"This doesn't feel right," Prompto lamented. "Not at all, Noct."

Noctis, who was standing right beside his friend/comrade in the elevator, gave his friend a quick once over. The blond was fidgeting in his clothes and tugging at the crisp tie he wore.

Noctis inwardly chuckled. Prompto was never one for formal attire and tonight, he was forced to do just that. Wearing black slacks, dress shoes, and a black vest over a white dress shirt while Noctis was wearing a well-tailored black tuxedo, the pair had to look the part in order to blend into the crowd for tonight.

Tseng's latest assignment for the team was to journey to an island off the coast of Hollow Bastion. This island claimed to now have one of the largest casinos in the world and that tonight was the grand opening. To celebrate the opening, there was a high stakes poker tournament held there. Fortunately for them, Ignis had secured an invitation for him and his team without much difficulty as the event had quite a restricted guest list. Their task was to enter into the tournament and find one of the men participating in the tournament – a man with ties to SHINRA and bring him into custody.

"Where is Jasmine?" Prompto asked Noctis, anxiously fidgeting with his cufflinks.

"She arrived at the casino an hour ago with Gladiolus," Noctis informed him. "I assume we'll be seeing her at some point before the tournament begins."

For the first time all night, Prompto smiled. "Finally…something I can actually enjoy on this mission."

In addition to being Noctis' "bodyguard" for the evening, the young blond was also acting as his advisor. From early childhood on, Prompto had been a master poker player – gambling on the streets and in casinos around the world. The prince, who was originally a novice player at best, received coaching from Prompto for the last two days. And while none of the men could receive help from anyone during the game, Prompto could still provide tips to Noctis during the breaks that were scheduled.

When they reached the ground floor where the main level of the casino was, the doors slid open, revealing the new casino in all its glory. Set in a dramatic crimson red and gold color scheme, the casino truly was everything Noctis and Prompto imagined and more. In this particular section of the casino there were dozens of gaming tables, hundreds of men and women seated at the tables with hundreds more walking through the area. The room was well-lit by intricately designed crystal chandeliers that glowed a dim gold light, giving the casino a dark, seductive air about it.

Prompto stepped out of the elevator first and two women passed by, one of them eyeing him before they disappeared into the crowd.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Maybe I'll get lucky tonight."

Noctis rolled his eyes and moved through the crowd. "Chill out. We're on a mission. When we're done then you can chase after whoever you can get."

Prompto glanced at his wrist watch. The poker tournament was to take place in ten minutes and it would take a solid five to clear the area and get to the game room. "Do you have the card?"

Noctis reached into his jacket and pulled out a small gold keycard, the keycard that gave them access to the gaming room. "Right here."

"And do you remember all the tips I taught you?" Prompto asked. He couldn't help him during the actual game but for the tournament, they were given breaks. While they were on break, Prompto could advise him on what to do next to increase their chances of winning. But even more so, their target was also a champion poker player so they had to last as long as possible so that they could capture him. "Don't play every hand, watch the other players carefully, and keep your cool. SOLDIER is giving us a lot of money for this game so we can't blow it."

"You should have been the one to play," Noctis stated. He knew that he was just a beginner and was fully aware of the fact that Prompto was more skilled than he was.

In fact, Noctis had asked Prompto to step in for him. But for the sake of "appearances", Prompto thought that it would be better if he served as an advisor seeing as Noctis seemed to fit the part better than he did.

"You'll be fine." Prompto placed a hand on Noctis' shoulder to calm his friend's nerves. "Just stay calm and we'll get through this. Try and have a bit of fun too. After all, this is a casino."

When Prompto and Noctis reached the door to the tournament room, they were halted by two security guards dressed in black suits. Noctis held out the card key for them to see and, once they inspected it, stepped aside and opened the doors for them.

"Where is Jasmine?" Noctis whispered to Prompto. He was sure that she would have at least met them in the main casino area but still, after a day of not seeing her, she was still nowhere to be found.

"I'm sure Miss Valentine is inside," Prompto stated cheerfully. "You know her. She's always one or two steps ahead of us."

The tournament room was just as extravagant as the rest of the hotel. Continuing with the red and gold color scheme, this room was just as dim as the hotel, making it slightly difficult to see. The room was fairly spacious with four tables in each corner of the room with one large table in the center on an elevated platform. Noctis and Prompto looked at each other, both of them realizing that table was probably reserved for the last round.

There were a lot less people here, maybe about twenty or so. After all, this was a high stakes poker game. The grand prize? Ten million munny. And not everyone could afford to buy into a game such as this.

Noctis didn't mind though. The less people around, the better it served him when it came time to capture his target. He didn't know if things were going to get messy so it was ideal for there to be as few people as possible.

Prompto and Noctis surveyed the area. There didn't appear to be too many players and all of them had come with, what appeared to be, a bodyguard. Once the tournament commenced and people got knocked off, there would be even fewer people to have to worry about.

Prompto spotted three of, what looked to be, their opponents at the bar flirting with the few women in the room. He chuckled, thinking to himself that they'll be the first to go.

Noctis and Prompto found the table they were assigned to, choosing to stand while they waited for the host to begin the tournament.

"I can't believe these people can afford to gamble away millions," Prompto said, slight contempt in his voice.

"One of the many cruel realities of the world," Noctis commented, feeling slightly uncomfortable in the room. "Let's try to get out of here as quickly as possible."

Laughter erupted from one corner of the room, causing Prompto to look for the cause of the commotion. Noctis kept his eyes on the table, trying to remember Prompto's teachings and the plan.

"Where the hell is Jasmine?" Noctis asked.

Wordlessly, Prompto tapped the prince's shoulder, pointing to the area where the other men were laughing.

Glancing over his shoulder once before doing a double take, he finally spotted Jasmine. Eyes widening in surprise, he watched her walk over to their table with not only their target in tow, but two other men he hadn't seen before.

"Talk about causing a scene," Prompto teased, reveling in the shock that was plastered on Noctis' face.

Jasmine, like everyone else, was dressed formally but her appearance was a bit more dramatic. She wore a black, floor length halter dress and an open back. As if enough skin wasn't showing, she also had a high slit up the dress that nearly reached her hip. Her hair was parted to the side in soft waves with strands falling over her face, partially covering one of her dramatically made up eyes. She towered over most of the men in her stilettos who stared at her as she walked by. But her eyes were on Noctis and no one else.

"I've been waiting for you," Jasmine said in a low sultry voice as she approached Noctis. She walked up to Noctis and slipped her arms around him, pulling him close while resting her chin on his shoulder.

Noctis initially stiffened at the act, causing Prompto to chuckle. After all this time, Noctis was still so uncomfortable with close contact with women. But then again, Prompto himself had to admit that Jasmine looked amazing and, admittedly, quite…distracting.

"I wanted you to meet someone." Jasmine held onto Noctis' arm but turned him to one man dressed in a white tuxedo jacket, black slacks and a bright red tie. He was much older than the others however he still possessed a youthful glow about him. He had white hair tied in a low ponytail, brown eyes (one of them covered with an eyepatch that did not fully conceal the scar underneath), and was rather tall, easily able to see eye to eye with Jasmine in her heels.

"This is Braig," Jasmine said. "He's one of your competitors."

Immediately Noctis and Prompto realized that this man was their target for the evening. The pair looked to each other and Noctis shook Braig's hand firmly.

"A pleasure," Noctis said cordially. "My name is Regis," he lied.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Braig said with a cheerful smile. "I've been really looking forward to this tournament for quite a while. Definitely gives an old coot like me something to do at the very least."

'Another old man with too much time on his hands,' Prompto thought to himself, trying his best not to roll his eyes.

"We were starting to wonder when the last competitor would show up." Braig stepped closer to Jasmine and Noctis. "I was starting to think this charming creature here was my opponent," he made a motion to Jasmine and grinned from ear to ear. "Although I'd rather her be the prize. I have more than enough money."

Despite wanting to cringe inwardly at the way she was being eyed, Jasmine never broke character and remained calm. She was used to this. Being a woman in SOLDIER meant that on these various missions, you had to play a character and become an object in order to get what she wanted. While it still irritated her to no end that the men never saw her as a threat, she counted herself as lucky because it made her job that much easier and gave her an edge.

She waved her left hand, flashing the ring Vanitas had given her some time ago before resting the hand on Noctis' chest. "As flattered as I am, I have to say that I'm already spoken for. And I'm not much of a gambler. I'm afraid I'm not that lucky."

Braig stared at "Regis" and laughed. "Well it seems like I've already taken a loss. You're a lucky man."

Noctis' eyes never left Braig as he slinked an arm across Jasmine's waist, albeit stiffly. "I am. I'll see you during the tournament."

Braig nodded before giving a kind-hearted smile and turning his attention to the other competitors.

Noctis walked away with Jasmine and Prompto, electing to put some distance between themselves and their target.

"You put on quite a show," Noctis commented as he let go of Jasmine.

Jasmine rolled her eyes and Prompto stepped in to keep the peace.

"What he meant to say," Prompto cleared his throat, eyes scanning over Jasmine. "Is that you look amazing, Miss Valentine."

Jasmine smiled at the compliment. "Thank you, Prompto." Keeping her face as is in a cheerful expression, she shared with the two what she learned. "That man, Braig. He's our target. The two men with him? Those are his bodyguards. Are you ready?" She asked Noctis.

Prompto put his hand on the prince's shoulder. "He's got this."

Nodding, Jasmine continued. "I put on a show alright," Jasmine began. "About four of your competitors have had a few drinks which should screw with their heads."

Prompto chuckled. "I'm sure that was all you."

Jasmine allowed her smirk to pull through. "All I said was that I was thirsty. I didn't expect them to jump in – though I did mention to a few of them that it would be rude to make me drink by myself."

Prompto crossed his arms over his chest and smiled in satisfaction. "You're becoming a real woman of SOLDIER."

Jasmine did not know how to take the statement, even though she was sure that it was a compliment of sorts. She felt herself being shaken back to the reality of her situation but immediately pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. "I'm going to take a look at the grounds again. Once the tournament begins, I'm going to take my place."

"We'll see you after the break," Prompto said cheerfully.

She nodded to Prompto before turning back to Noctis. She walked up to him and leaned in so that her lips just barely grazed his right ear. "Relax," she advised him. "You're going to blow it if you don't calm down. You can do this."

Before Noctis could respond, he was silenced when Jasmine kissed his cheek. He could feel the heat rising to his face and he made no attempt to hide his shock.

Jasmine didn't bother trying to hide the smirk on her face. "Didn't I just tell you to relax? Don't blow it."

Without another word, Jasmine disappeared from Noctis and Prompto's sight and into the crowd of people.

"She has a point you know," Prompto teased. "Don't look so surprised. After all, you two are supposed to be playing a part here."

Noctis snapped out of his daze and shot a glare towards Prompto. "Shut up." He watched as the host of the tournament called everyone to attention. "We have work to do."


Author's Note: Sorry it's been such a long time guys. I've been sitting on this for so long and between school and work, I've been really stressed out and had to put this down for a while. But things seem to be settling down so it looks like I'll have a consistent update schedule again very soon.

Pardon this chapter for being so short. It's kind of a lengthy one and I need to do a lot of backtracking to my old stories to make sure that everything is accurate.

Hopefuldreamer1991: Yeah, it'll be interesting for sure. I'm trying to do a lot more experimentation with the boys in this story. I feel like their characters as a whole have been so underutilized – especially Roxas (who I do regret treating so poorly from the beginning of the story until now) so we'll see how they progress and how they interact.

Meyoume: Oh yes…there's going to be a lot with Roxas.

Guest: Glad you're excited/like it!

Nolumosthesun: me too. In truth, I miss the simple days when they were in high school. It's refreshing to see them together.

Guest: Oh yes. I have a few more bad guys up my sleeve too!

LongTimeReader: Thanks! I'd hoped you guys would like the idea.

Pinkdinosaur: Unfortunately, my lips are sealed for now on this one!

Skeleus: I sincerely hope you guys enjoy this new cast as much as I am/will.

animechick247: Oh yes. Leave it to her to find out the truth. And yes, her relationship with Noctis is still extremely unstable right now. They still have a lot to do in terms of recovering.

Well I sincerely hope that you guys enjoyed this (short) chapter! I'm editing the next one as we speak and I hope to have it up soon. Thanks for hanging in there and I'll see you all next time!