Welcome back again everyone! Last time, we saw through Marta's dreams about how she first met the seven women who would become the Vanguard Special Unit, with their first mission a success.

With that, both Marta and Tenebrae's separate paths have caught up as Marta has awoken to the start of a new day and the next step of her journey. However, they have respective things they need to notify the other. How will it go?

After a quick return to the present, we'll find out.

Grass Field Outskirts [Present Day]

As Marta finished recounting her first mission with the Vanguard Special Unit, everyone listened in awe at how Marta was able to handle herself despite not knowing how to fight back than. To Emil and Tenebrae, it showed them that Marta always had that spark of courage deep within her and are proud to have learned that fact about her. Lloyd and the other Heroes of World Regeneration felt the same way, but they were all surprised to hear about one particular girl that Marta helped rescue...

"That's impressive you managed to save those women Marta." Emil said with awe and pride that Marta managed to complete her first mission, even though it was scary.

"Well, I couldn't have done it without Scarlet and the others. To be honest, it was scary and I really didn't do all that much to begin with..." Marta said while remaining modest as she knew that most of the plan is thanks to Azure.

"You did a lot more than you realize. You went into the tent to rescue those women and even went as far to knock one of their captors out and led them to safety!" Emil disagreed with Marta on the last bit as he listened to her recounting that part and than some.

"But Azure formed most of the plan to begin with. I laid out ideas and Azure ironed them out." Marta replied, knowing full well that Azure had a major part in working out parts of the rescue plan.

"Even so, it's not bad to rely on your friends for help. You all worked well together and saved people. You should be proud of that." Emil said once again and it made Marta happy to hear that, even if she didn't think so herself.

"Lord Emil is right Lady Marta. Even though the Vanguard lost sight of it's original purpose, you kept the original intended goal intact from what you have told us." Tenebrae added in agreement with Emil. With that, Marta took what Emil and Tenebrae said to heart.

"Thank you guys." Marta said with a thankful smile with Emil and Tenebrae returning the gesture with their own smiles. If there was one thing this journey gave them, is that in spite of their occasional head butting (especially Tenebrae's spiteful mischief), the three of them became great companions.

"Still, I didn't think that Chocolat was amoung that group of captives..." Genis chimed in, snapping the three out of thier discussion.

"You know Chocolat?" Marta asked, this time with no surprise compared to Nova and his family earlier as recalling this allowed her to put two and two together that they must have met her before.

"We met her during the Journey of World Regeneration at the Item Shop her family owned. We even had to rescue her and other captives from the Palmacosta Desian Ranch, but..." Genis explained before tailing off at the end, not having the heart to continue in regards to what happened. Marta then recalled what Chocolat said to her that she didn't accept help when she needed it in the past...

"I'm guessing when she said she didn't accept help back then, was it...?" Marta asked Genis nervously in regards to what transpired two years ago. She figured that they must have done something bad to make Chocolat not want to be saved by Lloyd and the others before realizing that it's most likely a sensitive topic.

"I'm sorry! Please, forget I said that!" Marta apologized to Genis, hoping to not make him or the others uncomfortable.

"No, you should at least know what happened back then. It's not something we like to remember, but..." Lloyd said as he recounted that two years ago, Genis' friend from the Iselia Human Ranch, Marble, was taken from her family in Palmacosta and made to work at the Iselia Ranch. After Lloyd was introduced to her by Genis and when she was being punished for seeing them, Lloyd intervened to protect her, but after being spotted on camera, The Iselia Human Ranch leader, Forcystus, forcibly removed Marble's Exsphere and turned her into a monster to attack Iselia, with Lloyd and Genis forced to defend themselves without knowing who they fought.

After the battle, Marble, briefly regaining her mind, would then sacrificed herself to protect the boys before they were banished by the Mayor. It was than Emil and Marta recalled what Iselia's Mayor said to them and now understood that Marble was the friend Lloyd tried to save and Marta, having put two and two together by listening to the story, realized that Marble is Chocolat's grandmother. After being rescued with the rest of the Palmacosta Ranch prisoners, Chocolat, along with Iselia's townspoeple, would later stand up for Lloyd and Genis against the Mayor when they returned to Iselia after learning the truth behind her grandmother's death from the other prisoners. It was something no one in the group liked to remember or hear about, but Chocolat and the townspoeple standing up for Lloyd, Genis and Raine touched their hearts more than they can imagine. Even Regal, Presea and Zelos could tell for sure and are proud of them for standing up for Lloyd, Genis and Raine.

"I'm sorry to hear about that. It must have been hard for you to do that." Emil gave his condolences in regards to what Lloyd and Genis did. It was no different then what Regal had to do with Alicia.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up..." Marta apologized in shame as she didn't intend to bring up a sore subject, but she now understood where Chocolat came from and what her words meant. How Marta viewed Colette was no different then how Chocolat viewed Lloyd and Genis. Yet despite all of that, Emil and Marta knew they didn't kill actually Marble deep down and like with Regal, understood why it happened, yet they wished that Lloyd and Genis could have saved their friend...

"It's okay Marta. We'd rather not keep you and Emil in the dark. Besides, Lloyd and I will always remember Marble for the rest our lives and... it's not like she's gone completely..." Genis said with a sad smile as he held up his hand with the Exsphere on the back of it with Lloyd and the others nodding in silent agreement. Emil and Marta figured that it must have been Marble's Exsphere if Genis showing it to them is any indication. However, there may come a day when Genis will need to part with it due to Exsphere's needing to be turned in, but Genis is prepared too when that day comes.

"Besides, all we can do now is make things better in the present. That's what matters, right?" Lloyd said to Emil and Marta as they nodded in agreement with small smiles. Like with Regal, they're still willing to place their complete trust in Lloyd and everyone else, with the two teens knowing what it's like to make mistakes and try their best to make amends for it.

"Anyway, Marta? What happened after Tenebrae met your Unit?" Zelos asked, hoping to make things less sad and depressing to get back on the main topic.

"Oh, right!" Marta chimed in response to Zelos' question. While she felt bad bringing it Chocolat and Marble, the fact that Lloyd and Genis were willing to explain despite Marta trying to put it down shows how much she and Emil has become close to them, and to them both, it meant a lot. Right now, she needs to continue from where she left off before telling them about her Unit's origins...

"When I woke up, I sat there for a moment before getting up to get myself ready for the day..." Marta said as she recalled a matter of importance as she and Tenebrae had big things to say and what their next plan of movement would be...

Forest Lake

After waking up and gathering her thoughts, Marta left the campsite to relieve herself, although she'd rather use a restroom as it's hard to pee standing up. After taking care of that, Marta walked over to a nearby lake to wash her face off. Feeling the cool, crisp water on her face was chilling, yet refreshing despite it taking the breath out of her. Marta than took a moment to enjoy the sounds of the lake and the forest, feeling at peace for a moment. About four minutes passed...

"Good morning, Lady Marta." Tenebrae said as he poofed in right next to Marta. While that would've have startled her twenty-four days ago, Marta's now accustomed and used to it by now.

"Good morning Tenebrae." Marta replied with small smile. While happy to see him, she was also neverous and anxious for a couple of reasons. For one, Tenebrae most likely has news on who would help her and Emerald or who would stand against them in regards to Scarlet and the others while also worried about Tenebrae's response about Nova having found out what they've been doing. Needless to say, it's better to tell him the truth then hide it, especially considering Nova's looking forward to meeting Tenebrae properly later today.

"Tenebrae... we need to talk." Marta said, wanting to get straight to the point and let him know. While Tenebrae was taken aback at first by Marta's suddenness, he proceeded to speak forth...

"Lady Marta, actually, I needed to speak with you first. In regards to your Unit, I feel it's very important." Tenebrae replied back as he felt that Marta needed to know the circumstances of what happened last night. Needless to say, this morning was gonna be rough for them both.

"Okay. I'll let you go first Tenebrae. What happened with Emerald and everyone else?" Marta asked, wishing to know what became of her fromer Unit in the Vanguard, at least hoping they (minus Emerald) haven't became as radical as her father.

"You may want to sit down for this Lady Marta. You see..." Tenebrae advised Marta as he began to recount the events of last night to Marta. Ultimately, aside from Emerald, the girls known as Azure, Topaz, Vermillion and Selene were more than willing to help Marta and even planned to reveal Alice, Decus and Richter plans to kill Marta to Brute in addition to agreeing that the Mana Cannon plan is going too far. On the other hand, while Scarlet and Lavender agree that killing Marta is wrong, they didn't like that they would have objections to Brute's plans to destroy Tethe'alla. Hearing all of this, along with Tenebrae recalling Scarlet's anguished fury at being left alone, brough sadness to Marta's heart as her sudden departure and speaking to Emerald broke her Unit apart...

"What... what have I done...?" Marta whispered to herself in dismay. Here she was, trying to prepare herself to revive a powerful Summon Spirit and stop her father's crazed ambitions, yet she allowed a group of people she unified get torn apart like this. It's like what Emerald told her, Scarlet took her departure hard. Way too hard...

"Lady Marta, you couldn't have know that Scarlet would have reacted this way..." Tenebrae replied in response to Marta blaming herself as the Centurion didn't want her to feel bad about what happened 24 days ago.

"No... I... I should have a least told one of them instead of just leaving them without a word. Maybe..." Marta rebutted back, feeling she didn't deserve reassurance. Did she regret saving Tenebrae and Ratatosk? No, of course not. Did she regret bringing pain and sorrow to her Unit? Yes, most certainly.

"Lady Marta, you know that if you told them, they would have tried to stop you... well, Scarlet and Lavender at least. Based on what I saw last night, I can say that Emerald, Azure, Topaz, Vermillion and Selene would have AT least given you the benefit of the doubt." Tenebrae replied, knowing that most of the Special Unit could be trusted as their conscience and friendship with Marta won over their loyalty to Brute.

"But, I wanted all of them to stay together and... my actions broke them apart. Daddy wanted me to be a great captain... and... I failed them..." Marta's voice cracked as her eyes started to water in sadness and shame at herself. Tenebrae didn't know what it was like to fail at leadership as he always followed Ratatosk, but understanding his position as a servent to a leader, he knew he what needed to say to Marta...

"Lady Marta, even though Scarlet and Lavender agreed with Brute, I can tell they truly wanted nothing bad to happen to you. Right now, they just need time to think about things. As for the others, I can tell that they want to understand why you left. Sometimes, desertion in a group can happen and even though your Unit has disbanded... you didn't truly fail if five of them are still willing to follow and trust you. That aside, the road to success requires you to fall and get back up as humans say." Tenebrae continued as he was making some genuine points. It sounded like Scarlet needs time to sort things out while Lavender needed the strength to stand up for what she believes is right. While it didn't make the sadness go away, Marta can tell Tenebrae made a point in that as long as there are people willing to follow and understand her, she can try and make things right. With that Marta wiped her eyes and gave a thankful smile to Tenebrae.

"Thanks Tenebrae." Marta said as she hugged the Centurion. While Tenebrae's not accustomed to it, he had to admit that it felt nice. As soon as she broke the hug, The Centurion of Darkness began to explain about Izoold and what the plan is...

"Long story short, I told Emerald and the others to head to Izoold. They should be there by the time we arrive there." Tenebrae said as he finished explaining the plan to Marta. Hopefully, everything will fall into place as the extra help will be greatly appreciated until they can find the Green-Eyed Boy.

"Then, what do we do with the firework Emerald gave me if they'll be at Izoold?" Marta asked as she pulled out the firewood from her pouch.

"For now, just hold on to it until we meet up with Emerald. Anyway, there was something you wanted to tell me, right? It sounded serious." Tenebrae replied before getting to what Marta was trying to say earlier. Marta felt neverous now...

"Tenebrae, please don't be mad..." Marta asked Tenebrae, earning a look of confusion before Marta explained what she meant by that. Marta told Tenebrae how one night when they snuck off from the campsite to train, May got up to pee around the same time they went. Then Marta revealed that May overheard them talking about Ratatosk and the Vanguard, meaning that six days ago, a young child of all people found them out and relayed it back to her father without eitheir the young girl or the Centurion knowing. With Nova bringing it up to Marta last night, Tenebrae realized that the jig was up.

"Oh... oh my... how embarrassing... to be found out like this..." Tenebrae groaned at himself for underestimating a little girl who just wanted to... "relieve" herself. Needless to say, Tenebrae was more disappointed than angry, which Marta can take as a good thing?

"I'm sorry Tenebrae, but I couldn't lie to him after he brought that up with me." Marta said while trying to explain herself as she didn't want this to be seen as betraying Tenebrae's trust.

"N-no Lady Marta, I apologize for not anticipating this. We Centurions never have to excrete waste and urinate fluids, so I never even considered a young child to catch us while doing that." Tenebrae said with an embarrassed apology and cursing himself for getting themselves caught at the most inconvenient time. Although, Marta could have done without Tenebrae referring to restroom duties like that. It's true about what he said, but the way he phrased it was gross, but that wasn't important right now.

"Y-you're not angry?" Marta asked Tenebrae, not certain if he was mad or not.

"Well, I certainly can't say this is good news, but I can tell that trying to lie to Nova at that point would have dug a deeper hole for us, besides it was best to do so anyway in this instance. Although I was at least hoping that they wouldn't know about us or our task once we left in six days." Tenebrae replied with an understanding tone, knowing that while Marta can hide things, she's not really a good liar and is terrible at it.

"Tenebrae, can we stay with them for the remaining six days? I... I want to see this through with them." Marta asked the Centurion, hoping he would understand and not jump ship so soon. After all, she didn't WANT to leave them after that heart to heart with Nova last night. This left Tenebrae at a loss for a moment, leading him to think it over for a moment until...

"W-well... if you insist. Besides, it will be nice to not remain silent for once..." Tenebrae followed up, respecting Marta's request while admitting his personal thoughts. He did want to speakxwith Nova about monsters for once.

"Thank you." Marta said with a smile with the Centurion giving an affirming nod.

"Come on, we better get back. I'm sure Nova and May probably told Sarah and Alduin about us by now." Marta said as she and Tenebrae proceeded to head back and introduce Tenebrae properly.

Caravan [Morning]

As soon as Marta and Tenebrae returned to the Caravan, they saw Nova, Sarah, Alduin and May getting everything set back up in the Caravan before preparing breakfast. If there's a time to tell Sarah and Alduin what May and Nova know, now would be a good time.

"Good morning everyone." Marta replied somewhat nervously as she approached them.

"Good morning Marta." Everyone replied as Sarah got out a cooking pot to make breakfast. Marta looked at Nova, who gave Marta an encouraging nod and smile. With that Marta took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Everyone you should all sit down. There's... there's something I need to... to tell all of you..." Marta said as everyone, with curious looks, sat down to hear what Marta had to say as she told Sarah, Alduin and May what she revealed to Nova about herself and Tenebrae. While they were surprised, like with Nova from last night, they weren't angry at her for hiding things and took everything she said.

They knew very well about the Vanguard and the abnormal weather that's been going on for two years now. Like Nova, they aren't very fond of the Vanguard, but they knew that Marta is a kind young woman who made the right choice to save Tenebrae and the being known as Ratatosk. After all, she risked her own life to protect Nova and Alduin from the monsters that belonged to this Alice person Marta mentioned

"I'm sorry for keeping things a secret like this." Marta said after she told them what she told Nova, wondering what they all thought on whay she revealed. Sarah then stood up before kneeing next to Marta and hugged her tight.

"No, I'm sorry you had to deal with all of that trouble following you and Tenebrae around like that. It must have been difficult for you." Sarah said as she gave her deepest sympathy to the young girl. In that moment, Marta felt as if Lily was there, comforting her after a hard day. Marta felt relief as she accepted it back with Alduin and May coming up to Marta.

"I mean, you saved me and my father from those monsters this Alice lady had, so you're not like those Vanguard guys!" Alduin said as he held one of Marta's hands.

"Yeah. You're so kind to us, it's hard to believe you would be a bad person." May said as she held Marta's other hand. In that moment, Marta felt really happy to have met people so open minded like this and it really felt like she wanted to cry, but she didn't, instead giving a thankful and warm smile for the family who accepted her from the start.

"Thank you..." Marta said as Nova looked on at the happy sight as they released a huge burden from her, hoping this will allow her to find trust with other people in the future. With that Tenebrae stepped forward and sat down. Sarah broke the hug as she and the kids walked up to Tenebrae.

"Tenebrae, why don't you introduce yourself this time?" Marta asked the Centurion of Darkness as he cleared hsi throat before speaking.

"Hello there. I am Centurion Tenebrae. You have my sincerest thanks for watching over us this whole time and I apologize for keeping things hidden from you." Tenebrae spoke to Nova and his family while apologizing himself. While they were a bit surprised, hearing him speak is still a sight to behold.

"I knew you could speak!" May said excitedly as she hugged him, surprising the Centurion.

"That's so cool!" Alduin said as he petted Tenebrae, much to his secret enjoyment.

"P-please, don't treat me like a dog." Tenebrae said sheepishly to the kids as Nova kneeled before him and offered his hand.

"It's an honor to meet you Tenebrae." Nova said with a smile as Tenebrae lifted his paw and made contact with his hand.

"It is nice to meet you properly too, Nova." Tenebrae replied as they shook hands with their official introduction. Afterward, everyone sat down for breakfast after Sarah made it, this time with Tenebrae joining in the conversation, sharing his knowledge on monsters with Nova, expanding their horizons further more, even confiming specific theories on monsters he and his family have been studying for a while. Marta had to admit that this was a nice change of pace for once.

As soon as they cleaned up, Marta and Tenebrae pulled Nova away to speak with him about Emerald and the others.

"So they are others who intend to help you?" Nova asked Marta in regards to her former Unit. While Marta earned his trust, he felt uncertain about the others, including Scarlet and Lanvender from what Tenebrae said.

"I understand if you don't trust them, but after the next six days, I do need to travel with them for a while. So, I hope you can bare with us a while longer until it's time to leave Izoold." Marta said to Nova, understanding his concerns.

"In the meantime, I hope we can dicuss more about monsters when we reach our next destination." Tenebrae followed up in response. Marta couldn't help but smile a bit.

"It's no issue at all, I'm just worried about those Vanguard people thay are after you." Nova replied. While his family is important to him, he didn't like the idea of people trying to take Marta's life for Ratatosk, who is currently bound to her head.

"It's alright. I made the choice to take Ratatosk's core to stop Commander Brute and the Vanguard's plans to begin with." Marta followed up as she came to terms with her choices and actions.

"Still, the fact remains that your standing up against an organization like that must be difficult. Especially with your father..." Nova said, not knowing whay it's like to oppose one's parent like this.

"However, I'm willing to give your friends the benefit of the doubt." Nova followed up as he put a reassuring hand on Marta's shoulder.

"Thank you Nova. I... just hope Alduin and May won't be too upset when we leave." Marta said with a small frown as she looked at the kids petting the Wingless Dragons.

"You wouldn't be the first friend that came and left. Come, it's time to head to Izoold." Nova said with Marta nodded and smiling in agreement as she and Tenebrae prepared to follow them.

Izoold Trail

With that, Marta and the Caravan began to make their way over to Izoold, which will take them at least two days to reach at this rate. As they traveled, Marta wanted to speak with Tenebrae about what will happen next.

"So, when we head out with Emerald and the others, whay should we do?" Marta asked the Centurion as he thought about it for a moment.

"Perhaps, they might be the next step in your training Lady Marta. After thinking about it, it may do you some good to spar with actual opponents. However, I still need to teach about hatching Centurion Cores later tonight." Tenebrae replied to Marta as after observing them, the variety of fighting styles will help broaden Marta's techniques further along.

"Still, to train a second month though..." Marta said with half annoyance. Granted, at least she wasn't sitting at a desk learning all of this.

"To be fair, you only mastered the basics. Judging by how your Unit carries themselves, it will be beneficial to you in the long run." Tenebrae replied and Marta had to admit that he is right. Emerald, Azure, Vermillion, Topaz and Selene should be able to offer Marta different tactics to defend herself in the future, especially if she ever runs into Richter, Alice and Decus again.

"Alright Tenebrae, I'll take you up on that." Marta said with a determined smile as the next step of her Journey will begin VERY soon...

To Be Continued...

Marta and Tenebrae finally revealed the truth to the rest of Nova's family. Next time, we will begin the Izoold Arc where Emerald and the others will join Marta on her quest. But will Marta be able to part with the family who's been accepting of her?

We'll find out next time and sorry for the long delay!