Hello all.

After a big hiatus in which I had to deal with Real Life problems, here I am! But before beginning, I have to announce a few things:

1st - I have looked back at Everlasting Hope and came to a conclusion: there are many problems with this first iteration of the fic (obviously), many which go way back to the initial chapters. As I said before, I had a clear goal and endgame in mind, but didn't know how to get there. As I went, things changed since the beginning and now I look at it and see that I cannot simply go on like this.

Since the fic has been changing as we dive deeper in the story, plot bunnies are bound to pop up and create inconsistencies in the plot and that is unacceptable. So...

2nd - I'll end this act (one chapter to go) and I'll have to probably take a time to organize things and rewrite the fic (in other words, a hiatus) You know, change a few scenes here and there, lessen the useless OC's, that kind of thing. But I'll need some help in that regard.

That said, I'll have to find somebody to serve as a co-author/beta-reader. Somebody who knows the ToS lore well. So I'll be looking for one as this restructure process go.

And that's it for now. Going on with the chapter.

WARNING: This chapter wasn't beta'ed, so please let me know about any errors.

Chapter 56

Dreaming of a Different World

Kratos Irving-Aurion was a dedicated father and husband. He always did everything thinking of his family first. Some would say it was a quality of his that made him get a woman such as Anna. However, his son Lloyd sometimes felt like he was at the receiving end of said "kindness".

"Your stance was too lose this time. Concentrate on keeping your feet firm. Again," the auburn haired man tutored his only child.

"Can… can't we… can't we take a breath… or two?" Lloyd said, out of breath as he got up for what seemed like the… actually he lost count after the fifth time his father beat him.

"Your opponent won't give you a 'breath' just because you're tired."

"That sounds a lot… just for self-defense dad…" Lloyd continued to pant.

Kratos sighed. True, these were times of peace, but you couldn't simply sit idly and act like nothing would ever happen to you. It never hurt to be careful. Plus, Lloyd was the one that insisted in these lessons when he started using those dual swords.

"Maybe if you took my advice and used a shield instead of another blade…" Kratos commented, offhand.

"Dad, c'mon. Using two blades is way cooler," Lloyd said with a grin. "Plus, if one sword have an attack power of one hundred, then two swords…"

"Have a power of two hundred… yes, I know…"

Sometimes, Kratos could only wonder how Lloyd came to that conclusion and what his… logic was.

Looking at the sun, Kratos realized it was already getting late and decided to cut their lesson short for the day (to Lloyd's relief). The two left the meadow where they usually went to train for their house on the outskirts of Luin.

Upon arriving near the house, they were greeted by a smiling, brunette beauty with wine-colored eyes:

"There are my favorite men," she said as Lloyd went up to his mom to give her a hug while Kratos stood back, smiling at his son. "Let me see… nothing broken this time, I hope," Anna then started touching Lloyd's sides and back, looking for injuries or bumps, to the young adult's consternation.

"Mom. I can treat my injuries, thank you."

"Says the boy who got a sprained ankle last time and limped for almost a week," Anna counter-argument, her tone a tad bit reprimanding.

"Uuhhh… that was…"

Lloyd scratched behind his head, eventually looking to his father for help, to which Kratos answered with his hands up in a "not my problem" fashion. Lloyd shot him a look that clearly said "traitor".

"And you, Sir Kratos," Anna then went up to her husband, who flinched at her serious tone. "Aren't you driving him a bit too much with those lessons?"

"Well… Anna, you see…." Kratos tried to think on what to say that wouldn't delve into another discussion of his Drill Sargent-esque tendencies when it came to teaching their son how to wield a blade.

"It's just some bonding, mom. Nothing else," Lloyd said in a good-natured way.

Anna Irving–Aurion looked at her child, then to her husband, letting out a sigh, but smiling. The two might come home with more bumps and bruises than when they left, but at least they always stopped when things got too serious. Save an instance or two…

Kratos shot a look of gratitude towards his son who returned it with an expression that clearly said "you owe me". Anna said she was going to prepare dinner and Lloyd should get his lessons done:

"Tonight, if possible. No staying up late in the office tinkering."

"Hey! Those could sell someday, y' know? Some extra money would help. Plus, the Defense Force doesn't exactly take into account your school records."

Anna shook her head while Kratos tried to hide his pride in seeing Lloyd was still set on following in his footsteps. In his opinion, there was nothing nobler than one giving his all to defend his land and loved ones.

His wife once expressed her worry, since being in the Defense Force could be quite dangerous, but Kratos guaranteed it was nothing too bad since there were no wars or big conflicts going on. They mostly took care of some monsters nowadays.

Anna entered home playfully saying something about "Aurion men" and "testosterone levels" with her husband and son following. Lloyd went to his room and in the way passed by a photo of him of when he was a little child with his mother and father.

He smiled as he felt a little bit nostalgic about how his life had been going so well…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Marta dropped all her class material on her locker and practically skipped to the lab of the Royal Research Institute of Sybak where a certain blond was conducting a few experiments. She had been looking forward to it, although her classes had held up a little longer than she expected.

She arrived at the old labs and quickly did a once over her appearance, even pulling out a pocket mirror to see if her hair was ok and if there wasn't anything on her face. Satisfied with her looks, Marta knocked on the door and heard a "just a minute" from the other side.

"Yes?" a blond boy using glasses behind which showed his green eyes asked as he opened the door. Once he saw who it was, he immediately blushed. "M-Marta?"

"Hi Emil," Marta smiled in greeting. "May I enter?" she asked.

"Uh… um…" not managing to articulate anything, the blond wordlessly stepped to the side, letting the petite brunette in.

"Thanks," Marta gave him a radiant smile in return, which made the blush intensify.

The laboratory was an assortment of books spread everywhere, annotations on the desks and a side door that led to the experiment area, which was (obviously) off-limits to non-authorized personnel. Marta had once taken a peek in there, but wasn't able to tell what exactly they did there. What she knew was that Emil worked in it with someone else.

"Aster, who was… oh. Hello Marta," said someone from the door to the experiment area.

Richter and Marta had met shortly after she and Emil did. The two weren't exactly the best of friends, but they did have something of a companionship. Richter helped her with her classwork when he could and two had an implicit "agreement" regarding Emil.

"Hi Richter. So, how's work doing?" she asked the two males.

"Nothing conclusive until now. We keep hitting a dead end when trying to compare the data and recreate the right reactions. Even when everything goes exactly as it did before the results keep coming randomly and…" Emil then went full on "Aster Mode", as Marta had dubbed it, while he discoursed about his and Richter's work.

Marta kept an interested face while half-listening to him. She couldn't understand for the life of her what her best friend found of so interesting in analyzing things in a dusty, old lab. But, then again, that was one of the things she liked about him. Emil was normally so shy around other people, but once he got comfortable and the conversation was brought to his dominating field he acted like another person.

If only he were like that more often. Marta thought.

One things which confused her was that Richter kept referring to Emil by his middle name, even when in informal settings. When asked, Emil simply said Richter had always called him that and he didn't really mind.

Marta continued to look as Aster relayed the difficulties he found, paying more attention to the movement of his lips than the actual words. She imagined what it would be like to have those lips upon hers…

Richter then cleared his throat to get the two young adult's attention:

"As much as I hate to interrupt, we have a presentation set up for this afternoon, Aster."

"Oh, yes! I forgot," Emil then went to the desks and started looking for the notes he made. Richter sighed and turned to Marta.

"By the way, I'll be gone the next week, starting on this weekend."

"Another conference at Meltokio?" Marta asked.

"You could say that. Aster will continue to work on our project alone… I think I don't need to ask you, right?"

Marta simply nodded, smirking as she mock-saluted the older red head:

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he actually eats and sleeps."

The two laughed at that. It was no secret Emil was a workaholic to the point he sometimes forgot to even sleep. Marta found it cute, but Richter could only get exasperated by his friend's unhealthy, work habits.

"Found it!" Emil said from the end of the room, showing his notes. Richter nodded and turned to Marta for one last quip:

"By the way, in case you two do anything, please clean up the room afterwards. I have enough hormonal students working on the labs as it is," although his tone had been completely serious, his smirk played it off as he saw Marta blush a red brighter than his hair.

Without saying anything else, Richter left room, Emil coming right after him, giving a brief "bye" to Marta and running to catch up to his friend. The brunette was actually quite glad her crush hadn't noticed because her thoughts couldn't steer off from the direction Richter had sent them…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

"… and according to last year's projections, our investments on the mining of the Toize Valley mountains have been draining a significant part of our remaining profit."

"Still, I don't think it would be a good idea simple to dismiss it. The engineers have confirmed there are rare ores in those mountains that can't be found in any other regions."

"However, if the mine continues to drain our resources like this, we might have to draw revenue from other projects."

The discussions went back and forth like it always happened on meetings of the Lezareno Administrative Council. Each member defending their view point on the several business the company invested in. Regal Bryant heard all of them and tried to concile the different arguments in a way that would please all those present.

Such a task, of course, was impossible in practice, but that was part of the deal in the administrative world; sometimes you had to go with what would please the majority, while making it sound like you also agreed with the minority.

"I'll visit the mines and give it my personal review," Regal spoke as part of his strategy to get the members to calm down. "Depending on what I see on site and how the mining operations are going, we'll then draw up an action plan for the next semester."

After that, all members were dismissed. Regal went back to his office and sat on his chair. One of few advantages of being a multinational company President that he wouldn't open hand of was the (admittedly) comfortable, swiveling chair.

The intercom on his desk then beeped, his secretary informing him that his wife was waiting to see him. Regal answered with a "Let her in" while smiling. He got up as the door to his office opened to show his wife, Alicia Combatir, dressed in a nice black and white dress he had given her in their two-year anniversary.

"Hello darling. To what I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Regal said, standing up, taking her hand and kissing it. Alicia giggled.

"Ever the gentlemen, dear. One day I might get used to this," Alicia replied.

"Then I'll just have to double my efforts."

They exchanged a chaste kiss as Alicia smiled animatedly at him. She told the President she was going to visit her sister and was leaving this night. When Regal asked why, she said there was something she wanted to tell her.

"May I ask what it is, or is it one of those 'girl secrets'?" he joked.

"Curious, aren't we?" Alicia answered with a smile and a glint on her eyes that confused him, but didn't elaborate the details.

Even after being married for years, the female mind would forever remain a mystery to the Lezareno President.

"So, is everything set?" Regal asked.

"I already contacted her this morning. George agreed to take me there," Alicia said, refusing any refreshments when Regal asked if she wanted something. Alicia giggled again, which confused Regal slightly before she pointed out with playful mirth:

"Oh, so I'm not allowed to even take you there because of some secret…"

"What is it? Is that jealously I hear in your voice, Mr. President?"

Regal flushed a red shade as he quickly composed himself.

"No, of course not. A true gentleman never feels jealously."

The effect was ruined by his still-present blush, which only made Alicia's laugh. Regal smiled. That had been his intent, although he was genuinely curious as to what would require Alicia to go all the way to Ozette.

"To answer your question, Mr. Gentleman… I'm waiting."

The pink haired young woman left it hanging at that. Regal waited for her to continue. Alicia sighed at seeing he didn't get the hint, but simply smiled again as she brought her hand to her stomach and gently caressed it.

It finally dawned on Regal what she was saying and his facial expression went from understanding to surprise and finally pure, unbridled joy as he got up and ran to his wife, hugging her. He had not felt this happy since the day of his marriage.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

It's what you've dreamed, isn't it…

This is the life you've wished…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Sheena was overseeing the training of the new recruits. This new batch was greener than the one before, but she took that as a sing that her granpa thought she was doing a good job.

She dismissed the class as the day came to a close and left for the central house in the village, passing by the brothers Kuchinawa and Orochi, greeting them. The village had experienced a period of expansion during the time she took up the mantle of Successor. Some took it as a sing that she was destined for great things.

Sheena didn't think so, although she wished it to be true. She just wanted to give her best to make everybody proud.

When she arrived at the main house, she was received by Tiga, who said the Chief wanted to talk with her. Sheena went to the main room, sitting on her knees in front of the current Chief of Mizuho, her grandfather. After the two exchanged the customary meeting gestures, Igaguri went right to business:

"Sheena, you have been studying the summoning arts for quite some time. Do you feel confident on your capacity of performing them?"

"I would say so, but I don't really know, considering I haven't attempted a pact at any spirit yet," Sheena answered.

"In that case, would you be willing to try and make part of an effort we are putting up?"

"'Effort'?" Sheena repeated, confused.

"We are attempting to stablish a contract with the Summon Spirit of lightning, Volt…"

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Things that could be, but the world won't allow to happen…

I'll give you these dreams and take away your nightmares…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Zelos was having some tea with his sister in their mansion at Meltokio. Sebastian was serving it as was the custom for their afternoons.

The red head and his half-sister Seles had been living together ever since he discovered her existence and, even though there was some altercation with the nobles, considering Seles was conceived outside of Zelos' father's arranged marriage, they managed to make the nobles back off using the Wilder's station.

He could say his life had definitely been enjoyable and less boorish with his sister around…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

I'll show you the lives you desire…

¬- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Raine taught Archeology at Sybak Academy as a means to sustain herself and her hobby of traveling around the world, looking for new sites and relics.

She had to drag Genis with her sometimes, otherwise he would be cooped up in his room working on projects and forget to actually interact with the outside world, but she knew he secretly enjoyed their time together.

They only had each other to rely on after all…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

That is my duty…

Colette's eyes opened up suddenly and she sat up… on the grass?

As her mind slowly caught up with what she was seeing, Colette realized she was in some kind of hill sitting near a large tree, which was shadowing her. It was a nice place, with a gentle breeze and the smell of fresh dew… the only question was how she got there.

Last thing I remember was the Tower of Salvation… and Mithos and Cruxis… that last thought brought a huge weight upon her heart.

Cruxis. The church. Everything she had been taught at school and had even put some belief in since her childhood… it was all fake. Just another one of the demons' many deceptions.

She remembered that when she realized it, while Mithos was talking… no, gloating to them, she had felt so… angry. She had never felt this much anger before in her entire life, not even when she was faced with Nebilim, who was probably the responsible for everything happening in the world.

But that was to be expected. Nebilim was supposed to be evil. Cruxis was supposed to be the guardian angels that protected people from said evil… and they were nothing more than wolves in sheppard clothing.

Maki… the people of Iselia… Meltokio… Presea… they all died. They died for a lie.

"Wait," Colette exclaimed to herself as she remembered: Presea was not dead!

"Colette," a known voice called out for the girl, making Colette look up so fast it was a surprise that her neck didn't snap.

There, smiling that beautiful smile at her was Presea in her full, adult glory. The sunlight streaming through the leaves bathed her form, giving her an almost ethereal glow, even though she was still using those dark, form-fitting clothes.

Colette got up slowly, worried that this was just a dream and if she moved too sudden Presea would disappear. She called the pink haired woman, who responded with another one of those beautiful smiles.

The blonde's vision started to get blurry. She ran to the one that she had once thought gone and as she finally reached the pink haired woman, she threw her arms around her and squeezed her with all her strength. Thankfully, Presea was strong enough for it.

The Warrior of the Deep Abyss reciprocated the desperate hold with a gentle one, rubbing her back in an affectionate way that transmitted comfort.

"Presea…" Colette whispered.

"I'm here, Colette. As I will always be from now on," Presea reassured her, sitting the two of them on that peaceful scenario.

Colette had so many things to say. So many thoughts she wanted to put into words; like how she felt when she had Presea's severed… better not to think on that. Still, she had to say something. What happened before showed her that they could die at any time and who was to say that any of them would come back like Presea had.

The blonde looked up at the grown-up woman. There was something definitely different about her. Something that brought out thoughts on Colette that under most circumstances would make her blush. She tried speaking, but a finger was put upon her mouth, silencing her.

"Let us not discuss these bad things, ok?" Presea said, that stunning smile still in place. "Instead…" she removed her finger and, in a gesture that definitely made Colette blush, put it in her mouth and seemed to suck it.

Colette's thought process came to a halt.

Did she just… ? Does she… "Um… Presea?" Colette asked.

The pink haired woman only smiled and suddenly the scenery around them changed. They were no longer in a hill, reclining against a tree, but in a luxurious bedroom, with Presea and her lying in a very comfortable, queen-sized bed.

"Uh? What… ?" Colette looked around, confused.

"Don't worry," Presea said, hugging the girl against her. "Here, nothing can hurt us. We are completely safe."

Colette could feel all the stress and exhaustion finally catching up to her as she stayed there, in Presea's protective arms. She nuzzled against the reincarnated Shadow and closed her eyes, feeling drowsy.

"You can sleep, Colette. I'll make sure you only have good dreams…" was the last thing Colette heard before succumbing to sleep.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

You can't like me…

Marta opened her eyes and looked around, having dozed off in class again. She tried not to, but the teacher's voice was like chloroform.

Lately, she's been hearing these… "voices" was the only way she could think of describing them. Strangely, when she heard it, she thought of Emil, though she didn't know why.

Shrugging, Marta waited for the class to end before going to Emil's lab. She finally managed to convince him to go out with her (omitting the part of this actually being a date. The poor boy probably would have gotten to flustered to say anything) and spend the day outside of that dusty, old lab.

Maybe she also could finally…

Marta's mind did loops on that thought as she approached the door to the laboratory.

Shortly before Marta opened the door, Emil had been writing down some notes to distract his nerves from the imminent thought of the outing he and Marta would have. That morning he had been mulling over what he should dress and how he should behave, almost driving himself to a panic attack. It took him a good half of the day and doing some experiments for him to calm down.

Wake up…

Emil looked up and around the room. He could swear he had heard somebody whispering to him. Again. Shrugging, Emil went back to his notes before the door opened.

"Hi. Ready yet, Emil?" Marta asked with a sunny smile on her face.

"Oh, Marta. Ehh… just a sec," he quickly organized his papers before getting up and taking off his lab coat. "S-so… where are we going?"

Marta's smile seemed to say "you'll see" as she grabbed his hand and dragged him out, closing the door behind them.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with the two of them in several shops and a local café in which Marta asked for a sundae for them to share. Emil blushed a scarlet tone when the waitress brought only one spoon, resulting in the brunette feeding the blonde.

As they talked during the rest of the day, Emil managed to calm down, as they did nothing too out of the ordinary. Although there was the fact that Marta was clinging to his arm and leaning her head on his shoulder, which made his bodily temperature raise considerably.

C'mon, wake up...

Emil looked around again, but seeing no one once more, shrugged and went on with his (and here he swallowed dry) date.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Lloyd had an embarrassed smile as he got up on the stage and heard his mother's praise. He would have tried to convince her not to come to the graduation ceremony of the City Guards recruits, but he rather liked not having his eardrums busted by a ranting Anna. The other recruits might snicker at him, but he knew he would eventually show them who would laugh at the end.

The Mayor came to his stand and congratulated the graduates as the senior guards present deliberated on which division each recruit would go to. To nobody's surprise, the younger Aurion had made it, into the same division his father was on.

When the admittance ceremony was concluded, there was a time for the newly instated guards to talk with their families before being briefed by their superiors on their first assignment. Lloyd approached Anna, who immediately smothered him in a bear hug, saying how proud she was of him. She brought him to Noishe, who was waiting near the entrance to the base.

His dog licked him, as if to say "Congratulations!" and while Lloyd tried to get the overgrown canine off him, his father approached the rest of the family.

"Hey dad. What did you think?" Lloyd asked.

"You've certainly improved these last days. I am proud of you," Kratos said.

"Heh. It was thanks to you, of course."

"No need to be so humble. I only refined part of what you already had. The rest was all on you, Lloyd."

Kratos could only smile at his only son as Lloyd scratched behind his head. The dual swordsman was pretty easy to embarrass.

"Dear. There's no need to embarrass Lloyd like that," Anna spoke up. "If I remember well, there was a certain member of the guards who got pretty jittery when he was about to get his promotion," Anna fired back.

Kratos didn't say anything, not even trying to deny that. Either way, his wife won. She always won in these situations.

"Either way…" he turned to his son. "Private Irving, your first duty is a joint patrol with me on the forest up north. There have been reports of monsters near the ruins and our forces have been stretched thin to try and cover the whole terrain."

"Wait. Are you sure it's a good idea, da… I mean, Captain Aurion, sir. I'm just fresh from training," Lloyd said.

"Those are orders from above, not from me."

"Is the situation that bad?" Anna asked. Kratos merely nodded.

The number of monsters had been growing lately. Lloyd himself had been attacked three times in the last month. Nothing else than a few wolves, but there had been reports of bears and even killer wasps.

He wondered what was attracting so many of them.

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

When she woke up, the first thing Colette felt was the pleasant softness of… something. That something ended up being Presea's breasts, which she had been using as a pillow.

Colette blushed a crimson tone and would have delved into a string of apologies if it weren't for the pink haired woman saying it was fine.

"Do you want something, Colette?" Presea asked with an attractive smile. A smile never failed to mesmerize Colette.

"Um… where are the others, Presea? Are they ok?"

Colette had almost forgotten their friends. However, considering they were here (wherever "here" was) and Presea said it was a safe place, maybe she could see them.

"Yes, they are. They're here, with us."

"Can I see them?"

"Of course. But can't you wait a bit, Colette?" Presea's smile now became a little more anxious.

"Wait? For what?"

Instead of answering, the pink haired Warrior of the Deep Abyss lowered her lips until they touched Colette's. The blonde was surprised at the sudden kiss, but offered absolutely no resistance. She then felt Presea's tongue asking for entrance, which she gladly conceded.

Colette had some vague memories of doing something similar on the Tower of Salvation, but most of it was clouded by the adrenaline and euphoria of seeing the girl she liked alive, so she might not have been thinking straight at the time. Still, this was certainly a lot more enjoyable than before. It also made her think on how long it took for the two of them to do anything remotely romantic, even after they agreed to try and give a chance to a possible relationship.

When Presea finally disconnected their lips, Colette's cheeks were tinted pink and her heart was beating faster. The pink haired woman only smiled and went for a second serving of Colette's lips. Presea's hands began to roam the blonde's petite body, sparking a lot of different feelings on the younger of the two. However, when the reborn Shadow dipped her hands a little too low, giving a light squeeze, Colette let out what the pink haired warrior would call a cute "eep!"

The blonde leaned a bit away, breaking the kiss. Presea looked a little frustrated at that. Colette simply looked to the bed as she stuttered, her face redder than Zelos' hair:

"P-Presea… d-don't you think you're g-going a little t-too f-fast?"

Presea didn't answer, only looking at Colette. That glare was starting to make the girl nervous. Presea sighed and finally spoke:

"We're in the Dark Abyss." a minute passed before Colette figured out what Presea was talking about and even she did, it didn't make any sense to her.

The Dark Abyss was something of a bedtime story parents told kids who wanted to hear darker tales. Supposedly, it was a place of complete darkness in the depths of the world and those that fell in could never return to the light. You would forever fall into it, like a bottomless pit.

Surely Presea was kidding. There was no way such a beautiful place was some kind of dark, endless void…

except Presea's face didn't look like she was joking.

"But… we're…" Colette started.

"The Dark Abyss is Shadow's domain. As him, I have complete control over it," Presea said in the cold, analytical tone she used when explaining something. "I can make it look whatever I want."

"W-Why did you bring us h-here?!" Colette asked, her heart rate beginning to increase as she tried not to think of the stories she heard. Maki loved to spook her with varied versions of the tale.

"It is the only place out of the demons' reach. The only place we can be well and truly safe," Presea brought her hand up and gently touched Colette's cheek. "Where nobody is going to hurt you or the others ever again."

In that moment, something strange happened to the scenery around them. It seemed to blink out and was replaced by some kind of rocky valley or canyon, but it was so fast Colette couldn't take in the details before it was back to the bedroom.

"Please, don't try to break it with your powers," Presea said, her thumb caressing Colette's cheek and passing over to her lips. Her smile was absent, but her tone was soft. "It's not a pretty visage, but it's necessary."

"Neces…" Colette gulped.

Everything suddenly felt so cold. Presea felt a bit cold too. Colette didn't understand what was happening anymore. Why did she bring them here? Why did Presea look at her like that? She looked like she wanted Colette to simply accept everything without question.

"Why… was it necessary?" the Keeper of Terra's Oath finally gathered enough courage to ask that question.

Presea stopped caressing her face and let her hand fall down, sighing…

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Regardless of Emil's reservations, the date went well. After going through several stores and shops, Marta and Emil decided to end it with a nice view of the sunset on the Grand Tethe'alla Bridge. It was very… romantic... Emil wasn't sure. He was practically a pile of nerves during the whole thing, making sure that he wouldn't screw anything up.

Give him a test subject and guidelines for an experiment and Aster wouldn't even blink while conducting everything to the utmost of his ability. Thrown him into any sort of social function and ask him to socialize with other people and Emil would start to sweat, stutter and, worst case scenario, hyperventilate. In that order.

Marta, on the other hand, thought it had all been perfect. Deciding to be a bit bold, she grabbed Emil's hand and leaned on him until her head was on his shoulder. The heat emanating from his face reached her pretty quick.

"What's wrong, Emil? Your face is beet red," she asked, looking at him and giggling at his reaction.

"Um… uh… I… I… uhh…" Emil continued repeating those mumbles on loop.

Oh-oh. I think I broke him. Marta thought with a bit of mirth. She could make things go a little faster, but she was sure if she did, Emil would probably have a heart attack. The poor boy was just that helpless in these situations.

Emil tried to calm down. Breathing in and out, counting down from ten. He did all the breathing exercises he could recall to calm down. Now was the perfect time to confess to Marta, since they were alone and there would be no interruptions. Aside from his own nervousness, that is.

He knew how Marta felt about him (she practically broadcasted her feelings for him), but never had the courage to tell her he felt the same. Emil simply didn't know what to do in this situation.

˜M-Marta..." he spoke. The girl in question looked at him with curiosity and a smile. "Ther... there's... something I wanted to tell you."

While Emil was mentally preparing himself, Marta's eyes widened and her mind went on overdrive:

Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Is he seriously going to... ? she dearly hoped it was what she thought.

Sorry, but you should stop now. a voice echoed in both their heads, making them pause. As sappy as this is, it would mean nothing in the end.

The would-be lovers turned to the bridge's end, somehow knowing the voice was coming from there, and saw...

"Emil?" Marta let out.

It was Emil, but... Emil was right beside her. Plus, this one was dressed differently; blue clothes with golden and dark details and his eyes were of a crimson color.

"Who... who are you?" Emil asked, his voice taking on an assertive tone as he took a position in front of Marta, as if to shield her.

Telling you would be futile. Emil's twin spoke. His mouth moving, but the words sounded distant and echoed in their heads. A dream is a self-contained prison that will repel anything, unless you want to see through it.

"Dream?" Emil repeated.

"What's happening? What are you talking about? Why do you look exactly like Emil?!" Marta asked.

The doppelganger looked at Marta with sad, crimson eyes, making her momentarily surprised at how worn out and tired they looked. This person looked like somebody who had seen too much.

I can show you, but... once I do, this dream will end.

The couple was confused by that person's choice of words. Why did he keep talking about a dream and a prison? Before they could further question, the doppelganger approached Emil and... phased through him. To the blonde researcher, it was like the world had stopped and had static filling it. Memories rushed into his head and with them feelings.

Pain... intense...

Despair... Loss...

Hatred... Betrayal...

Burden... Guilt...

Pain... Guilt...

Identity... Guilt...

Guilt... Guilt. GUILT!

Emil feel on his knees. Memories of another existence, another life, coming to him. So different from his own, but feeling like his all the same. Emil started tearing up as he looked at his hands, one word coming to his head:

Ratatosk.

"Emil?!" Marta exclaimed at seeing her crush start crying tears of blood. She turned to the Emil-twin and demanded. "What did you do to him?!"

The doppelganger looked down, before looking back up at her, his expression becoming a steely one as Marta took a step back. The stranger then started walking towards them. Marta gasped and put herself between Emil and the stranger.

I'm sorry... Marta... the Emil-twin said with a voice filled of sadness and... longing? Before Marta could think on it further, the stranger phased through her as well.

In the same fashion as Emil, Marta was assaulted by memories and feelings of a life that seemed so different, yet felt just as hers as the ones she was living now.

Running... Fighting...

Truth... Hurt...

Desire... Guilt...

Protect... Sadness...

Love... Fear...

Feelings and images passed through her for what seemed like hours before she too fell to her knees and started crying at being remembered who she was and what her family did to an Aselia so much like this one.

"E-Emil..." Marta started, crying. She could feel the young man turning to look at her. "This..."

It was all so surreal. It all felt so painful. She instinctively knew if she spoke the words it would all be over, but...

"Marta..." Emil called, putting his hand on her shoulder, in a reassuring manner, despite also knowing what was about to happen.

"This is only a dream..."

As soon as she said that, a large drop of... something fell on her legs. She looked bellow right in time for more to fall. It was a black liquid with a consistency that reminded her of tar and... and the entire bridged was leaking it.

Emil and Marta saw the entirety of the bridge leaking the tar-like substance as it started to moan and grind like it was coming apart. They felt themselves sinking and realized the floor was melting into that substance.

"Oh no..." Marta let out. "Emil, I'm so sorry! This..."

"No. It's my fault! I..."

Suddenly the bridge came apart, breaking and throwing them into the ocean. Except said ocean was composed of the tar-like substance. They screamed as they plummeted and fell into it. The couple tried to fight, but only managed to sink more into it. The metal beams and cables falling on the tar ocean created waves, burying the couple under a black rain.

They felt themselves drowning. They couldn`t breathe as it only got more of the liquid down their throats. All Marta and Emil could do was to try and reach for each other's hands as they drowned in a sea of dark...

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Why did you do this?

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Colette looked to Presea in confusion. The pink haired woman had suddenly stopped, her eyes widening as she brought her hand to her chest.

"Presea? What's happening?" Colette asked.

"They broke it…" the Warrior of the Deep Abyss replied. Colette only continued to look at her in confusion before Presea turned to her. "They broke their dream."

"Dream? What dream?"

Colette started to fear again for her friends.

"The dream that I projected for them to live on…"

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Marta's eyes shot open as she practically jumped in place, taking large bouts of air. She could still feel her lungs burning as if they were filled with the tar-like substance. As she finally regained enough of her bearings to realize she was not dyeing anymore she looked around… and immediately she wished she hadn't done so.

All around her the background was darkness, infinite and never ending. She could see her body and the lines of something that looked like rocks all over the place. They were shades of a brown so dark that Marta didn't know if there was a tone to classify them. Bellow her, the floor was that same tar-like substance she had drowned in. She jumped and transformed in her Spirit Form, trying to fly.

It didn't work. It was like something was holding her down. Waves formed as her feet hit the surface of the liquid without sinking in it, much like the water floor of the Twilight Palace, but Marta was in too much panic to make that connection.

A hand descended upon her shoulder and Marta jumped again, taking out her weapon and ready to defend herself when…

"Marta!" her spinner blade stopped short of cutting Emil's face in half.

"E… Emil?" she let out.

The blonde gulped as he slowly raised and closed his hand on Marta's arm, lowering it as he looked at the brunette girl.

"I… I'm fine."

"EMIL!" Marta threw herself at him, hugging the young man like he was a life line. She felt relived at seeing she wasn't alone anymore on this place. "I was so scared!"

She felt like crying. Remembering everything. Waking up to this scary place. She could now feel the pain she felt in that strange… world?

"Emil."

"Yes?" the blonde asked, hugging Marta back, trying to calm her down her.

"Are you angry?"

There was a bit of silence. Then Marta felt something change in the air, a wave like some kind of heartbeat washing over her. That was when she heard Emil answer in a voice so like his, but different at the same time:

"I should be asking you that," as he leaned back, Marta saw the crimson eyes of Ratatosk. "To release you, I had to break your dream. Remind you of all the bad things in your life," Ratatosk let out a chuckle with absolutely no mirth in it. "I bet you would rather have stayed there… happy with Emil."

Marta wanted to say he was wrong. To tell him to stop putting himself down like that. That she would have done the same to release Emil from that prison. She opened her mouth… only for no sound to come.

She didn't know what she would have done. She didn't know if she would have taken the initiate and broken… whatever that was. Ratatosk was right. She had been happy there.

That was her dream; living a normal life with Emil as a part of it and going on a date and having him confess his feelings for her. No disgraced and ruined lineages weighting on her back. No guilt over what her grandparents had done to the world. No worrying if she would ever have the chance to grow old enough to make a family with the one she loved. No feeling like she had to choose between two different people that were essentially the same. All she ever wanted. All she ever dreamed.

All that would never come to pass on this world…

"I thought so…" with that, Ratatosk closed his eyes and, as Marta felt another wave in the air, opened them to show they were an emerald color. Emil didn't speak anything further, knowing that, as much as they wanted to argue, as much as they wanted to tell otherwise… Ratatosk was right.

They would have stayed there willingly, had those memories never surfaced again.

"Lord Ratatosk!" they were called out of their thoughts by the voices of Tenebrae and the other Centurions approaching.

"Guys…" Emil spoke at seeing them again.

"I'm so glad you're both fine, my Lord, Lady Marta!" Ventus said.

"We tried everything we could to wake you up, but nothing worked!" Ignis said in a distressed tone.

"The others too aren't much better," Glacius said in a mournful tone.

"'The others'?" Marta repeated.

The Centurions turned to look back and it was then that Emil and Marta noticed their friends. It was strange they hadn't been able to locate them before they were pointed out, but the two ruled it as being some kind of spell of this place.

The whole group of reincarnated Summon Spirits, sans Presea and Colette, were standing over some runic circles, their eyes closed, as if they were sleeping. With the exception of Lloyd and Kratos, everybody had their own runic circle. There was also some crimson lines going from the center of these circles and extending until they could no longer see them.

Emil was about to go to them when Tenebrae floated on his path.

"I wouldn't recommend it, my Lord. If either of you touch them you'll be trapped inside their dreams," Tenebrae warned.

"'Dreams'? Tenebrae, what is happening here?" Marta asked, her worry at the situation manifesting again. "And where are Presea and Colette?!"

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

"Why did you do that?!" Colette asked after Presea finished telling exactly what happened to their friends.

Most of what Presea told her went in over her head. Dreams that were actually visions of other worlds… other possible lives… the Dark Abyss connecting them all. Those were the few phrases she could catch, the rest sounded more like some theoretical babble that she couldn't make heads or tails of. Raine could probably understand it and explain it in a way Colette would understand.

However, that wasn't either here or there. The fact was Presea cast a spell on their friends and put them into some sort of illusion that they believed was a dream come true.

And she did all of that willingly. No coercion or anything from anybody.

"I don't understand. Why would you do this? Presea…" Colette looked at her with a pleading look. "Please, tell me that's not what you meant."

"I gave them the live they deserve, Colette: a happy life," Presea said, seeming to get worried at Colette's expression. "I only did it to make them happy."

"Make them happy?!"

Presea seemed to look everywhere, but her face, as if trying to find a way to explain this without getting Colette even more upset. Presea finally seemed to relent and spoke:

"Colette, how was your life until you met all of them? What did you experience?"

Colette thought on that. Her life before meeting them…

She could barely remember most of her childhood, just some blurry memories of her mom running from demons. She couldn't remember het time on Mizuho before Nebilim and the demons invaded and burnt it to the ground. Her most recent memories were of Phaidra and Frank in Iselia, making new friends... until she was banished and her friends killed.

"Your live was a succession of tragedies with brief periods of happiness which were soon destroyed together with everything you accumulated until them," Presea spoke, as if reading Colette's thoughts. "You can't build anything without the fear of it getting taken away from you, either by demons or by the people you are supposed to protect as a Summon Spirit.

"Everything was taken away from you, Colette, again and again. And it isn't just the demons, but the very people of this world that are making you sad. They made Aselia as rotten as it is, they cast you away without a single through and they will continue to make you suffer, be it now or in the future. They don't deserve your kindness."

"That's not true!" Colette protested. "Not everybody is like that. People deserve a chance to…"

"Even people like Nebilim and Mithos?"

Colette opened her mouth and closed it without uttering a word. She wanted to tell Presea that she was wrong, but she could only think back at what she said to the blonde not-angel back at the Tower of Salvation:

I… hate you…

That had been the first time she had ever said those words. Looking back, it felt kind of alien, like somebody else had spoken it in her place. But at the same time, she also felt she had no intention of taking them back.

"Colette…" Presea called, making the blonde look back at her. "There are some things you must know about this world…"

- / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / -

Marta and Emil could only look at the Centurions as they finished explaining about the spell cast on their friends.

Essentially, Lloyd and the others were trapped inside a vision of alternate versions of Aselia (the term "dream" being used as a way to convey it wasn't real enough to say they literally traveled to another world) where they were living the lives they always wanted to have. The brunette remembered her experience and if these "dreams" were anything like the one she and Emil had, she could say it definitely was an ingenuous way of trapping them.

"So, how do we release them?" Marta asked. "Do any of you know a way to undo the spell?"

"I wouldn't recommend that," Tenebrae advised. "Spells as intricate as this can have disastrous side-effects for the victims if they are undone incorrectly. We could permanently lock their consciousness inside their own minds."

"And none of us have the slightest idea of what kind of enchantments were used in this instance," Solumn spoke. "Plus, the Dark Abyss may have some part on maintaining the spell."

"How did you and Lord Ratatosk get out, Lady Marta?" Ignis asked.

Emil told them, recalling their "day" in the dream until Ratatosk started trying to communicate and later appeared in front of them. Marta remembered having all their worst experiences and memories coming back to her before they realized that what they were living in wasn't real.

"How did that even work in the first place?" Glacius asked, shaking her head in confusion.

"Maybe the spell didn't work because there's two of boss in his head," Lumen guessed.

"That… actually may be the case," Ventus spoke, making every Centurion (sans Lumen) look at him. "Yes, I know I just said Lumen may be right. No need to look at me like that."

"Wait. But didn't that broke their dream?" Ignis asked, sounding progressively horrified. "Does that mean… ?!"

"Um… what are you guys talking about?" Emil asked.

The Centurions turned to them with grave expressions upon their animal/humanoid faces. Marta could already tell that whatever they were going to say wasn't pleasant.

"It means you'll have to enter in their dreams and break them. One by one," Solumn said in a somber tone.

Marta didn't like the sound of that. She didn't like that in the least. She was almost afraid to ask for confirmation and she could feel Emil stiffening besides her, his face showing the same dread she was feeling.

Seeing they wouldn't speak, Ventus was the one to hammer the nail in:

"This spell is specifically designed so you voluntary stay inside the 'dream' presented to you, making it seem like it is reality. However, like most dreams, should it become a nightmare, you might realize what it really is and will want to wake up from it."

"But… won't t-that… hurt them?" Emil asked, from his tone, he feared what the answer might be.

"Emotionally, yes. It'll be just like having your dearest dream twisted into something you dread until you only recognize it as a nightmare. Trust me, I saw it happen before," Tenebrae said. He might have made a joke out of it, but (contrary to Aqua's claims) Tenebrae wasn't that insensitive.

"Then we have to find another way!" Emil's voice took on an imperative tone, which Marta rarely heard he use. "If breaking their dreams will result in that, then we should…"

"Except there is no time. My Lord, I don't like this as much as you do, but think about it: the one that put you and Lady Marta into your shared 'dream' is bound to have realized you are now free. They will come here and probably try to put you back. We don't have the necessary time to find another way or even test how to undo the spell."

Emil clammed up at seeing Tenebrae pointing out the obvious. This was their only viable option. However, he still didn't want to follow it through, that much was visible to Marta. But if the one that put them there was who she thought it was…

"Maybe… we could try and talk to them when they come?" she suggested.

"And what if they aren't willingly to dialogue?" Glacius asked. "You'll have wasted breath, time and another dream from which you'll have to wake up from by possible the same means as before. Do you want to feel that again Lady Marta?"

No, she didn't. The worst part wasn't realizing she was in a dream, but the guilt she felt over willingly forgetting everything she and her family ever did to the world and Ratatosk over some fantasy life she idealized. She felt like she took the easy way out. Acting like all the bad things her family did never happened or mattered and that they never affected the world and Emil.

It felt like she had betrayed her beliefs.

"You don't need to go, Marta," Emil said, making her look up at him in surprise. His tone was somber. "I can go. With Ratatosk in my consciousness, I stand a better chance in these 'dreams'. You shouldn't dirty your hands with this."

She could swear she heard Ratatosk's voice overlap with Emil's at the last phrase. The offer to not take any part in it and not ruin her friend's hopes and dreams was so…

The Whirlwind Rider shook her head and took a step forward, grabbing Emil's hand and looking at him with all determination she could muster.

"I'm going in too!"

"But Marta…" Emil tried to protest, only for the brunette to interrupt him.

"I'm not letting you go alone. I'm… I'm not letting you suffer alone anymore."

There was a bit of silence after Marta said her piece. The girl looked bellow as if she could feel Emil giving her a sad look. He was about to protest again, when his Centurions beat him up to it:

"Do you realize what you are choosing to do, Milady?" Solumn asked, narrowing his reptilian eyes as the other Centurions focused their gaze on the couple. "Once you step into the dream, there is no turning back. You'll have to break your friend's hopes if you want them to escape it."

"Most humans wouldn't be able to live with such guilt. Some even lost their minds after performing a 'rescue' like this," Tenebrae alerted.

"Are you sure that is what you want? To burden this guilt?" Ventus queried.

Marat looked at them, one by one. She wasn't as ignorant as they thought. She knew very well the consequences of what was about to be done.

"Marta. Please…" Emil now practically pleaded.

She remembered; the look on his face; remembering how Ratatosk spoke about when he let the demons into Aselia; the constant look of guilt whenever she spoke with Ratatosk or with Emil about him nowadays; the way that he cried and regressed into his own shell after dispatching Verius…

Marta could swear she heard the tingling noise of a bell.

"I'm going, that's final," she said, looking him in the eyes. "I'm not letting you suffer alone… not anymore.

"Besides, it's not like I'm a stranger to feeling guilty about ruining people's lives…"