Chapter 2! I'm planning to continue this, so I shouldn't drop off the radar for more than 4 weeks max between updates unless I've been brutally murdered or summoned to Lugnica myself (honestly worse than death).

Loothouse

"If you don't wanna get hurt, cough up whatever you've got!"

Subaru turned and was met with the sight of a smirking crook. He was tall and thin, wore a loose-fitting grey t-shirt and matching pants, and had a chain attached to a collar around his neck. His hair was a light blue shade, hanging in front of his right eye, with pale pink streaks. Subaru decided to call him Lanky. Flanking him were two more thugs: a tiny guy wearing a fully brown outfit consisting of a coat, shorts, boots, and a cloak hanging from his neck who would be named Shrimp; the other was a huge man with a white vest and pants, and a small green jacket accentuated by a brown belt who he dubbed Beefy. Beefy flexed his arms in anticipation, showing off the amount of muscle in them as he leered down at Subaru.

Subaru set his bag down on the ground. 'Hmm… this could be a great chance to test out my Authorities, especially that Stillness of an Object's Time thing.'

"Oh? You think you can beat me, Natsuki Subaru? We'll just have to see about that." Following up, Subaru spun around, grabbed some of the loose rubble from the wall and hurled it at one of Beefy's arms whilst freezing its time.

…He may have underestimated the Authority of Greed.

The pebbles and stones shot as fast as a bullet at him, before shredding his arm and carrying on straight into the sky until they were too small to see. All that remained was a mangled shoulder pouring blood onto the ground. For a second the thugs stiffened and stared at the arm in shock, but then they kicked back into motion. Beefy howled in pain and collapsed, and Shrimp ran to his side with his arms flailing. Lanky snarled with pure rage and rushed him, pulling out twin knives and managing about three steps until he gagged on seemingly nothing and rose off the ground. His eyes widened in panic, and he slashed at the space in front of his throat like he was trying to sever an arm that was throttling him. He was hovering about a foot off the ground, and took in Subaru's glaring eyes and concentrated expression.

Piecing things together, Lanky choked out, "P-pl-ease! I-I'm sor-rr-y! J-just d-d-don-t kill m-m-me!"

Subaru sighed deeply and released control over the Unseen Hand, allowing him to crumple to the floor and start gasping for breath. 'I guess they are only some low-level thugs.'

Interrupting, a small and distinctively feminine voice announced, "Uhhh… I'm just gonna walk around this and pretend I never saw nothin'. Sorry! Live strong!" A blonde girl with ruby red eyes sprinted past them, running out the other end of the alleyway and banking right, disappearing. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Shrimp trying his best to stay out of sight as he circled behind him. Subaru snickered, before slamming a Hand down on his back and flattening him against the ground.

As his attention was momentarily diverted, Lanky threw a knife as hard as he could and lodged it in his thigh. He stiffened, and then turned around to hurl Lanky into the wall with another Unseen Hand.

"Goddammit! That hurts even more than that time I slammed a door on my finger back home! Wait, could I…" Subaru trailed off, before ripping the knife out of his leg with a grunt of pain and whipping it at Lanky - drawing a high pitched scream. He focused for a while, and though it took a while he managed to use Variation and Change to reform his leg. "Whoa, heck yeah! And you guys still wanna fight me?"

"Who the- no, what the hell're you? First up with thos' stones, then that invisible arm and now you just healed a fuckin' knife wound with no problem. There's no way in Lugnica yer a human!"

"Well, the name's Natsuki Subaru - again - and I'm a broke, homeless and clueless foreigner with no idea where the hell I am!"

Lanky didn't even dignify that with a response, he just limped over to Shrimp and helped him up, then they wrapped their arms around Beefy and began to shuffle away.

"Uh, you want me to heal his arm, or at least what's left of it? That's a nasty injury, probably fatal."

Shrimp glared at him, before exchanging defeated expressions with Lanky and walking Beefy toward Subaru. He leaned down to place a hand on the minced and mangled remainder of Beefy's shoulder, and a whole new arm started to sprout out from it. In a few seconds the limb was fully regrown, with not a single sign of damage.

"What the heck - I had years worth o' scars covering that arm and not a single one's left! Dunno if I should be thanking ya or condemning ya."

"You're welcome. Now scram."

As the trio ran off, or limped in Lanky's case, Subaru stared at his hands in awe. 'That was only three Authorities and I was completely untouchable! Holy crap man, I'm gonna be so strong once I'm used to all seven and know which powers are suited for which situations.'

He picked up his bag, but paused. 'This junk's probably worth nothing in this world, and with my powers I could do some street magic for some money if I can't find a job or food.' Subaru dropped it behind a crate against the wall.

All of a sudden, a voice, almost a spot-on mimic of the one which announced his Authorities, rang out through the passageway, "Excuse me, who in the name of the Od Laguna are you? I happened to track someone to this avenue just as you ripped that knife out, and I saw… everything afterwards?"

He turned around, for the millionth time in that damned alley, and saw the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on. She had flowing silver hair, gently rippling in the breeze; deep, amethyst eyes; and shoulderless white robes adorned with a purple trim. 'Is this a side quest? Or possibly the main quest…' Realising he was staring, he shook himself out of his trance.

"Natsuki Subaru's the name." Faking a cough, he muttered under his breath, "Why so many freaking introductions today."

But then a redheaded man in a neat white uniform burst into the avenue. A large sword hung by his side, in an extravagant sheath. There looked to be long golden scratches on the visible part of the sword, causing Subaru to wonder why it hadn't been repaired.

"Greetings, Subaru! May I ask what that commotion was about a short while ago? I am Reinhard Van Astrea, and I am a knight of the kingdom."

'A second party member?' "Greetings to you too, sir Reinhard! Sorry to trouble you, but some thugs attacked me so I fought back and may or may not have injured one of them quite severely. But don't worry - I healed the wound and told them to get lost, which they wisely did. This girl chanced upon the scene right before you."

"Ah, I understand, Subaru. Things like that happen all too often in shady passages like these. Also, please just call me Reinhard. There's no need for formality between us!"

Subaru sweatdropped. 'He just closed the distance between us like it was nothing.'

"Well, you know our names now, so what's yours?" He directed this at the woman, but shifted his attention to levitating himself in a sitting position - half a meter above the ground.

"My name? U-uh… if I say Satella that knight might attack me... Emilia. Just Emilia. But more importantly, how are you doing that? I've never seen a Divine Protection or spell that allows you to fly with that much control, and it doesn't even appear to take much concentration out of you."

He shut his eyes in thought, 'Divine Protection? What's that? All I've got are Authorities.' He was pretty sure confusion was evident on his face, so he focused on his Mastery of the Mind and an answer made its way to the front of his head.

Divine Protections:

Divine Protections are blessings given to people at birth by the world, bestowed by the Od Laguna. Some races have a Divine Protection that is always given to the people of that race. Most people are born without a Divine Protection, and those who are born with one know of it without being told. The ratio of Divine Protection holders is 1:100 for useless ones, 1:1,000 for useful ones, 1:10,000 for somewhat rare ones, 1:100,000 for really useful ones, 1:1,000,000 for unique ones, 1:10,000,000 for more than one, and the mere existence of those with more than one Divine Protection are considered to be strange. Authorities are superior versions of Divine Protections. Divine Protections remain with the individual from birth to death. It's also worth noting, two Divine Protections which work against each other (for example, if someone has a Divine Protection of Arrow Evasion and someone else has a made-up Divine Protection of Always-Hitting-Your-Shots) will cancel each other out.

"Oh, so that's what a Divine Protection is! Authorities are basically upgraded versions, huh? Pretty neat that I've got loads of 'em. Emilia, was it? To answer your question, it isn't a Divine Protection. I don't think I have any of those. It's my Authority of Sloth, the Unseen Hand. Awesome, right!"

Expecting the two to start gushing over how amazing he was - or at least acknowledge the fact he had something rarer than one-in-ten million odds, he cracked open an eye to take in their on-guard expressions.

"Uh, did I say something wrong?"

"Please tell me exactly what this so-called 'Authority of Sloth' is and how you obtained it." Emilia had a serious look on her face that was mimicked by Reinhard and had stealthily summoned an ice crystal behind her back, though Subaru couldn't see it.

"You're kinda creeping me out, you two… oh, screw it. Unseen Hand is an ability where I shoot invisible hands out of my body and use them for pretty much anything. I can attack, defend, and move around with them, just like Spider Man-"

"Spider Man?"

"-and I even made a handprint on that wall with it! It's so strong that I could lift a thug into the air by the throat! As for how I obtained it, when I was summoned I guess I just got them all from some crazy disembodied voice that kept telling me it loved me. Sounded just like yours, I think." Subaru finished rambling with a slightly smug grin and a midair spin.

Reinhard had seemed wary from the moment he'd brought up his power, but they both took a look at the wall and Emilia even gasped. "Summoned? And do you mean to say you have… multiple Authorities with that level of power?"

He looked confused for a moment, before asking, "Aren't you the cute girl who summoned me here from Japan?"

"I'm afraid I don't quite understand what you're talking about, but I didn't know you existed until just now." Emilia stated this with such a look of conviction on her face that Subaru couldn't help but wince.

"I, also, have not participated in any summonings and have never heard of this place you called Japan." Reinhard chimed in.

"Hmm… weird. Well, if neither of you brought me here, I suppose I should elaborate on my backstory a tad more. I was walking home from the shop, and everything went black in the middle of the road. There was this excruciating pain for the first minute or so, and I genuinely thought my body was gonna split apart. I couldn't see or hear or, once I'd adjusted to the pain, feel anything, but then something rammed straight through my chest. Some other weird, warm, liquidy thing filled the gap in. Then it just stopped suddenly and I woke up in this avenue - which I have yet to damn leave and I'm kinda getting sick of the drab scenery! When I tried to go out onto the main street, everything froze and went grey. Then a voice just like Emilia's spoke out all my Authorities and their abilities. Env-ugh, I mean Sloth, Greed, Wrath, Gluttony, Lust and Pride."

He grimaced for a second, having just had a firsthand taste of what happens if he tries to blab about his Authority of Envy. His ribcage now had a lingering throbbing where the Witch's hand had squeezed his heart.

Emilia was at a complete loss for words. 'This stranger apparently comes from beyond the Great Waterfall, has no knowledge of the Kingdom of Lugnica, is a holder of six separate godlike talents and has no money or home. Someone with this much power… is broke. And homeless.' She found the idea so humorous that she had to stifle a giggle behind her hand.

On the other hand, Reinhard was pretty curious. Thanks to the Divine Protection of Wind Reading he'd gained a few days back to interrogate that assassin, he could tell Subaru hadn't lied at all throughout his explanation and it was pretty intriguing as to how he'd been transported here.

Just then, a small, floating grey cat appeared from behind Emilia. "You're quite the curious character, Natsuki Subaru. Regardless of your… strange circumstances, to say the least, I'm getting no malice from you at all. Lia, he clearly knows nothing about the significance of his abilities, or he wouldn't have told a complete stranger he has six Authorities. I'm Puck, the Great Spirit of Fire. Nice to meet you too, Reinhard."

"It's my pleasure to converse with the Great Spirit of Fire."

Emilia looked unconvinced, but let the ice shard dissipate behind her. Glancing over at Subaru, "Well. I'd love to stay and chat, especially to learn more about your powers, but I'm in a rush so I'm going now. I need to catch a thief who stole something very important from me. Do you know which way she went?"

At this, Subaru donned a thoughtful look and said, "Blonde girl, crimson eyes, short and very cute?" At Emilia's snort and nod, he dropped to the ground, landing easily on his feet thanks to the added control from Pride, and waved her toward the opposite end of the avenue. "She went this way and took a sharp right. Could I tag along with you? From what I've gathered so far my Authorities seem to be quite powerful, and I would feel awful if I let such a beautiful girl wander the streets with only Puck for company."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Puck exclaimed. He was promptly ignored.

Emilia blushed and squeaked out, "B-but I'm a h-half elf? A s-silver haired half elf… with purple eyes! Pointy e-ears and all!"

Reinhard laughed at the exchange, and pointed out, "Emilia, I think it's fair to say by this point that Subaru doesn't care what race you are or who you might resemble."

Subaru beamed. "Couldn't have said it better myself, Reinhard. In any case, I'd like to help."

Puck smirked at Emilia's overwhelmed expression, and answered for her, "We would love your help, Subaru! …Even if you have no respect for Great Spirits…"

She pouted, but nevertheless took a step forward and offered her hand to shake. "It would be a joy if you would accompany me to retrieve my property."

She made a circle with her thumb and forefinger, and explained, "It's an insignia; about this big, and it has a small red jewel in the centre. That girl swiped it from me in the middle of the street and I've been chasing her since she escaped my ice."

However, Reinhard perked up at this. "Would that be an insignia to mark your participation in the Royal Selection, by any chance?"

"W-well, yes, it is. I'm one of the candidates to become the 42nd king of Lugnica."

He dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "My sincerest apologies for not addressing you with the proper respect, Lady Emilia."

"O-oh, u-uh, don't w-worry about it, Reinhard. It's fine to call me Emilia."

Subaru stared in shock. "Two things: candidate to be king? And ice? Like ice magic? There's freaking magic in this world! How do I know if I can use it!"

Puck let out a hearty laugh that was very unbecoming for his size, and said, "Recently, the entire royal family was wiped out by a disease that only seemed to affect them. Because the country's being run by the Sage council right now, they turned to the Dragon Tablet which prophesied that five candidates for king would be found across the kingdom, and would be recognised with a Dragon Insignia - the thing Lia lost. They glow red when in the hands of a potential candidate. And as for magic, I could check your affinity for magic right now if you want. The four main attributes are earth, wind, fire and water magic. Technically, Lia isn't using ice magic. Because she has a contract with me, she uses mana from the atmosphere instead of from her body. It's called being a Spirit Arts user."

"Spirit Arts? Ah, I probably shouldn't ask my Authority again today. It's helped me out quite a bit already, and it did say it uses a fair bit of my mana. Speaking of which, is mana just like the magic energy you put into attacks and crap?"

Emilia raised an eyebrow. "I get that you're from beyond the Great Waterfall, but you don't even know what mana is?" She sighed but continued, "Mana is the flow of all life in the world. In your body, you have a gate. Through said gate, you both draw mana in and expel it out to use magic. You should also have one, Subaru, would you like Puck to take a look?"

He gave her his best 'What do you think?' look and exclaimed, "Hell yeah, of course I wanna know if I can do magic!"

Puck floated over, tapped him on the forehead with the tip of his tail, and started making an echoing 'meowmeowmeowmeowmeow' sound.

"Aw, I'm sorry Subaru - you don't have an affinity for magic. Don't feel too bad, though! With all those Authorities I doubt you'd need it anyway. Lia, I'm going to have a nap now. I entrust the rest to Subaru and Reinhard." Puck took on a sympathetic look that shifted into a smile of encouragement, but then he disappeared in a burst of multicoloured orbs. 'Hmmm… it seems he fits the qualifications to have some sort of magic, but something stripped him of it before he discovered it. Along with how his gate is untrained and looks to have never seen any kind of use, could it be that the other world he hails from has no magic? It would certainly explain his reaction to hearing about Lia's ice. Anyhow, if this boy proves dangerous or hurts Lia, I will not hesitate to end him. Let's see what you'll do next, Natsuki Subaru.'

Subaru was busy staring at the ground as if it was responsible for every bad thing that ever happened to him. 'Damn, I know I hit the jackpot with the stuff so far, but would it have been too much to ask for just a basic fire spell or something?' Reinhard gave him a pat on the back, and he sighed. "Well, magic would've been cool, but I guess he's right. I'm already lucky enough to have so many Authorities. Now then, let's be off on our quest to find the thief! Reinhard, could you tag along with us?"

Unbeknownst to the two, Reinhard had been forced to stifle a gasp. When he'd come into contact with Subaru's back, to provide encouragement, two Divine Protections activated - his Divine Protection of Judgement and his Divine Protection of Empathy. From Judgement he could tell that Subaru did indeed have a massive amount of dark energy inside of him, similar to Divine Protections but much, much stronger. But the other one, Empathy, showed him that Subaru felt only excitement and glee at that moment. There was no hostility, no underlying motives, no signs of deceit - just pure happiness. The fact that someone could remain so innocent and untainted with that much evil power inside them was a wonder to Reinhard, and further convinced him of Subaru's trustworthiness.

"Of course. It'd be an honour to accompany yourself and Lady Emilia."

After wandering throughout town for a while, asking anyone they could if they'd seen a young blonde girl in a hurry, they came upon a small girl standing at the side of the street. Whenever someone walked by, she looked up at them with hopeful eyes before turning downcast when they were yet another passerby. Sooner or later, she began to cry. Emilia grabbed Subaru's arm to stop him and pointed to the girl.

"Subaru, Reinhard, she's crying! We have to help her!"

"Emilia… it's great that you're such a thoughtful person, but do we really have time-"

"Lady Emilia, your insignia is very important and we-"

They were cut off by a death glare from the usually kind girl. Their faces drained of all colour, and Subaru stuck his hands out in an appealing manner.

"Alright, alright, we can spare a few minutes, I guess. Sheesh."

Her face snapped back into a smile and she walked over to the child, crouching down in front of her. "I'm sorry I'm not who you were looking for, but I could try to help out. Are your parents with you?"

However, once she saw Emilia's face, she whimpered and backtracked until she was up against a building. Emilia flinched at the adverse reaction and looked helplessly at the other two. Subaru thought for a moment, before clicking his fingers and trudging over.

"Hey, kid, watch this - I'll do a magic trick to cheer you up!" Subaru's eyes narrowed briefly, and then used two Unseen Hands to raise his body off the ground in a cross-legged position. He gave a little twirl and wiggled his eyebrows. The girl started to giggle with a look of awe on her face, and he said, "Now, how about me, sir knight, and this lady here help you find your parents?"

Reinhard was surprised at the way he handled that, and once again reaffirmed in his mind that Subaru was a caring and kindhearted person.

She nodded timidly, and the four set off down the road. Not too much later, though, the girl squealed and ran into the arms of a woman who Subaru guessed was her mother. She thanked them almost excessively, before ambling off with her daughter in tow.

"Looks like she found her. I'm glad."

Yet Emilia looked a bit confused. "Yes, but why did you help me, Subaru? Weren't you against it in the first place?"

"I mean yeah, I was, but we weren't gonna get anything done if we started arguing back and forth in the middle of the street and I guess I saw a chance to butt in there. Anyway, let's get back on topic. The thief: I've been wondering about why a quick and nimble girl such as her would steal an insignia over all else. I get that it's important and to do with kingship, but to anyone unqualified, it's just a hunk of metal with some nice patterns on it. Surely she could've found someone with money much easier, and if this insignia is as rare and valuable as you say it is then I doubt she could sell it under the radar easily. Did she already know where you kept the insignia and only take that, nothing else?"

When Emilia nodded with a slightly perplexed expression, he scowled. "It's as I thought. She was hired to grab it. Which means she's probably on her way to sell it off to the contractor right now. You two know this city better than me, Emilia, Reinhard; where would a thief go to meet with an arranged buyer?"

"P-perhaps the slums, Subaru? I've heard that there's a lot of crime there so it would make sense."

"Lady Emilia is correct. As law and order are far more unpracticed in areas such as the southern slums, a lot of thievery and violations happen there."

"Of course, the slums! How didn't I think of that! …There's always a shady place for all the thieves in anime or games like these, and slums are pretty high up on the list. Lead the way, then, and let's get your stuff back!"

The other two turned and began to walk back in the direction they'd come from. Seeing this, Subaru sighed and facepalmed, before hurrying after them.

They trudged along for around half an hour and eventually reached a run-down, dilapidated area. Subaru, by this point, had drawn up a rough sketch of the thief to match his description thanks to some chalk and paper he found in a long-forgotten pile of boxes. Whispering for Emilia and Reinhard to stay out of sight, seeing as an elegantly dressed noblewoman and a knight would be far too inconspicuous here, he hiked up to a particularly dangerous-looking individual and handed over a scrap of paper.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a girl like this. Blonde hair, red eyes, damned fast and might be selling a piece of jewellery I'm interested in? Can you help me?"

The man replied with a snort and a dismissive wave of his hand. "Tha's s'posed to be a girl? Coulda fool'd me."

"Please, sir. My sister back home really took a liking to the item but we forgot to ask for a meeting place. I'd be ever so thankful, and maybe if I have any leftover funds afterwards I could come and give it to you as compensation…"

Like Subaru predicted, the guy's eyes lit up at the mention of money. "Ah-ha! Should'a led with tha' to start with. You migh' be lookin' for Felt, she's good at wha' she does and sets up shop ov'r at old man Rom's loothouse. Coupl'a streets tha'way, massive buildin'; you can' miss it."

"Thank you a lot, sir. Well, I'll be on my way now." Subaru trekked off, beckoned his companions in the direction the man had pointed, and soon the loothouse was in sight.

"Subaru, why did you tell him you had an interested sister and that you're going to pay for the jewellery? It's mine and I intend to have it returned to me."

"Emilia… your naivety is astounding. If you tell someone who lives in the same area as Felt, and is likely acquainted with her, that you plan to use force to retake a possession or even that she stole from you in the first place, then they won't tell us where she is. People in places like these don't sell out their own unless they think it's just harmless business with a nice profit in it for them."

In response, she just nodded with a hum and a pensive look on her face. Reinhard also looked to be deep in thought about something. They got to the porch, and, seeing a light shining inside through a window, Subaru knocked. There were some thundering footsteps, but the door didn't swing open.

"Whaddaya want? Kinda in the middle of negotiations for something now, you can come back later."

"W-wait! I have something very valuable I want to trade, for something very specific! Can me and my friends at least wait inside until the ongoing deal's done?"

There was a moment of silence and Subaru could feel his heart pounding.

"Alright, I guess you can wait over at the side." With that, the heavy oak door creaked wide open to reveal a giant of a man who was easily over seven feet tall. He gave the trio a scrutinizing stare and tensed at the sight of Reinhard, but stepped back out of the way of the doorframe. "Just stay quiet."

The loothouse was pretty average for an illegal pawn shop. There were some tables and chairs scattered around the room, and a worn-down bar with some faded red stools. Various weapons and goods were hung up on or rested against the walls, and there was even a full suit of dusty armour in one corner. A lot of half-empty boxes covered by tarps littered the floor, though most things were stacked precariously on shelves.

However, upon entry, they saw Felt talking to a scantily dressed woman with long, black hair. Felt started to reach into her jacket and when she withdrew her hand, she was gripping tightly onto a piece of dark metal shaped like a shield. It had a silver pattern embellished on the front and a red jewel directly in the centre of it. Reinhard locked up and Emilia gasped when she saw it, drawing the attention of both Felt and the black-haired woman. While Felt simply looked surprised and a little scared that Emilia, the scary boy from before and a knight had managed to track her down, the mysterious woman licked her lips and took on a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Oh dear~. If the item's original owner is here, accompanied by the Sword Saint no less, we can hardly negotiate. I'll have to change my plans. I shall slaughter everyone here, such an exciting~ outcome. I can't wait to see the colours of your bowels!" The woman pulled out two knives with a violet sheen and dashed at Emilia, who was still standing near the door next to Subaru and Reinhard. Subaru shoved her to the side and took the blow directly to the gut which doubled him over - and snapped the blade clean in two. She shrieked, and Felt along with the giant ran to hide behind the bar, but he simply straightened up and chuckled.

"Wow… you really shouldn't just attack people like that. Reinhard, Emilia, stay back! I'll handle this- ack!" Subaru gripped his chest and realised he hadn't turned Stillness of an Object's Time off. Scrambling to form a coherent thought, he used his last second of lucidity as he collapsed to flip the switch in his mind. He laid on the wooden floor, everyone around him staring in shock, confusion or worry, and panted for breath.

"Damn - one second. Regardless of… that, we gonna continue? I think it's my turn to make a move." Concentrating, Subaru jumped up and glared at their assailant with an intensity only Emilia had seen back when the thugs had assaulted him. Abruptly, the woman was hoisted up into the air before being crushed into the floor over and over by an invisible force.

"You are-" *thud* "-not loved by-" *crash* "-the world! You-" *bang* "-are loved-" *wheeze* "-BY THE WITCH!" She turned feral, screaming the final part of her sentence, and managed to swing her blades with enough power to sever the Unseen Hand gripping her throat. Snarling, the woman leapt toward Subaru with one of her weapons outstretched. She was closing in, at one meter… and as she made contact: *splinter*. The knife had made contact with Subaru's neck, at which point it shattered into hundreds of pieces that rained down around the room. But, at the same time, he had managed to grab onto her bare hand. And now, hanging in front of Subaru in all her glory, was a small puppy trying to bite him.

"How'd you like a dose of Variation and Change, jackass?"

Subaru chucked the dog across the room with all his strength, whereupon it smashed through a table and scampered off through a small hole in the wall. He spun to face the others with bravado, raising his arms in victory, but felt a tearing sensation in his stomach. Glancing down, he saw a wide and flat line carved into his gut with blood spraying out. 'Shit! She must've got me just after she hit my neck… she figured out it's a manual ability and not a passive skill…'

He tried to focus on the Authority of Lust, but everything started to grow hazy in front of his eyes and he couldn't think straight.

"Oh… crap-" Subaru fell forwards and faceplanted on the wooden floor, a pool of blood beginning to spread underneath him.

"Subaru! Reinhard, help me get him into a better position!" Emilia ran over and, with Reinhard's support, turned him over to lie on his back. She summoned some spirits and pushed healing magic into his abdomen, but all she could do was slow the bleeding; the wound wouldn't close.

"Puck, wake up, I can't heal Subaru by myself - I need you to close the gash!" Puck materialized looking fairly groggy, but when he laid eyes on Subaru's bleeding form he snapped to attention. He zoomed over and placed his paws on his stomach, starting the healing process. It took twenty minutes, but the cut closed up all the same.

"Lia, we've staunched the bleeding now and he looks fine outwardly, but Subaru needs Betty. We don't have the strength to repair his organs by ourselves."

"O-ok. Reinhard, would it be alright to take him back to Roswaal's mansion? The spirit there, Beatrice, will be able to regenerate him fully."

Reinhard frowned for a minute, but then smiled broadly. "Of course, Lady Emilia. I trust that you will look after Subaru. Now I am aware you must leave with haste, but we should at least get what we came for." Circling behind the counter and pushing past the hulking man, he crouched in front of Felt.

"Could you return the insignia to us, Felt? It's very important to Lady Emilia. Officially I can't ignore this, but… unfortunately, I'm off duty today." He grinned crookedly and held out his hand for Felt to drop it into, but when she pulled it from her pocket Reinhard froze. He grabbed her wrist and gawked hollowly at her.

"Hey, what the hell! You're hurting me!"

"Felt- I mean Lady Felt, what is your family name? How old are you?"

"What? I don't have anything fancy like a family name, and I think I'm about fifteen. I don't know the exact date. Just let me go!"

Reinhard grimaced. "I'm afraid I cannot keep my word. I shall be taking you with me, Lady Felt."

Emilia looked surprised at this, and reached out to stop him. "Wait, Reinhard! If this is because of stealing my insignia, then it really is ok…"

"That is, indeed, no small crime. But next to the gravity of overlooking the one unfolding before me, it's trivial." He held his palm in front of Felt's face, then the bulky guy's when he made to step forwards, and they collapsed. Reinhard hefted Felt's small frame into his arms and flung open the door. "Keep Subaru in good health, Lady Emilia, and stay safe. This may be the last chance we have to gaze calmly at the moon." With that said, he disappeared into the night.

Hundreds of miles away…

Regulus Corneas was shocked. He was outraged. He was furious. He had just taken a tumble down the stairs, which wasn't exactly astounding considering the way he descended them like he wanted to personally crush the edge of every step a few centimetres further into the ground. Courtesy of one of the ungrateful bitches he had for wives speaking out of turn and putting him in a terrible mood for the rest of the night. But that wasn't it. No, what surprised Regulus was the small, dark purple bruise beginning to form on his elbow - and the sharp sting of pain he'd felt when he landed on it.

For the first time in many, many years, the Sin Archbishop of Greed had suffered an injury.

Hope that wasn't too bad. I originally geared Reinhard into joining the Emilia camp because he's one of my favourite characters and I finally have the power to be biased, but I didn't want to be too canon divergent without Felt camp and having an invincible backup tank just hanging around in case Subaru's plot armour wasn't enough is a bit too bland. So I rewrote it and ended up with this.