AN: That dude JDUBZYT did it again! I owe him so much beer now. It's staggering.

ARC Three: The Other Days

Chapter Twenty One: The Last Stand

At some point during his tearful laughter, Subaru had passed out. Emilia was doing her best to try and comfort him letting him use her lap as a pillow. A waitress came by and handed them a glass of water. Everyone in the cafe hoped it was nothing serious.

"Mhm.."

"Subaru?" "S-Subaru-kun?!" "Barusu, snap out of it."

Emilia and the two maids huddled around him. Batman moving the crowd away.

"Emilia…?"

"Hey there. You scared us half to death. Rem nearly ran off to get help."
"Oh...I see. Sorry about that."

Subaru tried to raise himself from Emilia's lap pillow, but was stopped by a gentle touch from elsewhere.

"Please Subaru-kun, if you're still not feeling well, please rest a little longer."

It was Rem, who was ever so gently pushing Subaru back down with a tender look in her eyes.

But Subaru thought about what she said, and panicked.

"Wait..did you say longer?!"

He raised his head and quickly stood back up, much to the concern of everyone there.

"How long was I out?"

"Subaru-kun, please you mustn't-!"
"Rem, how long was I out?!"

"...about five minutes or so."

"F-Five minutes?!"

Subaru shook his head and nearly fell back down, only to be caught by Batman, who sat him on a chair.

Five minutes. Subaru had wasted five precious minutes due to his own weakness. Now he had less time to prepare for a battle against Scarecrow. He was able to learn from the two previous loops about his capabilities and tactics.

But now time was running out, the village was in terrible danger. And he was still doing nothing about it.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?"

Everyone glanced at each other, as they saw Subaru clenched his hands into fists and began to grit his teeth.

He got Rem killed yet again, he couldn't save Emilia, and got everyone else hurt. He felt absolutely pitiful, he was-

"SUBARU!"

He came to his senses as he heard a frightful yell from a person he hadn't heard speak in a while.

"Batman-san?"
"Get up."
"I-I just need to-."

Subaru was then hoisted up by his collar, the chair he was sitting on fell back. Everyone was stunned by this, Rem grabbed onto Batman's arm trying to stop him.

"Batman-san! Please no violence!"
"DAMN IT SUBARU! IF YOU DON'T TELL US WHAT'S WRONG WE CAN'T HELP YOU!"

Subaru was trembling, but not out of fear. He just couldn't believe that Batman somehow figured him out, saw right through him and his worries.

"I…"

"I need your help."

Subaru began to tear up as he said this. Batman nodded with an ever so slight smile and gently put him down.

Subaru finished the explanation for his behavior. He recognized Scarecrow from a comic book and saw him enter the town with a sack of red stones. He also had a small black spirit floating around him.

With the information given to them, they came up with a general idea of what was happening. Scarecrow entered Dunharrow to unleash his Fear Toxin and then using the magic stones he planned to completely destroy the city, leaving no evidence behind.

That was when Batman had an idea that Ram listened to carefully.

"We'll focus on trying to weed him out of the house Subaru said he saw him enter."
"But do we have anything that can bring him out?"
"Yes. Me."
"...what?"
"He's obsessed with me more than anything, I'll be the distraction needed to lure him out. We need to get him away from the stones."
"Very well, Roswaal and I will be a secondary line, should he try to escape past the rest of you. Is that correct?"

Batman nodded at this and turned over to the rest of the team.

"Rem and Emilia will be stationed on rooftops to keep him in check. Blast him with ice, but remember try not to kill him. Okay?"

"Um, sure okay." "Yes, Rem understands."

Batman nodded as the final preparations were being completed. Subaru walked over to Batman with his head hung low.

"Batman-san?"
"Yeah?"
"Thanks again."

"I didn't think it would go over this well. I was really nervous that none of you would believe me. It is pretty far-"
"-Natsuki Subaru."

Subaru froze as he heard his full name, something he hadn't heard said to him in a while.

"Subaru, though you do play around a lot, I know when to take you seriously. And seeing your face earlier, made me realize the gravity of the issues you were holding back."
"B-Bat..man.."
"So I believe you. And I can see that you want to stop Scarecrow just as much as I do."

Subaru could only stare in dumbfoundment at what he said. He felt a strange comfort in knowing that someone, anyone, had that much trust in him. Subaru nodded as they both made their way to the center of the town.

For Natsuki Subaru this would be his last stand.

Subaru was hiding behind a wall, looking over the corner, with three throwing stars in hand. He was staring at the house Scarecrow was using as a hideout. Subaru couldn't help but remember the previous loop, in which he died alongside Rem when Scarecrow self-destructed inside that very house. He shook his head at this behavior of his.

"No! This isn't the time for that crap. I won't let that happen. It ends here."

Subaru saw Batman standing a few feet away of the house, frowning at it. Rem and Emilia were on a rooftop overlooking the house. They had summoned icicles that were now floating around them.

The time had come.

"SCARECROW! COME OUT I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"

Silence. Not a single sound came out of the house.

"We saw you earlier, we know you have Fear Toxin with you and magic stones, enough to blow this town to kingdom come!"

Silence. Nothing was heard coming out of the house.

"Step out now. Or you'll make this worse."

A handgun stuck out of a window, shattering it, and fired. Batman quickly dodged the oncoming bullets as he threw a Batarang at the window. It exploded, causing the wall to collapse. Rem and Emilia fired icicles into the hole. Batman charged through the hole, with Subaru doing his best to catch up to him.

Batman charged in kicking Scarecrow into a nearby wall, causing a small crater to form. Subaru jumped over the table and reached under it from the other side. He found the sack and ran off with it. Scarecrow aimed his handgun, this time at Subaru who was fleeing out through the hole. Batman knocked it out of his hand and punched him twice in the face.

Scarecrow then grabbed his farmer's scythe and sliced open Batman's chest. He tried to do a spinning attack with it, but Batman was quick enough to jump away. He tossed a Batarang at him which he knocked out of the air into the floor.

It then exploded, sending Scarecrow flying through the ceiling. Scarecrow then grabbed onto the roof and started to climb.

Rem saw him and started firing icicle blasts. Scarecrow saw her doing this, so he leapt into the air and tossed a canister at her. It exploded next to her, releasing Fear Toxin. She coughed loudly, desperate to get the poison out of her lungs. Emilia leapt onto the roof Scarecrow was on. He didn't want to take any chances, so he tossed another canister right under him. He used the fumes as a distraction and jumped off to another adjacent roof.

As he ran, he dropped more and more canisters and jars of Fear Toxin into the streets below him. But as he made it onto another rooftop, something caused him to crash down and through the ceiling. When he looked up, he saw a red haired girl, just like the one he took care of earlier.

"Do not think we will let you get away with this...scum."

"Hahhhhhh...You guys have become an utter eyesore."

A black orb then appeared floating around him.

"Let's go Amygdala!"

Ram raised her arm high, ready to strike down her opponent.

"El Shamak!"

A dark wave overtook the house, Ram felt as if her mind was floating away from her own body. Then a jolt of pain brought her back.

The illusion shattered away and Ram realized she had been stabbed in her sides by his syringe fingers.

"AGH!"

"Let's see what you fear!"

He viciously tossed her to a nearby wall, causing a large dent to appear on it. Ram tried to regain her composure but the Fear Toxin attacked her system and she began hallucinating.

She heard voices of those familiar to her.

"Ram, I will no longer need your services. Leave my sight at once and never return."

"How does it feel to lose everything Ram-chi?! Hahaha! You have nothing left! I've taken it all!"

"You are a pitiful person Ram. Looking at you makes me feel sick to my stomach."

Ram shook her head constantly, fumbling around the room as she tried to stand up.

"Nee-sama…"

"R-Rem…?"

Scarecrow took advantage of this and ran out of the house, using the cover of more gas. Ram saw a vision of Rem in the reflection of a nearby mirror.

"Nee-sama...Rem hates you."

"No Rem!"

"You allowed Roswaal-sama to use us, like mere objects. The man who helped destroy our village and kept us away from the world!"

"No Rem…"

"You disgust Rem...and now…"

When Ram looked closer at Rem, she saw blood gushing out of her eyes and mouth. Her skin was peeling off and her hair fell off in clumps. She roared, with her voice sounding utterly inhuman.

"REM IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"NOOOOOO! STOP!"

Ram fell to the ground and got in a fetal position as she cried and screamed. Her tears not stopping.

Scarecrow was continuing his escape as he turned to see Batman, Emilia and Subaru giving chase. Subaru jumped onto another rooftop and rolled along the hardwood. As he got up he tossed several throwing stars. Most of them missed but two hit Scarecrow on his shoulder. He spun around and tossed his scythe at Subaru, Batman jumped in front of it.

"Batman-san!"

"I got this!"

He was able to actually catch it and prepared to fling it back at Scarecrow. Scarecrow spun around as his feet skidded on the hard road.

"Al Sidoria!"

A purple wave struck Batman, slowing him down considerably.

"Damn!"

"Huhuhaha! Not too shabby is it?!"

Batman finally tossed the scythe, but by that time Scarecrow was too far and the scythe hit the floor, breaking apart. Scarecrow then noticed Roswaal flying straight towards him. He snickered as he looked to his spirit.

"Time to take care of this specimen!"

Roswaal smiled as he raised his palm towards him.

"Ul Goa!"

"Shamak!"

A black cloud of smoke surrounded Scarecrow as he rushed forward. The fire blast unleashed wiped away the cloud.

"What?!"

But while the ground and houses were scorched, Scarecrow's corpse was nowhere to be seen.

"Aw, you missed."

Roswaal turned to his side to see Scarecrow had run up along the wall to escape death. He had taken off his thumb syringe finger and flicked it hard into Roswaal's neck.

"Agh! You little filth!"

"Get over it! Face you internal struggle! Your fear!"

Scarecrow dropkicked Roswaal back down to the ground and lopped over two canisters at his other pursuers.

Emilia accidentally breathed in the Fear Toxin, but Batman and Subaru were able to dodge. Batman carried Subaru as he used his grappling gun to fly over Scarecrow.

Scarecrow scowled at the two.

"Scarecrow!"

"Batman!"

Rem was trying to use her Oni power to try and rid the Fear Toxin in her body. She was given the suggestion by Subaru with the agreement of Batman. It was working, but not at the rate she wanted.

She was still hearing Subaru's voice…

"How can I ever love you?! You were plotting to kill me the moment we met!"

"No…"

"Yeah it's true. I don't actually like you...I'M AFRAID OF YOU."

"Please stop…"

"Besides I am in love with Emilia. Not you. I don't need you."

Rem stopped her shaking and stood up to face the voice in her head.

"It doesn't matter if Subaru-kun doesn't want Rem. Rem will always be by his side. Rem doesn't care if Subaru-kun loves Emilia. Rem loves him. Rem will always be with Subaru-kun...no...will always be with Natsuki Subaru! Because he is Rem's hero! And her hero-!"

She furrowed her eyes and let out a proud, thunderous yell.

"-Her hero would never speak to Rem this way!"

The orange hued world in front of here evaporated as Rem was freed from the Fear Toxin. She breathed heavily as her horn returned back to her head.

"Subaru-kun!"

She leapt away to catch up to everyone….but she heard something familiar in the distance.

Batman and Subaru landed a few feet away from Scarecrow. Scarecrow at this point in the battle was absolutely annoyed with the interference he had received.

"How? How did this happen?! How did this occur with all my careful planning and every single step I took?! Tell me Batman! HOW?!"

"If you want to thank anyone, you should thank this young man right here."

Batman gave him a good hard pat in the back, one that almost made Subaru topple over. Subaru collected himself and stared at at Scarecrow with a determined look.

"And just who are you boy?"

"No one in particular. Just a regular old servant boy, working his way to his beloved's heart and becoming the next great hero."

"...What?"

"My name is Natsuki Subaru! Remember that name! It's the name of a man that's gonna help take you down Scarecrow!"

Subaru put his hands on his hips and gave a brave expression to him.

Scarecrow could only give him an enraged, frightening look. His orange and white eyes glared at him with such an intense anger and hatred, a normal person would have flinched.

But not the two he was facing.

"Ragghhhhh!"

Scarecrow charged at them, at full speed, with every intention to kill the pair.

But all of them were blinded by a bright light coming from the forest surrounding the town. For Batman and Subaru it was coming from the left side...far off in the distance, there was a humongous explosion.

Before the battle started, the team had discussed on what to do with the magic stones. They knew they had to get rid of them, but they couldn't figure out how. If what Subaru said was true, the amount of stones was enough to wipe out the entire town.

Subaru came up with an idea.

"Batman-san. I think I know what to do."

"Really, do you now?"

"Yup, and I'm gonna need your help."

Rem turned around and looked to the direction of the sound she heard.

"Ah!"

The Batwing soared down from the clouds and over Rem. It released a hook from its bottom section and latches onto the sack, following a tracer Subaru had planted. It lifted up and flew away from the town. As it was determined to have reached far enough for the blast radius to not hit Dunharrow, the Batwing dropped it into a far off forest.

The blast radius was far larger than predicted.

The far off explosion sent a massive shockwave towards the town, while the townsfolk were inside their houses and mutually safe, the others outside were not. Subaru was starting to fly away, but luckily he was caught by Batman as they both flew through the air. Batman fired his grappling hook and it latched onto the side of a wall. They both hung on for dear life.

Rem flung her her Morningstar into the ground and held on to her chain.

Emilia was safe inside an ice dome Puck created.

Roswaal had created an air shield around himself to move the shockwave around himself.

Ram had done the same.

Scarecrow surprisingly let himself fly away and allowed his body to crash into several parked carriages.

The wind died down and everyone got themselves back into the ground. Scarecrow made his move by running over to two cages that had tarps over them.

The rest of the group had reorganized and found Scarecrow. He smiled at the approaching party and removed the tarps.

Revealing two entire packs of Wolgarm, inside the cages.

He then opened a canister of Fear Toxin and infected them.

"Have fun everyone! I'll be interested to see who survives the longest."

Scarecrow pulled on some chains and the cages opened. As the Wolgarm, now in a frenzy, charged forward, Scarecrow ran off and tossed a jar into them. Batman leapt up and caught it. A Wolgarm jumped at him, but was killed by Rem's Morningstar. Subaru tossed several throwing stars, killing one, but another leapt over the corpse of his fellow brethren and bared his fangs at Subaru. Batman axe kicked it and snapped it's neck with his foot. Roswaal unleashed a powerful fire blast and killed several other beasts. Ram sliced the air with wind magic and killed two more. Emilia finally froze the rest.

The group moved forward, but they noticed something too late.

"He's gone!"

Batman looked around, but didn't see anything except a manhole cover. He rushed over and opened it, releasing a massive amount of Fear Toxin.

Luckily they all stepped back and let the gas dissipate before Batman and Subaru jumped down to look around.

"Damn it!"

Batman punched the muddy ground. They saw that the walls around the tunnel were collapsed, not allowing them continue their pursuit.

"I'm getting too careless! I didn't even put a tracer on him!"

He stopped his anger as he felt something touch his back. It was Subaru's hand.

"It's okay. Sure we can't follow him, but we did chase him out."

"And we saved the town! Everyone's alive and it's thanks to your help. So try and not let it bother you."
"...Right. Thanks Subaru."

They left the tunnel and regrouped with everyone.

"Oh my word, you have saved all of us! We are forever grateful to you all"

The village leader as well as many of the other residents bowed their heads to the group.

"Oh my word, if not for you this town would have faced certain doom. Emilia-sama. Roswaal-Magrave. Ram-san. Rem-san. Subaru-dono. Batman-dono. We will be in your debt for as long as we live."

Batman stepped a bit forward and shook his head.

"We were just lucky we made it in time. If not, we all don't know if we could of stopped Scarecrow as we did."

The atmosphere changed as they heard something they didn't like.

"Oh my word...we thought it was some sort of bandits or something...but SCARECROW?!"

The villagers muttered and whispered things as they heard the name again. Batman couldn't help but question this.

"How do you all know Scarecrow?"
"Oh my word! Word has spread quickly about that man. He's already attacked several towns and cities in Lugnica and Gusteko. The number of victims of his, has reached past the hundreds!"
"But...how do you know it was him?"
"...He's left several victims alive, just to spread word of his name.
"...!"

Subaru stepped in to voice his own thoughts.

"But we stopped him. He won't be coming back. We made sure of that, all of us"

Subaru spread his arms out to show off his fellow allies and to further their exploits in saving Dunharrow from a disastrous fate.

The villagers breathed a sigh of relief and once again gave off the smiles they had seen when they entered the town.

"...my word. You are a colorful lot. Thank you."

In the end, Dunharrow suffered only a bit of structural damage to some of their houses. The damages were paid off by Roswaal, much to the surprise of everyone. Of the lives lost, only 10 people died from Fear Toxin related injuries. Unlike the previous loops, where the population of 300 had lost more than half of it's residents, the losses were acceptable.

Dunharrow was saved.

The group was now on the way back to the mansion, under the evening sky. Almost everyone was sleeping at this point.

Rem was resting her head on Subaru's shoulder and Roswaal was resting with Ram's head in his lap. Batman was looking out at the sky seeing the Batwing flying past them and heading to the mansion.

Emilia was looking out the window. She couldn't help but think back to the fight. She hadn't told anyone that she accidentally breathed in a few bits Fear Toxin.

Only Puck could possibly know what she heard.

"I'm friends with you out pity Emilia. I can't help but feel sorry for you. A pitiable half-elf, a real special find. I want to see how well you can hold out. Hmmmm...yes, like a doll. A special little doll. HOW LONG TIL' YOU BREAK?"

Emilia shook her head as she tried concentrating on the forest around her.

"It's not true...Subaru's not like that."

Emilia moved her head down, her eyes now hidden under her hair.

"...Isn't it?"

Scarecrow was moving along inside of the tunnel as he fixed his syringe claws.

"Can't replace the thumb piece, but I should make do."

He then noticed something ahead of him. He slightly grinned as he kep moving towards the entrance of another tunnel.

"Oh? They sent people to pick me up?"
From the darkness of the new tunnel, two figures emerged. Clad in purple cloaks and hoods, their red eyes stared back at him.

"I thought I told him I didn't need any entourage. I can find my way back myself."

The two were quiet and only slightly tilted their heads.

"Fine. Fine. Let's get moving, I have new information that'll peek interest in all of you."
The two nodded as they moved inside the tunnel. Scarecrow looked back as the tunnel entrance closed. He cracked a smile as he followed the two members close behind.

"Huhuhu. I wonder how Petelgeuse will react to this?"

The Emilia Camp had continued back home. Scarecrow had returned to the Witch's Cult. And the Royal Selection was soon about to begin.