Blind Faith

Part II

Ignis stirred from what felt like a 100-year slumber. He expected to look around and see the inside of the green Coleman tent that the four of them slept in night after night when they went camping. Before even opening his eyes, he knew that Noctis would be curled in a ball at his feet and Prompto would be sprawled out lazily to his left. Gladio would probably be awake, about ready to get in a morning hike. Ignis knew that he'd have to get up and get his Ebony coffee caffeine fix in soon before getting started on breakfast for everyone, otherwise, he'd be really cranky and irritable. As he tried to move, he realized every inch of his body ached to the point that it almost wasn't worth it to get up.

Odd, he thought. He didn't remember doing anything strenuous yesterday and he definitely didn't remember drinking enough alcohol to bring on anything remotely close to a hangover. He groaned and felt around for his glasses, normally placed carefully by his head alongside his phone before he fell asleep. Instead of the usual tent material though, he felt sheets and a mattress but no eyewear. When he tried to open his eyes to visually look for his glasses instead, he realized he saw nothing. Emptiness.

It was slowly dawning on Ignis that he wasn't in the tent, but actually in a bed. He felt the weight of a comforter covering him and became aware of the fact he wasn't wearing his usual suit attire, but rather some loose fitting comfortable clothes akin to pajamas. The sound of muffled chatter came from the other side of a wall, but he had no clue where he was or how he had gotten there. He honestly felt like he had been hit by a bus and left for dead, his head pounding with a splitting headache. When he went to lick his lips, he flinched at the sting of his split and swollen lower lip. He brought his hand to his face and felt the entirety of his skull and eyes wrapped tightly in gauze. Once again, he tried to open his eyes to see something, anything, yet still, nothing came. This bloody gauze must be wrapped too tight, he assumed, trying to find the end of the bandages so he could start to unwrap them.

He stopped as a thought came to him suddenly. Wait, why is my head wrapped in gauze? What is going on?

The conversation outside of the room ceased as the door gently opened. He heard a pair of footsteps creep in, one set coming to the side of the bed while the other remained behind. Ignis turned his head. "Hello?" he said, his voice a lot raspier than he was used to. It caught him by surprise, almost like he hadn't used it for a bit. How long was I asleep for

"Hey there, Iggy. Good to have you back, man. We were really worried about you," Prompto's timid voice came from the doorway. Ignis could picture him fidgeting with the hem of his black leather vest as he tried to be brave, but his voice always seemed to betray him. It wasn't unusual for Prompto to get nervous about certain situations, but what reason would he have to be nervous now?.

Did I miss something while I was asleep?

Every attempt at formulating a thought proved difficult and his mind felt cloudy. He still couldn't figure out why he was in a bed instead of in their tent somewhere. Even if they were staying at a Levelle somewhere, it wouldn't explain the bandages around his head. Ignis tried to push himself up on his elbows but a shooting pang radiated from his head and down the back of his neck, eliciting a hiss through gritted teeth from him at the sudden pain.

Gladio's large hand rested on his shoulder and slowly guided him to lay back down. "Easy there, buddy. You've been out for a few days. Doctors said you suffered a wicked concussion, so you're probably going to feel pretty sore for a while," he spoke softly as he pulled a chair closer to the side of the bed and took a seat.

Something wasn't connecting in his mind. "IWhat? Concussion? Doctors?" Ignis tried to keep an even voice, but he was growing annoyed with every passing second. Surely Gladio, Prompto, and Noctis were playing a cruel joke on him. They were just camping. Didn't he just cook for them last night? He remembered laughing at the pictures that Prompto took of their day and playing King's Knight until the campfire burned out. Or at least he thought he did. Maybe they didn't? No, something wasn't right. His annoyance was now turning to anxiety, a feeling he wasn't used to. The inside of his mouth turned slightly acidic as bile started to rise from his stomach and he swallowed forcefully to keep from getting sick.

The room was silent and he could tell Prompto and Gladio were looking at each other, waiting for the other one to start talking first. Gladio took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Iggy, we're in Altissia. We came here for Noct to forge a covenant with Leviathan, remember? We . . . ah. . . . well, we evacuated the Altissians and had to get back to Noct to help him. We got held up by Magitek and then . . . shit," his voice cracked as he stood up from his seat and stormed away to the other side of the room. Ignis knew Gladio well enough to know that he had probably put his head in his hands at this point, as he did often when he was stressed or worn down.

"I'm not understanding. Altissia? How long have we been in Altissia?"

Before Gladio or Prompto could explain further, Ignis found himself warped back to the memory of the Altissian harbor, his clothes soaked from Leviathan's wrath. He vaguely recalled fighting the Imperial Magitek, knowing he needed to get to Noctis as soon as possible to help him. Something must have happened to Noct before they were able to get to him. Ignis didn't remember seeing him battle the Hydrean. Or maybe he did? They definitely talked on the phone and Ignis remembered telling him that they were on their way. Certainly, he hadn't left Noct stranded with no help. He was afraid to ask, but he needed to know. "Is Noct alright? Is he hurt?".

"No, no. Noct is ok. He's still unconscious in a room down the hall, but doctors said he'll wake up soon enough and make a full recovery. He took a beating for sure, but he's ok," Prompto reassured, now sitting where Gladio previously sat. He leaned forward and rested his forearms on the bed, causing it to dip slightly at the pressure.

Gladio sighed, his voice sounding tired and heavy from across the room. "Iggy . . . a lot happened during the fight with Leviathan."

Now, irritation was simmering inside of him. He knew they were both dancing around a bigger issue. "Well, out with it," he spat, his usual cool demeanor beginning to crack. He was tired of being babied with whatever news, good or bad, they seemed to be withholding. "What is going on?"

There was some rustling from Prompto as he tried to get comfortable in the chair and Gladio stayed on the other end of the room. Neither one knew how to approach the situation, but they were saved the agony of doing so when the door opened. An unfamiliar voice spoke. "Ah, it's about time, Mr. Scientia. Good to see you finally conscious again. I'm Dr. Moore and I've been monitoring you while you've been here," he introduced himself while flipping through what Ignis assumed were his own medical charts. "I'm just here to see how you're progressing and to check on how your injury is looking. Now, how are we feeling?" the doctor had a calm aura about him as he came to Ignis' bedside, helping him into a sitting position.

He tried to grasp for the right words to explain what he was feeling. "Muddled? Confused? I'm honestly not sure," Ignis listed off.

The doctor chuckled as he placed the cold metal chest piece of a stethoscope under Ignis' shirt and against his chest, causing him to flinch slightly. "Well, that's to be expected when you suffer a concussion. Confusion, nausea, fatigue, headaches, mood swings, some memory loss, all of that is normal. You'll probably feel the residual effects for a bit, so don't worry too much," he acknowledged, clicking a pen and writing down some notes on a clipboard. He placed it down on the nightstand nearby and put both hands to each side of Ignis' head, gently moving him to look in his direction. "Let's go ahead and take these bandages off to check on your injury, shall we? I can't imagine these things are particularly comfortable anyway."

As Ignis opened his mouth to press for more information, he felt the doctor carefully start to remove the wrappings around his head. Sometimes the doctor would stop briefly to make sure he wasn't causing Ignis any more undue pain, but he continued to move efficiently. He was right though; The dressings weren't the most pleasant.

Finally with all the gauze removed, the doctor guided Ignis to look back up at him again, pressing lightly at various points around his eyes, some points more painful than others. "Well, you look to be healing as well as you should be. We'll keep monitoring it though while you're here to make sure it doesn't get infected or anything of that nature. You know, all things considered, you should feel very lucky to be alive. If that blast had been any more powerful, you might not be here to talk about it."

Ignis became aware that he still had his eyes closed, so he slowly cracked them open and waited for his vision to come into focus. He sat for a second, then two, and still nothing came into view. Even without the bandages, he saw absolute nothingness. He felt his stomach go cold and he whipped his head around, ignoring the resulting headache from such an action. He hoped and prayed that he would see Gladio or Prompto or the doctor or the walls. Something. Anything. He was desperate. This was some sort of mistake. There's no way he could be . . .

Then, without warning, the memories of the battle came flooding back and hit Ignis like a punch to the gut. He remembered the Magitek and running to the kiosk to call Prompto and Noctis. They never did make it to help Noct in his fight against Leviathan because they were stopped by Ravus. He remembered standing before the son of Tenebrae, waiting to hear what it was that he had to say. He remembered Gladio questioning Ravus but also getting a sense that Ravus had possibly begun to turn tides against the Niflheim Empire.

And then he felt pure terror. Ardyn was there and he was laughing. He was mocking them. He was reciting a nursery rhyme. 'Three Blind Mice', was it? And then he was throwing a fireball at them. No, not all them. Just at Ignis. Something about 'taking out the leader'? What did Ardyn mean by that? Wasn't Noct their leader?

All of a sudden, Ignis felt his face catch fire. More specifically, his eyes. Ardyn had him by a fistful of hair, snapping Ignis' head back and his face up to him, but Ignis couldn't see him. The events were blurring together. Prompto had his head on his lap, carefully trying to brush the scorched and bloodied hair from his face. Ignis had never been in so much pain. He wanted it to end, but Prompto was begging him to stay awake. Gladio had been rendered unconscious. Ravus was out. Ardyn was gone, but he picked up one of the daggers from the ground that Ignis had dropped before leaving.

"He took my dagger," Ignis blurted out, jolting himself out of his own memories. "Ardyn took my dagger. Where did he go?"

The doctor ignored his outburst and continued to flash a light into Ignis' right eye, a concerning 'hmmm' coming from under his breath. Ignis pulled his head back, stopping short of swatting the light away with his hand. "Where. Is. My. Dagger." he repeated, enunciating each word.

Gladio cleared his throat. He sounded like he was trying to hold back so many emotions. "Yeah . . . your dagger. Ardyn . . . Iggy . . . he took it. I was knocked out, but from what we've gathered . . . . he . . . ah . . . he . . . . we think he got to her. Luna, I mean. He got to Luna."

A cough or some sort of stifled noise came from Prompto. Ignis recoiled. "What do you mean 'got to her'? Where is she?"

Prompto stood up and whispered something to the doctor. The doctor murmured some words and left the room, closing the door softly behind him. After a few seconds, Prompto picked up where Gladio left off. "After he attacked us, and Ravus too, he left to go find Luna and Noctis. We think he used your dagger to hurt her. The Altissian government searched for days, but they haven't been able to recover her body. She's gone."

Ignis couldn't breathe. It felt like someone had their hands around his neck, choking him. This wasn't happening. They'd come all this way. His Highness was going to marry her in just a few short days. They'd prepared for this moment and talked at length about it. This was supposed to be such a happy occasion (even if Noct didn't outwardly show his excitement). And the Starscourge. How could they forget about the Starscourge? Without Luna to hold back the darkness, what was going to happen? What could they do?

Even with all of that, it still didn't explain what happened to the three of them against Ardyn. He turned his head toward where he knew Prompto was standing, judging by where his voice was coming from. "And me?"

This time, Gladio took over. "Like we said, you took a nasty hit to the head. That fire spell wasn't a typical fire spell. Between that to your eyes and the concussion, doctors say at best you'll regain some sight as far as seeing lights and maybe some shapes."

Ignis lowered his head, his hands resting in his lap. "And at worst?"

The silence in the room said it all. Ignis wanted to throw up. Of the four of them, he appreciated the sense of sight the most. Even as a teen when he realized he had the slightest of vision problems, he was quick to get glasses to rectify it. Sight was incredibly important to him. How could it not be, what with him being the designated Driver. The Chef. The Strategist. The One With The Plan. The Prince's Right Hand Man.

Ardyn's words rang in his head, like a broken record over and over. Let's see how well your friends will fare without you guiding them anymore. As he heard this, Ignis gingerly brought his fingers up to his left eye; or what used to be his left eye. Where there was once smooth skin now was a rough and raw ghastly burn. He traced the edges of the burn and then moved to the other cuts that marred his face. A large gash slashed the bridge of his nose and he felt another cut run through his right eyebrow. The enormity of the situation dawned on him and he slowly brought his blank stare up to Gladio and Prompto.

"Iggy, the doctors tried everything to save your sight. They really did," Gladio's voice sounded hoarse again.

Ignis dropped his hand back to the bed and balled his fist, grasping at a handful of sheets. A million thoughts went through his head. How would he protect Noct if he couldn't even see? How could he guide Noct into his role as King when his own vision was taken from him? What about everyone else? Would everyone leave him behind since he was now a huge liability? This was war and this wasn't the time to be politically correct. It was cutthroat and it was cruel. A man with no sight was as good as dead in battle.

Still, the thought of being outcasted by the men he had grown to call his 'brothers' was unbearable. He continued to keep his head down, a solemn look on his face. He took a deep breath before speaking. "Well, the loss of my vision is nothing in the grand scheme of things. As long as Noct is alive and well, that's all that matters. We are here to support him, not to fret over me and my issues."

Prompto's footsteps started toward the bed as if Prompto was looking to comfort Ignis somehow. "Dude, what can we-."

Ignis held a hand up. "If you don't mind, I would like some time alone, please," he said curtly, cutting off Prompto from whatever he was about to say. Ignis could feel Gladio and Prompto eyeing each other again, debating whether or not to fight him on it, before finally settling on respecting his wishes. Without another word, they both exited the room, the door closing behind them. When he knew he was alone, Ignis carefully laid back down, face up toward the ceiling.

Let's just consider this a small sacrifice in the greater battle, shall we?

And then, uncharacteristically for him, Ignis brought his hands up to cover his face and let out a loud scream, frustrated and afraid and alone.

Several days later, Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto were sitting at a table outside of the Levelle where they were staying. Finally regaining some strength, Ignis agreed to venture outside of his room with the help of his friends. They tried to convince him it would be good to get some fresh air and to leave the confines of the room. This amused Ignis more than anything as he knew he'd be none the wiser to where he was, no matter where they took him.

Now that he was blinded, Ignis needed help getting everywhere. But with Gladio constantly holding his arm and Prompto guiding him with a hand on his back, it was beyond mortifying. Having to now rely on the help of Prompto and Gladio to merely get from point A to point B deflated any shred of dignity that he had left.

The waves rhythmically lapped against the seawall, a vast change from the roaring seas that Leviathan stirred up just recently. It sounded peaceful, but Gladio and Prompto warned Ignis that Altissia, as a whole, was in ruins. The evacuated citizens had yet to return so the city was basically a ghost town at this point.

Prompto drummed his fingers on the table and let out a nervous chuckle. "So the weather is really nice today," he started awkwardly, trying to break the tension. "Is anyone hungry or anything? I can go get us some snacks. What about you, Iggy? Do you want some coffee? I know you haven't had any Ebony coffee in a while. I can get it-."

"For the love of the Astrals, Prompto, shut up," Gladio interrupted gruffly, his arms crossed over his chest.

Prompto shrank back into his chair. "Oh, yeah. Sorry, I just don't know what to say," he responded sheepishly, settling back into uncomfortable silence.

After a few minutes, Gladio stood up, scraping his chair back against the cobblestone and stretching his arms up high. "I'm just going to check on Noct to see if he's up yet. I'll be right back," he said, walking back inside to the Levelle, leaving Prompto and Ignis sitting alone at the table.

Ignis continued to sit rigidly in his chair, staring straight ahead. He adjusted his new tinted glasses higher on his face so they would stop irritating the cut on the bridge of the nose. Yesterday, Gladio and Prompto had brought him the new glasses as well as a cane designed specifically for him, etched with intricate designs. On the surface, Ignis expressed quiet gratitude and appreciation to the pair; Inside, however, he saw these items as another nail in the coffin toward his life ever going back to normal. Now the cane sat propped beside him against the arm of the chair and he was grateful for the fact that the glasses somewhat hid his face and the gruesome injuries that mutilated it.

For as long as he could remember, Ignis had always been so sure of himself. He carried himself with poise and confidence, always balancing a million tasks with ease. There was never a moment that he let himself look out of sorts, harrowed, or under pressure. In fact, the other three would oftentimes poke fun at the fact that he never seemed to have a stressful day in his life because he kept his life meticulously organized and his emotions in check so well. But that was before all of this. Now he felt defeated and worthless, something he'd never admit to anyone. It wasn't that he was too proud to admit his weaknesses; On the contrary, he was the first to admit his faults. At the end of the day, he still had an image to maintain. He still needed to be that strong pillar of strength for the group and he would be damned if he let one complaint about his condition pass his lips.

When he was alone though, that was another story. Night after night, he laid in bed and let the time slip by as sleep evaded him. The endless thoughts of what would happen now kept him awake for hours on end. Sometimes he'd work himself into such a mess that he'd find himself thrown over the side of the bed, dry heaving into a small trash can by the nightstand. If he ever did manage to drift off, he'd wake up moments later with a sheen of cold sweat covering his body and his heart racing from nightmares of Ardyn. If the nightmares caused him to wake up screaming, Prompto or Gladio would come running in to calm him, only for them to be told that everything was fine and sorry for the disturbance. The nights were a constant back and forth between feeling numb and clawing at the sheets in absolute panic.

And yet, no matter how many times he blinked, rubbed his right eye, or woke up from the endless nightmares, he still saw darkness.

"You ok?" Prompto asked, bringing him back to reality. Ignis shifted in his seat, wringing his bare hands under the table. What could he say to him? Of course he wasn't ok. What kind of question was that?

However, instead of retorting with a scathing response, Ignis kept quiet. He heard Prompto sigh and run a hand through his hair. Ignis felt guilty for completely shutting himself off from his friends. He understood that Prompto and Gladio were really trying to stay positive for him. Between taking care of him and waiting for Noct to finally wake up, they had to have been just as drained as he felt. He knew he was coming off as irritable and moody, but he couldn't help it.

Prompto tried again to initiate a conversation. "Well, I'm just glad you're awake and alive, at least," he paused, trying to choose his words carefully. "I can't tell you how scared I was after Ardyn left. And then after you passed out . . . man, I didn't know what to do . . ."

Once again, Ignis found the memories of that day rushing back to him as Prompto carried on in his one-sided conversation. He remembered his drenched clothes clinging to every inch of his body from the cold rain. He vividly recalled Ardyn throwing him to the cobblestone road like a rag doll and he cried out in agony as he hit the ground shoulder first. The blood from his lacerations ran down the right side of his face and he was starting to lose feeling on the left side from the burn. He tried hard to push himself up off the ground to jump back into battle, but it was too much for him. And then there was Prompto coming back to his side and begging him to stay awake, with Gladio and Ravus still unconscious a short distance away. Remembering the entire day made his stomach turn.

Prompto was oblivious to how pale Ignis had gone as he continued talking. ". . . and I am so sorry I wasn't enough to save you," he choked out. Ignis' ears perked up and he realized that Prompto had started to get slightly emotional. He listened intently.

"I know Noct asked me to come along because we're best buds and all and he has all this faith in me, but I'm . . . I'm just not trained enough for these things, you know? You and Gladio, hell, even Noct, have always saved my ass in every battle we've been in. I couldn't even get my thoughts together fast enough to pull the damn trigger on Ardyn when I had the chance. I feel like I let you and Noct and Gladio down. I just hope that you can one day forgive me for not doing more, for not being the one to end Ardyn after . . . after what he did to you."

Ignis slowly turned his empty gaze to Prompto and gave a soft smile. "I don't believe we could have predicted any of this. Considering the enemy we were up against, you did everything right. Even in the face of adversity, you were courageous and strong. I can't think of anyone better for Noct to have chosen to come and fight alongside with us," he reached out and placed a hand on Prompto's shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "And I can't thank you enough for all you have done for me through the past week."

Prompto let out a half-laugh and briskly wiped away a tear with the back of his fist before it threatened to fall. "You really mean that?"

Ignis nodded. "I really do."

Prompto laughed again and placed his hand on Ignis' forearm. "Well . . . thanks. I needed to hear that."

Gladio's booming voice came from behind, startling the two. "Did I interrupt a moment or something?" he joked, coming back to the table and sitting in the vacant chair.

Prompto snorted and waved his hand, almost as if he were trying to abolish any notion of a 'moment' between them. "Nah, dude. Just talkin' to Iggy here about stupid stuff," he recovered, hurriedly wiping his eyes again to save himself the torment of Gladio picking on him for tearing up.

Ignis' smile faded and his trademark stoic expression returned. "How's Noct?" he asked, directing his attention to Gladio now.

Gladio shrugged. "Still the same, more or less. Doctors don't seem to be too worried or anything, so that's good," he relayed, tipping his chair back onto two legs and interlocking his hands behind his head. "You know, part of me thinks he's just using this opportunity to take a long nap. I just wish he'd wake up soon so we could head out."

"Patience, Gladio. He's been through a lot lately. We can't rush his journey. He'll wake up and we'll leave when he's ready."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. But we can't wait around forever," Gladio grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"No, we won't. Noct isn't one to shy away when he's called to action, and you know that. He's proven that to you time and time again since we left Insomnia," Ignis lectured, leaning forward slightly, resting his arms on the table with his hands folded together. "It's about time you put your faith in him, don't you think?"

Gladio scoffed. "Sounds like 'blind faith' to me."

Ignis smirked. The irony of the phrase was not lost on him.

Author's Note: When I first began writing this, it was just intended to be a one-shot to cover what, in my mind, happened in Chapter 9 of FFXV that we did not see. As I continued writing it, I realized the one-shot had a lot more to say and way more to cover, so I broke it into a part two. Now, as I finish part two, I know there is still more to say. So, look out for part three here soon! :)

Also, thank you so much for the reviews, the favorites, and the follows. They mean a lot to me! The more, the better, right? ;) Thanks!