Julius's eyes shot open. A cold feeling covered his body. Everything was very bright, and his eyes slowly adapted to the light. His clothes were heavy and his hair felt wet—he had been drenched in water.

In front of him were two men in cloaks, coming clearer into focus as his vision sharpened. One of them held a now-empty bucket, while the other held a tray full of various tools. Looking closer, he noticed they were mostly tools for torture.

He tried to stay calm, observing the room. It looked like he was in some basement, almost like a dungeon. Several bright lightstones hung from the ceiling on chains. The stone walls were damp, and completely shielded him from outside light.

He could most likely scream his lungs out, and no one would hear him.

His eyes slowly wandered back to the cloaked figures. He tried to swallow his fear, but panic rose into his chest. Usually he was quite composed, but something about being in Felix's body worried him immensely.

His eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth hung open. Finally mustering up the courage, he tried to speak, but his voice was croaky and his mouth was dry. "What.. Do.. You.. Want.. From me..?"

His throat hurt, so much. It felt like he'd swallowed sand paper, or someone had made him swallow shattered glass.

The cloaked figures seemingly looked at each other, then back at Julius. One of them nodded. The other one sped off so fast that Julius could barely see him move. It looked almost like he'd teleported. Julius guessed that only having Felix's heightened senses allowed him to notice it.

Realising Julius wasn't going to get an answer, he looked around for a way out. He was on a chair, with his hands tied behind his back with rope. His feet were bound together, meaning running would be difficult.

It occurred to him that although his hands were tied, he wasn't in any way tied to the ground nor the chair, and that he could move somewhat freely.

Constructing a plan in his head, he decided he'd wait until the cloaked figure had his back turned. Once this had happened, he would jump forward and use his teeth to bite his opponent's neck. If his bite was enough to neutralise him, he'd use some of the tools to cut his ties loose.

Relying on the fact that a single bite would be enough was quite risky. But it was all or nothing in this situation, he had no choice.

Feeling his heart beat faster, he did some breathing exercises, breathing in and out slowly. When he was sufficiently calmed, he looked up at his captor. He appeared to be sharpening some tools, with his back to him.

Doing a small once over in his head, he stood up very slowly. Making sure not to make too much noise, he put his feet in position to leap forward. Feeling the contraction is his thighs, he threw himself towards his enemy.

Time seemed to slow, which Julius concluded as a result of Felix's superior demi-human reflexes. He was quite surprised at how fast and far he was travelling, not realising just quite how strong Felix's body was.

He reached the cloaked figure's neck, biting down hard. He felt his teeth sink through the flesh, meeting each other halfway through. It occurred to him that he just bit a large portion out of this man's neck. Felix was insanely stronger than he should be.

Then again, he was a demi-human, and adrenaline is one hell of a drug. It's even more powerful than cocaine.

He unclenched his jaw and hopped backwards, making sure not to trip on his own feet. He gazed at the man who had now fallen to the floor, both his hands gripping his neck as his body spasmed.

Julius quickly turned his back to the tray, picking up a scalpel with his hands behind his back, and cutting his binds. Once his hands were free, he moved to his ankles.

Now that he was completely unbound, he examined the cloaked figure on the floor. He was unmoving, most likely dead from blood loss. He quickly took a small dagger from the tray and left the room, hoping to escape.

He stepped out the door, seeing a long hallway. It stretched out in both directions, both equally as long, and almost identical in visuals. He felt like he was trapped in a labyrinth.

The hallways were quite bland, devoid of any colour or decorations. A lightstone hung from the ceiling every few metres, illuminating the dark grey floor and walls. It seemed to stretch on infinitely without a single turn or corner.

Looking both ways, as if checking the traffic to cross the road, he tried to think of which direction to go. He had no idea where he was, and there were most likely more cloaked figures ready to kill him if they saw him outside of the dungeon.

Julius took a deep breath and sighed, bringing his unoccupied hand to his forehead and rubbing it. What the hell do I do now? If I just aimlessly wander about then I'll most likely get myself killed. No matter how strong this body may be, there's no way I could fight one of them fair and square. The only reason I succeeded just now was due to surprise.

Before he could sink further into despair, he heard distant yelling. He hid back in the room, closing the door until only a small gap remained between the frame and the door.

The yelling, now combined with several sets of footsteps, approached him. He made sure he was breathing quietly, and that he was not within the field of view of anyone passing by. Just to make sure, he gently pressed a small button on the wall, which deactivated the lightstone.

The room fell into darkness.

The yelling got closer, and it turned from an unintelligible scream into more of a sob. As it approached, he realised it was Subaru who was sobbing.

Well, it wasn't Subaru, it was most likely Reinhard. But what could have possibly been so intense as to make Reinhard cry? I've never even seen him tear up.

The sobbing and the footsteps were right by Julius, now. He could wait, or move now.

Better to move now. Julius had no idea what was making Reinhard sound like that, but it couldn't be good.

The light seeping through the space between the frame and door flickered and the door creaked open.

A cultist stood there, struggling with Reinhard, who had gone completely limp.

Julius again lunged forward. He kicked the cultist in the stomach and they wheezed. He pressed his advantage, stabbing them with the knife and pulling it out and stabbing again, and again.

Blood spurted. Julius could taste it in his mouth even as it fell nowhere near him.

The cultist fell to the floor. Julius stabbed them a final time, right at the base of the skull.

He looked up. "Reinhard?"

Reinhard had gone silent. He was staring vacantly, slumped against the doorway. The blood from the cultist was creeping towards him in an ever-growing pool.

"Reinhard?" Julius repeated, stepping towards him. He slipped the knife back into the folds of Felix's dress. He looks out of it.

Julius knelt beside Reinhard. "Hey," he said, soft and coaxing. Felix's voice slipped into something soothing with barely any effort on Julius' part. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Reinhard croaked. His hollow eyes dragged up to meet Julius'. With a start, Julius realised that this was an expression he'd seen on Subaru before.

Maybe Julius was wrong. Maybe this was actually Subaru and not Reinhard.

"Subaru…?" Julius tried.

Maybe-Subaru Maybe-Reinhard nodded, slower and then faster. "Yes," he said. "I—no."

He stopped and stared. "I'm Reinhard," he said slowly.

Julius cast a nervous look up and down the corridor. I don't know when more of those cultists will be coming. They're the same cultists as before, aren't they? The Ninth Tail.

His ears were twitching and the feeling was making him even more nervous in its unfamiliarity. "Alright, Reinhard," Julius said, still attempting a soothing tone. He stalled. I need to know what's wrong, but—we have to move.

"I'm Reinhard," Reinhard repeated. He grabbed Julius' hands suddenly. "Subaru told me something."

"Did he," Julius said, turning to look up and down the corridor again.

"Look at me, Julius," Reinhard snarled, and Julius flinched. "Don't you dare fucking forget about me."

—what?

That phrase was so viscerally not Reinhard that Julius was rocking back before he could stop himself. His ears were pinned all the way back and his tail was lashing and Julius couldn't even care because he couldn't look away.

Reinhard stared back at him. No, was this Subaru? Reinhard would never say anything like that.

"No," said Reinhard or Subaru, shaking his head and looking away. "No, no, no, that wasn't me. That was not me. That wasn't—"

Julius cleared his throat. He needed to get them moving. "Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm…" Reinhard or Subaru blinked. "I'm Reinhard," he said confidently.

"Reinhard," Julius said. "Where are you?"

"Kidnapped by…." Reinhard blinked, focusing on Julius. "Kidnapped by Petel… By the Ninth Tail."

"Right," Julius confirmed with a nod. He seems to be gaining coherence. "Reinhard, will you work with me to get out of here?"

Reinhard's eyes went unfocused again. "What about Rem?" he asked.

"Rem?" Julius echoed, helpless. Rem was one of the victims of the White Whale, right…? No, Subaru said that she was someone important, but no one could remember her. "She's not here right now."

Reinhard looked around to the floor. "Oh," he said, surprised. "You're right. She's not."

Reinhard was starting to drift away again.

Julius hissed, catlike. His tail lashed once. He was going to have to get Reinhard up and moving and then navigate out of this place.

He looked back down at Reinhard, biting his tongue. How the hell am I meant to do that if he's completely out of it?

Looking around the room, he saw the two pools of blood covering the floor, while two lifeless corpses began to rot on the floor. His eyes fell to the one he jumped on earlier, biting his neck.

He recalled the enormous feats of strength Felix's body is capable of. Wait, if I'm that strong…

He looks back at Rein..- Subaru? No, he said he was Reinhard. But he acts so much like Subaru?...

He looks at Rein-baru, and approaches him. Once more asking him if he'll stand up, only to be responded with silence, he wrapped his arms around Rein-baru's waist and lifted him over his shoulder.

Now holding Rein-baru in a fireman's carry, he opened the door and entered the hallway. Deciding to go left, because that felt like the lucky direction, he began his long walk.

It wasn't long before he felt his ears twitch. Something felt ever so wrong. He turned around, seeing if something was following him. Seeing an empty corridor, he turned back round to where he was going.

His eyes widened as he visibly flinched. In front of him a dozen of the cloaked men stood. They all possessed daggers, each completely identical to one another. One could even think that they were clones.

He turned around abruptly, getting ready to run. But even more of the blue and white cloaked men covered his flank.

He hissed realising he was cornered. He had nowhere to go, as these people covered both exits. It was then that it occurred to him that he'd recognised these cloaks. He suddenly recalled his misadventure with the Ninth Tail.

Could they be looking for.. Revenge?... Could they be the ones who swapped us?

He was snapped out of his daze when suddenly one of them charged forward to him with his dagger pointing forward. If he didn't move, the dagger would surely stab him straight in the neck.

He leaned backwards, falling down to the ground. Trying his best to lift his legs into the air, he kicked his feet into the mafia member's stomach. Using the momentum of his thrust, he was able to guide him through the air, making him fly towards the other cloaked men.

Julius quickly got back up, leaving Rein-baru on the floor. He took the dagger out of his dress, getting ready for the fight of his life. A feeling that he never felt before took over his chest. He knew he had no way of winning this, and he felt scared.

Absolutely terrified even, but somehow that didn't deter him. He felt fearful, sure, but he also never felt so motivated in his life. Is this how it feels to die as a soldier on the battlefield?

Just as he was about to take initiative and start his attack, he could hear rumbling in the ceiling above him.

Not even a second later, a large hole appeared in the ceiling, covering one side of the cloaks in debris. The dust cleared after a few seconds, allowing him to see three figures jump down from the rather big hole they made.

Subaru, in Reinhard's body, Felix, in Julius's body, and Wilhelm all landed on the debris. They wielded their weapons, ready for battle.

"I do hope that we're not late." Subaru said in the most Reinhard accent he could manage.

And then a grin formed on his face. He dropped the accent, letting his Subarese take over. "Cause holy fuck, I wanna try this body out."