"That's a name if I ever heard one... Ignis, eh? Like the Prince's royal retainer?" Rowan asked, an amused smile on her face. Ignis laughed a little, a smile on their face. It was difficult to tell someone of why he was named as such. One of the first therapists they had thought that Nimue was playing too many video games, when they'd both named themselves instead of her naming them. It didn't really make sense at the time, but a bit of looking up showed that a good amount of people faked the disorder just so they didn't have to work. That was where the therapist's prejudice against the three of them was coming from- thinking that Nimue was faking it.

"Something like that." Ignis responded after a minute.

"Well ain't that somethin'." Rowan kept her eyes on the road, though she did have to slow down when the cars in front of her truck slowed to a standstill. "What's this, now?"

"Roadblock?" Ignis suggested weakly, not really sure what could be holding all of these cars up. Rowan turned her truck off and the two of them exited it, looking ahead to see an imperial checkpoint... that wasn't letting anyone through. Perhaps they'd heard of the Regalia being at the station and were planning on retrieving it. The two of them noticed a few MTs headed their way and, when one of them spotted Ignis, they drew their weapons.

"As I suspected." Summoning a pair of daggers that Nimue frequently used, Ignis prepared himself for combat. Rowan took a look in the back of her truck before pulling out a shotgun and loading it. She shot it with gusto, taking an MT's head off and watched it fall to the ground. She whooped in victory, reloading the shotgun and taking aim. Ignis, on the other hand, dashed forward and made easy work of the two MTs starting to load their guns to shoot at them. It was a quick and easy fight, with the two of them taking care of the MTs before anything could happen.

"Hurry up! In the truck, we'll take a shortcut!" Rowan said as the sound of an imperial dropship sounded. Ignis nodded, running towards the truck and climbing inside as quickly as their legs would allow him. Shutting the door and putting on the seatbelt, he watched as Rowan didn't put on her seatbelt and instead backed up the truck and turned off the road into the dirt. There was a cloud of dust behind them for a while as Rowan drove at a high speed, avoiding Imperial roadblocks as she could. It didn't take long for them to slowly but surely start running out of gas.

"Hammerhead ain't too far now!" Rowan said. "We get there, I can fuel up and we can-"

She stepped on the brakes, swerving the truck some and hitting the MTs that had just fallen out onto the road from a dropship. Unbuckling, Ignis kicked the door a couple times.

Let me take care of this part, Iggy.

"Are you sure?" Ignis asked aloud, forgetting Rowan was there for a moment.

"What're you talkin' 'bout? 'Course I'm sure!" Rowan responded.

'Course. Just leave it to me.

Gladiolus kicked the door, sending it flying into oncoming MTs before materializing a greatsword and hopping out of the truck. It was easier than anything to dispatch the MTs. The leader, on the other hand, looked like it was jerking around and would hit fellow MTs with its banner.

"Now we gotta take a detour and go see Cindy 'bout repairin' my truck." Rowan said as the two of them got back in the truck. "Why'd ya do that, anyway, Ignis?"

"Not Ignis." Gladiolus said. "The name I was given was Gladiolus, like the other royal retainer."

Rowan raised a brow. "...Meanin' there's more than one?"

"Three, but the third one is... asleep." He shrugged slightly, dismissing the greatsword and getting into the truck. At least it was only the door he'd kicked off and not... the seat or anything. Rowan heaved a sigh as she got back into the truck as well. Glancing over at Gladiolus, she wondered if there was something wrong with them. Three people in one body…? It was still hard to wrap her head around. But she wouldn't bother them with asking how it all worked. There was a reason this was happening, so she would take it in stride for now.

"But the third is asleep. Who's that, exactly?" Rowan asked.

"Nimue." The tone had shifted back to a more formal and pleasant one, meaning that… if she went by vocal tones, the one called "Ignis" was now talking. "She.. isn't in the best of shapes, so we thought it best for her to sleep for now."

"Right. Ain't gonna act like I can understand it, but if y'all know what's best."

–

"Nimue?! I thought you were with the Prince!" Cindy said, surprised at seeing her.

"Something… happened, and I can't travel with him for now. So I'm just going to see what I can do here for him." Ignis responded, taking on Nimue's tone of voice and infliction. "I met Rowan here while I was walking towards the station, and we've been travelling together for a bit now."

"That don't make sense. Why would the Prince not need you? Couldja tell me what happened?"

"I'd rather not say, Cindy. Sorry. But, uh… we came here because I kiiind of ruined Rowan's truck." To emphasize the point, Ignis pulled the door out from the back of the truck and held it out. Cindy nearly fainted right then and there, but Rowan cut in to explain the situation as best as possible without bringing attention to the fact that Nimue wasn't actually speaking to Cindy . Ignis paid for the repairs out of their own pocket, and they were told it would take a few days to fix the truck up. When the two of them were out of earshot from Cindy, Rowan pulled Ignis aside.

"What was that? That wasn't you!" She said, voice nearly too quiet to hear.

"It is, and will be for as long as I exist." Ignis responded in a whisper. "Ever since my creation, I've been capable of imitating Nimue and her habits to keep people from knowing that there is something wrong with her. To protect her from scorn, in other words. Act as if you know Nimue and not me."

Rowan blinked, but sighed and shrugged.

The three days were mostly filled with them going out on hunts and bringing back whatever Takka needed for his cooking. Ignis would write down certain recipes in Nimue's journal, adding in notes to make it more palatable for her, and would generally be the one cooking if Takka needed a break. Rowan would generally hang around and sometimes go out to get vegetables or the like if needed. When Cindy finished the truck, Rowan beckoned to Ignis and the two of them would head off after some goodbyes to Cindy.

The road wasn't as cluttered as when they were headed to Hammerhead. During the three days, imperial checkpoints had fallen to Hunters who knew what they were doing and how to handle MTs, so they were free to travel. Having explained she needed to stop by Lestallum, Rowan had figured Ignis wouldn't even know what she was talking about but was surprised when he'd brought up that he knew a few people in Lestallum from travelling with the Prince.

Even though he had been considered dead… Even Cindy had said something about him.

"How did he survive Insomnia being destroyed?" Rowan asked.

"Because he wasn't there." Ignis responded plainly. "We were at the cliff, looking out towards Insomnia, when we got the notice from a news broadcast that King Noctis was said to be dead along with Lady Lunafreya."

"But Lunafreya was alive the whole time… It makes no sense."

"That would be Imperial propaganda for you."

The remaining trip had been silent, except for the radio playing music. Ignis stared out the window for a bit before closing his eyes and trying to reach for Nimue. She stirred, but fell back asleep almost instantly. The trauma of being told she had betrayed Noctis for letting Lunafreya die was… still bothering her deeply. All she had wanted to do was make sure that they got their happy ending. That everyone got their happy ending, regardless of what happened to her. Pulling out the costume prop ring that Nimue had bought for a roleswap cosplay, he looked at it before putting it back.

The power of Kings… would burn the three of them to death . Just like it had Nyx in the movie. Anyone that wasn't of the Lucis Caelum bloodline would die if they chose to give their life instead of anyone else's. And Nimue was that kind of idiot. The kind of idiot who would sacrifice herself to do so.

The truck came to a stop as Rowan parked in the parking lot of Lestallum and Ignis got out of said truck. Shutting the door, he headed into the city proper, not stopping as Rowan called out to him. In an alleyway, he leaned against the wall and put a hand to their face.

And then, it happened.

The urge to throw up had been too great. Nimue's grief was overwhelming even him , and whatever was in their stomach found itself on the ground almost immediately. She was upset. Upset at herself, upset at trying to give everyone a happy ending. Grieving for Noctis, grieving for Lunafreya. Her feelings ran so deep it churned their stomach. Once the nausea had passed and their stomach was empty, all Ignis could do was stumble out of the alleyway. From the way he came, in fact. Seeing Iris up ahead, looking shocked to see them, Ignis barely made it out of the alleyway before he collapsed.

The world slowly faded as Iris called for someone to help, and Rowan's voice responded with hurried footsteps. It was too much. All too much…

–

And when it came back into focus, it had been about a week since she'd first fallen asleep. A week since she'd fallen off the train. Nimue slowly sat up, looking around. It was the same room she'd been in when she'd come here with Noctis and his retinue, back when she was actually a part of their group. Getting out of bed, she struggled to walk and it took a few moments for her to actually be able to stand on her own without holding onto something. She was out of practice in her own body, and it showed too well.

A whole week… and yet, she still was here.

"Iggy…? Gladio…? Why am I awake…?" She asked.

Because you woke yourself up from a long nightmare . Ignis supplied.

Because you've slept enough. Ignis can't be at the front forever. Sorry, Nym. was Gladiolus' reply. Nimue put a hand to her head. There was nothing from that day to now… and yet, she couldn't help but feel guilty. Hearing the door open, she turned to see a redhead entering her room. Backing up just a bit, she looked at the window.

"Eh? Why're you backin' away from me?" The redhead asked.

"I… don't know you…" Nimue said weakly. "Wh-why are you…"

Her name is Rowan. I met her when you were asleep.

"...R-Rowan… S-sorry, Rowan. I… You… He… I can't explain it, I'm… so sorry…" She backed up a bit more. "Sorry…"

"Hey, are you alright? Hey–" Rowan ran over as Nimue collapsed to the ground, sobbing. Pulling her into a hug, all Rowan could do was hold her as she cried.

Once she was feeling better, they'd clear this up. Hopefully…