Chapter 50: Never ending battle

Wilhelm and Crusch continued on defense from Kurgan's attacks. As they were on defense, Wilhelm was a bit surprised to see that his old foe from the demi-human war wasn't giving him too much trouble considering that he is an older man now while Kurgan looked at his prime. While Wilhelm was holding his own, Crusch quickly gained her distance and prepared to use her One Blow, A Hundred Felled ability the moment she saw an opening. While the fight got intense with both sides being on equal terms, Crusch quickly saw her opening and took the opportunity to attack.

"Watch out, Wilhelm-dono!"

"Hm."

Wilhelm had anticipated Crusch to use her wind attack and quickly allowed her to take the offensive. He dodged a couple of Kurgan's attacks before gaining some distance from him, allowing his guard to be lowered and his attention to be focused on him, leaving Crusch the chance to land a deadly blow on the blue multi-armed man. As Kurgan took the hit, Wilhelm charged at him and without any hesitation he slashed the multi-arm man's chest with all he had.

"AHHH!"

Kurgan screamed in pain as Wilhelm's attack was strong enough to do immense amount of damage to the blue warrior. Crusch noticed this and quickly uses another one of her wind attacks to deliver the final blow to their opponent.

"This is the end!"

As Crusch's attack landed on Kurgan, he dropped his weapons as he started to fall to the ground, finally having been bested by the Matriarch of House Karsten and the Sword Demon. Kurgan smiled at the two before saying,

"Magnificent."

As Kurgan finishes speaking, his body turns into ash which catches both Crusch and Wilhelm off guard. As they noticed the body ashes, Wilhelm closed his eyes and bowed in respect to his fallen opponent before turning to Crusch to see how she is holding up.

"I'm alright, Wilhelm-dono. How are you holding up?"

"I'm alright as well, I appreciate your concern Crusch-sama."

Crusch nodded before the two looked around to make sure there are no enemies around to attack the pair. As they look around, a couple of nobodies appear to surround the two which caused them to draw their swords. As they do that, Wilhelm feels his arm starting to bleed, catching his attention for a brief moment before ignoring it, knowing that he should be focused on the nobodies. Just as the fight was going to start, a corridor of darkness appears in front of the two.

"Seems like one of Sora-dono's enemies wants to take care of us while we are worn out from the fight."

"Don't worry Wilhelm-dono, we can still take them."

Wilhelm nodded at his lady before getting himself ready to face the Organization member. As they prepare themselves, Xehanort returns himself to the scene which only angers Wilhelm. He points his sword towards the old Keyblade Master before saying,

"You dare return here, after leaving the fight like a coward."

"Of course Wilhelm, I'm here to warn you of the threat that is nearby."

Xehanort finished speaking before turning towards one of the rooftops, having noticed someone in a cloak. Crusch and Wilhelm kept their guards up as the cloak figure jumps near the two warriors. Crusch looks at the old Keyblade Wielder to question him,

"What is your relation to this person?"

"Nothing to me but to Wil, it is someone important."

"Who?" The Old butler looked at his former friend with a questionable facial expression.

"Why don't you reveal yourself to us now."

Xehanort spoke to the unknown person in a cloak for a moment with his keyblade out and ready for a fight. The cloak person looked at Xehanort with sword in hand before removing the hood, causing Wilhelm to lose his composure as tears are starting to be created.

"Th-Theresia...?"

"The...previous sword saint? But how?"

Crusch was stunned by this since she is aware of the previous sword saint and that she died by the White Whale. Seeing her there was just surreal while Wilhelm did everything he could to not let the tears run. Xehanort looked at Theresia and was also feeling a bit sad when seeing her, although not the real version, he still recalls the promise he made to her before leaving the world.

"Theresia, good to see you once again."

"..."

Xehanort looked at his former friend with a blank expression, not wanting to give any emotion with what he is seeing. Before anything can be said, Theresia looks at Xehanort and identifies him as the bigger threat, charging at him and starting the fight. Xehanort at first was caught off guard by this yet he was fast enough to block the attack off. As Xehanort and Theresia started their fight, the nobodies Xehanort had summoned started to attack both Crusch and Wilhelm.

"Watch out Crusch-sama!"

Wilhelm quickly moved fast enough to protect Crusch before the nobodies surprise attacked her. As Wilhelm defended Crusch, she got her sword up and assisted her ally in holding off the nobodies for a bit before managing to defeat them all within two minutes. Once they finished them, Crusch and Wilhelm turned their attention to the fight between Xehanort and Theresia. Seeing this made Wilhelm tempted to assist his wife only to see her eyes. The eyes of hers told death, causing him to be hesitant to do anything. Xehanort looked at the old butler and smiled before guiding the fight towards Wilhelm's direction to switch places with him.

"You can take things from here, Wil."

"Wha-!"

Xehanort smiled before moving out of the way, causing Theresia's attack to go to Wilhelm instead of Xehanort, forcing the old butler to defend himself. As both swords clashed, Theresia looked at Wilhelm with emptiness in her eyes while Wilhelm had sadness in her eyes. He does not want to fight his wife yet he is forced to, seeing that Theresia is not planning on going easy.

'Theresia...'

While Wilhelm did his best to block off each attack from his late wife, Crusch was tempted to join in on the fight yet her focus turned towards Xehanort. She looked at the old Keyblade Master with anger, blaming him for the previous sword saint being in the state she is in. She points her sword towards him and charges, ready to take him down only for the old Keyblade Master to block off the attack. Xehanort looked at Crusch with an unamused facial expression, not feeling threatened by her attacks. As she continued her barrage of offensive attacks with the old Keyblade Master blocking them flawlessly, she started to question the old man.

"This is all your fault! What did you do to Wilhelm's wife?!"

"I did nothing. She was just merely around when I returned to see your progress against the large opponent."

"Then who the hell would return someone back from the dead? Who would revive the Master Swordsman in such a taboo way?!"

Crusch continued to increase her speed and attack strength each second, giving it everything she got yet Xehanort was able to still deflect the attacks with ease. As he did this, he was intrigued that he was being blamed for reviving Theresia. He continued to deflect each attack while answering to the accusations calmly.

"There is another group around here, one that would cause problems for my plans."

"...the Witch cult?!"

Crusch continued to attack Xehanort as she thought about what she is hearing, understanding that the Witch cult is just as dangerous as the opponent she is fighting. She continued to attack for a bit before jumping away to use her wind attack on her opponent with everything she has in him. As her attack headed towards the old Keyblade Master with great speed, all Xehanort did was smile before lowering his weapon and putting his free hand in front of him, managing to block off the attack without doing anything.

"What?"

"Hm."

Xehanort smiles as he can tell that she is frightened by what she just saw. She takes a moment to breath in order to calm herself before preparing to go all out once again, seeing that range attacks aren't going to be the key to beating Xehanort. She prepared a strategy in mind before charging in directly at the old Keyblade Master, confident in her abilities to beat him. Xehanort smiled at this and allowed her to attack him, curious to see what the duchess as planned.

While Crusch and Wilhelm were facing off against Theresia and Xehanort, Sora and his group attempt to make their way towards the church to save Emilia yet they are blocked when three darkside heartless appeared in their path.

"They are very persistent, aren't they, I suppose."

"I say they are annoying, right Master?"

Sora just shrugs the question made by his apprentice before charging at one of the darkside heartless. He dodges the attack and uses its arm to run towards its head to land a fatal blow to take down the heartless. As he was making his way towards the head, the darkside heartless had created a portal on the ground with its fist, causing a couple of shadow heartless to appear. Sora turned to see if he needed to take care of them first but as he looked, he noticed Subaru approaching the scene with his Starlight keyblade in hand.

He started swinging towards one of the shadow heartless, taking it down in one hit. This made Sora proud since he knows how far his apprentice and friend as come by since they had met a little over a year ago. He looks forward and continues his focus on the darkside heartless in front of him and quickly reaches the head before swinging with one powerful hit, managing to take it down with the heartless disappearing with only a heart appearing for a few seconds before disappearing in thin air.

"One down, two to go."

Sora lands on his feet for a moment before being forced to jump up as high as possible, barely dodging the attack from both remaining darkside heartless. As he does this, he points his keyblade at one of them before firing a beam of light powerful enough to take out the heartless in one hit. This impressed both Beatrice and Subaru, always enjoying when they see the Keyblade Master in action. Subaru takes care of the last shadow heartless on his own before turning to Beatrice.

"Come on Beako, let's show off some of our abilities."

"Of course!"

Beatrice nods at her contractor before using the mana she had regained thanks to the ether Subaru gave her to create whatever he needed. The two looked at the remaining heartless as it turned its attention to them, preparing to attack. Subaru put his keyblade away and had his right hand opened and pointed towards the threat, alerting Beatrice on what ability her contractor will be doing. She also does the same thing as Subaru and concentrated on the attack they were going to use before both Subaru and Beatrice together in unison shouted out,

"El Minya!"

Contractor and Spirit created over one hundred stakes made of crystallized mana covered with light purple flames. As they created this, they send them directly at the darkside heartless, managing to overwhelm it and eventually destroy it with their immense and combined power. Sora managed to land on the ground and noticed this, impressed by how strong Beatrice and Subaru have gotten since they formed the contract together. He had noticed over the year since the Sanctuary incident that Beatrice as become much happier.

'You have really impacted Beatrice, Subaru. I knew you would be the one to save her back in the mansion when everything was at stake.'

Sora smiled at this for a moment before approached the two, wanting to compliment their teamwork but just as they all let their guard down, a shadow heartless attempts to attack Subaru from behind. Before the three could act on this, a random knife appears and was able to strike down the heartless with one hit. The three turned to see the knife stick to the wall for a moment before a familiar figure appears to retrieve her knife back.

"My My, you should really make sure that all enemies have been taken care of."

"I had it Elsa."

"Did you now, Subaru?"

Subaru looked at Elsa with some hostility, still having some issues with her considering that she did killed him in some of his previous loops. Beatrice holds Subaru's hand tightly as she was still distrusting towards the bowel hunter. Elsa noticed this and smiled a bit before turning her attention towards Sora.

"I have some information for you, my Sora dear."

"What is it?" Sora asked with a respectful tone, trusting in Elsa. The bowel hunter didn't care much about what most of the camp thought of her, she did cared for Meili and Sora's input towards her. She stood silent for a moment before answering his question with a polite manner.

"It seems that someone has taken the little blonde girl, Felt, as a hostage and forcing the Sword Saint to be his bodyguard."

"Of course, mind if I ask who is doing this?" Subaru asked with some concern in his voice.

"Well I didn't get a good read on this man but he did had red hair and wore brown armor. He looked like the deputy commander."

"Deputy commander..."

Both Sora and Subaru stood thinking for a moment before realizing that it is Heinkel that is forcing his own son to protect him and using Felt as a hostage.

"Great, if it isn't bad enough that Emilia-tan is a hostage, we now have Felt and Reinhard in trouble."

Subaru was annoyed by this and quickly punched the wall nearby to let out some of his anger while Sora crossed his arms, annoyed that they have two problems to deal with. He is aware that there is a time limit before they lose their chance to save Emilia yet they can't leave Felt as a hostage since Reinhard needs to help push back the Witch cult and the Organization. As the two keyblade wielders thought for a moment, Elsa broke the silence by giving her input.

"My My, quite the problem we are in. I could help out little Felt while you two help the half-elf from the Sin Archbishop of Greed."

"How are you going to do that, I suppose?"

"I will find a way but considering that Greed took the girl, you don't have much time before he does something bad to her."

"Grr! I won't let that bastard hurt my girlfriend!"

Subaru declared has his desire to protect Emilia is showing to the group, causing Sora and Beatrice to understand that saving Emilia should still be their priority. Sora turned towards Elsa and quickly pulled out Kairi's Wayfinder before handing it to her.

"What is this?"

"It's a wayfinder, I want you to give this to Reinhard and let him know that I handed it to you, he will know that you are on our side if you do that. Otherwise, he will view you as a threat and the last thing I want is my friends to be fighting each other."

"My My, you have quite a good heart, Sora dear."

Elsa looked at the wayfinder and could sense a lot of good in it, making her acknowledge that it is probably something important to Sora. She put it away in a safe place before nodding to Sora, showing the Keyblade Wielder that she understands before they start to split up. Before heading to their destinations, Elsa looked at the trio and gave them a warning.

"Careful with Greed, momma told me that he is not an easy opponent to kill, far from it."

"Thank you for the warning, we will be cautious when facing him."

Sora smiled at Elsa and gave her a nod before leaving with both Subaru and Beatrice, leaving Elsa stunned for a moment before also leaving the area. As she left, she started to think about the one year from current day to the Sanctuary and mansion incident. She recalls how hard it had been for both Meili and her due to being on the run and dealing with either assassins hired to kill them by momma or assassins from their previous group hunting them down. Though the one interaction she will never forget is with Roswaal.

One year ago:

After Sora had become a Keyblade Master and Subaru becoming Emilia's official knight, the two went to rest the next day while Elsa prepared the trip for the long road ahead for both herself and Meili. As she was preparing the things for the road, she sensed someone was in her room with her, causing her instinct to grab her knife and move it towards the threat. As she does this, she turns around ready to attack only to be instantly stopped when a small magic ball is pointed directly at her.

"Now Noooooow, why are you soooo hostile?"

"Hm. If it isn't my contractor. What do you want, clown?" Elsa spoke in an unimpressed tone while lowering her guard. Roswaal noticed this and continued his smile has he also lowers his guard.

"I juuuust want to have a little chaaaaaat. Is thaaaat so wrong?"

"No but I would rather talk to almost anybody but you."

"Now thaaaaaat's just huuurtful."

"Hmph. If you have something to say, say it. Otherwise, leave me be."

"Veeeery well. I just came to aaaaaaask you one simple question."

Elsa continued to hold her knife just in the case Roswaal attempts to do something to her, knowing that she basically betrayed their contract by having sided with Subaru and Sora. Roswaal stood silent for a few seconds before asking his question.

"Why did you sided with them? What could they have possibly offer you to have made you such a loyal minion to their cause?"

Elsa disliked Roswaal and disliked what he was asking yet she disliked more that he lost the accent he is known for, making her uncomfortable. She closed her eyes and recalled every single moment. She remembered how Sora tried to save her when she fell into what seemed to be the pits of hell. She also can recall bits and pieces of when Sora was in her heart, facing off against what seemed to look like a cursed doll. The last thing that she knows made the difference was the warmth she felt from Sora's hug, something she has never experienced with anybody else. She opened her eyes and answered Roswaal's question in a calm and collected tone,

"You see, that boy, the original Keyblade user...no, the Keyblade Master, he has something special in him. No matter how tough an obstacle is, no matter what is going on around him, even when everything looks like it'll go down in flames, he somehow manages to make the best out of it. He keeps pushing forward to make a future for all those he cares about, even if the risks are high enough that would end up in his death. He is the embodiment of good."

"Intriguing but yoooou failed another joooooob of mine. What kind of assassin dooooes that?"

"You are right about this but it was worth abandoning the job if I got to side with the Keyblade Master."

Roswaal was intrigued by what he was hearing, having known from many people that Sora seems to be someone who can bring others together. Although his sights are still on Subaru since he is the one who can reset time, he now understands his mistake.

'That giant had warned me about Sora-kun. I guess I am a fool for not having accounted the Keyblade wielder being a reason for the change in history...no, wait...'

Roswaal started to recall that Subaru was doing things on his own before he made the bet, indicating that Sora wasn't enough to have broken the loop. As he was in deep thought, Elsa pointed her blade at the door.

"If that is all you came here for, then leave. I've answered your questions and I would not want to waste anymore time with you."

Roswaal looked at Elsa and continued to act in a friendly manner since she is a part of the Emilia camp. Before he left, he had one other question in his mind, something that made him curious.

"Leeeeet me ask you just one mooooore question. What wiiiiill you do now? You can't juuuuuust kill like you used to beeeeefore."

Elsa was at a pause for a moment, annoyed at Emilia for making her promise not to hurt anybody considering that wasn't the deal she made with Sora. The deal between the two is that she can't go killing innocent people, especially kids. She knew that this would be difficult since she is going to want to see someone's bowels but considering the kindness the Keyblade Master as shown her and the warmth he gave her, she knew that she can't let him down. She looks at the clown and gives an innocent smile before responding with determination.

"He is the first person to actually make me happy, somehow he just as something special that will bring the best in people. Even though I am still rotten to my core, an assassin at heart, I can change. If he believes that I can, then I know I will over time."

"Is thaaaaat so?"

"Yes but he also has eyes that value life compared to yours."

"Whaaaaaat do you meaaaan?"

"I look into his eyes and it is not only the most purest things I've seen but they show a value of life, ironic because his apprentice's eyes have a determination to save people. While those two care about life, you don't value anything. I would rather follow Sora and his apprentice rather than you, the boss I hate."

Roswaal spoke with an annoyed tone, not believing the words he is hearing from the Bowel hunter's mouth yet seeing that she has her mind set in changing, he just nods and leaves the room. As Roswaal leaves, Elsa waited for a moment before starting to blush for a moment, unsure on why she feels embarrassed for what she said to the clown.

"This feeling...it's weird..."

Elsa took a moment to calm herself down before getting all of the preparations for the road ahead. After an hour of preparing things, she meets up with Meili in the front yard, watching her doing everything she can to convince Petra to be friends again. As Elsa watches her attempting to win back an old friend, Sora noticed the Bowel Hunter and approached her.

"Hey!"

"Oh, hello Sora Dear. How are you doing now, Keyblade Master?"

"Hehe, I'm still not use to that title but I'm alright. Are you and Meili leaving already?"

"Yes sadly, we don't want momma to track this place down and cause you all trouble."

"Hm. I mean I can take her on and protect both of you."

"That is sweet of you but I don't want to cause you all trouble, especially when I have to earn the trust of the others."

"Fair enough."

Sora watched as Elsa called Meili's attention, alerting that it's time to go. Meili nodded before turning towards Petra, begging the little maid if she can give her a chance at a friendship. Petra looked angrily at Meili for a moment before noticing Sora was next to Elsa. This caused her to change her attitude, since she wants to look good in front of her crush and her hero. This caused her to nod at herself in disappointment before looking at Meili with a blank facial expression.

"...Fine, I guess we can be friends again."

"Really?! Yay! Thanks Petra-chan! I won't mess it up this time, I promise."

"...okay."

Petra was holding in her anger towards herself for having accepted this, having a massive distrust towards Meili after having caused them trouble. She watched as Meili went to Elsa, giving her the opportunity to leave to find some place to let off some steam. As Petra leaves, Meili approaches the two and notices that they look odd for some reason.

"Something in your mind, Meili?"

"Sorry, you and Sora just looked weird standing together for some reason."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked with a curious and slightly dense tone.

"You and Elsa just look like...um...a couple, I think."

"What?"

Sora looked a bit dense since he was still unsure what Meili meant while Elsa just stood blank, unsure on how to react to this. He stood silent for a moment before just brushing to another topic of conversation.

"Well, we will be off. We are going to return from time to time but just because I don't want momma to find this place and cause any of you trouble."

"No matter what, you two have a place here."

"Thank you Sora!" Meili says before giving the boy a hug, catching him off guard for a few seconds before hugging the little loli back. As Meili and Sora hug for a few seconds before the Keyblade Master turned towards The Bowel Hunter. He smiled at her before wishing her luck.

"May your heart be your guiding key."

"Huh? What's that?"

"It's a phrase I heard from Yen Sid and from Ki-er I mean Mickey, it's suppose to mean encouragement to people in dark times."

"Ah...that phrase sounds like a justification to do bad things but when it comes from you, I know they mean encouragement. So thank you for that Sora Dear."

Elsa nodded before both herself and Meili walked away into the forest, both preparing themselves for whatever danger that comes in their path.

Elsa smiled at Sora and in her mind she said, 'May your heart be your guiding key...Sora Dear'. As she thought of this, she quickly made her way towards the last place she saw the Sword Saint's position. As she was running through the shadows in hopes of getting there fast, she was thinking of a plan in dealing with the Sword Saint. She knows how her reputation is very bad and having it be affiliated with the Emilia camp can cause trouble to Sora and his friends. This made things tricky since she can't just talk to him with the cloak since she would be detected with one of Reinhard's divine protections.

'Hm. This is a very tricky situation I find myself in...but this is what makes it fun. I just need to be smart about this. Little Felt knows I'm in Sora's side, so she should be able to convince Reinhard...darn, I wish to see the Sword Saint's bowels but I know I can't.'

Elsa had a thrust for many bowels ever since the mansion and Sanctuary incident yet her promise to Sora is much stronger, only getting those from bad people if she wants. She has been doing that to keep her desire in check yet lately she hasn't been cutting people's bowels and is in need of something. This caused her to hit her head to remind herself that she needs to control herself, knowing that if she does anything bad or attempts to, she will just make things worse for Sora.

'Come on Elsa, I have to control myself...hmm, I can use this as an endurance test for myself.'

Elsa continued to go deeper and deeper into the city until they arrived to the same place everyone was at for the past few days since arriving to the city of Priestella. As she finds a secret entrance into the building, she puts on the cloak to hide her identity while moving inside the building with caution. After moving deeper into the building, she noticed Felt sitting on a chair with a sword from Heinkel on the little girl's throat.

"Father, why are you doing this? Shouldn't you be helping the people of Priestella?"

"I take priority has the Deputy Commander, not to mention that the Keyblade boy will handle everything, considering that you with all those damn divine protections couldn't beat him."

"I am aware that I lost a fight to him but it was an experience I needed."

"Now why is that?"

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Felt spoke out, not liking how Heinkel is treating Reinhard yet the Deputy Commander moved the sword closer to the little girl's throat.

"I suggest you be quiet, slum dweller! Honestly, I don't know why my son decided to back you up in the royal selection. It makes a mockery to the name Astrea!"

"Father..."

Reinhard was displeased with what was going on, disappointed that his father still viewed him as an enemy just as he and his grandfather were now on better terms. He stood silent as his father insulted Felt for a bit until the three notice Elsa's voice speak.

"My My, those are not nice things to say to a child."

"What the?! Who's there?! Show yourself!"

Reinhard looked around for a moment before noticing a sword on the wall. Before grabbing it, he looked at the Dragon Sword Reid to see if it was needed for this situation. Seeing that it didn't unsheathed, it gave Reinhard the expression that it was not needed. He stood still for a moment as the three noticed a silhouette approaching the light to show Elsa yet disguised under a cloak. Felt and Heinkel couldn't tell who it was but Reinhard after a moment of observing was able to break through the anti-recognition cloak with one of his divine protections, allowing him to see that it is Elsa Granhiert underneath.

"The Bowel Hunter."

Reinhard seeing Elsa as a threat, he immediately went for the sword nearby before pointing directly at the Bowel hunter. Elsa stood still for a moment, not wanting to look any more threatening than she already is. As she stood still, she observed her surroundings to see if there was something she can do to free Felt from Heinkel's grasp. She knows that attacking directly could result in Felt getting injured and any movement could cause Heinkel to accidentally kill Felt.

'My My, this situation just keeps getting tricky as it goes.'

As Elsa thinks this to herself, Reinhard breaks her train of thought by speaking in a respectful yet intimidating tone of voice.

"Bowel Hunter, what brings you here? What are you up to?"

"My My, I am pleased that you remember me, Sword Saint. It has been a long time since we have spoken to each other."

"The last time we spoke, you tried to harm innocent children from Arlam village. Sora managed to defeat you."

"Yes, that boy sure did. He is quite special, wouldn't you say?"

"He sure is."

Reinhard paused for a moment before returning focused on the Bowel Hunter.

"Now answer my question, what brings you here? Have you decided to turn yourself in?"

"That's funny, Sword Saint Reinhard Van Astrea. I'm not planning on that."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm just here to inform you that Sora and his apprentice are on their way to save the half-elf and could use your assistance."

"..."

Reinhard looked closely at Elsa to check if she was lying only for one of his many divine protections to confirm that she wasn't lying. As Elsa was going to pull out the wayfinder just like Sora told her to, Heinkel pointed his sword directly at the Bowel Hunter while saying to Reinhard,

"Take her out! She is a threat!"

"Hold on father, I don't sense any hostile from her or desire to kill us."

"The hell do you mean?! She is the fucking Bowel Hunter for the love of Od! Kill her before she kills me! That's an order!"

Reinhard looked at his father and just nodded but before he could do anything, Felt noticed her chance to escape, taking the opportunity to use her speed to move in between Elsa and Reinhard. As she does this, she quickly turns towards her knight to speak,

"Don't! She is on our side."

"Felt-sama, please stay away from the Bowel Hunter."

"No, she isn't the enemy here! Your horrible father is!"

Reinhard looked at Felt and was conflicted until Elsa pulled out the Wayfinder and showed it to the Sword Saint.

"I know my reputation as a killer and I will own up to that but right now, Sora Dear handed me this to show you that I'm on your side."

"The Wayfinder..."

Reinhard looked at the Wayfinder Elsa was holding and detected that it was Sora's. This was something that the Keyblade Master showed him back during his time when he and his grandfather trained together against Sora. The Keyblade Master told him how important it is and how he would hand it to someone if they need the good luck that is bestowed upon it. This was enough to convince the Sword Saint that the Bowel Hunter was on their side, at least for this problem. He turns towards his father and moves very quickly towards him, almost like teleporting, before knocking him out with one hit.

"Forgive me honored father, but I have to help my friends. I have to help the people of this city."

Reinhard quickly tied up his father with a rope he found before making his way towards Elsa and Felt's position. As he closes in on the two, he looks at the Bowel Hunter to question her on why she is helping them.

"Seems like Sora managed to convince you to help us out, but what is the real reason you are fighting by our side?"

Elsa was at a pause for a moment, she can't reveal that she is part of the Emilia camp or that she is close friends with Sora without putting him and his allies in lots of trouble. She took a few seconds to think before speaking in her usual manner.

"My My, I didn't think that you needed a reason for me to side with you all."

"I don't see any benefits for you to fight alongside the people who beat you."

"That is true, I don't benefit in this scenario at all but something in my heart is telling me that it is the right thing to do."

Reinhard observed her and was surprised that she was telling the truth, causing him to be interested in seeing Elsa actually having a heart. He nodded before turning to Felt, wanting to make sure she was alright.

"Are you okay, Felt-sama?"

"I'm alright! Your father is a bit of an ass!"

"Don't say such things about honored father, he has not been the same since honored mother went into deep sleep."

"I know but it doesn't give him the right to be an asshole!"

"We can discuss this later, but first we have to get you to safety while I go help Sora and Subaru take on Greed."

"Wait! I want to help big bro and my hero! Take me with you!"

"Sorry Felt-sama but as your knight, I cannot allow you to go and be near the Sin Archbishop of Greed."

"And why not?!"

Felt was getting angrier by the second, wishing to be fighting alongside the two boys she respects. Elsa noticed that this could take long, causing her to enter the conversation.

"I could take care of little Felt here."

"Like hell! I don't trust you!"

"I would have to agree with Felt-sama, you are not trustworthy."

"My My, something you both agree on. That is progress but we can't be wasting anymore time. They are going to have trouble facing Greed without you. Allow me to protect little Felt for the time being. Once you are done, I will return her to you."

"How can I trust you with this, Bowel Hunter?"

"Have faith in me."

Reinhard stood silent for a moment, thinking on it for a bit before giving Elsa a nod. Considering that Sora gave Elsa the Wayfinder, she is somewhat trustworthy then to which Felt was scared being with Elsa after she tried to kill her back in the loot house. She wanted to go with Reinhard yet he looked at her and smiled before saying,

"If Sora trusted her enough to give the wayfinder to her, then she is trustworthy."

Felt looked at Elsa and was hesitant for a moment before accepting Elsa's assistance, only because she can see that Sora trusts her. As Reinhard prepares to leave, he looks at the Bowel Hunter for a moment with a serious facial expression before warning her about Felt.

"I don't want to sound rude but if you hurt Felt-sama, I will hunt you down."

"My My, I didn't think that you had an intimate side."

"...just keep her safe."

Reinhard turned towards the door and left the area to look for the church, having heard Capella's demands and knowing where Greed is located. As Reinhard left, Felt turned towards Elsa with fear at first before noticing something within her. She wasn't the same person she had met back in the loot house. She was much calmer and a lot more restrain looking yet she still had the same outfit design.

"You have changed a bit."

"What do you mean?" Elsa looked at Felt with a curious look, having noticed what the little girl had said.

"You just seem very different from the last time we crossed paths."

"Hmph. Let's just say that Sora Dear as a way in changing people for the better."

Felt noticed this and nodded, understanding that Sora has that effect on that people, including her since her desire to just destroy the kingdom has shifted after having been with Sora from time to time. The two stood silent for a moment before Elsa and Felt both left the area with Elsa sensing that danger is nearby.

"We should be careful, I can tell that someone dangerous is nearby."

"Okay."

Felt nodded before the two females started to run towards safety.

Meanwhile, Maleficent and Pete both walked the streets with both of them looking unscathed from their fight against Lye and Roy. The two walked for a bit, having observed some of the citizens trying to fight back against both the Witch cult and the heartless only to fail miserably. They walked around for a little bit before noticing the capital building of the city, being guarded by a large amount of witch cultists.

"It's risky bein' here, Maleficent."

"Hmph. This is nothing, you pathetic buffoon."

"But-"

"If you continue your complaining then just walk away, I don't need you."

Maleficent started to approach the witch cult, not afraid of them while Pete stood back as he was scared to face them. The Witch cultists turned towards Maleficent and just watched her approach them for a moment before throwing knives and fire magic at her. The Mistress of all evil saw this and quickly casted a shield to protect herself from the attacks, not wanting to take the chance of taking damage.

'Pathetic.'

Maleficent can feel the attacks barely impacting her shield, making her see that the witch cultists are weak compared to the Sin Archbishops. Maleficent waited for a moment before summoning some shadow heartless behind her. As she summons the heartless, she commands them to attack the witch cultists, taking away their attention from her to the shadow heartless. As the witch cultists started to attack the many shadow heartless approaching them, Maleficent lowered her shield and continued to walk only to find Pete approaching her side.

"What do you want, coward?"

"Look, I don't like this but I ain't no coward."

"Hmph. That remains to be seen. Now let's hurry up."

Pete nodded before walking alongside Maleficent towards the building with Maleficent wanting to take it over in hopes of conquering the city. As they are getting closer to the building, the two stop when they see Capella once again, stepping out of the building with a smile on her face.

"Well, if it isn't the one without love. I was hoping to find you here."

"Hmph. You ran away from our fight." Maleficent said with a serious expression and voice.

"Well I have to follow the love of my gospel but while I was doing my part, I figured out how to get you to be a follower of love."

Maleficent raised an eyebrow by this, a bit intrigued to what she is hearing. Pete was confused by this and just stood still, ready to protect Maleficent if he needs to. The two watched as Capella smiled for a bit before starting to transform her body into something else, disturbing Pete while catching Maleficent's attention. After a couple of seconds of changing, Capella had changed her body to match Maleficent's body which caught both the real Maleficent and Pete's attention.

"What do you think? The only person you would love is your own self. Your own body."

"Hmph. You know nothing about me. I could care less about emotions of love, I care about ruling the world and covering it with darkness! I'm the root of all evil, that's what I care about!"

Capella looked at Maleficent with an angered facial expression, not liking what she just heard. This anger caused her to revert to her usual self while starting to say in a disgusted tone of voice.

"Everyone loves beauty, everyone loves the outside! You are one that doesn't deserve to live!"

Capella threw her tail directly at Maleficent in hopes of slicing her head off yet Maleficent used her staff to block off the attack with ease. As Maleficent blocks off the attack, she looks at Capella unimpressed.

"Is that all you got? How pathetic."

"Hehe...alright, let me show you what happens to those who don't appreciate the love of the world!"

Capella looked angrily at Maleficent before starting her transformation into a dragon, wanting to make the evil being in front of her to suffer. Maleficent noticed this and was surprised by it, causing her to turn towards Pete.

"Stand back for a moment, I have to teach this fake a lesson."

"Yes ma'am."

Pete listens and quickly stands back before ending up creating a shield when he sees two witch cultists attacking him. As Pete creates a shield to defend himself, Maleficent looks at Capella with a blank facial expression before her body started to glow green and black aura.

"Let me show you the true power of all evil!"

A large light gets created as she starts to change into her dragon form. As both Maleficent and Capella turn into a dragon each, they stare down for a moment with Pete and the witch cultists noticing this. There was a moment of silence as nobody did anything for a few seconds before the two dragons just charged at each other. Capella used her right arm in an attempt to slice of Maleficent's head off yet the mistress of evil used her tail to deflect the attack before quickly creating fire with her mouth, forcing Capella to back off for a moment before also firing her own fire. While the two dragons were countering each other, Pete looks at the two dragons fight with an amazed facial expression.

'Wow, this is pretty impressive. You got this, Maleficent!'

As Pete mentally cheered for Maleficent, he turned his focus on the Witch cult that is almost breaking his shield. He looks at them and quickly snaps his fingers before summoning Neoshadow heartless to help push back the remaining heartless.

"Hehe...you blockheads aren't going to beat me! Go my heartless, take 'em down!"

As Pete takes on the witch cult with his army of heartless and Maleficent in her dragon form takes on Capella in her dragon form, Otto and his group continue to hold their own against Lye and Roy with Julius and Ricardo taking on Roy while Rem and Garfiel together push back Lye. Otto stood in the side lines, only joining in on the fight when seeing that his allies need some assistance against the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony. Lye was fighting with half his normal strength against Rem, wanting to see how this new version of Rem would fair against him compared to their last encounter. As Rem and Garfiel were going all out, they both worked together to prevent Lye from eating their memories.

"This time...I will beat you! I will regain my memories!"

"Yes, you are gourmet! You are looking very delicious~TSU!"

"Like hell yer gonna eat Rem-Rin!"

Garfiel with his immense strength managed to land a hit on Lye, sending him flying away from Rem while making sure the blue haired oni was alright. Rem nodded at Garfiel before the two returned their focus back on the fight, knowing that Lye is using one of his abilities to sprint quickly to their location. As the two get up, Otto throws Garfiel one of the red crystals, alerting him to be careful when using it. Garfiel nodded at his bro before turning towards Lye, seeing him going to the offensive.

"T'close!"

Garfiel just barely dodges one of Lye's daggers, causing him to quickly regain his balance before going on the offensive, pushing the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony back. Rem looked at Lye and was at first afraid to continue on since she knows how weak she is compared to Garfiel and Lye yet her motivation is to retrieve her old self back, the one that knew everyone.

'Don't worry Rem, I will get you back.'

She got up and with her horn, she unleashed all the power she could and quickly rejoined the fight, assisting Garfiel's offense and managing to push back Gluttony. The two continued to push Lye back until he started to take the fight a little seriously. This forced Rem and Garfiel to go on the defensive when they see Lye starting to push them back. Garfiel held the red crystal in his right hand while using his left to defend himself from Lye's attack. He waited for a moment until Lye Batenkaitos tried to eat him. The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony opened his mouth to bite down only for Garfiel to throw the red crystal directly towards it. Lye noticed this and quickly closed his mouth and moved quickly to block the attack yet he wasn't fast enough. Some of the explosion got on Lye Batenkaitos on the face, slightly injuring him.

"Ha! Take that ya bastard!"

"Nice one, Garfiel."

"Thanks Rem-rin."

The two took a moment to rest before seeing Lye looking at them with an excited facial expression, creeping the two out.

"Yes, this makes things much more fun! This is what gourmet is~TSU!"

"Yer a creepy fucker!"

"And you are GOURMET!"

Lye charges at Garfiel, now wanting to eat him as he seems to be strong enough to be gourmet. While Rem and Garfiel take care of Lye, both Julius and Ricardo manage to temporarily push back Roy with their combined swordsmanship skills. Roy Alphard using his skills from the victims he has eaten managed to use their skills to his advantage, dodging every attack as best as he can. Both Ricardo and Julius noticed this and realize that their opponent is much tougher than he looks.

"Mercenary, can you hold him off on your own for a minute? I need to prepare my quasi spirits."

"Just don't take too long."

Julius nodded before using everything he had in him and his spirits to regain the advantage on Roy while Ricardo used everything he had to hold Roy off. The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony noticed this and quickly relied on his own skills, giving Ricardo a hard time has he was swinging his sword, trying to land the fatal blow that'll end the fight. Roy messed around with Ricardo, dodging each attack just as it seemed like it was going to hit and deflecting attacks with ease. Ricardo notices that he isn't going to land a hit, causing him to turn his attention to Julius for a moment.

"Yo, are ya done? I need some assistance."

"Don't worry, I just finished in the nick of time."

Ricardo looked at Julius to see that his sword is glowing, indicating that the knight was using everything he had in his arsenal to take down the Sin Archbishop. He smiled before turning towards Roy, blocking some of his opponent's attacks before allowing Julius to attack. As the spirit knight goes to attack, Roy takes a moment to wait before springing his trap, wanting the knight to close in so he may eat the knight and gain his memories to himself. Just as Julius was closing in, Otto stepped in and threw three red crystals directly at the Sin Archbishop.

"What in the-"

Roy noticed this and quickly dodged the explosions just barely yet having left his defenses lowered to have received one of Julius' powerful attacks. As Julius managed to land a powerful hit on Roy's chest area, the Sin Archbishop jumped back and waited for a moment to recover from the hit. While attempting to wait, Ricardo takes his chance to strike on the Sin Archbishop while he was recovering from such a fatal blow. Roy Alphard noticed this and quickly used his martial arts skills he had gained from one of his many victims to dodge the attack.

"Damn! This bastard's persistent."

"Don't worry Mercenary, I will finish this."

Julius charged directly at Roy with everything he had while Otto waited in the background, having a feeling that he is going to be need his assistance. As Julius swung his sword once again in hopes of delivering the finishing blow yet Roy was able to dodge the attacks with great speed before closing in for an attempt to eat Julius' memories only for Otto to step in with another red crystal managed to push Roy back.

"Julius-san, you need to be careful."

"I normally don't appreciate help but thank you, merchant."

Otto nodded before getting another red crystal ready to throw at Roy Alphard should he need to yet the Sin Archbishop quickly returned back to the fight and quickly managed to get close enough to the knight, having used his lunar eclipse, before he grabs Julius with his left hand before licks the palm of the same hand. As this happens, Ricardo tries to cut Roy's head off yet he misses with Roy using his lunar eclipse to evade the attack with immense speed.

'What the hell did he do to me?'

Julius thought of this while his focus was back on the fight, managing to save Ricardo from being stabbed in the eye by one of Roy's daggers. Ricardo was thrown off by this yet he nodded at Julius with some appreciation before the two together attacked Roy, both hoping to land the finishing blow yet they were slowly starting to be overwhelmed by Roy's speed. Just as Roy was about to cut Ricardo's hand off, a random knife manages to block off the attack which forced the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony to back off, having recognized the knife. Ricardo and Julius both jumped back to gain some distance while also trying to figure out what just happened. The two inspect the knife for a moment before realizing who it is from. As they realize, they hear a female's voice speaking to the two.

"My My, a knight and a mercenary fighting side by side. That's something you never see everyday."

Ricardo and Julius notice this and quickly turn to see the bowel hunter standing side by side with Felt. Julius points his sword directly at the woman and speaks with a serious tone of voice, "What are you doing here, Bowel Hunter? And what are you doing with Felt-sama?"

"My My, so hostile for a knight. I'm just doing Sora Dear a favor and helping you all with the witch cult."

"And why should we believe you?"

"Because my knight is a dumbass along with my hero, both are such idiots but they trust her...so I guess I trust her too."

Felt says this which catches the attention of Otto, Julius, and Ricardo. While they were distracted, Roy attempted to attack his two opponents yet Elsa with her knife jumped in between to block off the attack.

"The traitor!"

"The ugly bastard."

Both Elsa and Roy looked at each other with much hate before starting their fight while Felt approached Otto. Ricardo and Julius both watched the fight for a moment before Ricardo looked at the knight to tell him.

"Thanks for helping me out. What's your name?"

"Huh? What are you talking about, Ricardo? We know each other."

"Is that so? I don't recognize you though..."

Otto looked at Julius and overheard the conversation, making him realize that Julius' name had been eaten. Sora and Subaru had explained to the camp that Rem's condition is that she lost both her name and memories, name being that everyone forgets the person and the memories being the person's memories. This meant that Julius only lost his name, which made sense since he remembered everyone right now. Otto approached the knight he didn't recognized and quickly explained the situation to him. Before they could continue discussing on the situation, they noticed Rem was sent flying towards their position. Otto looked and could see that Garfiel was struggling due to pushing his body too much, forcing the merchant to ask Julius to assist him in helping Garfiel. Julius nodded with Ricardo also joining in, leaving Elsa to face off Roy on her own.

"Hey Elsa! Think you can hold your own?" Felt asked since she didn't want to leave Elsa to her own against a strong opponent. Elsa noticed this and smiled before responding while deflecting Roy's attacks,

"I will be fine, help the others."

"Are you sure?"

"Don't you worry about me, I won't fall here. I still have a promise to keep."

"Okay, just be careful and kick his ass."

Felt headed towards Otto's position to join them in assisting Garfiel in facing off Lye while Elsa and Roy had a one on one battle with the two giving it their all.

As the group handled the gluttony duo, Wilhelm and Crusch continued on their fight with the old butler barely keeping up against his late wife while the duchess giving everything she got against the old Keyblade Master. As Crusch was pushing herself to her limits, she noticed that Wilhelm was also at his limits, barely keeping up with Theresia. This caused her to turn focus on helping Wilhelm, knowing that he needs assistance. As she leaves Xehanort, she uses her wind ability to distract Theresia before she could deliver the final blow. As she prevented this, she managed to change Theresia's mindset from Wilhelm to her, beginning the fight between the two with the previous sword saint charging at her and the two having a sword clash. As both their weapons clash, they enter a blade lock with each side giving their strength to push the other back.

'I'm actually fighting the previous sword saint...this is insane.'

Crusch could not believe herself that she was really fighting the previous sword saint. This made her slightly nervous yet she regained focus when Theresia jumped back for a moment before charging at her at full speed. Crusch dodged a couple of the attacks from the late Theresia before eventually being forced to deflect off each attack, seeing that her speed is starting to be much faster than hers. Wilhelm got up and quickly got his strength back to assist Crusch, seeing that she is barely holding her own against her late wife. Once the two were fighting side by side, Theresia quickly jumped back and looked at the two before pulling out a second sword.

"What the?"

"Are you okay, Wilhelm-dono?"

"Yes..."

Crusch looked at Wilhelm and can tell that something was wrong yet she couldn't press on since Theresia charged at them. The two blocked each attack yet Wilhelm was very uncertain of fighting her due to how he has never seen his wife ever wield two swords. The two continued to hold their own until all of a sudden they see Theresia starting to be surrounded by darkness which catches Xehanort's attention.

'Hm. Now this is interesting.'

Xehanort pulled out his keyblade and quickly teleported behind both Crusch and Wilhelm before taking over the fight for the two by disarming one of Theresia's swords before blocking off the other.

"Xehanort!"

"Allow me to handle this, Wil. She was my friend, you know."

"Stay away from her!"

Wilhelm charged at Xehanort to stop him from hurting his wife yet Xehanort was easily able to stop Wilhelm's attack by simply grabbing the old butler's sword with ease. Wilhelm was shocked by this, surprised just how strong his fallen friend is while also noticing that the old Keyblade Master was easily blocking Theresia's attacks.

"Xehanort...just what happened to you...?"

"Hm. The power of darkness."

Wilhelm looked at Xehanort with some fear before backing away, knowing that he won't be able to do anything to take down his former friend. Crusch also noticed this and decided to step back, not wanting to get caught in between both Xehanort and Theresia's attacks. As Xehanort was easily deflecting every attack, Theresia eventually stopped and jumped away from the three with Xehanort noticing a shift in power.

"Ah, so the grandson as arrived."

Wilhelm and Crusch both noticed what Xehanort said and quickly turned towards the direction the old Keyblade Master turned to see Reinhard standing there, completely stunned by what he is witnessing.

"..."

"Reinhard..."

Wilhelm was unsure what his grandson was thinking, seeing that he was silent and looking very serious at Theresia. All the old butler can speculate is that his grandson is putting a tough act yet before he could say anything, Xehanort looked at Reinhard and started to speak to him.

"What do you see, Sword Saint?"

"I see someone I had killed 15 years ago, someone who is dead."

"No my grandson, you did not kill Theresia...it was not your fault!"

Reinhard noticed this from his grandfather yet he refused to believe this, having believed it for so long that it is his fault his grandmother was killed. Wilhelm noticed this and quickly tried to plead to his grandson that it wasn't his fault yet all that did was remind him of how he was blamed for his grandmother's death.

("It's your fault she's dead!")

The blame of Theresia's death was still in Reinhard's mind and seeing a corpse of his deceased grandmother isn't helping. All he looks is with pain and guilt yet he knows that he needs to put aside these emotions and take out the impostor. He pulled out the spare sword he was going to use on Elsa and prepared himself for a fight. Before the battle between two sword saints began, Xehanort approached Theresia and touched her back for a moment before seeing his former friend engulfed in darkness.

"What are you doing?!" Yelled Wilhelm, not liking what Xehanort is up to.

"Cutting the strings of the puppet."

"What does that mean?"

"You wouldn't understand, Wil."

Xehanort gave a smile at Wilhelm only to be met by an angry stare from the old butler meanwhile Reinhard stood still for a moment, waiting to see what the old Keyblade Master is up to. Theresia was engulfed in pure darkness after a couple of seconds, eventually having the heartless symbol in her back.

"What are you planning to do now?" Reinhard said in a calm tone.

"Letting her go all out now."

Xehanort smiled as he sends Theresia to attack Reinhard, causing him to go into a defense pose yet as he does that, he notices his Dragon Sword Reid unsheathe. He quickly used his right hand to defend himself while grabbing his sword with his left hand. As his sword from his right hand broke, he quickly got the other one to his right hand in order to properly fight his deceased grandmother. While he was holding his own, Xehanort smiled at this before noticing Wilhelm and Crusch both charging at him, determined to stop whatever he is up to.

"You are not getting away with this!" Crusch says as she starts the fight.

"Hm. Is that so?"

Xehanort deflected off Crusch's attack before dodging Wilhelm's attack, beginning their fight just as Reinhard and Theresia had started theirs.