Chapter 9
Marta's weight against his shoulder was one of the most comforting things Emil had felt in a long time. Even though they were both dirty and stank, he gladly rested his cheek against the top of her head and relaxed against the wall he sat next to. Thankfully the sky was clear and stars had begun to come out, it didn't look like it would rain anytime soon and the survivors of the disaster were all camping in the cleared areas they had managed to create over the course of the remaining hours of daylight.
They had built a bonfire in the courtyard with the fountain. Between Richter and Marta, they had saved and healed everyone that could be helped. As far as he could tell, most of the people still alive were ones who had survived the original attack by the Vanguard. Emil wasn't sure whether to frame that thought in past or future tense and was too tired to figure anything out past gently squeezing Marta's hand where her fingers were laced with his. He was sure he had fallen asleep for a couple hours, since the sun was nearly completely below the horizon now.
"I thought I'd dreamed you," Marta said softly. "I couldn't just sit and wait to see if you'd... show up."
"I'd come for you, no matter what."
"I know." Marta squeezed his hand and caressed her fingers across his knuckles.
"Hey." Someone kicked his leading foot.
Emil opened his eyes to find a blond boy scowling down at him.
"Castagnier," Marta sighed. "Don't pick a fight with him."
Sitting up slightly, Emil looked more closely at the boy. "So... that's him?" he asked.
"Yeah," Marta said gloomily.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Castagnier demanded. "You saw me earlier in the ruins and now you're acting like you don't know you threatened me. I'm not going to put up with that kind of thing!" He balled a fist with a look of determination
Emil shook his head. "Not what I was expecting at all," he said to Marta, then looked up at the boy. "You probably spoke to Ratatosk. He doesn't have much patience."
"Ratatosk?" Castagnier scowled. "What's that? Your twin with magic powers?"
"Yeah," Emil said, deciding that was a better explanation than the truth.
"Maybe you shouldn't dress just like him. It'd be less confusing!" Castagnier folded his arms. "I'm still gonna punch him next I see him." He glared at Emil. "Who do you think you are, though? Just holding hands with a girl like that."
"Would you go away?" Marta gustily sighed. "He's my fiancé."
"You're only fourteen! You can't get married!" Castagnier reeled back in shock.
"I can if I want to!" Marta said firmly.
Dodging aside and barely managing to not spill the bowls he was carrying, Aster squinted as he moved around Castagnier. "Watch your elbows," he said and knelt to hand a bowl over to Emil and Marta. "So what's going on?"
Glaring at them, Castagnier put his fists on his hips again. "I'd like to know the same."
"Marta?" Emil said softly. "I'm too tired for it to make much sense..."
She sighed and shook her head.
"Have Tenebrae tell him," Aster suggested.
"He did already. Well. Parts of it," Marta said with a sigh. "Castagnier didn't get it."
Aster spooned some stew into his mouth. "What an awkward name," he said as he chewed on a piece of meat.
"It's better than my first name," Castagnier said.
Wagging his spoon at the boy, Aster said, "Oh wait, you're Emil Castagnier, aren't you?"
The boy scowled.
"Well, how about we just call you Tiger Festival," Aster suggested.
They all turned to stare.
"Tiger," Castagnier said.
"Festival?" Emil finished.
"No?" Aster asked.
Clearing his throat, Castagnier scratched the back of his head. "Tiger sounds fine. I like it better than anything else. Call me Tiger then." He turned his green-eyed gaze on Emil again. "So who are you?"
"Emil Laker," he said.
"Your twin has a weird name." Castagnier dropped down to sit in front of them, his gaze moving from one to the next as Marta turned her attention to eating.
Emil hardly had the energy to lift the spoon to his mouth, but did so anyway. He cringed. "Please tell me Richter didn't make this..."
"No. I did," Aster said. "There wasn't anything else I could do that was useful. I may have cooked it too long."
"A little," Emil agreed, but the stew wasn't bad enough that it was completely inedible.
"What happened to Lumen's core?" Aster asked.
"Ratatosk awakened it," Marta said. "We should probably go to Asgard and see if we can get under the dais for Ventus."
"What about Luin?" Castagnier asked. "You're just going to leave?"
"You stay here and help Hawk," Marta said. "We've done everything we can to help them here."
"Like hell!" Castagnier punched the ground next to him. "You guys are out trying to save the world and you think you're going to just tell me to go away?" He shook his head firmly. "I heard what the mayor was saying about who you guys were and why you were here." He narrowed his gaze at Marta. "So how do you know them? I've never seen them before."
Marta rolled her eyes.
Emil sighed. "Can we just... talk about this in the morning?" he finished the last bite of his stew. Aster reached over and took it from him along with Marta's and stumbled to his feet, heading off to put their dishes where they could be washed. He returned with his and Emil's packs.
"Mind if I sleep over here with you guys? Everyone's been giving me the stink eye," Aster said. "Some guy yelled at me earlier too. Called me demon spawn. Richter punched him. Said he was too tired to tell the guy what he thought. It was kind of funny how the man backed off, like he recognized Richter." Aster unrolled his pad and tossed himself down onto it. He was asleep practically before his eyes were shut.
"How cute," Marta said affectionately. She pulled Emil's pack over and tiredly unrolled the pad, pulled out the blanket and laid down. Emil couldn't find the energy to disagree with her choice of sleeping arrangement and curled up behind her, burying his face in her hair, arm over her waist.
"What?" Castagnier said. "You're just... feh!" he stood and walked off.
...
Cracking her eyes open, Marta squinted in the early morning light. Sounds of people moving around had awoken her, but the comforting weight and familiar scent that lay curled against her back made it all too tempting to just shut her eyes and go back to sleep.
"Morning," Emil mumbled against the back of her head.
"Did I wake you?" she asked, closing her eyes again.
He gave a negative grunt and tightened his arm around her. "The noise did."
"How'd you know I was awake then?" Marta smiled.
"Your breathing changed."
Finding his hand, Marta laced her fingers between his. "We should get up." Though she made no move to do so.
"Yeah." He sighed against her hair.
"If you two are awake," Richter said, "Then get up and get packed. We need to get moving."
Opening her eyes, she glared up at the redheaded man. "Party pooper."
"I'd like to remind you of your current age, Marta," Richter said.
Reluctantly sitting up and pushing her wild hair back from her face, Marta sighed in frustration. "Has anyone made breakfast?" she asked.
"One of the townspeople took care of that," Richter said and turned away.
She felt Emil sit up behind her and stretch. Turning to look at him, she smiled. "We'll get this whole age thing sorted out soon enough," she promised.
"Even if we don't, I'll wait," Emil promised with a smile. "As long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter."
Her chest flooded with warmth and she reluctantly refrained from kissing him. Settling with a touch of her hand against his shoulder, Marta stood and moved to find her bag of gear, wherever that had ended up in the chaos of the day before. A bit of searching revealed that it was piled with Hawk's stuff. Unfortunately, Hawk was sitting next to his things, eating a plate of eggs and ham. At her approach, he stopped and turned a hard stare towards her.
Flushing, Marta lifted her chin. "If you're worried that he took advantage of me, you can just put that out of your head. Emil is a good man and would never hurt me."
"Emil." Hawk's lips drew downwards. "The more I think on it, the more I don't like him."
Marta shook her head and sighed before bending down to grab her pack. "I'm going with them to Asgard," she said. "You'll go back to Palmacosta and let my father know what happened here so they can send assistance."
"I was assigned to guard you," Hawk said firmly and set his plate down. "And if you think I'm leaving you with that... pervert, then you've got another thing coming."
"Pervert?" Marta gasped. "How dare you! Just because I'm fourteen right now doesn't mean I always will be. Emil respects me and will wait for this to pass."
"Lady Marta, you're just a child!"
"Oh shut up!" Marta rolled her eyes. "I'm a twenty-one year old stuck in a fourteen-year-old body, Hawk. I've known Emil for five years! This situation is only temporary and you will treat Emil with respect!"
"He killed me."
Marta paled.
Hawk's gaze didn't waver.
"So you do remember," Marta said softly and let her hands relax. "If that's the case, use your head and realize that what happened before isn't what's happening again. Things have changed this time. You and Emil fought only because you refused to listen to reason that time. So listen to reason now."
Hawk put a hand to his head and gripped his hair. "I... I don't know what to think anymore. None of this makes sense."
Taking a slow deep breath, Marta knelt in front of him and reached out to gently take his hand. "Hawk, look at me." When his gaze reluctantly met hers, she continued. "We've got a second chance. That's how I see it. Something happened to reset the past, and some things that happened were good. Others... not so good. And if you can't believe me when I tell you that what happened between you and Emil before was a misunderstanding, then talk to him. I know that you were only doing what you thought was right, just as we were. But none of us had all the information."
"I still don't," Hawk said. "I only remember pieces and none of them make sense, but the clearest part is that man stabbing me with a sword."
"Only because you got in the way," Marta said. "He felt awful about that, you know. He hardly spoke for days. He's a good person and never wanted to fight you. Just talk to him, okay?" She gently squeezed Hawk's hand. "But the main thing is, that someone needs to go check on Palmacosta. I have a bad feeling that Alice and Decus will target all the places that were destroyed the first time."
"Then why are you insisting on going to Asgard first?" Hawk asked.
"To awaken Ventus's core and stop the monsters and wind there. Left unattended, the situation will get worse," Marta explained. "Besides, it strengthens Ratatosk."
"Who wants to destroy the world," Hawk said.
Marta shook her head. "No. That was the past. We convinced him that the world needs protecting."
Still Hawk didn't look convinced but there wasn't much else Marta could say that would fix the situation. Hawk was just going to have to come to his conclusions on his own, though she knew that once he had, she would never be able to change his mind again. She just hoped he picked her side.
"I'm going to Asgard with Richter, Emil and Aster," she said. "Where you go... is up to you." She stood and took her bag again, heading back to where Emil, Richter, and Aster were eating. Emil handed her a plate of breakfast as soon as she sat down. "Hawk remembers some of what happened," she reported.
Richter silently nodded.
"Others have too," Aster said. "What exactly did you do to make people so frightened of you, Emil?"
"N-nothing," Emil flushed and looked down. "They thought I was responsible for the monsters that kept showing up in the area..."
"Well, you were, but not on purpose," Marta said and smiled.
Emil sighed and returned to eating.
Aster started quietly laughing. "If that's the case, their logic is seriously flawed. If they thought you controlled monsters, why did they risk making you mad?"
"Can we talk about something else?" Emil requested, gaze on his plate.
"We should focus on our next goals," Richter said, "Since all four of us are here."
Marta nodded. "I told Hawk to go back to Palmacosta and check on things there, and get them to send some help to Luin. I told him we would be going to Asgard. The monsters there shouldn't be so difficult to defeat right now, since its only been six months since the reunification of the world."
"Let's not bank on it being easy," Richter cautioned. "We thought getting Solum's core wouldn't be difficult and ended up getting attacked by Decus and lost in the Toize mines for a day."
Setting his empty plate aside, Aster folded his arms in thought. "We should try to go on the offensive. Would Alice and Decus expect that?"
"Probably not. They were ambitious, but not very bright," Richter said.
"What's bothering me," Emil said, "is why no one remembered things before, but now they're starting to." He set his plate atop Aster's and rested his hands on his knees. "Most of the people who died here in Luin died during the Vanguard's faked Church of Martel attack."
Aster rested his chin in his palm. "Maybe the closer things get to the original timeline the more people remember of it? Which would imply that the reset wasn't exactly complete." He straightened and looked at Richter. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
"Because if that hypothesis is correct, your death was the most important," Richter said.
Emil nodded solemnly in agreement.
"Hey, reverting Ratatosk to core state enabled all of your plans," Aster defended, flushing with embarrassment. "But I get your point. I'll be extra careful."
Marta shook her head. "Wait. You're saying that if Aster dies again, things might completely revert back to what they were?" She looked from Aster and Richter to Emil. All three nodded. "That would mean Ratatosk is in just as much danger."
"And Tiger," Aster put in.
"Who?" Richter squinted at his friend.
"Castagnier," Marta sighed. "You're really going to call him that?"
"He said he liked it," Aster lifted both hands with a helpless grin.
"If you're suggesting bringing him along... please no?" Marta sighed. "He's nearly useless in a fight and has this awkward crush on me."
"If we're going to go on the offensive," Aster said, "It would make more sense to fortify Palmacosta against attack. Just protecting the key people from harm seems a little... cruel."
All four fell silent. Marta sighed. "What about Ventus's core then?"
Emil cleared his throat and shifted. "We could split up," he suggested and looked at each of them.
"I'll go," Richter said. "I should be able to get in and get Ventus's core quickly, especially with Aqua's help. You three continue to Palmacosta."
"What?" Aster slapped his hands on the ground and leaned towards Richter. "What about me?"
Richter shook his head. "Go with Emil and Marta. I'd feel better if they were protecting you. Besides, if Alice and Decus are looking to kill you specifically, they'd go hunting for me."
Unable to refute that logic, Marta nodded. "That's if they know Aster is important." Finishing her breakfast, she leaned over to stack her plate with the others and clasped her hands together in front of her.
"I wouldn't put it past them. Emil took his form before so they would recognize Aster due to that alone," Richter said. "They would want to kill him just for that."
"So wouldn't it make more sense for me to go with you then?" Aster asked. "They'd expect Emil and Marta to be together."
When Hawk cleared his throat, all four turned to look up at the man in shock. Awkwardly standing there for a moment, Hawk knelt to join their circle and sighed. "If that's the case, then Emil and Marta should go to Asgard. Richter and I would have more luck persuading the people of Palmacosta to take precautions."
Marta's hands relaxed and she smiled brightly at Hawk, relieved at his decision.
"Don't think this means I like you," Hawk pointed at Emil.
"N...no sir," Emil said in a small voice and dropped his gaze.
...
Aster rubbed the back of his neck as the carriage went over another bump. Hours ago, they had said goodbye to Marta and Emil, since she refused to even take the carriage partway. He supposed she had her reasons and didn't pry. However, he suspected her reluctance was due to Tiger who grumpily sat in one corner, arms crossed as he indignantly pouted at the window. Hawk had twisted the boy's ear and forced him to board the carriage despite his demands to stay in Luin.
"You're not going to stay in Luin. You'll be running after Marta before I'm even a mile away. I'm at least going to see that you get home safely," Hawk had said.
Wondering if that had been the best idea, given the situation they might have been returning to, Aster bit his lips together and exchanged a look with Richter. The half-elf had nothing to say on the matter and just boarded the carriage. All attempts to engage Tiger had ended with failure and grumpy single-word answers.
"We're almost there," Richter said, drawing Aster's attention.
Relieved, he shifted in his seat again. "I wish I could at least write or read," Aster complained. "Four hours of wasted time just sitting staring at the wall."
"You'll have time to write when we get there," Richter said.
Aster cast a look at him with a slight smile. 'You hope, anyway...' He pushed away such pessimistic thoughts and pushed his hand through his hair, fingering that one lock that always stuck straight upwards from his bangs. "Hope we'll at least have time for lunch when we get there."
"I'll drop you by the inn first," Richter said.
Rolling his eyes, Aster looked at his friend. "Really? Am I that useless?"
Flushing, Richter met his gaze. "No... I just don't want any complications..."
Aster grinned. "I understand. I'll keep Tiger out of trouble. Or something." The younger boy gave Aster a look of complete loathing. Refraining from laughing, Aster shook his head. "Guess I'm on my own then. You're sure there's nothing I can do to help?"
"At this point in time, not really," Richter said. "I'll let you know if there is."
"All right, then I'm going to go the Academy and see what kinds of books their library has," Aster said cheerfully.
Confused briefly, Richter stared at him, then took a breath and blinked. "That's right. You did want to visit that." He nodded with a slight smile. "I'll look for you there then."
"Books?" Tiger asked, brow wrinkling. "Why would you want to waste your time with stupid books?"
"Waste time?" Aster straightened. "Stupid books? Books were what led me to figuring out the key to restoring the flow of mana now that the world has been rejoined."
"You?" Tiger snorted in disbelief and rolled his eyes, settling back in his seat again.
"Yes," Richter said. "Him." Thankfully the carriage came to a stop at that point. "Aster, I'll show you where the inn and Academy are, Hawk, I'll meet you at Dorr's place if you'll go get Brute?"
The other man nodded and immediately climbed out of the carriage, striding away.
"Hope Brute is in a good mood," Richter muttered. "Especially when he finds out that Hawk left Marta..." He turned and started walking, leading Aster down the street. "Here's the inn."
"Let's get a room first and toss our things. On third thought... I think I'd like a bath and change of clothes before going to the library."
"Emil?" a woman asked.
Not recognizing the voice, Aster turned around to look finding a woman in orange striding towards him, her brows knit in confusion as her gaze went from Aster to Richter and back. Another silver-haired boy trailed behind the woman, looking utterly confused.
"I'm sorry," she said as she stopped in front of them, "I could have sworn I recognized you..."
Richter pushed his glasses up with a finger and sighed. "Aster, you handle this one."
"I'd love to, but who is she?"
"Raine Sage," Richter said, "She assisted Emil previously." With that, he turned and walked away.
"Man, that guy's rude," the silver-haired boy muttered, folding his arms.
"That's just how Richter is," Aster lifted both hands in a shrug. "As for recognizing us, well, that's happening a lot recently." Scratching the back of his head, Aster glanced towards the building Richter had gone into. "I need to get cleaned up, can I meet you at the Academy library? I'll explain everything there."
The woman stared down at him for a long moment, her piercing eyes searching his face for a long moment before finally nodding. "We'll meet you there." Turning, she walked off, her stride purposeful.
Shaking his head, Aster jogged into the inn and met Richter at the desk just as the man was getting keys. "Where's Raine?"
"Going to meet her at the library after I get washed up. I'm tired of smelling like skunk."
Richter snorted. "I guess I got used to it too." He handed Aster a key and went with him up the stairs. The room he had gotten had double beds, which was fine with Aster. Richter dropped his bag at the foot of a bed and left. Hurrying to get his change of clothes out, Aster splashed through a quick wash and got dressed again, feeling immensely better for even that hurried scrub before going to the front desk again.
"Sir," he said to the man behind the counter. "How do I get to the Academy from here?"
"Here," the man pushed a map towards him, apparently used to that kind of question.
"Thank you." Heading outside, the blond looked at his map and considered it briefly before taking a left and heading down the street. His destination turned out to be one of the larger buildings in the city, which made it a lot easier to find. Heading inside, he smiled when he found a sign that pointed towards the notable sections of the building. Heading straight back, he entered the library and folded his map, shoving it into his pocket. Seated at the first table, both reading books were the boy and Raine Sage. Approaching, he pulled out a chair and sat. "Hello again. Sorry to make you wait."
The boy shook his head. "I'm kind of glad. What kind of trouble did you get into to smell that bad?"
"Well, breaking and entering multiple locations, trying to save the world, nearly getting killed, time travel, and skunks," Aster lifted both hands with a grin. "I'm Aster Laker, by the way."
"Raine, and my brother Genis," the woman said. "So you're not Emil. I can't pin down why I think that's your name, though."
Taking a breath, Aster smiled again. "Because he looks like me, even though you haven't technically met him yet. You see, I'm supposed to be dead..." With that, he began his explanation, answering Raine's questions when he could.