My head hurt. Like, really hurt.

"Ow..." I muttered, slowly regaining my senses. I could feel soft sheets around me, keeping me nice and warm. I could even smell the pristine scent of clean laundry. That would've been nice to wake up to, had my head not been pounding. Ugh, my mouth had a really bitter taste in it too. Soft light brushed across my eyelids, and I blinked a couple times before opening my eyes. Tenebrae floated by my bedside, a look of apparent relief on his face.

"I was worried you weren't ever going to wake up," the centurion confessed. I scrunched my eyebrows together, trying to think.

"How long was I out?"

"Three days."

"THREE DAYS?!" I screamed, jolting up in the bed. However, my head decided to explode at that very moment, and I clutched it desperately in an attempt to kill the pain.

"Oww!" I squealed, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Would you like some water?" Tenebrae suggested.

Due to my rapidly worsening headache, I struggled not to scream at him to be quiet. Instead, I took a deep breath. "Yes, I would actually."

"I'll be right back."

"Alright."

I heard the door open and close softly, leaving me in the presence of beautiful silence. Wait...how had I gotten here? What happened?

After a few moments, everything came back to me. The temple. The monsters. Reti. Emil. Emil. EMIL!

My eyes shot open. I laid there, my mind racing and my heart pumping desperately against my ribcage. Where was he? Is he okay? What happened to him?

"Emil!" I yelled. The sudden burst of noise caused my head to feel like it was splitting open. My eyes began to water. I didn't care, though. I needed to know where Emil was!

"Emil! Where are you?!" I shrieked, trying desperately to get out of the bed. However, each of my limbs felt like a dead weight, and my arms shook terribly as I tried to push myself up.

"Emil!" I screamed once again, the sound tearing from my throat and piercing the otherwise silent room. A sob escaped from my lips, and my eyes squeezed tightly shut from the pain of pushing my body past its limits. I knew I was being quite needy and over-dramatic, but it was like that awful feeling you get when you wake up from one of those nightmares where someone close to you dies and you just really need to see them to make sure they're all right. Except in my case, it wasn't a nightmare. It was real, and I was going ballistic.

Suddenly, I felt two strong hands grip my shoulders. "Marta! Look at me! I'm right here!" My eyes snapped open, and my gaze met a set of worried emerald eyes. I felt my body go limp and my eyes droop. Luckily, Emil kept me upright, and he gently brushed hair out of my face.

"How come you're in such good shape? You took a beating..." I muttered, squinting as my eyes scrutinized his body.

"That was more on my pride than anything. He didn't inflict much damage, but he used just enough force to knock me out. To be honest, you're the one who had the worst of it."

More flashbacks flooded. I had been so utterly terrified when Reti cornered me...and I think he knew it. We were dealing with a creature much stronger than either Emil or I could've imagined. Plus, I definitely hadn't expected him to be so...human.

"How are we gonna win, Emil?" I muttered, despair tainting my voice. "He's a lot stronger than we thought."

Emil looked down for a moment, and then brought his gaze back up to meet with mine. His thumb caressed the side of my hand. "We're just going to have to get stronger and be smarter. We have to win. The world is depending on us again." I nodded slowly (my head still hurt), but I couldn't help but let the seed of doubt implant itself in my chest. I knew there was a way, it just seemed impossible. Ugh, too much seriousness for Marta Lualdi. Luckily, I knew just how to change that. Willing myself to move, I reached up and grabbed Emil's scarf, slowly unraveling the garment. Emil's face flushed a deep shade of red as his neck and shoulders were exposed.

"What are you doing, M-Marta?" he stammered, not daring to take his eyes away from mine. I smiled innocently, batting my eyelashes.

"I think we both just need to take a break from all this seriousness..."

My hands found the straps that sat on his shoulders and yanked him forward, causing Emil to nearly fall on top of me. Remind me to yank a little harder next time. Instead, his hands were on either side of me and his face was mere inches away from mine. His breathing fanned my face, and that was all it took. Our lips crashed together, and my body was flooded with warmth. Even my pounding headache could not ruin this moment for me. Emil's mouth moved against mine, kissing me back. I could feel the heat of his lips against mine. My arms snaked around his neck as I pulled him down further, this time successfully causing him to topple over and land on top of me. The feeling of the close contact was indescribable. The kiss deepened, causing me to let out a soft sigh.

"M-Marta," Emil whispered breathlessly, before bringing his mouth back to mine. My hands clumsily wandered over his shoulders, moving over to the straps that held up his shirt.

"How rude. You know, I went through all the trouble of sneaking around so the staff here didn't have to wonder why a glass of water was floating through the air, only to have to witness that upon my return."

Emil shot away from me, putting distance between us in record time. Both of our faces were flaming.

Even I could not think of a witty comeback to combat my embarrassment. Tenebrae rolled his eyes and brought me the glass of water. "Thanks," I muttered, gripping the glass in my hand and tilting my head back, effectively gulping down the entire glass in a few moments. What can I say? I was really thirsty! However, it was a bit awkward with Emil and Tenebrae just sitting there and listening to the sound effects of me gulping water.

"So...what's the plan?" I asked, setting down my empty glass and wiping my mouth. Emil and Tenebrae both looked mildly sheepish.

"We don't really have one, but we do have an idea," Emil said. I arched an eyebrow. "Reti is extremely powerful, that much is obvious. Even with extra training, I still have high doubts he can be defeated with just the two of us. He's a centurion, and powerful enough to almost overthrow Ratatosk when he was at full strength. So...we may want to consider asking the rest of our friends to help." I nodded. However...I couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. They already saved the world not once, but twice. They deserved a break. Not only this, but Emil's task was supposed to be a secret. Ratatosk probably won't be very happy, but unfortunately, I don't think any of us have a choice.

Besides, now that Emil is officially mine I think the journey will go much smoother!

"That sounds like a good idea," I agreed, slowly easing myself out of the bed. I swayed a little on my feet and the room spun for a moment. In an instant, Emil was by my side, steadying me with one hand around my waist and the other on my elbow.

"Thanks," I muttered, looking up into his bright green eyes. Emil nodded, and I turned my attention back to Tenebrae. Emil removed his hand that was steadying my elbow, but left the one around my waist. He was probably worried I would fall over if he let go, not that I was complaining or anything.

"So where's our next stop?" I asked, leaning back into Emil's chest.

"Actually, we're already here. Meltokio happens to be the closest town to the temple, and Zelos and Sheena are around. We can ask for their assistance, and perhaps we can talk to Zelos about gathering information from the king to see if he knows anything about Reti and/or his whereabouts," Tenebrae said. "Perhaps we should take care of all this tomorrow so Lady Marta can have a chance to recover."

I shook my head. "No. Reti gets stronger the longer we wait. We don't have time to worry about stupid things like health!"

"You always seem to have your priorities straight, Lady Marta."

***********

The brilliant sunlight showed no mercy, attacking my still adjusting eyes. Even so, it was a welcome change to the unholy abyss we were previously surrounded by.

"Alright, let's go to the royal-house-thingy-that-isn't-quite-a-castle and find Zelos and Sheena!" I yelled energetically before turning around and running, leaving both Emil and Tenebrae behind with animated sweatdrops on their foreheads. I didn't think it would be that a big of a deal to go on ahead at the time.

In a few moments I was taking confident strides towards the door, completely ignorant to the fact no one was with me. "Hello, do you happen to know where Zelos Wilder and Sheena Fujibayashi are?" I asked the guards politely.

The guards laughed. "Like we'd give out information like that to someone insignificant like you."

Anger bubbled inside of me, hot and fresh. "Excuse me?" I asked in a dangerous tone.

"Go away, little girl," the other guard ordered, laughing under his breath.

"Okay, I don't know who you think you're talking to, but-"

"Hey, wait," one guard began. "You look familiar. Wait...are you that Vanguard chick everyone was after? Didn't she have a red jewel or something on her forehead?" I sucked in a breath, my eyes widening for a second. Then, I shrugged nonchalantly, my cerulean eyes glinting with hostility.

"Go ahead, check." I stuck my neck out dramatically, waiting for them to lift my bangs. Instead, all the guards did was mutter.

"You do it."

"No, you do it!"

Men.

With an exasperated sigh, I lifted my bangs. "See that? It's called a forehead. There's nothing there. Are we done now?" I crossed my arms and tapped my foot impatiently.

"Still, the resemblance is uncanny. We should take her in just to make sure," a guard with a deeper voice said, pointing his spear at me. My jaw dropped open.

"W-whoa, wait a minute! Lets not rush into this! I'm not-" My pleas fell on deaf ears as more spears were raised against me. I raised my hands in a gesture of surrender, trying desperately to get them to back off. I couldn't go to jail now! Excuse me for being blunt, but Emil and I are trying to save the world, and that includes their sorry butts.

"Marta!"

Thank Martel. "Emil! These guys are trying to arrest me for being in this...Vanguard thing!" I sent him a look that to anyone else, it would've looked like I was pleading for him to stand up for me, but really, I was telling him that for the next few hours the Vanguard was completely foreign to us. I knew he probably had the common sense to figure out that much, but now wasn't the time to be finding out how clueless Emil can be. He nodded understandingly.

"Sir, do you mind-"

"Look kid," the guard interrupted. "Maybe your girlfriend is innocent, I don't know. But because all the bad occurrences going around, I'm not taking any chances. She has to go with us."

Emil looked at me, but not with the same scared, uncertain pale green eyes he once possessed. Now, they were dark, determined, and a little angry.

"Let her go!"

Though it probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, we both drew our weapons. Hm...how can we play this off in court? 'Self-defense'?

"Picking a fight now, huh kid?" the guard scoffed. I jumped into the air and spun in three unbelievably quick rotations, creating a wind that blew the guards a few feet away from me.

"Please, we didn't come here for a fight. We came here to see the Chosen and the chief. That's all. Now, may we enter peacefully, or do you really need to have your butts kicked before you let us in?" I asked cooly. The guard laughed loudly.

"I'd love to see you try."

I blew a puff of air out of my mouth before leaping into the air, twirling around a few times with my spinners whirling dangerously. However, I leapt right over the circle of guards instead of attacking. Let them make the first move.

Before I had even landed, a gaurd spun around and prepared to thrust his spear right through where I was going to land. My eyes widened. I couldn't change where I was going land, but if I kept going he was going to skewer me! I shut my eyes. Damn...I really didn't think someone so incompetent could actually be a threat. I should really get off my high rheaird once in a while. (A/N High horse...high rheaird, get it? Cheesy jokes, yay)

Clink, clash, ping, clutter

My feet landed softly on the pavement, and to my surprise, not a hair on my head was harmed. I slowly opened my eyes to see Emil, sword drawn and eyes blazing. The guard's spear lay a few feet away on the pavement, a look of utter surprise and shock on his face.

"Now's your last chance to let us go, because I'm not letting you all take her either way," Emil threatened. Dear Martel, I was trying so hard to focus, but...how could I when Emil made a face like that? It was difficult to contain a squeal, but I did it.

"Kids. Always making trouble. Alright, I've just about had enough of you. We should arrest the both of you for threatening a royal guard!" one guard remarked fiercely. Emil and I shared a look. Emerald met sapphire, and we both nodded. I understood perfectly.

"Emil!" I called, leaping up into the air and angling myself straight for Emil. I could practically feel the guards around us tensing up for battle. Emil grabbed my hands gently, and time seemed to slow as I was suspended in the air. Then, time went twice as fast. Emil pulled me down quick as lighting, and I slid expertly between his legs and straight into the unsuspecting guard behind him. I slapped my hand onto the ground and made a quick recovery. The guard I had collided with, however, wasn't making as quick as a recovery. I turned around quickly to rejoin the fight, seeing as Emil already taking them all on by himself.

"Marta! You ready?" he called, glancing over with his luminous pale eyes. I yelled in agreement before sprinting straight towards Emil. In a much practiced manner, he spun around perfectly in time to hook his arms with mine and use my momentum to send me over his head and into another guard. My feet connected with the poor guard's head, and the guard crumpled to the floor. I held onto Emil's arms tightly and launched off the limp body. Emil helped me flip over onto the concrete, and from there we went back to back again to defend some more (weak) attacks.

"Ready for round two?" I asked, blowing hair out of my face. Emil nodded, and we hooked arms again.

"On three!" he shouted. "One!" I bent my knees.

"Two!" Emil leaned forward slightly.

"Th-!"

"What is all this RACKET?!"

I had already begun my flip, but the oh-so-familiar voice of a certain redhead shattered my concentration. I ended up upside-down on Emil's back, my head pushing down on his and my feet sticking straight up in the air as I stopped my momentum completely.

"Zelos?" I called, raising an eyebrow.

"Ugh, Marta-!"

Emil and I tumbled to the concrete in a very ungraceful manner, landing in an awkward heap. Emil was face-down on the pavement, whereas I was lying on top of him with my face towards the sky. The charming visage of Zelos Wilder entered my field of vision with an expression of confusion displayed on his features.

"Marta? What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. I smiled shyly.

"Um, Emil and I were trying to find you and Sheena, but the guards-"

"Marta, my dear," Zelos cut me off. "I'd love to hear your story, but at the moment you're crushing Bud #2."

I sat up quickly, but unfortunately that just put all my weight on Emil's back.

"Guh...!" he wheezed as the air left his lungs in a whoosh. Oops. I got up quickly.

"Sorry about that, Emil," I apologized quickly as Emil picked himself up off the concrete. He rubbed his neck slightly as he stood up.

"Eheh...it's okay...you're really light anyways. So...Zelos, what brought you outside?" Emil asked, continuing as if the previous predicament had not just happened despite the cherry hue on his face.

Zelos stared at him. "What brings ME outside? Well, you guys didn't know it, but this," Zelos gestured to the couple of fallen guards, "made a hell of a lot of noise." He turned around, pointing an accusing finger at the remaining guards. "Why did you attack my friends?"

The guards sputtered out a few words, "I...but...we...we didn't know...!" Zelos cut them off with a hand signal, shaking his head. It was all I could do to not burst out laughing.

"Geez, treat the Chosen's buds with a little respect! Especially this lovely little lady. You better pray to Martel if I find out you all mistreat any more of my friends." Zelos sighed.

"Yes sir!" the guards echoed.

"Alright, let's talk inside. Right this way, my dear lovely Marta," Zelos gestured towards the door with a large flourish before taking my hand and kissing the back of it. I rolled my eyes.

"Zelos, you're such a flirt."

Zelos winked and grinned coyly. "My darling, I invented the term." I glanced over at the guards who were still staring in shock. I smirked to myself, sneaking a peak at Emil. I could see the hint of jealousy flickering in his eyes. I leaned in close to Zelos so that our faces were only a few inches apart.

"But even you should know better than to flirt with a taken woman." I patted his cheek lightly, backing up. Zelos chuckled lightly.

"Honey, the day I start caring about that kind of stuff, I'll cut my hair off."

Emil appeared behind me, and we all went inside. I noticed Emil's stiff posture, but just as I turned around to talk to him, Zelos straight up tackled him.

"BUUUUUUD! YOU'RE BACK!" the redhead screamed, squeezing Emil with a death grip. I was about to interrupt the bromance moment when Emil's face started to turn purple, but Zelos let go. Emil inhaled in an enormous breath and wheezed, clutching his midsection, "Nice...nice to...to see you too, Z-Zelos,"

Zelos smiled and slapped him on the back cheerily. "Man, I was scared you were gonna be trapped down there. I mean, I knew that was what was supposed to happen, but I didn't really want to believe it. And hell, I'm glad I doubted!" Zelos proclaimed proudly, grinning with his pearly white teeth. However, his wide smile subsided into a questioning expression. "But...how? Why?"

Emil and I shared a look. "Um...that's kinda why we needed to talk to you and Sheena. Isn't she here?" I asked.

Zelos' signature charming grin returned to his face, his cerulean eyes twinkling. "Ah, Jubilees is most certainly here! My, she's been visiting so much, I'd say she's probably just making excuses to see m-!"

Zelos' rant was cut off as a card whizzed through the air and sealed over his mouth. The voluptuous ninja appeared behind Zelos, an irritated expression on her face. Zelos continued to muffle incoherent yells against the card, an expression of protest contorting his handsome features. Sheena rolled her eyes and scowled, grabbing a fistful of Zelos' red hair and yanking his head down next to her face. "Don't flatter yourself, Chosen." However, her face smoothed out as a beautiful smile overtook her features as she noticed Emil's and my presence. I felt myself subconsciously take Emil's hand, despite my strong friendship with the ninja. However, as I looked up at Emil, I noticed his emerald eyes were sparkling with reassurance. I smiled.

"Emil!" Sheena shouted with surprise, a large grin on her face as she let Zelos go and ran to embrace the boy, nearly knocking him over. I released his hand and giggled as a red flush filled his face. "Thank Martel, we were all so worried!"

The ninja finally released him, but just as her grin turned to an expression of confusion. Before she could say anything, however, I cut her off. "We'll explain inside. There's more serious matters at hand," I told them. Both Zelos and Sheena nodded, and led the way into Zelos' quarters.

*********

"So, am I right to assume that you didn't come here to party?" Zelos said dryly, leaning against his bedpost.

Emil scratched his head in a rather adorable way. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "Actually....I only was able to come back because-"

Before Emil could say anything, however, Sheena let out a scream and jumped into Zelos' arms, leaving the Chosen with a rare expression of shock on his face. Emil and I spun around to see Tenebrae floating above our heads, seemingly suppressing a laugh. I placed a hand on my hip.

"Tenebrae!" I scolded, the initial fright replaced with annoyance. However, Sheena seemed in too much shock to realize she had just willingly placed herself into Zelos' arms. We all stared at her with wide eyes, even Zelos. Sheena froze, finally realizing the situation she was in. She released her viselike grip on Zelos and promptly placed her feet back on the floor, creating distance between her and the redhead as she cleared her throat and crossed her arms. Her face still cherry red, she hastily said, "You were saying, Emil?"

I covered my mouth to suppress a giggle, but Emil kept a solemn expression. He almost looked as if he were in pain. "I hate asking this of you guys, especially when you both more than deserve a break, but....the truth is, Ratatosk was only able to separate us because of the dire circumstances we face."

Emil relayed his whole situation to the two young adults, who listened silently the entire time, even when I came in to help recount our first encounter with Reti. Even though I put it as lightly and carefree as I could, Emil began to shake beside me, no doubt feeling a heavy weight from his failure. I entwined my fingers with his, offering silent support.

After we finished, Zelos broke away from the bedpost he was leaning on and stretched his arms above his head, letting loose a big sigh. "Ah, man, guess we gotta save the world again."