Rain poured down from the dark clouds that hung overhead. The ground was becoming moist from the precipitation. After an entire night of fleeing the city, Angelica was finally out of the Cavaugh region entirely. She had managed to slip past the inspection points set up along the roads to Insomnia, though she had to ditch her ride.

The girl walked on the edge of the road, heading away from the Crown City. Despite having never slept, she wasn't the least bit tired at the moment. She was drenched from the rain, causing her clothes and bandages to stick to her skin. Her wounds stung from the moisture, but she ignored the pain. Warm tears leaked from her left eye as she stared at her mother's dagger. She was overcome with grief. Maybe if I had been stronger, I could've changed what happened.

She finally tucked the dagger back into the small, red backpack slung over her shoulder. She then slipped her phone from her pocket, seeing that the whole screen was busted. Shoot, must've broke amidst all the fighting. She let out a frustrated sigh, knowing she had no way of just calling Noctis to confirm his safety and location. She put her phone away and continued walking.

When she looked up, she noticed a large, yellow vehicle heading her way. She stopped and stepped to the side off the road, making sure she was out of the way. But to her surprise, with a loud honk, the truck slowed to a stop beside her. A young woman with short, blond hair wearing a cap poked her head out of the window, peering down at the redhead.

"Oh my Stars!" she exclaimed in a heavy country accent. "This ain't the kinda weather you wanna be walkin' 'round in!"

"I'll be fine," Angelica replied simply.

The woman gasped lightly, noticing the blood-stained bandages on the redhead's arm and face. "But you're hurt! Hop in, I'll give ya a lift to Hammerhead!"

Angelica was a bit surprised by her kindness but nodded and walked around the vehicle, climbing into the passenger seat. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Don't mention it," she said with a smile. Making a U-turn, she began heading back the way she came from. "I was gonna get a quick look at the inspection point they set up, but I don't think it'd be worth the trouble. My name's Cindy, by the way."

"I'm Angelica."

"Anyhoo, what happened to you? You look like you just came back from a rodeo with a dualhorn."

Angelica sighed. "Injuries sustained in Insomnia."

"You came from the Crown City? Well I'll be - another refugee. Real shame what happened there. I'm assumin' you've gone through a heck of a lotta trouble to get this far."

Angelica nodded, turning her one-eyed gaze out the window. "Yeah."

"Now don't you fret, Angelica," Cindy said, glancing at the injured girl. "Once we get back to Hammerhead, I'm sure Paw-paw'll know what to do."

It wasn't long before they pulled into Hammerhead. After climbing out of the large truck, Cindy led the girl to her garage where Cid was tinkering with some weapon parts.

"Paw-paw, I found another refugee from the city!" she called.

The elderly man stood from his seat, looking over the girl. "My, my, looks like you've come a long way. Well, if ya willin' to work, I'm sure ol' Takka'll pay for supplies to tend to you're injuries."

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." Angelica placed a hand on her hip. "I've been through worse. Right now, I just need to find my friends."

Cid kept a serious expression as he stared at the girl. "Well ain't that noble of ya. But you need to be able to help yourself before you can help others."

"I assure you, I'm fine." Angelica insisted. "I've worked in the Citadel nearly my whole life. This is nothing compared to some of the work I've had to do."

Cid went silent briefly before saying, "So, you worked under Reggie, huh? What's your name, young'un?"

"Angelica." She blinked in surprise. "By 'Reggie', do you mean King Regis?"

Cid chuckled. "That's right. You wouldn't believe the two of us were friends who traveled together back in the day. But rest assured, the prince is alright."

Angelica's visible eye lit up and she leaned forward slightly. "You've seen Noctis? He's okay? Where is he?"

Cindy and Cid both seemed to smile at that. "Why, them boys swing by here often," Cindy answered. "They're my favorite customers."

"By His Majesty's final request, I'm looking for Noctis," Angelica explained. "Do you have any idea where I might find him?"

"Hmm," Cid hummed in thought. "I believe Cor took 'em to that base them Niffs are settin' up along the road leadin' to Duscae. But that's the last we heard."

Angelica smiled slightly. "Thank you. That's all I needed to hear."

Before Angelica could turn and leave, Cindy said, "Hold on, ain't ya gonna rest 'til tomorrow? It's gettin' late and the daemons'll be out soon."

"I can take care of myself," the girl assured. "Besides, I need to catch up to Noct and the others. I couldn't save the king, but I can honor his final request."

"Now don't you go beatin' yourself up over it," Cid interrupted, causing the girl to look back at him. "Reggie wasn't born yesterday, he saw this comin' a mile away. Lucis got dealt a losin' hand, and he played it the best he could. He wasn't goin' down without a fight."

Thinking back on it, everything made sense. That's why he urged me to join Noctis. It was for my safety. He knew this would happen. She finally nodded and quietly left the garage. She was preparing to leave when Cindy caught up to her.

"Hang on, Angelica. I know you're headin' out soon, but I really think you should wait 'til mornin'." She held out some gil. "This'll get you a meal and a place to stay, but don't tell Paw-paw."

"Alright. Thanks, Cindy." Her eye suddenly caught sight of a rundown motorcycle sitting by the garage. "Hey, does that belong to anyone?" she asked, pointing to it.

Cindy followed her finger. "That old thing? Nah, just somethin' I've been tinkerin' with in my spare time."

"Think I could borrow it?" Angelica asked.

"It ain't exactly in workin' order," she replied. "But I tell ya what, if you can be patient, I'll have 'er up and runnin' come mornin'."

Angelica smiled slightly at the kind, cheerful blond. "Sounds good, thanks."

Angelica got a meal from the diner and rented the caravan for the night. She stood before the bathroom mirror, staring at her bloodied bandages. She unwrapped them, showing the bits of glass and metal lodged in her skin. The worst one was in the corner of her right eye. It hurt to even try and open the eye, so she kept it closed. She lightly touched it, wincing in pain at how sensitive it was.

Angelica knew a potion would be useless unless the shrapnel was removed, well if she had a potion, that is. And she was afraid of making her wounds worse by removing them. She had dealt with it for an entire night already, a day or two more couldn't hurt. The girl would focus on herself once she found her friends, until then, she couldn't worry about her own well-being.

She instead changed into her training outfit she had packed and left her others out to dry after being soaked from the rain. She then carefully bandaged up her right arm and the right portion of her face again. She then went to bed, her weariness having finally caught up to her. The following morning, she grabbed a small breakfast before meeting Cindy in the garage.

"Whoa," Angelica muttered, her eye landing on the now black and yellow motorcycle.

Cindy smiled and wiped her sweaty forehead. "Just as promised, I got 'er up and runnin' for ya. Now she still ain't perfect, but she'll get'cha where ya need to go."

The redhead smiled. "Thank you so much. If there's ever anything I can do to repay you, just name it."

"Aw shoot, that's alright," Cindy cheerfully replied. "But if I have any errands, I'll let ya know. Now go on and find them boys. I'm sure they're mighty worried 'bout you."

Angelica nodded and eagerly hopped onto the bike. She started it up and gave a quick wave to Cindy and Cid before zooming out of the garage and onto the road. She sped down the road heading northwest. Now that she had transportation, she'd be able to catch up to her friends in no time. It didn't take long to reach the blockade at the entrance to Duscae. The gates were open and there was wreckage everywhere. They've been here. It won't be long now.