vexata quaestio
Blood sprays onto Ignis's face from where Noct had impaled Caligo. Coating the Sword of the Wise, it runs along the tip before dripping to the floor.
Ignis gasps, eyes fixed on the sword protruding from his captor's body, "Noct?"
He pulls the blade free, letting Caligo's body drop heavily to the side. Noctis hurries to his side, hissing at the sight of the sword pinning his leg to the ground. Ignis breathes for what feels like the first time as Noct undoes the rope binding him.
"C'mon, let's get you out of here." Noct's voice is sedate - sad almost and completely backwards of his previous actions with Caligo. Ignis reaches up, anchoring his fist in Noct's sleeve.
"Noct - " Ignis tries, but Noct waves him off. He stubbornly continues. "I'm sorry. I failed you."
"Ignis, dammit - " Noct grimaces as if he's been physically hurt. "You've done nothing wrong - it was me. Ignis, forgive me." he pleads.
"Noct - " Sensing he was about to continue an endless spiral of apologies, he settles for, "Let's just say we are both forgiven?"
Noctis nods and wipes at his eyes, moving to stand over the sword. An elixir makes its way to his hand, and he leans down to hand it to Ignis. Ignis braces, and huffs as Noct blurts out one last, "I'm sorry."
Noctis grips the sword tight, looking to Ignis for affirmation. "We have to hurry. Ready?"
Taking once last glance at Caligo's still form, Ignis nods, loose strands of hair dropping into his face. Noctis takes a shaky breath, running his sleeve across his face.
"On the count of three. One." Noct says, adjusting his grip further. "Two."
"Three - " Ignis blacks out.
...
The gentle sounds of a forest greet Ignis's ears when he next wakes up. His chin rests on Noct's shoulder.
Noct must sense him coming to, because he glances back at him. "Hey, Specs."
Immediately Ignis shifts away to try and stand, Noct grips him tighter to keep him from falling. His vision swims, and he nearly collapses back down onto Noct's back.
"Whoa. Hey, settle down - your not in as good of shape as you think you are." Noct huffs, Ignis's height and weight an awkward thing to carry. He can tell Noct is trying to be gentle, his grip on his wounded leg much less firm than it was the other.
It's still near sickeningly painful.
Birds chirp, and Ignis draws his half-lidded eyes to the conifer trees. The sky above them is a canvas of pink and gold clouds.
"The sun is setting." Ignis murmurs against Noct's shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm taking us to Saxham Outpost. Prompto and Gladio will pick us up there."
"Saxham?"
Noctis plants his feet against the ground, still damp from the sporadic showers of the last few days. "Mhmm," he huffs, "Cauthess Rest Area was closer, but a dropship landed somewhere in the forest between there and us."
Ignis gulps, suddenly feeling much more exposed.
"Don't worry, we'll be there before night. And the Imperials won't know to check for us in this direction." Noct assures.
Letting some of the tension drain, Ignis replies, "So Saxham Outpost it is then. Are you sure you know the way?"
Ignis didn't know where they were nor where they were going, forced to rely only on Noct. The thought should have been scarier than it was.
Noctis barks a short laugh - he knew where they were.
It was strange, Ignis wasn't used to being the one led around blindly, with Noctis being the only one in the know. Noctis had grown stronger and smarter, such an abrupt change that Ignis couldn't not notice.
Pulling a hand down to brush against his wounded leg, Ignis marvels. Had he received this same injury just a few months prior - then he would likely have been crippled. Noct's magic, the elixir and whatever else Noct may have given him while he was out, had completely sealed the wound over and set the bone.
A crippling injury had been turned into a few days' bed rest.
Even Noct's magic had become substantially refined. The thought sat strangely in his stomach.
Despite laying on his back, Noctis felt so untouchable. So very out of Ignis's reach.
The night Insomnia fell everything had changed. That one night - Ignis had gone to bed with Gladio and Prompto, and Noctis had left them. That one night felt like an eternity between them, they remained unchanged while it felt like Noct had aged a decade.
It felt as if every step Ignis took towards him, Noct would take two steps back. Pushing away and driving ever onwards - leaving them to struggle to keep up.
Noctis had changed.
"I don't want to lose you." Ignis chokes, the words having been something he had long been dwelling over.
The falter of his steps is the only sign that Noct had acknowledged him, he remains silent otherwise. Ignis rests his head against his prince's back, shame keeping him silent.
The smell of pine needles drifts by, and Noctis stops. Ignis looks up, eyeing a barn at the top of a hill.
Noctis takes them up to it, making his way inside. Hay kicks up as he walks to the opposite end and shifts, bending low and setting Ignis down.
The movement jostles his leg, but he refuses to show any discomfort in front of Noctis. Sighing, Noctis settles down next to him.
Golden rays from the setting sun peek through the barn's wooden panels, and both Noct and Ignis grow uneasy. Noctis pulls his phone out, checking the time.
Crows caw outside, but it does nothing to break the silence between them. It lingers, heavy and thick like the dust suspended in the air around them.
Ignis wants to curse Noct, to cry out, to beg him to say anything. Noct does.
"A king pushes onwards always, accepting the consequences and never looking back." A bitter laugh, "I struggle with that last part. Ignis, you are too loyal to me."
Eyes wide, Ignis opens his mouth to ask what he could mean.
The rumble of the Regalia's engine cuts him off, leaving him to push the topic to the back of his mind.
...
The crutch creaks under his weight as he stands from bed - but it would only be a temporary nuisance. Prompto sticks his head into the room, lighting up as he sees Ignis moving on his own for the first time since they arrived at Old Lestallum's dingy motel.
"You're up!" He calls.
Ignis scoffs, "Of course. I was only wounded, I'm not an invalid."
Stepping aside to let Ignis through, Prompto chuckles. "By the way, Gladio took Noct with him to go pick up Iris. They should be back by tonight."
"And what of the Hester's?" Ignis asks, bee-lining for the coffeemaker and brewing up a cup. Strong enough to stand on his own, Ignis rests the crutch against the counter.
"They made it to Caem this morning." Prompto replies, taking a seat on the sofa. "Noct's trying to get Cid to go too - so that he can check up on the boat. Probably a pretty good idea just in case."
Ignis 'hmms', pouring the coffee into his cup and bringing it up to his mouth.
"How is Noct doing?"
Prompto quirks a brow, "Fine?"
"Fine...?" Ignis echoes, "To rescue me, he had too..."
Trailing off, he pauses to look into the deep black of his coffee.
"Yeah." Prompto says regardless.
Noctis had had to kill to save Ignis.
Ignis lets his mind run like a train without brakes, what if he had followed Noct's original plan in the first place? What if he had stayed with Noct? What if he hadn't been captured?
What if it had been him who had been killed?
"But Noct's always been strange. I can't understand him anymore. At least since we left Insomnia." Prompto drawls, disturbing him from his thoughts.
"Since we left Insomnia." Ignis agrees quietly, feeling the mood become dour. Offering him a cup of coffee, Ignis turns back around as Prompto politely declines.
"He was quick though - I wasn't expecting for him to be able to catch up with you like that!" Prompto says, "Did he raid that base all by himself to rescue you?"
"Ah," Ignis dips his head, "The base was not an active one - it was simply a spot for the Imperials to regroup after you all beat them."
Perotoss? Pepetouss? He can't recall the name. A few explosive spells from Noct during his attack insured that it would no longer be a place of importance regardless.
Ignis settles his mug against the counter, letting his hands linger around its warmth.
"The commander, Caligo Ulldor - " The rapid way Prompto sits up pauses Ignis, and he raises an eyebrow at him.
"Caligo...?" Prompto trails. Ignis nods, not understanding what Prompto was thinking. Nervously laughing, Prompto sits back in his seat.
"Did you and Noct know he was the commander before we raided the base?" He questions.
Ignis pulls a hand up to his chin, "I was unaware of his identity until he told me himself."
The way Prompto sinks further down into his seat leaves him looking insecure, Ignis turns around and leans against the counter to face him fully.
"Hey, Ignis..." Prompto ventures, and Ignis tenses at the sudden caution in his tone, "Don't you think Noct acts strange sometimes?"
"How so?"
Prompto turns his head away, "Well, I mean - nevermind."
"No, Prompto - " Ignis calls, a chill running down his back, "I know what you mean. I want to know what you think."
Prompto rubs at the nape of his neck, eyes charting the details of the floor, "Sometimes - he says or does things that don't make sense. Just little things."
Prompto pauses, looking up at Ignis who nods in agreement.
"Like the few times we've played King's Knight since Insomnia fell - That's not really the best example though since there are guides online. But he also always seems to know where to go - what's going to happen next."
Prompto, now assured that Ignis would hear him out, pauses again. He looks down at his clasped hands, fiddling his thumbs. Ignis holds his breath.
"He knows the names of people we haven't met yet."
The room feels cold. Ignis understands where Prompto is going with this.
"Ignis, what if his magic can bring him back in time?" He says it like it's a half-joke.
It's anything but. The words ring like a death toll.
For a moment, it feels as if they are back in that alley - just the two of them against the Chancellor of Niflheim. The world outside feels as non-existent as it had back then, when they were alone with a man that was more than he seemed.
"Prompto..." Ignis starts, eyes dropping to the floor. At the edge of his vision, he can already see Prompto deflate - fearing what he said had been nonsensical.
Ignis wants to say it did - that Prompto's been watching to many movies and it's all impossible. Except it isn't.
He's heard of legends of Kings in the dawn of the Lucis Caleums that could slow time, that could bend it.
It just makes too much sense.
"While there is a possibility that Noct's ancestors had the power to influence time - they couldn't reverse it."
Prompto flushes, so Ignis is quick to clarify.
"No, I think it's more likely that he would have seen the future. A form of foresight."
Jolting to his feet in shock, Prompto stares at him. "You, then- you don't think I'm crazy?"
"I don't think we should jump to any conclusions, but you are right. Noct has been acting strange."
Falling back into the seat, Prompto runs a hand through his blond locks in relief, "Heh. Of course."
Biting at his lip, Ignis muses, "But if that were the case, then he would tell us, rather than leave us in the dark."
Unless things had gone bad. Unless the future couldn't be changed.
It nags on both their minds but neither mention it out loud. Instead, they let it settle like poison in their guts.
Prompto swallows, and Ignis imagines Prompto must feel as insecure as he does. "Yeah. He'd tell us..."
Nervously laughing, Prompto flashes him a bright smile, "I mean, until we know more about why Noct's so secretive, it's an entertaining theory."
Swallowing, Ignis nods, "Right. Until we know more."
...
Noct groans as Iris and Prompto burst out to sing along with the 'Solheimien Rhapsody' as it plays from the car's radio. Hours of driving in the heat would leave any sane person miserable - Noctis mused that it must not apply to either of them.
So when they finally pull over, Noct is eager to head into the mist of Malmalam Thicket. Iris coos as she steps out of the car and sees the chocobos Noct whistled for run up to them.
The chocobos carry them swiftly, flying over the bridge and through the thick woods at breakneck speed. They are just as quick to leave them when they arrive at the entrance of Malmalam itself.
Gladio sticks close to Iris, and Noct easily forgives him for it - the monsters here were quick and lethal, and Iris was no Daemon Slayer yet.
But, as the Bandersnatch guarding the tomb howls in rage, he could see how she would one day earn that title.
Iris stands bravely before the massive beast, its many teeth doing nothing to scare her as long as she fought with them. At this age, she focused on healing them, but when she struck - her hits were true.
Gladio cheers as Noct provides her footing to leap into an aerial attack. A kick to the Bandersnatch's face stumbles it, and Gladio sweeps his sword under its legs to topple it.
The five of them make quick work of it after that.
Iris woops, and Prompto high-fives her. Noctis smiles, a rueful part of him wishing he could have seen how strong she would become.
"The tomb's just ahead." He says, waiting for them to end their celebration. Walking to the tomb, he unlocks the door and steps into the cool building.
The Scepter of the Pious sits in the center.
He extends a hand over it, and like all others, it rises into the air to brilliantly join with his other Royal Arms.
Lingering shards of light disperse as he turns, smiling gently at Iris as she gasps from the display. "Alright, let's get out of here."
He pulls them along, listening to Iris babble to Gladio and Prompto, and smiling when she addressed him. The walk -and then ride via chocobo- to the car is quick enough, but rather than getting in Noctis turns to them.
"What do you say about camping tonight?"
Eyes lighting up, Iris nods rapidly. "Of course! Let me help with cooking!"
Ignis stretches, rubbing the lingering soreness from his leg. "Well, if you insist." he smiles lightly.
They leave Ignis and Iris to dinner while they set up camp. Prompto smiles at him and snaps what was likely an unflattering candid photo.
Noctis snorts. Ever since he and Gladio had left the other day to pick up Iris, Prompto and Ignis seemed to have gained privy knowledge. Like an inside joke, but delicate enough that they walked on eggshells to avoid spoiling it.
Whatever it was, it wasn't something that brought alarm to Noctis. Yet.
"You're always so photogenic." Prompto whines as he looks at the picture. Noctis sits up, and Prompto tilts the camera his way.
He wouldn't consider it photogenic, but he didn't look as bad as he thought he would.
"Ehh, it's not my best." Noctis shrugs. Before he can continue setting up the chairs, Prompto shoves the camera further into his face.
"Dude. No, compared to this -" It was a picture of Gladio trying to fist-bump Ignis's high-five, "You are a work of graceful art."
The picture does manage a genuine snort from Noct, and it draws Iris over. Prompto gladly shows her the picture, both quickly hide the camera when her cackles bring Gladio.
Prompto and Iris continue to sporadically chuckle throughout the night, long after they eat dinner and tuck into their sleeping bags. Hours after Noctis hears the last snort, he lets his eyes close shut.
The morning wakes them, and all five groggily pack up and pile into the car.
Caem greets them mere hours later, sun glinting off the lighthouse and the chorus of seabirds lost to the ocean breeze.
Thank you very much for reading!
I know I said updates would probs be slow because Halloweens coming up - but this chapter practically wrote itself. So NEXT update will probably be slow? I'm working on something for good ol' Halloween AND I'm supposed to have chapters 1-3 of my thesis done in the next few weeks - and I have almost none of that part complete. :/
Halloween's going to be interesting tho. I'll try and post a preview around Oct.1... or maybe I'll do two previews spaced apart. Idk, I'll see what looks preview worthy.
Also - I hope you don't mind this chapter was almost entirely Iggy's POV. That won't happen again until we are closer to the 2/3 mark, where we will have ~3 chapters (or one really long one) worth of POV outside of Noctis.
Anyway, thank you again so much for reading and commenting! You guys are really so awesome! :D