A/N: Thanks to Antisora for pointing out my mistaken discription of Richter! It's fixed now! ~brynerose
Stunned silence wrapped around them all for several moments. Marta realized she was shaking. Did this make her any better than Alice, even if it was to save Emil? Oh, if only the whole mess would go away! She was sick of it, sick of fighting, sick of death everywhere, sick of not being able to save those who might not have ended up like this in the first place if it weren't for the Vanguard…for Daddy…
"Marta, come on. We have to finish our journey." Emil's hand touched her arm gently. It was the hand that remained splinted. "And Marta…thank you."
They continued onward with heavy hearts. The further they went, the more bizarre the landscape became—the graveyard-like stone opened up once more, but this time the ground beneath them turned bright with that strange electric current, though they didn't feel anything. These thin paths appeared to be the only substantial surfaces crisscrossing the misty underground expanse.
"Look, over there!"
A familiar form in a red jacket was coming closer. Lloyd.
"How did you—what—where are the others?" Marta rattled at him.
"I'm glad I found you. The others are up ahead, turned to stone."
"Then how did you…?" Emil started.
"Because I have Martel's protection, I suppose. Remember, it proved stronger that Ratatosk's power? But enough about that, let's figure out how to free the others, and get to the Door."
As soon as they neared the group of statues, however, everyone returned to normal. Emil surmised it might be him, as Ratatosk. This place just kept getting weirder and weirder. No time to dwell on it now. With their friends back and no longer stone, he turned to face the ominous, fiery wall that lay beyond. "So is this the Ginnungagap?"
"It's through there, yes," Raine corrected. A circular door ground open in their presence, revealing a smoky room the reverberated with sound. Some kind of ornate gilding was silhouetted in the light of a spiny, partially-opened door. And before that, a shadowy figure stood. Richter.
"Stop!" Emil called across the open space. He couldn't tell exactly what the bigger man was doing, but the door was opening further the longer he stood there. Slowly, Richter turned to face them.
"So, you've come."
"Is this what Aster would want? For you to forsake the world you both explored, and let it become Nieflheim just to bring him back? It's not right!"
"Careful, Emil, Don't let your emotions get the better of you," Regal warned quietly.
Richter stood motionless. Then, before their eyes, flames rose to engulf his entire body. A half-elven torch. His weapons, too, were covered in fire. Emil drew his own sword instinctively, and the final battle began.
Despite the overwhelming odds, Richter held his own. Both Raine and Marta had to hang back so they could concentrate their efforts on healing artes as needed. Occasionally, they could join Genis in using artes to attack. The rest had to call up every skill they possessed to keep up with their otherworldly opponent. Emil struggled even more with the splint on his sword arm than he had against Alice and Decus. He was slower, clumsier, and tired, giving Richter opportunities to strike.
"You really thought you could take me?" sneered the flaming man. "You, who wears Aster's face and masquerades as an innocent boy? How dare you stoop that low, even being who you are!"
"Emil, look out!" shouted Lloyd. But he couldn't recover fast enough. Richter spun Emil out wildly with a cross stroke, and cracked his sword hilt across the back of the boy's head. Emil dropped to the ground, completely stunned.
Lloyd's twin swords were a blur of steel. Ratatosk may be the ultimate enemy, but he was still vulnerable in human form. If Richter destroyed him, there would be no way to seal the Door. Besides, Emil was his friend…
Fate seemed to be against them, however. As Lloyd braced himself for a parry, his right ankle twisted under him. The following force of Richter's blow knocked him onto his back. One sword skittered away while his opponent's boot pinned the other.
"Martel was right to choose you, that I'll admit," Richter purred. Everyone else was suddenly blown flat a single arte of his. Now he leveled his hellish gaze and blade back at Lloyd. "But I cannot allow you, or anyone, to stop me. Goodbye, Lloyd the Great." He lifted his weapon to strike—
Only to find another barring the way. Emil's blade.
"What?!"
The next instant, Richter was hurled bodily from his would-be victim. Emil followed, contemptuous and unflinching. His eyes blazed red.
"Then you had better be prepared to face me. I will regain my full power!" And he attacked with fury that belied his physical size.
Everyone, including Richter, knew that the tables had turned. More time had passed than they thought; Emil's protection was wearing off. Ratatosk was back. This didn't bode well for the task of sealing the Summon Spirit away.
He was in his domain. His goal was near, and he would make sure that no one was left to stop him. Richter was knocked defenseless to the ground. Ratatosk poised for the killing stroke.
"Noooooo!" a higher-pitched shout escaped him. His conscience, the one they called Emil, was fighting back. Though Richter was a mutual enemy, this weakling part of him did not want to kill. It struggled more fiercely now, too. He had to stop where he was to force the intruding mind back into submission. You have lost! To resist is futile!
This isn't over yet—I will defeat you! His conscience replied. Ratatosk had to put his whole effort into controlling himself. There, his other self's exhaustion was setting in…
But that was all the time Richter needed. In one fluid motion, he grabbed his still-glowing sword, and thrust upward at the unprotected torso.
Pain ripped through both consciousnesses. Somewhere, a female voice screamed as he reeled backward. Others pounced on Richter out of nowhere. Unseen arms caught him.
Emil! Please hold on; you'll be alrigth. Raine, help! I don't have the skill for something like this." Ratatosk vaguely recognized the voice as the girl, Marta.
Another shape joined her. "I will only be able to stave off the immediate danger. No one can simply make a wound like this disappear. With flaming mana in the blade, too…and the split will be even more dangerous."
The pain redoubled for several moments, the receded somewhat. He could feel his other self struggling to remain conscious. Soon it won't matter little worm, pathetic weakling. I will return to my true form, and you will disappear.
No…
Somewhere not to far away, low voices were conversing, some in angry tones. If he strained towards it, he could make out Richter's more apologetic words.
"…And then I would have sealed the Ginunngagap with my own mana," he was explaining. "I was mad for revenge, but I would not have let the world be overrun with demons. Anyway, I would not be worthy to walk freely in the world once this was over." He sounded defeated, and no longer seemed to be on fire.
"You set your own body's mana on fire for that?" marveled a deep voice. Regal's perhaps. "Very admirable, and yet, what would be worth keeping in this world if we had not forgiveness? Help us seal this place properly. There might be hope for you yet. It's what Aster would do, I'm sure of it."
"By rights I shouldn't call myself his friend…"
"All things have the chance to change, and change again."
Pain stabbed through Ratatosk again, causing him grunt involuntarily.
"Touching as this conversation is, we don't have much time. We need to get this over with so we can treat Emil properly," Raine cut in forcefully. She was putting pressure on his wound.
"Lift him up," said Richter, floating higher in Ratatosk's vision. The whole scene kept shifting in and out of focus. "Only his artes can place the cores."
His failing human form was supported on either side. Of course, he had no objection to placing the cores, as he would need to do so to complete his plan anyway. But afterward, in spite of his feeble state, a hand took him forcefully by the scarf around his neck.
"How do we get to the Shrine, Spirit?" Raine hissed in his face.
"To the right, not far," gasped Ratatosk, not having the strength to resist. A physical wound should not affect me so…and how does a half-elf know of the Shrine? He had no memory of his final interrogation, days before.
"Carry him, Regal. Quickly now." Raine was desperate to see this come to an end, hoping it did not cost Emil his life after all.
They filed down a narrow passageway that only appeared when Ratatosk lifted a shaking hand. Richter stayed behind to steady the Door—he was determined to pay in some way for his crimes. Just as the fiery glow of the Door faded away behind them, a pale light grew up ahead. Soon the passage widened into a small room.
It wasn't shrine, really. The wall simply hollowed out enough to reveal the faint, stagnantly-lit form of a root, which disappeared into both the floor and ceiling. The last root of the Giant Kharlan Tree. It stood before them like a ghostly tombstone to their past.
"Look!" whispered Genis. When Regal stepped closer, the root got a little brighter.
"It knows he's here," Sheena breathed.
"Lay him down before it," Raine instructed. "Genis, Marta, I'm going to need help from both of you. To use a Summon Spirit's power against him is difficult indeed." She leveled her staff in both hands, and waited for Ratatosk to call up what was left of his strength. Then she seized it.
Emil's entire body tensed up as they fought mentally for control.
"Summon Spirit Ratatosk," thundered Raine, "You were charged with guarding this world from Nieflheim, and for that purpose the Ginnungagap was formed. It is time to return to seal what was broken. But first—within you, repulsed by your hatred for humans and half-elves, your conscience formed a will of its own. A pure will. The two of you have grown apart, and now I free him from you to live his own mortal life. Leave him, and return to your rightful place!"
A howl rose up in the confined space. Suddenly Emil's back arched violently. A blood red glow rose out of his chest, hovered, and dispersed into the pale root in the wall. The hair-raising voice died away. Emil lay absolutely still.
A deep rumble began to spread to every inch of the underground domain. After a minute or so, Richter came stumbling from the direction they had come.
"It's done; the Gate is shut," he announced hoarsely. "But the place is starting to collapse on itself. Is there another way out from here?"
"Ratatosk mentioned a secret way he would have used to get in," said Regal. Once more he scooped up their young friend. A faint trickle of blood had resumed from the stab wound. Richter eyed them warily.
"The Summon Spirit is sealed away," Raine assured him. "This is Emil, no one else. At least, we hope, if he survives."
"Let's get out of here," Lloyd chimed in. The prompt couldn't be more welcome. As they continued down the passage, the walls behind them began to close in. "Run!"
Turns our, they didn't have as far to go as they thought. Sunlight burst around them so quickly that Zelos almost didn't see the edge of the mountain path on which they emerged in time. Lloyd snatched him back by his vest.
"Thanks."
With a shudder, the stone doorway behind them curled inward until nothing remained. No one would ever be able to tell that a tunnel was once there. Ironically, this was not what caused Marta to utter a squeak of surprise.
"What is it?" asked Presea, concerned.
"P-P-Palmacosta?!"
Their path led right to the bustling little town, already much repaired after the long-ago attack for which Lloyd was blamed.
"We couldn't possibly have traveled that far…could we?"
"Nevertheless, we have to get down there," Raine pressed. Her free hand rested on Emil's forehead. The boy's breathing was dreadfully ragged. Blood seeped freely into Regal's shirt, owing to the fact that he'd had to sling Emil across his shoulders in order to run.
Richter stepped further down the path. "Then we'd best keep moving, hadn't we?"