Everything had happened so quickly. After going to the outlook, the group met the man known as Ardyn, who escorted them to meet with the Archaean. Noctis obtained another royal arm, but was then tasked with a trial from Titan. A huge battle ensued, with imperial troops interfering. In the end, Noctis was blessed with Titan's power and the group was forced to flee aboard Ardyn's ship, who revealed himself to be the chancellor of Niflheim.

It was a constant struggle for Angelica not to simply kill him, but it was Noctis's orders that stopped her. And now there they were, dropped off near the Chocobo Post with their car missing. They gave Cindy a call to help track down the Regalia, but it would take some time. In the meantime, the gang rented chocobos as their mode of transportation while searching for their vehicle.

It was nearing night and the group was setting up camp. Ignis was arranging his cookware, Gladio was pitching the tent, and Noctis and Prompto were left to set up the chairs. Angelica felt as if the whole thing was a waste of time. She stood by herself on the slope of rock that led up to the haven and connected to the ground below. She leaned back against the hard stone with her arms crossed, wanting no part of the others' activities. She had a lot on her mind about Ardyn and the Astrals, along with the idea of vengeance. There was so much that needed to be done, yet no one was doing a thing and it irked her.

"I sure hope Cindy can find the Regalia," Noctis said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, she'll find her," Prompto replied confidently. "Cindy's the greatest." He hummed in content.

"Less daydreaming, more working, loverboy" Gladio interrupted.

Ignis gathered the ingredients he needed for the recipe he had planned. "Only a matter of time before we receive word on the car. For now, we'll see what we can find in our own search."

"Hey, Angel?" Noctis called, only able to see the top of her head.

The girl straightened and walked up the slope of rock to the top where the others were. "Yes, Highness?"

"Mind getting some firewood?"

"That's why I'm here." She wore a neutral expression and expressed no emotion in her voice. "Be back in a few."

The girl hopped down off the rock and disappeared into the darkness. She knew the surrounding area would be safe since the runes of the haven would ward off daemons. She took her time, grumbling to herself as she collected wood.

"Is this what I've been reduced to? Pathetic. Why are we wasting time when there's an empire to take down? Knew I should've gone on my own. Curse my loyal nature."

She didn't actually mean half the things she was muttering, she simply needed to vent. After she gathered as much wood as she could carry, she went back to the camp. She marched over and dropped the firewood within the ring of stones in the middle of the haven.

"Anything else?" she asked.

"How about lending me a hand with supper?" Ignis suggested.

"Sure," she answered simply.

She joined the advisor at the table where meals were prepared. Ignis flashed her a small smile as she began cutting up vegetables while he fried fish over the stove. "This certainly brings back memories of cooking together."

Angelica continued her task, not smiling, not even glancing at the man beside her. "Yeah, I guess."

Ignis immediately picked up on her mood. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

She sighed with aggravation. "Just drop it, okay? It's nothing."

Ignis said nothing else about it. The other three guys sat around the campfire, playing King's Knight. Gladiolus occasionally looked over at the two cooks, hoping to see a sign from either of them. He knew just how important Angelica was to Ignis. Though the advisor had rejected the idea, his constant concern for the girl hinted at how much he cared about her. The shield only wished he'd come out with it and quit worrying about his duties for a change.

"Whatcha looking at, big guy?" Prompto asked in a hushed tone, following Gladio's gaze as best he could.

The tattooed man shook his head. "Nothing really. C'mon, next round."

"You're on," Noctis said, his attention purely on his phone.

After a short while longer, supper was finished. The group all sat around, eating. They were carrying on all sorts of conversations, but Angelica didn't participate in a single one. She was in a bad mood, angry that they were spending so much time searching for a vehicle. As soon as she was finished, the girl slipped away from the group. Ignis was the first to take notice of her absence.

He looked around, catching sight of Angelica's silhouette in a tree close to the haven. The girl sat on a straight tree branch, her back against the trunk while one leg hung down off the branch. She silently stared up at the night sky, her arms crossed.

"Looks like she's in a bad mood," Noctis quietly stated, following his advisor's gaze.

"Don't tell me you just now noticed," Gladio said.

"No, I just didn't wanna bring it up," he replied. "You know how she is."

"Man, why does she have to be so moody sometimes?" Prompto asked out of curiosity.

"Angelica!" Ignis called out, sick of aimlessly watching from afar. "Come over here!"

Sure enough, the girl hopped down, landing on her feet. She walked over and up the slope until she was back at the camp. "You called?"

Ignis had a very serious expression as he answered, "Yes. You've been in a sour mood ever since we were dropped off earlier today. What's going on?"

She crossed her arms. "Nothing's going on. I'm feeling just fine."

"That's a total lie," Noctis pointed out. "We've known you long enough to notice when something's bothering you."

"We're always here to listen if you need to talk," Ignis added. "We're all friends here."

Angelica scowled. "Fine. You wanna know what's wrong? Everything, that's what. Why are we sitting here wasting time looking for a stupid car? Forget about it and let's just get on with what's important."

"And what would that be?" Gladio inquired, wondering whether her goals were the same as theirs.

"Hello!" she snapped. "Helping Noctis obtain power from his ancestors, and the gods now too! Only then can the Niffs be brought to justice!"

"You're still going on about that?" Prompto asked. "Y'know, we all miss everyone and everything back home, but even we don't think about it 24/7."

"That's because none of you idiots know what's important any more!" Angelica shouted. She then paused, noticing the offended look on her friends' faces. She turned her head away, regretting her words. "I'm... I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

Angelica turned and walked away from them, taking a seat at the edge of the campsite. The four men followed and sat with her, Ignis and Noctis on either side of her. "Angel," Ignis began, "power isn't everything."

"I get that you're angry about losing everything," Noctis added. "But we lost just as much. Our families, our home, the Crystal - it's all been taken from us."

"But," Gladio said, "we don't let it consume our every thought. We don't let our desire for revenge overpower us."

"Yeah," Prompto agreed. "You've just gotta look on the bright side. We're all still here, everything'll turn out okay in the end. We've just gotta stick together as a team."

Angelica sighed. "I... I wasn't raised to be like that. I was trained to be an assassin - a loyal servant to serve and defend the royal family. For me, power IS everything." She glanced at each of them. "I'm sorry for yelling at you guys. But seriously, why are we putting so much time and effort into finding a car?"

"The Regalia was my dad's car," the prince explained. "It holds so many memories."

"Plus, that car's awesome!" Prompto exclaimed.

Angelica laughed lightly and rolled her eyes. "Boys and their toys."

Noctis and Gladio stood to return to their seats around the campfire. The shield had to yank Prompto up by the arm and drag him away since he didn't appear to be ready to leave. But finally, it was Ignis and Angelica alone again. Prompto stayed quiet over in his seat, but kept looking over at the two, beginning to piece things together for himself. He decided to snap a picture of them before returning to the game on his phone.

"Angel," Ignis quietly spoke. "I know you miss your mother. Miss Valerie was a wonderful woman. But you aren't the only one in pain. Noct has also lost his parents."

"I know. Seems like we've all lost people we love. But now, when I sit here and do nothing, I feel so useless."

Ignis slid his hand over hers, squeezing it lightly. "I can assure you, you're far from useless. You've been a great asset to us."

She smiled slightly, taking his hand in return. She then looked down at her lap. "But sometimes, I just feel so... tempted to leave. I wonder to myself if I can handle everything on my own, that maybe I don't need help. Do you think my mom would agree with that?"

Ignis suddenly reached out with his free hand and took her chin, lifting her face to look at him. His emerald eyes seemed to bore into her deep blue ones. "No. Don't you ever follow that path. It will only lead you astray into a lonesome darkness, and I don't think any of us could stand to lose anyone else."

They both smiled lightly and Ignis released the girl. Silence fell over the two briefly, but their hands stayed connected between them. "Ignis?" the girl quietly said.

"Yes, darling?"

Angelica nearly lost her train of thought. He said it again. "Um, thanks."

He smiled kindly. "My pleasure."

Ignis finally rose to his feet, bringing Angelica up with him before releasing her hand. The two turned and rejoined their friends around the campfire. It wasn't long before they all piled into the tent. It was a little more crowded with Angelica, but they made it work. The girl was curled up on her side, staring over at where Ignis laid. His glasses sat right next to him for when he would wake up in the morning.

Angelica smiled to herself, scanning over his handsome face. She thought back on the name he called her by - "darling". She didn't know why he called her that, but for some odd reason, she liked it. It made her heart speed up whenever she heard it. It seemed like her secret affection for the bespectacled man was only growing stronger.

But she had far too many other things to worry about that were much more important than her feelings of affection. And while it would be tough to contain her frustration over searching for the Regalia, she would tough it out and aid her friends the best she could. Then they'd all be able to move on and finish their hunt for royal tombs. That would bring them closer to their ultimate goal of defeating the empire and taking back the Crystal.