Faithful - Ignis Scientia x Abused!Reader

Chapter 13 - Saving a Friend

You woke up abruptly in your bed. Your heart was beating fast and your body was way sweatier than comfortable. Something was wrong. Reaching for your phone to check the time, you felt a cold hand grab your wrist. You froze, and before you could scream another hand was covering your mouth. In paralyzing fear, you tried all you could to call for the others, but you were stuck. Screams were muffled, and tears were invisible. Underneath its cold, slender fingers, you were hyperventilating. Had the daemon come back to haunt you? Suddenly, a pair of white eyes, with no iris whatsoever, stared at your face. This being had a message, and it was clear in your mind:

"Nobody can save you, 

behold, it is only in your head. 

At aurora, you will transform,

and the swing of a familiar blade 

is the end to it all."

When the last syllable spoke, the daemon fled through your open window, bringing a cold breeze with it. What was left was you and a pair of wildly flowing curtains. Your head was running wild, and your fast breathing had given you a prominent headache.

"I need some air," you mumbled upon your breath as you grabbed your phone and jumped into your slippers. Wearing your PJ's, you stepped into the bright hotel hallways, lighted up as always, even at night. Your feet lightly tapped along the carpet, creating no noise for all the sleeping guests. As you reached the lobby, you hurried outside and took a huge breath of relief. Finally, you were feeling better...

After calming down, you started to contemplate what had just happened and placed a hand in front of your mouth worriedly.

"At aurora, I will transform?" You repeated the daemon's words, thoughtfully. "I need to write this down..." you mumbled again before pulling up your phone. Since the memory was still fresh, you got every single word right. It was scary, all of it. What if you never joined Wiz on that trip a few weeks prior? But then you would never meet Ignis... Your heart jumped at the thought of him and all bad feelings were chased away. What a fine, modest man he was.

You looked at the numbers on top of the screen and sighed; it was almost 2 am. You would be dead the next morning... So, you stuffed your phone in your pocket and returned to the lobby. As you continued through the hallways, you noticed Prompto and Gladio's door was slightly open. Intrigued, you peeked inside and saw none of them present, only some light peeking through under the bathroom door. As you took a step inside, you stumbled on Prompto's shoes, noticing that Gladio's were gone. "So Prompto's the one in there..." you thought before smiling to yourself. Maybe you could make some chit-chat before going to bed.

You walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it. "Prompto?" you sounded. In the same moment you talked, you could hear Prompto losing something to the floor and lightly cursing to himself. You frowned.

"Is everything okay?" your voice had this caring, motherly tone whenever you were worried about Prompto. It just happened...

"Leave me alone, Y/N!" He yelled with a voice cracking as much as his soul. You jumped by surprise, but just as fast as your heart went up, it fell to the bottom. He was having another breakdown...

"Prompto, please... I won't leave you," you replied, sincerely and clear on the fact that you won't budge. "I'm coming in."

"No!" Prompto yelled again, this time more panicked. He reached for the handle, but before he could, you had already opened the door.

The sight that would meet you was beyond your expectations. Prompto had his faithful revolver in hand, and unused bullets were scattered across the floor. Freckles himself looked absolutely terrible. His hair was messy, eyes drained and there was pure fear displayed on his face. Before you could say anything, Prompto placed the revolver to his head and threatened to pull the trigger; "Don't come any closer or I will do it!"

Your eyes widened, and tears flooded over in milliseconds. Everything went by so fast, and acts were done on pure instinct. "Don't you fucking dare!" You yelled back before leaping towards him and his weapon. Prompto closed his eyes shut and let his finger slowly press the trigger.

Click

What a beautiful sound of an empty barrel.

You grabbed hold of his wrist and squeezed as hard as you could, and Prompto yelped in pain before he let go of the revolver. You both struggled so much that you fell to the floor, accidentally taking the bathtubs curtain hanger with you. The sound was loud, alerting everyone of the drama going on.

"I'm so sorry," Prompto sobbed as he curled into a ball on the warm bathroom floor. He was losing it. You threw the revolver across the room from where you sat next to him before you wrapped your small arms around him.

"Don't ever do that again, Prompto!" you cried as you pulled him into your embrace. "Don't ever do that again..." you repeated while holding onto him like he was your only treasure.

"What the hell is going on here?" said Gladiolus as he walked in, Noctis following right after. They had been playing King's Night in the lounge. Not you or Prompto could push any explanation out, so Gladio repeated himself. "I said: what the he-"

Noctis interrupted him with a sad cry; "Prompto!" The Prince ran towards the two of you and kneeled next to his best friend. You let go of Prompto to let Noctis grab hold of him with his strong arms and pull him back upon his legs. "What were you trying to do with that gun?" He yelled; anger was prominent in his voice.

You tried to keep your cool, but it was impossible. You had seen too much. But you stood up and let Noctis and Prompto have their moment.

"I'm so sorry, Noct... I couldn't-" Prompto struggled to keep his sentences whole. Noctis just hushed him and hugged him as hard as he could. "Why didn't you tell us you feel this way?" he asked the heart-wounded. You felt guilt travel across your mind. You were supposed to tell them, but you never got the chance to do it. Maybe this could have been avoided. "Then we would've done something, Prompto..." the Prince continued.

At last, Ignis entered while realigning his glasses, as usual. "What is all this damn racket about?" the man asked just before he saw the scene. When he did, he too felt himself going speechless. Gladiolus gazed over at Specs and explained everything to him. You could not hear exactly what they were saying, as they were standing on the side-line. What a night this had been... Starting with Ignis, getting night terrors, and ending with this horrific situation. You were so exhausted, but everyone was busy with Prompto. He needed it, but you felt overwhelmed, too. What if the barrel was not empty? What if you saw Prompto - with your own eyes - shoot himself? You walked over to the revolver, which was lying there lonely in a corner, and opened the cylinder. "Fuck..." you mumbled. If he had gotten the time to pull the trigger once more, he would have been gone. The next chamber contained a bullet. Prompto was playing Russian roulette.

Ignis peeked across your shoulders and saw the same thing you did. Noticing his presence, you looked up at him with pleading eyes. It broke the man. "If I hadn't been there... This was next," you cried, pointing your finger at the bullet. Ignis crouched down next to you and grabbed your hands so you would let go of the revolver. He knew how damaging it was to experience this. "He was lucky to have you there," glasses told you sincerely. "Don't beat yourself up, it is over now," he added before helping you back up.

"Thank you, Ignis..." you mumbled. You did not have anything to say.

"You should take a break, Y/N. Go back to sleep," he ordered. Ignis cared a lot about you, and since he could read you so well, he knew that you have had enough that day.

You looked him in the eyes, still carrying a sorrowful look. "I will... Take good care of Prompto, all right?" you replied with a question.

"Of course, Y/N. Sleep tight, at least try," Specs said at last before you left.

Closing the door behind you, you placed your hand in front of your mouth in shock. This journey took such a dark turn and you had underestimated the whole mission itself. Fight the Imperials? They nearly killed you last time, if it were not for Ardyn Izunia, you would be dead meat. No wonder Prompto's mind was all over the place, and now, so was yours.

Was this worth giving up life for?