Re: Tales from the Multiverse: Option Two

by Ernalore

Subaru, along with his Camp, his rival Camps, his parents, and Meili, have all suddenly teleported into a theater, controlled by "the Warden". Said Warden has told them that they'd be watching alternate realities, and the Cast would be responsible for what they'd be watching. When everyone saw that the second option mentioned "Subaru's Authority", they chose it, much to his horror.

13. Chapter 13: The King of Pride

Chapter 13: The King of Pride

As the Cast was discussing what they just saw, Subaru kept holding tight to Meili, stoking her hair as she kept hugging him, almost as if she was afraid that if she let go, he would be gone.

"You really do have a way with children."

Subaru looked up to see Priscilla had walked up to talk to him.

"Thanks for the compliment, I guess?"

"Don't get me wrong, I'm still wary of you, but my divine self may have overreacted after the whole Memory Eater debacle," the Vollachian Matriarch said, still cringing at the memories.

"Alright, but, can I just say something?" Subaru asked.

"You may."

"The world doesn't revolve around me. It revolves to no one."

Those words confused the strawberry blonde. "Are you trying to make a fool of mineself? We've seen plenty of times how the world turns in your favor with that ability of yours. Don't like an outcome? Reset, and change it. Sure, maybe you're not a complete monster like I thought, but you still have that power! How are any of us supposed to compete with that?"

"Return by Death isn't invincible," Subaru corrected her. "One mistake or miscalculation I make and it could result in a point of no return. That's what happened with Rem and Crusch. When I realized Rem was forgotten, I obviously… reset… to prevent it. But then I realized that the "checkpoint" had moved to a point where the damage was already done. No matter how many times I reset, I wouldn't go any further back."

"What we saw a while ago, that was a lose-lose situation. No matter how many people the Memory Eater killed, no matter how many of the Books of the Dead he read, he would never patch himself together. He would need to read MY Book of the Dead, assuming I even had one to begin with, to become me. And even if he brought "me" back, the checkpoint would have already been moved. There was no going back to save everyone. Everyone's dead. And when he realizes what he's done… well… I don't need to explain myself, right?"

Priscilla shook her head.

"I am capable of making mistakes, some I won't be able to fix with Return by Death. If the world truly revolved around me, I would be living in glory, praised as some kind of hero, yet, here I am, constantly reminded that this isn't the case. Seeing everyone you love get brutally killed, only to then follow them into the grave really gets to you, ya know?"

Priscilla just stayed quiet.

"The world revolves around no one. While it's true that you don't really hate me anymore, it would still be a good idea to take that lesson to heart. Also, be grateful that your reality check was seeing what could have happened, because once life gives you that reality check, it won't hold back, as we saw with both the Memory Eater, and so, so many others."

Priscilla nodded. "Mineself will keep that in mind… Subaru."

As Priscilla walked back to her seat, elsewhere in the Theater, Petra was getting slightly jealous of how close Meili was getting to Subaru. To blow off some steam, she decided to divert her attention elsewhere. Let's see… Frederica-nee-sama and Otto-sama are being weird… all of the other adults are talking… the screen has some new options… wait…

"The screen has some new options!"

Everyone heard what the little maid said, and turned towards the screen, reading…

What if Fourier Lugnica survived?

OR

What if Subaru had a different Authority?

… that.

Felix began sweating bullets immediately. While yes, Fourier being still alive would have been a wonderful thing, but his old friend was incredibly observant. And what if he accidentally encountered Felt in the slums? And what if he decided to do some research into her past?!

Meanwhile, everyone else was too busy paying attention to the screen to notice.

"Does it mean Invisible Providence?" Emilia asked.

"Nah, th' wordin's different," Anastasia said.

"Yeah, I'm with Anastasia. I think it means I would start out with a different Authority than Return by Death," Subaru harbored a guess. "Though, I am kinda curious what it would be…"

"Hey, maybe we should look at the conditions?" Otto suggested.

"Good idea," Al said, grabbing the remote, and checking the conditions.

Conditions: Subaru arrived seven years earlier.

Conditions: Al isn't Pride.

Al immediately regretted several decisions he had made.

Priscilla groaned, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Al-san," Reinhard asked. "Are you a Witch Cultist?"

"Nope," the helmeted knight said. "Never was, never will be!"

"Alright, follow-up question," Crusch said. "What is your Authority?"

"My Authority is called "Territory." It's kind of like Return by Death, but it works very differently. It allows me to create a small space which does not follow the conventional rules of time, and then, it does a coin flip! If I'm the "victim," I can remember all of my previous loops. If I'm the "subjugator," then my opponent remembers all their loops!"

"No offense, but… that just sounds like a worse Return by Death. While I can come back as many times as I need to until I win, it sounds like you and the opponent would just be stuck in a stalemate," Subaru noted.

"Well, I'm just a worse version of you, am I not?" he joked.

"What?" Subaru asked, confused.

"Uh… I mean… we're both technically from Earth, and we have similar Authorities, but clearly, you were able to use it to actually save the world and whatnot, while I couldn't even save my own arm," Al quickly said. "So, yeah, a worse version of you, right?"

"So, Big Bro would have your shitty Authority?" Felt asked.

"Not entirely true," Roswaal said. "Authorities are shaped by their user's desires, so there's a good chance that Subaru-kun's new Authority would be something completely different."

"You know, that does sound interesting!" Subaru said. "The only time I've ever seen a version of myself that supposedly had an Authority that wasn't Return by Death was during the episode where I contracted all of the Witches, and we didn't even see any of them! Let's watch it!"

"Alright, let's put it to a vote!" Anastasia said.

"As the voting process went on, Wilehlm saw that his lady had voted for the second option. "Crusch-sama, are you certain about your decision? The first option –"

"Both of these options are based on scenarios that could never plausibly happen within our reality," Crusch said. "I'd rather see the one that didn't involve any heartbreak."

Elsewhere, Felix breathed a massive sigh of relief.

So, with the decision made, everyone sat down, and the lights went dark.

What if Subaru had a different Authority?

Conditions: Al isn't Pride.

"So we ready to step on this bug?" Garfiel asked, slamming his fists together. "I'm down for a rematch! I feel like Jacob and Rough Riders."

Roy looked a bit uncomfortable. "Actually, do we really have to fight? It just seems pretty pointless, you know? I don't think that I can eat you for some reason and even I'm not hungry enough to eat him," Roy pointed at Garfiel, "So fighting just seems like a waste of time. I'm really only here for the half-elf."

"OH HELL NO!" Subaru yelled in frustration.

"Strange, for a Sin Archbishop, he doesn't seem all that unreasonable. He just sounds depressed," Reinhard said.

"Good," Rem said with no care for the boy.

"Which one is he supposed to be?" Julius asked.

"We've seen him in the intros before, hanging out with Lye, and we know one of them is called Louis, so chances are he's another Gluttony, either Louis or some new one."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Subaru replied.

Roy sighed, "This is so annoying," He muttered.

A sound came from overhead like the beating of heavy wings. Subaru looked up and his jaw dropped. A massive black dragon circled the Tomb far overhead.

"Oh no," Roy muttered.

"Godammit, Capella's here, too?!" Al yelled.

"And this time, we have no Halible or Zarestia to throw at her," Roswaal sighed.

"Yes, for once, I miss that whore, in fact," Beatrice grumbled.

"Beako, stop calling Zarestia that."

As Subaru watched, the dragon dove straight toward the ground and then… shrunk in on itself. The dragon seemed to liquefy and flow until it crashed to the ground near Roy as a massive pile of black sludge. The sludge flowed back together and then reshaped itself into a short girl with blond hair.

She looks kind of cute. Her outfit is ridiculous though: Legging, hot pants and a bikini? She looks sort of like Felt actually, right down to sharing the same red eyes but Felt's eyes shine with intelligence. This girl's eyes blaze with a lunatic zeal. I get the funny impression that I'm not going to like this girl too much.

"BIG BRO, YOU PERVERT!" Felt yelled, embarrassed.

"Don't look at me! Look at him!" Subaru pointed at his counterpart.

"Barusus are all perverts, regardless of the universe," Ram said.

"Well, look who we have here: Scabies!" The girl cackled at Roy.

"Capella, could you be like anywhere else right now?" Roy sighed.

"Sorry, Scabies, I got my instructions, same as you: Grab the elf. So you can just go and fuck yourself," Capella answered.

"And who precisely is giving you these orders?" Subaru called, "I feel like that would be useful to know."

"Oh. Are you 'that' guy?" Capella asked, sounding barely curious.

"You'd be surprised how many people have asked me some variation of that question," Subaru replied.

"Our Gospels told us to capture the elf girl so that's exactly what we're going to do," Roy shrugged.

"Oh, wonderful. I'm dealing with religious zealots. That's always fun," Subaru mocked.

"Is every version of you always this sarcastic?" Felt asked.

"Maybe?" Subaru said. "I'm pretty sure it's a cross between picking up from Ram and a coping mechanism for all my deaths, since I didn't do it before coming here."

"Well, we know better, so we'll make sure you won't have to use that again!" Emilia said.

"Thanks, Emilia-tan," Subaru smiled.

"Zealots indeed," Roswaal said, walking over toward the tomb with Ram at his side. The sorcerer seemed to be out of bed none the worse for wear and he was quickly stripping off his elaborate bandages.

"Roz, what are you doing here?" Subaru asked suspiciously.

"Why I simply thought that you might wish to accept some assistance in this conflict, young Subaru," Roswaal replied.

"Why?"

"Hm. Because you are hopelessly outmatched and have no choice?" Roswaal replied.

"No, Roz. I'm asking why you want to help me," Subaru grumbled.

"Hm? Oh, joyous tidings, young Subaru. Your signing of the slave contract is no longer necessary," Roswaal replied.

Subaru blinked. Wait what?

"I'm sorry, a slave contract?" Wilhelm asked, questioningly.

Meanwhile, all of the Emilia Camp stared back at Roswaal in disgust.

"Alright, you guys. We need some answers after this episode." Felt demanded.

"My own Gospel has informed me that during this battle you will learn something that shall make us into faithful allies!" Roswaal explained.

What?! Now Roswaal is into this Gospel prophecy bullshit too? Why would I ever help him do anything? Why would he-

You know what, fuck it! I have bigger problems to deal with right now.

"Fine, great, whatever," Subaru grumbled.

"Scratch that, we need answers, NOW," Crusch changed Felt's verdict. "We already knew Roswaal had a Gospel, but this is the second time this has been mentioned."

"I agree," Priscilla said. "We've been patient enough already. Al."

Al quickly paused the viewing, and everyone stared at Roswaal. "Shit..."

"Okay, so, I'm goin' ta go out 'n a limb an' guess tha' Otto-kun yellin' about some black book earlier was Roswaal's Gospel, am I right?" Anastaisa asked the first question. "Which would imply tha' this Gospel thing also exists in this reality. Am I right, Natsuki-kun?"

"Ugh, fine, you win," Subaru grumbled. "Yes. I mean, kinda."

"Kinda?" Priscilla asked.

"It's real name is the "Tome of Wisdom," and it's a version of the Gospel that can tell the actual future. The Witch Cult's Gospels are inferior knock-offs that make the future vague enough to send the Sin Archbishops on a bunch of wild goose chases," Subaru explained.

"Then why does Roswaal-sama have one?" Reinhard asked, not knowing where this was going.

"You remember Echidna? She's the creator of the Tomes of Wisdom," Subaru answered.

Everyone was stunned, but it wasn't long before confusion spread. "That still doesn't explain how Roswaal-sama obtained his Tome of Wisdom." Reinhard pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, he's actually the original Roswaal, who happened to be Echidna's student, and he's been hijacking his descendant's bodies," Subaru answered. "Beako told me so."

Everyone just turned to look at Roswaal in utter disbelief.

"What… the fuck?" Al didn't know what to say to that.

"Julia?" Wilhelm asked, his voice going coarse.

"I haven't been called that in a long time," Roswaal said emotionlessly.

"Okay, ignorin' all tha' creepiness, I'm assumin' tha' he did somethin' tha' caused the entirety o' yer Camp ta hate him fer some reason, given th' death glares an' th' punching."

"Yep, an astute observation, Ricardo." Subaru complimented. "He lured us to the Sanctuary, where there was a barrier that prevented demi-humans from leaving the area. He hired the Bowel Hunter and got the attention of the Great Rabbit to kill us all."

"THE FUCK?!" Al shouted. "Why the hell would he do that?!"

"Because he knew about Return by Death." Everyone was silenced at the statement. Even the Emilia Camp was shocked, as they never really understood why Roswaal did what he did.

"Or, more accurately, he was aware I could time loop. He didn't know how I had to activate my power, assuming I could do it at the snap of my fingers. He wanted to force me into a contract where I would essentially be his slave, resetting everything when events didn't line up with his Gospel," Subaru quickly explained the details.

"Excuse me for one moment," Kenichi said, as he stood up, walked up to, Roswaal, and –

WHAM!

"Okay, I feel better now," he smiled once more.

"Kenichi, you shouldn't leave him on the floor," Naoko said, as she bent down, and –

SLAP!

"Just kidding." Her smile dropped. "Be glad I didn't go below the belt, clown."

Reinhard then got out of his seat.

"With that out of the way… Roswaal L Mathers, You are hereby under arrest for your crimes against your camp, and conspiring with criminals of Lugunica." Reinhard said with certainty, as he approached the downed clown. "Truth be told, a part of me is hoping you resist, so that I may wipe you off the face of our world for good."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, Reinhard, let's not be too hasty here!" Subaru said, getting in the way between Reinhard and Roswaal.

"Subaru, how can you say that? He tried to kill everyone you love, turn you into a slave with no free will! He must pay for his crimes." Reinhard was adamant in the clown's arrest.

"Αnd he will! Just once we deal with the threat of the Witch Cult! We can't exactly go up against the majority of them without sufficient manpower, and I can't exactly get into contact with Halibel and Zarestia without sufficient funds, which Roswaal happens to have in both!"

"What about me?" Reinhard said. "I could also provide what you need, and I'm sure Felt-sama would be more than willing to assist."

"Yeah, fuck the clown!" Felt agreed with her knight.

"True, but I want to make sure Roswaal feels the pain of being used as nothing more than a glorified piggy bank by the jackass he tried to manipulate, so a win-win in my book!"

"Then part of his punishment would be community service by helping us exterminate the Witch Cult. Also, since he is sponsoring Emilia-sama, all of his funds would thereby go to her should something happen."

Reinhard could see that Subaru was getting a little frustrated, and decided to ask. "Subaru, is there a reason you do not want Roswaal arrested other than what you have previously stated? Is it because of Emilia-sama's candidacy?"

"Ehh… actually… it's more that I pity the guy."

"What?"

"Look, he wasted four hundred years trying to get back the girl he had a crush on, only for said girl to end up liking someone else. Plus, if I got rid of him, that would mean one more person from Beako's old life would be gone forever, just like her mom, best friend, and brother."

"After what he tried to do to Betty's Subaru, Betty couldn't care less what happens to the clown!" Beatrice said. "The Roswaal I knew died centuries ago."

"Okay, scratch that second argument, but my previous point still stands! He's basically a sad version of me, if Emilia-tan said she loved someone else, and then dipped!"

"Subaru, please don't say something like that…"

"Okay, sorry about that, Emilia-tan," Subaru said, as he turned back to Reinhard and whispered into his ear, "He personally knows Echidna, who knows Satella. We need him."

Reinhard pondered a moment to think about it, before coming to a conclusion.

"Roswaal, your arrest has been temporarily suspended." Reinhard's words came to the shock of everyone. "However, once the Witch Cult, the Black Serpent, and Pandora are dead, you will face punishment for your crimes… or be erased."

"Duly noted," the clown on the floor said. "Could someone please help me up?"

The only person that came to his aid was Ram.

"Okay! Now that that bullshit is out of the way, let's continue!" Subaru said.

Everyone grumbled a bit, but got back to their seats, and back to the viewing.

OK, we need a plan. Capella seems like the really dangerous one. Little as I like to admit it, Roswaal is probably my best bet for fending her off. Maybe if I get lucky they'll both kill each other in the fight. That's a happy thought.

He'll need backup. Ram wouldn't leave his side if I asked her to so let's give him Ryuzu and Rem to help hold Capella off. I think that Garfiel, Beatrice, and I can deal with Roy. Beatrice is weak but her magic is still potent and Garfiel is a powerful if unskilled fighter. Put that together with Indomitable and I bet we can handle him.

"Rem, why don't you and Ryuzu go and help Roswaal and Ram deal with the girl. The rest of us will take care of Roy," Subaru said.

"A reasonable strategy," Roswaal agreed.

"So I get to play with you creeps?" Capella asked. "Works for me!" She yelled, rushing toward Roswaal and Ram who fell back into the nearby meadow.

Ryuzu sped off in pursuit.

"Garf, do exactly as Subaru instructs," Rem instructed him, "Or I'll tell my sister about what I caught you doing the other day."

Rem chased after Ryuzu and Garfiel turned bright red.

Subaru sighed at Garfiel, "I don't even want to know."

Garfiel snarled at him. "So what's the plan… Captain," He snorted.

"Ya know, tha' sounds weird elongated," Garfiel said.

"Glad you shortened it when you did," Subaru agreed.

"It does sound kind of weird coming from Garf," Otto said.

"Subaru!" Emilia called from behind him.

Subaru jumped and spun around to see an exhausted Emilia and Felt coming down the stairs.

"I completed the second trial!" She cheered.

Subaru spun back to face Roy but the Archbishop had already leapt straight over Subaru's head and toward Emilia and Felt. He was within a fingernail's reach of grabbing her when Garfiel and Subaru both grabbed him by his ankles and flung him away. Roy crashed into the ground and bounced away.

"Emilia! The Archbishops are here! We need to break the barrier now!" Subaru shouted.

Emilia nodded and raced back up the stairs.

"Felt! Go and warn the villagers to be ready to leave as soon as the barrier is broken. Then find us some transportation: A wagon, a cart, I don't care, just find us something that we can escape in and bring it back here!" Subaru yelled.

"Why the hell am I dragged into this?!" Felt asked.

"How the fuck should I know?!"

Felt had bolted away and around the corner almost before Subaru finished talking.

"Come on!" Roy complained, licking some blood off his hands with a long lizard-like tongue, "My Gospel tells me that I need to get the girl!"

"Oh, really?" Subaru growled as Beatrice scrambled over to the tomb steps and climbed up them. Betty stood on the steps preparing her magic while Subaru stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Garfiel on the ground. "Well my 'Gospel' says that I'm not moving. And you're not getting past me!" He shouted.

Roy rolled his eyes, "This is so annoying!" He complained.

Roy flung his knife chain at Garfiel but Subaru stepped in front of him absorbing the hit harmlessly while Garfiel sprang after Roy.

Let's try a new strategy, Subaru thought, stomping his foot on the chain as Roy leapt away. The chain went taunt as if Roy had tethered himself to a mountain and Roy crashed down onto the ground where Garfiel punched him full in the face.

Roy went flying but by now Indomitable had run out and the chain was jerked out from under Subaru's foot.

Twenty five seconds until Indomitable is back, Subaru thought.

Roy hit the ground rolling.

"Oh, I guess that's my Authority of Pride," Subaru hummed.

"Nice combo, boys!" Kenichi cheered on his son and son's friend.

"Garf! Stay close!" Subaru instructed.

Garfiel shot Subaru an annoyed look but he obediently moved backwards until he stood beside Subaru again.

"We're never going to pin him down if we don't go after him," Garfiel grumbled.

"We're not trying to pin him down," Subaru replied, "The goal isn't to kill Roy, it's to stall until the barrier breaks."

Roy got up wiping blood from his mouth and there was rolling fury in his eyes.

Fifteen seconds.

"Beako," Subaru called, "His leaping is getting obnoxious. Do you have any magic that could trap us all in some kind of cage so he has less room to avoid us?"

Beatrice thought about it then nodded.

"Great, this Authority comes with a cool-down time," Subaru groaned.

Subaru felt a shadow passing over him and looked up to see Roy trying to jump over him. The toad-like monster landed right behind Beatrice and tapped her with his left hand before running up the stairs to where a helpless Emilia lay all alone.

"Beako!" Roy cheered, licking his hand as he raced up the stairs.

Then Roy fell down. His body trembled and he vomited all over the stairs.

Beatrice cast a spell and grabbed Roy around the ankle with a whip made of shadows. She swung Roy over her head and threw him back down the stairs. Roy crashed onto the ground near a large boulder in the field and was noisily sick again.

"You… tricked me!" Roy gasped, "That was a fake name!"

What is he talking about?

"Rein, write that down, fake names hurt them," Felt whispered.

"Done and done, Felt-sama," the Sword Saint whispered back.

"Come on!" Subaru roared at Garfiel but Garfiel was already charging ahead.

Indomitable is Ready!

"Beako! The cage! Trap the three of us in the cage!" Subaru yelled as Roy got to his feet and turned away seeking to leap to freedom.

Beatrice cast her spell just as Roy leapt away and he crashed into a cage made of shadows that knocked him back to the ground.

Garfiel threw himself at Roy but the little Archbishop fought like a demon, cutting and biting at Garfiel.

"Garf! Throw him here!" Subaru screamed.

It was obvious that Garf didn't understand but he obeyed. He flung the twisted frog like creature straight at Subaru.

Subaru triggered Indomitable and punched Roy as hard as he could. The misshapen little monster went flying toward the boulder like a runaway train until he crashed into it full force.

Where he splattered like an insect against a windshield.

The crowd went wild. """OHHH!"""

Frederica didn't even have time to cover the younger one's eyes from what they just witnessed. It was done in a heartbeat. That wasn't a fight, that was an extermination.

But one of epic proportions.

"Wow," Subaru whispered as all three of them panted for breath.

"Annoying little twerp, wasn't he?" Garfiel gasped.

"I suppose…," Beatrice said, weaving back and forth where she stood on the stairs.

Subaru quickly shook off his exhaustion. "Come on, we need to help the others!" Subaru shouted racing to the steps and hoisting Beatrice onto his shoulder.

Then Garfiel and Subaru raced off to find Roswaal and the twins.

Opening Theme: Voracity

The screen begins to glitch, as it changes to Subaru, in his traveling clothes, crossing a desert. The screen glitches again, with words that can't be read, as it changes back to Subaru, who gets closer. This keeps on repeating, until…

Tales from the Multiverse

Volume III

The next scene opens with Minerva attacking, and it reading, "WRATH," followed by Typhon dancing around with the words "PRIDE." Then, Echidna and "GREED." Sekhmet with "SLOTH." Carmilla panicking while "LUST" appears, and then Daphne biting at the camera while the word "GLUTTONY" appears. And finally, Subaru, with madness all over his face, drags his finger over his throat, as he's bestowed with the title of "ENVY."

"Wouldn't this be inaccurate now?" Subaru asked. "Since this me has Pride?"

"I think it's a general summary of most universe," Reinhard said.

In the next scene, Elsa, Zarestia, and Shion are all seen together, and laughing, but their eyes are cut off from the screen, and their smiles are sadistic. Then, an army of Witch Cultists appears in the next shot, as the camera pans up to reveal the Sin Archbishops.

As the music picks up once more, the screen shows Fortuna, carrying a younger Emilia, along with a panicked Guese, both of them running for their lives, while being chased by Pandora and Regulus. The next shot is of Ryuzu, the original Roswaal, and Beatrice, all of them facing off against the Warlock of Melancholy in the Sanctuary.

"So that Roswaal there, he was you four centuries ago?" Crusch asked.

"He was," the clown said.

"He honestly looks better than you do now," Julius said.

And finally, the scene shows a close-up of Subaru, as he bites his own tongue. As the blood escapes his mouth, he laughs maniacally, as the camera pans out to show that behind him, the shadowy monster known as the Witch of Envy has appeared roaring, and ready to tear apart the silhouettes of the enemies in front of Subaru.

The final shot shows each one of the six Witches of Sin in a black void, each one of them smiling, as the shot changes to Subaru and Pandora, alone in the desert, ready for their final battle. Then, the camera pans over the desert of corpses, and the opening ends.

Episode Twelve:

The King of Pride

"King?" Felt read the title. "How is he a king?"

"Yeah, that is weird," Mimi admitted.

"Shh, it's starting!"

What the fuck?! Is that Capella?! Subaru thought to himself as they raced toward the others locked in battle with a gigantic bear-like monster.

"Yes," Rem answered to the on-screen Subaru.

"Can she really change her shape into anything?" Julius asked.

"Yes, she can," Meili confirmed his suspicions.

I mean, I guess it would have to be but I thought she was a dragon not a giant bear. She's trying to slash Roswaal but he's parrying her claws with a sword. Where did he get a sword? Oh, it's ice. He must have made it. Rem's slamming her mace into the thing's knees but Capella doesn't even seem to notice. Ram and Ryuzu are using air magic to blind it but to no effect. Shit, is she like Regulus? Can we hurt her at all?

Well, I guess there's only one way to find out.

Subaru and Garfiel came racing up to the fight. Subaru paused only long enough to put Beatrice down safely before charging straight at Capella. Garfiel roared a challenge as Capella moved to attack Ram and Ryuzu. As the bear turned to check the source of the noise, Subaru activated Indomitable and punched the bear in the belly, which was as high as he could reach.

Capella burst. She flew apart as if Subaru had punched a water balloon full of black gunk. By sheer luck, Subaru's punch blasted all the black sludge away from him and his friends. Subaru heard it bubbling and eating away at the grass like acid.

The black gunk pulled itself back together again and the Capella reformed as a blond girl. "Persistent bunch of cucks, aren't you? Where the hell is Scabies? He was supposed to keep you busy. Can't he at least pretend to be useful for once?"

"Your friend is lying in pieces for the sport of the crows," Subaru informed her.

Capella's eyes narrowed, "You killed Roy?"

"Yup and you're next!" Subaru promised.

"Not with that small amount of firepower," Priscilla said.

"For once, I agree," Crusch said. "With her regeneration, this Suabru's ability is a bad match-up. It would be imperative you had Reinhard, or Zarestia to assist in taking her down."

"All the more reason to find that Great Spirit," Wilhelm said.

Beatrice huffed, but she had to admit, their logic was sound.

"Yeah, keep dreaming, you little piss-ant! Well, my Gospel tells me that I'm just about done here for right now. But before I go, I am supposed to give you an important message, Pride."

Subaru ignored the title, "Oh yeah? What's that? That you're attracted to men who think you're a disgusting little freak and you want me to sleep with you? You look like someone who gets off on degradation. I mean, it would explain the outfit."

Otto let out a low whistle. "Wow, that version of you is aggressive."

"It's probably from all the stress," Frederica said.

"Yes, he is in battle with who knows how many Sin Archbishops," Rem agreed.

Capella scowled and hissed at him but then she broke into a broad smile. "Oh no. It's about the Sacred Dragon's Blood," She purred.

Subaru blinked, "What about it?"

"It's gone," She tittered.

Subaru frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"It's all gone! The Kingdom doesn't have any more blood! I drank it all before I escaped the castle!" Capella cheered.

"No. That's not true. You're lying!" Subaru snapped.

"Of course it's true, you little retard!" Capella laughed, "If they still had the blood, don't you think they would have used it to try and save the King and his family? They didn't use it because they don't have it!"

Upon hearing that, everyone was silent.

She did it. She was responsible for killing the Royal Family.

One of their own, Capella Emerada Lugnica.

"She's lying right?" Emilia asked, her voice breaking, as she turned to look towards Reinhard and Crusch. "She has to be lying, right?! She didn't drink it all!"

"I'm not sensing any lies…" Reinhard said.

"But… the Council should have told the public, or at the very least, the nobility that the Dragon's Blood was gone…" Crusch spoke out loud. "Unless…"

"... Unless they kept quiet about the whole thing," Al said.

Subaru looked up at Capella in absolute horror. It's not true… She's lying… but… it makes sense… why wouldn't they try to use this miracle cure to save the King's family if they could? Or at least use it to save one of them?

Oh my God. Emilia… what am I going to say to her…

"Then we'll ask for more!" Subaru shouted, "As soon as we reforge the pact with the dragon we'll ask him for some more blood," Subaru yelled back.

"Oh you silly, silly, little shit," Capella mocked, "You don't understand anything at all, do you? The truly powerful Sacred blood must be taken from a dragon's last heartbeat. The dragon won't lay down his life to you just because you ask him nicely! If you want any more blood drawn from the dragon's heart, you'll have to take it the old fashioned way."

The world trembled around them and the sky shimmered as if a translucent lid was being lifted off the area. Subaru felt an intense pain in his gut as Rem, Roswaal, and Garfiel all clutched the same place on their own bodies.

Ram and Beatrice both collapsed.

"OK, guess that's my cue! I need to go and guide that insipid, overstuffed virgin Regulus in here now. See you soon!" Capella cheered as she transformed back into the dragon and flew away.

Subaru broke out in a cold sweat.

"Pansy?" Garfiel muttered, "Who the hell is she talking about?"

"Regulus!" Subaru cried, "She's bringing Regulus in here! We have to get out, now!"

"Oh fuck!"

"That's not good!"

"Someone go get Reinhard!"

"Aren't you people more concerned that one of the most valuable treasures of the Kingdom is gone, and the only way to get more is to kill the Divine Dragon?" Otto asked.

"I mean… is it actually gone for us?" Subaru asked in return.

"If it truly is, the Council of Elders has some explaining to do," Reinhard said.

"I agree," Wilhelm said. "They had no authority to withhold such information!"

"If the Dragon Blood is gone… then how can I save the elves in Elior Forest…?" Emilia asked in uncertainty, her voice low enough that only those next to her could hear her.

"It's okay, Emilia-tan. Maybe we can travel to the Watchtower and ask Volcanica for help? I mean, for all we know, maybe his flames can melt magical ice!"

"Because that worked so well last time…" Crusch mumbled under her breath.

At that moment, Felt drove up to them in an enormous carriage that looked more like a train car. It was being drawn by four earth dragons. Felt struggled to control the earth dragons but she managed to bring them to a stop.

"My carriage. A most excellent choice, Miss Felt," Roswaal commented, bending over the passed out Ram. "Hm. Ram was injured by the shattered barrier. I must tend to her," Roswaal murmured casually, picking Ram up and carrying her into the carriage.

"Not now!" Subaru yelled at Garfiel who was clenching his fists at Roswaal. "We need to get out! Garfiel, Ryuuzu go and make sure that the Sanctuary people and the villagers got the signal to run! Rem, bring Beatrice inside the carriage! I'm going to run back to the Tomb!"

Garfiel snarled but nodded and he picked up a visibly uncomfortable Ryuzu before leaping away at a sprint. Rem gently picked up Beatrice.

Subaru took off at a run back to the black tomb. There was nothing apparently different about it from outside but as Subaru ran inside he didn't feel any pain: The mana barrier was gone.

Inside he found Emilia, lying there like a crumpled doll.

"Something's up," Subaru realized.

"You're right, I didn't look like that when I completed the Trials," Emilia added.

Elsewhere, Felt was wondering how she ended up getting dragged into this adventure.

"Emilia!" He screamed, leaping to her side. He pressed his ear against her mouth and broke into a huge smile when he heard her breathing. "That's it, Emilia," Subaru encouraged. "Great work! Come on, we're all getting out of here!" He slung Emilia over his shoulder and ran back to the carriage, his lungs burning with exertion.

Subaru leapt into the carriage through the back door. The carriage was a long rectangular shape that was almost two separate rooms with a narrow opening between them in the middle. The carriage had four reasonably sized couches inside; one in each corner. A thin curtain across the narrow opening between the 'rooms' separated the front set of couches from the back set, possibly for privacy. Subaru found Beatrice on the couch in back and he gently put Emilia down on the couch across from her.

Subaru leapt to Beatrice and was relieved to find out that she was still breathing strongly.

Whatever that shockwave thing was, it must hit you harder depending on how much mana you have, Subaru thought.

Subaru ran into the front of the carriage and pulled the curtain shut behind him. Roswaal had placed the unconscious Ram on the couch and was casting some kind of spell on her.

"Is Ram OK?" Subaru asked, hating the fact that he had to talk to Roswaal.

"She shaaaaall be fine, young Subaru. Her body is simply overworked. Having one's mana burned is a most uncomfortable experience. Luckily I am familiaaaaar with means to defend myself against it," Roswaal replied, continuing to treat her.

"Great," Subaru muttered.

Garfiel came pounding up to the front of the carriage and leapt inside. "Oy! Ryuuzu and the others are all gone! I climbed the lookout. Everyone's bugging out like rats out of Cornwall!"

"Wow, I think that I actually understood that one. They're all gone?" Subaru asked.

"What are the rats of Cornwall?" Petra asked.

"I actually have no idea," Kenichi admitted.

"Yes, you'll have to ask Subaru about that one," Naoko said.

"Yeah. They took your advice. Once they hit the border they all split up and they're going every which way. If anyone wants to catch more than one or two of them they'll be working hard for it; like Gundrak at Valagene."

"Alright then, that's the best we can do!" Subaru shouted, pushing past Garfiel and out the front of the carriage.

"Rem, Felt, get us out of here!" He shouted at the two girls sitting up front.

Rem cracked the reins and the earth dragons took off at a run.

Subaru stepped back into the carriage and rubbed his eyes.

"Garf, aren't you going to go with Ryuzu and the others?" Subaru asked.

"What? Are you kidding? I need to keep an eye on my woman!" Garf snorted.

"Your wom-?!" Subaru gaped, "You know, what? Whatever. I have much bigger problems to worry about right now."

"EXCUSE YOU?" Ram asked Garfiel.

"Uhh…" Garfiel was sweating bullets again, and was looking for a way out of this one. He looked towards both Otto and Frederica, but they remained silent.

He was on his own for this one.

Ram stared at him, and said, "Let me make something clear: I belong to no one. I am no one's person. Not Barusu's, not Roswaal-sama's, not yours. I am my own person. You got that?"

Garfiel simply nodded quickly, and Ram sat back down in her seat.

The carriage thundered down the road.

"Now what the hell do we do?" Garfiel rumbled, deliberately looking away from Roswaal who was still treating Ram.

"Now we run!" Subaru emphasized. "I don't know where Regulus is but if Capella went to go find him, he can't be too far away."

"Who is this Regulus guy you keep talking about?" Garfiel asked, "Is he like Roy or is he more like Capella?"

"He's far worse than both," Subaru said seriously. "As far as I can tell he's completely invulnerable to any attack and his magic lets him shatter trees and boulders like glass."

Garfiel's eyes widened. "No way! Everybody has their weak point. Even Yorick the Strong had his twisted finger," Garfiel said uncertainly.

Well, that's good. The old Garf would have rejected my warning out of hand. Now he's at least considering the possibility that he might be outmatched.

"After everythin' we've learned 'bout ya, we'll be treating yer info like gospel," Anastaisa said.

"Please don't," Subaru asked nicely. "Sure, what I say is helpful, but some of the stuff I say could be inaccurate due to the nature of my looping, so please don't follow it to the letter."

"I see," Reinhard said. "Think for ourselves. That is some good advice."

"Well, we wouldn't want Betty's contractor to be carrying you for everything, now would we?"

Everyone agreed with the Great Spirit. Subaru had done enough.

"I'm sure that you're right," Suabru agreed, "But I don't know what his weak point is. And throwing ourselves at Regulus to try to figure out what his weak point might be seems a lot like jumping face first into a meat grinder. Until we work out what his weak point is, we have to run," Subaru emphasized.

Garfiel grimaced and then nodded.

Subaru walked out front to the driver's platform and Garfiel followed. Rem was driving and Felt sat beside to her.

"Are we almost clear of the Sanctuary?" Subaru asked the girls.

"Yeah!" Garfiel answered, "That's the forest edge right there!" He pointed a few miles in front of them. Garfiel frowned. "I'm going to go and take a quick peak up that tree," He said, pointing at a massive fur that dwarfed all its neighbors. "Least ways we'll know when that Regulus guy gets close."

"Wait!" Subaru grabbed Garfiel as he tried to leap away. "You don't even know what you're looking for!"

Garfiel looked angry but then paused and nodded.

"Regulus is a thin man with white hair. Try to keep an eye out for Capella. A huge black dragon should be easy to spot and if she's guiding Regulus in here then wherever she is, Regulus won't be far behind. Don't take any chances, just get up there, take a peek and get back."

"That's more of a description that most of us have ever seen, nyah," Felix said.

"Hey, now that you've mentioned it, we've barely seen Regulus in any of this," Felt said.

"You're right," Roswaal said. "Outside of the introductions, the most we've seen of him are flashes of his defeats at the various Subaru-kun's hands, and a memory of his speech patterns."

"Maybe we'll get something solid in this viewing," Al said.

Garfiel opened his mouth to protest but Subaru didn't give him the chance, "If Capella sees you then she'll stop guiding Regulus to the Sanctuary and start guiding him toward us."

Garfiel hesitated then scowled. "Whatever you say, Captain," He snorted then leapt away at a speed that the earth dragons couldn't match.

"Subaru, are you really sure you want to bring this guy with us?" Felt asked, sounding as if being flippant right now was taking great effort. "Mutinies have broken out over less, you know. He's immature, arrogant, and flat out stupid."

"We can't all have your brains, Felt," Subaru admitted with a weary sigh, "Besides did you get a close look at Petelguese?"

"Closer than I'd like," Felt replied.

"Yeah, well a whole group of people who could kill Petelguese effortlessly are now heading this way and they explicitly want to kill all of us," Subaru said.

Felt's face turned white.

"OI, I AIN'T STUPID!" Garfiel yelled at Felt.

"Garf, did you not hear that part where several Archbishops are coming for you?"

"'Course I did, Ram!" the blond responded. "Bu' there in th' screen, not here!"

"Exactly, Felt-sama didn't insult you, the on-screen version of her insulted the on-screen version of you," the pink-haired maid explained.

Garfiel merely grumbled at her logic.

"I'm not inclined to turn down an offer of assistance from anybody right now," Subaru concluded.

"Miss Felt," Rem said, "Young Garf is arrogant and stubborn but he has a good heart. He's just very immature. I'm glad that he's with us. He's not very clever and I'm worried about what would happen to him if he went off alone."

Felt snorted but made no further objections.

"Subaru," Rem asked with an edge in her voice, "What did that Witch Cultist mean when he said that he wasn't supposed to kill you?"

"I don't know but he got over it pretty quick," Subaru replied.

Rem gave him a dark guarded look.

Rem gave her on-screen counterpart a confused look.

"Why is she acting like this?" Tivey wondered.

"Yeah, don't the two of you love one another?" Mimi asked.

"Maybe something happened that prevented the inciting incident of our relationship," Subaru theorized. "I never saved her, so she never truly trusts me, something like that."

If that was the case, Rem didn't like this reality all too much.

Subaru sighed, "I don't know, Rem. Really I don't. Look, I promise that once we get clear of here I'll tell you everything I know. I'll lay everything out on the table for you so that you can decide if you want to keep trusting me or not. But it's going to be a long conversation and there's no time right now so lets just all focus on staying alive at the moment so that we have a chance to go over it all later."

Rem looked at Subaru with misgivings but turned her attention back to the road.

Rem is suspicious but she's not hostile yet. She is definitely going to demand answers to some questions when the chance arises but I think that the bulk of her suspicions were removed by the fight with Roy and Capella.

"Damn," Subaru cursed. "I was right."

"Hmph… doesn't matter," Rem said, hugging Subaru. "You're still Rem's hero."

"And her future husband!" Ricardo shouted from across the Theater.

As Subaru and Rem became bright red, Ricardo and Al simply laughed their asses off.

Subaru saw Garfiel racing back toward the carriage as Roswaal stepped out onto the driver's platform.

"Lord Roswaal!" Rem exclaimed, "Ram-"

"Your sister will be entirely fine, Rem," Roswaal said calmly, "She merely needs to rest."

Garfiel leapt to the carriage and hung off the overhang above the driver's platform as there wasn't much room on the driver's platform for five people. "I saw Capella! She's a ways off to the south. There's a tornado coming from that way!"

"A tornado?!" Subaru exclaimed, looking up at the cloudless blue sky.

"Yes! Well, no. Shit, Captain, I don't know! Right underneath Capella there's something that's knocking down trees. They're not just falling down either, they're bouncing up into the air and being thrown all over the place!" Garfiel exclaimed.

"Regulus," Subaru growled.

"Wait, are you telling me that this freak is doing all of that?! How the hell does anyone have that kind of power?" Garfiel demanded.

"If an Authority can prevent death, it can certainly do that," Wilehlm said.

Emilia, meanwhile, was having flashbacks back to her time in the Sanctuary, where she saw Regulus decimate the forest around her with a simple flick of the wrist.

Crusch and Rem weren't faring any better, as they also remembered their experience with the Sin Archbishop and how he destroyed their forces with ease.

"Don't know, don't care!" Subaru yelled back, "Where is he going? Is he still making for the Sanctuary?"

"Yeah. They're about twenty miles out but they're moving fast! If they get to the Sanctuary and find out that we're not there…" Garfiel said.

Subaru ground his teeth. They'll come right down this road, looking for stragglers.

Fuck, what do we do now? Beatrice, Ram, and Emilia are unconscious and the rest of us are exhausted. We barely defeated Roy and he was practically a flunky! We have no chance against Regulus right now, none at all. Add Capella to the mix and the fight is going to be comical.

What do I do? Maybe I could distract them? I'd be running to my death but I can distract Regulus longer than anyone else could. I bet he's nursing a grudge from the last time we fought. Since they're allowed to kill me now, I'm guessing I can easily get him to chase after me…

You know what, why not? I've already fucked up everything. There's no dragon blood for Emilia and the Archbishops are tearing up the Sanctuary. Maybe if I die distracting Regulus so everyone can get away, I can at least redeem myself somewhat. One Sin Archbishop fighting another to save people, it's almost poetic. Beatrice will be devastated that I broke my promise but Emilia will be with her. Emilia will take care of her. Oh God, what will Emilia think if I die here…

Focus! Emilia needs to survive long enough to wake up before she can think anything! Whether they forgive me or hate me, at least they'll both still be alive. They can be a new family, a family without me. With no more dragon blood to pursue, their new quest can be to find Puck. Maybe that will help heal their broken hearts…

"Why do you want the Dragon's Blood?" Anastasia asked.

"I wish to obtain the Dragon's Blood to save my people," Emilia answered honestly. "A century ago, Elior Forest was attacked by the Witch Cult, and the elves living there were frozen by my anguish, myself included… Puck unfroze me but according to him, it cost him a good part of his mana reserve so he couldn't unfreeze the others. I wish to free the remaining elves from ice, that's why I joined the Royal Selection. And now… I won't be able to save everyone."

"An' wha' 'bout equality fer all?"

"I still want that," the silver-haired half-elf said. "And will keep fighting for the throne to achieve a world where no one looks at anyone else in disdain due to their heritage, but knowing that all the people I once knew are still going to stay frozen afterwards is… heartbreaking."

"That sounds awful," Mimi said, sympathetically.

Emilia nodded her head. "It is."

Subaru heard thunder echoing off in the distance and through the towering forest, he saw a huge tree, much taller than its neighbors, fall down.

Fuck! Coming fast is right! Regulus will catch up with us for sure if Capella spots us!

Damn it! There's nothing else to do.

Subaru sighed, "Alright! I'm going to go back!"

Everyone, even Roswaal, stared at him in astonishment.

Everyone looked at Subaru in astonishment.

"What? I still have Return – Ohhh, right, I don't have it anymore…"

"Yeah! "Ohhh" is right, I suppose!" Beatrice said.

"Come on, everyone! I'm sure Subaru-sama has a plan!" Petra said.

"I agree!" Meili said. "Onii-chan always has a plan!"

"I sure hope you kids are right…" Kenichi whispered.

"What?! Did you take too many hits to the head in that fight, boss?!" Felt demanded.

"I don't want to hear it, Felt! I'm the only one who can stall Regulus for even a little while! Get out of here! Get somewhere safe! Find Reinhard. If anyone can protect you from these monsters it's him," Subaru said.

Yeah if anyone can. Can even Reinhard stand up to Regulus? No, stop thinking like that, it doesn't help. First these guys need to live long enough to worry about it.

Garfiel snorted and dropped down from the overhang standing on the driver's platform. "Fuck, I ain't running then!" Garfiel said although his face was pale and his eyes wide. "If you're going back so am I! I ain't letting some cultist prick thinking he's so damn crazy he can run my ass up a tree! It'll be just like Darran and the Stormguard!" Garfield slammed his fists together.

Subaru got right up into Garfiel's face, "Don't be a fool, Garfiel! I'm going back there to die! I have no chance against Regulus! None whatsoever! But I might be able to buy you guys, and the people fleeing, the time you need to get away."

Felt stared at Subaru, white faced and her lips trembling, "Then I can double that time!" Felt cried defiantly. "I'm not letting you go back alone! You'd probably get lost finding your way back anyway," Felt snorted.

Subaru stared at Felt. God damn it, Felt. When have you ever been this self-sacrificing? Or this stupid? Making a sacrifice for the greater good is one thing but this is just pointless. Regulus will obliterate you with one hit and he might never even realize that you'd been standing there in the first place.

Everyone once again looked at Subaru.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" he yelled.

"Do you?" Naoko asked.

"Yes! Please, stop staring at me like that!"

"You are a helpless girl, Miss Felt," Rem interjected not unkindly, handing Felt the reins and taking out her mace. "Subaru will require someone who can handle themselves in combat, someone that understands how to recognize superior opponents and keep them at bay," She added, casting a weary look at Garfiel.

Garfiel actually looked a bit hurt.

Rem is willing to fight with me? Actually apparently she's willing to die with me. I guess her suspicions aren't as profound as I thought. Unless, of course, she's just worried that I'm about to double-cross her…

"Felt and Garfiel will watch over the carriage. I will go with Subaru," Rem said firmly.

"This is foolish," Roswaal said calmly, "You will all remain here. I will distract the Archbishops."

Subaru glowered at Roswaal, "Roz, please do not misinterpret this as me being concerned for your wellbeing in any way but Regulus will swat you like a fly."

"Of course he wooooould," Roswaal agreed pleasantly, "I said that I would distract him, not fight him."

"That's… oddly considerate of you," Subaru told the clown.

"Subaru-kun, I have been beaten before, I know my limits, as great as they are," the mage said. "And besides, fighting for a cause like this does come with some merit."

"Just because you're willing to help us doesn't mean your crimes will go unpunished."

"Of course not, Juukuulius, but maybe actively helping will perhaps reduce my sentence, or at the very least, give me a few benefits while I'm behind bars? Like a few nice commodities?"

"Perhaps that can be arranged," the purple-knight said.

"Swell."

Roswaal turned to look at Rem, "Rem, when your sister awakens, please inform her of my orders: Until such time as we meet again, I wish you to follow Subaru and obey his instructions as though they were my own."

Rem gaped at Roswaal and Subaru had to fight not to do the same thing.

Then without a word, Roswaal flew up into the sky and zoomed off to the south.

Subaru could only stare at the vanishing sorcerer in confusion for a moment.

"Subaru, we're exiting the forest," Felt warned him. "Which way are we going?"

Subaru looked through the thinning trees where they met a wide open plain.

"North," Subaru instructed. "We need to get as far away from Regulus and Capella as we can. There's no cover out here on the plains. Our only defense is speed and distance right now."

Felt obediently turned the earth dragons and the carriage raced up the road to the north.

"You don't think Regulus is fast, do you?" Subaru asked.

"We didn't see any enhanced strength or speed from him," Crusch said. "All he did was flick his warts, and entire carts were decimated. He didn't even need to touch them."

"Meanwhile, Capella can shape-shift into a dragon," Subaru groaned.

"So, do they have a chance of outrunning them?" Otto asked.

"I hope so," Subaru said. "I don't want a repeat of Petelgeuse."

The sounds of thunder and falling trees began to fade in the distance as the carriage raced away from the forest.

"I hope Ram is alright," Rem whispered.

Garfiel gave her a sharp look.

"Ram is fine," Subaru assured her, "I may not trust Roswaal farther than I can kick him but I am confident that he cares about Ram. He wouldn't have left her here if he didn't think she'd come through just fine."

Subaru decided not to bring up the time Roswaal literally drove his arm through Ram's body just to kill both her and Garfiel for two reasons: One, Roswaal knew Subaru would fix it, so he still cared about Ram, just to a way lesser degree than everyone thought. And two, he didn't need to give people more reasons to throw Roswaal in jail.

Sure, he hated the guy, but he still needed him out of the slammer if he wanted even a single one of his plans involving freeing Satella or destroying the Witch Cult to work.

Necessary evils, and all that.

"Honestly, the person I'm most worried about right now is Beatrice," Felt admitted, "She seemed like a broken doll when Rem carried her inside."

Subaru rubbed his face, "Her breathing is strong. I think that she's just exhausted," Subaru said, hoping it was true.

Garfiel snorted, "If you guys are solid up here, I'm going to go check on Ram," He said, heading into the back.

Subaru sighed and rubbed his face, "I get the funny feeling that maybe I should go back there and keep an eye on him."

"I would appreciate that," Rem replied calmly, "Since Lord Roswaal has healed my sister, we must assume that she could wake up at any time. It would be a shame if she killed Little Garf upon awakening due to him being inappropriate again."

"And why would that be a shame, exactly?" Felt asked Rem.

"I'll just be back here," Subaru sighed to no one as he entered the carriage.

"Garfiel Tinsel."

"I PROMISE TA NEVER DO ANYTHIN' INNAPRORIATE, CAP'N'S MOM, MA'AM!"

"Good boy," Naoko smiled.

Ah, so that's where Subaru got his intimidation genes from, Reinhard realized.

Subaru checked Ram's breathing which was clear and strong. Garfiel hovered behind him.

"Garf, I'm going to go check on our other patients. Why don't you just take a seat and give Ram some space while I'm back there. Rem has a very hard mace and I speak from personal experience when I say that you do not want to get hit with it," Subaru said.

Garfiel sighed, "Oy. She's Ram's sister, alright," Garfiel walked to the only free couch and splayed out on it, rubbing his forehead.

Subaru walked through the curtain into the back half of the carriage.

He checked them both. Emilia and Beatrice were both still unconscious but at least they were breathing easily.

Emilia and Beatrice have a ton of mana. That… mana drain whatever it was seems to hit people worse the more mana they have. Emilia and Beatrice must have felt like they were hit by a truck.

Roswaal treated Ram for the mana drain but I'm not sure if he healed Emilia or Beatrice. He didn't mention it.

Does Emilia need to be healed? Was she hurt by the mana drain or was she shielded from it by being inside the Tomb at the time and she's just exhausted from the trials? And what about Beatrice? Did she not get the treatment she needs to survive or did she not need treatment because she's a Spirit?

Fuck me, why didn't I make sure that Roswaal healed both of them before he took off? He probably didn't do anything for them. I feel like Roswaal would have made sure that I was aware of it if he had healed them so I'd know that I owe him. Come to think of it, why didn't he suggest healing them?

As far as I can tell, Roswaal has lost all of his leverage over me at this point. If he had offered to heal Beatrice and Emilia that would at least have put me in his debt. I wouldn't have become his servant but I would have at least heard him out if he asked me for help with something. I'd do it against my better judgment but still…

"Uhh… can anyone dumb down tha' word vomit fer me?" Ricardo asked.

"I'm jus' as los'." Garfiel said.

"Betty's contractor is merely diagnosing myself and the half-elf, in fact."

"Yeah, Beako's right," Subaru said. "Looks like the Sanctuary's barrier also takes a toll on anyone who has a lotta mana. No wonder Roswaal looked like shit when we arrived."

"Now that's just mean, Subaru-kun," the clown said.

Subaru stroked Emilia and Beatrice's heads for a moment but they didn't react.

They don't feel my presence. They're too deep asleep.

Subaru bit his lip and then pinched both girls, hard.

Emilia and Beatrice both flinched and muttered but they didn't wake up.

Wonderful! At least they can still feel pain so they're not in a coma. They must be deep asleep but this suggests that they might just wake up whenever they're ready.

That's the best news I'm going to get right now. There's nothing left for me to do at the moment but wait. Fuck me.

Subaru went back to the front half of the carriage and sat down next to Garfiel with a sigh.

For a moment neither one spoke.

"Be positive, Subaru!" Emilia tried to encourage her knight.

Subaru merely looked at her with a blank stare.

"Right, wrong choice of words, sorry," the half-elf corrected herself. "I mean, uh, think of it like this: You managed to get everyone to safety, all while having multiple Sin Archbishops on our backs, and you didn't even die once! That's got to be an achievement!"

"Hmm… yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks, Emilia-tan."

As the two of them smiled at each other, everyone else 'awwed' at the sight.

"What do you think that Regulus freak is going to do to the Sanctuary? You think that he'll actually destroy it?" Garfiel asked.

"I hope so. If we're lucky he and Capella will take the time to demolish every single building," Subaru replied with a tired sigh.

Garfiel snarled at him, "You son of a –"

"If Regulus isn't destroying buildings, that means that he's chasing people!" Subaru cut him off, "It means that he's either coming after us or another transport full of innocent people. I know that you love the Sanctuary, Garf. I know that it's your home. But buildings can always be replaced. Lives can't. That should summarize your priorities right there."

Garfiel snorted but he looked slightly thoughtful.

They were both quiet for a moment.

"I'm guessing you've never actually been out of the Sanctuary before," Subaru said quietly.

Garfield snorted and folded his arms across his chest, "Never wanted to be!"

"Ugh, th' cringe…" Garfiel looked like he was dying.

"Glad we got you out of that mentality," Otto smiled.

"And I'll be sure to thank you later…" Frederica whispered into Otto's ear.

The ashen-haired merchant screamed in his head at the implications.

Oh, yeah. I buy that. You're not nervous at all, are you, 'Little Garf.' Out in the big scary world for the first time with horrible monsters hunting you down? Yeah, you're completely calm.

Did he come along with us to look after 'his woman' or because he wanted Rem and Ram to look after him? He really is just a kid after all. He's probably close to freaking out.

Subaru changed tack, "Well, I bet a big strong guy like you is really excited to be on this journey," Subaru said.

"What's he doing?" Tivey asked.

"I think he's tryin' ta use some words o' encouragement," Anastasia said.

"I guess it's comin' from a nice place, but his thoughts from earlier make it kinda funny," Ricardo said, as he then imitated Subaru's voice, "'Oooh, horrible monsters huntin' ya down!'"

"Wha–?! I do not sound like that!" Subaru sputtered, as everyone else laughed.

"Hehehe, sorry, Bro, it's just too funny!" Mimi giggled.

"Yeah, what she said! Hehehe!" Felt also chuckled.

Subaru softly smiled at the scene in front of him. Well, at least everyone is having a good time…

Be careful, Subaru. Don't let your voice get sarcastic and you absolutely positively can not start laughing.

Garfiel looked at him through narrowed eyes, "What do you mean?"

"We're off on an epic adventure across-country that you've never explored! We're fighting against terrible monsters that want to kill us and we have beautiful girls who are depending on us to keep them safe," Subaru continued.

Ladies, please forgive me for spoon feeding him this bullshit but the poor kid is scared right now.

"OI!" Garfiel yelled. "Wuz tha' supposed ta' mean?!"

"It means that said ladies can protect themselves," Priscilla explained.

"But help is still appreciated whenever anyone can get it, regardless of gender," Crusch helpfully added. "So, rather than trying to protect us, how about fighting alongside us?"

"Yeah… I guess tha' makes sense…" the blond demi-human agreed.

Oh, boy. With my luck, Ram will wake up right now and then smear us both all over the walls. Hell, even Felt might give that a try if she walked in during this conversation!

Garfiel snorted, "Hey! Ram's got nothing to worry about with my magnificent self along on this trip! It's going to be just like Jonas and the Harpies!"

"Yeah, we got this. We already killed one of the monsters right? You and me fought side by side against the Archbishops, didn't we?" Subaru said.

"Yeah," Garfiel admitted.

"That was a hell of a fight," Subaru mused. "People will be talking about that battle for a hundred years."

Garfiel thought about that for a moment then chuckled, "It was a pretty intense fight, wasn't it?"

Rem agreed. "Considering that Crusch-sama and I couldn't do anything…"

"Hey, no talking negatively about yourself," Subaru chided her.

"Why? Because that's your thing, I suppose?" Beatrice asked.

"Well, yeah… but I am trying to cut down on it! Honest!"

"Hmph. That's good, in fact."

"That's putting it mildly. Frankly, for a while there, I thought that our dirty little playmate was going to be too much for us," Subaru replied.

"And then you smashed him into that rock and he burst open like a rotten fruit!" Garfiel cheered.

Subaru's stomach turned over at the thought of that image but he forced it back.

"Hey, I couldn't have done it without you setting me up for that spike," Subaru replied.

"Yeah… Yeah! We nailed him! We caught him between the hammer and the anvil, just like Varric and the ice beast!" Garfiel slammed his fists together.

OK, I know that I'm not from this world but what the hell is he talking about? I've spent the past month reading all the history and folk tales I can get my hands on and I still can't make heads or tails out of any of his references. Am I really still that ill-informed about world history or is he just making all of this shit up?

"No, they're all real phrases, Subaru-sama," Frederica answered.

"Though some of them are only local to the Sanctuary," Roswaal continued.

"So, they're basically useless everywhere else?" Al asked.

"Not entirely true," Ram said. "Since the locals of the Sanctuary have now moved to the Mathers Domain, their phrases will pretty soon be integrated into the local dialect."

"Who knows? Maybe it'll become as big as Kararagi's reach, someday!" Subaru laughed.

"In yer dreams," Anastasia smirked.

Garfiel scratched his cheek, "Hey, I'm really sorry about what happened to your little sister. She seems like one hell of a fighter," Garfiel said.

Subaru was about to correct him and then didn't. Beatrice was his sister by any other name, "Thanks," He replied.

"Is she doing OK?"

Subaru sighed, "Yeah, I think so. She seems to be in the same boat as the others. Her breathing is steady so hopefully she'll just wake up after she's rested a bit."

Emilia…

"You know," Garfiel mused, "When I was on top of that tree looking for Regulus, I thought that I saw something kind of funny…"

"What was that?"

"I thought that I saw an extra Ryuzu."

"Two Ryuzus?" Subaru asked.

"Wait, how is that weird?" Subaru asked.

"Th' clones only have a set number, no more, no less," Garfiel explained.

"What are these clones you're talking about, nyah?" Felix asked.

"Okay, so you know how during all of the intros, you saw a small pink-haired half-elf?"

Felix nodded to what Subaru said, as Wilhelm said, "Yes, they reminded me of Sphinx."

"Well, those are the Ryuzu clones, and they guarded the Sanctuary for four centuries, and the big secret outsiders don't know is that there's a whole army of them," Subaru explained. "Also, some can develop personalities, so chances are, one of them went rogue and became Sphinx."

"I see… thank you, Subaru-dono."

Garfield looked at Subaru and his eyes glinted, "Yeah. Two," He coughed.

"Hm. What was the other one doing?"

"Well, I might have been mistaken but I think that she was riding your earth dragon out of there," Garfiel said.

Subaru slapped his forehead, "Fuck me, I completely forgot about her! Oh well, whoever 'Ryuzu number two' was, she has my gratitude for at least getting that kind animal out of there. I have more than enough deaths on my conscience already."

They were both silent for a moment.

"Did you seriously leave Patrasche behind?" Petra asked.

"Uh, I mean, considering the situation we were in –"

"Subaru, how could you?" Crusch asked, in a fake gasp. "To throw away my gift like that?"

"Whoa, whoa, wait –"

"Gift? What's that about a gift?" Kenichi asked. "You got a girlfriend, son?

"Not you, too, Dad –"

"Son, there is nothing more rude than rejecting a woman's gift –"

"MOM!"

Pretty soon, everyone started laughing, and being in high spirits overall.

"So what do you know about these cultist freaks?" Garfiel asked him.

"Not very much. I only saw one for the first time yesterday," Subaru admitted.

Well, ignoring every time that I look in the mirror…

And just like that, the laughter stopped.

"Is this version of Onii-chan also a Witch Cultist?" Meili asked, worryingly.

Julius thought about it. "Well, Capella did call him "Pride," so… maybe?"

"Maybe?" Tivey asked, confused.

"He's obviously reluctant to accept such a position, and he clearly went against the rest of the Witch Cult's orders by rescuing Emilia-sama, and saving everyone else," Reinhard answered.

"So, yeah, maybe," Julius said, standing his ground again.

"How many of them do you think there are?" He asked.

"Dunno but there's got to be at least a few. The only ones that I've met so far that you don't know are Lye and Regulus."

Garfiel looked thoughtful, "Lye, huh? Did you fight him? Is he like Roy or more like Capella?"

"I didn't fight him," Subaru admitted, "But from what I saw he seems more like Roy. He just stood back and watched while I tried to fight Regulus."

Garfiel's eyes widened, "You actually fought Regulus?"

Subaru laughed, "Kind of. Actually, Regulus was knocking me around like I was nothing. I couldn't even scratch him. He was blasting trees and boulders away without any apparent effort. The only reason that I survived was that Lye reminded Regulus that he wasn't supposed to kill me."

"Huh?!"

"Huh?!" Felix said, mimicking the on-screen Garfiel.

"Yeah, tha's weird," Ricardo agreed with Felix's confusion.

Why does Pandora not want to kill Subaru?! Emilia wondered. If she hates him as much as the introductions have shown us, she would want to do everything in her power to kill him!

The mystery only got deeper and deeper.

Subaru shrugged, "Hey, I don't get it either but for some reason Lye and Regulus were apparently under orders from someone not to kill me, or at least not to kill me back then. Roy mentioned that, whatever my immunity was, it's expired. In fact, the whole reason that Regulus and Lye showed up was specifically because another Archbishop named Petelguese was about to kill me and apparently that was against instructions."

"Whatever happened to that Petelguese guy?"

"He's dead. Regulus vaporized him in one blow," Subaru replied, "There was nothing left but drops of blood, scraps of flesh, and a pair of boots."

Garfiel looked a bit frightened. "So what happens if Regulus does catch up with us?"

Subaru barked a laugh, "You, me, and Rem are going to get to do that 'last stand' thing we talked about. It'll be a short stand but I'm sure that it will be very valiant."

Emilia felt sick at the way Geuse went out in that reality, but –

"I severely doubt that Sloth is dead," Wilhelm said.

"Huh?"

"Agreed," Subaru said to the old man. "He probably jacked one of his back-up bodies."

Emilia didn't know whether to be relieved, or annoyed. On the one hand, her surrogate father didn't die to that prick Regulus, but on the other hand, he's still out there, ready to harm more innocent civilians. Hopefully, the Subaru of that reality would give Geuse a proper burial.

"Boy, the other you will be in for a nasty surprise, nyah," Fleix said.

Garfiel growled, "Well, how long are we just going to run away like Drogo and Karnack? These freaks destroyed my home and almost killed all of us!"

"Not forever but we're getting out dodge right now," Subaru muttered, rubbing his face.

God I am exhausted, Subaru continued, "We won the fight but our team is worn out and we need to recover while the Archbishops hopefully waste their time and energy blowing up buildings."

Garfiel scratched his cheek, "Maybe we could set a trap for them? What if we waited near the Sanctuary for them to start leaving and then ambushed Lye? We could pick them off one by one."

"Bad idea," Subaru said shortly.

Subaru noticed Garfiel glaring at him and smiled ruefully, "Sorry, Garf but it really is. We're all exhausted and we're in no shape to pick another fight right now. Besides, even if that weren't the case, the Archbishops are all swarming together right now. If we attacked Lye, the rest might come running."

Garfiel frowned for a minute, "So what is our plan then?" He grumbled.

"Pretty much what we're doing. Get away and recover. When the Archbishops try to come looking for us, they'll need to split up in order to search. Then we might get a chance to ambush one of them like you thought. If we're lucky, once he's isolated and vulnerable, we can all take him down together."

Garfiel snorted, "If it's Lye I bet I can handle him all by myself. You lot can just hang back and watch."

"Oh, really?" Subaru asked with profound skepticism. "Just like you handled his brother by yourself a few hours ago? Oh wait, my memory misleads me. He kicked your butt."

Garfiel scowled at him and opened his mouth to respond.

"I don' remember tha'," Garfiel said.

"It probably happened before the episode began," Subaru suggested.

"Oh, yeah, tha' explains it," the blond demi-human said.

"I don't like how the screen can throw us into different scenarios without giving us any of the context," Felt grumbled. "Like, how did we end up in the Sanctuary in the first place?"

"I think that's half the fun, Felt-sama, having the clues hidden within the show" Reinhard smiled. "It's making us think and use our brains rather than just giving us the answers."

"But it's so much work…" Meili moaned.

"If I go up against Regulus, I am going to die," Subaru cut him off. "It's just that simple. If I go up against Capella, I am going to die. And I doubt that I will have better luck with Lye if I try to take him on alone. These freaks aren't people, Garf, they're monsters. This isn't a case of 'let the better man win', it's a case where we all dog pile the monster and hope to hell that we can kill it before it eats every last one of us."

Garfiel frowned but he seemed to be thinking about it.

"Yikes, that is gruesome," Felt muttered.

"But an accurate description," Reinhard said.

"Note to self, find Hal-san and Tia, ASAP," Subaru whispered to himself.

"There's no shame in asking for help, Garf. You helped me protect the people I love, so now I owe you one. That means I'm going to help you get even for the home you lost. In the meantime until you find your place out here, you have a home and it's with the twins and me and our friends," Subaru held out his hand to Garfiel.

Garfiel stared at Subaru's hand for a moment and then shook it.

"Well," Garfiel said with a slow smile. "I guess my glorious self can stand fighting with you one more time. The 'little bit' too once she's feeling better."

"Oh yeah, she's going to want to get even!" Subaru assured him, "We may be running away right now, Garf but make no mistake that battle was a victory. How often do you think one of the Sin Archbishops actually dies? We killed one of them and then we all got out safely. We owned the freaks. And they made a huge mistake."

"Wait, how often does one of them die?" Kenichi asked.

"Only two of them have ever been killed in history," Crusch said.

"I took down the previous wielder of Pride forty years ago," Wilhelm said.

Al did his best to avoid the old man's heated glares.

"And I took down Sloth a month ago, with some help," Subaru answered.

"Ah, I see. That is a pretty big deal," Naoko said.

"Yeah," Garfiel growled, "They should have made sure they had all arrived before they attacked. We got to take them on one by one and they weren't in position to help each other or to cut us off before we got away."

"No," Subaru disagreed. "They made us angry."

Garfiel flashed him a savage grin, "Fuck yeah, they did! When you shoot the tiger you better not miss! Next time, we'll be ready for them!"

"Damn right," Subaru approved. He cocked his head as he heard Felt and Rem arguing up front. "Jeez, what's going on now?"

Subaru got up and walked out the front door with Garfiel following behind.

"I was wondering when I'd be back," Felt said.

"-That is completely foolish," Rem proclaimed.

"Don't you talk to me like that, you-"

"Hey, what's going on?" Subaru asked, looking ahead. They were approaching a five way crossroad.

"We should return back to the manor, Miss Felt," Rem said in a curt voice. "Ram will wish to see Lord Roswaal as soon as she wakes up."

"Maybe she does but don't ask me why," Felt retorted. "Does she have a backstabber fetish? Besides, we're being chased down by literal demons from hell. We need to go someplace we'll be safe and that means we head back towards the capitol and look for Reinhard."

"Lord Roswaal is entirely capable of keeping us safe," Rem asserted.

"Yeah, right up until we're between him and something he wants," Felt snorts.

Everyone once more glared at Roswaal, as he shrank down into his seat.

"You are lucky that Subaru has vouched for you," Reinhard hissed.

"Read you loud and clear," Roswaal smiled, secretly freaking out on the inside.

"OK," Subaru said interrupting. "So that road goes to the manor and that road goes to the capitol," He said, pointing at the closest two roads. "Rem, where does that road lead?" He asked, pointing straight ahead.

"That goes to the capitol as well but it's the long way around. It avoids most of the Mathers territory and brings us close to Gusteko and then far out to the north east of the kingdom before heading south again," Rem replied.

"And I assume that road heads out toward Priestella?" Subaru asked, thinking back to the maps he'd seen while pointing at the road that led west.

"I believe so," Rem replied. "Lord Subaru, we should return to the manor and reunite with Lord Roswaal before those creatures catch up with us."

"Tha's a new way ta describe a Sin Archbishops," Anastasia said.

"Yeah, usually it's bastards, monsters, and villains," Al said. "Creature is new."

"Don' forget all th' otha' ways ya can name-call an Archbishop," Ricardo said.

"Yes, the ones you're NOT going to say because there are children here, right?"

"Uhh… yes, Frederica-san," Ricardo gulped from the maid's inesntiy.

"Good," she smiled.

I'm suddenly both scared and turned-on right now, Otto thought to himself.

"Roswaal isn't there, Rem," Subaru replied before Felt could jump in. "He's just made the Sin Archbishops really really mad at him. If he went back to the manor then they would know right where to find him if they took it personally enough to hunt him down."

"Also," Subaru added in a growl, "Roswaal has just made me really, really mad at him and he's not going to risk being somewhere I can get my hands on him until he's sure that I've had enough time to calm down. Roswaal is in hiding right now. We won't find him, he'll find us when he's ready."

"Dang, that's cold, Natsuki-san," Otto chuckled.

"You think it was undeserved?" Subaru asked.

The ashen-haired merchant shook his head. "No, not one bit."

"So we go to the capitol," Felt asserted.

"Yes but we're going that way," Subaru replied, pointing straight ahead.

"Lord Subaru-" Rem began.

"Please, Rem, just 'Subaru,' He sighed.

Rem took a deep breath, "Subaru, why are we going the long way around?"

"Because the Archbishops are still out there and they're specifically looking for us. They're going to assume that we either went to the manor or the capitol and they'll be watching for us on those roads. Hopefully by taking the long way around, we can put them off the scent for a while. We're in no condition to take another fight, Rem. We need to stall for time and get them off our trail while everyone recovers from the Sanctuary fight," He paused, "Do we have enough food to take the long way?" He asked.

"This feels so weird," Rem said.

"The fact that I have to explicitly explain my plan in order to get you to trust me?" Subaru asked.

"Yes," the blue-haired maid said. "I usually just believe in whatever you have to say."

"Ah, yes, the fabled rose-colored glasses," Al joked.

Rem sighed and shook the reins leading the carriage straight ahead. "We have ample provisions in the carriage and we will pass several trading posts on this road where we can acquire more."

"Better and better," Subaru said in a weary voice.

"Subaru," Felt murmured, "We are going to go find Red, aren't we?"

"Yes," Subaru agreed firmly, "But Reinhard can take care of himself, better than any of us can. He's not in any danger, we are. That means the priority is for all of us to stay alive and safe until we can hook up with him again."

Felt did not look happy about this but nodded, "Do you think the Kingdom will send Red up here to deal with the cult?"

"Probably," Subaru replied, "But it's a question of when. It could take a while before the Kingdom even figures out what's been happening out here."

"Red?" Reinhard asked.

"It's probably a nickname, like Rein," Felt guessed.

"Well, his hair is indeed super red…" Petra said.

"Yeah! Red like a tometo!" Mimi cheered.

"Isn't the correct pronunciation tomato?" Naoko asked.

"Not in this world, Mom," Subaru said, with woe in his eyes.

Subaru's eyes widened, "Oh, shit! I should have told the villagers to make for a garrison and report that the Archbishops are on a rampage. Too late now." He shook his head in disgust at himself.

Subaru sighed, "Garf, why don't you go in back and take a nap. You're been running around today more than any of us."

Garfiel laughed, "Why? I can go on for days if I have to?"

"No doubt," Subaru said seriously, "But why would you want to? The goal is to be in tip top shape in case the freaks find us. If any of them catch up with us, almost half our crew is unconscious. We all need to be at 100% if we're going to have any chance. Besides," Subaru leaned in to whisper to Garfiel, "When will you get another chance to sleep near Ram?"

Garfiel's eyes widened and he turned a bit red. "Yeah," He yawned a little theatrically, "Maybe I could stand to catch forty winks," He said, heading back into the carriage.

"Subaru," Rem grumbled, "Please refrain from offering my sister up as an inducement."

"I know, Rem," He sighed, "I'm going back there myself now to check on everyone. I'll keep an eye on him."

No one knew whether to look at either Subaru or at Garfiel in disgust.

They chose Garfiel.

"Ow, ow! Sis, I get it, stop pullin' ma ear!" the blond begged.

His older sister merely leaned into the ear, and said, "No."

Subaru checked on Ram but she seemed to be in the best shape of the three so as Garfiel quickly nodded off, Subaru went into the back.

Garfiel's snoring quickly filled the carriage like an approaching thunderstorm.

Nothing had changed for Beatrice or Emilia so Subaru just sat down on the floor, laying back against the couch where Emilia rested.

Subaru buried his face in his hands.

Oh my God, how did I fuck this up so badly?! When did I lose control here?

Well, you haven't actually lost control yet, another part of Subaru observed. Its voice was dry, clinical, and completely unwelcome. It's a setback certainly but really all you-

Shut the fuck up! God! I thought I was so smart and so clever. I was going to get Emilia whatever she needed and that there was nothing anyone could do about it!

Why was that? Because I was the hero of this world? No, it's because I'm a fucking Witch! Everything I accomplished is because I was using the same magic that Regulus, Capella and the others use! I felt powerful because I was only facing people who didn't have this kind of black magic and that made me feel like some kind of big man!

"Oh, no! He's spiraling!" Petra gasped.

"Though, I have to admit, "black magic" is a new term for –"

"Not now, Roswaal!" Meili yelled at the clown.

Then I met a few people who do use the same kind of witchcraft and boy was that a rude awakening!

In the past week I've been outsmarted by a guy who wears clown makeup, my champion is off in the south somewhere playing farmer, my fiance almost had a mental breakdown and my cat's run away. I lived through the last three battles by the skin of my teeth and some of that was only because my opponents were explicitly not trying to kill me! I manage to get two different communities destroyed on my watch and now I'm running for my life with a bunch of folks who have no chance of surviving if Regulus or Capella catch up to us.

How did I fuck this up so badly?

Subaru's mind suddenly drifted back to Reinhard's words at the Royal Selection announcement.

"I am proud to stand here today and pledge my enduring loyalty to Lord Subaru, the man I myself revere as King."

Upon hearing that flashback, everyone was dead silent.

So much so that Al paused the viewing, just to let everyone take in what they heard.

Then, the screaming began.

"""WHAAAT?!"""

"Subaru-sama… a King…?" Petra repeated, quaking.

"Did I actually beat a Candidate with a wooden sword…?" Julus asked himself.

"That actually explains so much…" Felt realized. "I was acting like I was your subordinate, as were the twins. But wait, would that mean since you and Big Sis were together…"

"Hold up, hold up!" Otto yelled. "How is this even possible?!"

"He's right," Reinhard agreed. "All of the Candidates had to be female…"

"It's Barusu," Ram deadpanned. "Does he really need any explanation?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

One by one, upon hearing the pink maid's logic, everyone begrudgingly agreed, and eventually calmed down. The whole "It's Subaru," phrase was beginning to be less of a joke and more of a rule for anything inconceivable happening when involving the black-haired boy.

Meanwhile, Subaru's jaw remained on the floor until Rem closed it for him.

Subaru wanted to beat his head into the floor. "Sorry, Red," Subaru whispered, "I guess if you were here right now you'd be having some serious second thoughts about me."

"Why?"

Subaru spun around and saw Emilia looking at him bleary eyed from the couch.

"Emilia!" Subaru gasped, grabbing her hand. "Are you alright?"

She seemed confused, "Subaru, what happened?"

He gently kissed her palm. "You passed the trials, Mili! You freed the sanctuary and we got everyone out!" Subaru whispered.

Emilia's eyes widened in wonder and she began to smile. "I did?" Emilia pressed her face into the cushions in sheer exhaustion but her smile broadened. "Then I guess I finally saved you for a change."

"You're the hero today, Mili," Subaru promised her. "You saved all of us. You deserve all the credit."

"Where are we?"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait…" Emilia said. "Does that mean… Subaru and I…"

"I would say that there is a good chance you are betrothed," Reinhard said.

"""WHAT?!""" The yells of several different women could be heard in the Theater.

"Tha' has ta be against th' rules o' something!" Anastasia said.

"No, it's not," Crusch said, her face being grim. "Alliances between Camps are allowed in the Royal Selection, and political weddings do qualify as a sort of alliance, so…"

"No wonder I was treating Subaru in such a way…" Rem realized.

Subaru, meanwhile, was still catatonic from the idea he could have been KING.

"We're in Roswaal's… carriage thing. I don't know what you call it," Subaru admitted.

"Are we going back to the manor?"

Subaru hesitated, "We're heading someplace safe," He sidestepped.

Emilia rubbed her face into the cushions. "Subaru, I'm so tired," She whimpered.

"Then go back to sleep, Mili," He encouraged, rubbing her back. "Everything is fine right now. I'll be here when you wake up."

Emilia flashed him a smile and then drifted off to sleep.

Subaru lay back with a smile on his face. She woke up. She's exhausted but she woke up! She's going to be OK. She just needs to rest a bit. Thank God.

But now what?

Subaru buried his face in his hands.

"Well, he's certainly already acting like a politician," Al said.

"What do you mean?" Meili asked.

"He's lying to someone's face that everything is alright."

As everyone else booed at Al's joke, Naoko wondered something.

"Wait… if Subaru became part of royalty… what would that make us?"

"Well, that depends," Julius said. "If he's King, the two of you would probably be given a title and some sort of status due to your relationship. If he's the consort, then you would probably gain a status of a lesser degree. Both those cases also apply to Subaru's adoptive siblings."

Meili simply stared in awe. "I could be a Princess…?"

"Meh, all I need is Betty's contractor, and I'm good," the Great Spirit said.

Oh my God, how am I going to tell her that the dragon blood is gone? 'Hey Emilia, some bad news: We discovered that the kingdom doesn't have any more dragon blood so we've been completely wasting our time with the Royal Selection and nothing that we've worked on has advanced your goals in any way. We could have spent the last month shoveling snow out of the great Elior Forest and accomplished more with our time. Also, since nobody has seen this Divine Dragon in decades, for all I know the entire species is extinct and we are completely out of options to heal your people.'

No! I'm not licked yet! There is still a way. I know there is a way to save Emilia's people because… the clown… told me that I'd become his ally after I heard that the blood was gone. That means I'm not sunk, there is another way to do it. If there wasn't then I'd never become Roswaal's ally because he'd have nothing to offer me.

There is still some way to heal Emilia's forest I just need to work with… the clown. So what, do I go looking for Roswaal?

No, I just explained to Rem that Roswaal is absolutely in hiding right now from both me and the Archbishops. He's not going to risk contacting me until he's sure that I've regained my temper. So that means that I just need to keep the twins close; even though one or both of them are almost certainly spies. When Roswaal decides that I'm ready to talk, he'll come back and make his offer.

Subaru's eyes widened. Or do I already know the answer? The Authority of Pride! That's what Roswaal wants from me. I have no idea how it works but Roswaal implied that the Authority could give me whatever I most wanted. It gave me Reason and Judgment because I wanted to be smart and it gave me Indomitable because I was afraid. Roswaal told me that it would grow stronger and that eventually I'd be able to control it. How does it work? Is there a limit to it? If my greatest wish was to heal Emilia's people, would the Authority simply grant me the power to do that?

But I have no idea how the Authority works. Could maybe… Reason and Judgment tell me? And I know that nothing is ever free so… if I do make that wish, what would be the price?

Subaru sighed.

"What the hell was all that word vomit?" Al asked, annoyed.

"I agree," Frederica said. "It was worse than the adoptive Astrea's." A small smile crept up on Reinhard's face as he remembered that in reality, Subaru was his adoptive brother.

While no one was paying attention to him, Crusch spoke up. "From what I gathered, Emilia's goal is the same as in our reality, and now, Subaru is trying to rationalize what his next move should be since his shared endgoal with Emilia is now gone."

"He's also now debating whether or not to use the Authority of Pride, since aside from the invincibility, one of the other facets is… what I believe to be some sort of enhanced intelligence? I'm not too sure, but it does come with a price," Priscilla said, continuing where Crusch left off.

"It probably makes me some sort of emotionless robot," Subaru guessed.

Let's hold that thought in reserve for now. Maybe Beatrice will have a few ideas on other ways to heal the forest…

Subaru looked at the tiny spirit who lay unconscious atop the couch across from him.

Beatrice, what have I done? How could I let you get hurt so badly? The mana drain shockwave seems to impact people worse the more mana they have. Emilia only woke up for a minute, Ram's still out cold, and poor Beatrice must have felt as if she got hit by a train. I guess in a way we're lucky that Puck wasn't around. If he had gotten hit by that shockwave he might have exploded.

Subaru's eyes widened. "Puck," He whispered.

We're outside of the Sanctuary and the barrier's been destroyed! So maybe…

Subaru carefully reached out and, being careful not to wake her, touched the gem around Emilia's neck.

"Puck," He prayed.

"Fuck."

"You."

Subaru and Emilia merely blushed at how in-sync they were.

"That's… a strange way to greet your surrogate father," Otto commented.

"Geuse was a better father to me than Puck ever was," Emilia said, bitterly.

Otto just raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, you know what? I'm not touching that."

For a moment nothing happened and then a tiny flying cat appeared in thin air and stretched.

"Hey there, Subaru!" He said with a yawn.

"Puck!" Subaru gasped.

"Long time no see! Give me paw knuckles!" Puck said.

Subaru extended his fist and Puck slapped it.

"I am so very glad to see you, my friend!" Subaru realized he was crying.

"It's so weird to see you like him," Emilia whispered to Subaru.

"Well, you gotta remember, I still worked with him even after he froze my head off, so chances are that it never happened in this reality, hence why I seem to trust him so much."

"I love how you see the good in everyone," Emilia smiled, hugging Subaru.

"Yeah, I don't know what happened, Subaru. Something was keeping me trapped. I couldn't get out!"

"The important thing is that you're back with us," Subaru sighed, "We're all together again."

Puck is home. We're getting back on our feet. We'll continue to get back on our feet. We will figure all of this crap out together, as a family.

Puck was looking around. "Betty!" Puck flew off to hover over the unconscious spirit. "Her mana is completely drained! Subaru, what happened?!"

Subaru sighed. "Well, I'm not really sure," He said, following Puck over to Beatrice's couch. "I think that when we broke that barrier that kept you locked up it drained everyone's mana to a greater or lesser extent. Most of the magic users are still out cold."

Puck inspected her, "Yeah, everyone here was hit with a bad mana drain but Betty's the one in the worst shape. Don't worry, Subaru. She'll be fine, she just needs a recharge. And luckily, I have plenty of mana!"

"Oh, great, so the barrier also took down magic users along with half-races."

"What do you mean, Subaru?" Crusch asked.

"Okay, so you know how I kinda said that the Sanctuary was a prison for demi-humans? Well, I forgot to mention that the barrier was also deadly for anyone who was a half-breed of two different races, such as half-elves. It would have tried to kill Emilia-tan if it weren't' for the crystals we were carrying with us," the black-haired knight explained.

"And it would have done the same to people who relied on mana," Wilhelm realized.

"Wow, Echidna was a sadist, nyah," Felix said.

Puck hovered over Beatrice and started to glow with a warm orange light, shining down on Beatrice like a tiny sun. "It'll probably be a while before she wakes up though. So catch me up, Subaru. What did I miss? How long was I out?"

Subaru thought about it. "I'm guessing close to two weeks. There's a lot to tell you, Puck and it's all bad."

"Come on, Subaru. It can't be all that bad. I know that you can handle whatever gets throw at you," Puck replied.

Subaru wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry, "OK, where to begin? So after we all separated, Beatrice, Reinhard and I went fishing and we managed to kill the whale. Yay, us," Subaru cheered sarcastically.

"Then we came to find you guys in Arlem only to discover that the village was being occupied by some sort of lunatic named Petelguese, a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult, who wanted to kill me for some reason. I don't get it either, so don't ask. Petelguese gets killed by two more lunatics, Regulus and Lye, because apparently Petelguese ignored somebody's orders not to come after me. Regulus almost kills me and Betty but he eventually remembers his orders and leaves us alone. Then we follow you guys to the Sanctuary and find out that you've been sealed away in the crystal and everybody else is trapped inside the barrier and poor Emilia is on the verge of a nervous breakdown because the trials to free the sanctuary are destroying her mind."

Puck's eyes narrowed. "Subaru-"

Tivey cringed. "Okay, it started off good with the Whale death, but then…"

"Yeah, it went downhill real fast…" Ricardo said.

"I know, Puck, I know!" Subaru said, falling back on the floor and burying his face in his hands. "This whole mess is all my fault! Everything Emilia went through is my fault! I will cheerfully submit to whatever punishment you think is appropriate; trust me, I deserve it. Just let me finish first. If you're going to obliterate me I would like to have throughly earned it."

Subaru shook his head and continued, "We find out that Roswaal has been playing us all for fools this whole time and that he was the one who hired Elsa to steal the insignia from Emilia in the first place. He also tricked Reinhard into going to the other side of the country so he wouldn't be able to help us while we were trapped in the Sanctuary. Roswaal tried to bind me in a magical slave pact in exchange for allowing me to pass the trials and free the Sanctuary because the Sin Archbishops were coming to kill everyone inside of it but Emilia managed to complete the trials and break the barrier. Garfiel- that's the new guy over there, you haven't met him yet but he's OK-, Beatrice, and I fought a gluttony Archbishop named Roy to buy Emilia time to finish the trials and we managed to kill him. Meanwhile, Roswaal and the twins are fighting another Archbishop named Capella. Capella escapes but not before telling me that the kingdom's dragon blood is all gone and everything that we've done up until this time to try to help Emilia by reaching the throne has been a fantastic waste of time!" Subaru snapped at himself.

Everyone just stared at Roswaal once again.

"Roswaal-sama, I'm going to say this once," Reinhard said. "You're a dick."

"I know," the clown said, looking down at himself in shame."

Puck just stared at Subaru.

"Capella warned us that Regulus was coming and Regulus is somebody that none of us could possibly hope to stand against, maybe not even with Reinhard backing us up. So we piled into wagons and everyone flees the sanctuary and we barely managed to get out of there with our lives before Regulus shows up. Now we're on the road and I have literally no idea where we're going or what we're going to do next!" Subaru paused, gasping for breath.

Subaru shook his head, trying to shake off his frustration, "I'm really grateful that you're back, Puck," He continued gently. "I missed you. Plus not only can you help heal Beatrice but you can be there when we tell Emilia that the dragon blood is gone and that we don't have a Plan B to heal the forest just yet. Emilia… is going to be shattered. I literally can't imagine a more terrible revelation for her. It's just going to break her heart. She's going to need both of her boys there to help her through this, buddy," Subaru extended his fist for a paw knuckle.

Puck just floated there with an unclear expression.

"Subaru," Puck said. "Who is Emilia?"

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!"

Everyone was freaked out over how loudly Subaru yelled that, and he probably would have kept going if it wasn't for the fact that Emilia calmed him down with some headpats.

"Okay, I think it's time for a break!" Emilia said, as she kept Subaru calm.

Everyone agreed with that statement, because honestly, they needed to relax. Everyone agreed to be back in an hour, and they all went their separate ways.

"Subaru, are you gonna be okay?" Emilia asked her knight.

"Yeah… just give me a minute."

Elsewhere in the Theater, Felt and Reinhard were also discussing what they saw.

"Man, that was so intense!" the red-eyed blonde said. "And did you see Capella? I mean, we saw her in the last episode, too, but she's just so nasty! Like an evil twin of mine!"

Reinhard gulped at that. "Yes… about that…"

"What is it, Rein?"

"Felt-sama, I have something important to tell you," the Sword Saint said.

"Well, don't keep me in suspense," Felt said, wondering where this was going.

"I will tell you, but not here," Reinhard said, as he looked around the Theater. "If I do, it might interfere with you and Crusch-sama's plan involving the Emilia Camp."

"Oh, alright," she said, getting up. "Then let's go."

The two of them left the Theater, as Felix simply relaxed in his seat. Sure, the last episode was extremely stressful, but it was worth it, as the big secret he knew was kept his and his alone.

Or so he thought.

---

Author's Notes: A lot of people expected this story to appear, and they were right.

The original story is "Re:Zero The King of Pride" written by hollowsong16. The link is s/13807270/1/Re-Zero-The-King-of-Pride, and /works/41701521/chapters/104608734 is the link for ArchiveofOurOwn. Now, for the last batch of comments for this month!

OreosAreYummy: I hope this chapter was to your liking.

Guest #1: Oh, hey, welcome back! I didn't think you'd have a name. Oh, well, I dub thee "Guest #1." Welcome aboard. Anyway, this week's chapter had the whole "Subaru is a Candidate" thing down pat, so while your choice was nice, I already got it covered. Also, your idea of Subaru fighting the White Whale alone was discussed on Reddit.

The Wanderer: Kinda? It depends on which version you're talking to.

Ronnie R101: I'm super glad everyone liked Naoko's scene with Subaru. Glad to see you're a fan of both Beatrice and any other Spirit that shows up, too. And yeah, I like being up to schedule with all of my work. See you later!

Chuck B. Winanaki: Hooray for family closure! Subaru has a knack for making friends with very dangerous people. Beatrice will always be protective of her contractor. Also, considering I currently have a cold, I can relate to Elsa SO MUCH. Jokes aside, Subaru is pretty dang smart. But in terms of family, I know Subaru has a knack for getting any woman he wants, considering he has a daughter with Elsa somewhere in the multiverse, so a Spirit/human hybrid may not be that far off. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Razvanzzz: I have been very tempted to have them react to any Subaru x Reinhard fic, but I really don't have anywhere to place them. A shame, really. Such a shame.

Dhiraj: If I remember correctly, that's a fic based on the Pride If, right?

Wally991: Yeah, the last chapter was pretty chill. And I really mean it, after this chapter, there will be no more appearances from Theresia, outside of references from the Cast.

Commissar Gaunt: CORRECT! And unfortunately, Subaru only had one chance to save everyone when it came to his bet with Roswaal, so while it is a shame that Elsa died, what's done is done, and it can't really be changed at this point.

ralts konet: Well, if you read this, you know how malleable this new Authority is.

5queso: Yeah, Subaru's love life is the butt of many jokes. Anyways, the last chapter may have been kind of gory, but thankfully, the only person who died was Capella!

Junsuina Tamashi: Didn't we already have this discussion?

Guest #2: Actually, I never thought of it. And even if I wanted to add it, it's incomplete, and there's a bunch of other fics where Subaru's past origins were revealed.

Deathenglegamers1144: Calling Subaru a "saint" is a new one, I'll give you that. And I don't really subscribe to the whole "anyone can be redeemed" thing, I'm more for the whole "there are just some people that can't be saved" philosophy.

nekoshiroinu: I've never read any of them, so, I can't.

Jpx0999: Yes, Naoko is totally adopting Meili.

Pryd: Al can relate to everyone's inner perv. Hope you liked this chapter!

R-king 93: Awesome comment.

Raider301: What was the original question, again?

Anthonyl6892: Nope! Beatrice, much like everyone else, shall SUFFER.

Pyruus: That's good to hear!

Gomy_el_camaleon: Glad you liked the previous chapter!

Claudespeed123: Yeah, Ram is busy trying to figure out what she wants out of life. Fair warning, though, she'll probably have a larger speaking role in the next chapter.

Wolfx88: Yeah, I always wanted it to be as long as a typical anime season of thirteen episodes, along with the introductory and epilogue chapters. So, fifteen in total.

ArcRayREI: The Priscillas in this series have totally mellowed out, but considering they don't know who Louis is, that part of your gag may have fallen falt.

SenSlice: I hope you liked this chapter.

Imperius: Yeah, there is a market for villains getting redeemed in different pieces of media. But yeah, most of the Sin Archbishops are too far gone, considering they were horrible people before being recruited by Pandora. The only ones I can see getting redeemed are Petelguese, Sirius, and Louis, for various different reasons.

leymax2021: I have never heard of that one before.

iSynthesia: Hehehe… funny you should mention that…

Day: I already gave my answer to that in the sister chapter.

IsseixAtalanta77: No, and you'll find out why in the next chapter!

Hell: NO.

But before I continue, I have an announcement to make: I'll be taking another hiatus to relax and write up the last four chapters. The new semester has started, so I can't work on them as fast as I can, so I'm afraid I can't finish them right now like I wanted to, sorry! So, both versions of "Re: Tales from the Multiverse" will return on March 2nd! Hope you'll all be patient for the ACTUAL final wave this time, I promise!

Now that that's out of the way, a special thanks to Infinite the Celestain for helping me in making this story, and for being an all-around great guy! If you want to join my Discord server, the link is /ajQ3Gpb5. You can chat with others, post memes and fanfic recommendations and prompts, role play, and fan art, and I'll drop by with announcements and chat with you all every now and then! And for the love of God, PLEASE FOLLOW THE RULES! If you can't, then don't join, seriously. If you want to add me as a friend, my username is Ernalore#8663! I also have an Instagram where I post my art, called "ernalore_aka_the_writer," so if you wanna check it out, please do!

Thanks for reading, see you next time!

- Ernalore

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Next time:

What if Pandora left everyone alone?

OR

What if Pandora and Subaru Natsuki had a tea party?