Angelica slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the dark room. The soft snores from Gladio filled the otherwise quiet caravan. The girl slowly sat up, gazing at each of her friends. Being in one of the top bunks, she saw Prompto below her. Across from her was Noctis, with Ignis under him. Gladiolus, being accustomed to rough sleeping conditions, was sprawled out on the floor with a pillow and blanket.
That was the chance Angelica had been waiting for. She quietly climbed out of her bed and to the floor below. She carefully stepped around the shield and took her backpack off the counter. She glanced back at the boys one last time before exiting the caravan.
Ignis awoke abruptly, thinking he heard the light click of a door. He was always the lightest sleeper of the four boys. He looked around, his tired eyes landing on the empty bunk above Prompto. He swiftly snatched up his glasses and put them on, seeing that Angelica was indeed missing. He suppressed his weariness and quietly got out of bed, putting on his shoes and leaving the caravan.
Outside, he looked around, squinting to see through the darkness. The chocobos all appeared to be resting, and no people were present at that hour of night. But Ignis did spot a single person, her red hair in the dim lighting giving her away. She was standing at the Rent-a-Bird with her back turned to him. He immediately began marching over, noticing that she was about to put money in the machine.
"Angelica," he said, now behind her. She stiffened and froze, slowly turning to face him. One thing she admired about Ignis was his ability to sneak up on her. Not many could, and he did it sometimes without even trying. But this time, that skill of his annoyed her. "So, you plan to disobey orders and sneak away in the dead of night on the back of a chocobo."
She averted her gaze. "Well I can't just stay here and do nothing. Someone's gotta act, so it might as well be me. I NEED to do this."
"What you NEED is to get some sleep," Ignis responded, crossing his arms. "Despite what you may think, the world doesn't rest on your shoulders, Angel. And do you really think King Regis and Miss Valerie would want you to act so rash?"
"I don't know!" she quietly snapped. "No one could know! They're both gone!"
After a brief silence, Ignis spoke again, "Angel, I understand that you think revenge is the only answer." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "But do remember that we all care about you. You're burdens are ours as well, and only together can we resolve them. Be patient, work with us now, because I can guarantee that the empire will taste our wrath soon enough."
Angelica stared up into his stern, yet gentle eyes. Though she would prefer to leave now and seek her vengeance, something about Ignis's words got to her. To know that she had friends that were willing to help carry her burdens was more than astounding. But she also didn't want to drag them into danger with her. If it were anyone else, she'd have stubbornly gone anyway, but because it was Ignis, she found it extremely difficult to disobey him. He was one of the few people she'd do just about anything for.
"Alright," she said with a sigh. "You win. I won't go. But if we keep wasting time playing hunter, I might change my mind." She crossed her arms and turned her head away. "I'm only here for you guys, no one else."
Ignis chuckled, seeing that her stubborn, tough side was showing again. "Very well, then. Let us return to the caravan."
The two walked back to their lodging, but before entering the caravan, Angelica paused. "Hey, Ignis, would you mind... keeping this between us? I don't want Noct to know I was planning on... ditching you guys."
He smiled faintly. "You have my word."
They went inside and quietly went back to their beds. The others were still sleeping soundly, oblivious to what transpired outside. Angelica and Ignis both went back to sleep, resting peacefully for the remainder of the night. The following morning after breakfast, the gang piled into the Regalia. With the four men taking their usual seats, Angelica was forced to squeeze in between the prince and the shield.
"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.