Nice to see you all again in the New Year everybody! Last time we were with Tenebrae, he witnessed the tragic dissolving of the Vanguard Special Unit due to the current Captain Scarlet losing her anger over Emerald questioning Brute's current plans and for siding with Marta. Helping the kunoichi escape with four of the other members, they are now bracing themselves to stand by Marta's side and aid her against those pursuing her life.

As Tenebrae returned to Marta's side, he wonder how she met the seven women who formed her squad, unaware that Marta's dreaming about her first meeting with them.

We're going to witness this first encounter after we check in on the Present day.

Topaz Bio

Hometown: Hima

Country: Sylvarant

Age: 22

Height: 5'5"

Weight: 195 lbs. (Due to her muscles)

Race: Human

Weapon: Gold Breaker (Arm Gauntlets and Leg Grieves)

Element: Earth

Vermillion Bio

Hometown: Unknown

Country: Unknown

Age: 21

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 140 lbs. (220 lbs. while wearing her armor)

Race: Unknown (Presumed to be Human)

Weapon: Sandstone Lancer and Amber Scale (Long Sword and Sheild)

Element: Lightning

Grass Field Outskirts [Present Day]

"Tragic" doesn't even begin to describe what Tenebrae witnessed that awful night. It was so bad that the Centurion of Darkness was relieved thay Marta was not there to see the anger and sorrow that occurred that night. Even Emil and the others were saddened at what became of Marta's old unit, all because of Scarlet's own anger and sadness overtaking her in addition to her loyalty to Brute.

"Marta... I'm so sorry for what happened to your Unit. This is my fault..." Emil said is shame. Granted, we wasn't there when it happened, but this whole chain of events all occurred when he as Ratatosk murdered Aster.

"No Emil, you're not to blame. It wasn't your fault at all. If anything, I should have at least said something to them looking back at things, but I also knew they would've tried to stop me back then too, so it's my fault my Unit fell apart the way it did." Marta said as she attempted to reassure Emil while admitting her own fault. She was their leader and she just left them without saying anything, knowing full well that she abandoned and failed them, especially Scarlet. This left Emil feeling worse as a result as he didn't want Marta to blame herself.

"You did what you had to at the time Marta. I only hoped you made things right with them." Presea said, hoping to cheer Marta up while expressing hope that she reconciled with everyone else apart from Emerald. This at least raised the young girl's spirits as Marta gave a thankful smile back, implying that Marta may have done so. Seeing Marta smile rose Emil's spirits somewhat as well.

"Besides Emil, you can't blame yourself for other people's problems, so cheer up, okay?" Zelos said as he nudged Emil slightly, earning a small smile from him in return. This too brought happiness to Marta herself.

"If it's okay to speak up, mind telling us a bit about the two who stood up to Scarlet? Topaz and Vermillion, right?" Sheena asked, wanting to know about the two women in question.

"Sure. To start, Topaz is a very dependable person. She's strong and very tough, to the point that she can break a boulder with no problem with her bare hands." Marta explained about Topez in great detail. Emil had already seen Rgela do so at the Ice Temple, but he did with a form of chi instead of his hands.

"As to where she's from, she told me she was born in Hima and ever sense she was five years old, she worked hard to be a strong martial artist. She trained and honed her own body into a powerful weapon as she told me. When I first saw her, I was shocked to see muscles on a women like her." Marta continued, expressing her genuine surprise and amazement at the women in question as most other girls she met are eitheir petite, voluptuous, big boned or chubby.

"I didn't think girls could develop muscles. I wonder how she did it?" Colette followed up, once again showing her innocent nativity as she never met a girl who had visible muscle definition, especially around the stomach.

"With enough hard work, anyone could develop visable and toned muscles to there body, including women." Regal followed, knowing full well that women could reach that point too, not just men. He hoped that the whole sexism will eventually fade away over time along with prejudice.

"A-anyway, Topaz is also something of an older sister to the younger members, including me. She's the kind of person to watch your back, no matter what." Marta continued, finishing up what she knew about Topaz. Everyone was revealed to hear that a member of the Special Unit didn't have a tragic past for once compared to Emerald and Scarlet. Selene is still on the fence though...

"And as for Vermillion, when she was with me, we didn't really talk about her past very much. She was always very mysterious, even more so then Richter. She didn't tell us where she came from and when she's with us, she always wore her vibrant orange armor, never showing us her face, even when we ate together." Marta said, describing the knight in question. This brought a sense of wonder among the group. This Vermillion woman sounded interesting. Raine and Genis couldn't help but listen intently for some reason, something that Tenebrae noticed...

"Yet despite all of that, she's always willing to interact with everyone. Calm, collected and loyal, she's something of a Lady Knight as she referred to herself as, pledging herself to be my 'sword and shield'." Marta explained as she finished describing her. Needless to say, Topaz and Vermillion sound like great people to meet, but everyone wondered if Marta ever learned more about the Lady Knight known as Vermillion.

"That reminds me, how did you meet those girls anyway?" Genis chimed in, pretty much asking the question everyone had, including Tenebrae; How did Marta meet the seven women who formed her Unit?

"Funny you should mention that. You see, when Tenebrae came back that night, I was actually dreaming about the very first day I met them." Marta said with a faint look of nostalgia, having an expression of happiness and a hint of sadness.

"If it's not too much trouble Marta, would you care to tell us about your meeting with them?" Emil asked his beloved, hoping that she's willing to deviate from her story to expand on her time with the people who would become her Unit.

"Sure Emil. It would at least give you more of an impression on them at least. I remember it as if it were yesterday..." Marta replied as she begin to recount her dream. The dream that flashed back to her first meeting with the girls that would become the Vanguard Special Unit...

Marta's Dream [Palmacosta - Vangurad HQ, Brute's Office, one year before Marta's defection]

*Knock* *Knock*

"Yes? Who is it?" Commander Brute Lualdi politely asked from the other side of the door.

"It's me Daddy." Marta replied to her father in response to him wanting to see her. Earlier this morning, Brute asked her to meet him in his office around noon to discuss something important.

"Ah Marta. Please, come in." Brute replied as Marta opened the door into his office. The office was built with brown wood floor and white stone walls, so the office wasn't dark, yet it wasn't bright either. Marta noticed her father was writing something, most likely paperwork.

Marta couldn't help but feel nervous around him. A year ago, Brute started to turn the Vanguard into something of a military unit which worried her as she didn't want people to resort to violent methods, especially since rumors of the Vanguard turning into "terrorists", although Brute said that they'll still protect the people of Sylvarant and won't do anything rash. Marta understood, yet still showed concern and hoped he wouldn't go too far.

Not only that, Brute became more overprotective with her lately. A year ago, he allowed Marta to partake on errands or small journeys in the past, but now he wanted her to at least be in Palmacosta or if she had to go out somewhere, allowed some of his own soldiers to accompany her, but never alone. Marta couldn't help but feel that he changed because of Lily's death.

"You said you wanted to see me arounf noon Daddy?" Marta said with a small smile. Overprotective and a bit more aggressive, Brute still softened in his daughter's presence and returned the smile back.

"Yes, I'm glad you came..." Brute said as he closed his eyes and rubbed the temples of his head a little bit. Naturally, this worried Marta...

"Are you okay Daddy?" Marta asked her father as he seemed to be in pain a little. She didn't want anything to happen to him as he's the only family Marta has left and she couldn't bear to lose her other parent. The heartbreak alone would be too much for her to deal with...

"Yes, yes, just a headache I've been dealing with lately... thank you for your concern..." Brute replied as he opened his eyes to look at his daughter.

"Please, have a seat." Brtue said to Marta as she took a seat to face him, hoping it wasn't too serious. The last time she came in here was due to an incident some time ago when she defended a boy from a Tethe'allan noble and she got hurt for her troubles, along with getting grounded for trying to pass it off.

"Thank you. So what did you need to speak with me about?" Marta asked her father, wondering why he needed to see her.

"As you well know, the Vanguard slowly grew quick in such a short time. I understand you still have your concerns, but we do need to be prepared to protect Sylvarant from Tethe'alla." Brute said to Marta, at least hoping she would understand.

"I... still don't like the idea of using violence, but if it means protecting our people, then I won't say anything further." Marta said outword to her father.

'At least, for the time being...' Marta thought inward, for as long as the Vanguard isn't actively being aggressive or violent to everyone and everything, she'll keep her reservations to herself for the moment. Marta only hoped her father won't do anything reckless as he said.

"Thank you for understanding. Now, at this moment in time, each of the major Units have a captain. Decus has recently been appointed as the Espionage Unit captain while Alice earned the position of Combat Unit captain as you well know." Brute explained to Marta, making sure she at least heard about the news. Needless to say, Marta had mixed feelings about the two. On one hand, she at least has a good acquaintance in Decus, but for some reason, Alice has something against her. To be fair, Marta wasn't fond of Alice's "Holier Then Thou" attitude, always being mean and ruthless. Marta even tried baking them cookies to at least try to make friends with them, yet Alice got mad at her saying she broke a tooth, hurting her feelings in the process. Now, Marta has heard that Alice beat up Hawk, the previous Combat Unit captain, and left a scar on his back that supposedly said "Alice's Pet". Needless to say, Marta's opinion of Alice was NOT looking good at all. Especially since Alice is the reason she got grounded some time ago, all just to harass her.

"Yes, I am aware." Marta simply replied. As much as she wanted to voice her concerns about Alice, she decided to give Alice a little benefit of the doubt, wanting to believe there's some good and kindness in her as Decus always told her.

"This came to me when we celebrated your fifteenth Birthday the other day... as sad as it is, the truth is I'm not going to be around forever and provided the Vanguard is still here, I at least want to know that you'll be taken care of..." Brute solemnly noted as Marta listened. Even though her heart sank upon hearing it, Marta knew what her father's saying is true. Eventually, all living beings must pass away, that much is true, but it's still disheartening regardless. On the other hand, Brute is right that if something should ever befall him, the Vanguard would have to turn to Marta for leadership, granted, she would have the Chief of Staff for assistance, but Marta wouldn't know what to do in regards to that. But then she noticed by that Brute wants her to be 'taken care of'. What did that mean? He didn't mean...!?

"Wait, you're not going to put me into a forced marriage, are you?" Marta said with a slight blush and a hint of unease. While she did want a boyfriend, she didn't want to be put into a forced relationship like that, for she truly wanted a boyfriend for love, not status or anything like that.

"What!? No! No! No! Nothing like that! *Ahem* Sorry for my outburst, but I would never force you to marry someone else you don't feel the same for. I apologize for giving you the wrong idea." Brute exclaimed before calming down to correct himself on the matter. At least correcting this double meaning made his headache go away.

"Whew... sorry about that, but what did you mean by 'taken care of' then?" Marta apologized before asking what her father meant.

"I know that you intend to help out the people of Sylvarant, but the fact that you don't know how to fight or defend yourself yet worries me. After recalling our last discussion, I've been thinking about some things. So until you learn how to defend yourself and that you'll be able to learn the responsibilities of leadership, I've decided to give you your own Unit." Brute said with a calm and confident smile, waiting for his daughter's response.

"Uh huh..." Marta let out slightly before closing her eyes, wanting to process what her father just told her. Eventually, her eyes snapped open in response...

"What!? My own unit!?" Marta exclaimed in shock and surprise at the bomb shell her father dropped as she stood up. Especially considering his reputation as being overprotective toward her.

"Hahaha! I somehow figured you respond that way. Yes, I decided to give you a Unit." Brute laughed light heartedly at his daughter's surprised reaction, knowing that surprising her is one of his strong suits.

"B-but, are you sure? I... I don't think I'm..." Marta nervously stutterd as she twiddled her thumbs. She didn't know the first thing about leading people outside of playing games with other kids her age growing up.

"I understand that you have your doubts, but you must learn to stand up on your own. At least this way, you can help out Sylvarant in a way you see fit with your Unit. Besides, you'll only have seven people in this group as to not overwhelm you. They'll be under your command and they'll also protect you until you learn how to defend yourself. Not to mention, it will help for you to have some friends around here as well." Brute explained to Marta, at least hoping to boost his daughter's confidence and have her try to fend for herself.

As Marta listened, she knew her father raised a point, she can't always rely on him and she will need to learn how to fight eventually. Besides, if these seven people can help her keep her safe while she learns to fend for herself in addition to helping the Sylveranti, it might be worth taking it. Not to mention that Marta could use some additional friends apart from Decus. Who knows, maybe this is a sign that he's easing up on his protective nature, like he was during Palmacosta's rebuilding.

"Okay, I'll give it a try, for you Daddy." Marta replied with a smile.

"Excellent. Your new Unit are currently waiting in the Mess Hall. I hope you'll work well with them going forward. However, if any of them do not meet what you want, don't be afraid to let me know." Brute explained to Marta as she got up out of her chair.

"I won't turn them away just like that, but I'll let you know what I think of them later. See you later Daddy." Marta said with a smile as she left the office to meet her new Unit. Despite her reservations and doubts, Marta had to admit she was excited as well to be trusted with something important, considering that she'll be able to show the people of Sylvarant that they're here to help people as intended.

Marta's Dream [Palmacosta - Vangurad HQ, Mess Hall]

Marta walked through the hallways of the Vanguard HQ as she took a couple of deep breathes, hoping to make a decent impression for her new unit. As she headed toward her destination, she couldn't help but wonder what kind of people they'll be like.

"Will they be like the other soldiers here? Or will they stand out in their own way?" Marta said to herself in regards to what they would look like. About 80% of the Vanguard looked virtually identical with the same outfit and masks they were. So far, only Brute, Richter, Hawk, Alice, Decus and Marta herself stood out appearance wise. Now that Marta is thinking about it, she noticed that there weren't that many women in the Vanguard. Yes there are some female Vanguard soldiers, but aside from Alice and herself, there wasn't anyone noteworthy to make mention of.

Eventually, she reached her destination, noticing the open doorway, but before she could walk in...

"Man, this soup is AWFUL! Who made this slop!?" Yelled a loud boyish sounding voice, yet still sounded feminine while hearing a fist slam on a table. Curious, Marta hid near the edge of the doorway and peeked insides to see seven girls sitting at a table.

"Geez, calm down... I know this soup is... less than desirable... but we should be thankful we HAVE food at least..." Said the women with blue hair and glasses, clearly trying to hide her disgust for the dish, trying to use the piece of buttered bread to make it taste better at least.

"I somehow figured the one put in charge of the mess hall wasn't a great cook to begin with..." Said the woman wearing orange armor and helmet. Her concealed appearance brought a sense of mystery to Marta...

"That's why I picked out an apple before coming here... at least apples always taste good..." Said the red haired girl with the jacket as she took a huge bite out of her red apple.

"I-I just hope the commander's daughter i-i-isn't mean or s-s-scary..." Said the girl with green hair as she was peeling a yellow apple with one of her knife-like weapons before cutting slices and eating a piece. It was that sentence alone that clued Marta in on one thing; these seven girls sitting at that table are her new unit.

'These girls are my new unit?' Marta thought in both wonder and a sense of disbelief. On one hand, Marta is thankful that like what her father said, he wasn't going to force her into a loveless relationship with a boy, but it looks like that yet again, he's still overprotective with her in regards to boys.

'Oh Daddy...' Marta thought to herself as she shook her head in regards to that fact, yet smiled regardless. She understood that it came from a place of love and that Brute doesn't want Marta to have a broken heart or feel down again like it did back then, but Marta intends to tell him someday to at least let her try to be with a boy she trusts her heart too. Besides, Marta COULD use some friends who are girls like her, so it wouldn't feel awkward being around a bunch of boys. She wasn't interested in being involved in a sausage fest anyway.

'Well, better not keep them waiting...' Marta thought as she pulled herself together and knocked on the wall to announce her presence, but before she could say anything as she was about to walk in...

"EEP!" Yelled the green haired girl as she accidentally threw her knife into the ceiling, which startled Marta before she even stepped into the room. The others couldn't help but notice the kunai impaled in the ceiling with a single apple slice stuck to the blade.

"You're easily startled, aren't you?" Said the girl with purple hair as she stared up at the ceiling, failing to notice Marta entering the room. Carefully stepping around where the knife is in case it fell back down, Marta spoke up...

"Um... sorry about that. I didn't mean to scare you..." Marta apologized to the green haired girl, giving a small wave at her and the other girls. This prompted everyone but the girl with black hair to face her, now noticing her in the Mess Hall.

"O-oh! Um, that's okay. Was that you knocking?" The green haired girl asked Marta.

"Yes. My name is Marta Lualdi. Daddy sent me here to meet my new unit and I'm guessing it's you and everyone at this table, right?" Marta asked the seven girls in particular and needless to say, this came as a shock to some and a relief to others as they didn't know what she would have looked liked.

"W-w-w-w-w-WHAT!? You're C-commander Brute's daughter!? Oh, I hope I didn't s-scare you with that!" The green haired girl yelled and stuttered in a panic as she realized the person they were meeting was right in front of them and their first meeting was throwing a knife into the ceiling out of fright.

"L-like I said, it's okay. Nobody got hurt..." Marta said as the kunai fell back down, cleaving the apple slice in two as it hit the floor. The cling made her jump a little, but nothing more than that.

"By the way, do you have a name?" Marta asked the young green haired girl, hoping to ease her anxiety. With that, the green haired got up from her table and walked over to pick up her knife. As soon as she retrieved it, she then faced her would-be captain.

"M-my name is Emerald. I am a kunoichi-in-training and I l-look forward to working w-with you, Miss Marta." The green haired girl named Emerald introduced herself with a calm salute. Needless to say, her cute behavior caused Marta to become endeared with her.

'She panics quite a bit, but she's a nice girl. I like that.' Marta thought as she turned to the others, who started to introduce themselves.

"You're actually pretty cute, you know? Anyway, the names Topaz! Pleasure to meet you!" The blonde haired women with blonde hair said as she ruffled her hand through Marta's hair with a wide grin. While Marta blushed from Topaz's compliment, she couldn't help but look at her from bottom to top, noticing how toned her body is despite her lean build.

'Whoa... I didn't think women could get muscles like that...' Marta thought to herself in surprise at how lovely Topaz looked. That's not to say the others looked bad either and while Marta has no intention of building up muscles herself, even she had to admit it internally.

"I am Vermillion. It is an honor to meet you Lady Lualdi and as of now, I will be your sword and shield." The woman in orange armor stepped forward introducing herself extending her hand.

"What's with the 'sword and sheild' thing? Anyway, it's nice to meet you too Vermillion." Marta giggled slightly as she shook the knights hand.

'I wonder what she looks like underneath her armor?' Marta wondered as out of the seven girls, Vermillion stood out as the most mysterious one.

"Hiya! My name's Lavender! I'm happy we'll be working together!" Said the girl with purple hair as she fiddled with her ball and smiled brightly at Marta.

"I feel the same way." Marta replied with a small wink at Lanvender.

'She's really cheerful. The Vanguard definitely needs more people like her...' Marta thought to herself in regards to Lanvender. Granted, Marta is cheerful and optimistic herself, but some of it drained with some of her father's more... "rough" tactics...

"My name is Azure. It's nice to meet you Lady Marta." The blue haired women said, pushing her glasses up as she respectfully bowed to Marta. Needless to say, it felt weird to see people just bow like that toward her.

"There's no need to bow like that, but thank you." Marta said humbly, not accustomed to this sort of thing.

'She looks like a real smart girl. I like that she's not arrogant about her intelligence.' Marta thought to herself in regards to Azure. Marta recalled in school that she meet a couple of genius students. Some were VERY rude, believing themselves suprior while others are incredibly humble and polite. Marta met both kinds on super smart people and is relieved that Azure is the latter. With that, only the red haired woman and the black haired girl remained.

"Come on you guys, we all introduced ourselves. You two do the same." Azure said to the two girls with the black haired girl standing up and turned to face Marta, causing both of them to look in surprise at each other. Naturally the other girls looked in surprise at how their faces looked similar now that they're seeing them together in the same room.

"You... look like me..." Marta whsipered out loud before shaking her head at what she said, feeling she was being rude.

"Oh! I-I'm sorry about that! I didn't mean it in a bad way..." Marta apologized to the girl who looked liked her, clearly not intending to make things weird between them.

"N-no, not at all. I feel the same way. My name is Selene." Said the black haired girl as she looked at the girl who shares her face with. It was like looking in a mirror that one could mistake them for twins.

'Well, mom once told me everyone has a look-alike in the world. She must be my look-alike and I hers. Yet, she looks lonely...' Marta thought about Selene, having now noticed how distant she is compared to everyone. She couldn't help but wonder is this is how she would've turned out if she didn't take the time to grieve for her departed mother.

"So, you're Commander Brute's daughter? Well, any family of his I will be happy to follow. My name is Scarlet." Said the red haired woman as she walked up to Marta and placed a hand on her shoulder giving her a gentle smile.

'She looks scary, but she's not that bad actually...' Marta thought about Scarlet as the tension quickly melted away. After looking at her, she felt nervous, but it's true what people say. Never judge a book by it's cover.

"It's nice to meet all of you. I hope we can all get along going forward." Marta said with a greatful smile as the seven girls (minus Selene) all smiled at her in return. The eight of them would form a new Unit within the Vanguard from this day forward.

Marta's Dream [Palmacosta - Vangurad HQ, Hallway]

Wanting to get to know her new Unit better, she decided to invite them to her room, something the seven girls didn't expect. Marta at least understood their reaction as they just met, but after she explained her reasons, they understood at least and on their way, they spoke a little bit about themselves to Marta and needless to say, Marta was amazed of their accomplishments.

"So, you're ninja Emerald? That's pretty cool." Marta replied in regards to the kunoichi's explanation.

"Thank you. I'm still learning as Master Azumi wanted to experience new things on my own for the next phase of my training. I figured helping the Vanguard fight off the prejudice people harming the Sylveranti might help." Emerald replied, explaing why she joined the Vanguard in the first place. Marta at least understood that Emerald's intentions come from a good place.

"And you're a martial artist?" Marta asked Topaz as she followed close behind her.

"Yup! Ever sense the two worlds merged, I travled around Tethe'alla to challenge some of their strongest fighters and I got to say, while the fighters are honorable, the nobles are huge jerks, so I joined to Vanguard to show the nobles not to look down on us!" Topaz said with a sense of confidence, but it relieved Marta that there are good Tethe'allans. Yes, Marta hated the nobles, but she has come to learn that NOT everyone in Tethe'alla is out for blood based on what Topaz said in regard to the Martial Artists in Tethe'alla. Marta noticed Scarlet grimace slightly upon hearing this.

"You alright Scarlet?" Marta asked the red haired woman, wishing to know why she doesn't seem pleased.

"Oh... I just have terrible experiences with Tethe'alla to the point that the idea of meeting good ones just seems... alien to me..." Scarlet admitted uncomfortably, having no intention to hide anything from her new captain.

"I appreciate your honesty, that's the reason me and Daddy founded the Vanguard. To make things better for Sylverant and show Tethe'alla that we can be equels. So we can establish peace between the two worlds." Marta replied to Scarlet, which melted the grimace off her face somewhat.

"I just wish we didn't have to use weapons, but I understand that sometimes we can't always be passive and eventually, I have to learn to fight myself." Marta continued, revealing her unease at the decision to use violence to resolve some problems.

"You have a good heart, young lady. Spoken like a true leader." Vermillion added on, sounding impressed with her words while rasing a hand up to her chin.

"Oh no... I'm far from that... you see... I don't like Tethe'alla that much and... I'm... not too fond of the Chosen of World Regeneration that much..." Marta admitted hesitantly to the others, knowing full well that she opened a can of worms there. She realized that she opened up TOO much due to how open the others are...

"You're not the only one... yes, the Chosen helped save the world along with the Heroes of Regeneration, but your not wrong in feeling that way..." Selene followed up, at least understanding where she came from.

"Wanna talk about it when we reach your quarters, Lady Marta?" Scarlet asked Marta, wanting to understand her captain and if she can, give her a shoulder to cry on.

"S-sure. Thank you." Marta said with gratitude as she and the others headed toward her room, all the while learning more about the others in the meantime.

To Be Continued...

Thus ends the first part of the Special Unit Origin. We now know that Marta got off on the right foot with the seven girls who would become the Special Unit. However, there is still more to this "flashback".

Join us next time as we see more of Marta and her New Unit's bonding time! We might even see them partake in official business!

UPDATE: Some minor editing to tie things with the Successors of Hope Novel.