Interlude 5: Assassin sisters
Elsa Granhiert and Meili Portroute were both on the run, having been avoiding the Emilia camp as much as possible to avoid drawing 'mother's' attention towards the camp since she's still after the two.
While on the run from the Sin Archbishop of Lust, the two were wondering what kind of troubles Sora and Subaru have gotten themselves.
"Don't you think we should've helped them, onee-chan?" The little girl asked, starting to feel bad that she didn't went along to help the others in saving the two keyblade wielders. Elsa took notice of this, prompting her to look forward with a serious expression.
"We made the right choice, Meili." The assassin spoke confidently to the little girl's question. "Trouble tends to follow us."
"That's never stopped us before!" Meili retorted, wanting to remind the Bowel Hunter that they've gotten themselves into danger multiple of times before meeting Subaru or Sora. Elsa kept looking forward as she knew what her assassin sister was trying to say.
"You have a point there, but this is different. Would you want 'mother' to find that friend of yours only because you were with her?"
"..." The little girl remained silent as she heard what the Bowel Hunter had said, thinking on the question asked.
Meili looked down as she realized that Elsa made a point, due to them being hunted down by 'mother' and her associates as well as witch cultists, that would put a target for anyone with them.
The last thing she wants is to lose Petra after finally having had the chance to speak with her without Petra being forced to since the little maid girl was curious to know about kid Sora.
Meili continued to think on this though since she thought back on Sora's fight with the Witch of Envy and how he definitely could take on 'mother'.
"But Sora's strong, Onee-chan. He could beat 'mother'!"
"That is true, Sora's capable of beating her however we would still be bringing her and those associated with her towards Sora and the others. We need to be smart. We can't be careless just because we have Sora there when he wouldn't be there at the beginning when searching for him and that other boy."
"..." Meili stopped on her tracks when she heard this, catching the Bowel hunter's attention. She paused as well to turn towards her small partner, a bit curious on why she stopped as well as the surprised facial expression she had.
"What's the matter?"
"...you've changed."
"Hm?" Elsa tilted her head at this, curious by this comment. "What do you mean by that?"
"You, the most reckless person I've ever known, to be cautious about others...where's the real Elsa?"
"I'm still me, Meili. You are just being silly."
"Silly? You would make such a mess just to get someone's bowels without a care of the world. Right now, you are talking about not wanting to go and help Sora when you clearly wanted to. Especially when you could've cut some bowels over there in the other kingdom."
"I know." Elsa said calmly as she turned around. "I know what I missed, but that's fine. There'll be another chance in getting some Vollachian bowels."
"That's..." Meili couldn't finish her sentence as she can't believe how much Elsa's change.
'When does Elsa turn down a chance for a new set of bowels?'
She thought on the moment Sora had won Elsa and her over to their side, how slowly over the two years she's become less murder happy. Although she has seen times where she can be caring that aren't bowel related, this is the first that she's witnessing the full change.
"Sora's really change you, hasn't he?"
"..."
She remained silent as she knew what Meili was referring to, how she's no longer acting the same as when they were under the services of 'mother'.
She's not oblivious to this, she knows that Sora's been changing her little by little.
These changes were shown more in the Pleiades watchtower since her priority there was Meili and Amnesia Sora.
"That boy is very special."
"To you, correct?"
"...not exactly where I was going with that but in general, he's very special."
"I know. Sora knows how to win people over." Meili says this as she knows Petra's crush towards the keyblade master...as well as Elsa having some kind of crush towards him as well.
She was tempted to tease her assassin sister on this fact, something else came to mind.
"Do you still want to see his bowels?"
"I'm curious to see them." Elsa responded swiftly, catching Meili's attention even more.
"That was quick."
"It's the truth. I have wanted to see his bowels but I'll just picture how beautiful they look."
Meili crossed her arms as she could see the glimpses of the old Elsa popping up again when the topic of bowels is brought up.
'There it is, the Elsa I know.'
She sighed before just brushing this conversation completely to the side as she wanted to get back on the original topic.
"Do you believe 'mother' would've found us if we had gone to Vollachia? She hasn't found us even when we were at the Pleiades watchtower."
"That's thanks to the ability to teleport directly into the location of the Pleiades Watchtower. I doubt 'mother' would find a way past the defenses."
"Right...but those in the half elf's camp are pretty strong. I'm positive most can fight 'mother'!"
"Perhaps that creepy clown and maybe that half elf but as for the others, they stand no chance."
Elsa thought on each of the members of the Emilia camp on whether they can even take on Capella.
Sora and Roswaal are for sure the only two that can easily take on Lust and come out on top.
Emilia and Shaula are right under them with Shaula having a higher chance with her attacks being quite lethal.
Garfiel and Frederica to a degree could give Capella a fight however she believes it is slightly in favor Lust.
As for the others, they either don't have the necessary strength to finish 'mother' off or their abilities aren't enough to do anything to her.
"They are skilled, I will give them that but if we can take down many in the camp on our own, they don't stand a chance against 'mother'."
"Isn't that the truth."
A voice spoke out, prompting Elsa to pull out both her knives and Meili to prepare to summon any mabeast nearby.
As they were on guard, a bird fly right in front of them before slowly transforming from animal to human.
Once the transformation was complete, as Elsa suspected, it was Capella herself.
She was in her usual petite girl form, looking menacing as usual.
"It's been quite a while, 'daughters'."
"Took your time to find us." Elsa said as she was ready for battle, knowing that the Sin Archbishop of Lust wasn't going to let them off the hook. "What have you been up to without us?"
"Setting the stage for the next phase of the plan?"
"What plan?" Meili asked with a curious tone. Capella gave her a sharp expression, one that put an immense amounts of fear into the little girl's soul. She was about to fall only to see Elsa suddenly walk right in front of her.
"You won't be scaring little Meili here, 'mother'."
"I can do what I please. You think yourself capable of giving me commands? How foolish." Just as a fight was about to break out between Elsa and Capella, a sudden aura caught all three of their attentions.
"Now Now, there's no need for all this hostility."
"..." Capella turned towards this beautiful voice, knowing full well who this was meanwhile Elsa knew that this presence was dangerous.
"Meili, get out of here, now!"
"But—"
"Now!"
Elsa's strict voice made the little assassin concern since it's rare for the Bowel Hunter to be nervous.
Before Meili began to run off, she wanted to ask Elsa if she will be okay on her own against 'mother' and whoever else is there.
Elsa could tell what Meili was about to ask her, prompting her to quickly say in a calm expression:
"Don't worry about me. I'll get out of this alive, I promise."
"...you better come out of this alive or else I won't forgive you!"
Elsa smiled when hearing this before nodding, showing that she understands before hearing Meili start to run towards the direction they were heading towards.
As Meili was running deeper into the forest, a few mabeast nearby approached her.
This gave the mabeast user an idea, to not only have the mabeast guide her away from the scene but also to assist her assassin sister in combat.
As she commanded a few of the stronger mabeast to stay behind, she was taken away towards safety as she wanted to make sure she can get away before heading back to the Emilia camp mansion.
While this was going on, Elsa could hear someone approach the scene and walk right besides Capella's side.
Right as she was about to look and see who this person was, her instincts took over as she suddenly turned away.
She was caught off guard by this, not thinking that her body would act on its own but once giving it some thought, she realized that if she had looked at this new opponent, she would've died.
"Oh my, are you afraid to look at me?" The voice spoke in a soft and gentle town, throwing the bowel hunter off. "There's no need to be scared."
"I'm not." She replied. "I just know when not to look at someone."
The voice didn't say anything for a moment as this new person turned their attention towards Capella.
"Allow my assistant to handle the situation."
There was a pause, something the bowel hunter expected up until she heard 'mother' respond with:
"Understood."
As Capella was backing off this situation, Elsa was a bit intrigued by this individual.
'Someone who orders 'mother' around...that can't be good.'
She knows that even with the curse doll, she wouldn't be able to truly beat Capella, let alone in her current state.
"There's no need to look away."
"...I beg to differ."
As Elsa said this, the mabeasts Meili had sent her way stand right next to her, ready to protect the bowel hunter. She smiled while thinking to herself:
'Thank you, Meili.'
Although these mabeasts won't really help her at all, she will still do her best to use them.
She turned around and started to run while the mabeasts went to attack the woman.
Within seconds they were exterminated by a dark figure.
As this happened, the dark figure turned towards Elsa's direction before swiftly charging right at her.
Right before it had the chance to strike, the bowel hunter managed to block away the attack.
While managing this, she noticed who her attacker was.
"You."
"..."
Elsa didn't expect to be clashing with Replica Riku once again, having been a while since they've last seen each other.
Last time it was in the Pleiades Watchtower where he was fighting against members of the Emilia camp.
Now that he's here, this made things complicated since she's now wondering why he is even here.
"If I recall, your Organization doesn't team up with 'mother' and the witch cult."
"That's none of your concern, assassin."
Elsa smirked as she began to dodge all of Replica Riku's attacks with some effort, knowing how he fights from having seen some brief fights of his back in the Pleiades Watchtower.
While dodging his attacks, she looked at the replica in the eyes and didn't like what she was seeing.
"What a disgusting look."
"Shut up."
He moved his hand behind him as he was creating a dark ball before tossing it towards the bowel hunter.
As he did this, he slammed his fist onto the ground, creating a dark aura around him.
Elsa was barely able to avoid the dark ball before attempting to make a run for it once again only to see Replica Riku right on her face.
"Got you."
As his sword was about to land onto the neck of the bowel hunter, she was able to move her knife from her left arm towards the replica's sword to block away the attack.
Although she was able to prevent her opponent from killing her right at that moment, she received a small cut on her neck.
"Close call."
As she said this in a calm tone, she manages to land a kick onto the replica's chest, stunning him for a brief moment.
That moment was enough for her to make a choice, attempt to eliminate her opponent or to make a run for it once again.
"This has been fun, but I have somewhere else to be."
As Elsa said this, she took the chance to run away into the forest at her top speed, knowing that this was the best option for her survival.
Replica Riku shook his head for a moment before using the pride witch factor in him to go after his prey.
"I won't make it that easy for you!"
While shouting this, he began to have a dark aura around him, consuming him further into darkness.
This power allowed him to easily catch up with the bowel hunter, forcing her to continue their fight.
He jumped right into her, forcing the two into a blade clash with Replica Riku's sword managing to break both of Elsa's weapons.
Her eyes widen when this happened, forcing her to be dodging each attack while she grabbed her back up weapons.
Once she had her remaining two knives, she didn't hesitate to go on the offensive the second she had the opportunity.
"My My, it seems you prefer a fight."
"This isn't a fight, it's a massacre."
Replica Riku said confidently as he jumped up before slamming his sword onto the ground, causing the area to suddenly explode.
As this attack was long range, the bowel hunter had a feeling that she needed some distance from her opponent.
Thanks to this intuition, before Replica Riku had slammed his sword onto the ground, she didn't hesitate to start running once again.
Her instincts knew that in this fight, even if she does somehow win, she'd still be dealing with 'mother' and the other woman who radiates extreme danger.
Not wanting to take a chance in this unwinnable scenario, she takes a longer path into the forest, drawing away from where Meili had gone towards.
As she was running at high volumes, she could sense Replica Riku catching up to her within seconds.
'Quite persistent.'
She thinks to herself about her opponent.
She takes a second to come up with a plan to go on the offensive.
Once something came to her, she abruptly stopped on her tracks before swinging her knives around.
As she did this, Replica Riku was caught off guard and quickly tried to block this attack only for his sword to parry one attack but not the other.
Elsa's second attack was able to cut the boy's right eye.
Although she wasn't able to actually damage the eye itself, she did leave a scar on the replica's face.
"Got you!" She said this with a sinister smile as she attempted to slice off her opponent's bowels.
Replica Riku noticed this and quickly created a dark sphere around himself to counter the Bowel Hunter's attack.
As he successfully parried the attack, he created another dark ball to throw point blank at her.
If she still had the curse doll, she would take the attack since her healing factor would just kick in.
However, in this scenario she was forced to dodge the attack.
She moved her body towards the side with only her left arm getting caught by the dark ball.
This left a pretty bad burn mark on her left arm though she didn't care since the thrill of battle was keeping her from thinking of the pain.
She charged towards Replica Riku's position, swinging both her knives directly at him.
He blocked away the attack before teleporting behind her to try and catch her off guard.
Just before he had the chance to land a fatal blow, Elsa once again attempted to make a run for it.
"Stop running away!"
With his free hand he pointed towards Elsa's direction, managing to create a couple of totems to block her path.
She threw one of her knives at the totems, causing all of them to explode.
This gave her a chance to try and escape from Replica Riku.
She ran through the smoke, grabbed back her knife, and once again made her way into the forest.
As she was running deeper, she turned around and noticed that a few explosions were going off.
"I won't let you escape!"
As Replica Riku shouted this, he jumped high up as he prepared a powerful dark ball to blow a large area.
The Bowel Hunter can sense that an attack like this will kill her if she's caught in the blast.
Replica Riku tossed the powerful dark ball right at Elsa's direction.
Although Elsa was moving away from the dark ball approaching the ground, she knew that she needed to use all of her strength to increase her speed if she wanted to avoid being caught by the attack.
As she ran at one hundred percent, she was barely out of the radius of Replica Riku's attack.
The large explosion created a powerful shockwave that sent Elsa flying a couple of feet away.
Capella and her boss looked from a distance with the Sin Archbishop of Lust smiling at this sight.
"I can see how useful this new Sin Archbishop is."
"Indeed. Pride is clearly capable of more than this."
"Is that so? I'm curious on what he loves." As Capella pondered on this, they watched as Replica Riku floated back down onto the large crater he had created.
Once his feet had touched the ground, he slowly walked towards Elsa's direction.
As he was closing in, she got back up with the right side of her face bleeding.
She touched her right side before tasting her own blood, having been a while since she's been pushed to such extent.
"This is going to be fun."
Although she knew that this was a mistake, she just can't hold back the urge to fight with all her might.
She waited until Replica Riku was on her sight before making a move against him.
As she rapidly charges at him, she began to swing both knives at him.
He dodged these attacks with ease at first before the bowel hunter once again managed to land a kick onto him.
This stunned the Sin Archbishop of Pride for a moment, allowing Elsa to try and land another hit on him only for Replica Riku to quickly block away the attack.
As he parries another attack, he didn't hesitate to go on the offense to put pressure onto his target.
He swung his sword with everything he had in him, hoping to strike the bowel hunter with only a few swings of his blade.
He didn't want this fight to prolong since it would give her a chance to escape.
As both sides were swinging their weapons at each other, countering each other's attacks.
After two hundred attacks countered from both sides, Elsa immediately dropped one of her knives to pull out a red crystal that was given to her by the Merchant Otto Suwen.
He had given her this small bomb in case she needed it, which the bowel hunter sees that it's needed in this situation.
She tosses the red crystal at the right moment where Replica Riku swung his sword to try and cut her in half.
The exact moment it seemed like he was about to land a hit, she had tossed the red crystal onto Replica Riku's sword which caused it to glow red within the second the two things had connected.
After a second the red crystal began to glow, it exploded which pushed Replica Riku back.
Elsa smiled as she swung her knife towards her opponent's bowel area.
Just as it seemed like she managed to land a hit, he suddenly disappeared.
"Hm?"
The Bowel Hunter was surprised by this for only a second before using her instincts to figure out where her opponent's next move would be.
She turned towards her right side once she felt something before managing to barely block off her opponent's attack.
Replica Riku gave her a stare since he wasn't expecting her to be this annoying.
As the two were clashing on equal footing for about a minute nonstop, Replica Riku eventually had enough of this.
He jumped back the moment the Bowel Hunter tried to swing her blade towards his bowel area once again.
Once he gained some distance, his body started to once again be consumed by a powerful dark aura mixed with the witch's scent.
Elsa could sense this and knew that this was Replica Riku at his very best, making her smile with excitement.
She hadn't felt this in a long while, since her last true battle with Sora over a year ago.
She dropped both her knives she was carrying before pulling out two that are designed for anyone she wishes to kill.
"You really are fun. I wonder what kind of bowels you have."
"..."
Although Replica Riku wants to beat his opponent, he really had no comment on what she had just said.
He moved to attack her with one swing of his blade, knowing that this attack will end the battle if it lands onto her.
She knows this and yet she makes one hell of a gamble by attempting to block this attack.
As she moved to block the attack, a random mabeast managed to jump right into the attack to protect the Bowel Hunter from being killed.
"...what?"
Elsa was shocked by this, prompting her to turn around to see that Meili was right there with an army of Mabeasts ready to help.
"Don't think I'll let you recklessly throw your life away just for me!"
"Meili..."
Elsa didn't wanted this at first since she knows that if she gets caught, she wouldn't be able to do anything but surrender as well as not wanting to lose her.
"You shouldn't be here."
"And you shouldn't be fighting a deadly battle knowing that you don't have that crazy healing ability from before."
"Hmph."
Elsa quickly jumped back in order to stand right by her assassin sister's side, seeing that Meili's not going to leave.
"You are being reckless."
"Learned from the best."
Elsa smiled when hearing this as she got into her battle stance.
Replica Riku looked at the pair, annoyed that the small assassin had decided to join the fight...though this proves useful since his assigned goal was to capture the two.
"This actually makes my job easy. Thanks little girl, I'll make sure to go easy on you."
"Don't call me a little girl! And don't underestimate me!"
As Meili shouted this, she pointed her finger towards the Sin Archbishop of Pride, prompting the stronger Mabeasts nearby to charge at him.
Replica Riku turned towards his right side to see two strong mabeast closing in.
The two mabeasts in question were the Wagpig and the Guiltylowe, both following Meili's command to kill him.
Replica Riku looked at these two with no fear in his eyes.
He pointed his sword at the two mabeasts before charging at them, ready to kill the two with a single swing of his weapon.
Just as his blade was about to connect to the Wagpig's neck, Elsa had managed to move fast enough to deflect the attack away from the mabeast.
This gave an opening for the Guiltylowe to land a strong hit onto Pride, sending him flying a couple of feet away.
As he was sent flying, Elsa didn't hesitate to charge at Replica Riku, wanting to take a chance to land a hit on Replica Riku.
Once she closed in on him, she swung her knife once again on his bowel area though had she been a second faster, she would've landed her hit but unfortunately, he was fast enough to avoid such a hit.
While managing to pull this off, he managed to create another dark ball to toss towards Meili's direction.
Elsa quickly tried to change course in order to protect Meili only for the Guiltylowe mabeast to get in between the mabeast user and the Replica's attack, tanking the hit for its master.
As the large mabeast managed to protect Meili, Elsa returned her focus onto Replica Riku, knowing that she needed to finish him off quickly.
She went on an attack barrage, trying to overpower the Sin Archbishop of Pride.
He looked at his opponent's attack patterns, noticing the way the Bowel Hunter was swinging both her knives at him.
The second he saw the pattern; he took the chance to strike by dodging around the attacks before going for the stab.
As he goes for it, he manages to stab Elsa's right leg which stunned her for a second before she used her left leg to kick him in the face.
As he received this kick, he pulled out his blade from her right leg before trying to slice her neck off.
Elsa once again blocked away the attack before slicing a bit of his right ear.
This annoyed Replica Riku, prompting him to once again go for another fatal hit, this one aimed at her forehead.
Before his blade could land or she could dodge, the Wagpig joined the battle by smacking Pride to the side.
Once again, a mabeast interfered with his fight; this infuriated him since it's not allowing him to finish the job given to him.
He recovered quickly by managing to stab his sword onto the ground, stopping himself from continuing to fly in the direction of a large amounts of rocks.
Once recovering, he didn't hesitate to charge swiftly towards the Wagpig's direction.
He waited for the exact moment Elsa attempted to stop him from harming the mabeast, prompting a smile from his face.
'Got you.'
Elsa swung her knives right at Replica Riku's bowel location.
It looked like she had managed to land a fatal blow only for it to be revealed that he wasn't there since his body had suddenly disappeared.
Before the Bowel Hunter had a chance to react to this, she was suddenly kicked in the back which sent her flying a few feet away.
As he sent Elsa away, he turned towards the Mabeast and with one slice of his blade, he split the beast in half.
"Rock Piggie!"
Meili was in disbelief when seeing one of her favorite mabeast killed by being sliced in half.
As she was in shock, Elsa swiftly recovered before charging with everything she had towards the Sin Archbishop of Pride.
He turned towards her, noticing that she was right near his position.
He moved his hand towards the bowel hunter's direction before creating a dark barrier the second she swung her knives right at him.
The dark barrier not only deflected away Elsa's attack but provided an opening for Replica Riku to finally put an end to this fight.
He teleported once again, only this time he appeared right in front of the Bowel Hunter.
"This farce ends now."
The second he finished his sentence, he immediately landed a kick over her neck, sending her towards the ground with enough force to knock her out.
As she hit the ground with a few ribs damaged, Meili quickly commanded the Guiltylowe to try and save her assassin sister.
The mabeast charged right towards this mabeast with no expression.
He wasn't bothered by this mabeast and was able to easily overwhelm him with his power before slicing its head off.
Meili was stunned by the brutal kill Replica Riku had done to the other strong mabeast.
Before she could say anything, she turned around to see that somehow the Sin Archbishop of Pride right there looking at her menacingly.
"Sleep."
As he said this, Meili suddenly felt her strength fade as she lost consciousness.
Before her body could fall to the ground, Replica Riku caught her.
He set her down gentle since he isn't someone who will hurt a child like her.
Once she was on the ground, he turned towards Elsa's direction to make sure that she was knocked out.
As he looked at the Bowel Hunter, he can see that his kick had managed to knock her out.
He stayed standing all on his own with his opponents unconscious.
He waited for a while before sensing a presence of two people.
He turned calmly to see that it was Capella, the Sin Archbishop of Lust, and Pandora, the Witch of Vainglory.
"Pandora-sama, it's done."
"Good. You have done a splendid job, Pride." Pandora spoke with a gentle tone, even causing Replica Riku to feel happy with just those words.
Capella was impressed by the way Replica Riku handled this.
"You are quite the fighter, aren't you? I like that...though I wonder."
With her curious voice, she looked deep into Pride's eyes as she wanted to know something.
Once she got her answer, she morphed into the one person Replica Riku wasn't expecting to see.
"Wha—?"
"I'm intrigued. Although she's a different girl, she shares the same traits as the one that Keyblade Master likes."
"..." Replica Riku looked at Capella with an angered expression before pointing his sword right towards her. "How dare you transform into her?"
He didn't expect to see Namine once again since he is in a different world, one disconnected from the other worlds.
So seeing her now because Capella had shapeshift into her doesn't make him feel anything but anger.
"What? Didn't you want to see me again?" Capella in Namine's voice speaks, trying to mess with Pride which only resulted in him preparing to slice her head off.
Just before a fight between Lust and Pride happened, Pandora spoke calmly:
"No need for violence. Lust here is just having some fun, Pride. Her intentions aren't to harm you."
"For now." Capella added, viewing that Replica Riku can be a useful partner for now.
He looked at the Witch of Vainglory for a moment before turning away, not wishing to see Namine since it's not even the real her.
"What now?" Pride said, "What shall we do with them?"
Pandora and Capella both looked at the two knocked out assassins.
"I have an idea how to punish these two. They are my 'daughters' after all."
Replica Riku turned towards Pandora to see what her thoughts are in what the Sin Archbishop of Lust had just said.
The Witch of Vainglory remained silent for a second before just giving a simple nod, seeing that this is Lust's responsibility.
Pride understood and just created a corridor of darkness, figuring that there's no point in being there anymore.
As he began to leave, Pandora followed right behind. Just before they had left Capella all alone, Pandora turned towards her to tell her:
"I trust that you can get these two to help in capturing the Keyblade Master."
"Don't worry Pandora-sama, I have something in mind."
Pandora acknowledge what Lust had just said before turning towards the corridor of darkness and finally leaving the area along with Replica Riku.
As the corridor of darkness disappear, Capella smiles as she looks at her traitorous 'daughters' once again, finally catching up to them.
"My My, what will I do with you two?"
Author's note:
For those curious where in the timeline this interlude takes place, it takes place at the same time as the next interlude, which will reveal the time skip from the last arc.