Hello. This is your pal, Jude Warble.
Important Note: I will not repeat the Deaths of characters on each Solo, Duo or Trio Ending because it will just consume the plotline and it would be a useless repeat. Just so you all know.
And with that out of the way, please enjoy this fanfic, and as always, stay breezy!
Unknown Location
"Holy Mother of Emeralds..."
"Indeed"
Shadow's eyes twitched upon seeing the dinner table, with Luce, who was usually smiling no matter what, grew pale upon seeing the horrid site.
A huge pot having what appeared to be porridge, but it was black and one could swear that there was something moving in it, and as Lang said previously, cans filled with beans and spaghetti was filling the table.
Christmas in a dumpster, was all that Shadow could think.
"Where's the turkey?" Maia asked while looking at the table with a deadpan expression, only for Silver to place a huge plate that held something that appeared to be a mix of a pot and a bag, but it appeared to take the shape of a bird, nevertheless. The mere sight of it caused Blaze to sigh in frustration.
"What is that?" Capella asked.
"Tofurky!" Silver answered excitedly.
"What?! That's not the bird!" Maia yelled, a vein popping out on her forehead.
"I don't wanna celebrate the holiday by harming innocent animals" Silver reasoned, only for everyone, except for Shadow to flinch upon seeing Maia taking out her twin blades and stabbing them onto the dinner table, gritting her teeth with a comical angry expression on her face as she glared at Silver.
"I'll show you about harming innocent animals if I don't see any skin, bones and MEAT!" Maia yelled and was about to lunge at Silver, only for Lavi to come to the rescue, positioning himself between Silver and Maia before the latter could shred the former to shreds.
"Come on, Maia-san. We all agreed that Silver-san would make the Christmas meal. Let's respect his wishes and give it a try" Lavi said to Maia, trying to calm him down.
"Yeah. It can't be that bad" Sonic said before placing a spoonful of that black porridge in his mouth. However, the moment the spoon touched his tongue, his eyes grew wide and his pupils shrunk into his sclera.
"My life has no purpose...And I have never been good" The blue hedgehog thought. Shadow chuckled lightly at this. Probably the food was so dangerous that it affected Sonic's emotions and perception.
Truly, a dangerous weapon.
"This is good..." Aleena said, her lips quivering as the food assaulted her taste buds badly, but she tried to be nice to Silver, even if it meant lying.
"Lang-kun! W-What happened to you?!" Banny asked in horror, seeing Lang cuddled on the ground inside the kitchen's wardrobe while hugging his knees and sucking on his thumb, moaning occasionally with tears falling down his wide eyes.
"Holy shit" Shadow thought. He was really now afraid of Silver.
"Ugh! These biscuits are harder than rocks!" Kaguya exclaimed with anger apparent on her face, having taken a bite of Silver's cookies, only for a tooth of hers to break. This actually amused Shadow, as Kaguya was a person that rarely showed any kind of emotion.
"As long as the biscuits gets a butter on it" Eggman's mother said, swinging her knife that was laced with butter on a single biscuit, before chomping on it, not caring that she had to visit the dentist later on to get a new denturist set.
An hour later after dinner, everyone sat in the living room, exchanging the gifts that Silver bought. But their mood was very sore, especially after the sore experience they had. The only one that wasn't present was Lang, who was still in his fetus position inside the kitchen wardrobe, muttering under his breath like a broken doll.
Truly, a Christmas that will never be forgotten.
"Oh! I forgot a present. I'll be right back" Silver said before entering one of the rooms in the house. At that moment, everyone began to speak.
"What genius decided to spend Christmas in here?! It sure wasn't me! This was a terrible idea!" Eggman growled.
"There's a sticky paaaatch on the floooooooor. It made my feet stuck to the flooooooor. I couldn't attend dinner with you guuuuuuuys" Roswaal said with his signature smile breaking slowly under the pressure.
"...Now THAT is what I call a true Christmas present" Shadow said with a small grin on his face.
"There's a war inside my stomach because of that Tofurky thing that Whittie made us eat!" Maia growled while holding her stomach with both hands.
"Philo-chan...Thought that she could settle for those canned beans...But she was wrong..." Philo said, before gasping while holding her mouth, before making a mad dash towards the bathroom, where hurling sounds were heard shortly afterwards.
"Silver's cookies...Just make me wanna...Puke!" Lang's muffled voice could be heard from the kitchen.
"Hush you guys! He might hear you!" Claudia said, trying to tell the others to be quiet.
"He singlehandedly ruined my streak of perfect holiday meals!" Lang exclaimed while crying and releasing tears from his eyes.
"I'm the one who taught you how to cook, so technically, MY perfect holiday meals" Shadow thought with a deadpan expression on his face.
"I would rather spend Christmas in Eggman's dungeon!" Knuckles exclaimed, and at that time, Silver had just exited the room with a present box in hand, his eyes then widened at hearing those words.
"If Silver ever comes to Christmas again, I'm staying home" Katelyn said, before everyone heard the sound of sobbing. Turning around, they saw Silver with tears in his eyes, before his sobbing turning to fully blown crying, followed by him running out of the house, slamming the door behind him.
Everyone was silent for a few seconds, before Sonic and Shadow broke the silence.
"Seriously..." Shadow grumbled.
"Nice job, guys" Sonic followed with an annoyed expression directed towards everyone. He then went and picked the present box that Silver dropped. It had a ticket attached to it that had the following words written on it:
'To: Sonic. Love: Silver'
This made Sonic and Shadow look at each other, before sighing. They then exited the house, and walked towards Silver, who was sitting on a nearby bench, crying his eyes out.
All the while, Shadow was internally asking himself the same question.
"Can somebody tell me what the fuck is happening now?!"
At the same time. Mount Cordor
"We did it! All three of us!"
"That was...The strangest adventure that I've ever been part of"
"So many deaths 'cause of tha'creatcha. Ma' amazin' self doesn't know whadda do now..."
Otto, Heinkel and Garfiel released sighs of relief upon entering into the grounds of Mount Cordor, glad that the nightmare was over. And as the three stared at the close-to-set sun, they contemplated on their current predicament.
"Don't give up! We know...This is a hidden spot!" Otto exclaimed with a confident smile.
"Yeah, of course...THIS is a hidden spot"
"?!"
And the familiar voice shattered all of their hope, as Subaru EXE appeared in a small, brief flash of light, standing in front of the three males.
"What? But how? Three of us are alive!" Heinkel said in a mixture of shock and horror, before he saw a new existence appear out of thin air.
It was what appeared to be a maid, but her blonde hair was almost brown, with her jade green eyes becoming blood red irises with black sclera, and her right eye was completely gone, being covered by a long streak of stitches that ran from her right eyebrow, traveling onto her right cheek and all down to the right side of her chin.
"I guess you forgot about the girls" Subaru EXE said.
"Frederica-san?!" Otto exclaimed the maid's name in shock.
"Nee-chan?! What da heck didya do t' Nee-chan, ya bastard?!" Garfiel yelled his question in rage.
"No, this can't be happening!" Otto yelled with his eyes wide in shock, grief and disbelief.
"Deja Vu didn't work for you this time, huh?" Subaru EXE asked in a mocking manner.
"Deja Vu? Th'heck ya talkin' 'bout?!" Garfiel yelled, his angry voice was now laced with sobs at seeing his sister's reanimated corpse in front of him.
"Oh jeez...Deja Vu helped you three to survive. Some small fragments of memory are still inside your braindead heads. I guess you can handle it..." The abomination said, before the three males saw Subaru EXE teleporting away, leaving Frederica EXE there with them, who immediately transformed her hands to large brown fur-colored claws. Garfiel, how was the one that was most devastated by his sister's Death, with Otto racing him into that position of grief, gritted his teeth, before he reached for Heinkel.
"Go away, Grump Astrea!"
"?!"
And before Heinkel could even react, Garfiel grabbed him by the collar and threw him away from both him and Otto. Heinkel then landed on another side of the mountain while making sure that his back would hit the ground the moment he landed to protect his comatose wife, and not a few seconds later, Frederica EXE appeared in a white flash in front of him, holding the bloodied, decapitated heads of Otto and Garfiel. This caused Heinkel to stand straight and place his hand on the sword on his waist.
"I guess...It's only you and me, Frederica" Heinkel said.
"I'm not that powerless girl that I used to be...The one that you stole everything from" Frederica EXE said.
"I see...But I suppose that I have to leave you" Heinkel said, before yelling out.
"Shamak!"
"?!"
A massive cloud of smoke erupted from Heinkel, covering the mountain top. He then took this as chance to run away from his assaulter, albeit his assaulter didn't budge from her place.
"Exeller will get you, anyway" Frederica EXE said while crossing her arms, still engulfed in the cloud of Yin Magic that had absolutely no effect on her.
Kremaldy Forest. Daytime
Sitting on the grassy ground with their backs supported by a tree, Petra and Lucas were resting. Lucas looked pretty calm, but Petra was extremely anxious.
What had she just witnessed? What happened to her mother and father? Was it true what that creature that was trying to molest her had said? That her parents were killed by it? What happened to Lucas and why did he look like that? What was he doing even in Irlam when he was supposed to be with his family in The Sanctuary?
"Lucas...What were you doing in the village?" Petra asked, not caring that her question came out in a rude way due to the fact that her heart was still pounding from Fear ever since the time that she escaped within an inch of her life from that creature.
"Me and my parents returned to the village because a Knight from the Royal Guard requested some denizens of the village to take some testimonies from them regarding the incident of the weird Witch Cultist that summoned that entity that placed Shadow-sama into a coma. They then chose me and my parents for some reason. When we entered the village, that blue creature that was trying to kill you slaughtered my father and then violated my mother in the most gruesome way possible, before killing her. He then stabbed me in the chest and left me to die, but for some reason, It seems that he placed some sort of a power inside of me. When I sensed you in the village, I rushed immediately to the rescue and here we are" Lucas explained, causing Petra's eyes to widen in horror, placing a palm in her mouth.
"Lucas...I'm so sorry..." She muttered in Sadness, to which Lucas smiled weakly at her before shaking his head slowly.
"It's fine, Petra. You haven't done anything wrong to me. It's not your fault. However, if I have to complain about something, it would be that I actually feel awfully calm about this situation. Ever since that...Thing...Cursed me, and I felt that the idea of Death is considered irrelevant to me" Lucas said, opting a downcast expression on his face.
"Cursed? How so?" Petra asked in concern, before watching as Lucas stared at his left arm that was gray in color and had veins pulsing rapidly in it.
"Ever since that thing stabbed me and gave me this power, and I have been feeling constant pain. The pain even increases by the second, and it hasn't been half a day ever since I acquired it" Lucas said, before sighing. He then stood up and dusted his clothes.
"Let's go, Petra. I don't think that this creature will stay put" He said, causing Petra to stand up and dust herself as well.
"Yes. Let us depart" She said before she followed Lucas, who proceeded to float a few inches away from the ground, where she walked behind him through the forest.
Kremaldy Forest. Nighttime
For hours, both Lucas and Petra traversed through the Kremaldy Forest, trying to find the lead to The Sanctuary.
Through the journey, Petra's head was completely scrambled. How couldn't it be? Nobody can blame her. Her parents got killed, someone tried to kill for reasons unknown and her childhood friend was subjected to a curse that causes him constant pain. It was too overwhelming for a 12-year-old child.
"Hm? What's happening?" She was snapped out from her thoughts when she felt the world getting darker. Looking up, she noticed that the clouds suddenly darkened. It seems that it was going to rain. It was sure to appear to be a gloomy day-
Wait.
How would that even happen? They were in the Red-sun season, which, in Subaru's own naming sense, was the season of Summer. This was the season where rain wasn't supposed to fall. It was illogical for that to happen.
Suddenly, Petra gasped as she saw Lucas falling face-first to the ground, twisting in pain as sweat ran down his entire body.
"Lucas! What's going on?!" She asked him in shock and worry, but all she got in response was Lucas' pained groans as the boy tightly hugged himself with his arms, desperately trying to stop the pain from growing, but in vain.
"She has to be somewhere there!"
"?!"
And as if her body had a mind of its own, upon hearing the familiar voice, Petra immediately hid inside a bush and pulled Lucas as well inside it, as she saw Execun flying above them.
"Exeller felt her here, and she is not alone. Forget about screwing her brains out. Let's just find and kill her. I'm getting sick of this place" Execun groaned, trying to look for Petra.
Said girl had her eyes widened and pupils shrunken as tightly clamped her mouth with both of her hands, trying to desperately not make any sound so that Execun won't catch both her and Lucas.
"Pet...ra..." Lucas whispered in a pained voice, causing Petra, who was still wide-eyed in Fear and horror, to cast her still wide eyes at him, still covering her mouth with her hands.
"You have...To get out of...Here..." Lucas whispered.
"No...I can't leave without you" Petra whispered back, taking her hands off her mouth to answer.
"Leave me, Petra...I'm done for...You must survive...For me...And everyone else..." Lucas still fought back against Petra's objection to his order, and in response, Petra shook her head rapidly in protest.
"Go, Petra...Please...I lost my parents...But I can't afford to lose you...Don't worry about me...Just worry...About yourself...You have to survive...Please..." He whispered to her, before groaning in pain as he tightened his grip on his sides with his arms.
Petra just stared at him wide-eyed. As much as she wanted to deny it, Lucas was right. Since as of now, he was completely disabled. Whatever power that he used a few hours ago is now unavailable due to the curse eating away at his body, and Petra couldn't take him with her, because he will weigh her down, preventing her from escaping from that monster. But at the same time, she didn't want to leave her childhood friend alone. If left there, she couldn't imagine what will the creature do to him.
"N-No! I won't leave you! I will help you Lucas!" Petra exclaimed quietly, and Lucas, who was already tired from fighting off the pain of the curse, silently succumbed to Petra's resolve, to which Petra proceeded to lift Lucas up on her back, before crawling in the bushes.
She made her way towards Elior Forest, careful not to get detected by those two horrid creatures that were coming for their lives. An hour later, by hiding in the bushes while timing her movements, as well as taking Subaru's stealth training to heart by silencing her movements and lowering the sound of her breathing, Petra managed to get to the other side safely, successfully reaching Elior Forest, and within the snow-filled forest, Petra immediately hid herself and Lucas behind the nearest tree to herself as Execun was seen flying around the perimeter of the forest.
"Grr...She was here. No no...She couldn't just escape from here! Exeller will erase me! I have to find her!" Execun growled in anger, looking left and right, and a few minutes of floating around passed, before Execun left Elior Forest. At the same time he did so, Lucas growled and woke up.
"Petra. You...You saved me?" He asked, slightly stunned at this.
"Yes. I know that it was dangerous, and I understand how you wanted me to save myself and disregard you. My mother taught me to avoid anything dangerous, but she also taught me to help others in need" Petra said, which in turn caused Lucas to smile brightly at her, despite half of his face being surrounded by dark brown pulsating veins.
"Heh...I forgot how kind you are, Petra. Thanks a lot for saving me" He said, which made Petra crack a small smile on her face.
"It's alright. I just thought that if I lost my friend, I'll just...Lose Hope" She said.
"When someone loses Hope, they can make terrible things. I'm glad you saved me, Petra" Lucas said.
"I just hope that my friends are okay. I know they are. Ram-neesama maybe a slacker, but I do know that she is more than capable of doing anything when she sets her mind on it. And Frederica-neesama...Hehehe...She's the bravest person I've ever seen...She has her own fears, but I'm sure that she will overcome them" Petra said while giggling as the pictures of those two women appeared in her mind.
"Oh! And Otto-sama, Subaru-sama and Shadow-sama! They're best friends! And they're incredible, smart, brave and...And..." Petra was losing her breath from excitedly speaking about her friends and loved ones.
"You seem to dearly love those people. I understand that they love you back as much as you love them" Lucas said.
"I just hope that they're alive. That's all. Anyways, it seems that we entered Elior Forest instead of the Sanctuary? What should we do? Should we go back to the direction of the Sanctuary?" Petra suggested, causing Lucas to shake his head.
"No. Those creatures are still looking for us, so the best we could do is to take a U-Turn from Costuul and then head to Fleur. I'm sure we can ask for a Dragon Carriage there to take us to the Sanctuary if you brought out Roswaal-sama's name to them. The Capital city would be a bad idea. I think that this creature had already thought about the possibility of us being there" Lucas said.
"I see. Alright. Let's move now or else they might catch us" Petra said, before she and Lucas proceeded to make their way to Fleur.
A few hours later. Hanumas. Nighttime
"Hah...Hah...Fucking bastard...Can't believe...Hah...That I ran all the way...Hah...Hah...From Mount Cordor to Hanumas on foot..."
Heinkel gasped for breath while holding his wife on his shoulder. He couldn't believe that the adrenaline in his body was so high that he ran straight for what seemed to be six or seven hours down the mountain and straight to Hanumas.
Frankly, his life depended on it, so...
"Okay...Trying to go to the Mathers Domain from here looks like suicide, and Hakchuri city is just the same, so...I think that I must head to Fleur town, then to the Capital so that I can ask for assistance. Hopefully Carol and Grimm are alright..." Heinkel said before gritting his teeth upon remembering the sore memory of yesterday.
"I think that...I have to find an excuse regarding Grassis and Flam..." He muttered before looking at his still sleeping wife that was hoisted on his shoulder. Despite the rough events that he had been through, Louanna wasn't feeling any kind of discomfort judging by her calm sleeping face.
"Sorry, Louanna...Please bear with me" Heinkel said, even though he knew that he won't have an answer back.
Taking a deep breath, Heinkel sprinted towards the town of Fleur.
A few hours later. Fleur
"Hah...Alright...I've reached Fleur..."
Heinkel panted heavily with his face completely flushed and his body was literally bathing in sweat.
"I must find a Dragon Carriage to the Capital" He said as he walked through the town. Heinkel knew Fleur very well. It was a town well-known to have markets for hiring Dragon Carriages here and there. Lots of travelers and merchants come specifically to Fleur since it was a stopover town located in the north-east of the Capital. Lugunica was known to gather lots of merchants and adventurers from not only the other three Great Countries, but also from the other small countries surrounding the Four Great Countries.
There was also the factor that the Divine Dragon had placed the prophecy of the Royal Candidates, and the Sage Council took this chance to expand the influence of Lugunica by using the prophecy placed by the Dragon to intentionally attract adventurers and merchants from all around the world in order to increase their economic activity.
Heinkel clicked his tongue at this. He already knew that he was the last person to ever be annoyed by that thought, but it didn't take a wiser to acknowledge the fact that they were literally in war. He knew about the fact that Bordeaux Zellgef was doing shady stuff under the nose of the Kingdom, using the power of a secret organization called the Six Tongues. Currently, no one, not even Heinkel, let alone Marcos himself, knew anything about that organization. Only Heinkel knew about it in name only, but no one knew what its purpose and goal was. However, Heinkel knew Bordeaux, and he knew that he was one scheming bastard, who simply did whatever he desired, under the name of 'For the sake of the Kingdom'.
Honestly, Heinkel stayed silent, but he was so close to hurling from disgust. He had to admit that the white-haired boy and the black-haired man were right in every word that they said back then in the Royal Palace.
Shaking his head at the memory, Heinkel marched with his comatose wife still on his shoulder, walking through the streets of the town.
His eyes then suddenly caught the sight of a familiar figure that was on its knees, sobbing in front of the corpse of what appeared to be a little kid.
"Huh? Isn't that one of Roswaal's maids?" Heinkel asked himself as he marched towards the little maid.
Flashback. A few minutes ago
As both of them finally reached the city of Fleur, Lucas suddenly gasped and stopped in his advance, causing Petra to stop as well, noticing her friend gasping for breath before he fell to his knees.
"Lucas? What's wrong?" Petra asked in worry.
"It seems...That this creature...Is trying to...Trying to..." Lucas was struggling to take the words out from his mouth as the veins surrounding now enveloped his left half completely, pulsating rapidly, faster than even his heartbeat.
"What? What's happening?" Petra asked him once again, even more worried. It was then when Lucas flashed a weak smile towards Petra.
"I'm sorry, Petra...You'll have to...Continue to survive...Without me..." Lucas muttered out, causing Petra's eyes to widen in shock and Fear.
"What?! No! I didn't save you so that I would watch you die! We started this together, and we end this together, Lucas!" Petra said, glaring at Lucas.
"Sorry, Petra...But this time...You'll have to leave me...Please...We don't have a choice or even the time to think about this..." Lucas pleaded, but it seemed to him that Petra was not relenting, which in turn caused him to sigh.
"I'm sorry, Petra..." He muttered, before suddenly, a dome of Earth surrounded Lucas as he invoked Earth Magic to cast an Ul Dona around himself. This made Petra gasp as she reached for the dome and screamed out to Lucas.
"Lucas! What are you doing?! Release your magic now!" She yelled to him.
"Petra...I...I don't want to hurt you, but I'm losing control of myself, so if you won't kill me or leave me behind...Then I'll just have to kill myself then" Lucas said.
"No! Please! There must be another way! Lucas, I'm begging you! Don't do that!" Petra yelled, tears starting to fall from her eyes.
"Thank you, Petra...You're such a wonderful person...I'm glad that I was your childhood friend..." Lucas said, his voice now laced with sobs, before suddenly, Petra could hear the sound of flesh being torn and pierced through, and a few seconds later, the Earth dome collapsed, revealing that Lucas impaled his entire body with Earth spikes, before falling motionlessly on the ground, which in turn made Petra fall to her knees, her tears falling to the ground as she looked at Lucas' mangled corpse.
"It wasn't...*hic*...Supposed to be like this...*hic*...We're just kids...Why...Why do we have to...*hic*...Go through such an ordeal...?" Petra asked the one question that she knew very well that she won't have an answer to, no matter how much she asked.
Flashback End
"You...I remember you...You're one of Roswaal's maids...What are you doing here?"
"?!"
Looking behind her from the corner of her eye, Petra blinked through her tears to see Heinkel Astrea, holding a rather beautiful blonde woman in his arms, while looking at her while breathing and sweating heavily.
"Heinkel-sama...I...I came here with my childhood friend, Lucas. We tried to escape from those weird creatures that were trying to kill us, but Lucas...He...He..." Petra couldn't find the energy to finish her words, as what happened a few minutes ago was still tearing her heart as she was speaking.
Heinkel didn't need to ask at all. He just looked with Sorrow and sympathy at the mangled corpse of Lucas, and he understood what Petra meant. He didn't know why the kid killed himself, but there must have been a reason. What came to Heinkel's mind was that the kid, judging by the weird large veins that engulfed half of his body, was cursed, and this curse was going to make him harm, or at worst, kill Petra. So, with what little control he had over his mind, he killed himself to protect Petra from himself.
The Sword Saint's father sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds, mourning a kid that truly gained his respect, despite having not known him, but surely enough, someone who did what Lucas did deserve absolute respect and admiration.
"Hm?" Heinkel then blinked after opening his eyes, noticing a red shining object in Lucas's pocket. He then gently placed Louanna on the ground beside Petra, before he reached for Lucas' corpse for the shining object, only to take it out and see that it was a fist-sized red gem. Heinkel blinked upon realizing the familiar sensation that the gem gave.
"That's...One of those gems that hold massive power. The same one as that huge green gem that I saw back then" He said while inspecting the gem. He then sighed before pocketing the gem in his pants' pocket, before he walked to Louanna and picked her up. He then looked at Petra, who was still on her knees, sobbing her eyes out.
"Come with me, kid. If you want to live, that is" Heinkel said. Obviously, he couldn't leave the little maid alone. That creature was indeed after them. He had already killed Otto, Garfiel and that Beast-Human Maid of Roswaal's maids and judging by the fact that Petra was also one of Roswaal's maid, then there's bound to be a connection, meaning that this creature is also after Petra's head, not only his head.
He couldn't leave her alone. He already left his son and threw away his chance with him, looking at his childhood as it faded away from his hands.
Heinkel gritted his teeth. He will survive, and he will apologize to his son. He won't die. Never.
"F-Fine..." Petra said before standing up and proceeded to follow Heinkel. However, she stopped and looked at Lucas' corpse, and this made Heinkel turn around, having not heard Petra's footsteps behind him.
"Hey, kid. We have to hurry. We must fetch a Dragon Carriage to the Capital. They'll surely help us there" Heinkel said, causing Petra to look at him with her sobbing face.
"I-I'm sorry...But please...Can we at least...Bury Lucas? I can't leave him like...That..." Petra said, causing Heinkel to look at her with narrowed, sad eyes, before he suddenly saw his son as a five-year-old, wearing a simple white T-shirt and brown shorts, in the place of Petra, standing and crying while looking at him.
"I'm sorry, Father...It's my fault that Honored Grandmother died...It's my fault that Honored Grandfather hates you...I'm...I'm a monster..."
He gritted his teeth at this bitter, awful memory. He couldn't believe what he did to his son. Shuning him away, where he was the one who should have sheltered him from the entire world, but his Grief and Despair over the possibility that his wife would never wake up had blinded him, and made him shift the blame on Reinhard, his own son, his flesh and blood.
If only he was brave enough...If only he rejected his 'Mother's Intuition'...If only he was a better father...
"I will survive...I will apologize to Reinhard...Even if he doesn't accept it...I will apologize to him even more, and I won't stop...Even if he cuts me down after I apologize...I'll just be glad that I said it to him..." He thought, before sighing.
"...Very well, but let's make it quick" He said to Petra, before placing Louanna on one of his shoulders. He then walked towards Lucas' corpse, then picked the mangled corpse in his arms, before they went to a corner of one of the shops.
Heinkel then placed Lucas on the ground, before gently placing Louanna as well on the ground. He then marched to one of the shops, plugging his nose as the putrid smell of blood assaulted his nostrils. He wasn't surprised, as he somehow remembered that this happened before. He didn't know why, but he felt an awkwardly familiar sense of Deja Vu, and it shocked him.
But that wasn't important right now. He had a task, and he must fulfill it.
Looking around, Heinkel then found the item he needed: A shovel. He then proceeded to take it and exit the shop, taking a deep breath out from the air outside, before returning to where Petra was waiting, finding her cleaning Lucas' mangled corpse with a wet cloth. Looking closely, Heinkel saw a part of her dress being torn, indicating that Petra tore a part of her maid outfit and soaked it in water from a nearby water well to clean Lucas' corpse before they bury him.
And as Petra was busy cleaning the corpse, Heinkel proceeded to dig a hole in the ground, and a few minutes later, Petra finished cleaning Lucas' corpse, before nodding to Heinkel, who proceeded to carry the corpse of Lucas, before gently placing it in the hole. He then picked the shovel once again, and started to fill it with the dirt he dug out, and a few minutes later, Lucas was completely buried, all while Petra was watching with tears falling from her eyes.
She then saw as Heinkel picked a nearby flat rock and then stabbed it on top of the burial site of Lucas. He then remembered Petra telling him her name, which made him take a nearby sharp rock and engrave the kid's name on it, before adding some words on it.
'Lucas. A young and brave young man'
He then stood up, picked Louanna up in his arms, and ushered for Petra to follow him. Petra stopped, looked one last time on the tombstone where Lucas was buried, before waving goodbye to her deceased childhood friend, before following Heinkel.
A few minutes later
"Alright. We managed to find a Dragon Carriage and an Earth Dragon to boot. Lucky us"
Heinkel sighed in relief upon readying the Dragon Carriage, with Petra entering the Carriage, sitting next to Louanna who lied peacefully on the platform of the carriage, blissfully unaware of the carnage that was spreading around her.
"Heinkel-sama...Who is this woman?" Petra asked as Heinkel was fastening the harnesses of the carriage.
"Huh? Oh...That's my wife" Heinkel answered.
"Why is she...Asleep?" Petra asked, confused that despite all of the commotion that they were in, Louanna didn't even steer from her sleep.
"Well...She's affected with a disease that makes her unable to wake up. It's been already seventeen years, and she hasn't woken up" Heinkel answered once again, before he climbed the carriage and sat on the seat of the driver.
"Oh...I'm sorry..." Petra muttered, but Heinkel shrugged his shoulders at her.
"It's okay, kid. You didn't know..." Heinkel said, before sighing out, wiping the sweat that accumulated on his forehead.
"But we are indeed lucky to have found a Dragon Carriage..." Heinkel muttered.
"Lucky? I would argue with that"
"?!"
Petra immediately jumped to her feet upon hearing the familiar voice and Heinkel's eyes widened as they looked behind them to see Execun grinning like a maniac while glaring at them.
"Hang on tight, kid!" Heinkel exclaimed, before wiping the leash of the Earth Dragon, causing it to run as fast it could, its Divine Protection of Wind Evasion activating instantly, running as fast as it could, with Execun giving chase.
"You're mine, brat!" Execun exclaimed, extending his hand towards Petra with a face that held a mixture of bloodlust and pure sexual Lust. Petra gritted her teeth at this, before jumping and delivering a dropkick to Execun's face, causing the abomination to grunt as the impact sent him back.
"You piece of shit! I'm gonna mangle your corpse as I fuck you and that Astrea's Sleeping Beauty!" Execun exclaimed, speeding up his pursuit.
"Heinkel-sama! He's going to catch us!" Petra yelled in Fear, causing Heinkel to grit his teeth.
"Hold on to the leash, kid! At least for a few seconds! Can you do that?!" Heinkel asked Petra, who without hesitation, nodded, before hoping in Heinkel's place on the driver seat. Heinkel immediately jumped up and a blue hue surrounded his form. His Rune Stone Skill activating on instinct due to his rage building up as Execun was moments from snatching Louanna in his clawed arms.
Heinkel then threw a sucker punch right in the middle of Execun's face, causing the abomination to grunt in pain, and was about to be sent flying from the impact, only for Heinkel to grab him with his free hand, before proceeding to pummel him.
"STAY. AWAY. FROM. MY. WIFE!"
With each word, Heinkel threw a punch laced with the glowing blue energy surrounding him. For some reason, Execun couldn't regenerate, and he felt as if his conceptual existence was being erased with each strike.
A few strikes and he will be even erased to the point that not even Exeller would be able to recreate him.
Execun then swung his free claw at Heinkel, forcing the Astrea to release the creature from his vice grip to dodge the attack. Execun then stretched his arm like rubber before launching it at Heinkel, only for Heinkel to dodge to the side and grab the arm, before it could graze Petra's back. He then pulled Execun back, and right upon the abomination coming within Heinkel's reach, the Astrea delivered an explosive headbutt to him, causing a shockwave to resonate from the point of impact, which shook the carriage, but Petra was able to hang tightly on the leash of the Earth Dragon to not fall off. As for Execun, he roared in pain as he was sent flying, shortly being reduced into a mass of blue glitter as his form was erased from existence, never to return again after that last hit.
"Alright. We should be safe for now..." Heinkel muttered, before checking on Louanna, sighing in relief shortly afterwards upon seeing that not a single scratch was found on her body. He then quickly returned to Petra, and took the leash from her, making her sigh in relief as well before retreating back to the inside of the carriage as the duo made their way safely to the Capital city.
An hour later. Capital city gates
"Do you think that we've escaped? He...He's still behind, right?"
"I destroyed him. He's dead for good"
Heinkel assured Petra with his words, causing her to release a breath she didn't know that she was holding.
They were now in front of the Capital city gates, and they were a few steps away from entering when suddenly...
"Well, even if you didn't destroy him, I was going to tell him to stop following you"
"?!"
Petra's heart almost sunk down to her feet, with Heinkel's face stiffening as he slowly placed Louanna, supporting her body with the wall of the Capital city, causing her to be placed in a sitting position, as they saw Subaru EXE casually flying towards them, before landing on his feet on the ground, grinning at them mockingly.
"You pesky, little...We've already survived! And you can't do anything to us!" Heinkel roared out, trying to bid his time.
Anything until anyone in the Capital notices the commotion and lets them in.
"Oh? Is that so? Hey, if you're trying to buy some time, then it's useless. I already killed everyone in the Capital" Subaru EXE said, causing Heinkel's eyes to widen in shock and horror, as their sliver of Hope was cut down.
Coming to the Capital...Was a very, VERY bad idea.
"W-Why are you doing this? You killed our friends and families..." Petra asked with a face filled with Despair.
"Oh? Do you want to join them? Very well!"
"?!"
Time seemed to slow down for Heinkel as Subaru EXE fired an energy ball towards Petra, and before his mind could process anything, his body moved on its own...
"..."
...And positioned him in front of Petra.
As for Petra, she closed her eyes, awaiting to embrace Death. She wanted it quick and swift so that she won't feel any pain, but after a few seconds, it never came, and this caused her to slowly open her eyes...
"?!"
...Only for her eyes to widen and her hands to be placed on her mouth, as she could see Subaru EXE's grinning face...Right through the smoking hole that found itself in Heinkel's torso.
A few seconds after she opened her eyes, Petra saw as Heinkel fell on his back, which caused her to fall to her knees and look at the Astrea, tears falling down her eyes and on his face.
"Why...?" She muttered her question, which caused Heinkel to give her a weak smile as his face was growing even paler by the second due to the rapid loss of blood that quickly formed a pool of said liquid underneath him.
"Kid...Tell me son...And my wife...That I'm...Sorry..." Heinkel whispered those last words, before his eyes completely lost the Life in them, staring aimlessly above him, leaving Petra to sob on his corpse.
"Boo hoo...The shitty father is dead. Well, I suppose that he did everyone around him a favor with his Death" Subaru EXE said with a mocking grin.
"He...He was a true hero...He had a son and a wife...And you broke them apart..." Petra whispered in between her sobs, not lifting her eyes off the lifeless Heinkel.
"Ugh...Now that you mention it, I don't want the Sword Saint biting onto my ass while I'm still in this state of power..." Subaru EXE growled, before his grin returned back to his face. He then walked casually towards Petra and stood in front of her, with the girl not even averting her eyes from the sight of the dead Heinkel, still sobbing openly, not caring that Death came to her.
"Well, you should blame that shitty father for that. He was the one that triggered me. Now then, why don't you let me kill you quickly?" Subaru EXE asked, but wasn't waiting for an answer as he placed his opened palm above Petra's head, a crimson energy ball started to form. However, before he could fire it...
"W-What?!"
"?!"
His chest suddenly erupted in white light, before the light engulfed the whole world in a few seconds, with a couple of words that echoed into oblivion being the sign that this timeline reached its end.
"I want them to live..."
Memory Fragment File #19
"Ah!"
"Huh? Watch it, kid"
Petra, who was afraid to be scolded and be late from Frederica, suddenly bumped into Heinkel, causing her to fall on her rear.
"Oww...I'm so sorry, Heinkel-sama" She said, before standing up and dusting herself. She then gave Heinkel a salute.
"I didn't know that you would be visiting us, Heinkel-sama. Would you like something to drink?" Petra asked, something typical of any maid.
"Nah...I just want to meet Roswaal L Mathers for something urgent. The Beast-Human maid offered me some tea, though, but your master is nowhere to be found" Heinkel said, sighing in frustration, before gazing at Petra, causing her to blink.
"What's wrong, Heinkel-sama?" Petra asked in confusion.
"Oh. Nothing. You...Just reminded me of my son" Heinkel answered, causing Petra to blink at that answer.
"You mean the Sword Saint Reinhard-sama? But I'm thirteen, sir, and Reinhard-sama is approaching twenty years of age" Petra answered.
"I meant when he was your age, kid" Heinkel said while scratching the back of his head.
"He must love you so much, Heinkel-sama" Petra said with a sweet smile, causing Heinkel to blink at her, before he sighed and had a downcast look on his face.
"I...Don't know about that. Haven't been in his childhood ever since he turned five. Sure, I stayed by his side for a few months, but...Ugh..." Heinkel couldn't complete his words, feeling disgusted by himself.
"Heinkel-sama, can I ask you a question?" Petra asked, causing Heinkel to raise an eyebrow at her.
"Uh...Sure, kid" Heinkel permitted Petra to speak.
"Do you love Reinhard-sama?" Petra asked a rather simple question, but to Heinkel, it felt like his heart stopped for a second upon hearing that question.
"Well, I...I don't know..." He muttered his answer.
"Really? But the fact that you said that I reminded you of him when he was my age clearly shows that you're thinking of him and are worried about him" Petra said, which in turn made Heinkel's eyes widen slightly at the words of the kid in front of him. He then heard her continue talking.
"Mom and Dad told me that there's no such thing as a parent hating their child, and that's what you're feeling right now, Heinkel-sama. You love Reinhard-sama very much that you always think of him, just like how you remembered him when you looked at me, and I'm sure that he loves you back. I may not have met Reinhard-sama, but I have the feeling that he's a really nice person, so he's not the kind to hold any animosity towards others, let alone his own family" Petra said all of those words with a beaming smile on her face, something that Heinkel found adorable, not to mention that he was mesmerized by her speech. It really tugged on his heart strings.
"Petra! Where are you?!" Frederica's sound could be heard, causing Petra to gasp.
"Oops! I'm late! I gotta go! It was a pleasure meeting you, Heinkel-sama!" Petra hastily spoke, before sprinting towards where Frederica was.
"Hey, kid!"
"?!"
She then stopped upon hearing Heinkel calling for her. Petra then looked at him as he scratched the back of his head, and she could swear that she saw a small blush on his cheeks.
"...Thanks" He muttered, which didn't go unnoticed by Petra, who smiled at him.
"No problem, and Heinkel-sama?" Petra then asked a question, causing Heinkel to look at her.
"If you truly believe that Reinhard-sama doesn't love you, then why don't you have a talk with him? I'm sure that as a father and his son, you can settle things with a talk. Anyways, again, it was a pleasure meeting your acquaintance, Heinkel-sama" Petra said, giving a courtesy bow to Heinkel, before resuming her sprint towards Frederica, leaving Heinkel who stared at where Petra previously stood for a few seconds, before chuckling.
"Damn...A kid had just given me an extremely important Life advice. Just how much have I sunk?" Heinkel asked himself, before sighing and staring at the ceiling.
"A talk between a father and his son, huh...? I guess...I could try that...But when the time comes..." He muttered.
Memory Fragment File #19: End
And Done!
Alright! Heinkel and Petra's Ending for you, with a little emotional twist of yours truly! Only two Endings to go! I'm really excited!
Alright, for the comments.
As always, it's Reaper 10398 who is supporting me along the way.
Yes, Shadow is asking the important questions here, and now you know how Maria's reincarnation is. I wonder if you knew who's Helen's reincarnation? And as for how Helen got reincarnated here, I will show it later on in the future Arcs.
And yes, Petra's traumas are piling up, and she will explode at the end of this Arc, and it won't be pretty, I tell you.
As for Lord X, he won't show in Arc 4, but maybe in Arc 5. My Arc 4 will feature everyone, sans Julius and Saki in it in Pristella, while Arc 5, will feature Subaru and co.'s journey to the Pleiades Watchtower, meaning that Arc 4 of this story is the equivalent of Arc 5 in the original Re:Zero, while Arc 5 of this story is the equivalent of Arc 6 in the original Re:Zero, except for the fact that I'll add the EXE invasion to it, and it will be...Unique.
Also, The EXE that petrified Petra was NOT Lord X, it was another EXE that I shall introduce. We don't know its true identity, since the creator of the game didn't give us anything regarding it, but I can use another EXE to manifest that thing. I went through the EXE wiki, and found a really unique EXE, and I shall use them to show that EXE that made a statue out of Petra.
Also, no, no one, other than the survivors due to their Deja Vu phenomenon, will be able to remember anything after the resets of the timelines. As for how the timeline resets without the Master Emerald, I shall reveal it at the end of the Arc as well, right before the final battle.
And I won't explain how Exeller managed to possess Subaru in the first place, since I shall explain it at the end of the Arc, also right before the final battle, but I'm going to ask you this question: "Do you believe in...Reincarnation?"
And that's all! As always, I hope from the bottom of my heart that more reviews rain down on me, and if you have any ideas or questions, please leave it in the reviews. Your support is what makes me move forward with this story.
Next Chapter: Round 2. Ending 15: The merchant and the Oni, pursuing the most insane way to survive.
Until Next Time And Next Chapter!
Jude Warble, Out.