Subaru screamed into his hands, flying from the couch, as Betty did yowling from his lap. " WHY DID I HAVE TO COME BACK HERE?! " A part of Subaru realized how this looked to his friends, a part drowned out by everybody's screams last loop: Emilia, heart ground to dust by the weight of his suffering, to the point where she was happy to mercy kill him; Beatrice and Meili, both of them carrying an inconsolable guilt. Damn it, damn it ALL! Rem who hid more than she let on; Frederica, who hid in general—everything or perhaps nothing—as did her brother. Otto and Petra… surely they, too, had disagreeable thoughts on the matter, kept aside for Subaru's sake.

And the Witches of Sin, save a particular two—they were looking for something, talking and acting on their knowledge of the Envy Authority, clearly. So much had happened, all of it lost… A mixed blessing, all things considered. This wasn't a bad thing—dying. In fact, it was a good thing—dying again. Great, even! And so far back, too! They had days to prepare. 'This shouldn't be a big deal.' Because it's not! 'It's happened before.' Yeah, tons of times! 'Tons of times.' So stay calm. 'Yeah, stay calm.'

Nothing was truly lost; new memories could be made, always. So long as Subaru didn't give up, it was never over. He'd lost nothing, objectively speaking.

So, why?

Why did that sit with him like spoiled meat?

Damn it, WHY?! Subaru bit his tongue so he wouldn't scream. It hurt, still, nothing and everything; Subaru was alone all over again, nobody had an inkling as to the things he'd endured. Wait… Listening, a silence rang Subaru's ears in reply. His eyes popped open, below his knees pointed inward, tapping and tapping. Crap… Subaru lifted his face before he could second guess the act, and was met with Ram, her eyeball wide before settling into its neutral glare. Rem, unlike her sister, maintained her shock, as did Otto on the other end, his mouth opening with a breath, only to exhale soundlessly. Frederica gripped the arms of her chair—calmly; all of them, stunned and too afraid to speak. Behind Subaru, turning, he found Meili hugging Petra's arm, the maid with tears in her eyes, and… Emilia, too, hand on her mouth.

Beatrice's crowned head lifted, but she didn't stand from the floor, her dress like a blood puddle, eyes flashes of blue flitting between it and Subaru. He couldn't blame her, much as he wanted to see the crosses in her eyes again.

"S-S-Subaru," Emilia managed, quivers enunciating every sound, "when… when you say you 'came back…'" Her eyes pleaded for him to finish for her. To confirm what she surely concluded from his delirious utterances of "I can Return by Death" earlier.

There's no sparing Emilia this go around— Wait, was Subaru seriously already expecting failure? For them all to die?

"Well? Don't just stand there, gawkin' at us, Boss-King. If you wanna leave, then skedaddle." Garf was bordered by a glow, itself framed in the fireplace. Arms folding, he gave a shrug. "You're the contractor, ain'cha? You don't gotta entertain Lady B's bullshit like this's one o' her games."

"Take that back!" Beatrice hopped to her feet, striking the coffee table so hard the teacups rattled. "Betty never engages in game-playing! This is a matter of grave import, in fact!"

"Sure don't feel that way on Boss's end."

"Garf?" Otto raised a hand. "Please, there's different shades of urgency and importance, and it's not always going to be a world-ending—"

"No shit, shithead! That's not what I—!" Garf gave a start as he saw Otto… not quite shrink back, but the unflinching way he wrinkled his nose was enough to lower Garf's hackles. The big guy rubbed the back of his neck, smoothing the corded muscle while looking everywhere but Subaru. "Look. Even I can see that somethin's eatin' Boss. An' if it was me standin' there, this 'show-and-tell' nonsense would be the last thing I'd be lookin' for."

"With what glasses are you able to suddenly perceive such bright red flags?" Ram wondered.

"Sister, you gave no objections in spite of said flags," said Rem, a discreet smile flashing in Subaru's direction—indicating Ram's true feelings.

Garf's nostrils flared, a sigh billowing through them. "Look, if the guy doesn't wanna talk, he don't wanna talk, that's all I'm sayin'." He leaned his elbows on the top of Frederica's chair. "S'far as I'm concerned, though, it seems like you don't even wanna be here. You shouldn't force yourself, Boss—"

"Could you guys gimme a chance to actually talk?! " Typhon spoke without a head; moved without blood. Minerva created destruction wherever she wished. Carmilla's blood alone was enough to stop Garfiel's heart; Garf, who snarled back. "I-I mean, what I mean is, I don't have to leave you all— want to— even though…" Even though it seemed like he alone was the target. "There are these guys…" Should Subaru take up that offer, it only to protect the others? "I mean, I know a couple of you have kinda figured it out already…" Would Emilia and Beatrice just sit and leave him after that? "I'm sorry. This's so hard, and it's a lot to have to suddenly explain."

"It's okay. You're okay. We'll be patient, Subaru," said Emilia, smiling her best with heartbroken eyes. "None of us are going anywhere."

I look like a maniac, and there'll be an attack in less than three days. That's what Subaru wanted to just blurt out and get it over with. It didn't matter, and it might not again: not a single person here remembered the last couple days that Subaru did; or that Return by Dead existed. As far as they were concerned, Subaru was unspeakably scarred by something he could never put into words. "I'm sorry," he said to the floor; that felt like a good place to start. Subaru began to lower to his hands and knees; if it would get them to cooperate faster—

"My King, please!" Frederica rose, at once huge and powerful but graceful and gentle. And alive. "Ah—" She choked, and Subaru felt whatever emotion he'd been showing sink back into fear; he must look crazy now. "I would ask the obvious," she said with a toothy smile, "but I feel you'd prefer to attack the heart of the matter as always." Her fist softly struck her palm. "My King Subaru, where were you just now, and what have you been doing the last couple minutes?"

Ah. Frederica was sweet.

"You kiddin' me, Sis?!" Garf threw his hand at Subaru. "Boss's ready to lose his acorns, and you're playing games—?!"

"Garf, easy," Subaru sighed, instantly snapping the spotlight back on him. "Sheesh," he hooted, as coolly as possible, "what a mess of this I made. And I used to be so good at acting naturally whenever I came back!"

"'Came back, you say?" breathed a small voice. "'Come back,' you screamed?" Beatrice pushed herself off the table, never taking her glare off her contractor. "Why don't you stop playing these games with them, and just say what you said to Betty earlier." Subaru took a breath, only for his great spirit's coolness to crack. "You are playing games, I suppose? Yes?" Deep down, she was hoping 'Return by Death' was just that.

Subaru rubbed the back of his head; he couldn't get her regret out of his head. Did something he said trigger her to believe this, or was it already a worry? "B, I… I don't know what to say. Jus-just gimme a sec—"

"I now concur with Garfiel's shockingly astute observations: the fact of the matter is, Barasu," Ram opened her eye on him, "Miss Beatrice misunderstood what you, her contractor, needed."

"Excuse me, I suppose?"

"This gathering?" Ram lifted her hands. "It's not what was wanted or needed, whatever that need may be. For instance, I'm unsure why Cabbie was collected—"

There was no time for this. "Y-you're wrong, Ram!" There was no time for banter and laughs, they needed to get a move on. "All of you… you all gotta listen to me: I… I've been so happy… just knowing you all really wanna help me, and that you… care about me." Subaru's feet carried him somewhere he wanted to be, but not without running the back of his hand across his spirit's golden head, who shrank at the touch as though it pained her. "Beatrice… wasn't at all wrong," Subaru continued, "she knows exactly what I needed, and who I needed most this morning. I probably sound like a mood-swinging loon, and it might not seem like I want you guys at all, what with how tight-lipped I've been over the years, but—"

"On the contrary, my king." Frederica smiled, lips tightly covering her fangs. "All of us can tell you're in need of someone to talk to. That you have been. Even Garfiel has taken notice, thus why he was being conscientious of what you might possibly prefer instead."

"Was that 'even' really necessary, Sis?"

These guys. Subaru chuckled alongside Petra, his feet slowing him by the other end of the sofa, where he spun to face the rest—and Meili at his side, gazing upon Subaru with wide green eyes and furrowed brows, arm hooked around her best friend's. She'd killed herself, easily and thoughtlessly. Subaru didn't dare presume why, if it was because of her guilt, or something deeper and older; for all he knew, it could have been a 'scorched earth' perspective, and that would certainly be in-character. Questioning it now would look insane, besides.

"Don't… don't look at me like that, Subaru."

"Hmm?" he drawled a little too long to be casual.

Meili unhooked Petra, clasped her hands between her thighs. "You're doing that thing again where you… you look at me like you know something I don't." 'About me,' she was too shy to specify.

There was no point beating around the bush if all will be clear in a second. "Right. That. I'm sorry I've been weird, but I'm ready to explain." Subaru clapped his hands together above his bent head. "Just, please, now more than ever, I need you guys to believe what I'm telling you."

"Of course," Emilia exhaled, rising with a hand on her heart. "We'll listen to anything you have to say, provide whatever you need, Subaru."

Tiny fingers slithered their way into Subaru's hand: Beatrice's, and Subaru made sure he wouldn't let them go again. As soon as he did so, as tightly as he could, Beatrice murmured, "I'm with you if no one else is, in fact."

"Lift your head, Barasu. This is unlike you."

Right… Things might've gotten emotionally dicey last time, but… but I can trust everyone to help me regardless. Yeah. Subaru felt himself manage a smile as he heeded Ram's words.

As softly as her prior command, Ram cocked her head in reply. "Now, explain yourself, Barasu. And explain it carefully: what vital role does Cabbie fulfill here?"

"Why am I always your target, Miss Ram?!"

"Ram, please. I need you to take this seriously."

The maid crossed her arms, eye drawn shut. "I'm always serious, Barasu. Are you?"

The heck was that supposed to mean? I guess I haven't been as aggressive as I should've been. "Alright Ram, since you're so eager: share your thoughts with the rest of the class!"

"Very well. You're avoiding the heart of the matter like always… until you seemingly, suddenly… don't. "

Subaru winced at the accuracy of her observation; that was a perfect summation of his flawless heroism. "I don't suppose you ever blindly accepted how weird it was, that everything manages to turn out okay when I'm around?" Ram's jaw hung slightly, her brows furrowing; but nothing came. Nothing but a tight-lipped, single nod and a crossing of her legs. "Alright, that got your attention. Petra, Meili?" Subaru turned, the pair stiffening at attention. "How about you guys? For a nobody, I'm quite the perfect hero, huh? Always seems like I know exactly what to say, and what to do." 'To you, specifically,' he beamed directly into each of their gazes, forcing them down respectively.

Only for Meili to roll her eyes. "In your dreams. Remind me who killed each of the Sin Archbishops? Freed Elior Forest from its icy stasis?" She grumbled, scoffing, 'Perfect hero, tch.' "Don't get a swelled head, you goof."

"I mean, Julius might've done most of the work on Betelgeuse, but technically —"

"Who forgave the sadistic Mabeast Master no matter what she did? Who did everything in his power to save someone as helpless as Petra Leyte, Otto Suwen, or Queen Emilia, the scorned 'half-devil?'" Betty interrogated the space above her lap.

"Wait, Betty?" A shockingly tiny voice came from Petra, almost every sound quivering: "I-I'm still tryna wrap my head around… I mean, what Subaru said—s-screamed earlier—err, wh-what are you all talking about? What exactly do you know?" Petra looked from Subaru to Beatrice, before settling on Emilia, whose shocked face dropped to her clasped hands against her chest.

"Subaru." Emilia rose. "I'm sorry, but, for all our sakes, it'll be quicker and more efficient if you explained what just happened to you…"

"I concur with Petra," Rem said, a fist against her chest while leaning forward. "Subaru, Emilia… Miss Beatrice, too, what do you all know that you aren't telling us?" Her eyes bore directly into Subaru's. "What happened to you?" She took a step, only to unflinchingly kick her shin against the coffee table, rattling its china on top. "And… and why did your smell get worse all of a sudden?"

"I'm tellin' ya, he don't gotta talk about his bullshit!" Garf gripped the sides of his pants, lips twisted in a half-snarl on the floor. "Just tell us what needs doin', Boss. The little shit don't mean squat 'till after we get it done, right?" His green eyes flashed upward, fogged with something Subaru found as unnerving as he did pitiful. "King Come-Back-Here," growled the royals' Sworn Shield, "if the obvious really is what I'm thinkin'..."

"No, please," Frederica breathed, holding her heart.

They were all at different stages, assuming something or other, and the clock was ticking. How to best…? "I, uh…" All around, from Otto to Garf, everyone looked to Subaru with just a bit more apprehension than last time. Granted, he gave more song and dance this time around, but—

"He can 'Return by Death,' apparently. And Subaru, if I had to guess, returned by death moments ago. Didn't he?" Emilia's face floated as limply as her words up towards Subaru. "Subaru, how—? What did you—? Why—? " Every question came weaker and more desperate.

"An attack. And what killed me's not the point." He truly had already forgotten—forgave, specifically—what killed him. Subaru didn't even need to, for it was a mercy to spare him from the horrors outside that room, and having to witness losing Petra and Emilia, too. "There's an attack coming here in two and a half days—"

"Wait, huh!?" Garf snapped. "I'm confused; the hell does the Queen—?" The twins' voices emerged, low and to each other; Rem's loud and objecting.

"'R-Return by Death?'" Frederica covered her mouth, a rare shade of worry creasing her features. "My king, how did you come to acquire such a power, much less learn of it?"

"Sis, that's the last thing you're supposed to ask the man!" Garf snapped over the caution Otto gave to the maids.

"I-I'm sorry! I forgot myself!" fretted the huge maid, her seldom worry overpowering the more common, emotional murmurings of Emilia and the hisses of Beatrice, both choked haltingly at Subaru's back.

He really didn't want Fred doing something reckless if left to her assumptions. "I-it's really not as bad as you think—"

"Beatrice, B-Betty?" Petra's soft voice stuck out in the clamor of objections, Subaru finding her leaning and crawling away from Meili's limp, wide-eyed hold. "Betty, what is this? If Subaru knows there's an attack, does that mean he—?"

"I suppose," cut in, stiff and thick with emotion. "I suppose, Petra."

"Th-then all those times when we were in danger—?"

"Boss, c'mon!"

"Don't pressure him , Garfiel!" Rem snapped.

"He's standing there scared stiff again, c'mon! There's an attack on its way, right?!"

"What happened to not forcing it out of him?!" Rem bared her own fangs.

"Are common courtesies really that important to you, Rem?! For fuck's sake, you love the dumbass!"

"Tha-that's completely irrelevant! There's absolutely no point if you just make Subaru more afraid of us and feel worse—!"

"You seriously think Barasu fears us, sister? …Despite being where we are, here and now, after everything that's happened?"

"All of you, QUIET! " Emilia's voice cracked like shattering ice. Exhaling, she placed her fists on her hips. "For goodness' sake! I'm glad to know you're all just as worried about Subaru as I am, truly. But, how can any of you think to just dogpile Subaru like that? How selfish can you be?"

"I mean, I don't blame them." Subaru scratched his cheek, smiled his best. "This's pretty outta this world, huh?"

"Such cheap meta humor," Betty grumbled.

"You know you love it." Subaru smiled down on her, and Betty, in a way she only used to, flushed before wrenching her face away, fuming stubbornly.

"Why, Subaru? How can you still smile and… and act kindly, despite everything?" she asked in the tiniest voice possible.

"'Cuz I got a gaggle of powerful, awesome buds who wanna protect me, of course." He pat her on the head to no objection. Looking to Emilia, her eyes glossy, her face crumpled tight, startled the half-elf before a weak smile could form in kind. "I don't think you'd prefer it if I just started screaming and crying like a baby again." That's what incited a lot of guilt last time, perhaps.

"No. Spare us." Ram was gazing somewhere afar before lifting her face to Subaru, a clarity in her eye she'd until now lacked this loop. "Tell what needs telling and let's get a move on."

"Glad to hear it." Maybe Ram would be more open now, too. "So, I guess this means you'd rather help save my life and the rest of yours?" It was for everyone, to each person looking as conflicted as they did ready and willing to give it their all.

"Trivial details can be given via multitasking." Ram stood, arms folded still. "What matters is that Barasu can't help us, but he can prepare us. This takes priority over all else."

Rem continued, seemingly finishing for her: "So that nothing bad… will ever happen to him again."

"Or us, mind you!" Otto, as usual, was one of the more sane ones present—the adrenaline junkie and amateur failed merchant. The man rose, arm across his tunic. "Mister Natsuki, I'm not sure what I can do to help, but that'll be for me to worry about. You do what you do best, and get us to that point as best you can."

"Indeed." Frederica rose once again, hands folded against her apron. "You admitted to needing us here, no? It is our duty to be of assistance to our king, if not out of obligation, than redemption for our constant past failures."

"R-right, yeah." Subaru couldn't find it in him to make it self-centered again; to dismiss Frederica's self-flagellation as being the result of his countless failures, and none of theirs. They always did the best they could, while Subaru… "I'm not gonna make the same mistakes again. Beatrice, Emilia?" He turned, the act specifically being what piqued the ladies from a deep, dark mulling. "We got less than three days to prepare. That's… not enough time to go over everything. Not like we were able to last time…"

"Subaru?" Emilia cooed.

He gulped his emotion. "But it's plenty! As far as a do-over is concerned." Subaru wore his best smile, clenching whatever confidence he could muster in his fist. "We got this. I know what we're up against, we won't get blindsided. Heck, even then, we actually didn't do too bad in the fights themselves! It'll just take better prep work, that's all, nothin' more."

"And what, pray-tell, is this morbid vagueness building towards?" Betty wondered, more stiff than apathetic.

"You know the answer to that, already, Beatrice." Emilia smoothly reached forward, grabbing Subaru's hand and caressing it between hers. Her purple eyes were damp, strong and as brilliant as a pair of amethysts. "Subaru is determined to make up for his mistakes, nothing more. I'll do my best to match his example, and set aside my needs until after the fighting is done." It took everything in Subaru not to sigh in relief; he didn't realize how scared he was of Emilia's mental state until now. She gave a sad smile, a sadder shake of the head. "My husband… you truly are too selfless for your own good."

"Yes, yes, Barasu has a disgusting lack of self-worth. We've known this for years. Let's move on to the part where we blundered into a myriad of pitiful ends."

"Ouch," Subaru winced. "Cutting to the heart of the matter like always, Ram."

"While I won't deny that I'm curious as to the deeper history behind those words…" Rising, Ram tossed her fingers through her hair. "Someone has to be 'the bitch as usual,' lest we wallow in the mud of self-pity like pigs submitted to slaughter." Ram shot—speared, really—a glare in the direction of a surprisingly quiet Garfiel, whose shoulders hunched higher despite being almost twice the maid's height.

"Thanks, Ram. Seriously. You have your handful of good points after all." She gave a scornful laugh as she proceeded forward, Rem soundlessly in tow; Emilia was corralling the rest, saying something about the Knights and the castle defenses.

Part of Subaru didn't want to assume its source, but it was a comfort to think this will be Ram's mentality moving into future loops.

Potential future loops, Subaru scolded himself.

King Come-Back-Here