Blind Faith
Part I
Today was the day. Either it would be extremely successful with minimal damage and loss of life, or everything would be an utter disaster.
The docks of Altissia were swarming with people trying to get out of the city alive. In the midst of the crowd, three men worked together to move each individual, based on the district they were from within the city, to various boats docked along the shore.
"Alright, those in the second district follow me to this dock!" Gladiolus, a large man with tattoos covering his arms, yelled out to the crowd while motioning with his hand. A portion of the group separated themselves and fell in line behind him. He moved swiftly and confidently to a boat docked on the far side of the harbor.
"Those of you from the eighth district, come with me!" commanded Ignis, a spectacled man with an accent. He, too, moved a portion of the crowd to another dock and helped the evacuees onto a boat. Off to the side a smaller, scrawnier blonde, Prompto, checked off names on his paper, ensuring that each citizen was accounted for. The situation was slightly hectic, yet still controlled.
Just a few days prior, Gladio, Ignis, Prompto, and Noctis had met with the Head Secretary to discuss terms of forging a covenant with the Hydrean, Leviathan. Although she reluctantly gave her blessing to go forth and summon Leviathan, her terms stated that her citizens were to be evacuated safely. After all, her duty was to her people. What did it matter to her whether a group of four men were successful in summoning a God? As it were, Noctis was to go forth to summon the Hydrean alone until the rest of the guys were finished with evacuation duty.
Once his group was safely boarded onto their boat and departed, Gladio made his way back to Prompto, who was now sitting on a toppled box crate. "It looks like my team is good to go from this wave of citizens. Just double check that we grabbed everyone from my assigned districts so I know if I need to go find anyone," he asked.
Prompto carefully scanned his list, " looks like we got everyone. I don't see any missing people for now."
"Awesome. Thanks."
Just at that moment, Ignis came forward. "I believe my group is good to go. Just confirm for me, if you will," he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Once again, Prompto moved his finger down the list along the checkmarks that he has made throughout the afternoon. One by one, he noted that the Altissia citizens had been accounted for. He nodded and gave a thumbs up. The men looked around and noted that the entire square was empty for now, except for the three of them.
"You know, I'm surprised that the Imperials haven't shown up yet. I figured we'd be bashing some Magitek skulls right about now," Gladio exhaled loudly as he looked up at the sky, his large hand shielding his eyes from the sun. He'd never admit it, but he was starting to get anxious. Fighting off an entire army and ensuring that Noctis and Luna obtain the covenant of Leviathan wasn't an easy feat in the least, but he still had faith. The four men had gotten this far, but whether by luck or skill, he still wasn't sure.
"Come now, it's still early. Give it time. We don't want to let our guards down at any point today," cautioned Ignis, adjusting his glasses slightly higher on the bridge of his nose.
Prompto glanced up from his clipboard when he heard the chatter of another round of citizens as they hurried down to the waterfront. "Uh, guys?" He nudged their shoulders with the back of his hand. "Does someone want to put these people in an evacuation boat?"
So it went for the next hour. As word got out from the Altissian government that the citizens were to evacuate immediately, people would come to the docks to get onto the boats out to safety. Ignis and Gladio would sort and load the people by their district numbers into their respective vessels while Prompto would mark off each person in his long checklist. The cooler morning air made way for the stifling heat that was expected in a typical Altissia afternoon. When an Altissian official handed the men some water bottles, they took them graciously.
A break in the crowd allowed the men to take a breather with their water. Ignis shrugged his suit jacket off and placed it off to the side, rolling his shirt sleeves up to his elbows. He stood with one foot propped against a stone pillar, sipping from his bottle. Prompto sat on the ground next to him and brushed a strand of blonde hair from his face as a bead of sweat fell down his forehead.
The trio drank their water in silence, ruminating the rest of their day. It was still eerily quiet for a day that was supposed to be a day of reckoning. Gladio finished his water bottle and threw it in the nearby garbage. "How much longer do you guys think we have with this evacuation business?" he gruffly asked to no one in particular. The others continued to remain silent. Luckily, the Altissians were an understanding group of people and didn't question the hows and whys of the evacuation. They knew that Leviathan wasn't a beast to be messed with. That at least made the work a little easier to deal with.
Another hour, then two, and several more waves of evacuees passed through. The trio had the routine down pat: separate citizens by district, mark them off the checklist, load them into the boats, send them on their way. It was almost monotonous. Prompto brought the clipboard to his face and lightly tapped it against his forehead several times as Ignis and Gladio approached with their numbers from this round. "Do any of you want to switch for a bit? Maybe one of you can start checking people off and I can be the hero and lead people to the boats? I'm tired of having to do the boring work," he whined. Gladio and Ignis stopped further away than Prompto anticipated. Confused, he moved the clipboard from his face and recognized Ignis' solemn expression cast toward the sky.
Shadows started to spread across the ground as a fleet of Niflheim airships appeared around the city without notice. Prompto's eyes widened when he looked over his shoulder and detected what Ignis was staring at. Gladio flinched at the sight and growled, his hand moving instinctively to his Greatsword.
Without a moment's hesitation, Ignis grabbed his cell phone from his back pants pocket and dialed Noctis' number, putting the call on speakerphone. Although he was certain that the Prince was well aware of the situation at hand, Ignis felt needed to inform him for himself, for nothing else than his own peace of mind. He took a few steps away and adjusted his glasses, never moving his gaze from the Imperials. He could make out small figures dropping from the ships, presumably onto land on the other side of the city. His attention was diverted from the ships when Noctis picked up his phone. In the background, Ignis could hear cheering and applause. Before the rite, Luna was to give a speech to the world of Eos and inspire hope and faith in the people. Judging by the sound of jubilation he heard, it must have worked.
He didn't wait for a greeting from the Prince. "Noct, the empire's here."
A pause, and then came Noctis' voice through the phone. "I can see them," he acknowledged quietly. Ignis heard Gladio and Prompto approach him from behind. More people were now trickling into the port, ready to be moved offshore. Ignis motioned with a gloved hand toward the people to alert his friends of their arrival, his face remaining stern and his eyes still on the ships. Prompto fidgeted with the edge of his black leather vest and bit his lower lip. Gladio remained standing by Ignis' side with both hands interlocked over his head, listening to the conversation.
The plan had been discussed numerous times the night before and well into the morning, but Ignis still felt it beared repeating. "Drop ships are closing in on the port. Look for an advantage point to approach them," he advised, careful to not raise his voice any louder than necessary to arouse any chaos from the public.
"Okay, look after the citizens."
Gladio smirked. "We've got them covered."
Prompto exhaled loudly, his voice betraying any sign of bravery on his face. "So . . . it begins."
As Ignis hung up the phone, the ground began to shake. The trio dropped to their knees and looked around as a loud, guttural noise came from the far outer edge of the city. The shaking and rumbling went on for what felt like an eternity, but it was probably no more than a minute or so. Pandemonium amongst the citizens broke out, a drastic change from the peaceful evacuation process only a short time ago.
"What the hell was that?!" Prompto yelled, his hands gripped onto the cobblestone road under them. As they stood up, an explosion about a mile or so away caused them to fall again. Gunshots echoed through the air and the unmistakable hum of the Imperial airships droned on above them, honing in on what could only be where the awakened Leviathan was.
The scene around them was quickly dissolving into one of absolute madness. People ran in every direction to find shelter, howling and crying in fear. Large waves crashed against the seawall and drenched those who were unfortunate enough to be nearby as it happened. Although the Imperial ships were still at a distance, the sounds of gunfire and explosions were as loud as if they were right next to them. "We need to get the people to their boats, immediately!" ordered Ignis. He stood first and held a hand out to Prompto to help him up, surveying the chaos around them. They had to get this under control and fast; otherwise, the blood of the Altissians would be on their hands. "Gladio, your voice carries farther. Give them directions."
Gladio examined the scenery around them and noticed a stack of three square, wooden crates by an alleyway. He ran over and jumped to the top, cupping his hands over his mouth. "Everyone, listen up!" he commanded with a booming voice over the commotion. The crowd quieted down just enough to hear what he had to say. "If you are from districts two, five, nine, and ten, you are to report to Mr. Scientia here immediately and he will take you to your boats. The rest will follow me to safety, meeting just over there," he pointed to a spot not too far off behind the crowd. "Move quickly and do not fall behind. We don't have much time."
He hopped down from his makeshift stage and navigated through the throngs of people to the location he pointed out. Ignis did the same, moving fast to get to where Gladio told the people to meet. Once he made his way to the front of the crowd, Ignis turned to face them and noted the nervous looks everyone had. "Your evacuation boats are this way. We'll get everyone to safety, but make sure you're paying attention so you don't miss where you're supposed to be. There's no room for error here. Now, let's go," he instructed, turning on his heels and leading everyone to a row of boats that had just pulled into port, designating who was to go where. The heaving waves did not make it easy for anyone to get settled into their seats on their boats.
As he moved people into the boats and walked up and down the docks, Ignis' cell phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw Noctis' name on the caller ID. He caught his comrades' attention and they both met him in the middle of the square. Ignis picked up and placed it on speakerphone for the three of them to hear. Once again, he didn't wait for Noctis to speak. "Noct, has the Hydrean has awoken?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. The darkened sky and roaring seas were a dead giveaway.
"Yeah, she's up and she's pissed. But how are you guys? And the civilians?" Noctis inquired, a little more hurried and out of breath than he was in their last conversation just moments prior.
"Almost there, we'll join you when we're done," reassured Gladio.
"It looks like the empire has the Hydrean surrounded. Hurry, Noct!" a sense of urgency in Ignis' voice as he looked up to the sky at the army around them.
"I'm on it," he replied.
"Then the rite's already begun?" Gladio asked, more to Ignis than anyone.
"Most likely," they heard Noctis answer through the phone. Gladio hissed through his gritted teeth and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. He shook his head and strode away to evacuate the rest of the citizens to their boats.
"Time to lend the Hydrean a hand!" Prompto exclaimed with a cheerful tone, pumping a fist into the air. He jogged after Gladio to get the last of his district's population marked off as 'safe'.
Ignis nodded and hung up without another word. He trusted Noctis and his ability to get things done. Still, something about the entire situation left him feeling uneasy in the pit of his stomach. Quelling the thought for now, he continued to load people onto the boats, much faster than before. He knew that the Imperials were going to close in soon.
As the boats filled to capacity, he would release the lines that moored them to the docks and instruct the captains to get as far away as possible until further notice. One by one, he'd watch as the boats would speed off toward the canal that led to the ocean, falling in line with the boats that were coming from Gladio's side of the docks.
Finally down to the last boat, Ignis stood aside and assisted the dwindling group of citizens into the craft. One child, no more than four years old, looked up at him with pleading eyes. "Um, mister? Where are we going?" he asked, hugging a small Chocobo plushie to the side of his face.
Ignis smiled reassuringly. "Just out to sea for a bit. Don't worry, everything will be ok and you'll be back home in no time," he responded. The boy smiled back, satisfied with the answer. He took Ignis' hand for balance and hopped into the boat, dawdling away to sit with his family. Ignis looked on, his mind racing. Of course, everything would be ok. It had to be. It always was.
After he observed that everyone was seated safely, he knelt down and released the line, tossing the large bundle of rope into the boat. He took his glasses off and tried to wipe the water away from the lenses, a slight headache coming on. Where was some aspirin when you needed it, he thought.
From behind, Prompto tapped him on the shoulder and held out his clipboard. "Hey Iggy, check this over and make sure everyone's accounted for. We should be ok, but just double check" the blonde yelled in his ear over the waves. Ignis replaced his glasses on his face, inwardly groaning at the fact that wiping the lenses only made the water smear. He always hated when his glasses were anything less than crystal clear. Rolling his eyes, he took the clipboard, mentally checking every citizen off from his memory with what Prompto had listed.
As he finished reviewing Prompto's list, a low hum broke his concentration. Both men spun around. From behind, the Imperials and their ships were moving closer overhead, almost appearing on top of them. They watched as the ships released more Magitek drones over the city. A loud bang nearby, presumably from a bomb of some sort, deafened those in the area and a building crumbled under the blast. The Magitek were closing in on the port and, by default, the trio.
Ignis turned to the boat captain and grew angry when he noticed the captain was staring dumbfounded at the ships with his mouth dropped. "What are you waiting for? Get these people out of here, now!" he bellowed. This startled the captain as he jumped to attention and fumbled with his keys, finally getting the boat to sputter to life. Water bubbled up behind the boat as the captain pushed one of the levers up and turned the wheel as far left as he could. Once he was a safe distance away from the dock, the captain piloted the boat away as fast as he could. Another boat, presumably the one with Gladio's people, raced away soon after.
"Guys! Over here!" Gladio called out. The gunshots that seemed so distant before were just streets away now. Clanking metal reverberated from the alleyways and behind buildings. When both saw that no more boats were around and the citizens of Altissia were deemed safe, Ignis and Prompto raced over to where Gladio was standing with his Force Stealer resting on his shoulder, his gaze on the street before them. "It looks like we finally have company."
Prompto pulled his Valiant firearm and cocked it, ready for action. "What would a summoning be without our good ol' Imperial buddies?"
A pair of Delta Daggers materialized from the air for Ignis and he crouched into a defensive stance. "Not a very good one," he retorted and smirked as the metallic soldiers finally came into view around them, marching toward them emotionlessly. Their red eyes zeroed in on the trio and, without warning, their slow marching turned into an all out sprint, having identified their prospective targets.
"Let's do this." Gladio leapt first into battle, swinging his Force Stealer in a wide, sweeping motion in front of him, taking out a handful of Magitek. Sparks flew through the air as some short-circuited from the hit. Before he could get his bearings on where to focus next, a cold robot hand grabbed his hair from behind and threw him to the ground, knocking his head onto the pavement with such force that it caused Gladio to see stars. As the hand came down to grab him again, the crack of a gunshot and the resulting bullet nailed the bot in the face, saving Gladio. Ignis reached down and pulled Gladio away from the fray as Prompto aimed another shot at a pair of Magitek closing in on the friends.
"Are you alright?" Ignis yelled above the battle with his hand resting on Gladio's shoulder.
"Oh, that? It'll take a lot more than that to take me out," he laughed, giving a thumbs up and a wink. Ignis paused, his eyes still on Gladio. He shrugged his friend's hand off his shoulder. "I'm fine, really! Now let's go! Prompto can't take this army on alone and we still need to get to Noct."
Ignis nodded in agreement and immediately jumped back into the battle. He vaulted into an aerial cartwheel, bringing his daggers down onto a droid that had his gun aimed at Prompto. He dragged the daggers down the entire back of its head, exposing all of its inner machinery. As his feet touched the ground, he kicked his right leg back, landing a hit in a vulnerable Magitek's abdomen and knocking him to the pavement. Before the bot could get back up, Ignis brought his foot down on its face and crushed it under his heel.
"Behind you!" Prompto alerted Ignis. He ducked right as Prompto shot more rounds at an incoming horde of Magitek. A few feet away, Gladio brought his sword down on another Magitek bot and smashed it to pieces, sending bits of shrapnel flying at Ignis who was still crouched down. When he was certain that Prompto was done unleashing bullets on their enemies, Ignis threw his daggers into the heart of the melee and landed a direct hit on one of the Magitek. As he raced in to retrieve them, a loud screech above sent the three diving to safety wherever they could find it. An airbike carrying two Magitek bots crash landed hard on the ground and skidded to a stop. They both located the men and, with their firearms, began firing round after round at them.
"Shit! How many of these guys are there?" Gladio shouted over the war around them, scrambling for his sword and immediately landing a hit that knocked both droids out. He bolted off and jumped high into the air, coming down hard with his sword on a Magitek who was poised and ready to attack with a saber in its hand. Behind, Gladio heard Ignis stab a bot that had appeared from a side street, a shrill noise escaping from the machine as the red eyes dimmed to black, signifying its death.
"Should have known better than to think this would be easy," complained Prompto as he shot three more Magitek before they could reach him.
"That was your first mistake then," Gladio chided, rolling his eyes at the naivete of his comrade, parrying an attack from another Magitek.
"Oh yeah," Prompto spat over his shoulder, "stupid me for being slightly optimistic!"
"That's enough, you two! Fo-," Ignis started to berate the two, but the airbike from earlier caught his eye. A thought came to him. He knew they'd never get to Noctis if they stayed here, fighting wave after wave of Imperial Magitek while Leviathan threw debris and tendrils of water every which way. He fought off another bot with a jab of a dagger at its neck. "Prompto! Take the bike and get to Noct!"
"What? Me? Alone? You're crazy! What about you two?" he cried, loading bullets into the chamber of his gun and shooting at a Magitek behind Gladio.
"Don't worry about us! Noct needs our help and we all can't fit on that. Now go!"
Prompto fired one last shot and slightly wavered, but then dashed to the abandoned airbike. He struggled to pick it up off its side from the weight of it. Once he had it upright and was seated, his fingers pressed a few buttons and the bike shot into the air. His steering was jerky as he tried to become acclimated to the machine and he flew dangerously close to where Gladio and Ignis were still engaged in battle. They dropped to the ground to avoid getting decapitated, but several Magitek weren't as lucky and were demolished.
"Dammit Prompto, quit messing around and watch where you fly that thing!" Gladio shouted through fallen Magitek bodies and smoke, though Prompto had already flown off before he heard. As he stood up and prepared for more fighting, he saw Ignis run by him. Without a second thought, he chased after him. "Iggy, where are you going?" he called after him.
Ignis continued to run with Gladio following behind, bullets from firearm-wielding Magitek whizzing by them. "We need to get ahold of Noct. He doesn't know Prompto's coming," he yelled over his shoulder. Ahead, he noticed a deserted kiosk. He increased his pace and pointed it out to Gladio. "Quick, let's get behind that cart," he skidded to a stop and pulled Gladio behind it. They crouched low as the Magitek continued by, not realizing their targets had taken refuge behind the kiosk. Despite a few cuts and bruises, they didn't appear to be in bad shape. The pair took a second to catch their breath as the skies opened up to release a massive rain storm, no doubt caused by Leviathan.
"Well, we never said the Imperials created a smart line of drones, did we?" Gladio joked about the Magitek, still gasping for breath.
Ignis chuckled softly while pressing a button on his phone to call Noctis, quickly patching in Prompto's number as well to create a conference call of sorts. Both answered, but they were drowned out by the noises of explosions and Leviathan. "Noct, Prompto is headed your way!"
"But what about you guys?" asked Noctis over the shrill roar of Leviathan.
"The airbike only has room for two. We'll be up shortly."
The whistling of passing air sounded through the phone. "Noct, jump!" directed Prompto. Ignis listened, his heart suddenly in his throat. Jump? What did he mean, 'jump'?
Noctis seemed to be thinking the same thing. "What?"
"You better know what you're doing, Prompto!" warned Gladio.
"No time for questions! Just trust me!"
Noctis' voice faltered. "Aw, man . . ." Then a loud scream, the thud of a body hitting the airbike, and cheering and nervous laughter from Prompto and Noctis echoed through the phone before the call was cut off. Ignis and Gladio exhaled in relief. At least they were safe for now.
The rain was making it impossible for Ignis to see through his glasses. He tried again to wipe the water away with the edge of his shirt, but it did nothing to help as his clothes were soaked. He put his glasses back on anyway and slowly peered out from behind the kiosk, calculating the best way to reach Noctis and Prompto. He froze as his eyes identified a familiar figure coming toward them. He reached behind and grabbed Gladio's arm. "We have a visitor."
"Let me guess; more Magitek?" he lamented, slightly annoyed.
"That would be child's play compared to this."
Puzzled, Gladio peeked around the other side of the kiosk. There were no more Magitek in the streets. Instead, Ravus Nox Fleuret, a tall, slender man with white hair and a bionic left arm, stood only yards away. He had a bored look on his face as he stared at the kiosk where they were hidden. "Where is Noctis?" he calmly asked over the storm.
Ignis and Gladio sat back behind the kiosk again, contemplating what to do next. The silence, only penetrated by the rain and waves, seemed to stretch on forever. "Let's just focus on staying alive until Prompto can get back to us, shall we?" Ignis suggested somewhat sarcastically under his breath. Gladio snorted, his hand gripped on his weapon nearby. They stood and came around to the front of the cart, facing their new competition.
"If you were paying attention, you'd know that Noct is with your sister and Leviathan," Gladio quipped.
Ravus took a few steps toward them. "Ah, the Sworn Shield of the King," he nodded toward Gladio. "I hope you've brushed up on your skills since we last met?"
Before he could even move, Ignis grabbed Gladio's forearm to stop him from doing anything brash. The last time their paths intercepted, Ravus made quick work of Gladio. They needed to think smarter this time. Working on just strength alone wouldn't ensure them a victory. When he felt that Gladio had calmed down, he slowly let go and turned his attention back to Ravus. "If you know where Noct is, then why are you here? Seems like a rather waste of time to be here when you could be there."
Ravus continued his slow pace toward them, his voice low and quiet. "True, I could end Noctis in one fell swoop, but there's more to the situation than that. I have something that he may find of interest."
"I'm not buying it," Gladio replied flatly. "What do you want?"
Before Ravus could respond, another familiar figure appeared out of nowhere. A large, enigmatic figure strolled between the three with a sense of authority. "Ravus, there you are. I thought I lost you there for a minute," he spoke with a sense of humor in his voice.
Ardyn, thought Ignis. His body went cold at the arrival of the man. Although Ardyn seemed to be an ally of sorts throughout their entire journey to obtain the covenants of the Gods and getting back to Luna, there was still a sinister side of him that Ignis caught on to early into their first meeting back in Galdin Quay. Something didn't sit quite right.
"I see you've found my friends," he smiled, his head tilted toward Ignis and Gladio. Ravus stood still, his hands balled into fists by his side. Out of the corner of his eye, Ignis noticed Gladio take a slight step backward. Ardyn rested a hand on the High Commander's bionic arm. "Now, Ravus, shall we go find your dear sister? I think she'd be absolutely delighted to see your face. After all, you haven't seen her for quite some time, am I right?"
The air was tense. Ardyn was playing with Ravus. Judging by Ravus' unwavering face, it was clear he was trying to throw Ardyn off. His eyes were fixed on Ignis and Gladio but they appeared lifeless. Ardyn rolled his eyes and tossed his head back, sighing loudly. "Ravus, your silence is insufferable and has gone on long enough. You may think you have outsmarted me, but my patience with you is wearing thin. Let's be off. The Hydrean awaits us, along with your sister and the Prince. Oh, wait," he hesitated and brought a finger to his chin. "I've almost forgotten about our friends. What kind of person would I be if I didn't leave them with a proper goodbye? They did come all this way and worked so hard in doing so."
Ravus' eyes flickered, his lips pursed tightly as Ardyn's grip on his shoulder tightened. Ardyn raised his chin as he glared menacingly through the rainstorm at Gladio and Ignis. "Now, be a good High Commander and dispose of these two before we go greet the Hydrean."
"Woah, wait. What? What about all those times you helped us in Lucis?" Gladio recoiled, his eyes widened. Ignis continued to stay quiet, his mind plotting how to escape this situation alive. Fighting Ravus was one thing, but including Ardyn in on that battle would guarantee sudden death to both of them. On all accounts, they were trapped.
Ardyn shrugged and gave a lopsided grin. "Ah, yes, about that; My intentions may not have been the purest at heart. I really and truly did want you all here with me, but it's much more than that. As such, I don't expect you to grasp the reasonings behind my motives but, believe me, you'll come to understand in time," his words dripping with mockery and disdain, a sharp change from the eccentric and boisterous Ardyn that they came to know in Lucis.
Suddenly, a loud cheer came from above. Everyone's attention was drawn to Prompto as he flew in and jumped off his airbike, allowing it to continue on its course and crash into a large stone pillar a block away. "Guys! Noct is in! Come on, let's destroy some Hydrean butt!" He smiled brightly from the rush of adrenaline. However, his face faltered when he noticed Gladio and Ignis barely even glanced his way, their body language tense.
"Prompto, my boy! Welcome! You've come at the right time!" Ardyn clapped his hands together in joy. As he heard his voice, Prompto spun around, his eyebrows furrowed. "It wouldn't be near as fun to mess with our dear friend, Noct, without his best friend here. To catch you up, I was just telling Ravus here to dispose of your friends. Now that you're here though, I say let's have some fun and make it a game."
Prompto jumped slightly from where he stood and backed up until he was in line with Gladio and Ignis, his hands lifted to his chest as if to show he meant no harm. Ignis' eyes darted back and forth between Ravus, Ardyn, and his two comrades. He watched as Ardyn smirked, his eyes turned to Ravus with a sardonic glint to them.
Ardyn tipped his hat back slightly, getting a better look at Ravus. "You know that I know where your sister is right now. You know that I know the importance of getting to Noctis. I think you also know how important these three are to our dear old Prince," he motioned to Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto with a wide sweep of his arm. Still, Ravus remained unmoved. "I want you to dispose of one of the Prince's friends. Any one you want. Make him bleed so that Noctis can feel the pain deep in his bones. Unless that is, you'd rather dear Lady Lunafreya to suffer?" he spoke in a caustic tone.
A roar from Leviathan off in the distance reverberated through Altissia to the men standing at the harbor as the rain continued to fall. No one dared to move at this point. It was a tense standoff. Ravus continued to stare blankly at the trio without a hint of emotion anywhere on his face. After what felt like an eternity, Ardyn sighed loudly. "Oh goodness, I didn't think this would be that hard of a choice. No matter, I'll make the choice for you," he decided, pacing around the small area between them. "Now, we all know I love nursery rhymes, so I would hope you've heard of a little poem called 'Three Blind Mice''."
Ravus' eyes narrowed, but he still made no move toward the three. Ardyn took a few steps forward toward the three. For every couple of steps he took, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto took a few steps back. Yet, they failed to see the canal that ran through the middle of the city, ending right behind them. Unless they wanted to fall into the water and get swept out to sea by the rushing waves, they had nowhere to go. With their weapons in hand, they watched as Ardyn continued his descent on them. Ardyn's hand waved through the air as if he were conducting a symphony, pointing at each man in front of him one at a time.
"Three blind mice / Three blind mice / See how they run / See how they run / They all ran after the farmer's wife / Who cut off their tails with a carving knife / Did you ever see such a sight in your life / As three blind mice?" he recited, his finger slowly pointing toward Ignis as he finished. "As you may have noticed, there's always a method to my madness, so to speak. I guess you could say that I am one for ambiguity. You understand, right? Ignis Scientia?"
Gladio and Prompto looked at Ignis, a mix of confusion and anger on their faces. In the background, Ravus' face began to fall as he realized what was happening. Ardyn was the King of Mind Games and he played them well. Ravus knew he was singling out Ignis for a reason. He began to pull the sword from its sheath, but stopped as Ardyn continued to speak.
"It's painfully obvious that you are the brains of the 're always able to guide your friends and see them through to the end. You are the one that has all the data and information in that head of yours. You are the one that has, time and time again, saved your friends from harm with your wit and quick thinking. I guess you could say your vision and sight are a valuable asset to you and your team, wouldn't you?"
Ardyn's right hand glowed a fiery red as he conjured a spell. While Gladio and Prompto stayed in their defensive stances, Ignis had straightened up, his daggers held loosely in his hands, almost looking defeated. Whatever Ardyn had in mind, there was no way to outrun deflect it. The waves in the water around them intensified and the rain came down harder than before. Another screech from Leviathan came from the distance as a large waterspout formed around her.
"How do we blind three mice with one hit? Simple; we take out the leader, of course. So, let's see how well your friends will fare without you guiding them anymore," Ardyn threatened, hurling a large and powerful fireball toward the trio. There was no second to react as the fireball blazed through the air at an ungodly rate.
Pain erupted across his entire face. Immediately, he brought his hands to his eyes and fell to his knees, a jarring scream escaping his mouth. The daggers he had in his hands clanked on the ground. He smelled the pungent scent of burning flesh and felt the intense agony as the fire burned away his skin. His eyewear shattered in the explosion and he knew the glass had sliced the bridge of his nose, his eyebrow, and his right eye. He kept waiting for the pain to subside, but it only seemed to get worse.
Prompto and Gladio instantly dropped his side, trying desperately to figure out what to do as Ignis continued to cry out, his own hands never leaving his face. Ardyn's maniacal laughter rang in Ignis' ears and he heard his footsteps draw close.
Ardyn knelt down and picked up one of the fallen daggers from the ground, examining it closely. "I see you won't have any use for this, so I hope it's alright that I borrow it," he said as he twirled the dagger in his hand before placing it inside his coat. As he stood, he grabbed Ignis by his hair, yanking his head back violently so that Ignis was forced to look up at Ardyn, eliciting another scream from him.
Ignis breathing was labored as he tried to focus, but Ardyn's grasp on his hair only intensified how painful his injuries were. Ardyn stared down at him for a moment, examining his face. "Let's just consider this a small sacrifice in the greater battle, shall we?" he taunted before throwing Ignis to the side with such force that he hit the ground with a loud 'thud', causing him to groan loudly.
Gladio snarled, his focus moving from Ignis to Ardyn. He grabbed his Greatsword from the ground and suddenly lunged at him. "You sick son-of-a-bitch!" he yelled, raising his weapon high above him, leaving his entire front exposed.
"Temper, temper," cooed Ardyn as he gracefully sidestepped Gladio, using his knee to land a hard hit in his stomach. Gladio doubled over, his arms crossed over his abdomen as he gasped for air.
"Aw, let me ease your pain there, Gladiolus," he offered, bringing a closed fist down on the back of his head right above his neck, quickly knocking him out.
"Gladio!" cried Prompto. He started to rush to him, but stopped, unsure of who to tend to. Ignis was now lying on the ground in a slight fetal position, his screams now just softer whimpers. Gladio, on the other hand, was unmoving just a few feet away, his arms pinned under his body and still crossed across his stomach.
Ardyn sensed Prompto's dilemma and stalked over to him, a devilish grin on his face. When he was less than an arm's length away from him, Ardyn brought his hand up and ran it down Prompto's cheek. Prompto closed his eyes in fear and his lower lip quivered.
Ardyn brought his mouth close to Prompto's ear. "And then there's you. My my, do I have some fun games in store for you."
"That's enough!"
Ardyn pulled away and dropped his hand from Prompto's face, looking over his shoulder at Ravus. He was still standing in the same spot, watching the entire scene unfold. His white hair clung to his face from the continued onslaught of the rain and wind and the waves were now flooding the streets around them. He stood taller than before as Ardyn turned around to face him head on.
"Look at you, trying to be brave all of a sudden. You might be too late for that though." Ardyn formed another spell in his hand, this time much darker in appearance. "You had your chance and I grow tired of your insubordination." Ardyn hurled the spell at Ravus' chest and watched as Ravus dropped to the ground without a sound, unconscious.
He stepped over Ravus' body and talked with his back to everyone, but his voice sounded a lot more chipper than it was before. "Well gentlemen, it has been an absolute pleasure to see you again, but I have business to attend to. Surely you understand. It is rude, after all, to keep a lady waiting. And I'll be sure to send Noctis your regards as well," Ardyn looked back, tipped his hat at the group, and walked away to his airship parked at the end of the harbor.
Prompto shook his head to snap himself out of the trance of fear that seized him, fumbling with his gun as he started to run after him. "Hey! No, wait, come back! You can't leave!" he yelled, tripping over his own feet.
"Prompto, don't . . ." Ignis struggled to get up, but his arms could barely support his upper body up off of the cobblestone. Prompto snapped his head back and saw his friend trying desperately to get up. It took everything he had not to chase after Ardyn in a fit of adrenaline-induced rage, but he knew Ignis needed him. Now wasn't the time to play 'hero'. Instead, he turned and hurried back to Ignis' side.
Everything was hazy, but Ignis wasn't sure anymore if it was due to his injury or the monsoon going on around them. He was drained of any vigor and vitality to fight anymore. Still, he held onto the little bit of consciousness he had left.
Prompto, now back at Ignis' side, placed a hand on his back. Ignis looked back in his direction, only seeing a blonde blur where he knew Prompto should be. He opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was another harrowing moan. He rolled onto his back, more aware now than ever that his eyesight was damaged. He tried to reach a hand up to his face, but his body wouldn't respond to what his brain commanded.
Prompto sat on the ground with his legs tucked under him. He moved Ignis' head onto his lap and winced. Ignis' entire left eye and the area around it had taken on a charred appearance, the skin burned away to reveal muscle underneath. Streaks of blood covered the other half of his face from the gashes he sustained where his glasses shattered. It was more than Prompto could bear as he tried to put on a brave face. "Hey Iggy, come on. just stay awake a little longer. It's just me right now and I need you. Look, Gladio is still knocked out and that Ravus guy is out and the tide will be coming in soon, so please don't go to sleep on me yet," Prompto rambled. He shook uncontrollably, but he wasn't sure if it was from the chill of the rain or if it was from the fear he felt. No amount of potions or elixirs would fix this. Still, he continued to talk to Ignis in hopes that it kept him awake. "Come on buddy, I need you. I don't know what to do. Please don't go to sleep yet."
The sound of Ardyn's airship roared overhead, headed in the direction of the battle with Leviathan. It was the last thing Ignis saw before he let himself succumb to darkness.