Ignis parked the Regalia. The four men climbed out, their eyes instantly catching sight of the flags pinned up all over Lestallum. They immediately knew something was wrong. They went straight to the Leville for answers. There, they met up with Iris, who was in tears as she sat them down and explained what happened. They were a bit baffled as to why Angelica hadn't intervened.

"She wasn't around at the time," Iris told them. "I don't know exactly what she was up to, and she hasn't told me much. I've barely even seen her since the incident."

"She hasn't left, has she?" Noctis asked.

The brunette shook her head. "No, I know she's still in town. She's just been secluding herself. I think she's just feeling guilty about what happened."

"Blaming herself again." Gladio slowly shook his head. "She's got a real bad habit of doing that."

"Should we... maybe look for her?" Prompto suggested.

Noctis nodded. "Yeah."

With Gladiolus and Prompto staying at the hotel to help lighten the mood, Noctis and Ignis set out in search of the red-haired girl. They were especially concerned about her, knowing how she could be. They also wanted to hear her side of the story. After all, she was sure to have a valid reason for missing such a huge event. After quite a bit of searching, they finally found her at Tozus Counter, the small restaurant at the far side of the town and right next to the road.

She sat alone at a table, her back to them. She had a plastic cup sitting in front of her. With her elbow on the table, she rested her chin in her hand as she traced her finger along the rim of the cup. Noctis nudged his advisor, pointing to the girl. Ignis silently nodded, following the prince. The two went over, taking a seat across from her. Angelica's eyes boredly glanced up at them before returning to her cup of juice.

"Hey, Angel," Noctis greeted.

"Hi," she mumbled, not the least bit surprised to see them.

"Iris informed us of what happened," Ignis said, "and we'd like to hear your side of it. What exactly were you doing during the events that transpired?"

"Gathering information." She narrowed her eyes down at the cup. "Lotta good that did. I thought it would be useful if I had intel on the empire when you returned. But I hardly got anything, and someone was killed because of my carelessness."

"Angel." Noctis sighed with slight frustration. "I wasn't expecting you to have information for me, that wasn't why I sent you here. I just wanted you to give Iris and Talcott a hand with their preparations for when they leave for Caem."

"Oh..." Angelica slapped her palm over her face, growling lightly. "I'm such an idiot. I messed up big time."

"You aren't at fault for what happened," Ignis added. "No one blames you for it, you know. It's not as if you were the one to commit the murder."

Angelica looked over at them and grimaced. "But it IS my fault. I had two chances to stop this from happening. If I had left for Niflheim like I originally intended, those imperial rats would've been dead long before they ever came here. And even if I didn't go, I should've at least been with Iris and the others during the entirety of the empire's visit." She hung her head down in shame. "I failed you all. I'm a failure. What good is an assassin who can't do her job?"

Ignis reached a hand across the table, patting her shoulder. "You are NOT a failure."

Noctis nodded in agreement, smiling slightly. "Besides, you've been doing your job just fine to me." Angelica looked at them both in surprise. "Now c'mon, whaddya say we go on back to the hotel?"

"I don't know if I can stand to face Talcott after I let him down," the girl explained. "I couldn't save his only remaining family. He probably hates me."

"Talcott holds no resentment towards you," Ignis assured. "But I believe the best thing you can do now is be there to help comfort him."

Angelica noticed the gentle smile on his lips. She slowly nodded. "I guess you're right. Maybe a little time together will help cheer everyone up."

Angelica gulped down the rest of her juice and stood with the two men. They made their way back to the hotel where the others had awaited them. "So, Angel," Gladio said with a small smirk, "what's all this I hear about you dancing down by the fountain?"

The redhead looked at Iris in surprise. "I kinda saw on my way back from the market," she explained. "You were really good."

"You really danced?" the gunman questioned. "Like a street performer?"

"You could say that," she answered. "It was my cover for getting into Lestallum. The Niffs were already here, so I lied about my identity. Plus, I made some extra gil."

"Could you, maybe... do it again?" Iris asked. "I'm sure something like that would really help cheer everyone up, especially for Talcott. Just something fun to get everyone's minds off the incident."

Angelica sighed, resting a hand on her hip. "If it'll help Talcott, then I'll do it. I owe the kid that much, at least. Just let me get ready first."

Angelica left for her room. "Well, this should be interesting," Gladio commented.

Iris grinned with excitement. "It will. I only saw a tiny bit before, but Angel was really good. Talcott and I had gone to pick up a few groceries from the market, but when we got back, her performance was already ending and she was heading to the hotel with that blond general. That's when that other man came over and questioned us, and Jared intervened for our sake. Everything bad happened right after Angel was out of sight."

"Wait..." Noctis said, thinking over her words. "Blond general? Surely you don't mean that Loqi guy."

Ignis's expression darkened slightly. "What could she have been up to? She told us she was gathering information."

"Maybe she was giving Loqi a private performance," Gladio joked, nudging Ignis and chuckling at the hint of jealousy in his eyes.

"Hey, we'd better go get Talcott," Prompto interrupted.

The group went down to the lobby where Talcott sat quietly, reading his grandfather's notebook. After telling him about the plan for the day, his mood brightened a bit and he wiped the remaining tears from his eyes. After getting changed into her costume, Angelica tied her hair into a high ponytail and applied some makeup, just like last time. She then wrapped a cloak around her shoulders, pulling the hood up and keeping her hair and outfit concealed.

She then headed down to the lobby where the others were. They could only see her face and the veil over her nose and mouth. "Gonna make it a surprise?" Iris asked.

Angelica smiled. "Sure, why not? Plus, it wouldn't be appropriate to walk around town in my costume." She bent down to look at Talcott, her smile fading. "Talcott, this is my way of making it up to you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I hope you can forgive me."

The boy smiled sadly, his eyes still puffy and red. "It's okay, I understand. You didn't do anything wrong, Miss Angelica."

The group left the hotel. They met with the musicians that always seemed to be by the fountain. "Hello again," the redhead greeted. "Wanna play for me?"

"You bet, miss!"

The music had already attracted a small crowd. Angelica casually shrugged off her cloak, showing off her costume. The guys all stared with wide eyes, never before seeing the girl in such a revealing outfit. Prompto wolf-whistled and snapped a few pictures. Angelica stood by the musicians, and as they played, she began to dance. The sway of her hips was mesmerizing.

"I knew she could dance," the shield said with astonishment, "but I didn't know she could belly dance."

"And she looks really hot dressed like that," the gunman added.

"I'll say," the prince agreed. "I never looked at Angel like that before. But she's actually really pretty."

"Simply marvelous," Ignis added, his eyes glued to the girl's every move. "I'd say Angel's talent is only rivaled by her beauty."

Gladio glanced over, noticing the admiration in Ignis's expression. But he stayed quiet, and everyone watched the girl's performance. Afterward, the group was back in their room, still raving about Angelica's dancing. Iris decided to go ahead and take Talcott to his room for the night, leaving Angelica with the boys.

"I'm so glad I got plenty of pics!" Prompto exclaimed. "I've never seen you being so... well... hot!"

"Hey!" the redhead retorted, crossing her arms.

"By the way, while I'm thinking about it," Gladio interrupted, "Iris said she saw you with an imperial general. Wanna elaborate on that?"

"Was his name Loqi, by any chance?" Noctis questioned.

"Yeah." She placed her hands on her hips. "I was gonna get some info out of him. Why? Do you know him?"

"As a matter of fact, yes," Ignis answered. "We've run into him before."

"But I have a hard time imagining that guy giving out information," Prompto said. "How'd you do it?"

Angelica crossed her arms. "Well, if you're so eager to stick your nose into my business, how about I give you a demonstration? Prompto, on the bed."

"What?! Why am I the lab rat?!"

"Because you asked," Angelica replied.

She then pointed to the bed. Prompto sighed and complied to her order. He sat down on the bed, but the girl quickly went over and forced him onto his stomach. Like with Loqi, she leaned over him and slipped a throwing knife from between her breasts.

"I had him pinned, like so..." she explained. She placed the tip of the blade against the back of the blond's neck. "And threatened to plunge a knife into his spinal cord. With the possibility of paralysis and death, he was more than happy to talk." She then got off the gunman. "But I didn't get much of anything out of him before the incident."

Prompto sat up. "You are crazy scary when you do stuff like that."

"Not when she's dressed like that," Gladio argued.

Angelica laughed lightly and stretched her arms. "Well, I think I'm gonna get a bath and turn in for the night. See you guys tomorrow."

She left their room. Noctis hummed. "Maybe it'll be good to just relax for a couple of days. We could use the break, and I think everyone needs a little time after what happened here."

"Indeed," the advisor agreed.

Prompto got out his camera. "Maybe I'll get some more shots of the sights around town. Oh, by the way, I got some really cute shots of Angel while she was dancing."

The guys all crowded around to see the images he'd captured on his camera. Ignis's eyes softened at seeing the girl having so much fun. "She was quite a sight, wasn't she?"

"She's gonna make some guy real lucky one day," Noctis stated. "After all, she's got skill and looks."

Truthfully, the prince was hinting at Ignis. He wasn't completely stupid and he had noticed the way his advisor acted with Angelica. He knew Ignis long enough to notice his sudden changes in behavior. Though it was only recent, he had finally pieced everything together, along with Prompto, who'd caught on as well. Though neither of them brought it up, uncertain of the girl's feelings and Ignis's intentions.

"Speaking of which," Gladio interrupted. "Why don't you take Angel out tomorrow, Iggy?"

Ignis pushed up his glasses, noticing the smirk on his face. "I'll have to give it some thought." The bespectacled man swiftly went to the bathroom to escape the questions of his friends.

"So..." Noctis smirked, crossing his arms. "Specs fancies Angel, huh?"

Gladio nodded, knowing it was no longer a secret. "I never would've expected that from Iggy," Prompto said with surprise. "He's always so... uptight. Looks like I'll be hanging onto all those pictures of Angel, just in case he wants 'em for himself."

"Just how long has this been going on?" Noctis asked.

"For years now," the tattooed man replied. "I caught it pretty early on."

"Uh, does anyone know Angel's feelings on the matter?" the blond questioned.

Gladio sighed. "Can't say for sure. She and Iggy are both difficult to read. But judging by how easily she talks to him, I'd say there's at least an interest."

Prompto grinned. "Nice! So, maybe it'll work out in the end!"

"And if not, we could always give 'em a little push," the prince added. "Only if absolutely necessary. Anyway, who's up for some King's Knight?"