"Think, think, think, think!" (Y/n) shouted inside her head. She knew Ignis wouldn't survive the fall and had to come up with a plan before both their bodies splattered against the stone floor quickly approaching. She looked around and something finally clicked. She summoned her staff and tried her best to clear her mind of the panic.

Fortunately, Pestilence was able to cast the spell she wanted. A shadowy tendril wrapped around the ledge and the other end wound around Ignis' torso, halting his plummet. He grunted from the sudden tug on his body, but he finally managed to catch his breath.

(Y/n) was relieved to see her last-minute plan worked like a charm. She expected her body to smack against the floor any second now but was fortunate to have her own fall halted when Ignis grabbed her wrist before she was out of reach. Her plan only included his safety, not hers. But it seems both of them were spared of the deadly fall. She felt her arm dislocate from the sudden powerful tug and winced in pain, biting her bottom lip to keep from yelping. Using her staff, she manipulated the sable tendril and pulled their bodies up to safety. Once their feet were on solid ground, it disappeared along with her weapon.

Pestilence whimpered once she tugged her wrist out of Ignis' grip and popped her arm back into its socket. She rolled her shoulder to make sure all was well. "You've quite sharp reflexes, Ignis. I never expected you to grab me so quickly."

"I could not fathom watching you fall regardless of knowing you would survive the impact," he explains. "Your swift thinking saved us both."

"Well, I only planned on saving you. It seems you changed the outcome," she smiled. She tugged at a few snowy strands, pushing them behind her ear. "Now, we'll need to find a way to regroup with the others. We must be wary of where we travel. I fear the grootslang is aware of our presence and is simply toying with us."

Ignis remembered the name from when she told him and the others of her mission on Eos. The grootslang was one of her targets. "The creature resides in these ruins?"

The girl nodded. "Yes. It seems to have followed us from Cape Caem. I sensed its presence a few days ago, but it was faint. When we entered the ruins, its signature escalated. That is why I suddenly stormed off. If I don't kill the creature, you all will be in danger. It won't hesitate to kill any of you." She paced back and forth in front of Ignis, his eyes tracking her every movement. "I need to find it and-!"

She was silenced when two gloved hands cupped her cheeks and lifted her head to meet an emerald gaze. Ignis leaned down, his face mere inches from hers. "(Y/n), breathe. You're rambling."

She hadn't realize how lightheaded she was from how fast she was talking without pausing to take a single breath. "I'm sorry. It's just...the others are in peril and I've no way to convey to them how dangerous it is."

"We will find them before the creature does," he reassures her.

Pestilence nodded and leaned into his touch. "Yes. We better get moving."

<-------<<<<<<

The duo lost track of time a while ago. They weren't sure how much time had passed since they were separated from the others. With (Y/n)'s presence, daemons weren't an issue and caused a heavy silence between them. However, the Horseman was able to spark up idle chitchat here and there to keep their minds occupied while searching the ruins for Noctis, Prompto, and Aranea.

Their conversations escalated to the ones they usually exchanged in the early hours of the morning waiting for the others to wake up. The only things missing were the warm beverages they sipped on. To their surprise, they still had yet to run out of things to talk about.

Ignis wouldn't admit it out loud, but he enjoyed his chats with (Y/n). Not only was he able to be himself around her, he felt a joy he had never experienced before. He was excellent at putting on a facade to hide his emotions from his friends, but it seems they were out of control and beamed brightly like a beacon in the night to the others when it came to the snowy-haired girl, shattering his iron mask.

"Ignis?" (Y/n) called out in a soft, gentle tone.

He hadn't realized he'd been staring at her until she called his name. He blinked a few times before redirecting his gaze to the hallway in front of them. "Apologies, (Y/n). It seems I'm...not myself at the moment."

"Seems you mentally left Eos for a few minutes," she giggled. "A gil for your thoughts?"

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Tis nothing of importance."

Pestilence was a little wounded at his words because she knew it wasn't nothing. It made her feel as if he didn't trust her as much as she thought. She couldn't stop the sorrowful smile from appearing on her face. "Alright." She turned her back to him and walked ahead, trying to hide her melancholy from him.

Unfortunately, her plan failed and Ignis noticed. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her back toward him and causing her to face him. Before he could explain himself, a low and threatening hiss echoed through the hallway they were trekking down.

The duo's eyes widen and they immediately took a few steps back. Something slammed against the wall to their right, grabbing their attention as they backed away further.

(Y/n) yanked her arm from Ignis' grip and summoned her chakrams as whatever was on the other side of the wall made a desperate attempt to burst through the stone and reach them. She gripped her blades tightly as she watched the wall begin to crack and crumble. In the next instant, the grootslang bursted through the stone with its eyes set on her.

Ignis was astounded and frightened at the size of the snake/elephant hybrid. Its head barely fit through the giant hole it created. It tried to bite (Y/n), but she was able switch out her chakrams for her staff in a heartbeat and place a protective barrier around herself. The creature's mouth wrapped around the entirety of the barrier, trying to dig its teeth through and reach the Horseman. Its tongue lapped at the surface of the barrier, searching for any weak points.

The royal advisor summoned his daggers and threw one. The blade pierced its left eye, forcing it to retreat back into the hole it created.

(Y/n) dispelled the barrier and ran over to Ignis, grabbing his hand and tugging him away from the hole. She dragged him along as she ran down the way they just came. "We need to find the others, now!"

As they turned the corner, the grootslang emerged from the wall, shoving its large body through the hole and causing it to triple in size. The two ran as fast as they could with the creature nipping at their heels. They stormed in and out of rooms, up and down hallways and stairwells to escape the creature.

Eventually, they managed to escape the creature's line of sight. Their small victory was pummeled into dust when they reached a chamber that was a dead end.

Pestilence released her hold on Ignis and turned around to face the only entry point. "Dear Etro above, why did this have to be a dead end?" She spotted the grootslang's body weaving in and out of the ruins in search of them. She glanced back at Ignis, who's fingers flexed in preparation to conjure his daggers. She knew he was stubborn when it came to the safety of others and would refuse her plead if she asked him to leave her behind. She summoned her staff, casting a shadow spell. A creature made entirely of shadow formed in front of them.

She glanced at her creation before looking at the tactician. "Forgive me, Ignis." She commanded the shadowy being to take him and find a safe place far from the grootlsang. It nodded and its towering form trudged over to the jaded-eyed man.

"(Y/n), what are you-"

"This is for your safety. I know how stubborn you can be, which is why this is the only way I can ensure you will be safe."

The shadow creature, being much taller and stronger than Ignis, grabbed and dragged him toward the wall in the back of the room. He shouted her name as he tried to fight against the strong grip on his arms, but the monster was too strong. His body suddenly felt light and his vision was obscured by darkness.

When Ignis' vision cleared after a few seconds, he fell to the floor with a grunt. The shadow creature loomed over his body before dispersing into black wisps and vanishing.

"Whoa!" A voice shouted. The advisor looked up and saw the others a few feet away. It was Prompto who spotted him. "Where'd you come from, Iggy?"

"And where's snowflake?" Aranea questioned.

"Staving off the creature responsible for the tremors." He pushed his body off the ground and got to his feet, brushing the dirt off his clothes from the fall.

"And you left her alone?" Noctis asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I'd no choice in the matter," he confesses.

"Let me guess-with a wave of her hand, you appeared here," Aranea grinned.

"More or less..."

"We're gonna help her...right?" Prompto glanced between his companions. Ignis fell silent, unsure of how to answer. The blonde turned to Noctis and asked again. "Right, Noct?"

Not even the prince responded. He simply crossed his arms and stared at the stone floor below. Prompto gaped in surprise at their silence. "You're seriously gonna let her fight alone?! I can't believe you guys. Especially you, Iggy!"

"She would refuse our help regardless," the strategist spoke up. "Our objective is the mythril. (Y/n) will reconvene with us once her matter has been dealt with."

Like Ignis, Prompto was worried about (Y/n) regardless of her status as a Horseman. He knew she could handle herself better than the four of them combined, but he was concerned for her because she was another friend he made on their journey. He reluctantly nodded with a grimace and followed after the others.

<--------<<<<<<<

While making their way through Steyliff Grove, Ignis couldn't stop his thoughts from racing to (Y/n) and decided to keep his mind off her by asking Aranea a few questions about the presence of the empire in the Vesperpool. "What does the empire seek here?"

"Specimens-and we're stuck harvesting them," Aranea explained in disgust.

Prompto's brows knitted together in confusion. "Specimens?"

"Daemons." The ex-mercenary adjusted her helmet before fixating her gaze on Ignis. "I'd also watch out for your little girlfriend. Seems she's caught the chancellor's eye, and that's never a good thing."

"That guy's annoying," Noctis huffed.

"That's something you and I agree on."

"So what's all this about the army and daemons?" Prompto asked the woman.

Aranea scoffed. "What do you think it is?"

"Nice! I love guessing games!"

The ex-mercenary decided to explain. "Turns out the empire makes weapons out of them."

""Weapons"?" The freckled boy inquired in bewilderment.

"Yeah. I'm sure you've seen your share by now. Something not quite right with the empire lately."

"It's not just lately," Noctis sneered.

"True," Aranea sighed. "Maybe it's time I left."

Prompto nearly bit his tongue when he went to respond as the ruins began shaking violently once again. He pressed his body against the wall while the others remained where they stood. "This one's pretty big!"

"Hey, Specs!" Noctis shouted over the loud rumbling. "Did you even get to see what this thing looks like?!"

"A grootslang," he calmly replies. "Its size is unmeasurable."

"The damn thing is shaking every inch of this place," Aranea grunted. "Better find the mythril fast and get the hell outta here."

When the rumbling suddenly ceased and the temperature plummeted, Prompto felt his entire body become frigid and he could see his breath. "W-Whoa..." He wrapped his arms around his body and rubbed them up and down his skin to create friction. "What's with t-the sudden ch-chill?"

"One of (Y/n)'s incantation, perhaps," Ignis said, feeling the cold nip at his exposed arms.

"Think she killed it?" Noctis asked.

"We will only know for certain if the tremors cease."

"C'mon, let's get moving," Aranea said.

<--------<<<<<<<

Finally reaching the deepest level of Steyliff Grove, the area was large and vacant. They searched the large chamber for the piece of mythril, spotting it underneath the bridge suspended above the middle of the chamber.

Noctis walked over to the mineral and grabbed it, placing it in his pocket. He turned to face the others with a relieved sigh. "Let's get the hell outta-"

The wall to his right was pummeled into a pile of debris as (Y/n)'s body was thrown across the room like a rag doll. Her body slammed against the opposite wall before falling to the floor and being buried under a pile of stones. Ignis and Prompto rush to her aid, moving the rubble off her body.

Once she was free of the debris, Ignis grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet, supporting her full weight when she collapsed against his side from exhaustion.

It had been an hour since her struggle with the grootslang began and she could barely stand. (Y/n) gripped the front and back of Ignis' dress shirt, scrunching up the fabric between her fingers. "M-Move," she weakly whimpers.

Prompto and Ignis did as she commanded and regrouped with Noctis and Aranea just as the grootslang emerged from the hole with a cacophony of hisses, its large body filling half the large chamber.

(Y/n) tried to break free of Ignis' hold with the little strength she had left, but his arm only tightened around her waist. "I-Ignis..." She begged just above a whisper.

"You're not alone in this endeavor," he whispered to her.

Her eyes widen at his words as he pulled her back to safety and away from the approaching creature. Noctis, Prompto, and Aranea took a stance against the snake/elephant hybrid and went all-out.

Pestilence watched helplessly as the three battled the grootslang. She could see the darkness creeping into her vision as she felt the small bit of strength she had left dwindle and dissipate. She had exhausted all her mana during her lengthy battle with the monster, but she was able to weaken it greatly. Its movements were sluggish and had difficulty landing a single blow.

When the grootslang reared up, (Y/n) held out her hand and forced one last ice spell. The hybrid's body was encased in ice like an intricately carved ice sculpture. Noctis activates his armiger and doesn't hold back. When the last spectral blade pierced the ice, it shattered and successfully eliminated the grootslang.