Angelica wrung the excess water from her hair. She and Ignis had gotten soaked from the sudden downpour. Now at the Leville, they both headed up to the guys' room where all their friends were.

"There you are," Gladio said. "I thought maybe you two got stranded out in the rain or something."

"No," Ignis replied. "We hurried back as quickly as we could."

"And now I think I'm gonna go take a nice warm bath," Angelica stated. "Excuse me."

Iris and Talcott followed the redhead out of the room. "By the way, you don't mind if Talcott and I move into your room, do you? It'll help cut down on expenses."

Angelica smiled slightly. "Sure, I don't mind. The more the merrier, I suppose."

The two were beaming at her answer. They let Angelica go on ahead to her room while they went back to their own. The pair were going to gather up their things to move to Angelica's room. Meanwhile, the red-haired girl was already in the bathroom. She spied a few magazines on the counter next to the sink. Her eyes scanned over their covers, stopping on one in particular.

"There's a fashion magazine I've never read," she muttered to herself. "I'll give it a look after my bath."

She got a warm bubble bath ready, undressed, and got in. She hummed in content, the chill from the cool rain finally being erased from her body. She got cleaned up before climbing out of the tub and draining the water. She dried off and got dressed. She picked up the fashion magazine on the way out. She was immediately met by Iris waiting outside, having already finished moving all her and Talcott's things.

"Hey, Angel. So, since it's still kinda early, you wanna hang out with the guys? Talcott's already over there."

Angelica looked between the brunette and the magazine in her hand. "Well... I was going to read through this magazine."

Iris laughed. "You and I can read it together, we'll just be doing it in their room."

Angelica shrugged, satisfied with that decision. "That works."

The two girls went over to the room next door. Going inside, Talcott was playing around with Prompto's camera while the guys all sat around chatting. "It's about time you two joined us," Prompto complained.

Iris held her hands up defensively. "Don't look at me, I was waiting for Angel."

Angelica placed a hand on her hip and glared at the blond. "You got a problem with that?"

"Nope," the gunman swiftly responded. "No problems here." He laughed nervously.

Angelica took Iris over with her to one of the beds. They both laid on their stomachs with the magazine in front of them. They looked at all the outfits, picking out their favorite ones as they talked. The boys were mostly carrying on their own conversations, but occasionally glanced over at the girls, curious about what they were looking at. Ignis's eyes caught sight of the images of clothing on the pages.

"Are those outfits you're looking at?"

"Yep," Angelica replied, glancing up at him. "All the latest fashions from casual clothes to evening wear."

Gladio went over, peering past his sister's shoulder. "Really? Looks more like nightgowns and lingerie to me."

"That just happens to be the section we're in," Angelica explained. "And I think all these designs in here are really pretty."

"Y'know, I never understood why girls wear such fancy underwear," Prompto said. "It's not like anyone's gonna see it."

"Yeah, no one but their significant other," Noctis pointed out.

Prompto's eyes widened and a light blush stained his cheeks at what the prince was implying. Gladio chuckled and said, "Well I know little Iris doesn't wear anything like those in the magazine."

Iris's face lit up. "Gladdy! I don't want everyone to know what I wear!"

He laughed in response. "And what about you, Angel?"

Angelica sat up slightly. She wasn't the least bit embarrassed by the subject. "If you must know, I prefer silk and lace."

"Ooh la la," Noctis teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

Ignis cleared his throat, eager to change the subject. "How about we do something Talcott can join in?"

"That's okay," the boy said. "You guys can do whatever you want. I'm fine with watching."

"Why don't we play a game?" Prompto suggested.

The guys agreed. Noctis and Prompto played video games for hours. After supper, Angelica, Iris, and Talcott returned to their room for the night. The next couple of days flew by. Dustin and Monica picked up Talcott and took him to Cape Caem. Iris had insisted on wanting to ride with the gang on their way to Caem, not yet wanting to part from their company. It was a squeeze in the Regalia, with Iris having to sit on her brother's lap while Angelica took her usual spot between the prince and shield.

They held small conversations during the drive, occasionally stopping to stretch their legs. On their way, they witnessed an imperial ship flying over. It landed at a base not far from Old Lestallum, which was their pit stop to prepare. They devised a plan to sneak into Fort Vaullerey and capture the general while simultaneously taking down the base. It was definitely a plan Angelica could get behind, and it was a way of avenging Jared.

Sorry if some of these parts seem a little rushed. I wasn't certain how I wanted to go about this part.

Leaving Iris at the outpost, the group headed out. They waited until sundown to put their plan into action. Gladiolus and Prompto were tasked with creating a diversion while Noctis, Ignis, and Angelica tailed the general. Once inside, they stuck to their roles and split up. The only problem was that General Caligo, Jared's killer, was the one they needed to capture. From their hiding places in the darkness, the trio watched and listened to him.

Angelica was frozen in place, her eyes wide and fixated on Caligo. The images of him standing over Jared flashed through her mind. Her thoughts seemed to just shut down as pure rage filled her. She only wanted one thing - to kill Caligo, and that was her opportunity. Ignis took notice of her reaction though. He saw the way her eyes darkened with anger and her expression was concentrated and focused. It was a look that definitely meant she was out for blood.

When her daggers appeared in her hands, he knew he had to intervene before she ruined the plan. As she was about to take a step, Ignis swiftly grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms firmly around her waist. The girl began struggling in his grip, wanting to go after the general, but Ignis kept a hold on her. Noctis had already warped up to a higher point to follow Caligo, so he hadn't a clue as to what was happening.

"Let go!" the girl quietly snapped, squirming in the man's arms.

"I cannot do that!" he yelled back in a hushed tone. "You will ruin the whole plan!"

"Who cares?! I can kill him and avenge Jared! The plan won't matter if he's dead!"

"We are to subdue him and take him hostage, not mercilessly kill him! We'd be no better than him if we did that!"

"I don't care!" Angelica cried. "He needs to pay for what he did with his blood! Now I said, let go!"

She furiously twisted around, swinging her dagger. Fortunately, Ignis released her and backed away, watching her blade pass right in front of his face. But he didn't get away completely out of reach in time. A cut now resided on his left cheek, a small stream of blood trickling from it. In shock, Ignis wiped his cheek, feeling it sting and seeing the dark red staining his glove. A loud gasp escaped Angelica's lips and she almost immediately dismissed her weapons, bringing her hands up to cover her mouth instead. Her eyes were wide with shock and regret.

"Ignis, I'm so sorry," she muttered.

Ignis swiftly turned his attention to the fact that Noctis had knocked out Caligo. "It's alright. No time for talk."

He hurried past the girl, who silently followed behind. She couldn't even believe what she had done. She attacked one of her closest friends. Her bloodlust for her foes had clouded her mind. For the moment, she pushed back the disturbing thoughts and continued onward. With the base now in an uproar, Ignis took the captive Caligo away while Noctis and Angelica met up with the others. The girl was extra careful not to get too close to her friends, fearing she might hurt them.

In the end though, Caligo had escaped and the group was faced with a new problem - a mercenary named Aranea. She attacked out of nowhere. A battle ensued and Angelica quickly found herself face-to-face with the woman. Aranea smirked at the girl, recognizing her combat abilities.

"Hey, strawberry, you're an assassin, right?"

Angelica narrowed her eyes at the new nickname. "How could you possibly know that?"

"You're combat style gives it away," Aranea replied. "This isn't the first time I've met your kind." Before Angelica could lunge at her again, Aranea leapt up away from her. "Looks like it's quitting time. This girl doesn't work after hours. Hope we'll play again sometime, pretty boy, and you too, strawberry."

Surprised and confused, the group left, having successfully taken down the base, even though the captive escaped. Angelica glanced at Ignis, her eyes going straight to his cut cheek. She was so angry at herself for letting that happen. It was her childhood all over again. She accidentally hurt someone. At the same time, she remembered Aranea mentioning that she faced assassins before. The girl didn't know what to think of it, but quite frankly, she didn't care. The important thing was that she was becoming a danger, to friend and foe alike.