Warning: Spoilers for some things that will happen in the anime.
Also I liked the episode, pretty interesting set up to choose me and the Garfiel vs Elsa fight.
Chapter 43: Breaking the loop
Subaru and the group charged at the Great Rabbit with Emilia sending a large amount of icicles directly at the enemy, Ram using Al Huma, and Beatrice using Minya to attack the great rabbit, taking many down while Elsa and Subaru both work on attacking the ones that get close to the group.
"My, this is quite fun."
"How so, Elsa?" Subaru asked in a curious tone of voice while managing to knock one of the rabbits away from the group. Elsa smiled at the boy before slicing the bunny in half while answering the question.
"I always like when my prey is hard to get. Considering that this prey of ours can multiply indefinitely, killing it will be extremely fun. Not to mention how colorful the little guts the great rabbit have."
"You are disturbing, in fact!"
Emilia and Ram both turned towards Elsa with disgust as well, not liking the way she spoke about the great rabbit's entrails are. Subaru just stood silent for a brief moment while protecting the group from a couple rabbits. After Subaru knocked a couple rabbits, he turned towards Elsa to speak to her about her habits.
"Try not saying that too much, it is um...uncomfortable for us to hear about your...um habits."
"What? Do you all think that I only care about cutting bowels? I also enjoy knitting cotton dolls."
"Yes! Elsa makes the best dolls!"
Meili smiled at this since she knows that she receives the dolls and gets to play with them while the others are completely blindsided by this.
"We should probably focus on the task on hand." Emilia said with the others agreeing with her. Elsa just shrugged it off and continued to push the rabbits back alongside Subaru. As the two were pushing the rabbits back with the others managing to take down many rabbits for a good while until they all started to notice how tedious the opponent they were facing.
"I'm starting to run out of mana, I suppose."
"Wait, Beatrice, how much mana do you require?"
"..." Beatrice stood silent as she was embarrassed to say yet Ram quickly interjected by telling Beatrice to take one of the Elixirs to restore her mana.
"What is this, in fact?"
"It's one of Sora-sama's potions that can restore one's mana. I don't know how but it is helpful."
Beatrice grabbed the elixir and drank it only for her to feel her mana restored within a few seconds, causing her to be shocked by this. Ram tried to give her another elixir in the case she ran out yet she rejected it.
"Thank you but I won't need it, I suppose."
"Are you sure about that, Beatrice-sama?"
"Yes, in fact!"
"As you wish, Beatrice-sama."
Ram bowed before the two continued their attacks on the great rabbit with both Elsa and Subaru seeing that the more they do this, the longer it will take until eventually they are surrounded by the rabbits and killed. Subaru took a moment to think carefully on how they can prevent the rabbits from eventually overwhelming them until he realized something. Each time he talked about Return by Death, the miasma of the witch would intensify which would bring all of the rabbits towards him.
'This is very risky if not life threatening but I have to do something.'
Subaru quickly turned towards Elsa and asked if she could protect them on her own while he tried something to draw the Mabeast away. Elsa nodded and allowed Subaru to run on his own with Beatrice and Emilia both worried about what Subaru is up to. The two shouted his name with the boy turning to the two and smiling at them.
"I can return by dea-"
Subaru was paused as Satella's unseen hand grabbed and slightly crushed his heart, increasing the witch's scent on him. They all noticed that he was down with Meili running towards him to check on the boy yet before anything could be said, the two noticed that the rabbits were running towards the two, more aggressive looking than before.
"Shoot, Meili come with me!"
"Wait but-" Before Meili could say something, Subaru quickly put his keyblade away and started to carry the girl to take her out of there while running from the great rabbit. Elsa and the others noticed this and could see that the great rabbit was following Subaru and Meili only, leaving the group all alone with Elsa mostly concerned for Meili while the others were more concerned for Subaru.
"What is that idiot doing?" Ram spoke with annoyance even though deep down she is worried for Barusu's sake.
"I don't know but we better help Betty's stubborn Subaru before he gets himself killed, I suppose."
Emilia nodded at this and the group quickly went to chase after the great rabbit, Subaru, and Meili. As the group of girls followed the great rabbit, Meili looked at the mabeast and tried to command them to stop yet they weren't listening to her.
"That's weird, they usually listen to me."
"Do all Mabeast listen to you?"
"Yes, usually they would but I think they want to eat you up specifically. What did you do to make the bunnies so mad?"
"Well...let's just say I'm using a little trick I know to get them to follow me."
"Well whatever you are doing is making the bunnies mad."
Subaru smiled a little while continuing to run with everything he got in order for both Meili and himself to safety. During their run, Subaru noticed a rabbit jumping towards them, forcing him to use his keyblade to swat it away. As he hit the bunny away with extreme force, he quickly casted Fira to take one of the rabbits, giving him a chance to run into a large field. As he entered the field with Meili in his hands, he looked around and started to have flashbacks of when he was eaten alive in one of the worst loops.
"Are you okay?" Meili asked, having noticed Subaru's face turn pale for a moment. He shook his head for a moment before being able to respond that he is alright. He set Meili down and watched as the rabbits were rapidly approaching the two until all of a sudden a bunch of icicles came out of nowhere. Subaru looked up and was surprised to hear a familiar ally speak to him.
"Seems like you need some assistance, Subaru."
"Puck..."
While Subaru's group was holding their own against the Great Rabbit, Sora and Roswaal were both fighting with everything they got yet Roswaal was lacking in mana strength. He knew this as each of his fireballs he threw with everything he had yet Sora was easily able to knock each and everyone of them.
Roswaal knew this to be the case and quickly resorted to martial arts in order to keep up. Sora was able to keep up with Roswaal after having been gut kicked a couple of times and used Cure a few times to keep up with Roswaal. As Roswaal was trying to land another powerful blow to Sora, the keyblade wielder was able to keep up with the margrave, proving just how strong he is.
'I have to finish this fight, Subaru and the others won't be able to push the Great Rabbit back for long.'
Sora knowing this he quickly watched the way Roswaal's fighting pattern was in the hopes of finding the opening he needed to finish this long and drawn out fight. He continued to deflect every attack yet he knew that the only way to drop his guard is to speak with Roswaal and make him understand that what he is doing is wrong.
"Roswaal, what is the purpose of this? The snow storm? The mansion? Why do all of this?"
"The Gospel, everything written must happen no matter what." Roswaal spoke without his accent, throwing Sora off for a bit yet he continued to ask.
"Why? Is this all for Echidna? The Witch of Gre-"
"Just Echidna! Show respect!"
As Roswaal said this, he started to push his body beyond its limits, managing to overwhelm Sora for a moment before the keyblade wielder pushed the Margrave back. Eventually Sora managed to land a strong blow on Roswaal's chest, sending him flying onto a tree with force. As Roswaal stood on the floor, all he could think about is how he failed his teacher.
"Teacher... Teacher, I... What am I supposed to do?! Teacher... Teacher! Please tell me... please... guide me, again..."
"Teacher? Do you mean Echidna?"
"None of your business."
Roswaal says this, he gets up and begins to throw fireballs with the low amount of mana he has left, making Sora worried that Roswaal is going to kill himself by overworking his body. He quickly casts Curaga on the Margrave. This got Roswaal confused as he felt his mana returning to him quickly.
"Why would you do this?"
"I don't want you to die, Roswaal."
"But why? I'm the reason we are all going to die."
"We are not going to die, besides if someone like Elsa can at the very side with us, it stands to reason that you can too."
Roswaal looked at the keyblade wielder with some curiosity on his face regarding the matter of Elsa, not sure on how the boy managed to get a sociopath to even side with him. He crossed his arms and asked the boy with his accent back.
"Hoooooow did you pull thaaaat off?"
"I honestly don't know...I just had faith in her."
"Buuuuuullshit, I don't buy that."
"Well...um I still managed to win her over to our side, so why don't you come and join us?"
"Beeeeacuse, it's all meaniiiiiingless without the gospel."
Sora saw that Roswaal was giving up on life, having been relying on the gospel his entire life which is something he caught. He tried to approach the Margrave in a friendly manner yet he was surprise kicked once again, causing him to quickly get back up on his feet, prepared to face Roswaal in combat once again.
"You shoooooouldn't have reeeeestored my mana, foolish boy."
Sora looked at Roswaal and quickly changed keyblades from Kingdom Key into Shooting Star before switching into the Element Form. As Sora's coat, gloves, and shoes changed to blue with a star pattern on his pants, sleeves, and hood, he quickly pointed his arrowgun on his right side to Roswaal.
"I suggest you surrender, Roswaal. I'm not playing around."
Roswaal had a sinister smile as he wished to defeat the keyblade wielder for being the main cause for why Ram sided with them and for having prevented Subaru from becoming perfected like he wished. He quickly summoned his six elemental magic to show Sora that he is ready for the fight ahead. The two stared at each other for a moment before throwing everything they got with Roswaal having his attacks be more effective now that his mana is restored fully. Sora wasn't afraid to face Roswaal at full strength since he is confident that he won't lose here.
'Don't worry Subaru, I should be there in a moment.'
Sora started to shoot magic lasers to counter Roswaal's magic abilities, surprising the Margrave yet making him intrigued in just how strong the keyblade wielder is. Sora continued to push Roswaal back by using his double arrowguns to hold his six fold elemental magic. With Sora and Roswaal both on equal ground, they were causing enough force to destroy a portion of the Sanctuary.
'My mistake was to give Roswaal his mana back, I better fix this and stop this fight quickly.'
Sora quickly combined his double arrowguns into a Magic Launcher, preparing to finish off Roswaal with one attack. Roswaal noticed this and decided to put in one final move to finish off his opponent.
"I'm goooooing to end this and then maaaaaaake sure Subaru restaaaaaaarts the world."
"Restart the world?"
Sora asked as his mind felt like somehow his memory had been tampered with once again. He quickly pointed the Magic Launcher directly at Roswaal and fired it with Roswaal firing a large and full power fireball. With both attacks eventually clashing, it created a large explosion which sent Sora and Roswaal flying towards the ground with the two creating craters.
As the two had landed in craters, the two got up with Sora having reverted back to his original form while Roswaal struggled to get up. The explosion was strong enough to cause him some damage and he was low on mana once again due to having put everything he had on the last attack.
"Hehehe...seeeeeems like I won't get to see my teacher...in this liiiiiife..."
"Why do you say that?"
"Beeeeeeeecause...I loooost the only thing that woooooould help me bring my teacher back..."
Sora was surprised by this as he saw Roswaal speaking much like he was ready to die. Sora pointed his keyblade at him for a moment before telling him,
"I understand that you have given up in life because you no longer have your gospel...I understand that perfectly." Sora says this as he began to think of the keyblade graveyard when he was going to give up because he lost his friends. He remembers just how broken he felt when he fell to the ground and felt worthless without his friends.
("They're gone. Kairi, Donald...Goofy, the King… Gone forever...What do we do?...Without them...I...All my strength came from them. They gave me all of it. Alone, I'm worthless. We've lost...It's over.")
Sora closed his eyes for a brief moment to remember that moment where he broke down while Riku was comforting him, causing him to shed one tear before he opened his eyes with determination. He approached Roswaal and patted him in his left arm, slightly annoying the Margrave.
"It's not the end, Roswaal. Everybody from Sanctuary is still alive, we managed to make sure nobody in the mansion died, Emilia passed the trials, and we can defeat the great-"
"Useless..."
"What?"
"Useless. Everything is... I don't know the future. I don't understand myself. ...This world is done."
"How is it done, Roswaal? We are all still alive without the need of your gospel!"
"It's useless. This world is useless."
"Please stand up, Roswaal. Neither of us are ending here. We're all going back to everyone, together, and—"
"I quit..."
Sora was shocked by this, seeing how Roswaal truly doesn't care about his life anymore. This made him understand how Riku felt when he viewed himself worthless. This made him grab Roswaal in the arm and pulled him to stand up before speaking to him with a serious voice.
"I'll never let anyone say that they quit. As long as you are alive, there's nothing out there for you to quit. And I'm not letting anyone die here! Do you want Ram to grief for your death?!"
Roswaal looked up as he heard what Sora said regarding Ram which brought some hope in him as he needed Ram for his plans yet he still didn't care for his life and was ready to let himself die yet Sora decided to carry him. As he was about to, he was encountered by a Ryuzu.
"Ryuzu, what are you doing here?"
"Young Su sent me here in case you took too long. He asked me to help you if you needed it. Do you need it?"
"Yes, please take Roswaal to safety with the others."
"As you wish, Young So."
Ryuzu quickly picked up Roswaal and started to make her way towards the graveyard where all of the villagers of the Sanctuary were while Sora quickly started to make his way towards Subaru's location. While on his way towards Subaru's position, he did feel mana being created next to him. He turns to his left side to see a familiar ally appear right next to him yet a bit smaller than usual.
"Puck!"
"Good to see you two, Sora. How is everything going?"
"Good, I think. Things are going as Subaru planned, all we need is to stop the Great Rabbit."
"Need a hand?"
"Yes...Think you can help Subaru and the others?"
"Don't worry, I should have enough mana to help out."
"Thanks Puck."
Puck nodded and quickly flew up to look for Subaru while Sora continued to run towards the large field where he felt that Subaru was located. Puck quickly flew up and looked around until he noticed Subaru carrying Meili while running away from the Great Rabbit.
'Well, I guess it's my turn to help.'
As Puck goes to assist Subaru and Meili, Sora continued to run as fast as he can yet he ended up being temporarily stopped when a corridor of darkness appeared in front of him. He stopped and quickly jumped back with his Kingdom Key ready for a fight. He waited for a moment before he saw Xehanort appear in front of him.
"Xehanort!"
"Good to see you two, Sora."
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to check on you."
"Why?"
"Because lad, as long as you are around, my goals are still in check."
Sora looked at Xehanort with a serious facial expression before charging at him, prepared to face the old keyblade wielder yet he couldn't land a hit. Xehanort pulled out his No Name keyblade and deflected Sora's attack with ease, confident that he could still beat the boy. As Sora managed to get on his feet, Xehanort looked at the boy with interest.
"You are much more powerful than you seem yet you haven't fully unlocked that power."
"What do you mean?"
Xehanort looked at Sora as he noticed the boy being very confused by what he said. He smiled before putting his keyblade away.
"Don't worry about it. Just make sure none of your guardians go down, it would be disappointing if you have to look for a replacement."
Xehanort turned towards the corridor of darkness to leave yet he was stopped when Sora started to question Xehanort's motivation.
"Why are you doing this? This has failed multiple times and I have stopped you all those times."
"I am aware that I'm not the real Xehanort but should I complete the real Xehanort's plans, then with Kingdom Hearts I can become the real version of him. Not only that but I can see what happens when Darkness prevails and Light expires."
Sora was uncertain about what he heard, uncertain by this yet he knows that he needs to stop Xehanort. He pointed his keyblade directly at Xehanort with a confident facial expression while saying,
"I will stop you, no matter how many times it takes."
"Hmph." Xehanort smiled when he heard this before he left the area confidently, not surprised by Sora's confidence in wanting to stop him. As Xehanort left, Sora looked at the sky and could tell that he has a new responsibility in this world, that being to stop Organization XIII from doing anything to this new world.
'I will stop them...alongside my friends, we will stop them.'
Sora smiled and quickly continued to run towards the direction where Puck went, confident that he would arrive to help Subaru and the others out.
Puck had managed to help Subaru from being easily killed by the great rabbit before quickly approaching both the boy and the little loli near him. As Puck goes nearby Subaru, the two start having a conversation with the great spirit beginning the conversation.
"Seems like you need some assistance."
"I really owe you for this, Puck."
Puck nodded at Subaru before firing icicles directly at the Great Rabbit, managing to hold them back while Subaru tried to think of some idea to eliminate the Great Rabbit. As he was brainstorming, Meili quickly pulled Subaru's arm to get his attention. He looked at her and was about to ask Meili what she needed only to notice that she was pointing at something. He looked at the direction Meili was pointing to see that the great rabbit was surrounding them.
"Well, this isn't great."
"What are we going to do?" Meili asked in a somewhat curious but slightly worried tone of voice to which Subaru noticed. He turns to Puck, seeing that he is doing his best to push the Great Rabbit back with the mana he has left in him. Subaru pulled out his Starlight keyblade and looked at it with uncertainty on what he could do yet he knew that he can't give up.
'Don't worry Emilia-tan, Master Sora, everyone, I will not die here...I refuse to die here and lose all the progress we made.'
Subaru pointed his keyblade directly at the Great Rabbit and used all of his strength to perform Mega Flare once again, sending a powerful fireball towards the approaching Rabbits. Once the fireball hit one of the rabbits, a large explosion happened which whipped out half of the Great Rabbit. This explosion was large enough for Sora and the others to see with Emilia and Beatrice both worried for Subaru's sake. As they were getting closer to Subaru's position, they noticed the Great Rabbit nearby.
"Emilia-sama, stand back. Allow us to handle this."
"No, I have to help out."
"Emilia-sama but-"
"I have to help Subaru...I want to help him."
Emilia spoke with confidence as she wanted to protect the boy she saved, the boy who saved her, the boy who loves her. Emilia walked in front of the group and started to lead the group in facing the great rabbit. Emilia created a few icicles and quickly fired it towards the Great Rabbit, getting its attention towards them.
"Let us take care of them, I suppose."
Beatrice looked at the Great Rabbit and quickly raised her right arm up before sending purple icicles towards the mabeast alongside Emilia's icicles, starting to cut a couple of rabbits down. Ram and Elsa both joined in with Ram using her wind magic at her full potential to wipe out a bunch of rabbits while Elsa got close to them and was able to slice each of them with ease despite almost being overwhelmed by the Great Rabbit.
"My my, they are quite feisty, aren't they?"
Elsa says this while enjoying herself as she is covered in some blood of many rabbits she killed with both her blades. She smiled as she continued to take out many bunnies while the others were somewhat distrubed by this while continuing to take down many rabbits. While Elsa, Emilia, Beatrice, and Ram all four work together to take out many of the rabbits, Subaru and Meili quickly manage to avoid getting caught by the explosion the boy caused. Puck looked back and saw just how big Subaru's attack was, having left a large crater.
"That was an amazing show of power, Subaru. Though you might want to be careful, you might end up getting caught in the explosion."
Subaru laughed nervously when he heard about this, knowing that he needs to be careful with this ability since it drains a lot of his strength while also risking the fact that he ends up dead should he be in range. Subaru and Meili both looked around and saw that a few more rabbits were approaching them. Just as things seemed very dire, Sora used Thundaga to eliminate many of the Great Rabbit, giving him an opening he needed to catch up with Subaru. As master and apprentice reunite, Subaru starts the conversation.
"Master Sora, it is good to see you. How did things go with that bastard?"
"Subaru, language."
"Right Right, sorry."
"Well thanks to you, Ryuzu took Roswaal to safety. Now we just need to beat this rabbit."
"Hmm..."
Subaru tried to think of some until he thought of an idea related to the Forbidden library, making him realize that he needs to get to Beatrice before the great rabbit gets any of them. Just as he was thinking about Beatrice, a familiar purple icicles started to take out a few of the rabbits, leaving a path for Emilia and her group to reunite with Subaru, Sora, Meili, and Puck. Emilia looked up and saw a small Puck, making her extremely happy to see her father once again.
"Father!"
"Lia."
Puck says this as he takes out a couple of rabbits, happy to see his daughter yet he looks at both Subaru and Sora with slight anger in his eyes. The two keyblade wielders noticed this and knew that he was mad that she was here which slightly made them nervous before they returned focus to the group. Beatrice hugged her contractor, having been worried for him which made Emilia visibly jealous as she wanted to hug Subaru. The boy looked at Beatrice for a moment before patting her head which she did enjoy before slapping him across the face which caught everyone's attention, including Puck.
"You are such an idiot, I suppose. We will be discussing more of our contract but for now, stay with Betty."
"Okay Okay, sorry Beako."
"Wait Betty, Subaru is your contractor? That's a surprise."
"What does that mean?" Subaru questions Puck yet they returned focus when Subaru started to ask Beatrice regarding an ability to send the Great Rabbit to another dimension such as the Forbidden Library. Beatrice looked at Subaru with a serious facial expression before nodding, knowing that this might be the only way to defeat the Great Rabbit. The others noticed this and quickly focused on gathering the mabeasts together in order to send them to some other dimension.
"I know how to gather them but I will need the rest of you to block their path."
"What are you planning, Subaru?"
"If I tell you Emilia-tan, you all will not let me do this so I just need you to trust me on this."
"Don't worry Subaru, we trust you."
"Thank you, Master Sora."
Master and Apprentice nod at each other before Emilia, Ram, Elsa, Beatrice, Sora, and Puck all manage to use their skills to force the Great Rabbit to be trapped in a circle. As Emilia and the others manage to force the rabbits to be in the circle with Subaru preparing to use his Return By Death to gather the rabbits in the center while using Reflect in order to protect himself from getting eaten alive.
"Okay everyone, let us do this."
Sora and the others nodded at Subaru while doing everything in their power to push back the Great Rabbit. Sora quickly used his Shooting Star keyblade before switching into the Element Form to push back the great rabbit with his double arrowguns. Beatrice uses most of her mana to push the Great Rabbit back while holding some mana in order to create a portal that will send the Great Rabbit away to another dimension.
Emilia along with Puck fired many icicles to push the Great Rabbit back with the two happy to fight by each other's side. Ram uses her wind magic, mostly Al Fura, to kill many of the mabeasts while also pushing them back. And lastly Elsa is just killing many of the rabbits without any hesitation while Meili stays behind her to encourage her role model.
'Okay everyone, it is my turn to contribute.'
Subaru gets his Starlight keyblade and charges into the center of the circle while managing to avoid being eaten by the rabbits. Everyone noticed this and quickly were calling the boy's name in panic as he was entering the circle of death. While running inside and avoiding the bunnies with everything he had as he is thinking about each and everyone of them.
'I understand that most of you are pissed off at me right now, especially you two, Emilia and Beako. You both are probably going to give me some hell once this is done but I'm ready for it because I will survive this. I'm not afraid because this is the loop I break through.'
Subaru was determined by this train of thought since he knows that he is risking his life to save everybody. Once he reaches the center area of the circle of death, he quickly starts to shout, "I can return by de-"
Time stopped for a moment with Sora confused as he doesn't know what is going on yet he can feel something heading towards Subaru's direction. He turned towards Subaru and tried to approach his apprentice yet he felt time return back with a rabbit attempting to eat him.
He quickly fired a laser at the rabbit, destroying it with one hit before quickly turning back his attention to the many rabbits approaching his apprentice. The group realized that Subaru did something with all the rabbits rapidly approaching him.
"Reflect!" With that Subaru created a shield to protect him yet Sora knew that this wasn't going to last very long, causing him to also go into the circle of death.
"What are you doing?!"
"Beatrice, the moment I pull Subaru out of there, create the portal."
"You better make sure Betty's Subaru makes it out alive, I suppose!"
"I will Beatrice, just make sure you all stand back."
Beatrice and the others nod at the Keyblade wielder and watch as he quickly runs into the circle to get Subaru out of the danger he clearly was in. While running into the circle, all of his mind was to rescue his friend, not wanting to fail. As he was running into the circle, he waited until Subaru's shield broke with light balls exploding all round him, killing many of the Great rabbit.
Subaru prepared to quickly cast another Reflect yet Sora casted Stopza to stop time around them in order to prevent the Great Rabbit from eating his apprentice. As time stopped, Sora quickly jumped high enough to start gliding towards his apprentice. Subaru looked at his master and was amazed by this.
"Wow! I didn't think you could actually fly, Master Sora."
"What? You didn't believe me?"
"I mean yeah, I probably should have considered that we are both in a different world with magic and demi-humans and stuff."
Sora and Subaru laugh at this for a moment before Sora manages to get his apprentice out of the circle before time moves once again. Once the two were out of range from the Great Rabbit, Subaru quickly turned towards Beatrice and shouted, "Do it now!"
"I'm on it, I suppose!"
Beatrice quickly creates a portal and begins to send most of the great rabbit to a different dimension similar to her Forbidden Library yet they all notice that one keeps appearing while Beatrice is starting to run out of mana to hold the portal.
"This is a problem."
"Master Sora, why don't we use that card that one Organization member gave us."
"Luxord?"
"Yeah, whatever his name is. Maybe that card might help us out."
Sora thought about it for a moment before he quickly pulled out the card they received from the data version of Luxord and quickly saw it glowing, making him curious if it'll help solve their problem. He quickly landed on the ground with Subaru before throwing Luxord's second card towards the portal which surprised everyone when it helped create a larger portal, attempting to pull everything into the next dimension.
"Everyone hold onto something!" Subaru shouted this while grabbing onto the same tree Sora was grabbing onto. Emilia, Ram, and Beatrice grab onto a tree with Puck doing his best to keep Emilia safe while Elsa grabs hold of something strong while holding onto Meili to make sure nothing bad happens to her. As they were all holding on for a bit, the Great Rabbit were all sucked into the portal with Beatrice managing to use her free hand to close it.
"That was too close for comfort, I suppose."
"Well it is thanks to you we did it, Betty."
"Thank you, Bubby."
Everyone took a moment to relax after barely having defeated the Great Rabbit with Subaru laughing. Sora looked at his apprentice and asked him if he was alright to which he responded with,
"Yes Master Sora, I'm alright. Just laughing at how crazy this entire experience was."
"Well we made it through this together. As a team."
"Agreed."
After a moment of relaxing, Beatrice quickly approached Subaru and hugged him while he was laying down on the ground, resting himself. She hugged him for a moment before taking off her shoe.
"Wait Beatrice, what are yo-"
Before Subaru could ask his question, he received the hardest slap to the face with Beatrice looking at her contractor with anger and concern.
"You are the most reckless contractor, I suppose! You could've been eaten alive you idiot!"
"Ow! That really hurts!"
"It better have hurt, I suppose!"
Subaru looked at Beatrice and could see that she had tears in her eyes, having been worried for his safety when he used his Return by Death to draw the rabbits towards him. He quickly pulled Beatrice towards him and smiled as he saw another person caring for his well being, something he had been learning since he left Echidna's dream world. Beatrice was caught off by this yet she felt comfortable being with her contractor. Sora got up and was greeted with Meili hugging his leg and Elsa patting his back.
"My Sora, you made this very fun."
"I guess."
"Well that was a lot of fun."
Sora nodded at Elsa while Meili was just happy that everyone made it out alive. Emilia approached Subaru and waited until Beatrice and Subaru stopped hugging before she went and hugged him as well, making Beatrice slightly jealous at this. Subaru had a red face for a moment, being hugged by the girl he loves.
He smiled and was feeling warmth while Sora and the others quickly allowed both Subaru and Emilia to have their privacy. Puck tried to intervene yet Sora grabbed him and dragged him away. Once it was just Subaru and Emilia, the two had their chat with Emilia happy to have Subaru alive and well before also slapping him in the face.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"Subaru, you are such a dunderhead! Why would you risk your life like that?!"
"Because I wanted to help the best way I could."
"That was still very reckless!"
"I know I know, I'm sorry. I just had an idea and the fact that it work was-"
Subaru wasn't able to finish his sentence since he received another slap from Emilia, not liking what the boy was saying. Subaru was a bit confused by this and just as he was going to say something, Emilia hugged him again.
"I don't want you to die..."
"I..." Subaru was speechless by this as he never saw this side of Emilia before, the side that really cared for him this deeply. The two stayed hugging for a moment before they had their long awaited discussion.
"I can't believe Puck is here."
"He won't be for long."
"How so?"
"He doesn't have enough mana to sustain his form here...he will have to go away."
"Do you wish to speak with him while you have the chance?"
"I want to speak with you first."
Subaru was surprised by this and quickly asked Emilia what did she wish to speak about. The first thing in her mind was about Subaru's parents. Having remembered that Subaru and his parents are not from Lugnica or from any other country, she knows that they are going to have a hard time getting accustomed to the new land.
"What do you want to do with your family? Now that you are reunited with them, I assume that you would want to be with them for a time...after all you aren't obligated to stay with me now."
"True but I want to stay with you."
"Huh?"
"Yes, I want to stay with you, Emilia-tan."
"B-But what about your parents? Wouldn't you want to spend time with them?"
"You are right, there are a lot of things I need to catch up on and lots of things they need to know but I can ask Roswaal to give them a good job. My mom could be a maid and help out the mansion, after all she is good with chores. My father can be a butler or I can request for him to be a knight, after all I can ask to be a knight since technically I'm a temporary knight."
Emilia paused herself for a moment, having been surprised that Subaru is a temporary knight. She took a moment to think before she proceeded to question Subaru's mindset.
"But what do you think they would want to do?"
"I would have to talk to them about that but I think they would be okay with whatever as long as we stay together."
"Well yes, parents and children should be together."
"Right, so I think they wouldn't mind being a part of your camp and helping you with the royal selections. After all, they have grown fond of you."
Emilia heard this and quickly her face turned beet red, making Subaru a bit confused by this.
"E-Emilia-tan!? Your face just flashed to red, I mean are you okay!?"
"I-I'm okay. I am absolutely composed. Now I would, uhrm, like to discuss a certain matter."
"I-I'm...indeed."
For some reason having Emilia speak politely makes Subaru wind up doing the same. Emilia glances over the area, and once she confirms that no one is nearby, she gazes red-faced at Subaru. More specifically, she gazes at Subaru's mouth.
"So, um... Subaru, it's like, you said that you l... love me, right?"
"Erm, um, yes. I did say that. I love you."
"—. Well, that, erm, makes me, sooo, sooo happy..."
Subaru paused for a moment, having fear that Emilia is going to tell him that they should just be friends, causing his blood to grow cold as he fears the worse. Emilia took a moment before she finally continued her sentence,
"...I-I...I love you too..."
Subaru's heart stopped as time around him as he heard the words he wanted to hear from the girl he had been pursuing. His face turned red for a moment as he knew that this was the first time he actually won a girl's heart yet everything would be pointless once the next statement was told.
"But I think that we really need to talk about the baby in my tummy!"
"—"
—.
—.
—.
"Pardon me?"
"I don't know if they're a boy or a girl yet, but either way we have to shower them in love! But I was never taught about that so I don't know what to do... You have to talk to the dad for these things."
"No, no, no no, no... wait, wait, wait..."
Subaru's mind cannot catch up to Emilia as she rapidly talks on. The speed of Emilia's speech has made her out of breath too and Subaru can see that she's agitated.
"Emilia-tan, take deep breaths, and calm down a second. I'm doing that right now, taking deep breaths to calm down. Oh hey there's some snow over here."
Subaru squats down, gets a handful of snow, and smacks it onto his face to physically cool himself down. He hears Emilia breathing deeply as he forces himself to think rationally. The baby in Emilia's tummy...Emilia's the mom and Subaru's the dad; He doesn't get it. Subaru's coming of age still has yet to happen.
"Emilia-tan. When you say baby, you mean like an infant, right?"
"E-exactly. I know it'll be tough with the Royal Selection, but... that's not the baby's fault, and we have to make sure they're happy! I want the baby to get the love it needs from the people who must love it."
Emilia's determination is noble and beautiful but what she's saying doesn't make sense. Subaru has never done anything like that with Emilia, which meant that Emilia did it with someone else yet these thoughts were suppressed as Subaru wouldn't dare to think about such things.
"Emilia-tan...you know that babies don't come from storks or cabbage patches, right?"
"But when a boy and a girl kiss that makes a baby."
"—" He is stunned at her ignorance and how adorable she is for thinking this. Emilia takes note of this.
"Subaru? What's wrong? Hey, Subaru!"
Emilia doesn't look to understand anything at all as she calls Subaru's name. It somehow looks like her expression has grown stronger thanks to motherly self-awareness. Perhaps that was why Emilia seemed strong to him, which means that maybe he shouldn't fix this misunderstanding yet he knocks some sense into himself.
This isn't the time for him to be thinking this stuff. If Emilia keeps on this course, everything's going to continue alongside Emilia's fake pregnancy, she'll be imagining her stomach growing bigger by the day and talking to the thing. Which Subaru thought was cute but presents its own problems.
"Subaru, maybe you regret kissing me...?"
"Uh no actually I'm craving your infinite kisses!?"
"A-are you now..."
Subaru regrets his knee-jerk response as the conversation flows deeper into a swamp of misunderstandings. Subaru basically just told Emilia that he's craving infinite baby-making and he is, but that comes later. Emilia needs to be educated properly at this very first stage but how come Subaru has to be the one to do it?
"C-curse you, Puck!" Subaru says as he curses the cat spirit. After a moment of thinking, he realizes that his mother, Ram, or even Frederica can do the explaining long after Emilia starts pestering him about picking names for the child. The two had a quiet moment before they quickly returned to the group with Emilia and Puck both having a chance to chat. While the two had a chance to chat, Subaru and Sora both talked.
"How are you holding up, Master Sora?"
"I'm alright...just have a lot in my mind right now."
"Rem?"
"Yeah. I don't know if waking her up before getting her memories back was wise...I just hope we can help her."
Subaru looked at his master and can see that he was looking very hesitant about the situation. All Subaru could do is pat his master in the back while trying to be encouraging.
"I know that the Rem we have with us isn't truly her but we will get her memories back, after all you are a Keyblade Master and I'm your apprentice. We will save Rem together."
Sora looked at Subaru and nodded at him, confident that they will be able to save the blue haired maid. The two fist bump and waited alongside everyone else until Emilia and Puck both finished their conversation. Subaru waited until Puck disappeared back into the broken crystal to go and hug the half-elf, making sure to be there for her. The two hugged for a moment before they all went together to the village to check on Roswaal, Ryuzu, and the villagers.
Author's note:
1. For those who are wondering why Roswaal is even still alive, that is explained in the next chapter (being the final one for this arc before interlude) but to explain Sora's mindset, he saw himself in Roswaal, comparing when he felt hopeless to Roswaal giving up.
2. Also Sora would only "kill" someone if there is no choice.
3. Although Sora did talked about flying to Subaru, he was skeptical since he hasn't seen it happen until now.
4. Don't worry, Roswaal is not getting out of this easily either, he is still getting punished.
Keep reviewing y'all, I enjoy reading what you all think and enjoy criticism.