteen feet.
The landing did not go as he'd planned. His foot slipped on the slick, slimy body of an insect, and he went tumbling forward. His momentum was too fast for him to correct or catch himself. All he could do was try to cushion his head, and he fell hard on his left side and arm. Pain shot through his elbow, ribs, and hip, stealing his breath for a few terrifying seconds.
"Iggy? Iggy!" Prompto's voice echoed frantically through the cave.
Ignis could not get enough breath to reply. He rolled onto his back, gasping and coughing-and as he did, a long, slender creature with what looked like hundreds of legs and sharp pincers shot out at him from the shadows-a hundlegs. He was too stunned to react with his usual speed and agility, but he managed to bring up his daggers in front of his face before the thing slammed into him.
He wrestled with it, tried to push back its pincers, but the bug was strong, and he was breathless and sore from the fight and the fall.
"Iggy, be still!" Prompto shouted.
"That's a little difficult right now!" Ignis called back, jabbing at the hundlegs' face. It dodged his strike and retaliated with one of its own, slashing at his abdomen with its sharp pincers.
Ignis yelped in pain as the pincers sliced through his skin. He arched his back and twisted, trying to throw the creature off his torso. It raised its ugly head, prepared to strike again-
-then exploded in a shower of blood and carapace.
Ignis sighed and closed his eyes. He reached up to push his glasses back up his nose only to find that they weren't there.
"Iggy!" Prompto cried, this time closer. "We have to move! More are coming!"
Ignis sat up, wincing at the aches in his side, elbow, and shoulders and at the sharper pain spreading across his stomach. He pressed his battered arm there, hoping that might ease the pain. It did… a little.
"Come on, Specs! We gotta move!" Prompto was suddenly beside him, a flurry of sound and motion, grabbing his shoulder, shaking him until he gasped with pain, then apologizing.
"My spectacles," Ignis muttered, swaying to his feet, dizzy and nauseated.
"Here!" Prompto snatched them from the ground and pushed them onto Ignis's face. "We gotta go now!"
He was right, Ignis thought, the tactical part of his mind somehow still working through the pain and shock. He could hear an approaching rush of ticking and clicking and buzzing.
Prompto grabbed the collar of his jacket and hauled him forward and through the carpet of dead bugs and up the stone stairs.
"Please don't be locked. Please don't be locked," the shorter man muttered, twisting the handle of the door.
The door swung open. Prompto whooped with triumph and shoved Ignis through, scooting in behind him and shutting the door.
Their flashlights revealed that they were in a long, narrow room, almost like a hall. It was packed with shelves and boxes and bags.
Ignis felt his strength failing; he wrestled with the temptation to collapse beneath the pain and weariness. He gave himself a harsh mental shake and gathered control of his weakening faculties.
"Have you seen Noct?" he asked, his voice annoyingly hoarse and breathless, grating on his own nerves. "Have you seen Noct or Gladio?"
Prompto shook his head forlornly. "No. I was hoping they were with you." He kept his grip on Ignis's jacket, looking the other man up and down. "You don't look so good, Iggy." He winced. "It's my fault. I-"
Ignis held up a hand. "No apologies. This whole evening has been one terrible accident."
Prompto chuckled. "You can say that again. But seriously, dude. You're bleeding. Maybe we should rest."
Ignis thought about that, calculated time and chance as best he could. He shook his head. "We have to get to them, have to find Noct." Twinges of pain. Shortness of breath. He pressed his arm harder against his stomach. "Our only way out of this mess is together."
"Okay… I guess." Prompto gave Ignis a dubious once over. "I hope Noct and Gladdy are in better shape than we are, wherever they are."
Gladio
It was a bad dream. It had to be. Falling down on rocks, with rocks falling down on him. Rolling, tumbling, sliding until his head bashed against something, then this weird dream about water and smoke.
No… Maybe not a dream, Gladio realized with growing clarity. He could smell water-fishy and cold-and he didn't usually smell things in his dreams… except for maybe a nice, hearty dinner cooking. He could hear it, too, babbling through the ringing in his ears, through the haze of his unconsciousness.
He was waking up. And he didn't think he'd like what he saw when he awoke.
He opened his eyes. They ached. His whole head ached. He pushed himself up to his hands and knees, waiting while his head stopped spinning. For a moment, he didn't think it would ever stop, but it finally did, and he stood, grunting and groaning at the pain shooting through his skull.
He had been right: He didn't like what he saw… or, more accurately, he didn't like what he didn't see-Noct, Ignis, or Prompto. He had tried to get to Noct when the tunnel went to pieces. He had rolled towards him, but by the time he got there, Noct had warped away to gods knew where. He hoped somewhere safe.
He thought Prompto had fallen into a crack somewhere further down the path. And Iggy almost hadn't fallen at all, his agility very nearly getting him to safety before he went tumbling down some opening in the rock.
"Nooooct!" Gladio called at the top of his lungs… then immediately regretted it as pain seemed to split his skull, bile rising in his throat. He swallowed it down, took another deep breath and called again, pressing a hand to his forehead, where he felt a bulging lump.
Concussion? Maybe. That would explain the nausea and the way the cave kept spinning.
At first, he thought the floor to his right was still spinning, then he realized that it was the source of the water sounds and smells. It was a river, running past the rocky ground where he stood. Made sense. The caves were right up against the Wennath… which meant, if he followed the river, he'd surely find a way out of the cave. Rivers didn't stay underground forever. They always ran somewhere, eventually to the sea.
Gladio rubbed his sore head, careful of the goose egg on his forehead. He had a plan now-not as detailed as some of Specs' master strategies, but at least he had an end game now. He was going to find his friends and lead them out by way of the river.
Noctis
Warping had been a bad idea, and Noctis knew it. He tended to rely too heavily on that ability of his. Ignis was always warning him about it, telling him not to use his skill recklessly in battle, urging him to think.
When the cave had started collapsing around them, Noctis hadn't had time to think. His first instinct was to warp-to warp to the nearest friend in danger. In this case, it had been Prompto. He had tried to warp toward Prompto, who had been sliding down a gaping crack in the floor. But he hadn't been strong enough. He'd forgotten how much he'd used his ability earlier, and he hadn't made it to Prompto. He'd been swallowed up himself, sucked into a dark tunnel by some unseen force, something that stalked him now in the shadows, hissing and rumbling and slithering.
It was gaining on him, whatever it was. He thought maybe it was big enough to have trouble navigating the narrow tunnels of the cave system, but he wasn't moving very fast. His right ankle hurt with every step, and he was exhausted, used up by his pathetic attempt to warp to Prompto's aid. He hoped Prompto was okay. How far down had the little guy fallen? And what about Ignis and Gladio? Ignis had shouted for him, and Gladio had moved toward him… and then what? Had the monster under the floor devoured them? Had they fallen to their deaths? Surely not. Surely…
"Ow!" He gasped at the sharpness and heat of the pain in his ankle, leaning against the wall, resting his forehead against the cool stone. He swore softly.
Why did everything have to go so wrong? Why couldn't he be enjoying the open road with his closest friends, looking forward to his wedding to Luna? The Empire. That was why. All his hopes and dreams had fallen with Insomnia, buried in the rubble, buried with his father…
Noctis clenched his teeth against a cry of anger and pain.
"Sssssssssst. Sssssssssst."
With the sound came a puff of hot, musty air from behind him. It smelled coppery, metallic, like blood and death.
With a grunt of rage and frustration, Noctis pushed off the wall and hurried on his way, alone in the dark, limping and gritting his teeth.
Prompto
The narrow hallway was cold. Prompto shivered and rubbed his bare arms. His breath fogged the air in front of his face.
"Need to borrow my jacket?" Ignis wondered, sounding as tired as Prompto felt.
"Nah, you hang onto it, Specs." Prompto felt terrible about freezing up when they were fighting the wasp. If he hadn't, maybe he could have shot it before it took off into the air with Iggy.
"Nonsense. I'm wearing longer sleeves." Ignis stopped walking and started to shrug out of his jacket. He went still and stiff all of a sudden, his face paling.
"You okay, Iggy?" Prompto asked, almost dreading the answer.
"Fine. Just a little sore from battle."
That might be a lie, Prompto thought.
"Hey, Iggy, you don't have to-"
"Here you are." Ignis slipped the jacket from his own shoulders and handed it to Prompto.
"Iggy-"
"I insist. You must be freezing."
"How about we take turns?" Prompto suggested.
"That sounds like an excellent plan," Iggy said with a little smile.
"I have 'em sometimes." Prompto slipped into the jacket. It was warm-too long and one of the sleeves was wet, but definitely nice and warm. "Thanks, man."
"Don't mention it." Ignis let out a slow breath, still holding his body stiffly, one arm pressed against his middle. "Shall we continue?"
"Yep! I'll take point." It was the least he could do for this guy, this loyal and helpful friend who had protected him and taken care of him all day. "Follow my lead!" Feeling several degrees warmer already, he advanced down the hall, pistol at the ready. He stepped around a stack of empty crates, maneuvered over a pile of sacks.
"I believe these once contained Hulldagh nutmeg," Ignis remarked as he slid carefully over the same pile. "Most of it is faded away and gone by now, probably eaten by mice and insects. Can you smell the remains of it in the air?"
"Maybe." Now that Iggy mentioned it, there was a nicer smell to this part of the cave, a warm, spicy scent. "It's kinda nice."
"That it is. It's an excellent ingredient for cooking."
Prompto glanced back at Ignis, a tad concerned. It wasn't like Iggy to ramble. But Ignis was right behind him, shoulders straight, a placid look on his face, looking as okay as one could look after tangling with giant bugs.
They continued down the hallway, looking for any sign of Noctis or Gladio. Prompto made up his mind that they would find their friends. There was no other option. They would find each other, share icky bug battle stories, then get the heck out of the cave for good. He didn't care if they had to go back out in the rain; he just wanted out of this place. The ceiling was starting to weigh on him, as if the whole weight of Eos were poised above him, ready to fall down and smash him at any second.
"Prompto, do you hear that?" Ignis asked suddenly, grabbing his arm.
Prompto stopped and was still. His ears perked up. "Is that… water?"
"I think it is." Ignis nodded and rubbed his chin. "Some branch of the Wennath must run through here. If we find it, we can follow it out… after we've found the others, of course."
"Right on!" Prompto threw a fist in the air in celebration. "Let's go!" He hurried forward, and Iggy followed close behind him.
Gladio
The goblins were no trouble. There were only three of them, and they were small and weak, but after fighting them, Gladio felt almost as dizzy and sick as he had when he'd first awakened by the water. He staggered to the rushing stream, dipped his hands in it, and splashed some water on his face, which felt really refreshing and eased his headache somewhat. He cupped some water in his hands and drank it.
He straightened and continued on, following the water, looking around for entrances and exits to the tunnel through which the water flowed. He'd figured out that the tunnel was man-made. Some of the openings further up the walls had stairs leading up to them, but so far, he hadn't found any stairs that were still intact, so he hadn't been able to explore anything other than the tunnel with the stream running through it.
Something moved and splashed in the water, and Gladio turned toward it, sweeping out his sword. He sighed and shook his head when he saw what had spooked him-a trout jumping in the stream. He put away his sword and continued on for several yards uneventfully.
Then, he heard a voice, a familiar one, a familiar laugh, sharp and young.
"Prompto!" Gladio called, not caring what monsters he might disturb with his shouts. He could take on anything right now if he could only get to his friends. "Prompto!"
"Gladdy? Gladiooooo!"
Prompto's voice came from an opening in the wall about ten feet from the ground. Gladio ran to it and stood under it.
"Over here!" he shouted.
He had never been so happy to see a blond head as he was to see Prompto's when it emerged from the dark of the other tunnel.
"Hey, Gladdy!" Prompto waved cheerfully.
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you!"
"I think I might!"
"Is Noct with you?" Ignis emerged from the tunnel, as well, one arm cradled to his stomach.
Gladio shook his head. "No. Haven't seen him."
Ignis sighed and ran a hand down his face. "We can't leave here without him."
"I know. Don't worry. We'll find him. Now that the three of us are together, we'll find him." Gladio motioned to his friends, barely able to contain his excitement and growing confidence. "Come on. I've been following the water. It should lead us out, and I'm sure we'll find Noct along the way."
Prompto scampered down the broken stairs, and Ignis followed him, moving more carefully, almost gingerly. Gladio narrowed his eyes on the strategist. He noticed that Ignis wasn't wearing his jacket; Prompto was. And Prompto was leading the way. Prompto looked much better than he had before they'd gotten separated… and Ignis looked worse.
As Prompto skipped ahead along the tunnel, following the water, snapping a picture of gods-knew-what, Gladio moved closer to Ignis. "You okay, Iggy?"
"Could be worse," Ignis told him with a tight smile. "Had a little tussle with some insects."
"Your arm-"
"Will last me long enough to find Noct, I hope." He covered his bloody elbow with a gloved hand.
"You're not cold?"
"Not as cold as Prompto was." Ignis looked ahead stoically. "Not as cold as you look. If I had a second jacket, I would insist that you borrow it."
Gladio chuckled. "Glad to know you've always got our backs."
Ignis nodded to him and moved ahead after Prompto. Gladio stayed close. He had a feeling Ignis might need him.
