Welcome back everybody! Last time when we were with Marta, she spoke with Decus and tried to convince him to help out in her quest, but Decus' loyalty and love for Alice, along with his fear of Brute made him reject the offer and became another threat to the young girl.
Despite the sorrow, Marta would regain her lost spirit through the little joyful things through spending time with Nova, his family and the children in Triet. Strangely, upon resting that night, she had some strange premonition of things to come, but what could it mean?
For now, we return to the present for a moment.
Grass Field Outskirts [Present Day]
As Marta recounted that moment with Decus, everyone felt pity for Marta and anger at Decus for what he said to her.
For one thing, Decus was the reason the Blood Purge and the attack on Flanoir happened to begin with, with a lot of people dead by his hand. He even took on Lloyd's appearance to frame him and the Church of Martel for the crimes as well. Granted, he wasn't in his right state of mind due to Solem's Core, but there was a chance that he did it before he lost his mind. That was why no one held any anger at Brute for ordering such a heinous act, apart from him being Marta's father and only living relative. Yes, he still has to own up for his crimes, but he lost his mind long before the Blood Purge. Decus however, was very iffy, but they won't know until they confront him.
Even Emil and Lloyd both have a personal grudge against Decus. For Emil, it's because the man murdered the people he considered his parents in addition to the people of Palmacosta and Falnoir. For Lloyd, it was both that and the fact Decus framed him for awful things he never did. Emil began to feel a burning resentment to Decus for hurting Marta in regards to what he said in the past, but it was also tempered by his tragic past, as Decus was a victim of abuse along with Alice. While it doesn't excuse him for what he did, this left him, Marta and everyone feeling sympathy for both him and Alice.
"Marta... I'm sorry Decus hurt you the way he did. That must have been hard for you." Emil expressed his sympathy to Marta with the others nodding in agreement.
"It's not your fault, but I appreciate your words and everyone else's comfort." Marta replied with a soft smile. However, Marta was also sad that Decus lied to her about what happened to him during the Blood Purge, as he was told to keep the real truth hidden from her. Did Brute know what she would have done if she knew before she left? Although, it did make her think about Richter for a moment. Did he really intend to turn Brute violent, just to get at Emil and Ratatosk? So many questions, yet no answers at this moment in time. The only one who can answer that is Richter himself.
"Weren't you concerned about the Vanguard coming for you? You just allowed Decus to leave." Raine inquired. Decus has proven recently that he's not fully trustworthy and considering his loyalty to Alice, he could've have easily told her about Marta and Tenebrae's location.
"A little, but when I woke up the next day, there were no signs of the Vanguard and we were able to leave the next day with no issues, so he was true to his word." Marta replied, which brought relief that she wasn't thrown out of bed into a fierce conflict in the morning.
"Oh right, you said that you had a Unit in the Vanguard Marta? You didn't mention that before." Emil asked recalling that she mentioned a person named Scarlet. Granted, as the daughter of the Vanguard's Commander, she would hold a high position along with having her own Unit, so that should have been obvious.
"Yes... I was the "Captain" of the Vanguard's 'Special Unit'. It was a group of seven women that served under me, all hand picked by Daddy. I didn't really do much to earn that position, but while they were with me, I had them help out the people of Sylvarant, but..." Marta explained to everyone before trialing off before continuing.
"... I wasn't exactly willing to do everything and had them do things so that I wouldn't get too involved..." Marta explained as she had to admit that she was spoiled back then and looking back, outside of how she treated Emil and Colette, she wasn't proud of how she acted back than which was hiding behind people and having them do the work for her.
To everyone else, they understood why Marta would be nervous and uncomfortable explaining this. It was obvious that Burte was very protective and it was likely that he treated Marta like his little princess. Emil especially had a good feeling as he apparently stomached Marta's awful cooking to avoid hurting her feelings. Fortunately, she wasn't one of those spoiled rotten rich kids, but she was instead more of a spoiled sweet kid that hangs on her parents coattails. What Emil and the others knew is despite how she was back then, she obviously matured as a person.
"It takes a lot of courage to admit your own flaws when you look back on things, but just because you weren't the best back then, it doesn't make you a bad person." Lloyd told Marta as he recalled his own experiences of not being the best he could have been in regards to his personality and actions. Heck, he gave everyone, Emil and Marta included, the cold shoulder instead of finding a way to explain things on this journey.
"We all do things or act in a way we aren't proud of, but I can tell you always had a good head on your shoulders Marta." Zelos added in as he understood what it can be like. As the Chosen of Tethe'alla, Zelos had a TON of privileges growing up, including attracting a lot of women to his side. Granted, the girls he's with aren't like that, but still, he understood where Marta came from.
"Lloyd and Zelos are right Marta. You once told me I mature a bit, but you definitely matured yourself. We both grown and changed from the people we used to be." Emil said to Marta, pointing out how they started out to how they are now presently. This made her heart soar as she knew that Emil, Lloyd and Zelos all made valid points and were very understanding. The others nodded in agreement.
"Marta, why did you have a group comprised of only women as your squad?" Presea asked, wondering why Marta's Unit was different from the Division's Richter, Alice, Decus and Magnar led.
"Well... according to Daddy, it's because he didn't want any boys doing anything... "funny" with me..." Marta nervously explained as everyone sweat dropped. Yup. Brute was definitely overprotective.
'And he allowed Richter and Decus to be around her?' Emil thought in confusion. Granted, they're grown adults and wouldn't do anything weird with her. Plus, Decus likes Alice and Emil doesn't even know if Richter has a girlfriend or not as he didn't think of asking him that.
"What do you mean by anyting funny with you, Marta? Like telling jokes or something?" Colette asked as once again, she completely missed the point. Everyone could only give her exasperated looks as a response.
"I'll explain later Colette. Please Marta, continue your story." Raine said as she hoped to get things underway again. Marta prepared to get things underway, but she recalled that strange dream back then and how it all happened when she met Emil in Luin, but she didn't explain that strange vision of the future.
"Well, when we woke up the next morning, we left Triet and continued to travel around Sylvarant. For the next two weeks, we moved around during the day and I would train around night time, with us sometimes stopping by a town to resupply occasionally. However, I would run into two familiar faces, one of them being from my old Unit the next day after my recent night of training..." Marta said as she recalled the day she met with a member of the Vanguard Special Unit along with one of her pursuers.
Caravan [Twenty-second Night]
Once again, Marta was going through the recent motions of training. By now, Marta fully mastered Crescent Dance, Steel and First Aid while improving on Dancing Swallow and Swallow Waltz. Tempest Swallow still left her exhausted, but not nearly as much as it did three weeks ago. She still had ways to go before fully mastering it.
Marta also developed a good relationship with Nova and his family. Nova showed her a lot of amazing creatures as they traveled, Sarah was a good person to speak with as a fellow lady and both Aduin and May were pleasant children to be around. While they would never replace Lily and Brute, they provided a sense of comfort in regards to her fractured family life. She became something of an older sister to the kids and was like a third child under Nova and Sarah's care, but Marta knew she can't stay with them forever. As long as the Vanguard pursued her, she was putting them at risk and knew that she can't keep them in the dark forever about the Vanguard. She would have to tell them sooner or later.
"Well done Lady Marta! It would seem your physical strength has improved and most of your artes has been honed to a T." Tenebrae praised Marta as she finished her recent night of training.
"Thanks Tenebrae. However, Tempest Swallow is still leaving me worn out..." Marta replied as she wiped her forehead with her sleeve.
"All in due time, Lady Marta. However, it's important to not slack off and keep your skills sharp. You'll have too when it is time to head out on our own by the end of the month." Tenebrae stated while reminding Marta of what they're doing once the first month eclipsed. Marta felt crestfallen upon hearing this, but said nothing, a look that didn't escape Tenebrae's notice.
"You'll miss them, won't you?" Tenebrae said, knowing full well she has come to care for them. Granted, Tenebrae took a liking to them too. He was amazed by Nova's knowledge of animals and monsters, although Tenebrae wished he could offer what he knew too. Sarah is a noteworthy mother figure and supporting wife and while the kids got carried away with petting him, he secretly grew to enjoy it.
"Yes, but with Alice, Decus and Richter coming after me, it's for the best that I leave." Marta said in a sad tone. Fortunately, no one has found them ever since they saw Decus at Triet. This relieved them as he really didn't say anything to anyone, not even Alice.
"Lady Marta, on our next round of training, it's time that I teach you how to hatch a Centurion's Core." Tenebrae said, figured now that Marta can now fight and defend herself, she must learn this important task.
"But, we don't have one to work with." Marta chimed in. How would she learn if she didn't know what it looked like?
"We'll go over it tomorrow night. For now, it's best to get some rest, Lady Marta." Tenebrae replied with the young girl agreeing as they headed back to the Caravan to turn in for the night.
Trail [Twenty-three days after meeting Nova]
While the Caravan was still good on food and supplies, Marta decided to head into the woods to gather some fruit for the Caravan. She had her spinner ready in case some monsters attacked her. Fortunately, no monster came before her and she was able to collect apples, oranges, bananas and two pineapples in the bags she carried with her.
"You appear to be in high spirits today Lady Marta." Tenebrae observed, noting that she's happily humming to herself, enjoying the peaceful view and sounds around her.
"Today is a nice day today. Why wouldn't I enjoy it?" Marta replied as she and Tenebrae began to head back to the Caravan, engaging in some friendly chatter. However, as soon as they were halfway there...
*Snap*
A snapping sound of a twig or a wooden branch snapped, alerting Marta and Tenebrae to the sound. Quietly handing her bags to Tenebrae, Marta quickly grabbed her spinner from her pouch and extended it out before facing the direction of the sound.
"Alright, who's there!?" Marta shouted at whatever is following her. It might be a wasted question if it's a monster, but she wanted to make sure if it was a human or a Half-Elf first.
"Ahhhhh!" Yelled the voice of a young women as a tree shook from the stalker supposedly backing into it, which caused a coconut to fall out of the tree, hearing a thump sound on the way down.
"Owwwww..." Groaned the girls voice. This weirded out Tenebrae more then anything while Marta's eyes widened in disbelief.
"A bandit or a member of the Vanguard perhaps? Pretty clumsy if she got startled that easily..." Tenebrae snarked at Marta's would be opponent, until he noticed her staring off in the direction of the unknown person.
"Lady Marta?" Tenebrae asked out of concern as it looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"It can't be... Emerald? Emerald is that you?" Marta asked in disbelief as she called out the girl supposedly called Emerald. With that, a young women around Marta's age came out of the bush rubbing her head. She was dressed in a black ninja style outfit and had green hair tied up into four small, straightened out ponytails. She wore jade colored arm and leg guards, special metal gauntlets, wore a green ribbon around her waist and had a black mask over her face with a metal guard over the mouth area.
"Ohhh, how did you know it was me Lady Marta?" Emerald groaned as she rubbed her head from the coconut bopping her head.
"You're the only one that could cause something like that when someone calls out to you so suddenly." Marta replied in a disbelieving tone. Yup, this was Emerald alright...
"You know this woman, Lady Marta?" Tenebrae questioned Marta in wonder.
"Yes. This is Emerald... she was from my Unit when I was with the Vanguard." Marta explained to Tenebrae, who could only look in bewilderment between her and the girl following them for a moment.
"Are you serious?" Tenebrae asked in disbelief, wondering how a girl so easily started could be a member of Marta's Unit. He figured that she would have more reliable members.
"Yes. Emerald trained in the art of the ninja. She's a skilled warrior and could have been a top pick for the Espionage Unit, but she's easily frightened and once she's spooked, a bunch of accidents happen. That's why she was placed in my Unit, the Special Unit." Marta explained, recalling how much of a lovable klutz Emerald is. As the youngest of the Special Unit, she provided a sense of comradere the others couldn't give as she's around Marta's age.
"Heeeyyyy! I'm not that easily frightened! I see you still got that spunky atitude as always, Lady Marta!" Emerald complained as she pulled off her mask. She had a youthful face, similar to Marta's in build. Except she had jade colored eyes and had freckles on her cheeks. She was also pouting out her cheeks in a huff. Marta could only giggle slightly at how child like she can be.
"But still, since when did you get that fierce? You never used a weapon before?" Emerald asked before remembering something, causing her to panic for a moment.
"*Gasp* My Shiruken!" Emerald ran back to the tree and pulled out a giant bladed star from the ground and strapping it the holder on her back. It was bigger then Marta's Spinner and had five pointed tips. It was black in color while the tips are green colored with what appeared to be a green ribbon tied to the top point. Marta recalled Emerald calling her weapon, 'Jade Star'.
"Well, to answer your question, I received some training since I left." Marta explained to the ninja, or kunoichi as female ninjas are properly referred to.
"F-from who?" Emerald asked as Marta pointed to Tenebrae.
"What!? The talking dog Chief Richter mentioned!?" Emerald shouted in surprise, prompting Tenebrae to look extremely annoyed.
"First of all, you are quite loud and second of all, I am not a dog. I am a Centurion and you'd do well to remember that." Tenebrae explained himself to the so called "ninja" before him.
"Wait, you mentioned Richter just now? What does he have to do with this?" Marta asked her former subordinate as the mention of his name rang a few alarm bells.
"Oh, well... he asked us to bring you back to the Vanguard and he... he wasn't very happy and all..." Emerald stuttered as she recalled how scary looking he was.
"I'm sorry Emerald, but I'm not going back. I left the Vanguard for a reason and that's to stop Daddy's insane plan." Marta replied firmly. She didn't want to fight Emerald, but she will if she had too.
"Y-you mean that Mana Cannon thingy the Commander mentioned, right? I was there at the meeting before Palmacosta got attacked by Lloyd and the Church." Emerald replied, knowing full well what Marta spoke about.
"Then you know why I freed Tenebrae and took Ratatosk's Core?" Marta asked the kunoichi.
"Y-yes and quite frankly, I'm not so sure about Commander Brute's plan..." Emerald said, surprising Marta and Tenebrae for once. Richter, Hawk, Alice and Decus all fought back against Marta over that and now Emerald was saying she's not on board?
"How come? I thought you'd be supporting it like the others." Marta asked as she put her spinner away. On one hand, she's happy to know she's not alone in this, but on the other hand, she was curious about Emerald's reasons why.
"No, of course not! I-I mean... it's true that the people of Tethe'alla are mean to us and while it's my job as a kunoichi to stop people like that... I think genocide and mass murder is wrong! R-r-really wrong! B-b-b-but your father was terrifying when he found out you ran off with Ratatosk's Core! He started throwing things around and breaking stuff saying that Ratatosk corrupted you and then ordered us, Richter, Alice and Decus to search for you and bring you back to him! All while saying thay he punish us severely if ANYTHING happened to you with the threat of imprisonment or death! And! And! AND...!" Emerald began ranting in a severe panic to the point where she began to suffer a massive anxiety attack, dropping to her knees and started to hyperventilate, trying hard to breathe as fear overtook her.
"Emerald!" Marta cried out in worry as she and Tenebrae ran over to the girl, who was now breathing rapidly at an uneven pace.
"What's wrong with her!?" Tenebrae asked Marta as he now showed concern to the girl he was snarking at a while ago.
"She's having an anxiety attack! Emerald, please! You need to calm down! You mustn't black out!" Marta cried as she rubbed Emerald's back, trying to calm her down before she passed out. This happened twice in the past before, but she had BOTH Marta and the rest of the Unit with her to calm her down. However, no matter what Marta did, she alone wasn't enough to calm the panic stricken kunoichi. It was very bad if she blacked out her! According to Emerald, when she blacked out once at the age of 7, it took an entire week for her to wake up.
"Huhhh! *cough* Huhhh! *wheeze* Ahhhhhhhhhh! *gasp* Ugh..." Emerald let out as tears of panic and fear leaked from her eyes as Brute's scary face flashed in her mind, along with hearing his booming voice in her ears. She wanted it to stop, even hoping that blacking out will end it, giving her respite. As she was on the verge of passing out...
"Reaching up for no man's land
To take a breath and take a chance
I walk a thousand nights to change the world
Where to go? When to stop?
Who to trust? What to say?
I found them all, just need someone to share
Snarl in the dusk everyday to carry on
Ain't so strong, I ain't so strong to go on
Living in the past is not the way to live
I wish you could hear me say that I miss you
Why were we there back to back?
Why were we there face to face?
I must be the light when you're in the dark
If you lose me somewhere, and your tears are in the air
I will ring a bell until you feel me by your side."
Marta began to sing a song in a slow and peaceful tune, with the melody having an an effect on Emerald as the kunoichi's vision began to come back to her, her mind clearing up and her breathing starting to calm down to a more steady motion. Emerald looked back at Marta and pulled her into a thankful hug with Marta only smiling in relief as Emerald calmed down, returning the gesture.
"T-thank you... Marta..." Emerald said with deep gratitude as tears fell from her eyes. As much as she tried to be brave, there are moments where her own fears prove too much for her and was happy to know that even though Marta left the Vanguard, their former captain still thought highly of them.
"You're welcome, Emerald..." Marta replied as she continued to soothe her frightened friend. She then lea Emerald over to a stump in the forest to sit down and rest. Marta figured Brute would get furious about her departure, but he should've known better then to frightened Emerald like this! Marta wouldn't know what to do if Emerald lost consciousness on the spot. Tenebrae grabbed the bags of fruit as he made his way over to the two girls.
"So, Daddy ordered you and the others to track me down?" Marta asked Emerald as the kunoichi's breathing has stabilized.
"Y-yes. He ordered all seven of us to bring you and the Centurion back alive. Same for Richter, Alice and Decus..." Emerald explained to Marta as the young girl looked hopeful for a moment, but after what happened with Decus, she reminded on guard.
"You... didn't come here to kill me?" Marta asked the ninja, prompting a disgusted look to appear on the latter's face.
"WHAT!? NO! I may be a kunoichi trained in the arts of assassination, but you're my friend! I would never kill you! Not even if my life depended on it!" Emerald yelled in one of her rare moments on anger. This instantly proved to Marta that she was truly here to bring her back in one piece.
"I'm sorry for asking that Emerald... you see..." Marta began to tell Emerald everything that happened from the Blood Purge up to now, including the fact that Alice tried to kill her and now both her and Decus are out to take her life. Needless to say, hearing all of this made Emerald turn white.
"I... I can't believe this... Decus is such a nice guy. Why would he do that?" Emerald said as she knew Marta would never lie to her, but as she interacted with Decus a few times herself, it was hard to believe that a decent man would go as far to kill someone for Alice of all people.
"That's what he said to me..." Marta added, hoping the ninja would believe her.
"Don't get me wrong, I believe you. But to think Alice would try something like that... I knew she was bad, but not to the point where she would try to murder you..." Emerald said as she tried to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Emerald NEVER got along with Alice as the Combat Unit Captain would deliberately scare or frighten her with "jokes" of killing her or saying that's she's worthless along with everyone else in the Special Unit, calling her "Emmy" for good measure.
"I'm guessing the others in the Special Unit don't know about Alice and Decus either?" Marta asked, wondering what the rest of her former Unit knew.
"N-no... we didn't know... but I do know Scarlet wasn't happy when you left. She took your desertion the hardest out of all of us." Emerald revealed to the young girl in regards to the most loyal member of the Unit. That's not to say they weren't all loyal to her, they are fully loyal, but Scarlet took her duties seriously with an immense amount of pride.
"I... I see..." Marta said in sadness as she lowered her head down, understanding that she must have hurt both Scarlet and the others as a result of her decision. After a while, Emerald stood up and slapped her cheeks.
"They... they need to know about this!" Emerald said with some slight nervousness and a determined expression.
"About what?" Marta asked the ninja as she looked up at her, wondering what she meant.
"If Alice and Decus are after your life, the rest of the Special Unit needs to know about this and so does your father! If at least four of us vouch for you, Commander Brute will either lock them up or kick them out of the Vanguard!" Emerald explained, stating that Marta's words will hold more weight if heard from her own Unit.
"Are you sure about that? I don't want to trouble you guys and if Scarlet is upset, would it be wise to talk to her like that?" Marta questioned in concern for the young ninja. Not just for putting herself at risk, but also for how easily frightened she is and that she might lose her nerve.
"Absolutely! I'm willing to protect you! You're my friend and even though you left, I still considered you my captain!" Emerald said with pride as she saluted Marta. This brought a smile to Marta as she FINALLY had someone from the Vanguard looking out for her. She did her best not to cry here in front of Emerald, even though she wanted too.
"Lady Marta, this might help us. If we can get Alice and Decus arrested or thrown out of the Vanguard, it might help us. Plus, if most of your former Unit helped out from within..." Tenebrae said as he offered his own insight of what they can do.
"I don't know about having Emerald as a mole, that's too much of a risk... but if Alice and Decus lose their positions as captains, wether they get locked up or kicked out, that'll be good for us." Marta replied, weighing the pros and cons on Emerald's offer. After a while of thinking, Marta turned to give her answer to the ninja.
"Okay Emerald... it would mean a lot if you could stop Alice and Decus from what they're trying to do. However, I don't want you to put yourself at too much of a risk, okay?" Marta said as she accepted Emerald's offer.
"I understand Captain Marta! I'm going to meet up with the rest of the Special Unit later tonight at the Ossa Trail. However... finding you again will be tough... unless..." Emerald said as she then reached in her pouch and pulled out what appeared to be a green firework rocket.
"A firework?" Marta asked with confusion.
"Yes, it's not a flare gun, but it should be less inconspicuous. I'll know it's you when you fire it!" Emerald explained.
"I never thought I'd say this, but that's actually smart. Flares would attract other people, but a firework would make people think it's just a random person setting off a random firework." Tenebrae said with amazement at the ninja's smart thinking. With a smile and nod, Marta pocketed the firework to use at a later point.
"Use it in two days, that should give us enough time to talk things out and we'll meet you as soon as possible." Emerald explained to Marta so they don't look suspicious. Marta felt touched that this cowardly ninja is going this far for her.
"Thanks Emerald." Marta said with gratitude to the ninja as the two smiled at each other.
Suddenly, loud footsteps started to build up and then suddenly a fearsome shadow loomed over Marta and Emerald as the sun blocked their view of the assailant and then...
*CLANG*
A loud metal clash echoed in the forest, scaring away a flock of birds out of the trees. Everything was so quick that Marta closed her eyes, not even knowing what was going to attack her, but as she opened her eyes, she saw a rather bizarre sight...
"Richter!?" Marta cried out as Richter's sword and axe clashed with Emerald's Shiruken, with the ninja being able to hold it thanks to her special gauntlets so she didn't cut herself. Why was Richter attacking them? Didn't he protect Marta weeks ago? The red haired man jumped away with a look of surprise as if he didn't expect to see a member of the Special Unit here, nor did he intend to attack the ninja as the attack was meant to knock what he assumed to be Marta to the ground and pin her. He figured that Emerald must have mistook his action as an intent to kill Marta.
"Emerald... so that voice was you." Richter said with a deadly sense of calm in his voice.
"Chief Richter... what are you doing here!?" Emerald asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Isn't it obvious... to have Marta give me back Ratatosk's Core on her forehead." Richter answered the timid ninja. Confused, she tuned to Marta, with the latter lifting up her bangs to show her what Richter was talking about, prompting a look of unease on the ninja's face. Afterward, Marta stepped up to stand beside Emerald as she pulled out her spinner. Richter's eyes widened slightly at the newfound confidence the young girl flashed at him.
"Your posture... it would appear that you have trained and grew." Richter observed as he flashed an angry glare at Tenebrae for making this harder for him.
"But, I can tell you're still green... hand over the core and return to your father at once!" Richter demanded, wanting the young girl to make this easy.
"I told you before Richter! I'm not going to help Daddy with the Mana Cannon! Besides, there is a way to save the world and we can do that by awakening Ratatosk!" Marta explained to Richter as the man's eyes widened in shock for a moment. This was all new information to Emerald as she's wondering what Marta and Richter are talking about.
"What... did... you say? Awaken him? Are you out of your mind!?" Richter reacted with sudden anger, which was completely out of character for him.
"What do you mean!?" Marta responded back with equal anger as Tenebrae and Emerald watched.
"Ratatosk is a Demon Lord! I don't know what Tenebrae told you, but if you awaken Ratatosk, the world will be destroyed!" Richter roared out in an attempt to dissuade her.
"Is that why you're trying to murder him? I don't know where you got that idea from, but we need him to restore the flow of mana! He's trying to help us!" Marta explained to him, hoping to appeal to his better nature as she stepped in front of Emerald.
"Enough of this! Emerald, restrain her!" Richter yelled out to the ninja as he prepared to charge in with Marta ready to defend herself from him. She knew Emerald was on her side by this point, but nothing could prepare her for what happened next.
*Splash*
Richter staggered and fell to his knee as his lower left leg and his right arm were hit by two kunai ninja knives. Marta couldn't believe what happened...
Emerald, a girl who's usually intimidated in situations like this, just injured a commanding officer...
Emerald has harmed Richter, The Chief of Staff, herself...
To Be Continued...
And this chapter's done! With that, we have met out first original character in this story; Emerald, the cowardly, yet lovable and loyal kunoichi of the Vanguard Special Unit. It would appear that she's on Marta's side, but now she and Marta are locked into a conflict with Richter, who now means business.
Will Marta, Tenebrae and Emerald escape their determined pursuer? Tune in next time to find out.
Note 1: I will post info about Emerald in the next chapter.
Note 2: The song Marta sung to calm down Emerald is called "Ring A Bell", the main theme of Tales of Vesperia.
