I own nothing but this story and a box of cookies. Namco owns all things ToS related.

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Mm...it's nice and warm. I don't think I'll ever get up. I snuggled closer to the main source of heat, my cheek making contact with blistering skin. Wow, he is unnaturally warm... Despite this, I still snuggled closer to him, my head now underneath his chin. I...didn't have any nightmares last night. The thought struck me in a pleasant way. Just having Emil around helped me.

"D-Don't...don't hit me..." a soft voice mumbled fearfully. I cracked my eyes open and pulled away slightly to look at Emil. His eyes were closed, but his face was full of pain. I guessed the nightmare-free night was not mutual. I winced as I remembered all the evenings I had watched over him. He always talked in his sleep. It hurt so much to hear just snippets of his awful dreams.

"U-Uncle Alba...please...I'm sorry..." Emil muttered again. He began to tremble, shaking the bed. Marta! What are you doing?! I yelled at myself. For some reason, I was frozen. Frozen with disgust at what his "family" did to him.

"N-no...I swear...I wasn't responsible...!" Emil gasped loudly, jolting up in the bed. He didn't notice I was awake, so I simply watched in shock. Emil took hungry, desperate breaths, and his fumbling fingers tore his shirt off his back. His skin had become slick with sweat from the intensity of the dream. Emil put his face in his hands, and his heavy breathing turned into sobs. My heart nearly broke in two.

"Emil?" I called timidly, holding the sheets to my chest. Emil didn't even acknowledge me, he just kept crying into his hands. "Emil...I'm so sorry..." I dropped the sheets and hugged him gently from behind, pressing my face against his naked back.

"Marta...you shouldn't be seeing me like this," Emil said.

"This is a bad time for you to try and be manly, Emil," I mumbled into his back. Emil removed his face from his hands and sat up slowly, giving me time to move. I stared at him. Emil wiped his cheeks before facing me.

"Marta...could you just come here?" Emil said softly, opening his arms. I sat in his lap, leaning back into his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. "I just...want to hold you." He nuzzled his face into my neck, and I listened as his breathing slowed down.

"You know...I still love you, Emil," I said, mustering all the rawness I could into my voice.

"I love you too, Marta," Emil whispered into my ear. Emil's body was lean and muscular, but I felt more comfortable than anywhere else sitting in his arms. I closed my eyes and just relaxed into him, enjoying his wonderful scent. Before I even knew it, Emil began kissing lightly up my neck to along my jaw, leaving each spot tingling with electricity.

"E-Emil," I stammered. I was unable to think straight, it just felt so...good. This was unusual for Emil. Perhaps he was becoming bolder? That would be good. Or maybe he's just shaken up from his dream, and trying to distract himself. Either way, I'm sure as anything not going to make him stop. I felt Emil's teeth nip lightly at the tender skin on my neck, earning a mumble of approval from me. I twisted my head around, coming face to face with him. His lime green eyes shone with a new emotion: lust. They weren't clouded at all, so perhaps Emil really was just becoming bolder. I pressed our lips together, determined to not be interrupted this time. My hands roamed over his bare chest, and I felt the muscles tense under my touch. Our mouths moved in sync, and soon my fingers were tangled in his hair. I felt his arms wrap around my waist and pull me closer, deepening the kiss. Emil bit down lightly on my lower lip, and my heart faltered for a second. How long had I wanted this?

"Marta..." Emill murmured against my mouth, his voice low and husky. It was weird, he sounded exactly like...

No way.

I pushed back forcefully, scrambling out of his arms. Emil stared at me in complete bewilderment, but it was soon replaced by guilt and apology.

"I'm so sorry Marta...I shouldn't have taken it so far..." Emil told me, his eyes shining with regret. I shook my head.

"No...you...you just sounded like...Ratatosk." A moment of silence passed between us. "Emil...what was that? You don't normally do things like that."

Emil ran his fingers through his hair. "I just realized...you never know how long you have with the ones you love. So...I wanted to...make sure the time we are spending together is memorable." I reached out to grab his hand, but I found his hands were icy cold. Like he was lying. I immediately retracted my hand.

"Emil what is really going on?" I demanded, crossing my arms. Emil opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it and hung his head.

"I...I can't tell you."

Those words stung. After everything we've been through, and he was hiding things from me. My eyes filled with tears involuntarily, and I stared blankly at him as the first droplet rolled off my cheek.

"M-Marta, no, I-I didn't mean-"

I wiped my cheeks furiously, replacing my hurt expression with an indignant one. "Fine then, Emil." I threw myself out of the bed to find somewhere else before I broke down. Once I was safely in the walls of the bathroom, tears streamed down my face. Faintly, I could hear Emil's voice.

"No, Marta! It's not that, it's-" Emil's words were cut off as a painful yell tore from his throat. My pride was forgotten as I scrambled out of the bathroom and over to Emil in record time.

"EMIL!" I screamed, watching him writhe on the ground in pain. My trembling hands tried to smooth the hair away from his clammy forehead so I could see his face.

"M-Marta..." he choked out, before roaring in pain once more. He clutched his stomach in a coughing fit, unable to pull in sufficient air.

"Emil, listen to me! You're going to be okay!" I told him frantically. I watched his face carefully even though his pained expression tore at my soul.

"Marta, listen to me, I haven't got much time," Emil choked out, but in a much deeper, commanding voice. Ratatosk.

"Ratatosk! What are you doing to him?!" I shrieked. Emil-Ratatosk took a gasp of air, before collapsing into a coughing fit.

"I'm...manifesting his body and mind...a form of possession...that is excruciatingly painful...to both the host...and the one manifesting. Worse...for him...like his head is splitting in two...which it actually is," he explained in between breaths. I watched in horror, unable to think.

"You're hurting him! Ratatosk, leave him be!" I screamed. Emil shook violently, still unable to even pick himself off the ground.

"Marta...I need you to know this...Emil doesn't have much time...and he didn't have the heart to tell you himself. A demon escaped...from the Ginnungagap...his name...is Reti. Emil was sent back to...to take care of him while...I stayed to guard the gate. How...however...he couldn't resist seeing you again. And now...now he's put you in danger. Reti...Reti knows Emil's here to kill him...and he...knows about you now. He'll use that...against Emil. Reti is very powerful...Emil cannot...Emil cannot underestimate him. Marta...promise me...promise me you'll help Emil...complete his task. Even if...he may not be coming back. Please...Marta..." Ratatosk/Emil choked on something before he threw his head back and screamed. Tears streamed down my face at seeing Emil in such pain. So, wanting Emil to stop suffering, I nodded vigorously.

"Good...I'll...I'll leave now." Emil took an enormous gasp of air, spluttering and coughing all the while. He pushed himself off the ground suddenly, swaying unstably as he scrambled into the bathroom. I followed him, concerned. Emil leaned over the toilet and vomited violently. I rubbed his back, unable to comprehend what was going on. So Emil...wasn't really back? And we had to go hunt down this demon? We never get a break.

Emil coughed and threw up again, a heavy sheen of sweat coating every inch of his skin. I continued to rub his back and whisper soothingly to him. I couldn't imagine what pain he had just endured. His entire body was shaking.

"It's okay, Emil," I murmured. Emil finally leaned back from the toilet bowl and flushed it, wiping his mouth while he did so. He quickly moved over to the sink and rinsed his mouth out, probably trying to rid that terrible bitter taste. Once he was done, he turned around and faced me. His luminous green eyes sparkled with sincerity.

"I'm so sorry Marta, I didn't mean to hurt you, but Ratatosk didn't want me to communicate with anybody about this, so I-"

I held up my hand to shush him. "So basically what happened was Ratatosk sent you back to take care of this Reti guy, but you decided you couldn't stay away from me so you dragged me into it to."

Emil hung his head. "I know, I'm so sorry, it was selfish-"

I cut him off again with my girlish squeal. "Emil, that is so romantic! And now I get to help you too! Not that it's better than being able to settle down, but at least I'll be with you!" Emil stared at me as if I had grown three heads.

"Y-you're not...mad?"

I shook my head. Emil's lips stretched into a small smile.

"You're amazing, Marta." I stared into his gorgeous emerald orbs, seeing the adoration clearly. I strode forward and got on my tip-toes to kiss his cheek before lacing our hands together.

"Or I'm just plain crazy. Either way, we're in this together, Emil," I promised him. Emil nodded, squeezing my hand back.

"Together."

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"So...how much do we know about this Reti character?" I asked, sitting on the floor with my legs folded.

"Reti was the old centurion of darkness. While Reti was a centurion, he despised serving Ratatosk. He thought someone as powerful as himself shouldn't need to live under an authority. Reti proposed mutiny, in which his monsters and demons he unleashed helped him. Ratatosk barely managed to defeat him and lock him up with all the other demons. This was when Tenebrae came into being. However, now Reti's out and hungrier than ever for vengeance." Emil ran his fingers through his hair. "And I was supposed to take care of him."

"So...what are we going to do? We don't know where he is..." I trailed off.

"Well...he is the old centurion of darkness...so it would only make sense to check the Temple of Darkness first," Emil said.

"That sounds reasonable," a new voice agreed.

"Tenebrae," I said, actually happy for once to see the spiteful centurion. "Will you come with us?"

"Oh course. I cannot simply allow you and Emil to be hurt while I sit doing nothing with Ratatosk," Tenebrae scoffed.

"What? Did I hear that? Tenebrae actually...maybe...cares?" I gasped in mock shock. Tenebrae upturned his nose.

"You know, I'm not just an old, cold-hearted, 'stick in the mud,'" Tenebrae sniffed (quite literally). "Shall we depart for the Temple of Darkness immediately?" Part of me was crushed at that statement. My mind was still trying to process everything it had just learned, and it broke my heart as I came to realize that the perfect ending I thought I had earned was just a lie. We would still have to fight, and Emil, no matter what happens, might still have to leave forever. Welcome to the everyday life of Marta Lualdi.

"I...guess so..." I finally muttered. Emil seemed to notice my sudden shift of attitude.

"Marta...I'm sorry. I know this isn't our perfect ending that you wanted...but who says that doesn't still exist? We'll never know if Reti kills us." Emil smiled encouragingly. I felt myself return the gesture, staring into his bright green eyes and placing my hand on top of his. A sudden cough interrupted us, and my head snapped to look at the one responsible. My eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Excuse me, but it would be in our best interest to avoid wasting time..." Tenebrae trailed off.

"Oh, I'm sorry for wasting time by enjoying the company of someone who I may very well never see again in a few weeks," I retorted.

"It's okay, Marta. Tenebrae's right, we shouldn't waste any time. Let's get our bags packed and go," Emil said, ending the banter before it began. Sometimes I wondered how Tenebrae and I got along before we met Emil.

"Alright," I agreed, giving Emil a lingering kiss on the cheek specifically for the purpose of annoying Tenebrae. "Let's go to the Temple of Darkness."

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Annnnd here's chapter three! Ew, writing a kissing scene is incredibly awkward. You have no idea. Anyways, it's kind of short, but it felt good to end there. I hope you liked it, I very much appreciate the support for this story! You guys rock. Please, leave a comment on the way out, and I'll see you next chappy! Bye dood,

BE