"E-M-M!"

And the world was switched off like the changing of a channel.

Everything—the panic, the falling stones, the screams and thunder roaring all around, death itself—became simply nothing.

Just blackness.

Just quietness.

Just nothing, a non-existence in its purest form, if such a thing were possible. Beatrice could make it happen; Beatrice was making it happen.

Utter silence seemed to loom directly in Subaru's ears, the blackness in front of his eyes wavering as Beatrice cried out before him. Around Subaru's ring and middle finger, a pressure clenched, reminding him that he wasn't alone—this presence in the abyss. Beatrice's squeeze tightened into a death-grip, her voice crying out only to snarl a breathless, outraged sigh.

The darkness quivered against Subaru's skin, threatening to burst like an overfilled balloon. He tried to move—to help Beatrice, somehow—but the effort wasn't even possible.

Subaru could only listen, her screams spiking as if she was stabbed.

That same instant, a crunch in his hand was heard, then felt. Subaru lacked the voice to squeal as needles—a thousand burning-hot salted needles—tore the insides of his fingers apart. Beatrice yelled for him, long and loud, so stretched out and ragged that her voice gave out, leaving her to wheeze in agony like a broken squeak toy. A deep, womanly breath, and the cries redoubled, a little hand thrusting into Subaru's peripherals, wreathed in purple smoke like Invisible Providence. What had to be Beatrice's crown, tinging away into the depths of some cave behind them, jolted Subaru to wakefulness.

Somehow, it caught him up to speed: Beatrice… the entire castle?!

She howled as though in confirmation, bellowing as the weight of Lugnia's seat of power continued bearing down upon them. With a final shove of her voice, Beatrice's outstretched hand lashed at the shadows, whisking them and her dark aura away before collapsing on her knees, then face.

She'd even used E-M-M to propel Subaru from a premature burial mound.

Subaru was too busy gasping, gaping at the mountain of rubble beneath his knees, the wall of dust rolling over the capital's inner countryside, to catch Beatrice in time. He couldn't even do that much for her.

Beatrice lay sprawled upon the island of shattered stone and broken glass. They would both be pancakes if not for her, but—"B-B- BEATRICE?! "—Subaru couldn't care less.

He all but threw himself over her, shielding her from the starry night sky— It's over, yeah, thank God it's over— before gathering the little form into him. "Beatrice." She wasn't moving. "Beatrice—!"

"Su...baru?"

Alive. Not dead, but alive. "Beatrice!" Subaru made to grasp her hand, only for needles to set his two fingers ablaze. "Ah—! AHHHH—! "

"Sorry, Subaru…" The hand he meant to grasp brushed against his before, glowing a gentle purple, they wrapped around Subaru's ring finger. Emilia's gifted ring was set twinkling with a single star, amethyst like her eyes. Was she alive? Subaru couldn't bring himself to worry about her, too.

"It appears… that I… cannot be your shotting-gun… Subaru—"

"Don't say that!" Her hand was seized in Subaru's healed fingers. "Just…" He was raving, denying the facts. "Just… just please don't say that. Beako…" Don't remind me that you just made our job harder… F-for me. That you got yourself in this sorry state… for me. A king who lost a battle without swinging a single sword.

"It's fine, I suppose." Beatrice's voice was weak—as weak as her smile, the opening of her eyes. "So long as Subaru can escape his suffering… for just another second… then it's fine, I suppose."

"I told you not to say that! " Teadrops plopped on Betty's eyelids; they squinted open, brows knitted in guilt. Subaru didn't want that. But he didn't want Beatrice killing herself because of him, either. Nobody needed to die for Subaru; it was pointless. Empty. Heartwarming. Tragic. It was just so tragic. "I'm sorry, Beako…" Subaru should have thought bigger, more creatively, like the enemy. "I'm sorry." He should have been better prepared than this. Or more willing to stick his neck out and find answers like a king would. Like a man would.

But that thought had never crossed Subaru's mind.

To think this situation could be exponentially worse—Subaru had been too scared to even consider the possibilities of the Witches' power and sadism. This was on another level, but still within the realm of reasonable possibility.

Subaru had personal experience going into this loop.

Subaru understood what they were capable of, but— "What'd you do to poor PETRA?!" —he never allowed himself a chance to truly dwell upon the horror still fresh in his mind.

"I'm such a fucking loser."

Beatrice's squinting shut, quivering in tandem with her lips. That was her response; she couldn't give a damn about draining herself half to death.

"S-SUBARU! Beatrice!" Subaru stiffened at the angel's voice above, and the flapping of her "wings," hissing monotonously like skis carving through snow.

"Emilia!" Subaru's voice cracked like a boy's, but he didn't care.

She was alive, all but flying on an ice trail that followed several meters behind, a sharp bend towards the castle ruins disintegrating, seemingly into starlight. Ever closer, Emilia's frantic face deteriorated the closer she got, until—"Subaru!"—Emilia launched, letting the ice fall and join the castle in its broken grave as her arms wrapped around Subaru and Beatrice. She nearly bowled them over, had Subaru not found the strength to keep them all upright.

"You're alive!" Emilia cried in his ear. "You're alive, Subaru! You're alive, you're alive, you're both alive! "

"Yeah." Subaru sniffled, choked, gasped and laughed at once. He didn't know what else to do, much less say, only for a dissatisfied grumble to vibrate against Subaru's coat. "Mili! Beatrice! Sh-she used her—I mean, she saved me—but she used everything she got, and—!" And everything else was gone. "And I don't know what else to do, Emilia…"

Quicker than he could apologize, resolve cooled the Queen of Lugnica's worry enough for her to grab the spirit's hand in both of hers. "Please use your mana drain on me, Beatrice."

Wheezing, a sliver of her butterflies peered at Emilia. "No," she whispered to Subaru's immediate horror. "You'll be… s-substantially weaker… in fact."

Emilia frowned. "Okay. I'm afraid I don't care."

"Absurd… You'll make us both incapable… of protecting Subaru, I suppose—"

"You shut your mouth, right now!" Drawing Beatrice's eyes open fully, Emilia cried, "So you think our only options are to win or to die? I won't have it! The both of you—!" Her strength evaporated, all but throwing herself over Beatrice, bangs blocking what emotion her words conveyed: "You two are so strong. So strong, it honestly scares me a little. I mean that. It makes me feel—when I look at you, it makes me feel like I should've never even dreamed of calling myself queen, much less have the nerve to do so every morning."

"Emilia!"

She shook her head. "It's true. You're so much stronger than me, both of you. And yet… for all that strength… you guys are always so quick to fall for the first feeling that crosses your soul! It's irritating, it really is! And sometimes, it's impossible to deal with! Neither of you seem to realize that so long as we're alive, we're winning! So long as we're together, we can live! And you're telling me to let you die, Beatrice?! Did a brick hit you in the head?! Do you think Subaru tore his heart out, to go and break everybody else's, all for some part of a game?! After everything Subaru's gone through for us!? How can you think this, how, Beatrice?!" Her hold around the spirit's hand became clasped, shaking. "Beatrice, please… Subaru needs us, way more than he needs my strength. You know this… so please!" Emilia's forehead stilled her shaking hands. "Please, just steal some mana already and let's get a move on—!" Emilia choked harshly as if her very life was caught in her throat. In a way, it was— jerked upright, stiff as a statue, Emilia croaked mutedly compared to the agony she was experiencing, wreathed in an evil red glow.

This power flowed into Beatrice, channeling through the hand grasping Emilia by the thumb. "So noisy," she exhaled.

Subaru watched; what could he possibly say to them in this situation, when, in a way, it had nothing to do with him?

The wound Meili left behind was all that Otto could care about as he watched Lugnica Castle collapse in on itself. What a shame. Good riddance. That place was absurdly big.

"Oh-my-goodness." A wall of brown cloud bloomed across the capital, smothering its grassy inner ring and several districts beyond. "Oh-my-goodness, oh-my-goodness." Rem was pacing back and forth, hands in her hair, fixated on the sinking towers. "Oh-my-goodness, S-Sister—" She pawed at Ram's nightgown.

"I know, Rem." Her sharp, uncovered eye was almost a perfect circle. "I'm seeing it, too."

Everybody was out of uniform; at their backs, a gathering of logs burned with the last remnants of their campfire. Ignoring a nearby mound of dirt—garnished with six mourning flowers—Otto threw more wood on, setting everyone's nightwear-clad backs with a trembling orange glow. Frufoo and Patrasche's forms became encompassed in the light, curled around one another. Otto's larger dragon slept protectively on top of Subaru's, chums for life. The wagons stood nearby, two blocks against a starry backdrop where he parked them last night.

Well, "to park" implied a wilful action. Not Rem committing the most passive-aggressive mutiny Otto had ever seen.

Or was it to bury Meili?

Perhaps, if "parking" implied some measure of consent, then a part of Otto did, in fact, let their evacuation get cut short just shy of losing sight of the capital. His wall of friends stood strong upon turning back to face it, the castle a misshapen shadow at the heart of a fallen city.

It was gone. It was all over. What point was there in staying here? What did the others hope to achieve by joining the fight?

What did Rem hope to achieve, telling Subaru that Meili died regardless of his actions? A cruel way of looking at it, but Rem was doing an inherently cruel thing as far as common sense was concerned.

Otto meandered to the others while pondering this, fiddling with the cap of his flask. Otto upturned it overhead, mouth open, only for a lone drop of liquor to sizzle against his tongue. Oh. Right. Otto screwed the cap on, the empty metal heavier in his hand as a gold "O.S." looked him in the eye.

His portable "escape route." Otto had been so happy to get such a beautiful birthday gift from the king and queen. He didn't even say thanks before leaving; not for the flask or anything.

"We've wasted enough time 'ere." Garf's voice was soft, his glare wild with every desire to go berserk on the monsters currently tearing their friends apart. "C'mon. Let's go! We gotta—!"

He took Rem by the arm—"No,"—only for her to wrench free without even trying. Perhaps it was Garf who wasn't. "This… w-we can't just leave them alone in this nightmare."

"What the hell do ya think this was for? Didja see what just happened?!" A full twenty-four hours of Garf's attempts to scare Rem into rationality only made her resolve stronger, it seemed.

She turned to glare upon the guy. "I did," Rem said. "I watched the capital… that has ruled this kingdom for centuries… fall within minutes. I watched them… level a castle. In one move. When there've been others who couldn't hope to breach just the city exterior. I watched, more or less, as Meili died, the whole time wondering if I should be like Subaru, and ignore her wishes for my own sake."

"Rem—"

"I watched… and let Subaru's plan play out!" Rem's knees shook, but not her words. "I trusted in his judgement, I hoped with all my heart that he knew what he was doing, and was thinking things through with the clearest his mind's been in years, but—!" With a shaky exhale, Rem's calm returned: "But, after letting it sit for a while? No, Garf. I'm afraid this goes against my duties as a maid: to sit idly by while her masters bring themselves to ruin. If my purpose is to serve, then I will serve in their best interests. In Subaru and Emilia's. Not what they think those are, and certainly not mine."

"I'm afraid I must, at least, empathize with where Rem is coming from," said Frederica.

Petra added, "M-me too! I knew that Subaru wasn't thinking after the way he shut Meili out! He would've never—!" Her voice caught. "Meili…" Petra collapsed to her knees, Frederica quickly following behind to maintain their embrace. "Meili!" she wailed and wailed, clutching her heart, roaring, "Meili, WHY?!" Frederica hushed her soothingly, over and over again while stroking Petra's hair down to the braid Meili made for her every morning.

The ghost of that deranged girl's final words haunted Otto then and there, yelling from the second wagon: "Subaru will realize the good this'll do us, whether he wants to or not." In a horrible way, perhaps due to the last four years of his life, Otto understood where she was coming from.

It certainly felt like dying, at least—abandoning the Queen and King of Lugnica to an unknown, but inevitably tragic, fate. If that was the message she wanted Rem to give Subaru, then suicide was as blatant proof as any.

"Do ya even hear yourself?" Garf regarded Ram, Otto, and finally Frederica and Petra still wrapped around each other like they had been all day. "Do ya think the Boss'll feel anything other than complete and utter SHIT?! "

"No, I don't," said Rem. "But you heard him yourself, Garfiel. Subaru will continue hurting this way if he keeps his eyes turned from reality. He can't do this without facing it, and that means the possibility of us being hurt. He won't be able to move on if we don't send a message now. I'm afraid he'll eventually destroy himself if he doesn't realize sooner than later."

"Realize what? "

Ram whirled for the ground dragons. "You're so fucking stupid, Garf. We don't have time for this."

"R-Ram—?!"

"I go where my sister goes."

—have ya lost yer mind?! Rem's just gonna—!"

"I GO WHERE REM GOES!" Ram swatted Garf's hand off and yanked his head down by the ears, snarling over his yowl, "Barasu needs to learn what a complete and utter dumbass he is, and I shall be the one to scold him! He's going to take responsibility for doing this to us, and—! " Ram seethed, squeezing her eyes shut of unshed tears. Flushed, she growled, "And… it would be kinder to make him realize this immediately. Even if it's at the cost of ourselves. Even if it'll hurt us for a moment… Barasu's pain won't be so quick. The least, the very least we can do for him, is hasten the blow."

Garf threw his hands up, baffled. "That's why we gotta book it! Now!" He spoke as if this was obvious, looking to everyone like he was the only sane one left. "If we get slaughtered in front o' the Boss, all's that'll happen is make 'im wanna cry! Cry, and push 'imself harder next time! That's the kinda man he is," Garf seethed, flexing his broad chest over Ram's smaller form. "So, what's it gonna be?"

Ram let out with a short sigh; in the corner of his eye, Otto caught the pink of Rem's horn shrink into her bangs. "You should really stop it with this whole 'thinking' thing, Garf. You're too much of a blockhead to know the big picture is there, much less see it."

"You bitch! "

"Barasu is a man, yes. But he's an incredibly dumb one, like you. He learns through experience, not lectures. That, too, is the kind of man Barasu is." Ram's eye slid open, cool and no longer writ with the uncertainty Otto didn't realize was gripping her since they left. "Therefore, we'll make Barasu cry, just as we always have. And then we'll stop his tears. Just as we always will."

"Sister—!" Rem choked, hands on her mouth. Ram nodded to her once.

"I don't believe this." Garf threw his hand up, pacing in a short circle. "Y'know, those're some damn pretty words comin' outta that mouth for once, Ram. Ya think the Boss'll let you near us again if he finds out, that it was YOU who let the kid bleed out?! "

Ram's eyes flared open as a nerve was struck. "Are you sincerely that dense, that you missed the entire point of why she and Rem feel this way?!"

"Facts are facts! It was your ass who decided to keep quiet back there instead o' gettin' Rem to stop the bleeding!"

"And you honestly think Rem would have saved Meili?!" And just like that, stunned shock overtook Ram's fury—she was being louder than Otto had ever heard in his life. Probably all of Subaru's, too. If only he were here to see it. "Rem," said the elder twin, "I… didn't mean to suggest that you'd do so happily."

Just like that, Rem's pain was washed away by contentment. "Your tone and verbage are not entirely misplaced, Sister. After all… even if she didn't say anything… I'm not sure I'd have let such an opportunity go to waste."

Otto felt chills as it hit him: how much Rem had been dwelling on her definition of "helping" Mister Natsuki.

And then: "Oh, gosh," Rem croaked, a glisten lining her eyelashes as she put a hand to her lips, "what will they think of me… if they knew I thought such a horrible thing?!"

Ram wrapped around her shaking sister. "You keep it close to heart, and resist getting penitent when the time comes. You don't know how Barasu will proceed, knowing this."

"R-right…" Rem gasped wetly for several moments. She really was a sweet girl, like Mister Natsuki always said—-at least, one with an immensely messed-up childhood.

Recovering with a breath, as Ram unraveled from around her, Rem regarded her steepled fingers, the grass between her toes. "It's crazy, isn't it?" she wondered lightly. "Yesterday morning, I lived a life where I never dreamed that I would be thinking the things that I have: 'Should I hurt Subaru if it meant helping him?' and, 'Have I done that already, though? I must have.' I wondered, have I been able to be of help to Subaru, even if it was just by dying and starting over again? How many Rems have prepared Subaru for the trials set to come this night, and how many more will it take? How many should it take? I-is that my call to make, is it Subaru's? Do I even know what I'm talking about?"

Rem collected herself with a shaky exhale, regarding Garf once more, only to find the guy glaring at the motionless capital. Teeth grit, he looked as torn as after getting beaten down by Reinhardt. He was having those kinds of deep thoughts now.

She smiled warmly, taking pity on her old friend as she put a hand on his heart—the highest Rem could reach without going on her tiptoes. "Garf, listen to me, this is the truth of the matter: we're probably the least qualified people in the world to have any business helping Subaru. It's sheer arrogance to think any of us knows what's best for him. But Subaru is also arrogant. And we are, at the same time, all he has in this world. Squatting in the Roswaal manor until the economy goes under, forcing us to scrape and survive day-by-day, is going to be of no help to anyone, least of all Subaru. And that's all assuming we aren't wasting our time here, awaiting a reset, while that arrogant man of ours is throwing everything he has at genuine living legends."

Rem laughed sadly. "He really is so arrogant. That troublesome boy…"

"Shit." Garf fumed, sighing as he turned to the fire. "SHIT!" he roared, smashing his foot through the logs, scattering embers and flaming wood and the ground dragons upright, squawking in fright.

"G-Garf, you stupid!" Petra wriggled out of Frederica's arms, joining Rem in a scramble to douse the grass in Huma.

Garf remained on his knees, muttering curses again and again as his paws balled tighter. It seems everyone has reached an agreement.

"Okie, guess we're doing this." Otto pocketed his flask and jogged for the wagons, scrambling up a mile-high wheel and collapsing face-first into the driver's seat. By the time he sat up, their campsite still stood. The fires were out. Petra and Frederica were leading the pack, ground dragons in tow.

"Mister Otto, you've been really quiet. Are you drunk?"

"Never better!" Petra was sweet for worrying. Good kid. She didn't need to do this. "Petra, howsabout you? Wha's your take on this?"

The wagon rocked as Garf and the twins climbed aboard. Petra thought, pensively working with Frederica to hook up Patrasche and Frufoo. "I'm not scared." Her voice said otherwise. "I'll see Meili again. And I'm gonna save not only Subaru, but her, too."

And that was that. It was too sad for Otto to start picking apart her agenda, so he let it be.

"And you?"

"Wha'?"

"How about you, Mister Otto? If you don't wanna come, nobody's gonna hold it against you. Least of all Subaru," she added lightheartedly, or attempting as much.

Otto didn't think much of it. "Eh. M'innit for the long haul." As a Suwen, he was in it too deep to pull out now.

Besides, Otto still had to thank Subaru and Emilia for the gift.

"Is it Really so Strange to Help a Friend in Need?"