I want to thank everyone who has read or commented so far! I greatly appreciate it and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)


"Hey Noct."

Noct grimaced when he felt a prod on his shoulder. He shifted in his sleeping bag, turning over to bury himself deeper.

"Come on Noct." The voice registered to be Prompto's as he shook him this time. Noct held onto his covers against Prompto's attempts to peel them off. "You have to wake up!"

Noct ignored his best friend as he poked his nose out for air. He didn't detect the familiar smells of breakfast and frowned.

Prompto yanked the sleeping bag's cover off with a fierce growl, exposing the prince to the morning cold. Noct hugged himself reflexively, mewing a whimper.

"We got to go, dude!" Prompto flared with frustration. Noct groaned and tried to roll away until Prompto pulled him back, straddling his hips to avoid further escape.

"It's Ignis."

Noct opened his eyes, his sight bleary until he rubbed them into focus. He rubbed his face, sobering up more before pushing the blond off. He winced as he sat up, his muscles sore. The tent was empty except for a rolled up sleeping bag and a pack of cards.

"Is he up? Where is he?" He yawned scratching his belly.

Prompto's lips were a grim line as he looked down. It was all Noct needed to know that something wasn't right. He cursed under his breath, kicking off the rest of his sleeping bag.

"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" he chided as he crawled towards the tent opening and stumbled out.

Prompto bumped into his back as he fumbled behind him. "I tried, but you were really in deep man!"

Gladio was on his cell phone, he looked grim as he listened to whoever was on the other end.

"Where's Iggy?"

Gladio pointed to the car.

"We got him dressed and laid out in the backseat," Prompto said.

Noct's heart sank at the sight of him laid out in the backseat, legs out with the car door open to accommodate his height.

"He's comfortable," Prompto tilted his head. "Sort of."

Noct rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to Gladio.

"He's talking to Sania," Prompto said before Noct could ask. "Figured she might have some advice on what to do."

Noct nodded before going off to wash up and get dressed. He scarfed down a breakfast bar despite not feeling hungry. It sat uncomfortably in his chest as his anxiety mounted. Why hadn't Ignis woken up yet? Was Ignis in danger? What were they doing just lagging about? They should be throwing things in the car and flooring it. He tried to stay calm. He should dismantle camp, that should keep him busy. Noct immediately began the task, thinking it would distract him enough, but his gaze kept trading back and forth between Gladio on the phone and Ignis in the backseat of the Regalia.

Gladio finished his call and went to finish packing their things.

"What'd she say?" Prompto asked after packing a folded chair.

"Said to meet her at the hunter's outpost," Gladio replied. "They got a small clinic there."

"Makes sense," Noct said, closing the trunk. "They'll probably know what's wrong."

"Alright." Gladio pulled out the car keys. "The post isn't that far out, maybe an hour or two from here."

"Operation wake up Iggy is a go!" Prompto added with a fist pump as he rounded the car.

Noct climbed in, pulling Ignis into a sitting position before laying what he could of the man down on his lap. Prompto helped by pushing the rest of Ignis inside, bending his legs to tuck him in properly and closing the door. The blond hopped over to the front seat as Gladio revved the engine.

Noct looked down at his slumbering friend, worry tugging his lips down into a frown. Ignis looked so serene and completely unbothered by the world around him. He brushed his cheek and felt the faint sign of stubble growing in. Ignis would've found his face to be undignified to be looked at, but Noct sort of liked it. Noct rubbed his fingers against it, finding the scratchy feel both comforting and grounding as it let him know that Ignis was alive. He hoped they could figure out what was wrong with him soon.


Sania greeted them with a pair of hunters outside the items store. The men helped carry Ignis into the clinic posted out back. The place was small, with only four beds, two of which were already occupied.

They laid Ignis out while a nurse came over to check his vitals. Sania began asking questions about Ignis' medical history, questions Noct barely knew the answers to but Gladio answered with ease. A sinking feeling of dread hit him when he realized that despite knowing Ignis longer, Gladio knew him better and that Noct was useless in the end.

The doctor finally appeared, introducing himself as Hart. He was a bald man with tattoos snaking up both his arms, most likely a hunter. His skin was tan and tight from being out in the sun too long. He looked over Ignis as he got the clipboard from the nurse who briefed him.

Sania turned to them. "What exactly happened here? Gladio said he's been comatose since yesterday after a battle."

Gladio confirmed with a nod. "Exactly what I explained. He got knocked out."

Hart began to examine Ignis, flashing a penlight under his eyelids. Sania took out a notepad, turning onto a fresh page as she clicked her pen to take notes.

"He was thrown into a bush. I went in and got him," Noct said.

"Did you notice anything irregular about him when you found him?" He placed his stethoscope on the man's chest.

"If you're asking if he landed wrong, then no. I found him flat on his back and unconscious on a bed of mushrooms."

Sania paused in her note taking, looking up at Noct. "Mushrooms?"

"Yeah."

"Can you tell me exactly what kind of mushrooms? Color? Shape? Fungal subkingdom?"

Noct blinked. "They were mushrooms."

"And?"

"He was on them."

Gladio glared at him. "Noct."

"I don't know!" He didn't appreciate Gladio's glare, nor did he like that everyone was suddenly looking at him for answers. "He was unconscious and I was focused on getting him out of there more than the scientific classification of the mushrooms. It was pretty smoggy when I reached him so I couldn't tell you what they looked like anyway so-"

"Smoggy?" Sania narrowed her gaze. "As in a smoggy cloud of spores?"

"He probably disturbed them into releasing their spores when he landed. I got him out of there as soon as I could."

"Fascinating," she said scribbling something down. Noct wasn't comfortable with her treating this situation like some scientific discovery. Their friend was in trouble.

"An allergic reaction?" Hart asked, feeling Ignis' lymph nodes. "Doesn't look like he's swollen anywhere though."

"Maybe a self-defense mechanism from the mushrooms?" Sania added as she wrote more.

The nurse came back with a small cart full of bottles and potions to assist.

"We'll try to break any antidotes we have over him, see if anything triggers a reaction. We'll start him on some fluids and get a urinary catheter in. I'll get to work and see where we go from there."

"And I'm going to check the old records and see what I can dig up," Sania said, closing her notepad. "I'll be right back."

Gladio turned to the others while the privacy curtain was drawn, leaving them alone.

"He doesn't even look sick," he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

They heard the crack of a bottle and saw the faint dim light of something blue showering over Ignis. Despite the privacy curtains they could still smell the medicinal scent of the antidotes.

"So, now's as good a chance as any to bring this up." Prompto spoke up as he pulled out his phone.

"Hear me out," he began, swiping at the screen. "I did some digging for cases similar to Iggy during the drive here."

Noct hoped to hear some good news. He didn't even think to search online for something similar. "Did you find any?"

"Well," Prompto said, drawing out the word with a hint of doubt. "I just kept getting cases of petrification. But what I did find was a fairy tale that sounded eerily similar to what's going on with him."

After a moment of scrolling Prompto found what he was looking for. He showed them his phone with a story titled 'Sleeping Beauty'.

"It's about a princess who pricks her finger on a spindle and falls into a deep sleep," he explained. "You guys remember the story, right? Nothing can wake her up and when they think all hope is lost, her true love shows up and wakes her up with a kiss."

Gladio and Noct stared at him in silence. The blond's enthusiastic expression slowly shifted to a self-conscious pout as it dragged on. He took his phone back and hugged it protectively against his chest.

"Aw come on! It's a good lead!" he cried. "Right?"

"But it's a story," Gladio said, gesturing for Prompto's phone. The blond hesitated at first, but eventually gave it to him.

"We can't just fall back on fairy tales for a situation like this," Noct said.

"I know that!"

Prompto sighed. "But what if it's true? What if we're dealing with our own version of it? What if Iggy really does need to be kissed?"

"By true love? That's a bit much," Noct snorted dryly. The idea was absurd. How would that logically work out? And who was going to kiss him exactly? As far as he knew, Ignis wasn't romantically involved with anyone at the moment and even then, it'd be a stretch to get in contact with them and find them since the attack on the city. So that left some rando slobbering all over him and Noct was not going to let that happen.

"It could work."

Noct looked at Gladio, dumbfounded.

"We don't have much to go on so what do we have to lose?" Gladio said, handing Prompto his phone back. "And if it works? He'll get a new boyfriend," he grinned.

Prompto scratched his chin in thought. "I feel like Iggy could do so much better than us."

Gladio snorted, grabbing the blond and placing him into a headlock.

"Speak for yourself, blondie."

Prompto yelped when Gladio roughly ruffled his hair. He tried helplessly to fend him off. "He's winning the lottery if he wakes up to my kiss."

"Or wake up screaming in horror!" Prompto managed to cry out.

Noct wanted to play along, be funny and add a quip or two about them both being losers and that if anyone had the best chance of waking Ignis up it would be Noct. But that meant actually entertaining such a ridiculous idea and he would rather avoid it if it meant subjecting Ignis to the lips of some random stranger. The idea of someone kissing Ignis didn't sit well with Noct and he was having trouble thinking of the reason why.

"We're really thinking about putting our faith in a kid's story?" Noct asked, looking at them with a raised eyebrow.

The men stopped their horseplay once they saw how serious Noct looked.

"There's always a grain of truth to those things," Gladio said. "Doesn't hurt to try it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, then we'll figure out another way."

Noct shook his head. "He's not even awake to consent," he said, hoping that putting his foot down on the kissing issue would be the end of it. He felt like he needed to stop this from happening.

"That's the problem dude, he's sleeping like the dead," Prompto said. "Sure, he wouldn't normally lock lips with any of us, but if it gets him out of his coma he wouldn't mind it."

Then Prompto studied Noct for a bit. The prince crossed his arms over his chest, feeling exposed.

"Why are you fighting us on this?" Prompto asked, suspicious.

Gladio chose to snort a laugh at this point, clamping a hand on Noct's shoulder to shake him out of looking so uptight. "Maybe he's saving his first kiss for Luna," Gladio said and leered.

Noct felt the rush of heat and embarrassment quickly flush over his face. He sucked his teeth, scowling and bucking Gladio's hand off his shoulder in annoyance. He loved Luna, but throughout the years, he learned that his love for her felt more platonic than romantic. She was someone Noct could talk to and went to for advice, an outside perspective that he valued, respected and cherished.

"Aw, that's sweet," Prompto teased, poking at Noct's cheek. Noct retaliated by snapping at the blond's finger with a bite to startle him.

"Hey!"

Hart pulled the privacy curtains back, raising an eyebrow at Prompto who nursed his almost bitten finger with a pout.

"What's his status?" Gladio volunteered to ask, getting them back on track.

The man sighed, shaking his head. "Not great. We've broken every antidote we could think of and he still hasn't come to. I'm afraid there's little we can do here…"

The news hit Noct like a sledgehammer, knocking what little air he had in his lungs. The doctor might as well tell them Ignis was dead with the gravity of how he spoke. But the man slept peacefully behind him, unaware of the grief taking root in Noct's chest. He blinked owlishly as the doctor continued to inform them about the failed antidotes, about how Ignis failed his reflex tests. His words sounded slow but they were still every bit as jarring as Noct tried to bounce back from their severity.

"What should we do?" Gladio asked, which made Noct focus back onto the conversation.

He was surprised at himself for getting this emotional, he was surprised that he wasn't forthcoming with questions the minute the doctor said something. It was Gladio who was front and center, who knew Ignis forwards and backwards and who was strong enough to stay focused.

"We'll need more information before we can do anything drastic. I'd offer to keep him here, but we're small and too far out from the nearest city. He'll need proper care in a bigger hospital if he stays like this."

"Stays?" Noct echoed. His throat felt dry.

"Lestallum would be your best bet," Hart advised. "I can keep him overnight and monitor his vitals-keep him comfortable."

Gladio nodded, giving Hart a firm handshake. "Thanks doc. We'll do just that."

Noct hardly noticed when Hart left as he stared at Ignis. What were they going to do now? Take him to Lestallum? He'll be poked and prodded like some medical oddity. Noct wasn't sure he wanted that. But at the same time, he didn't want to lose him like this.

He raked his brain for possible solutions when it suddenly fell on Prompto's idea from earlier. The heat began to crawl up his neck as he took the thought of kissing Ignis a little bit more seriously. Maybe Gladio was right, there was a nugget of truth to the fairy tale, and here they were, wasting time and antidotes on something that could be solved with the simple kiss.

"Noct?"

"We'll do it." He said. He hadn't noticed that he was already leaning over Ignis, hands already cupping the sides of his head. He pulled himself back and looked up to see Prompto and Gladio look a little surprised and confused.

"The kissing thing," Noct explained, straightening up and clearing his throat. "We'll try it."

Prompto looked at Gladio as though to confirm. The shield shrugged. "Won't hurt to try."

The blond grinned, cracking his knuckles as though he were getting ready to fight.

"Alright big guy, looks like it's up to us to save Iggy with the power of love."

"Excuse me? Don't rule me out!" Noct said, which made Gladio grin. Noct felt his cheeks flare up with heat.

"I mean—don't rule me out because—why should it only be you losers.…yeah," he said, trying to save face.

"So, then who's first?" Gladio asked, sidestepping the awkward mine Noct had created. He closed the privacy curtains around them as they squeezed in closer to Ignis' bed.

"Rock paper scissors?" Prompto suggested.

"No, that's lame," Noct said.

Prompto smirked. "Afraid you'd lose?"

"As if," Noct snorted. "But we're not twelve. We have to take this seriously."


Six games of Rock paper scissors later…

"Gun doesn't exist!" Noct complained.

Prompto winked doing finger guns at him. "It does now, pow-pow ."

Gladio rolled his eyes. "You know, if you wanted to go first, you could've just said so."

Prompto ignored him, taking out his lip balm and applying a generous amount on his lips before smacking them. His lips looked so shiny and greasy.

"Seriously?"

"Hey, my lips need to be buttery smooth for this," Prompto said, putting the lip balm away. He then fluffed out his bangs. "It would be a disservice to Ignis."

Prompto drew closer, leaning over Ignis and hovering just slightly over his lips before eventually going for it. The kiss was a slight brush of their lips, soft and meaningless, yet it was enough to make Noct feel the twitching urge to yank Prompto off.

The blond pulled back, licking his lips as they waited for a reaction. Ignis continued to sleep, unaware of the encounter.

Prompto hummed in disappointment. "Let me try again."

Prompto latched back on, open mouth. Noct swore he saw a flash of tongue and felt the same tug from before only hotter and angrier. His mouth twitched, wanting to protest.

Prompto pulled back for air, face flushed pink, eyes glazed and wide.

"Those don't count. Those were practice kisses!"

Noct watched in horror as Prompto pulled back the privacy curtains to drag in a chair. He pulled to Ignis' bedside with a determined look and made himself comfortable. Locking lips with Ignis again, Noct felt himself move forward to stop him but Gladio's strong grip on his shoulder held him back.

He stood there and watched helplessly as Prompto kissed Ignis like his life depended on it. He kissed and slurped and made Noct wonder if the blond had ever kissed anyone in his life. It made him wince, but it also made him dizzy. He couldn't handle the imagine of his best friend attempting to swap spit with Ignis. It felt wrong. The kissing was terrible too. The man would probably wake up just to make it stop. Prompto looked like a fish out of water, gulping at the man's lips with such ferocity that Noct was afraid there wouldn't be any Ignis left for the rest of them.

It wasn't until Prompto paused in his onslaught-to breathe and to suggest that he needed to add more tongue-that Noct lost his patience.

"Stop kissing him so much!"

Prompto pulled away instantly, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Sorry! I think I got carried away," he chuckled as he cleaned Ignis off a bit.

Noct's glare was enough for the blond to vacate the chair quickly, offering it to Noct for his turn. The second he took a step, Gladio shoved the prince aside.

"Time for a real man to solve this," he said, taking a seat and scooting up. Noct tried to protest when Gladio quickly leaned down and lined his lips against Ignis'. The kiss was so quick it barely registered as one.

Prompto shook his head. "Too fast, do it again."

Noct kind of wanted to strangle him.

Gladio looked at them both, but his gaze lingered on Noct as though seeking approval. The prince frowned, but gave him a nod nonetheless. Gladio licked his lips, leaning down and closing his eyes. The second kiss was longer, with his lips slightly parted to take more of Ignis. It wasn't the obnoxious slobbering Prompto had going on, just short, gentle and sweet. Ignis' chest rose higher than normal, making Noct hold his breath in anticipation.

Suddenly the idea of Ignis waking up to Gladio's kiss made sense. The pair got along pretty well, knew each other best and probably had a lot more in common than Noct and Ignis could feasibly ever have with one another. Gladio was the other side to Ignis' coin, his foil, and Noct couldn't be angry with that. If it meant they got Ignis back, then whatever. He'd make the shield court him good and proper and give Gladio the shovel talk of a lifetime. He'd summon Ramah and make it extra theatrical.

Still, the concept of them being together stung. He couldn't help but feel a seed of jealousy plant itself inside him. It grew as Gladio kissed Ignis one last time. If Ignis woke up then it meant what Noct always thought about himself to be true: that he was useless to help in the end.

"Anything?" Prompto asked as they watched Ignis closely.

"Got nothing," Gladio said, shaking his head. "Guess I ain't his true love."

"Aw, cheer up, big guy," he said, patting the man's back as he stood up.

"I'll learn to move on, somehow," Gladio replied, wiping an imaginary tear and mock sniffling.

Noct repressed the urge to roll his eyes into the back of his skull.

"Alright, Noct. You're up," Prompto said, offering the chair.

"Out of the three of us, you probably have the best chance," Gladio smirked.

Noct felt his stomach do an odd flip as he took a seat.

"Come to think of it, you are a person of royalty," Prompto said."The princess wakes up after receiving a kiss from a prince."

"And you are connected to the crystal," Gladio added. "Its magic could be of some use to us here."

Noct nodded, determined but felt the pressure mount on his shoulders. If he couldn't wake Ignis up, then who would? His stomach did that odd flip-flop thing again as his gaze traced the outline of Ignis' lips. They were pink and soft looking. He licked his own lips in anticipation as he leaned forward. He stopped just short, his heartbeat pounding wildly when he felt Ignis' breath against him, soft puffs of warmth that came from his nose. He was so close, too close, and his mind reeled with panic at the fact that he was just about to kiss him. He wasn't sure he could go through with it now with their lips now centimeters away.

Noct felt the tip of the lip balm being pressed into his cheek.

"Chapstick?"

He almost slapped the offending tube of plastic away.

"No," he said, swallowing thickly.

"Just kiss him already," Gladio huffed from behind.

Noct screwed his eyes shut, inhaling a breath of courage through his nose and crushed his lips against Ignis'. He relaxed a few seconds in when he realized that Ignis was just as soft and as warm as he looked. He let the kiss linger, breathing through his nose in an effort to keep it going for as long as possible.

He pulled back and opened his eyes to see a reaction.

Ignis continued to sleep.

Noct almost crumbled under the crush of disappointment.

"Well, I guess that settles—"

Noct went in for a second kiss, cutting Gladio off and ignoring Prompto's scandalized gasp as he slightly parted his lips. Ignis tasted like Prompto's cherry lip balm as he took in his bottom lip and sucked. He splayed a hand on the man's chest for leverage and felt the man sigh in his sleep and into his mouth. Noct's eyes flew open, breaking their kiss to gauge but got nothing. Not wanting to stop, he kissed him again, eyes open this time to measure how he should continue based on Ignis' reaction. He thought he heard the click of Prompto's camera phone but ignored it, focusing on the task. Should he open his mouth more? Add tongue? Bite Ignis' bottom lip down. If he bit hard enough would that startle him awake? Noct was of royal blood, he was connected to the crystal, he was worthy, and he was one meant to bring Ignis back from this death like slumber. Noct knew it, Ignis knew it, and the stupid story on Prompto's phone knew it too.

So why wasn't Ignis waking up?

The longer he tried to cling on, the quicker reality began to sink in and morph into panicked horror.

He pulled back, lips warm and tingling. He took in a breath, exhaling through his nose in frustration in an attempt to settle his nerves.

Prompto placed a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe add tongue?" he suggested with encouragement.

Brilliant. He was obviously doing this wrong. The cure was obviously in his saliva. Ignis was going to wake up even if Noct had to shove his tongue down the man's throat. He'll choke him back to life if he had to.

Noct rubbed his face, hoping to rub out his fear and anxiety as he prepared for another session of strategically placed tongued kisses. But when he leaned in to start, Gladio's grip on his shoulder stopped him short.

"Reel it back Romeo."

Noct looked at the shield with a pout.

"I think it's obvious by now that a kiss just isn't going to do it and that making out with Iggy will work even less."

"Or maybe we're just not his true love," Prompto said with a shrug. Noct deflated miserably in his chair.

Prompto pulled out his phone. "So that's me, Gladdy and Noct off the list."

"You made a list?"

Prompto snorted. "Well yeah, dude. We have to keep track of who's had a turn. Wouldn't want someone slobbering all over Ignis and taking advantage."

Noct felt his brow involuntarily twitch.

"Gentlemen?" Sania's voice called from outside.

Gladio drew the privacy curtains open to reveal the small black woman holding some manila folders to her chest. Prompto looked between Ignis and Sania before going to her.

"Hey Sania," Prompto said, greeting her with a smile. "We have a little theory going on and would like you to try something."

Gladio's eyes widened before he could stop Prompto from pulling her close to Ignis' bedside opposite of Noct. The prince watched the shield's surprise soon morph into a jealous glare and he couldn't help but be amused for once now that the shoe was on the other foot.

Sania raised an eyebrow. "A theory? How curious. What is it?"

"True love's kiss," Prompto replied almost too proudly.

"You're serious?" She looked to Noct to confirm.

"Prompto found some fairytale about some slumbering princess that wakes up to true love's kiss."

"Okay," she said. Noct could see her hesitating as she juggled the folders against her chest awkwardly while coming a bit forward.

"Kiss him and see if he wakes up," Prompto encouraged. Noct wanted to intervene, tell her that they just tried it, that it didn't work, and that whatever she dug up would be a million times better than them kissing Ignis back to life. But when she looked to him for permission, with a look of both curiosity and hope, Noct gave in.

"Kiss away," Noct said, gesturing to Ignis as he slouched in his seat.

Sania nodded, handing her folders off to Gladio. "Here goes nothing."

Noct watched as their lips met. A small selfish part of him wanted Ignis to stay asleep. But he knew that was a terrible thing to wish for when he wanted him back.

Sania pulled back, eyes searching the man's face for a reaction. But when Ignis remained asleep, she sighed.

Sania straightened herself up and looked up at the group.

"Well, with that out of the way." She gestured for her folders, which Gladio gave back. "I have some news," she made her way to the foot of Ignis' bed.

"I checked the records and found a similar case that goes back a couple of decades Mind you, the information isn't quite complete," she said pulling out copies of a file and handing each one of them a sheet.

Noct read the file. It described an adult male around Noct's age who was in a coma-like state. He had no serious injuries and was found near a patch of aggressive funguar. The name didn't strike Noct as familiar and the picture of the plant-like creature, a giant tree with three mushroom heads armed with angry teeth, only made him grimace. There was a reason why he avoided vegetables and them turning into evil killer plants was one of them. The file ended there, with no information about treatment or the young man's fate.

"So, I called an old friend, a botanical scientist from my college days and explained the situation. Based on the information you gave, Ignis might've landed on a mushroom bed that's related to a strain of the extinct funguar plant. The same plant that has the ability to cast the sleep status effect."

"Sleep status effect? Never heard of it," Gladio said.

"It's a status effect that hasn't been around for a few hundred years," Sania began to explain. "It leaves the victim in a like coma state. Their body enters a stasis where it doesn't age so long as it feeds on their magic. Once that's depleted, it'll switch to the person's life force, where the stress will eventually lead to organ failure or a heart attack."

The room fell eerily silent as shock settled in. Prompto looked down while Gladio looked sullen. Noct felt like he was in a vacuum, the air, his thoughts, everything felt like it was being sucked out. He didn't know what to think, how to respond. He looked at Ignis, who slept so peacefully and unaware of the mortal danger he was in. Noct tried to ground himself, to stay strong despite his heart beating wildly in his chest.

"If there is any good news from this is that it's a very slow process," Sania said. "Depending on how strong your friend's magic is, it may be awhile before it makes the switch and starts to do some serious damage. We'll try to find a cure before that happens."

"So, there's a cure?" Prompto asked, perked up by the good news.

Sania winced a bit. "Unfortunately, the most recent known case of this happened about twenty years ago," she said "Even back then, they weren't really sure what was happening and the victim wasn't treated."

Noct looked down at the file in his lap. "What happened to them?"

Sania shrugged. "Don't know, the group disappeared with the victim before getting any treatment."

"What about other victims?" Gladio asked.

"Any cases predating the most recent case are few and lack proper information. From how the victims got it to how they were cured. In one case, the person affected just woke up on their own, the status eventually wearing off, days later," she said. "Another victim was brought back by an antidote, while others that used the same antidote simply perished."

"Are you serious?" Prompto gawked. "This spell is horrifying."

"It is, and it's such a rare and unpredictable ailment that comes from a plant that's been thought to have been extinct for centuries."

"And seeing how it's a centuries old aliment that barely anyone gets, I'm guessing the hit or miss antidote isn't exactly sold in any stores today," Gladio concluded.

"Exactly. It's obsolete." Saina said. "To find one intact would be a miracle. And if you did, it's not a guarantee it'd work on Ignis."

"Here's what I don't get," Prompto interjected. "If it's a status ailment, then how come Noct didn't get it? He's the one that found Iggy near the mushrooms. How come he didn't drop?"

"Well, it's fickle. It seems to affect maybe one in a thousand? One in a million? Ignis is probably genetically predisposed or allergic."

"Talk about bad luck and timing," Gladio said, shaking his head.

"So, now what? From what you told us it seems like all hope is lost," Noct said, hollowly. He didn't want to think about leaving Ignis to die like that, to watch him slowly waste away.

"I'm not going to let that happen," she assured them. "If there's a mention of an antidote, then there has to be some sort of record on how to make it. I have a scholar friend who collects old textbooks. He should have something about medicinal potions and bestiaries dating back to the era when funguar were around. I'm sure if I can get my hands on those books and comb through them."

"You'll find the cure and figure out how to make it," Prompto finished.

Sania nodded. "I can get a team of chemists and we'll make the original antidote and variations of it to make sure."

"Sounds like a good start," Gladio said. "Thank you, Sania."

"Yeah, you've been a big help and I'm sure Ignis would appreciate it," Noct said, adding his own gratitude.

Sania smiled. "I promise we'll get him back to normal. Though from what you guys told me, it seemed you guys had his lips covered with your own theories," she teased.

Noct made a choking sound while Gladio cleared his throat. Prompto tried his best to laugh it off, but his neck and ears were bright red.

"I'm curious, what's the name of the story you based the theory on?" She asked, jostling the folders to hold them closer to her chest when she felt them slip.

"Sleeping Beauty," he replied, pulling out his phone to show her the page.

The faint glow of the screen reflected in her glasses as she skimmed it quickly.

"Huh," she said, tilting her. "Interesting."

"Kissing him didn't work," Noct said, hoping to steer her clear of any more ideas.

"I don't know about that. There's always a grain of truth to those old tales," she said. "I'll keep your fun theory in mind."

"So, when are you heading out?" Gladio asked.

"Early tomorrow. I will do a bit more research today and make some calls. I'll update Hart on my findings and touch base with you if I find anything else. What about you guys?"

"Doc wants to keep Iggy overnight, suggests we take him to Lestallum," Gladio replied.

"Let me know what you guys plan to do before I go," she said. "We'll meet in the morning and we'll coordinate from there."

"Again, thanks for your help," Noct added.

"Not a problem. I promise we'll find a cure and get him back," she said before heading out.

"Well, at least a cure's eventually coming our way," Gladio said, sounding a bit more confident.

Noct wasn't so sure as he looked at Ignis and frowned.

"Let's be optimistic," Prompto said. "If anyone can come out of this alive, it's Iggy!"

"Prompto's right, Noct." Gladio said. "We gotta have hope and if anyone can find a cure, it's Sania. She's the best around so Iggy will be good."

Noct looked to Gladio who gave him a thumbs up and a grin. He hoped the shield was right.