When morning came, Gladio and (Y/n) left their room and headed to the lobby. There, they found Ignis and Prompto chatting while Noctis was fast asleep in one of the cushy chairs.

The blonde was the first to spot the couple and pointed at them. "Y-You two..."

The shield eyes the marksman in confusion. "What about us?"

"Did the dirty!"

(Y/n)'s mouth open and closed in shock. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or be annoyed at his accusation. She decided to set the record straight instead. "Not sure where you got that idea, but we didn't do the "dirty"."

Prompto blinked in surprise. "Th-Then what was with all the noises?"

She grinned. "That was the sound of Gladio losing every round we played. He wouldn't give up until he won, but he gave in after the twentieth round of blackjack."

Gladio threw his arm around the girl's shoulders, pulling her into his side. "Little lady's one helluva blackjack player."

Noctis suddenly awoke from his nap when someone accidentally bumped into the chair. Seeing everyone was gathered, he got to his feet with a yawn. "We ready to head to the first secretary's estate?"

"Yes, let's," Ignis said.

They left the Leville and made their way to Camelia's estate. They took a few wrong turns due to Noctis' poor sense of direction, but they eventually arrived at their destination. The raven-haired boy addressed the guard on duty and headed into the estate, forced to leave behind everyone else.

While the four of them waited patiently for the negotiations to end, Prompto began pacing back and forth. He was becoming impatient and couldn't bear the silence between him and his friends.

Suddenly, the blonde screamed out in fright when someone appeared in front of him. He jumped back, nearly tripping over himself in the process. He placed a hand over his racing heart. "You were right, big guy. They're everywhere!"

(Y/n) greeted her sable-haired sister. "Haven't seen you in a while, Death. Looking as pale as usual."

Death snorted at War's humor. "Nice to see your sense of humor is still intact, Sis."

"Now I've finally met them all," Gladio spoke up.

The two Horsemen glanced at the shield before back at each other. "Anyway, I did some scouting of Altissia," Death said with a serious expression. "I had a small run-in with the high commander."

The redhead sighed. "Please tell me he doesn't have the dullahan's head..."

Death purses her lips slightly. "That...would be a lie."

"Dammit..."

"I did manage to eavesdrop and learn what he plans to do with the head. He plans on using it to cooperate with the dullahan, hoping it will do his bidding during the rite."

"That sounds...really bad," Prompto said.

"Altissia will be a slaughterhouse if that damned monster shows up," War stated.

"Which is why Pestilence, Famine, and myself have already begun evacuation details. We've also taken the liberty of setting up a few traps around the city," Death explained.

"What does the high commander hope to achieve by utilizing such a creature?" Ignis asked.

"To prevent Noctis from gaining the Tidemother's favor. Ravus will most likely cut a deal with the dullahan."

"What kinda deal?" Prompto inquired.

"If the dullahan manages to kill Noctis, Ravus will reward it by returning its head."

"I need to find that head," (Y/n) said. "It's somewhere in the city. I hope I can find it before the rite."

"Need a hand?" Gladio offered.

"Death and I can handle this."

"Well then, ready to start looking?" Death pondered.

"Yeah. Let's go."

The two Horsemen vanish. They reappeared on the opposite end of Altissia. Death looked around the now empty area. "This is where I spotted the high commander with the head."

War sniffed the air. She grimaced when receiving a whiff of the dullahan's head. "Well, the head was definitely here. It's starting to rot..." She turned to face her sister. "Any idea on which way Ravus went?"

"No idea," she nonchalantly replied. "Let's look around."

Death and War examine the area closely. They searched for any inkling that would lead them in the right direction. However, they couldn't find a single clue. (Y/n) gritted her teeth, clenching her fists. "There's nothing here. This place is a dead end."

"I'll check the southern part of the city. You search the western part." Without waiting for a response, Death vanished. War made her way down the street, noticing it was getting busier and busier. She scanned the crowd, sniffing the air. It was a mixture of flowers, fresh bread, and the one odor she was hoping to detect-rotting flesh. It was much stronger than earlier.

Pushing through the people and muttering small apologies as she did so, she did her best to follow the foul scent. She ran up and down streets in haste, hoping her search would be short and she'd be able to annihilate the dullahan before it could be used by the empire.

Eventually, War followed the scent to an alleyway. It was strong, but she couldn't tell from which direction the odor was coming from. She frantically looked around, huffing in annoyance. Continuing to search, she managed to enter another alleyway. This one was far from the main streets and was dark. The buildings blocked any sunlight that could possibly illuminate the area. Checking the darkest corners, she found the remains of a magitek trooper. (Y/n) kicked it in the side, making sure it was lifeless. When it didn't move, she kneeled down and examined the hollow machine.

Analyzing the damage to the machine's exterior, War realized the rotting odor was emanating from it. Her nose wrinkled at the horrid stench. "Guess this magitek handled the head..."

Just then, Death reappeared. She kneeled next to her sister, eyes focused on the dead machine. "What an awful stench..."

"Pretty sure it still doesn't compare to the wendigos."

"True. Those things smell like rotting corpses that were left out in the sun."

"That's...really specific," War mumbled.

The sable-haired girl clapped her hands together and immediately changed the subject. "Anyway, I think I found something. Follow me."

(Y/n) followed Death through the streets of Altissia. They eventually reached a less populated area where people were few and far between. Heading to the waterway, they stopped at the edge. War easily saw what her sister wanted her to see. There was a dead body of a young woman splayed out on the ground. Blood seeped from the wound on her chest, her wide eyes void of life. The redhead gasped in shock. She recognized the pattern of the wound. "The dullahan's already here?"

"This area is off-limits to civilians. It's being guarded by a small force of imperials already in the city," Death explained. "And that horrid stench is everywhere."

(Y/n) could only think of one possibility. "The high commander must've sectioned off this area of Altissia as a location to deal with the dullahan. As a pre-payment, he handed over a civilian to the monster. That would explain the body and the putrid odor."

"But how is the dullahan here without any of us sensing it?"

"That, I'm not sure."

War held up her hand, but Death stopped her. "What're you doing?"

"Burning the body. If someone else were to find it, the entire city might panic before the rite thinking there's a killer loose on the streets. The entire rite might be cancelled if the first secretary learned of the corpse."

Death released her sister's hand and let her burn the body. The corpse was soon a small pile of ash, but the smell of burning flesh added to the rotting odor veiling the area. "Now it really stinks..."

All of a sudden, War sensed someone behind them. Turning around, she saw Noctis, Prompto, Gladio, and Ignis. "What're you all doing here?"

"Pestilence informed us of your location," Ignis replied.

"So, what's going on?" Prompto wondered, glancing between the two Horsemen.

Death took it upon herself to share the gruesome nature of their finds. She even shared War's theory. Noctis couldn't believe what she was saying. "You really think the empire would just hand someone over to that thing?"

"They destroyed your home," War remarked. "You really think killing one more person is impossible?"

"Good point..."

Just then, (Y/n) noticed a red dot travel across the prince's body before settling on his forehead. Realizing what it was, she acted quickly and pushed him out of the way. The sound of a rifle being fired was the last she heard before a severe pain surged through her head and she collapsed.

Death, seeing the bullet pierce War's head, turned around to search for the sniper. When she found them, she disappeared and teleported to their location. Noctis was still in shock, staring at (Y/n)'s lifeless body.

"Get Noct out of here," Gladio demanded, looking at Ignis.

Ignis escorted Noctis back to the Leville. Prompto placed a hand over his mouth when he inaudibly gasped. "W-Was that...?"

"An assassin," Gladio answered as he fell to his knees beside the Horseman. He carefully placed a hand on her cheek, turning her face towards him. Seeing her lifeless (e/c) eyes and the bullet hole in her forehead, he gritted his teeth in anger.

The blonde was clearly still in shock from the sudden attempt on Noctis' life. "If (Y/n) hadn't done that..."

"Noct would be dead, I know," the shield hissed. His eyes were focused on the bullet hole in the girl's forehead. When seeing no signs of healing, his thoughts raced back to the time she appeared in Malmalam Thicket severely wounded. The feeling of losing her again blossomed inside him.

As Gladio went to search his pockets for a potion, Death returned. She kneeled beside her sister's body, analyzing the wound. When catching sight of the shield's worried expression, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. The brain is a little tricky to heal and it'll take some time for her wound to mend. Luckily, War is the quickest healer out of all of us."

"How long will it take?" The brute asked.

"Roughly an hour."

Gladio gently scooped (Y/n) up into his arms and carried her back to the Leville with Prompto by his side. Death left, leaving her sister in their capable hands.

Back at the hotel, Gladio placed the girl on the bed in their room. Prompto, Noctis, and Ignis joined him a few minutes later. The shield explained to the prince and his advisor what Death told him. Seeing as they had no other place to be, the group decided to wait for (Y/n) to heal.

After an hour of waiting, the boys heard War groan. Gladio, who was sitting in the chair beside her bed, moved to sit on the bed. He combed a hand through her scarlet locks as life returned to her (e/c) eyes. "Welcome back, firecracker. How you feelin'?"

She pushed her body up and propped it against the headboard. "My head hurts..."

"I wonder why," he teased.

(Y/n) was tempted to push him off the bed, but she refrained from doing so. Looking away from Gladio, she gazed at the other boys. "Is everyone else okay?"

Prompto nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. We're great!"

"Good..."

"Hey, uh..." Noctis rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks for that, (Y/n). It's not even your job to protect me."

"It might not be my job, but I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself if I didn't do something knowing I could." That's when she noticed her sister was missing. "Where's Death?"

"She took it upon herself to deal with the assassin," Ignis said.

War focused her gaze on Noctis. "If I were you, I wouldn't leave the hotel. Who knows how many assassins the empire has planted throughout Altissia."

"Good thing we don't plan on heading out again," the prince replied.

"Does this mean we're ordering room service?" Prompto asked with a gleam in his cerulean eyes.

"It appears so," the strategist answered.

"Speaking of food..." The blonde patted his stomach. "I'm kinda hungry now."

Ignis, Prompto, and Noctis left the room, leaving Gladio and (Y/n) by themselves. The girl slumped down on the bed, grabbing one of the pillows and using it to cover her face. "Damn... This headache is awful..." Her voice was muffled by the pillow.

Gladio had heard her complaint. "Anything I can do to help?"

With the pillow still over her face, she patted the empty spot beside her. That simple gesture was enough for him to understand. With a small smirk, he climbed onto the bed and laid down beside her. Before he could reach out and touch her, he received a pillow to the face. The moment he grabbed it and tossed it aside, (Y/n) straddled his waist. She placed her hands on his lower abdomen, which took him by surprise when he felt how cold her hands were. "Damn, your hands are freezing."

"Yeah, well, I was dead a few minute ago," she stated. "Moving past my irregular body temperature... You told me in the nightmare to keep on living and make up for all I've done. How am I doing so far?"

"Let's see..." Gladio counted the number of people she's saved and how many times. "You're doing pretty damn good so far. You get bonus points for saving Prince Charmless today since he's my responsibility."

"It'll take more time to make up for all my mistakes..." she sighed.

"Now it's my turn to ask a question." Gladio placed his hands on her hips, squeezing them gently. "Why the hell didn't you have your own shield when you were queen?"

"Gaius wasn't only my advisor. He was supposed to be my shield as well. It's ironic the person who was supposed to protect me wound up killing me. Probably makes a nice, twist-ending for a book." She leaned down closer, her face a couple of inches from his. "Tell me, Gladio. If you were my shield instead of Gaius, what do you think would've happened?"

"I'd make sure bastards like Gaius never could get near you. You wouldn't have to worry about manipulation and betrayal."

"Vanaheim's future would've been brighter if you were there for me instead of Gaius," she mumbled under her breath. "Noctis is lucky to have a man such as yourself as his shield, and that brings me to the next subject."

He arched a brow. "And what's that?"

"Whatever happens during the rite tomorrow, you do everything you can to protect Noctis."

"You think I can't protect you and him?"

"It's not that, but he should be your main priority. He is more important than me. But from your eyes, I can tell he already is. Good."

Gladio gripped her hips tighter and flipped their position. War was unfazed by his actions and continued to stare into his amber eyes. A few second passed before Gladio spoke up. "You make it sound like something's gonna happen to you tomorrow."

"None of us know what's going to happen tomorrow. I'm a pessimist. I'm already preparing for the worst."

"Then we better make this night count," he grinned before slamming his lips against hers, kissing her passionately.

It was a brief kiss due to (Y/n) pulling away a few seconds in. She looked around the room in puzzlement. "Do you hear that?"

He wasn't sure what she was talking about. "Hear what?"

A wicked grin manifested on her face. "The sound of me kicking your ass in blackjack."

"Maybe we should "do the dirty" instead."

"Only if you can beat me in blackjack."

"I'm definitely gonna win."

"We'll see about that..."