Recap:With guilt hovering heavily over his head, Sora finally decides to speak with Elizabeth about her sister's death at Vantias' hands and finds the princess had already forgiven him and had an unusual, but familiar glow about her while the seven deadly sins encounter young Xehanort and the roars of dawn after finding one of the missing sins, the goat sin of lust, Gowther. Now after encountering the evil dr Nefarious for the first time, Sora, Ryuko, Satsuki and Diane head into ordan forest to save their friends from trouble.
Chapter 9:The lost knight
(Ordan forest: quarry)
"DAHH!" Meliodas yelled as he was sent flying back into a nearby boulder from one of young Xehanort's attacks while the time traveler stood nearby with his sabers in his hands.
"Hmm, I heard you were a powerful warrior, Meliodas. But it seems like you can't use most of your power without a weapon." Xehanort noted.
"Guess who doesn't need one?" Ban's voice stated as Xehanort turned to see the fox sin jump at him to deliver a right hook, only for Ban's fist to hit a translucent shield that formed around Xehanort. "Aw, damn…"
"As if you have more to offer." Xehanort said before Ban was suddenly pierced from all sides by floating orbs that fired spears of energy before retracting for Xehanort to kick the fox sin away while King's chastiefol flew in to strike Xehanort and knock him back.
"All it seems you have to offer is to continue moving that large mouth of yours. Like most humans." King said as he recalled his spear, just as a clock appeared over Xehanort that began counting back causing the time traveler to reset to the position he was in before being struck by chastiefol, shocking the fairy king. "What?! Is that time magic?!"
"Surprised, aren't you?" Xehanort said before turning his sabers into a lasso to grab King before pulling the grizzly sin towards the ground with a heavy smash, all while Slader and the roars of dawn were watching.
"Slader, I know our guest is taking care of the heavy lifting for us, but shouldn't we kill our target while it's down?" The holy knight named Jillian suggested as the roars of dawn turned their attention to the kneeling armor giant, with Gowther standing guard in front of it.
"As much as we should. I would really like to see how this would end." Slader said before he spotted a small blue light in the forest from the corner of his eye that seemed to be approaching closer. "And it seems like it's about to get even more interesting."
"Hmm?" Gowther questioned when he noticed the blue light as well. "Meliodas, there seems to be a new fighter approaching this area."
"Huh?" Meliodas questioned as he turned his head to see the blue light as well and felt a familiar presence. "Hey, that magic power feels like…"
"XEHANORT!" Sora shouted as he propelled out of the trees with amazing speed straight at Xehanort with a new keyblade called 'new light's flight' and brought it down on the time traveler with a powerful swing and caused a large shockwave on impact, a result of clashing with young Xehanort's own keyblade at the last second.
"Ah, hello Sora. Right on time, as always." Xehanort said as he shoved Sora back and the boy back flipped a few feet away while some of the roars of dawn recognized the keyblade's chosen.
"Slader, that's the boy wanted for the second princess's murder." Simon said.
"Ignore him for now. Our target is still the armor giant, so let's use this moment to complete the mission." Slader said as he grabbed his giant saw blade and the roars of dawn were ready to attack. Only for two familiar faces to stand in their way.
"Going somewhere you pricks?" Ryuko questioned as she brandished her rendering scissors.
"I don't know why you are hunting that giant instead of us this time, but you will not go anywhere near it." Satsuki said as she pointed bakuzan at the holy knights.
"We got a few brave kids with us today, don't you think?" The holy knight named Hugo asked as he held a pair of circular saw axes in his hands.
"We'll just do the same like every other time someone gets in the way…Kill them.." Slader ordered as the roars of dawn all rushed forward at the sisters.
(Music: Dark impetus)
"Captain, now!" King shouted as Meliodas responded by rushing forward and tackling each of the roars of dawn out of the way before he and Slader rushed at each other while Slader reached out with his hand, which appeared large to the former captain.
"He's strong!" Meliodas said as Slader grabbed him by the head and slammed him into the ground.
"Behind you, Slader!" Simon warned from afar as a large shadow loomed over the holy knight as he looked behind to see Diane with her hammer raised.
"Let go of the captain!" Diane exclaimed as she swung gideon at Slader, who jumped high over the sacred treasure while the strange armor giant responded to the fight.
"RAAHHHHHH!" The armor giant bellowed.
"Wait, calm down!" Gothwer pleaded, only to be ignored when the giant slammed his fist down and created a trench large enough to cause Diane's foot to fall in.
"Ahh! What the?!" Diane questioned when she looked over to see the armor giant. "Gowther?! What the heck are you doing?"
"That's not the real Gowther!" King warned before sensing an attack on him before turning around to see Hugo jump at him and began swinging his axes at him.
"Do not interfere!" Hugo shouted as King was able to narrowly avoid the attack before countering with a spinning attack from chastiefol and knocked the holy knight to the ground.
"Second wave!" Hugo exclaimed as he suddenly felt his arm becoming heavy before looking to see his right arm turning to stone since chastiefol was in its pertifaction form.
"Sorry, but I'll be turning you to stone for a while until everything settles down!"
"Simon!" Hugo exclaimed as his arm was served off his body before the rest of him could turn to stone thanks to Simon's long blade, much to King's surprise at the holy knight's quick decision to have his own arm cut off.
"What?!" King exclaimed before he was suddenly bound in several rings of energy by the holy knight, Jillian.
"You can stay there until everything settles down." Jillian said, unaware of Satsuki behind her.
"Too bad that won't save you!" Satsuki said as she swung bakuzan at Jillian's head, who quickly turned around to counter with her own sword.
"And just who are you and friends getting in the way?"
"You'll soon find out!" Satsuki said as she suddenly backed away to swing her sword and created a blast of air that knocked Jillian back before she stuck bakuzan in the ground created a wave of ice that trapped the holy knight in place.
"Guess it's my turn." Slader said as he dashed forward at high speed in the direction of the armor giant.
"I don't think so!" Diane shouted as she tried to grab the holy knight, only to fall down since her foot was still stuck in the hole the armor giant made. "Aw c'mon!"
"Mission complete!" Slader said as he rushed forward at the armor giant while Gothwer readied himself for battle until Ryuko stood in the holy knight's way.
"I don't think so!" Ryuko exclaimed as she reared back the scissor blade and smashed it into Slader's abdomen and sent him flying backwards.
"Well now..that was unexpected."
Rahh!" Ryuko yelled as she jumped at the holy knight and brought her rending scissor down on him, which he blocked with his saw blade before the two began trade blows with their weapons.
"Keep him busy, Ryuko!" Sora shouted while Xehanort made a move while the hero was distracted.
"You should pay better attention!" Xehanort said as he released a sword wave from his keyblade at Sora, who reacted in time by jumping over his attack before more sword waves were sent in his direction which threatened to hit him until Meliodas jumped in the way.
"Full counter!" Meliodas exclaimed as he used a sword he took from one of the dead holy knights that were killed by the armor giant to deflect Xehanort's sword waves back at the time traveler, who fazed out of the way to avoid harm.
"I thought you didn't have any other weapons." Sora asked.
"I don't. This was makeshift." Meliodas answered as the sword shattered into pieces from the full counter. "Sora, do you know this guy?"
"I'll answer that later. Cain stopped by the tavern to give something to you!" Sora said as he reached into his jacket to take out Liz's sword. Only to find the weapon was missing. "Wha? Oh no, I must've left it behind!"
"Left what behind?"
"Pay attention!" Xehanort shouted as he turned his keyblade into its whip form and violently cracked it in Sora's and Meliodas' direction, causing them to dodge to the side before summoning three vortexes of flames around himself with raging storm and began running at his opponents.
"Satsuki!" Sora called out as she heard his call to see Xehanort rushing at him with the torrent of flames.
"I'm on it!" Satsuki responded as she tossed her sword in a layer of magic in Xehanort's path which then exploded with a mist of ice once the time traveler was close and his flames were extinguished as he finally noticed the Kiryuin monarch.
What a surprise." Xehanort said to himself, impressed by Satsuki's progress without the use of her kamui while Meliodas rushed in.
"Gotcha!" Meliodas shouted as he threw a straight punch that Xehanort blocked with his keyblade, but the force still sent him flying back though several rocks.
"Meliodas, let me take care of Xehanort. I have to settle things with him." Sora said.
"No, I can't do that. I want him to answer something."
"Huh? Like what?" Sora questioned while Xehanort focused his eyes elsewhere before giving a nod of his head to one of the holy knight's nearby, who had set up a sniper post on top of a rock with his bow and arrow aimed at Sora.
"Thanks for the diversion." The holy knight named Weinheidt said as he notched his arrow back while Ban had jumped up behind him.
"Don't think so!" Ban said as he threw a punch at Weinheidt, only for his arm to pass through, revealing the holy knight to be an illusion. "How did he do that?"
"Too bad…Charging completed." Weinheidt's voice said as he emerged from his hiding place amongst the bodies of dead holy knights with his arrow glowing with energy.
"And now, obstacle destroyed!" The holy knight said as he launched his powerful arrow towards Sora, who was too busy clashing keyblades with Xehanort to notice, except for Ryuko.
"Ah! Sora! Look out!" Ryuko shouted as she ran off from her fight with Slader.
"Now hold on!" Slader objected with disappointment since he was enjoying his fight with the girl as Ryuko rushed to stand in the path of the arrow and it blew a hole in her stomach.
"No! Ryuko!" Diane shouted as she watched Ryuko fall to her knees.
"You bas-Huh?" Ban questioned as he watched the hole in Ryuko's body suddenly close up like nothing happened.
"You asshats. I just got my jacket fixed!" Ryuko shouted since the back of her jacket was damaged in the back by the attack.
"S-She's alright?!" King said in disbelief as Ban remained stunned.
(What the? Is she an immortal like myself?) "WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THESE KIDS?!" Ban shouted.
"So they still don't know." Xehanort said with amusement before waving his keyblade over his head and several ice lances formed in the air before shooting them forward, which shot out of the air by piercing projectiles of light, by none other than Sora.
"How long do you plan on keeping all your friends in the dark, Sora?" Xehanort questioned as the hero's new keyblade had finished transforming into a silver bow and arrow and his outfit turned into its guardian form colors.
"Now what's he talking about?" Meliodas asked.
"Don't worry. I plan on telling you everything after this is over." Sora said as a string made of light formed from his bow along with a large arrow as he aimed it sideways and letting it loose as it began multiple arrows upon release towards Xehanort, who dodged the arrows in blurs as they exploded harmlessly on the ground.
"I won't give you the time to do so." Xehanort said as he raised his arm into the air as a large clock formed underneath his feet and copies of the time traveler formed next to him as Sora and Meliodas prepared for whatever he was planning.
"Guess it's time for round two!" Ryuko said as she picked up her scissor blade and was about to join Sora, only for Simon to jump in her path.
"Going somewhere?" Simon questioned as he held his long sword ready to fight while Slader took the opportunity to attack the armor giant.
"Let's finish this up!" Slader announced as he dashed at the giant while Gowther stood ready and Xehanort was ready to attack.
"Time is a cruel-!" Xehanort exclaimed before quickly being interrupted.
"Wait!" Gowther loudly said to get everyone's attention and forced Slader to stop mid dash and the clock under Xehanort vanished, along with his copies as everyone looked at the goat sin of lust.
(Music stops)
"Err, what?" Slader questioned with dumbfoundment.
"The hell is that guy doing?!" Ryuko exclaimed before quickly seeing Gowther's face and recognizing him from the town. "Hold on, haven't we met that guy before?"
"Is that Alan?" Sora asked before quickly noticing the mark of the goat on Gowther's chest. "He's one of the sins…"
"You already met Gowther?" Meliodas asked.
"We ran into him in town, guess he was in disguise."
"Are we just going to talk, or are we gonna fight? It was getting good!" Slader exclaimed.
"Guess since we're just talking, I can finally say, this is what was inside that armor way back when. I always figured it was some giant old man stuffed inside there." Ban said as he appeared to look at Gowther.
"Given your posture, gaze, tone of voice, as well as that scar on your neck. I presume you are Ban the undead, right?" Gowther asked.
"Ha! Now that's the Gowther I remember!"
"He's one of the seven deadly sins too?" Jillan asked after taking the opportune moment to free herself from the ice Satsuki froze her in.
"I figured as much. That giant still stuck in that hole over there is Diane, the serpent sin." Slader said as Diane finally managed to her foot from the hole the armor giant stuck her in as she smiled in satisfaction. "And if I had to guess, that blond kid over there is one of the sins as well."
"That's right! I'm Captain Meliodas to be exact!" Meliodas proudly introduced himself while Simon was in disbelief.
"Hold on! That little squirt is really the leader of the seven deadly sins?!" Simon exclaimed.
"Unfortunately, he's also a huge pervert." Ryuko commented.
"That fact does seem to support the truth that the boy over there truly is Meliodas." Gowther agreed.
"That's not all, ready for this one? Up there is King!" Ban said as he pointed upwards at the fairy king who was still bound in Jillan's energy rings.
"No, that is someone else. Bone structure, voice, body odor is nothing like King."
"Odor?"
"*Sigh* Will this do?" King asked as he quickly shifted into his human form to convince Gowther of his identity, which he did recognize.
"Ah! Creepy!" Jillian said as she lost focus on her magic and her rings dissipated as a reaction and freed King.
"It is him then. Undoubtedly…" Gowther confirmed.
"What a quick backtrack." Ban said before the sound of clapping could be heard from Slader, who had clapped in amusement.
"Wonderful! To meet not only Gowther, but most of the seven deadly sins! Including a few new strong allies of theirs! So happy!" Slader exclaimed in excitement.
"So weird…" Sora said.
"Now back to the matter at hand, why did you stop our fight? I was happy having an all out grudge match against so many opponents."
"I believe the goat sin, Gowther wishes to discuss this matter of his friend." Xehanort answered.
"Gowther is the one you're after, not the giant. Does that not change your mission to him?" Satsuki questioned.
"Yes, I believe that you believed that I was the one inside this armor. Am I not your target?" Gowther asked.
"Doesn't matter. Our mission today is to return home with that armor giant's head." Slader explained as everyone looked at the armor giant's trembling form.
"By the way, Gowther. Who's inside the armor?" Meliodas asked.
"I am not really sure." Gowther admitted.
"You mean he's wearing that guy's armor, and he has no idea who's inside. Dumbass…" Ryuko said.
"Are the rest of the sins like that?" Simon questioned as Ryuko nodded in confirmation.
"Now then…" Slader said as he picked up his saw blade and the rest of his squad responded by getting ready for battle again. "Time to get to work!"
"I'd actually prefer it if you left him alone." Gowther said.
"What's going on, Gowther? Just let those guys do what they want." Ban said as the armor giant stopped its trembling and started standing up.
"Yeah. The fact is, the only reason we tried to protect him in the first place was because we thought he was you." King said.
"What do you want to do about this, Sora?" Meliodas asked as he turned to the keyblade wielder who was staring at the armor giant with an uneasy feeling.
"I don't know what to do but…Something's wrong…" Sora said.
"RAHHHHHHHHH!" The armor giant roared as the torso of its armor shattered into pieces to expose its inhuman flesh and the pair of arms on its shoulders.
"Whoa! That magic power can't belong to a giant like myself!" Diane said.
"You've sensed his power first hand. Think you can defeat him?" Gowther asked.
"That's right… Although I'll admit, one of us, or maybe two will surely die." Slader confirmed.
"The hell, Slader?" Simon said.
"What? I could be one of the two."
"No, you're all gonna leave now!" Sora exclaimed as Slader turned to see the keyblade wielder had turned the focus of his bow onto him. "You're not gonna hurt Alan's, um I mean, Gowther's friend anymore!"
"You heard him, pack up!" Ryuko agreed as she ignited her scissor blade in flames.
"Unless you want the chance of your entire squad to die!" Satsuki exclaimed as she recovered bakuzan and pointed it at the death squad.
"Oh my! Kids are so brave these days, I like it!" Slader said
"Well it seems there is no choice now…" Gowther said as he raised his arm, seemingly ready to fight himself.
"Even Gowther wants you to leave his friend alone. So take the hint and-" Sora said before Gowther suddenly swiped his arm and the head of the armor giant was sliced clean off and fell down to the ground alongside its body as everyone was completely dumbstruck, even Satsuki and young Xehanort while Sora and Ryuko dropped their weapons to the ground. "Um….WHAT?!"
"THE CRAZY BASTARD CUT OFF HIS OWN FRIEND'S HEAD?!" Ryuko exclaimed.
"WHAT THE HECK, GOWTHER?!" Diane exclaimed too.
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT GUY?!" Simon exclaimed as well while Gowther picked up the armor giant's still armored head and presented it to Slader.
"Take it with you." Gowther said while Slader was still trying to process what happened.
"I'm sorry, what and why?" Slader questioned.
"It's the most peaceful way of resolving this. If a three way battle were to occur between us now, the aftermath would mean the inevitable destruction of the Ordan villagers below. And this way the knights who perished would not have died in vain." Gowther explained his actions.
"The necessary evil…" Satsuki said in realization.
"Hmm…Alright, I accept your offer." Slader said as he grabbed the head from Gowther.
"Are you sure about this? That was our prey he just-" Simon tried arguing.
"Silent!" Slader exclaimed with a raised hand as Simon then kept himself from talking any further. "I like you, Gowther the goat sin. So out of respect for your legend, we'll withdraw." The squad said as he turned towards the still dumbstruck Sora.
"And we won't say anything about seeing you either, kid. I am interested in battling you myself one of these days." Slader said as Sora remained unresponsive and slack jawed. "Um, is something wrong with him?"
"Hmm…" Meliodas said as he looked closer at Sora before putting on a doctor's headlight over his forehead. "Ze patent here seems to have a case of thee broken brains. But Doktor Meliodas canz heal him."
"Well, if you say so. Tata, everyone!" Slader said his farewell before he began moving at fast speed away from the scene while the rest of the roars of dawn followed behind him.
"Slader, are you sure about letting them go? That boy is wanted for the murder of princess Veroinca." Simon questioned as he ran alongside Slader.
"Why let such a high priority target go?" Hugo asked.
"LIke I said before. I'm interested in him, and I'd like to see what sort of fun surprise might be in store that kid will no doubt give to this boring kingdom." Slader answered.
"You just didn't want to put any extra effort today." Jillian said.
"Lazy…" Weinheidt commented.
"Hey! Who's the leader here?" Slader exclaimed as he looked back at his troops, only to realize that one of them was missing. "Wait a moment. Where is our friend in the black coat?"
"Hmm. It would seem the sins really were his only concern. Guess he isn't coming back with us." Simon said before changed back to the view of young Xehanort, who was watching the still very much stun locked Sora being poked and prodded by Meliodas.
"Hmm, Yes, yes! His brain is still broken!" Meliodas stated as he poked Sora with a stick.
"Would you stop playing with him and snap Sora out of it?" Ryuko said as she began to get annoyed by the former captain's antics.
"Okay, fine then. Diane, give Sora a flick."
"You got it, captain!" Diane said as Ryuko began to panic.
"Wait! Hold up a second!" Ryuko exclaimed as Diane got her fingers ready to flick Sora's head, who snapped out of his trance in time to see what was about to happen.
"DAHH!" Sora yelled in fear as he dashed out of the way before Diane could flick his head.
"Are you nuts, Meliodas?! Diane could've taken my head off!"
"It worked, didn't it? You snapped out of it." Meliodas said with a sneaky smile.
"I should let Diane flick you so you can see what it's like." Sora said as Gowther approached him.
"Hello there again. Sora was it?" Gowther asked.
"Oh, Alan! Or should I say, Gowther? What do you prefer?"
"Gowther is preferable, it is my real name after all." Gowther answered.
"Question. WHY DID YOU CHOP OFF YOUR FRIEND'S HEAD?!" Sora shouted as he pointed at the body of the headless armor giant.
"We thought you were trying to help it! What happened to that?!" Ryuko exclaimed.
"I had no choice. You saw his power was going out of control, so I made the most effective decision to stop him." Gowther explained his actions, while Satsuki seemed to be in agreement.
"He makes a good point. If that beast took part in the battle, we most likely would've had to defend ourselves from him too." Satsuki said.
"Still, chopping his head off seemed to be a little excessive, Gowther." Diane said.
"Ditto." Sora agreed.
"What was that thing anyway? And why was it wearing your armor?" Ban asked.
"To be honest, I am not quite so sure myself. Ten years ago, I found that creature on a rampage in the woods. When I asked why it was angry, I realized it didn't know as well. So I put him inside my armor to seal his power and stop any further transformation." Gowther explained.
"Clearly that didn't last." King observed as Ryuko came to a realization.
Wait, hold up. Until you put the armor on that thing, did you ever take it off?" Ryuko asked.
"No, I didn't. Why do you ask?" Gowther asked.
"Because, if you never took off the armor, we never saw your real face. So why the disguise earlier?" Meliodas asked.
"Hmm, You make a good point. I guess my disguise this last decade was unnecessary." Gowther said as everyone sweatdropped at the comment.
"Here I thought he'd be the smart guy with how he looks…" Sora said.
"Nah, Gowther has the same amount of brain cells as Hawk sometimes." Meliodas said.
"Great, another dumbass.." Ryuko said as Gowther noticed her and looked at her, and then Satsuki.
"Excuse me, but you and Miss Satsuki are sisters, are you not?" Gowther asked.
"Uh, yeah. Why?"
"Just that I've noticed something very peculiar about the two of you. Satsuki's scent is that of a human, while you give off a scent of something only half human. Why is that?" Gowther noted as the sisters, and everyone else looked surprised.
"You can tell that?" Satsuki asked.
"Yes, just like Sora is giving off a strong scent of the ocean, making me believe he lives on an island."
"Huh. Right on the nose…" Sora said with amazement that Gowther was able to figure out where he lives just by smell.
"Half human? Does that have anything to do with why this girl got a hole blown in her and she's fine?" Ban asked.
"Most likely. I also detected two other living beings on their person. " Gowther answered, which confused Ban.
"Huh?"
"Sora, is there something you, Ryuko and Satsuki have meaning to tell us?" Meliodas asked as Sora looked at him and remembered that he wanted to tell the truth to him and the rest of the sins.
"Oh yeah…I promised Elizabeth that we'd tell the truth about where we really come from. But first…" Sora said as he turned his attention to young Xehanort, who was waiting patiently nearby, sitting on a rock. "I have to take care of him…" The boy said as he walked right over to the time traveling seeker of darkness while Ryuko and Satsuki followed behind him.
"Done chatting with your friends, I suppose. Thought you'd never get around to me" Xehanort said.
"What do you want now, Xehanort? Thought you gave hope up on me."
"Oh, I have. I already said there's no saving you twice. So I think you know why I'm really here."
"Oh, piss off already. If you think me or Satsuki are gonna become your patsys. You got another thing coming!" Ryuko exclaimed.
"Please, I am not here for you." Xehanort said, surprising the two sisters.
"Say what?"
"Then what do you want?" Satsuki asked.
'Them…" Xehanort said as he motioned his hand to Meliodas and the seven deadly sins behind Sora, who realized that the time traveler wanted them to use as his newest vessels.
"You Meliodas or one of the others for your newest vessels…" Sora said, which Meliodas overheard.
"Vessels? Sora, what are you talking about?" Meliodas talked about.
"He's going to use you and the others for something really bad."
"You left out the part where I can change their fates." Xehanort added, which caught the attention of all the present sins.
"What? Change fate? That's impossible, no one can do that!" King objected.
"Sora did. He's not supposed to even be here among us" Xehanort said as Sora sneered at him. "And so I offer all of you this one chance, come with me to change your fates, and you will be reunited with all the ones you've lost, your so-called sins, erased. All you must do is give your heart over to-"
"No thank you." Meliodas said with an earnest smile, rendering a considerable amount of confusion from Xehanort.
"No? I've offered you possibly the best chance you have of making things right. I free you from the vicious cycle you are trapped in, Meliodas. You alone can change how things are in this world."
"I think I'd rather do that my way. Besides, I don't think I want my sins just erased, how else can I learn from them? No matter what, they'll keep following me around anyway." Meliodas said as he narrowed his eyebrows in a serious expression. "Besides, I don't trust you to change her fate too."
"Is that so?" Xehanort said before looking at the other sins. "Anyone else object?"
"Well if the captain and Sora says you can't be trusted, then I got nothing to say to you!" Diane said.
"I say you can go to hell. I didn't like you the moment I looked at you." Ban added.
"Why should I give you any of my trust anyway? As much as I would like to save Elaine, or my friend. I know that going with is the wrong thing to do!" King said as the focus shifted onto Gowther, who had a curious look on his face.
"Um, Gowther? Anything to add?" Meliodas asked.
"Well, I have to admit, I'm quite curious about his so-called power to change fate." Gowther stated, which earned dumbfounded looks from everyone else. "Did I say something wrong?"
"You can't be serious about joining up with this creep? Right?!" Ban said.
"Gowther. Xehanort isn't gonna change anything for you. He'll just use you to do something really bad. Something worse than whatever the holy knights are up to!" Sora said.
"Oh, so I would be making the wrong choice in this situation?" Gowther asked.
"YES!" The entire group exclaimed at once.
"Well, then I guess I must say no to the offer as well."
"Hmm. How disappointing to hear…Very well. I guess I'll have to force one of you to become my new vessel." Xehanort said.
"Aww, how cute. This guy thinks he take on all of us." Ban said.
"Bad idea, Xehanort. Meliodas and the others won't go down without a fight." Sora said.
"Oh, I know that. But I'm not the only one here you have to worry about." Xehanort said.
"Uh, Sora…" Ryuko spoke up to get his attention and Sora turned around to see the headless armor giant rise up and stand alive again.
"What?!" Sora said.
(Music: Ghoulish symphony~From final fantasy 7 remake)
"Whoa, what's going on?" Meliodas questioned as everyone stood in awe of the still living armor giant and King turned into his human form out of shock.
"Oh dear. This is what I was afraid of, it would seem we must contain him now." Gowther said.
"Y-You chopped off his head, but he's still alive!" King exclaimed as the torso of the giant began to move like something was about to emerge.
"Yes. it was already ornamental by the time I did."
"What did you do, Xehanort?!" Sora exclaimed, instinctively blaming the time traveler.
"This one is not on me. Someone else was dabbling in dark forces and created this monster. It was a failed experiment that was once human…" Xehanort explained.
"To be exact, this is a shell of a holy knight." Gowther said as four head emerged out of the armor giant's torso, along with the upper body of a human man in the center.
"RAWWWWW!" The armor giant bellowed with its four heads before raising its arms and brought them down on Meliodas' half of the group, who all dodged out of the way.
"Let's do this!" Meliodas shouted as he and Ban countered by jumping forward and pummeled the multiple heads with countless blows, only to have no effect as the monster countered with a punch that sent them back. "Sora! We'll take care of Gowther's monster friend, you fight that guy over there!"
"You got it!" Sora answered as he called back his new bow transformation and took aim at Xehanort.
"Let us begin a new performance then!" Xehanort said as he called his keyblade to his hand as Sora released a volley of arrows that Xehanort deflected with a few fast swings. "Is that all you got, Sora?"
"How about me?!" Ryuko exclaimed as Xehanort turned his head to see her charge at him and swung her scissor blade at him in a frenzy of strikes until Xehanort teleported behind her and turned his keyblade into a whip that lassoed around her, allowing the seeker of darkness to yank her back forcefully before raising his arm and throwing it forward to send Ryuko flying a long distance.
"I don't think so, you bastard!" Ryuko shouted as she aimed her scissors behind her in midair and released a combustion of fire from her weapon that rocketed her back towards Xehanort, who was nonetheless surprised by the tactic.
"What?" Xehanort said as he lifted his keyblade up in time to deflect a flying slash from Ryuko, who zoomed by him before quickly turning around and released another blast from her scissors that propelled her at Xehanort and slammed her weapon onto his keyblade, causing the ground to crack from the pressure. "I'm impressed, you've stopped thinking with your anger."
"While I have plenty to give!" Satsuki shouted from behind Xehanort as he turned his head to see her rush at him with her sword, only to be blocked when the time traveler summoned one of his energy sabers in his free hand and began exchange weapon blows with the sisters while Sora aimed at the distracted Xehanort with his bow.
"This is gonna hurt, Xehanort!" Sora said.
"RAWWWWWW!" The armor giant roared from behind Sora as he turned around to see the monster charging straight at him.
"What the?!" Sora exclaimed in surprise as he jumped to avoid being smashed by the monster's fist and released an arrow into each of the monster's head to stun it.
"Rahhh! Raw!" The armor giant bellowed before it countered by releasing a mist of ice from one of its heads at Sora, which ended up being aimed upwards when Diane grabbed the beast from behind.
"Gotcha!" Diane exclaimed as she held back the armor giant with the handle of her hammer, causing the monster to lash out as it tried to break free.
"What happened? I thought you guys were keeping this thing busy!" Sora said.
"We were! This thing just charged straight at you when Gowther decided to clean his glasses instead of helping!" Diane said as Sora looked to see Gowther was indeed wiping his glasses with his shirt.
"Well, I can't fight with foggy glasses now, can I?" Gowther said.
"GAAARRRRHHHHHH!" The armor giant roared again as it grabbed the shaft of Diane's hammer to lift it over itself and began struggling with her.
"Hey! Let go!" Diane said before suddenly finding herself lifted up by the monster by her own hammer. "Uh oh…AHHHH!" She screamed when the armor giant tossed her away towards the sins.
"Incoming!" Ban warned as he, Meliodas, and King scattered in separate directions while Gowther was still cleaning his glasses, causing Meliodas to go back and grab the goat sin of lust out of the way, just as Diane landed with a heavy crash.
"Diane!" King exclaimed with concern.
"I'm fine…" Diane assured as she stood up and rubbed her head and King sighed
"RAAAAAAAAA!" The armor giant bellowed again as it charged at Sora once more, who jumped out of its path to jump on top of a nearby rock pillar.
"Ryuko, Satsuki. I think I'm going to be too busy to help out!" Sora said to the sisters while Ryuko was knocked to the ground and Satsuki slid backwards on her feet.
"Very well, we shall hold the line!" Satsuki responded as young Xehanort walked slowly towards her and Ryuko.
"Yeah, just take your time, Sora…." Ryuko groaned as she stood up on her feet. "Hey, Satsuki. Think we can handle an all out grudge match against this creep without our kamuis?"
"I don't know. He has years of experience ahead of us, and this is only the younger version of his present day self. Who happens to be where I learned everything about using a sword from."
"And if my future self were here, he would surely be very disappointed in you, Satsuki. What a waste of talent." Xehanort said.
"I don't think she asked for your opinion!" Ryuko said as she ignited her scissor blade flames while Satsuki coated her sword in ice as the sisters got ready for battle again while Sora watched with worry.
"I better wrap this soon so I can help them." Sora said as he aimed his bow back at the armor giant to release an energy arrow that split into four arrows that flew at the armor giant's multiple faces.
"Gah! Rah! Dah!" The armor giant bellowed in pain as each arrow struck its faces, making the monster much angrier. "RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" The creature roared as Sora took advantage by notching another energy arrow and charged it up like Weinheidt did with his own arrow.
"Say goodbye!"
"RAHHHH!" The armor giant roared again as it began charging at Sora, who noticed the human man stuck in the middle of its torso.
"What?!" Sora said as he released his arrow that narrowly missed its target and hit a boulder that was blown to pieces in an explosion of light while the armor giant snached up the stunned Sora in its grasp and one of its heads had a light within its mouth, singeling for a fire breath attack.
"Sora!" Meliodas exclaimed as he quickly grabbed a sword from one of the dead holy knights on the ground and jumped into the air as his sword became coated in black flames. "Enchant hellblaze!" The former captain exclaimed as he jumped into the air to perform a downward slash that delivered heavy damage to the armor giant as it released its grip on Sora in time before it could release its flame breath while Sora and the other sins were surprised by the appearance of the dark flames.
"Black flames?!" King said in stunned surprise as Ban stood in shock.
"Just like…" Ban said as he flashed back to the day Meliodas gave him his scar, and the dragon handle was coated in the same dark fire while the former captain grabbed Sora and pulled him away from the armor giant as the keyblade's chosen was surprised by the dark power as well.
"Meliodas, that fire…can you use the power of darkness?" Sora asked.
"I can't explain it to you right now. But I will later!" Meliodas said as he charged at the monster yet again.
"Get 'em captain!" Diane cheered as Meliodas was about to see the enchant hellblaze attack again, only to pause when he noticed the man stuck in the torso of the armor giant himself.
"Don't…do this…please…" The trapped man begged as Meliodas slowed down in his charge.
"Hurry up and finish him off!" Ban exclaimed as his warning came too late and Meliodas was ensnared by the tongue of the armor giant's many heads.
"Crap, this is bad…"
"Meliodas!" Sora exclaimed as he was about to take aim at the armor giant, only for a bolt of light to suddenly strike the monster in the middle of its torso.
"A light arrow?" King questioned as he looked at Sora.
"Don't look at me!" Sora answered since the arrow suddenly didn't come from him while Ban picked up a whip from one of the dead holy knights and used his power to extend it and snach Meliodas out of the armor giant's grip.
"What's the matter with you captain?! You could've killed it!" Ban scolded.
"I know why he didn't, there's a person in that thing." Sora answered.
"Sora's right, and he said something too. It must be the holy knight." Meliodas said as Ban grew frustrated.
"Who cares?! We gotta kill that thing!" Ban exclaimed.
"We can't! We have to save him!" Sora argued.
"I'm not asking you, kid! Besides, what's one more monster for you to take out anyhow?"
"The difference is that people who turn into a heartless have a chance to turn human again. This guy doesn't get it that easy."
"Sora's right, we gotta find another way to stop him."
"How the hell are you two this naive?!" Ban yelled as he glared angrily at Sora and Meliodas while Gowther approached with a bow made of purple energy in his hand.
"Excuse me, but are the three of you fighting?" Gowther asked as everyone stopped glaring at each other.
"We're just having a difference of options…" Sora answered as he turned back to the frozen armor giant. "What did you do to him, Gowther?"
"Is it dead?" Diane asked.
"No, he's trapped in an illusion. That is my magical power, Invasion. Right now, he is trapped inside an illusion of distant days he wishes to return to." Gowther explained as Sora looked at the man trapped in the armor giant's body and he did seem to be sleeping and muttering to himself.
(Poor guy, I wonder what he's seeing in there) Sora thought to himself as he noticed a familiar feature in the man's face, mainly the way that his eyes seemed to be permanently closed as He looked at Meliodas. "Hey, doesn't he look a little familiar?"
"Actually, his face does ring a bell…" Meliodas agreed before an object crashed behind the group and everyone looked to see Satsuki embedded in the ground on her back and injured.
"Satsuki!" Sora exclaimed as he ran over to his beaten friend who was struggling to move.
"Forget about me, Sora. It's Ryuko you need to worry about." Satsuki stated as Sora heard an explosion and looked over to see it and saw Ryuko getting blasted backwards along the ground and young Xehanort appeared in a blur over her to point his keyblade at her heart.
"You couldn't even defeat your own mother without Sora and your sister's help. What made you think you had a chance against me?" Xehanort questioned as he moved his keyblade closer to Ryuko's heart.
"Didn't need to win, just needed to stall for help." Ryuko said with a smile as Xehanort noticed a bright light above him and looked up to see a rain of energy in the forms fall down towards him, forcing Xehanort to jump backwards while Ryuko did the same to avoid the hail of arrows.
"Over here, Xehanort!" Sora called out as the time traveler looked to see Sora releash a volley of arrows that were ignited in fire magic that Xehanort was able to deflect with a few swings of his keyblade while Meliodas jumped high into the air to follow up on Sora's onslaught.
"Godslayer!" Meliodas exclaimed as he swung his borrowed sword to release a sword wave made of dark flames at Xehanort, who teleported out of the attacks' way before reappearing behind Meliodas to smash him down towards the ground with a powerful swing of the keyblade while the former captain smiled. "Hehehe, fell for it…"
"Huh?" Xehanort questioned as Ban appeared behind him and grabbed him in a full nelson. "What?!"
"Kid! Take the shot!" Ban shouted to Sora.
"Alright, if you say so!" Sora said as he aimed his bow upwards and focused his power to release a single arrow into the air above Xehanort and Ban which then burst into a flash of light and countless arrows like before rained down on their target and both Xehanort and Ban were bombarded with explosions of light from the arrow barrage and created a large smoke cloud. "Sorry about that Ban."
"Eh, he'll be fine. You know he will." Meliodas said as he and Ryuko joined Sora's side before Ban was suddenly thrown out of the smoke cloud and flew past the group.
"Maybe not…" Ryuko said as Xehanort stepped out of the smoke cloud without any damage done to him.
"I think it's time we brought back our friend out of his daydreaming, don't you think?" Xehanort asked as he snapped his fingers and a small stream of darkness went from his fingertips to the arrow Gowther had pierced into the armor giant, causing it to vanish and the monster began growling as it stirred out of Gowther's illusion.
"That's not good, without my arrow, the illusion is sure to wear off soon enough." Gowther explained while Ban heard his statement and got off the ground after recovering from being sent flying by Xehanort.
"Guess we better kill it now." Ban said as he was about to attack, only for Sora and Meliodas to stand in his way.
"You can't do that!" Sora said.
"There's still a part of him that's human in there!"? Meliodas said as he and Ban glared at each other, along with Sora taking part in the staredown until Ban smirked.
"I don't need the two of you judging me!" Ban said as he snapped his borrowed whip forward into the man trapped inside the armor giant and pulled out his beating heart, much to Sora's and Meliodas' shock.
"Oh, Ban…"
"What've you done?!" Sora exclaimed in anger.
"Oh, please. I did him a favor, kid. He's better off dead than a monster." Ban said.
"What?!" Meliodas exclaimed himself while everyone noticed something off about the armor giant.
"Uh, Sora. He's…still alive!" Ryuko said as she pointed at the man and noticed he was still muttering to himself.
"Huh?" Sora said in disbelief.
"He's also still seeing the illusion I put him in." Gowther said
"Farewell…My children…My beloved daughter…and my dear…Beloved son…" The holy knight in the monster's body said as the armor giant's four heads fused into one head and its arms split into four arms.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The armor giant bellowed with great power.
"What the hell is this, I know I ripped his heart out!" Ban said as he turned to Xehanort, believing him to be the culprit. "You! What the hell did you do!?"
"I have done nothing. This man has now completely transformed into the same kind of creature you feared returning for a long time." Xehanort explained as Ban put together what the time traveler was saying. The only other kind of monster that survived getting its heart pulled out by the immortal bandit was the same one that killed Elaine.
"Damn it, no…He's a demon too?!"
"Wait, you know what this freaky thing is?!" Ryuko asked as Ban glared at the armor giant.
"Unfortunately, I've had the displeasure of meeting another one like this." Ban explained as Meliodas was starting to recognize the holy knight trapped in the monster.
"I know him, it's Dale! He became a holy knight ten years ago!" Meliodas said.
"So, he's a friend of yours?!" Sora said in disbelief.
"Kind of, we knew him as a father of two kids. He said he wanted to be just like us, someone his children could be proud of." King explained.
"So, should we save him? Or put him down?" Ryuko questioned, as she wondered what the best course of action could be as the demonized Dale charged forward.
"He's coming." Gowther warned as Dale's demon body raised two of its fists and brought them down on Sora, who was pushed out of the way by Ban, who's top half of his body was knocked off his legs from the punch and sent flying.
"Ban!" Sora exclaimed as the head of Dale's demon body spewed a stream of flames at him, which were avoided when Sora jumped into the air and released a volley of several arrows that had no effect until he released a thunderga infused arrow that struck Dale and stunned his whole demon body. "Why is he after me? What did I do?!"
"It's your light, Sora. It's too bright for this man's monstrous side, he won't stop until it's extingusted." Xehanort explained as he watched with amusement when Dale grabbed a nearby boulder and tossed it in Sora's direction, which was smashed to pieces midair when Diane swung her hammer.
"Double hammer!" Diane exclaimed as she swung her hammer and two arcing earth pillars emerged out of the ground and trapped the demonized Dale in a pincer formation, threatening to keep him trapped between the rocks. Which failed when he easily smashed the earth pillars to pieces. "What?!"
Rrrrraaaaa!" Dale's demon body roared again as it spat out a large amount of liquid that appeared to be acid out of its mouth at Diane, who was caught off guard.
"Diane!" King shouted as he flew in front of her and used his magic to spin chastiefol like a windmill to block most of the acid, but some of it was able to hit him and knock him down. Luckily, the acid only gave him minor burns.
"King!" Diane exclaimed before turning to Dale with an angry glare before raising her hammer up high and swinging it down. "Mother earth catastrophe!"
"Diane, wait!" Meliodas exclaimed as he stepped in front of her hammer's path, stopping just inches away from his face.
"Captain? What are you doing?!"
"Drraahhh!" Dale roared again as streams of flames released from his demon body's mouth, forcing everyone to dodge out of the way, except for King, who Diane had to grab to save while the flames passed by.
"What the hell are you doing, captain?!" Ban exclaimed after healing from being knocked away earlier and getting back up to see Meliodas stand in the way of Diane's attack.
"I had to try and reach him! I thought he could fight it." Meliodas said while Sora watched the scene unfold before turning towards Dale, who seemed to have no ability to fight against his demonized body.
"Please…End it…" Dale begged.
"Meliodas, I…Don't think he can be saved…" Sora said, sadly as Meliodas and Ryuko looked at him in surprise.
"S-Sora…You really think that?" Ryuko asked as Sora nodded.
"He's been like this for a long time, we don't know how to fix him. We have no choice…" Sora said as Meliodas looked at the ground in frustration, wanting to argue to find another way to save Dale. But he knew in his heart Sora was right.
"Sora…Do it…" Meliodas said as Sora nodded as he turned to the demonized Dale.
"DRRRRRRAAAAAHHHH!" Dale roared as he began sprinting towards the group in a rageful charge.
"Ryuko, slow him down!" Sora exclaimed.
"You got it!" Ryuko responded as she dashed forward herself at Dale and jumped his foot to stab her scissor blade into it.
"Raaaaahh!" Dale howled in pain as he began slowing down.
"It's about to get hot in here!" Ryuko said as her scissors ignited in flames and caused Dale's whole leg to be engulfed in fire.
"RAAAAWWW!" Dale howled in pain again as he fell to one knee.
"Ban, get behind him and grab the other leg!" Sora shouted.
"Don't mind if I do!" Ban responded as he jumped high into the air over Dale and landed behind him before tossing out his borrowed whip to bind Dale's other leg. "Come 'ere!" He exclaimed as the immortal pulled and dragged Dale's leg back and forced him onto his other knee.
"Diane, you're up!" Sora called out as Diane rushed past him with Gideon raised above her head.
"This one's for King!" Diane shouted as she swung her hammer down on the demonized Dale, who raised all four of his arms to block the weapon and the ground began shattering upon impact. But now Dale's demon body was unable to defend itself from any further attacks, which was what Sora was planning as he notched back another light arrow in his bow.
"Sorry about this, Dale. Bind!" Sora exclaimed as he released his arrow into Dale's chest, which seemed to have no impact until it turned into an orb of light and released four tethers that latched into the ground to trap Dale.
"RRRRRAAAAA!" Dale bellowed as he stuffed against Diane's hammer and used one of his many arms to try and remove the tether Sora placed on him.
"Kid, I hope you got a better plan than just chaining him down. Because he's trying to get loose!" Ban said as he made sure his whip held tight onto Dale's leg.
"He does, Sora's tether is actually a bomb ready to go off. You should be ready to move away." Gowther said.
"And you should do it now!" Sora shouted as he notched one more arrow and let it loose into the energy orb that kept Dale trapped in place and it began to glow brighter after being struck.
"It's gonna blow!" Ryuko shouted as she pulled her scissors out of Dale's foot and jump away while Diane and Ban did the same as the tether exploded in a large burst of blinding light that engulfed Dale while Sora and his keyblade reverted back to normal.
"Sorry I had to do that, Meliodas. I didn't want to do that either." Sora apologized to the captain, who was glaring at the explosion.
"Actually, you may wanna hold that thought." Meliodas said as the light from the explosion faded to reveal the demonized Dale was mostly fine except for the burns on his body from the explosion.
"Rahhh!" Dale roared once more.
"You gotta be kidding me! We can't even blow this bastard to hell?!" Ryuko exclaimed.
"It's not enough. I need to do something…" Meliodas said.
"You do something? Sorry, captain. But all you've been good for this whole fight is getting in the way." Ban said as Meliodas didn't listen to the words he said.
"I could stop, if you wish." Xehanort spoke up as everyone looked at him with glares. "I could even restore his humanity given the chance. All you must do is offer yourself as my vessel, Meliodas."
"Meliodas, don't listen to him. He's lying!" Sora said as Meliodas was struggling to make a decision.
"Sir Meliodas!" A familiar voice cried out as everyone looked up to the cliffside to see Elizabeth had arrived with Liz's sword in hand.
"Elizabeth!" Meliodas said in surprise.
"Elizabeth! What are you doing here?! I told you to stay at the tavern!" Sora stated.
"I couldn't stay behind! Not when I need to give sir Meliodas this! Here!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she tossed the sheathed sword into the air, which Meliodas recognized the weapon right away.
(Music:The seven deadly sins~7tsuno:the1~)
"That sword…" Meliodas said as he thought back on the day Liz had asked him to take the sword, despite his initial decline.
"Sir Meliodas, It's not that Liz wanted you to fight. It's that she wanted you to live! Don't you understand, you're a man who stands up for what he believes in. Then if that's your sin…Then I'll carry that burren with you!" Elizabeth said as something within Meliodas clicked.
"You fine with that? Making a woman go that far…" Ban said before being interrupted by the sight of Meliodas jumping up into the air to go after the sword, something Xehanort wouldn't allow.
"I don't think so. I still need you as a vessel!" Xehanort said as he turned his keyblade into its whip form, only for Sora to be ready for the time traveler as he tossed his keyblade at the same time Xehanort flicked his forward and ended up being deflected by Sora's weapon.
"Piss off already!" Ryuko exclaimed as she followed up by swinging her scissor blade and created a red energy wave that flew at Xehanort and exploded in a bright red burst, giving Meliodas the opportunity to grab Liz's sword in midair and began diving down towards Dale.
"RAAGGGGG!" Dale roared one last time as he raised all four of his arms to attack.
"I'm sorry, Dale. Please forgive me!" Meliodas said as he drew Liz's sword out of its sheath and in a sudden flash, he appeared on the ground behind Dale and resheathed the weapon as slash marks appeared all over the demonized holy knight and torn to pieces, with the only part left was the chunk of flesh Dale's torso was imprisoned in, leaving Sora and Ryuko in stunned silence.
"Whoa, so that's what Meliodas can really do…" Sora said in awe.
"Didn't know the little perv could get so serious either." Ryuko said with surprise as Meliodas turned around to see young Xehanort, who had emerged unscathed from Ryuko's earlier attack.
"So, have you made your decision?" Xehanort asked.
"I have. I'm not going anywhere with you. Even if you do have the power to change my fate, I have too much to lose now and doubt you'll fulfill that promise like Sora says. So get lost!" Meliodas said as the mysterious black mark appeared on his forehead emerged like in Dalmally and Vaizel. "And don't you even think about trying the same with any of the other sins."
"...Very well then." Xehanort responded as he turned around and opened a dark corridor in front of him, but before he could enter, he turned his head around to glare back. "Nothing will change for you, not with your true nature."
"He said, beat it, Xehanort!" Sora exclaimed as he held his keyblade tightly and ready to fight again as the time traveler scoffed at him before turning back and walked into the corridor of darkness and vanished alongside the portal.
(Music ends)
(Learned gravira magic)
"Damn, creep…" Ryuko said as she and Sora put their weapons away and lowered their guard while Sora made the decision to talk with the captain of the sins.
"Meliodas…" Sora said as he turned around and saw the sight of Meliodas, who's strange black mark vanished from his forehead looking up and smiling at Elizabeth, and was smiling in return. "Mm, nevermind."
Seems like you've had everything handled without me." Satsuki's voice caught Sora's and Ryuko's attention as they turned to see her walking towards them while holding her right arm, which seemed to be injured in the fight with Xehanort.
"Oh, Satsuki! Are you okay?" Sora asked, ready to cast curaga on Satsuki.
"I'm fine. I received worse from Ragyo and Vantias when I was their prisoner. All I need is some rest." Satsuki assured when Rem came running out of the woods towards Sora and out of breath.
"*Whew!* Made it!" Rem said while exhaling.
"Rem, there you are. What happened with Elizabeth? You were supposed to stick with her." Sora said.
"I tried to keep her at the tavern, but she grabbed that sword and jumped out the window when I was getting some tea ready."
"Damn, that princess is getting good at rushing towards the exciting stuff." Ryuko said, greatly impressed by Elizabeth's increasing boldness to charge straight into action.
"I'm so sorry for failing! I hope you're not angry!" Rem cried with large comical tears.
"Whoa, calm down. Just take Satsuki back and make sure she gets better before I send you back home, alright?" Sora asked as Rem seemed to calm down and nodded. "Okay, Satsuki. You should go with her."
"I will. Mainly to make sure she doesn't cry again." Satsuki said as she slowly started walking forward in the direction of the boar hat before stumbling for a second.
"Oh please, Miss! At least allow me to assist you in getting back!" Rem insisted as she ran over to help Satsuki while Meliodas approached Sora.
"Sooooo…Wanna explain what just happened with that guy in the black coat and why Ryuko managed to survive getting a hole blown in her." Meliodas said.
"Oh, actually. I did actually promise Elizabeth that I was gonna tell the truth about me, Ryuko and Satsuki when you got back." Sora said with an apologetic expression on his face. "Hope you'll understand why I hid secrets."
"Don't worry, I think I'll get it. Ban on the other hand, might not be happy. Right, Ban?" Meliodas asked, only to receive no answer as he looked over to see Ban standing over what was left of Dale. "Ban?"
"Huh? Sorry, captain. Got distracted by something." Ban said as he held a small creature that he pulled from Dale's chest that everyone took notice of.
"What is that thing?"
"Beats me, I pulled it out of him."
"That can't be natural…" Diane said as she walked over to look with King in her hands.
"Oh, hey. Is the shrimp alright?" Ryuko asked as Diane opened the palm of her hands to reveal that not only was King fine, but he was in his human form with a joyful smile after being held by Diane. "Well, someone seems to be in a good mood…You know, after getting hit by acid."
"It makes the gifts in life worth it…" King stated before reverting back to his normal form still smiling and floating off Diane's hand.
"Hey, King. Check this out…" Meliodas said as he pointed to the small creature Ban was holding onto. "I don't think you'll find this in most demons. Not unless…"
"...It's some sort of man-made the only ones who could pull off this would be an alchemist of the holy knights. But to do something like this behind not one, but two grandmasters is absurd." King stated before gasping in realization. "Unless one or both of the holy knight grandmasters is involved!"
"So…The holy knights…Did this to one of their own?!" Sora exclaimed in disbelief. Feeling anger for what was done to Dale while someone was eavesdropping on the conversion, which happened to be Jeicho. Who saw the whole fight between, Sora, the sins, the roars of dawn, and the demonized Dale and Xehanort.
"That thing was a holy knight once?" Jericho whispered to herself with shock. After the roars of dawn were sent out on their mission to go after the armor giant, the young holy knight followed them wondering why Helbram wanted them of all people to kill it. Now she knew why, someone in the order had created a demon of their own.
"If it's one of the boss knights that did this. Who was it?" Ryuko questioned while the small creature in Ban's grasp suddenly awoke.
"Huh?" Ban said before the creature jumped out of his hand and lunged at Sora.
"Whoa!" Sora shouted as he saw the creature come at him, only for the small life form to fall to the ground dead with a projectile of light in its side.
"Hendrickson…" Gowther spoke as everyone looked at him. "That is the person most likely involved in all of this."
"Hendrickson…Ah! Isn't that the guy King said that wants a war with you guys?" Sora asked when he remembered King explained to the group about Hendrickson's name kept being heard when the fairy king was on the kingdom's side.
"I did say that. But I never could've imagined he was creating demons of all things." King said.
"Hey, Sora. That thunder guy in the forest also said that same dude wanted you arrested and brought to him." Ryuko reminded the boy.
"Yeah, I remember that. Jericho and Gulia also tried to take me too." Sora said, remembering Gulia's offer to make him a holy knight if he went along with them.
"Big mystery, isn't it?" Meliodas said as Ban walked over to the small demonic creature and crushed it with his foot while it died hissing.
"Well, we can brainstorm about all that info later. Gonna head back, I'm getting hungry." Ban said as he turned around and walked away in the direction of the tavern.
"Oh! Are you gonna cook something, Ban? I missed lunch." Diane said as she followed him with King following suit.
"Wait up for me, would ya?" King said while Meliodas stayed behind while Sora approached.
"You're not going with them?" Sora asked.
"One more thing to do…" Meliodas answered as he And Sora turned to see Gowther standing over what was left of Dale and thinking back to when he found the holy knight turned demon. After fleeing from the kingdom, Gowther found Dale on the rampage in a forest and used the armor Dale was wearing beforehand to keep the demonized holy knight from running rampant again, leading to Dale to start following the the goat sin around and over time Gowther seemed to become close companions with Dale, even though he never even knew his name until now.
(Music: Scent of silence)
"Gowther…" Dale spoke, taking Sora and the others with the expectation of Gowther that the man was still alive, although it wouldn't be for long. "Are…You there?'
"Yes. I am indeed present." Gowther answered.
"Thank you…So much…My…Friend…"
"Friend? Do you think so? I heard that a friend is someone that is dear to you. Was I able to become your friend? Please, Dale. Tell me." Gowther requested before Dale's breathing became more rapid.
"My…My children…I have to…Get home…Tell them what happened to me…Back to…The capital…" Dale struggled to talk while Sora approached Dale and got down to one knee to talk.
"I'll tell them. I'll let your kids know that you didn't abandon them. What are their names?" Sora asked.
"...Zeal…And…G-Guila…" Answered Dale as the name of his second child surprised the keyblade's chosen.
"What?!" Sora said with surprise as he realized why Dale's face looked familiar to him. With his seemingly permanently closed eyes, he bore a great resemblance to the holy knight, Gulia. Before Sora could ask anymore, Dale suddenly stopped breathing. "Hey, Dale? Is he…?"
"He's dead. All body functions had now ceased…But I wonder…If people shed tears at times like these…" Gowther questioned while Sora stood.
"Yeah…They definitely would…"
"Hey, Sora. Mind helping me bury, Dale? He should at least get a proper burial." Meliodas requested as the keyblade wielder nodded in agreement.
"I'll help out…" Ryuko offered as Meliodas began digging a hole in the ground while Sora and Ryuko picked up rocks.
"Hey, Ryuko. If you weren't home when your dad was killed, would you have wanted someone to tell you what happened?" Sora asked.
"Hell yeah, I would've. But the old me would've also punched whoever did tell me…."
"Well, that's why I'm asking. I told Dale I'd find his kids and tell them what happened to him, but one of them is Gulia." Sora explained as Ryuko remembered her name.
"Wait, that explosion chick that tried to kill us?" Ryuko asked.
"Yeah…Me giving her the bad news is not gonna be easy…"
"She'll freakin' nuke you for sure." Ryuko stated as Sora nodded in agreement before they got back to helping Meliodas dig Dale's grave, all while Jericho, who snuck down into the quarry to listen more, hid behind a nearby rock with stunned silence over what she heard.
(That monster…Was Gulia's father?!) Jericho thought to herself before taking a peek around the corner to see Meliodas lift what was left of Dale into the burial plot and her eyes caught sight of the necklace he was wearing.
(Liones: Magical research building: Demon chamber)
"Did you take care of it? The so-called armor giant?" Hendrickson asked Helbram as the latter walked into the secret underground room where they kept the red demon corpse.
"Thankfully, yes. Though we took longer than expected after the experiment failed and he managed to slip away." Helbram explained after the roars of dawn brought him the ornamental head of the demonized Dale and had Gulia incinerate the piece of her own transformed father.
"Because of their power, the old generation of holy knights spun out of control, making them quite difficult to subdue. But the power of the new generation are a different story. Their powers are adequate, yet inferior to their predecessors, making them easier to control." Hendrickson said with pride in his monstrous creations.
"Then what we have here is the story of a young girl, succeeding where her father could not. Quite touching in fact…"
"If by touching, you might actually mean pretty messed up." A voice familiar to Hendrickson and Helbram echoed throughout the chamber as a corridor of darkness opened nearby and Vanitas walked out.
"I mean, you made the girl blow up what was left of her dad. Doesn't that say something to you?"
"Tch! You again, bleached hair brat!" Helblam spat at the sight of Sora's dark double.
"Welcome back to Liones. I guess you've fully recovered from your battle in Vaizel, I assume?" Hendrickson asked.
"I thought it'd be better for me to lay low after you blamed Sora for snuffing out that princess. Didn't want the trouble of taking blame and having your goons chase after me."
"But weren't you the one who killed princess Veronica anyway?" Helbram questioned.
"Heh. Let's not get into details. The real reason I'm here is for what you promised me. I helped you get the sword, so, the mask, now." Vanitas demanded, wanting the ancient foreteller fox mask Hendrickson was in possession of.
"I'll make good on my promise of your payment in mere moments. But I was wondering if you would join us in witnessing the resurrection of the demon clan." Hendrickson said as Vantias turned his head to see a large stone slab in the middle of the chamber with stone carving embedded in it, along with Meliodas' dragon handle, with its broken blade in the center of the slab.
"I didn't exactly come here to watch the end of your world…But I think it'd be good entertainment anyway." Vanitas said with a smile.
"Well, then I guess that's my cue to break the seal. The embrace that binds you, and the kiss that imprisons you…" Helbram began chanting as the strange stone slab began to respond to the chant as it began to resonate with an ominous purple glow while Helbram's voice started to fade out as Hendrickson focused on the stone slab.
"Our preparations are finally complete. All that's left is to wait for the impending chaos…The king of Liones with his infinite power brought such abominable peace to Brittanna. It has robbed the people of their survival instincts and the knights of their pride and will to fight. This peace has done nothing but rust our armor and dull our swords. But I swear I will return this land to its former glory…" Hendrickson spoke while Vanitas listened to his vow with amusement.
(Heh, idiot. Those ideals are really whatever darkness possessing him is making him believe. It'll ditch him once its goal is complete.) Vanitas thought to himself when the stone slab suddenly shot a surge of energy above itself.
"Soon the demon race shall be released, to face the holy knight and the new generation !" Hendrickson exclaimed as the surge of energy began to form into a portal.
"The gate opens at last!" Helbram said.
"Come, demons! Reveal yourselves in all your unholy glory!" Hendrickson called out as several arms that seemingly belonged to red demons like the one dead and hanging in the chamber clawed their way out of the portal and tried to open it further. Only to have no avail as some sort of power kept the portal from becoming any larger while the beasts on the other side roared in anger.
"That's not gonna work. Your portal isn't strong enough." Vanitas stated.
"Then it is just as I thought, you're missing a fragment, Hendrickson." Helbram said.
"So it would seem…" Hendrickson said as his focus shifted to Vanitas. "Could we call on your assistance one more time?"
"Pfft! Yeah right! I held up my end of the bargain, I told you that after I got the mask, I was out of here. Which you just said you'd give me for the sword. So if you want that last piece of your precious rock, you're on your own." Vanitas said.
"We wouldn't need it. If we had the boy you bear a resemblance to. After all, you were the one who told me about him when we met. You told me his weapon could open any door or seal." Hendrickson said, revealing his reasons on why he wanted Sora captured.
"Yeah, I did say that. But your minions kept screwing up trying to catch him. Including patchy the green haired pirate over here."
"Hey!" Helbram exclaimed while offended.
"I'm aware of all of that. But what you didn't mention…was that you had the same weapon and abilities as the boy." Hendrickson accused as Vanitas was surprised and looked at Helbram with a snare.
"Fool, you forgot I was at Vaizel too and had witnessed your fight with Meliodas and the boy. Of course I was going to tell Hendrickson that you withheld your little secret."
"And I thought I didn't like you before…" Vanitas said as both Hendrickson and Helbram drew their swords with hostile intent.
(Music: Face it)
"So, you have one of two choices right. The first is that you break the seal right now. The second choice you have is to try and fight your way out of here. But in your current and still weakened state, that might not be your best choice." Hendrickson offered his very limited choices.
"I'm actually hoping you try and fight us. I've been looking for an excuse to gut you." Helbram said with bloodthirstiness while Vanitas grinned with confidence.
"Hahaha…I knew you snitched on me about the keyblade and tried to trap me here for your whims while I was recovering. So that's why I brought him!" Vanitas stated as he pointed to a corner of the chamber, where a bright red light got Hendrickson and Helbram's attention as they turned to see the Marauder unversed, underneath the corpse of the red demon with its keyblade deployed in its axe form.
"Is that a demon?" Hendrickson asked while intrigued.
"No, that's just some monster the boy brings along with him." Helbram answered as the Marauder breathed heavily in anger.
"Dah!" The Marauder roared as it smashed its energy axe into the ground to create a large red energy wave that traveled along the floor towards Herndrickson and Helbram, with both of them easily dispelling the attack with combined swings of their sword and filled their vision w=full of the energy for a brief moment before it faded and found the Marauder was gone.
"Huh? Where did that thing go?!" Helbram asked as a thought came across Hendrickson.
"Where's the boy?" Hendrickson asked since Vanitas was no longer in sight before the two heard a quick smashing sound and the two rushed over to the pillar where Hendrickson kept the fox mask hidden in a secret compartment, only to find the pillar smashed to pieces.
"He took the mask…"
"Maybe next time, don't show where the merchandise is, you moron! See you later!" Vanitas' voice echoed throughout the chamber before fading away, signifying he was gone. Unlikely to return to Liones.
"Great, that little punk is gone. He could've broken the seal himself." Helbram said.
"Calm down, Helbram. We still have two options left, one of which is the other boy." Hendrickson reminded his fellow holy knight.
"Right, he also has the power to break the seal. As well as the last fragment…"
"Have the fragment retrieved first. If the boy is captured instead, all the better." Hendrickson said with devious intent.
(The boar hat)
After giving Dale a proper burial, the entire group decided to return to the boar hat to rest up while Sora had promised on the way to Elizabeth he was ready to tell the truth to her and the sins about himself. However, as Meliodas promised a big celebration for Gowther's return to the seven deadly sins, Sora and Ryuko got worried when they remembered their fight with ' minions and the mess they left behind and found Satsuki and Rem picking up the scrap metal left by the defeated robot army while the sins with the exception of Diane had confused looks on their faces.
"Ah, just in time. We just finished cleaning up from the fight, we were just about to replace the windows next." Satsuki said as a hanging piece of glass fell and shattered from one of the tavern windows while Meliodas turned around to look at Sora.
"Umm, does anyone mind telling the rest of us what we missed?" Meliodas asked.
"Well, it's a long story…" Sora answered while rubbing the back of his head with guilt while Gowther was curious about the situation.
"Is this tension what humans call awkwardness?" Gowther asked.
"Oh yeah, it is…" Ryuko answered.
Note: This chapter would've been much longer if I didn't decide to cut it in half so I can finally post it. The next one will go up to when they break into the capital, which I hope can finish faster than this.
Journal update
Dale: A holy knight and old friend of the seven deadly sins, who is also Gulia's father. Ten years ago, Dale vanished on a mission and was assumed to be a deserter when in reality he was experimented on and turned into a demon by Hendrickson and Helbram's hands but then escaped into the wilds where Gowther found him and sealed the transformed holy knight in his own armor, becoming the fabled armor giant.