"Alright!" Prompto cheered, pumping a fist into the air. He turned back to Ignis and (Y/n) just in time to see the Horseman's legs finally give out completely. If the tactician didn't have his arm wrapped around her waist, she would've crumpled to the ground. He supported her body as her head flopped against his chest, breathing heavily and closing her eyes from exhaustion. She was able to fend off the threat of falling unconscious and listened to the soothing rhythm of Ignis' heartbeat.

Pestilence gasped when she felt Ignis maneuver her body onto his back with a little help from Prompto. On instinct, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leant forward. "You don't have to carry me, Ignis."

"You can barely walk," he retorts, readjusting her slightly on his back.

"If you give me-"

"Just let Specs carry you," Noctis interrupted the snowy-haired girl. "He won't take "no" for an answer."

(Y/n) swallowed the remainder of her sentence, nodding slowly. She relaxed her body and rested her chin on his shoulder, allowing Ignis to chauffeur her around on his back.

Without another word, the quartet began their long trek back to the entrance. It took them around three hours, which was much shorter than it took them to find the mythril. They got lost a couple more times on the way back, but they reached the entrance as the sun was rising.

(Y/n) was utterly shocked at how high Ignis' endurance level was. He carried her all the way up flights of stairs without taking a single break between the seemingly endless hours of walking. He finally allowed her to walk on her own as they stepped outside Steyliff Grove. She meekly thanked him before deciding to take the lead down the stairs and through the swamp.

She was nearly given a heart attack when Ardyn seemingly appeared out of nowhere and stood only a few inches in front of her. He smirked in satisfaction at her reaction. "Apologies for the fright, my dear. Was your mission successful?"

(Y/n) took a few steps back to put some space between her and the chancellor. "Do forgive my rudeness, Chancellor, but...why do you concern yourself with our affairs?"

"Tis quite simple." Ardyn waved a finger in the air as he smirked at her. "I only desire your success."

"Yes, well..." Pestilence didn't believe the man for one second, but she decided to hide her suspicion. "We appreciate your help."

He stared into her (e/c) eyes, which sent a chill down her spine. "Why, of course." He took a closer look at her face, his smirk widening. "For one who spent nearly three days without a wink of sleep, you're still as radiant as ever."

"We all are exhausted regardless if it shows," she rebuttals. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we'd like to be on our way. The exhaustion is finally taking its toll."

Ardyn bowed politely. "Oh, yes. Do be safe during your travels 'til we meet again across the sea." When his back was turned, she glared at daggers him as he sauntered away. She sighed in relief, breaking her sharp glare once the man was out of sight.

Aranea rolled her eyes after the chancellor was gone. She cleared her throat and called out to the others. "Congrats. That concludes your "training." You've still got a hard path ahead, but don't let anyone tell you how to walk it."

"You may have been hired under false pretenses, but your assistance was invaluable all the same," Ignis said.

"Hmph," the ex-mercenary smirked. "Tell me something I don't know. You can spare the pleasantries."

"Take care walking your path, Aranea."

"Oh, right. Thanks-I will. And I'll "train" you some more if our paths cross again. You four also need to be careful. Who knows what the dear chancellor has in store." Aranea waved farewell before hopping aboard a drop ship with her men.

Prompto sighed in relief, stretching his arms. "Well, glad that's over with! We found what we needed and took down the world's largest snake!"

Ignis pulled out his phone when he felt it buzz in his pocket. His screen lit up with a text message from Cindy. "Noct, I have just received word from Cindy."

"And?" The prince urged his advisor to continue.

"We're to return to Lestallum. Her friend works as an engineer at the power plant. She'll take care of the mythril."

"Uh-huh. And that'll take care of our boat problem! But first, could we get some shuteye? I don't think I could take another step," Prompto whined.

Ignis agreed with the freckled boy. "Once we're well-rested and ready, I suggest we hasten back to Lestallum. For now, we make camp."

"To Capitis Haven, then?" (Y/n) inquired.

The strategist nodded. "Yes. Let's depart."

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

At the haven, Pestilence busied herself with cooking while the three boys relaxed around the campfire. The second Noctis reclined his head against the back of the chair, he was out like a light. Prompto was having difficulty keeping his eyes open, blinking tiredly every few seconds with a few yawns in between. Ignis, on the other hand, seemed to be handling his exhaustion with an iron mask. It was difficult to tell if the man was exhausted at all.

(Y/n) passed out the plates once she finished cooking. She woke Noctis up with a faint healing spell before handing him his food. He muttered a "thank you" before scarfing down his meal. Prompto and Ignis savored every bite of their food, more tired than hungry at the moment.

When the trio was done, they retreated into the tent while (Y/n) handled the dishes. Noctis and Prompto were out within seconds of laying down while Ignis stared up at the ceiling of the tent. It took him a little while longer to fall asleep, but he finally was able to welcome slumber.

*****
With a startled gasp, Ignis' eyes flew wide open. He rotated in a circle, scanning his surroundings. He recognized the scenery as the bridge suspended over Taelpar Crag, the same place where he and the others first met (Y/n).

The sky above was dark, the sun blotched out by gray clouds. Thunder rumbled with cracks of lightning illuminating the sky. Ignis could feel his heart racing a mile a minute as he recognized the scene that has plagued his sleep and mind for the past three weeks.

"No," he mumbled in disbelief as he stood in the middle of the bridge. In his mind, he knew he would fail to save (Y/n) once again. He turned around when hearing the purr of an engine approaching. It was the car (Y/n) and Raiden were in. He stood still, unable to move his legs as he was able to spot the smile on the girl's face as the vehicle drove toward him. It passed through his body as if he were a spectral image.

Ignis already knew how he couldn't touch anyone or anything. He was simply a ghost who stood on the sideline and watched everything unfold in front of him helplessly.

The silver car was halfway across the bridge when a sea green truck sped toward it from the opposite direction. Raiden tried to swerve and avoid the larger vehicle barreling toward them, but it didn't work. The truck rammed into the front side-end of the sedan, forcing it through the stone railing with only the rear tires remaining on the bridge.

The driver in the truck put it in reverse and drove backwards to get away from the ledge before hopping out. A pistol glinted in the man's hand as he slowly crept toward the silver car on the verge of falling off the bridge.

Even though he knew he couldn't help, Ignis still desperately tried. He dashed over to try and stop Edric, but it was futile. He watched as the angered man pulled the hammer of the pistol back before pointing it at Raiden through the shattered window. He pulled the trigger, the bullet lodging itself into the innocent man's brain and killing him instantly. From the passenger's seat, (Y/n) screamed in horror as a streak of blood splashed on her face.

"You'll be joining him soon enough, (Y/n)," Edric chuckled darkly before holstering the firearm and heading back to his car. He slammed his foot on the gas pedal and took off just as the sky above released a torrent of droplets.

Save her

Ignis heard a voice whisper in his ear. He turned to see who it was, but nobody was there. He reached out to touch the sedan and his emerald eyes widened when his hand didn't faze through. He was able to keep his focus on (Y/n) and save her, knowing the car would fall over in a few minutes. He dashed over to the right side of the car and carefully opened the door to the backseat.

"(Y/n)," he called out to her as he climbed into the backseat slowly, not wanting to disturb the car's teetering and cause it to fall over the side of the bridge. He held his hand out in hopes she wouldn't question him and take it.

The girl turned her head to look over her shoulder, gripping the armrest between the seats tightly. Her nails dug into the leather as she stared at the advisor with tears streaming down her face. She was too distraught to even say a word, but she did take his hand.

"Steadily climb over the armrest and into the backseat," he told her in a calming and gentle tone.

(Y/n) nodded and did as he instructed. She pulled her feet up and placed them on the seat before crawling over the center console slowly. She felt the front-end of the car dip further than usual, causing her to freeze.

Ignis knew how short on time they were and tugged on the (h/c)-haired girl's arm to urge her into moving again. She did and managed to get her upper body over the armrest between the two seats and into the backseat just as the front-end of the car dipped dangerously deep. They felt the rear tires rolling forward, alerting them both.

Seeing they were out of time, Ignis gripped (Y/n)'s hand tighter and yanked the rest of her body into the backseat and out the door. Due to the quick movement, they ended tripping and falling. The young girl fell on top of the advisor but quickly scrambled to her feet and breaking free of his hold. She turned just in time to see the car fall from the bridge and into the canyon below. She dragged her body over to the ledge and fell to her knees, watching the vehicle become smaller and smaller as it fell into the darkness below.

Ignis pushed himself off the ground, peering through the downpour and staring at (Y/n) through glasses obscured with water droplets. His clothes were soaked as he listened to the rumbling thunder echoing all around them. A few strands of hair stuck to his face as he slowly approached her. "(Y/n)," he called out to her, but his voice rang on deaf ears.

When he saw her body leaning forward, his eyes widened and he rushed over to her. He pulled her body into his arms and away from the ledge of the bridge. Her body slumped in his arms as she cried, her tears mixing with the raindrops streaming down her face. She saw no point in struggling to break free from his embrace and slumped forward, grasping his arms as she wailed.

"I refuse to let you join him," Ignis whispered in her ear.

"I-I've nothing left to live for..." (Y/n) muttered through her sniffles. "What's the point in living if the man I love is dead?"

"Do not give up, (Y/n)."

She turned around in his arms, staring up at him with her glistening (e/c) eyes. "How...?" She gasped, a lump forming in her throat. "How do you know my name? You...You talk as if you know me on a personal level. Who are you?"

Before Ignis could respond, an invisible force yanked his body backward and the world around him was consumed in darkness.
*****

Ignis woke from his slumber, eyes slowly opening. When they were fully open, he immediately spotted a pair of (e/c) eyes staring down at him. (Y/n) hovered above him, her hand resting against his chest. She realized he was awake, peering down at his face and noticing how different he looked without his glasses. "You were mumbling in your sleep. I was hoping to ease your pain, but it seems I've awoken you," she whispered in order to not disturb Noctis and Prompto. She casted a healing incantation and smiled at him. "Go back to sleep. You three have been up for three days without a wink of sleep. You deserve an entire's day of rest."

Before (Y/n) could leave the tent, Ignis placed his hand over the one she had splayed on his chest. She blinked owlishly in confusion and halted her retreat. "Ignis, are you-ah!" He wrapped his hand around her wrist and grabbed her other hand, flipping their positions.

She winced from the slight pain in her back and head as she was pinned underneath the advisor. He pushed her wrists against the bottom of the tent on either side of her head, immobilizing her. Once the small waves of pain diminished, she stared up at him in utter shock. She couldn't even lift a finger due to how petrified she was at his actions. Their faces were mere inches from one another. (Y/n) managed to swallow the lump in her throat and find her voice. "You're acting rather odd, Ignis. Did...Did something happen in the nightmare?"

No response.

All Ignis did was stare into her hypnotizing (e/c) eyes. He could see the uneasiness in her eyes, but he still couldn't find his voice as the scene of him saving her in the nightmare replayed in his mind on a seemingly endless loop. His right hand unfurled from around her left wrist and slowly made its way over to (Y/n)'s cheek.

Even with one hand free from the vice grip Ignis once held her with, (Y/n) couldn't bring herself to shove him away. She continued to stare into his emerald eyes, which were not veiled by his glasses. Her mouth opened a smidgen before immediately closing after a failed attempt at iterating his name. With the tense silence lingering between them, she became all too aware of the two other boys sleeping only a few feet away from them. She could hear Noctis and Prompto snoring lightly alongside the echo of her thundering heart in her ears.

By the time (Y/n) managed to fight against the paralysis that held her body prisoner, the distance between her face and Ignis' was closed. She felt a warm pair of lips seal her own, which took her breath away. Her brain finally registered what was happening after seconds seemed to tick by painfully slow-Ignis was kissing her.