Inner Daemons (Final Fantasy XV Fanfic)

Chapter XVIII

"Well, this is cozy," she sarcastically said.

"You are sandwiched in back there!" Prompto added, glancing back at the trio and snapping a picture.

"Why don't you switch and have Prompto suffer instead?" Noctis suggested.

Angelica sighed. "No, it's fine. It's not that big a deal."

Gladio chuckled. "Look at you, Angel. Admit it, you've got a soft spot for people you're close to."

She turned her head away stubbornly. "Do not. I'm simply accustomed to the antics of you four."

"If you say so."

A faint smile tugged at Ignis's lips as he glanced at the trio through the rearview mirror. "Well, off we go, then."

He pulled out and left the Chocobo Post behind. They quickly left the dirt road and were on concrete once more. After thoroughly reading over the map that morning, Ignis knew the quickest route to Lestallum. And before long, the group had arrived in the town. They took in the sights while navigating the busy streets. It didn't take long before they found the Leville, where they were to meet up with Iris.

Said girl hurried down the stairs to the lobby when she saw the group had arrived. "Noct, Gladdy!" she called, quickly approaching them. Her eyes landed on Angelica and she grinned even wider. "And Angel, you made it out of Insomnia too! I'm so glad you're all okay!"

The redhead smiled. "Good to see you're alright as well, Iris."

After renting a room, the group all went straight to their temporary establishment to catch up. Everyone took a seat, aside from Angelica who stood by the door, leaning back against the wall. Despite not joining right into the gathering, she listened attentively. They all learned from Iris that Lunafreya was recently spotted in town, allowing them to breathe a sigh of relief knowing the Oracle was still okay.

Angelica turned her head upon hearing the door open. It was Jared, the Amicitia family butler, and his grandson, Talcott. They greeted Noctis and assured that Iris was in safe hands before leaving the group to rest. Before long, Iris decided to do the same. She paused at the door, looking over at the slightly taller girl.

"Angel, you're welcome to stay with me for the night. Give you a chance to get away from the guys for a bit."

Angelica shrugged. "It doesn't bother me, but whatever you like."

The two girls left the room together. "At least Iris will have someone to keep her company," Gladio said.

"But can you really consider Angel to be 'company'?" Prompto asked. "She's not always the easiest person to talk to."

"She's alright to me," Noctis admitted with a shrug. "Are you just saying that because you're scared of her?"

"What? No! All I'm saying is that she can be a bit... anti-social."

Ignis pushed up his glasses. "While it's true that Angelica is quite different in personality, she is more misunderstood than anything."

Noctis nodded in agreement while Gladio said, "Iggy's right. Sometimes you've just gotta give her a chance to open up. And with someone as cheerful as Iris around, she should have no trouble leaving her comfort zone."

Noctis's mind quickly strayed from the subject. "I'm just glad to hear Luna's alright."

"Maybe we'll be able to track her down," the gunman said.

"Perhaps," Ignis replied. "We can't say for certain."

Meanwhile, in Iris's room, Angelica sat quietly, staring at her mother's dagger in her hand while the brunette rambled on. Truthfully, the redhead had been listening to her friend, but her mind subconsciously slipped away and back to the topic of revenge. She was thoroughly planning ahead, strategizing all the possible ways of infiltrating Niflheim and slaughtering all foes in her path.

"Angel? You listening?"

The girl looked up, meeting the brunette's gaze. "Sorry, Iris. What was that?"

Iris shook her head, noticing the small blade in Angelica's hand. "Never mind." She took a seat on the bed beside her friend. "What's that you've got there?"

Angelica smiled sadly, her blue orbs fixated on the beautiful weapon. "My mother's dagger. She... didn't make it out of the Citadel."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Iris placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She suddenly noticed the tiny scar at the corner of her right eye. "Hey, was that scar always there?"

Angelica looked at her briefly before lightly tracing her index finger along the the corner of her eye. She could feel the slightly rough, scarred skin. She hadn't realized before that her injury had left a permanent mark, even if it was faint and barely noticeable.

"It's from a small injury sustained in my own escape from the Crown City," she explained. "It's fine though, it healed up and barely left a trace."

Iris managed to get Angelica talking about all sorts of things before the two finally went to bed for the night. But despite the fun conversations, as soon as it was over, vengeance once again took over Angelica's mind. She didn't quite understand it herself, but she felt the need to kill every last Niff to justify her mother's, and everyone else's, death. And it felt like nothing else hardly mattered, not until her goal could be achieved.

And until the day she avenged everyone, she would not rest easy. A part of her even pondered whether she was partially to blame for everyone getting killed. What would've happened if I was stronger? Would it have made a difference? Maybe if I'd trained harder and pushed myself more, I would've been able to save them.

Guilt was beginning to mix with her feelings of retribution. Their blood could be on my hands. That night, she vowed that she would make things right. She had to in order to quell the emotional turmoil she was feeling deep down inside. Sooner or later she'd have to face it all, and she believed she'd have to do it alone.