DISCLAIMER: I don't own the Kingdom Hearts nor Fire Emblem Three Houses characters, Square Enix, Nintendo, and Disney are the owners.

Antex-The Legendary Zoroak: I think that Sitri is gonna talk to Byleth either way, whether be in dreams, via spirit, or even a heart-to-heart at some point.

FabledLife: Well, Sora received every girl's glare when he first enrolled in the academy which made him shy and all, but as he is getting used to this new school life, he won't follow a typical embarrassed male anime guy cliché anymore.

RedRat8: Indeed, Byleth has always had a part of her mother.

CHAPTER 22 – RETRIEVE THE CHALICE 2

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UNDERNEATH THE GARREG MACH BRIDGE – Daytime

Sora and the others exited the Abyss to retrieve the Chalice of Beginnings, but the things got complicated once some golems, one of them had golden themes and the Crest of Seiros on its armor appeared in front of them with the intentions of killing them all.

And not only that, a good certain number of heartless appeared alongside the golems to try to block their way.

The Black Eagles and the Ashen Wolves had to figure way to find the Chalice besides dealing with the toughest enemies they had encountered.

"What's the deal? No matter how many we squash, more just take their place." Said Balthus surprised by the presence of those monsters.

"Hmm… if those things were created to protect the chalice, then there must be a way to deactivate them." Linhardt replied letting out a possible way to take them down for good.

"If I presume to offer my opinion, the statues may warrant scrutiny." Constance mentioned the team an important clue.

The clue was in these three lock statues scattered across the place, although shielded by the golems and heartless along the way.

"Hmm, there must be a way to activate those things. I bet they require some type of key." Hapi understood her friend's important clue.

"You who befoul this sacred place-leave now or perish!" the golden golem, Marcelle threatened the gang in a creepy voice.

"Sacred place?" Sora spoke suspecting of the place.

"Sounds like the Chasm of the Bound, all right." Balthus seconded confirming his words.

"I think I figured out where that said key was, that thing over there is carrying it around." Edelgard pointed out at the golden golem.

"I'll grab it." Sora said with determination, volunteering himself to go get the key.

"You gonna need some cover, Sora." Byleth said stepping forward alongside him. "Those guys aren't really nice."

"Yeah, they don't play around when they are like this." Dorothea replied doing the same.

"Agreed, let us give you a hand when you deal with this golem at front." Edelgard stated her intentions to help him.

"Girls… Okay, give me cover when I deal with this thing." Sora spoke amazed by the girls' determination to aid him.

"Don't forget about us, Sora, seems that you are really acquitted with the women." Caspar didn't want to stay behind as he teased him.

"You'll need someone to watch over this place." Ashe replied putting his bow ready.

"Thanks, guys." Sora thanked them for their support. "Let's go!"

With those words, Sora and the girls headed to where the golden golem was standing, as they had expected some common golems and few heartless tried to surround them but Sora summoned a keyblade that neither was his usual kingdom key, oblivion nor oathkeeper.

It was that one he obtained when traveling through the oceans with his ally and friend pirate: Jack Sparrow, the Wheel of Fate. The keyblade had a pirate ship-like shape, based on the black pearl he once rode. It wasn't as powerful as the others but quite enough to deal with toughest enemies like these.

Sora and Byleth gave the golems a big beatdown using their respective weapons' powers, after slashing one of the golems, his keyblade went through a formchange, transforming itself into Highwind, a halberd weapon that Sora would use to thrust any enemy in a long range.

"Sora! What is that halberd?" Byleth asked him amazed looking at his weapon. "Where is your keyblade?"

"This is my keyblade." Sora pointed out explaining her. "I can switch keyblades whenever necessary, and some do change forms like this one."

"Wow… You never cease to amaze us, do you?" Byleth understood. "Anyway, let's go get the key."

By the time Sora and the girls finished with the remaining golems and heartless, they ran into the golden, bigger and intimidating golem: Marcelle.

"It's so big." Dorothea said having her mouth open.

"Yeah… I think he won't go easy on us." Edelgard agreed with her.

"We must obtain the key, guys." Byleth indicated the girls to not get discouraged. "Sora, have you faced any monster of this size?"

"I have, and this will not be an exception." He replied with determination.

"All right, the girls and I will distract him, you will attack the golem from behind, got it?" she indicated her student the actions to take.

"Got it." Sora understood her instructions to carry out.

Byleth and the girls distracted the golem by using their respective special attacks while Sora leapt way up to the back of the golden golem to make a number of slashes before finishing it with a brutal thrust, piercing the backbone.

At this precise second, the keyblade went through another formchange gaining a dark pole had a tied a tattered red flag bearing a steering wheel emblem. This formchange was the Storm Flag.

Sora went to do a huge number of strong brutal combo while undergoing flowmotion around the golem's body.

"This is it!" Edelgard let out a grunt while slashing the golem across one leg.

Sora didn't waste that chance to plant the flag into the ground and spawn watery portal. Subsequently, aquatic copies of tentacles emerged from the portal and that's how they slayed the golden golem. However, Sora got wet due to the finisher's powers, but not only he, but Byleth, Edelgard and Dorothea were covered in water as well, having their uniforms wet.

"So-Sora! What did you do?! Look at us!" Edelgard whined at him having her face blushed.

"Sorry!" Sora apologized laughing between his teeth.

"Thi-This isn't funny, you jerk!" the girl tried to sound as stern as she could but that made him laugh more.

"It was an accident, Edelgard!" Sora replied trying to hold his laugh back, annoying the girl in the process.

"You idiot..." Edelgard tried to scold him when they all noticed something brilliant on the floor. "Wait, isn't this…?"

[Sora obtained the Spellbreak Key]

"This must be the key!" Sora grabbed the key form the ground to take a look at it.

"Yeah, it seems so." Said Byleth doing the same. "I think this will work on any of these statues."

"We got the key, guys!" Dorothea let everyone else know.

"Huh… There's clearly something special about this key. Better keep it safe." Yuri commented advising them to not let the key slip off their hands.

"Will do!" Edelgard replied determined to shut down the golems. "Let's go!"

Sora and the girls fought their way to the statues and unlock it either one of them.

"Let's see…" he said before placing the key and pulling the lever.

But, upon pulling the lever, another golem spawned at the front of them for their dismay.

"What?!" Sora said in disbelief.

"It's a trap." Edelgard seconded realizing that they chose a wrong statues.

"We have to find the correct statue." Byleth advised them to look for the indicated statues that would shut down the golems. "Edelgard, go with Sora, Dorothea and I will provide you cover."

The two nodded and headed to the next statue while Byleth and Dorothea went to fight the golems. Sora proceeded to put the statue to the test, but, just like the first time, the statue was proved to be the incorrect one and respawned more golems.

"No way!" Sora snarled after choosing the wrong lever. "How can this happen?!"

"I'd say the same, Sora. We better take those idiots out!" Edelgard suggested him to kill the golems together.

Sora switched the Wheel of Fate keyblade with Oblivion and entered in Double Form to take down one of the golems slashing in a rapid succession followed by light rays piercing its armor and body, and finally annihilating the golem in the process.

Edelgard meanwhile, used his axe to slash the other golem across its body and dodging the incoming punches and light lances. In a moment and other, she slid down the ground and gave a brutal slash on a foot to overthrow the golem in the process.

"Sora!" Edelgard called him. "Let's take this thing down!"

"Right!" he replied dashing towards the enemy.

They didn't waste the time in slashing the monster together until eventually destroying it completely, Byleth and Dorothea soon followed them until to the last status in hopes of not choosing the wrong one this time.

"Ready?" said Sora preparing himself for the outcome.

"Yes, do it, Sora." Byleth replied encouraging him to insert the key.

Everyone expected to have the same outcome as before, however, no golems respawned and the remaining ones vanished, clearing completely the area.

"Close call, but we did it. Our efforts paid off." Said Yuri congratulating each other for their efforts to contend the creatures.

Just as everything was going to be fine, when suddenly…

"There's something drawn on the rock over there. They look like Crests… Whoa! What's going on?" Hapi said sensing the ground shaking.

"What's going on?" Sora seconded feeling the same as the others.

"My Crest! Oh, but look at the stone. There's light streaming from it." Constance pointed out a cracked wall with a hole in the middle, along with four crests surrounding it.

"Look at that! There's something in the opening!" Sora pointed at the rock.

"That's…" said Constance while retrieving the Chalice and bringing it to the gang.

"Isn't that…?" Balthus asked looking at this thing.

"You would know best. It is beyond my ken whether that is the chalice. Curse my ignorance!" she replied in disbelief.

"Hey, just answer the question, will ya? Is it, or isn't it?" he told her to give the answer.

"That quaking earlier… Some kind of containment magic related to the Crests was in place here." Constance confirmed their suspects. "Whether intentionally or not, the chalice was released. I hesitate to suggest that those things were the cause. Oh, perhaps one of our Crests was the key to unbinding the chalice."

"Care to summarize it?" Hapi asked her to explain the situation.

"My apologies. I have caused you undue vexation by speaking so incomprehensibly." Constance apologized to everyone besides explaining the problem. "Were I to venture a tentative guess, I would say that this is, indeed, the Chalice of Beginnings."

That's right, the relic they took was no more nor less than the authentic Chalice of Beginnings, which everybody intended to get.

"You could have just said, 'This is it, all right!'" Balthus complained due to her tardiness.

"So this chalice is the real one." Sora said assuming her words.

"Forgotten Crests resembling those four Apostles, depicted on a seal rock wall." Linhardt spoke giving some important data. "Objects that resemble holy armaments and a chalice that gathers magic all on its own... I don't know of any other legends that cover all of that, so this must the chalice we're looking for."

"A thousand thank-yous for covering my own inadequacy with such a competent explanation." Constance thanked him for giving the flawless explanation.

"I'm still not used to hearing you speak in such manner." Edelgard said having a facepalm.

"Forgive me, Your Highness. If I have displeased you, please take my life as a small gesture of atonement." the blonde girl replied with such formality, asking to be taken out.

"I have never thought that Constance would speak like this." Sora made a comment lifting an eyebrow, puzzled as well.

"Me neither, Sora. And Constance, I assure you, there's nothing to forgive." The future empress stated that she wasn't angry with her at all.

Suddenly, a loud thunder was heard alerting the whole gang.

"I think it is going to rain." said Hubert knowing what was next.

"We'd better head back to Abyss before the storm hit us." Yuri suggested to go back to their hideout.

The gang headed back to Abyss, but alas, Constance stayed behind standing still as the clouds rolled in.

"Ugh! It happened yet again. Why must my good intentions always…" she was scolding herself when a very loud mechanic sound reached her ears. "Huh? What was that sound?! It cannot be…"

Constance knew indeed that it was a golem's doings, so she ran as fast as she could to escape these creepy toys and meet with the others.

END OF CHAPTER 23