"I need to find Gladio." Ignis stood out in the hallway with Aranea while the nurse looked in on Iris. Aranea had just arrived for her next shift with Iris.

"Is everything okay?" The concern in her voice was thick.

"I just need to speak with him." He trusted Aranea, but it was Gladio he needed to talk to first. He would explain it all to her afterward.

"He's down in the lobby trying to contact the nearest convoy. It seems a little soon to move Iris but he seems set on getting back to Hammerhead as soon as possible."

"Thank you," he said putting his hands on each of her shoulders. "I'll come find you later." Her hands squeezed both of his. Ignis made his way down to the lobby, much in the same way he had made his way up this his room. It sounded like Gladio was having a phone conversation, so he followed his voice, making an effort to avoid anyone else who may have been in the room. Ignis couldn't make out Gladio's words until he was next to him.

"Can you come any sooner?" There was a pause. "That will do. Thank you." Ignis heard Gladio putting the phone back in his pocket. "Ignis."

"Gladio. I've had the chance to speak with your sister." He felt for a chair and found one that seemed to be across from where Gladio sat.

"And?"

Prior to Aranea showing up, Ignis had been rehearsing carefully in his mind what to say and how best to say it. "I believe she is telling the truth." Ignis heard Gladio shift in his seat and knew he had to continue quickly before he lost him. "Remember when you and Prompto found me in Altissia? There is something I never told you; something I had forgotten and couldn't make sense of until now. Gladio, I had similar visions as your sister, but before it happened." The memories had come flooding back as Iris had shared her visions with him: Pictures of an older Noctis encased in the crystal, then Noctis returning and giving his life to purge the darkness.

"So it's true. He's coming back."

"Yes, I believe so. And when he returns, he will need our aid."

"When will he come back?"

Gladio still sounded skeptical, but Ignis knew that corroborating Iris story would help him believe. Gladio was stubborn, not ignorant. "I'm unsure and so is Iris. But until then, we need to prepare."

"Did she tell you the rest?"

Ignis wasn't sure what he was referring to, so he kept quiet.

"She saw our parents. And spoke with the Oracle."

Ignis detected the sadness in Galdio's voice. He waited for Gladio to continue.

"They aren't coming back."

"I'm sorry, Gladio. I truly am," Ignis said quietly. They'd all made sacrifices.

"If you and Iris are right, at least now all of their deaths will mean something."

"Indeed."

"So, we need to prepare for the King's return?"

Ignis perked up at the word "we". "It would seem that way. And by 'we' you mean…"

"Us. You, me, and Prompto."

Ignis grinned. "Apology accepted."

On the road back to Hammerhead

To Prompto's surprise, Cindy had yet to fall asleep, and they were almost to Hammerhead. He had offered to drive back since he had gotten the most sleep and Cindy had jumped into the passenger's seat. Talcott and two hunters were shoulder to shoulder in the back seat, fast asleep. They had some music going lightly in the background. Prompto was still savoring the moments from less than 12 hours ago, and was hesitant to speak up for fear of ruining it.

"Sorry if I gave you more than ya wanted to know, last night," Cindy said quietly.

"No no. I'm glad you told me. Really."

"I know sometimes people think I'm ignorin' them or don't like 'em or somethin', but I just get kinda lost sometimes, ya know?"

"Actually, I do. It's why I started taking pictures."

"Ya know, Blondie, I think we have more in common than I thought."

Prompto turned the corner and had never been happier to see the old metal shark. "Home Sweet Home." As he pulled through the gate into the parking lot the others remained asleep. He looked over at Cindy who held a finger in front of her lips signaling to remain quiet. The both eased out of their seats and gently shut the doors. Prompto pocketed the key and turned to head toward Takka's to maintenance his guns. A had on his shoulder stopped him and turned him around.

"I'm not really cut out for trainin', but would ya mind teachin' me a few things about takin pictures? Only fair after I kept you up half the night talkin' your ear off about cars."

Prompto smiled at the unexpected invitation. "Sure. Tomorrow afternoon, maybe?"

"Sure thing. You know where ta find me."

Lestallum

Aranea sat up straight when both Ignis and Gladio entered Iris' room. One of her eyebrows lifted when she heard them laughing and bantering back and forth. Both Aranea and Iris looked their direction. "About time you showed up. Your ladies are quite famished."

Iris smiled and placed her hands on her stomach. "Very famished." Over the course of the afternoon, Iris had continued to gain strength and was now strong enough to sit up on her own in bed.

"You're looking better," Gladio smilled, approaching his sister.

"Much. I'll be even better if you feed me."

"I can do that," Gladio promised as he moved to pick her up. "But how about we join the others tonight?"

Without protest, the Amicitia siblings left the room. Ignis made his way over to the recently vacated bed and sat to face Aranea. "You two seem less… hostile," Aranea observed.

Ignis smiled. It appeared as if a weight had been lifted from him. "It seems our priorities have once again aligned. And the air has been cleared, so to speak."

"Have you two been talking all afternoon?" Aranea couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice.

"It takes a while to catch up on a few years."

"I guess so. I'm glad to hear it Ignis. During that long talk, did you happen to come up with a plan for the week?"

"Gladio was able to talk a group into returning a few days early, so we should be able to leave about three days from now. Provided Iris is up to the trip. Until then we help out where we can. People from towns all over are showing up here, overrun by daemons and they could use our assistance."

Aranea nodded and waited hoping Ignis would provide more information. She felt she was missing something.

Ignis hesitated and leaned forward. "Iris and I, we've both had the same the vision and different times. Noctis is alive and returning to purge the darkness once and for all."

Aranea sat for a moment, allowing herself time to absorb what this meant for them and for her. "He's alive for now…"

Sadness returned to Ignis' face. "He will be a sacrifice, yes."

Aranea had to force her fears into words. "And you?"

"The vision was not clear."

Aranea had mixed feelings. It sounded like his death wasn't imminent, but he would certainly be preoccupied until the King's return. She couldn't imagine acting like the last several hadn't hours happened – it felt as if they had passed the point of no turn. "Does this 'we' include me?"

Ignis' smile returned and he took her hands in his. "It certainly can."

Aranea let out a sigh of relief. "I can work with that."

Lestallum - 2 days later

Ignis had been anything but bored the last few days. When he wasn't helping with organization and placement of refugees or planning for Noct's return, he was either training with Gladio and Aranea or fighting daemons. He'd even gotten to help with meal preparation, with Aranea's assistance. His evenings were spent catching up with Iris and Gladio; nights were spent with Aranea who had moved into his room to "make more room" for the refugees. Gladio didn't say anything about it since he had essentially moved into Iris' room to help her with her recovery. Aranea had gotten in touch with Biggs and Wedge and it sounded as if she would be setting out again shortly after arriving back in Hammerhead. After the past few days together Ignis was confident that even though time spent together would be few and far between, they would make the most of it when they had it.

The more time Ignis spent in Lestallum, the less he wanted to leave. He had considered Hammerhead a home of sorts, but the connections he had made would be difficult to leave behind. He could tell Aranea and Gladio were starting to feel comfortable there as well. They spent their last evening down in the lobby, eating dinner and swapping stories with some of the hunters and refugees. The group who had returned and were allowing them to use their vehicle were there as well, after having returned that afternoon.

Ignis, Aranea, and Iris were sitting on the couch with Gladio sitting on the floor in front of them. Iris was growing stronger by the hour and had even made it downstairs on her own power. She had a long way to go before she would be fighting again, if Gladio ever let her, but her spirit was returning to what it was before Noctis left. There was a lull in conversation so Ignis turned it toward the practical, "Are we all set for tomorrow?"

"Should be ready to leave bright and early," Gladio answered, looking back at Ignis.

"Did anybody let Shortcake know we are headed back tomorrow?" Aranea asked.

"Nope," Gladio smiled. "Figured it'd be more fun to surprise him."

Ignis chuckled with everyone else, but he wasn't sure what it was that would surprise Prompto most. Showing up unannounced would certainly startle him but so would Iris' returned personality, Gladio's changing attitude, and Ignis' relationship with Aranea no longer being a secret. He wondered what Prompto had been up to the last few days.

"It will be good to be back," Iris said with smile.

"You are always welcome back, though," one of the hunters said. "We could use the extra hand, especially with more coming here everyday looking for safety. Lotta daemons out there."

"We will certainly keep in touch," Ignis answered for them all. He hoped to come back soon, and he was sure the others felt the same. Ignis used the couch and Galdio's shoulder to help and stand and gain his footing. "In the morning," he said with a nod and headed toward his room. As he did so he could hear the others standing up to leave as well. As he reached the stairs he felt a hand on his arm and stopped.

"I'm not sure what it was, but I'm glad it's over," Iris said brightly.

"I wouldn't say it is 'over', but certainly getting there."

She didn't say any more but her hand left his arm and he heard her going up the stairs. Ignis started up again when he heard Gladio behind him. Instead of stopping, Ignis continued up the stairs but tilted his head in Gladio's direction to acknowledge his presence. "Anything I can do to help?"

"I'll let you know if something comes up, Iggy."

Ignis nodded. It would take time for Gladio to adjust to the fact that he could do more than just offer strategic suggestions, but at least he seemed more open than he used to.

"See you in the mornin'," Gladio said and clapped him in the shoulder.

As Ignis unlocked the door to his room, the person he was hoping would follow him put her hands on his back. She didn't say anything, but followed him in and kept at least one hand on his back so he knew where she was. He noticed she didn't turn the light on, but didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what she had in mind so he walked to the middle of the room and stopped. He wondered what she planned for the evening as it would likely be the last "quiet" one they had together for a while, but they hadn't discussed it. Ignis had realized after arriving in Lestallum that it was best if he just went with what was offered to him instead of trying to force something; this seemed to be working well so far in all of his relationships.

Aranea used her hand on his back to guide him to the wall with the window and he heard her pull the curtains back. Ignis stayed silent, still not sure what she was thinking, and waited for her to speak.

"I leave tomorrow, shortly after we get back to Hammerhead. Biggs and Wedge need me to help command a few troops."

This didn't take Ignis by surprise. He knew she had contacted them and planned re-connect with them soon. Aranea had talents that were increasingly valuable and this would allow her to put them to good use. He simply hugged her tight. "You will be missed." He lightly kissed her nose, then her forehead. All of the "practice" the last few days had allowed him to learn her well and keep from kissing the wrong place just because he couldn't see with his eyes.

"I'm glad you've found peace, Ignis; and purpose," she said quietly and shifted so that they were holding hands and facing the window. "We will be ready - all of us."