I do not own Re:Zero or any of the characters.
Smarten Up
Ian's legs gave out, Rem gasping in surprise and catching him. Ian swallowed hard, staring at her in relief.
"What's wrong?" Rem asked, glancing around worriedly, grimacing slightly at the smell of the Miasma he was soaked in. "What happened?"
"Not here," Ian said. "Not now."
Rem hesitated before nodding.
"Rem, Ian," Subaru said, staring at them, dark shadows under his eyes and a light sheen of sweat clinging to his skin. "It's you."
"Yeah," Ian nodded, pushing himself up before frowning at the dead, exhausted look in Subaru's eyes. "What happened? How many times?"
"This is four," Subaru said.
Ian nodded. He could only remember the first. "We need to talk, then."
Subaru nodded slowly.
"You look tired," Rem said.
"What did you say?" Subaru asked monotonously. "Yeah, that's it. I'm out of energy and worn down. So tired."
"Let's head back to Crusch's mansion," Ian said. "You can tell me there."
Subaru nodded and they headed back to the mansion together. Once they were there, they headed to the room Subaru slept in and Rem waited outside.
"The second time, I was mentally broken and unresponsive," Subaru said. "We left a day early and were ambushed. You were killed fighting Petelgeuse, the green freak."
"So that's his name," Ian said, narrowing his eyes. "He's dangerous."
Subaru nodded. "Have you seen his power?"
"His darkness hands?" Ian asked.
"Yeah," Subaru said. "He calls it his Unseen Hands. Anyway, he killed you and Rem was hurt, but after I was captured, she came to rescue me and he tortured her to death. She broke me out before she died and I went to the mansion, but Puck killed me. The third time, we hired a bunch of merchants to try and evacuate the village. On the way, the White Whale attacked to try to kill you and me for our Witch Miasma. It's a Mabeast that emits a fog that erases those caught in it from existence, and everyone's memories about them are erased, too, as are any of their things, or any events that they were included in. You and Rem fought it to try and slow it down, but it erased you both. You had left me a note to see Betty if everyone forgot you, and I was able to read it before you were erased and the note disappeared. She told me about it and its abilities. I tried to tell Emilia about by ability, but the hands that causes killed her. Then Puck killed Petelgeuse and the rest of the Witch's Cult before making me see how broken I'd become and killing me."
Ian nodded. "It's a shame you can't remember my fight with the whale, but I'm glad things were reset." He walked to the door, letting Rem in and telling her about the impending attack by the Witch's Cult. "So, Subaru, what's the plan?"
"The only thing I can think to do is exactly what everyone's been telling me to do," Subaru said. "Stay out of it. So I'm going to go away. I've heard it's hard to get into the South country, so our options are either North or West. I'm not a fan of the cold, so my preference is West."
"Subaru, shut up," Ian said, glaring at him. "We're not running away and leaving everyone to be slaughtered. If us going brings the Whale, then we'll have to send them without us. If they get ambushed, though, they'll be killed and won't be able to evacuate anyone."
"I don't care anymore," Subaru said. "I'm leaving."
"Then leave," Ian said. "You'll leave alone, though. And just so you know, that's not what anyone has told you to do. You were told to stay here and receive treatment. If you want to do what you were told, that's what you should do. In the mean time, with or without you, Rem and I will find a way to save Ram, Emilia, and the others."
"I've agonized over this!" Subaru growled. "I've thought about it! I've suffered for it! And you don't even remember all of it! I'm the only one who knows! And that's why...I'm giving up."
"Then give up," Ian said. "Let Felix finish healing you, then run away like a coward and don't ever come back. Run away and suffer knowing you left the woman you love to die, when you could have kept trying to find a way to save her. In the mean time, Rem and I will try our best to save them all. You go right ahead and give up if you want. I'll let Emilia know that you knew about the attack because of an ability you physically can't explain without dying, but that after you failed to stop it three times, you just decided to do nothing."
"You think it's easy to give up!?" Subaru demanded.
"It is easy to give up," Rem said. "But it doesn't suit you at all. I don't know what painful things you've been through, or what you've done that makes you suffer so terribly, and I know that it would be wrong of me to say that I understand whatever you've been experiencing to make you feel this way. It would. Even so, there's something that I do know about all this. I know for certain that you're not someone who can give up on something when you're halfway through. And I know for certain that you're someone who can smile when you talk about all of your hopes and wishes for the future. And I know for certain that you're someone who can't give up on the future. No matter what."
"I'm sorry," Subaru said. "But you're wrong. I'm not that kind of person."
"I'm not wrong," Rem said firmly. "You haven't given up on us. Not Miss Emilia, or Sister. On Lord Roswaal, or Miss Beatrice, or on anyone else. That's not who you are."
"You don't know what you're talking about," Subaru shook his head. "I have given up! Carrying it all was impossible from the very start! My hands are so small that it all slipped through my fingers, leaving nothing behind."
"When are you going to figure it out, Subaru?" Ian sighed. "You don't have to carry anything. You're not the only one who's able to save everyone. You can't save everyone. Not alone. You have to learn to rely on others. Carrying everything alone is impossible. You have to trust others."
"I don't..." Subaru trailed off, staring at his hands.
Ian sighed, reaching over to the bedside table and picked up a sack of coins. "Subaru."
Subaru looked up.
"This is Miss Emilia," Ian said, tossing him a gold coin before grabbing a bunch of silver coins, tossing him a coin for every name he listed. "This is Rem. Ram. Beatrice. Roswaal. Me. Felt. Petra. Cain. Dine. Mild. Meina. The Village Chief. The old lady. The guy who gave you a sword." He stopped as the coins slipped out of Subaru's hands, leaving only a couple, despite Subaru's best efforts. "Alone, you can't carry everything. I have a full village to go through still. But if you trust others..."
Ian knelt, beginning to pick up coins, Rem helping, understanding what he was doing. They both passed Subaru several coins until they all held a roughly equal amount, Emilia's gold coin sitting on top of Subaru's pile.
"If you trust others, and don't try to do everything yourself, you can do more than if you act alone," Rem said. "If you trust others, everything that has to be carried can be."
Subaru stared at the coins.
"You're not a big shot," Ian said. "You're not strong, or a genius. You're not skilled at fighting, or a great strategist. But you don't have to be. You just need to be yourself. Honest and realistic. You have an amazing ability that you can't control, and that will kill you if you try to tell anyone about it. So you can't explain your actions to anyone. But you can explain that much about it. If you tell Emilia that much, she'll be more understanding, and she'll begin to take what you say on faith, just as Rem does since I've explained that much about your power. If you want her to forgive you, you need to apologize. You don't need to explain in specifics, you need to tell her that you can't, what I just said. If you want to protect everyone, you need to understand that you can't do it alone. You have to be able to trust others to do things you can't without you. If us being there draws the White Whale, then we can't be there for the evacuation. If us not being there means they get ambushed and die, then we need to find a way to get there in time to protect them without the whale finding us."
Subaru stared at him.
"As you have been up until now, you wanted to be told that you just can't do it, and that you're doing all you could, but you were just pretending to push yourself to the limit in order to make people tell you that," Ian said. "Well, now I actually am telling you it. You have done all you can. You are at the limit of your ability. As you are now. You can grow better, but you have to want to. But no matter how powerful, or smart, or skilled you grow, this, what you're trying to do, trying to take on the entire Witch's Cult and save that village, that will always be beyond your ability. Alone. You can't save them all. But they can be saved if you'll just trust those around you to help you."
"I..." Subaru's eyes were wide before he shook his head. "You're wrong. You're wrong about me. I know myself better than anyone!"
"No, you don't," Ian said flatly. "No one knows themselves better than anyone else, because everyone lies to themselves about who they are. You have an image of who you are in your head, but that's not who you are. It's those around you who know you. It's those who see you in your moments of weakness, when you aren't paying attention to who you're supposed to be, when you let your guard down, that you show who you truly are. You, specifically, are a good person. You're kind, you're protective, and you want to protect everyone, even though you know you're too weak to do it yourself. You care about those around you more than you do yourself, and you can't bear to fail, because you're terrified of the consequences of failing. That's who you are."
"Why?" Subaru asked. "Why are you so sure that's who I am?"
"You don't know?" Rem asked. "It's because you're a hero, Subaru. When I was lost in that dark forest, lashing out at everything that moved, you came to save me, even though you were weak. When I was unconscious, and when Ram was exhausted from using too much magic, you fought the Mabeasts with Ian as a diversion, even though the two of you had no chance of winning. And because despite your weakness, and despite not having the power to win, you still found a way to come home safe. Because you proved that even though you're not strong, that doesn't make you weak. You have a strength that even those who are powerful often lack. You have more courage than even some of the most powerful Knights in Lugunica. That's why we know who you are. Because you were one of the ones who saved me."
"But...I didn't save anyone," Subaru said. "Ian is the one who saved you."
"I couldn't have done it alone," Ian said. "Do you remember the state I was in when we found Rem? If you hadn't been there, we'd all have died there. I was at my limit. It's only because you were there that we survived. But not because you did it all yourself. It was because you were working as one member of a group. Alone, none of the three of us could have saved Rem. We only succeeded because we worked together. And that's how we'll save the others now. By working together. And not just us three. We'll need to get help from anyone and everyone we can."
Subaru stared at him before his gaze dropped to the ground again. "Will it work?"
"I don't know," Ian said. "But if we do nothing, then we already know the result. So if the result of doing nothing is something we can't accept, then we have to do something. We have to try something. We have to try everything."
Subaru remained silent for a long moment before nodding. "Okay. Let's try. But...what do we do?"
"We'll need carriages for the evacuation," Ian said. "And we'll need someone to protect them from a potential ambush."
"I think I know where we can find carriages," Subaru said. "I'll need all of our money, though."
"All but one bag," Ian said. "I'll be handling getting the carriages an escort. We can't be there because if we're there, the White Whale will be a problem. We can't defeat it, or else it'd have been killed by now. So instead, we'll have to trust others to do what we can't alone."
Subaru nodded. "What did you have in mind?"
"I'm going to hire an escort," Ian said. "I'll start with trying to hire knights. I'm thinking I can try with Felix first, then Julius second if that doesn't work."
"It won't," Subaru said. "Crusch and Anastasia won't do anything unless it benefits them. And Crusch will assume you're a member of the cult if you know about an attack ahead of time."
"I'm not going to tell them about the cult," Ian said. "I'm going to tell them that Ram sent Rem a message through their connection about impending danger, and that we need an escort for an evacuation."
"Crusch won't help because she believes that if a ruler can't protect her own domain she doesn't deserve to be a ruler," Subaru said.
"Let me worry about that," Ian said.
Subaru nodded. "Okay. I'll see about getting transportation."
"Go after I speak with Crusch," Ian said. "I'm going to propose an alliance between her and Emilia."
Subaru nodded. "Okay. But if you're going to do that, there's something I need Rem to do first."
Ian nodded and Subaru led Rem out of the room for a moment before returning alone. Once he had, Ian had him tell him everything he had learned about the White Whale while they waited for her to return. Once she had finally arrived, they all headed through the house, finding Crusch, Felix, and Wilhelm all in Crusch's study.
"We need to talk," Ian said.
"Oh?" Crusch asked. "And what is it you would like to discuss?"
Ian sat in a chair across from Crusch, taking a breath. "I would like to negotiate with you for an alliance between the Emilia and Crusch Camps on equal terms."
"Are you serious?" Crusch asked.
"I am," Ian said. "Obviously, whatever terms we come to here, assuming we agree at all, will need to be modified with Miss Emilia's input, but I believe she will agree."
"And what could you have to offer in order to gain an alliance?" Crusch asked.
"The next time and place you'll find the White Whale," Ian said. "If it were the Crusch Camp that eliminated such a terrible threat, that would likely reflect very well on you in terms of your candidacy, would it not?"
"The White Whale?" Wilhelm asked, suddenly radiating blood lust for a moment before turning slightly and bowing to Crusch. "Please forgive my indiscretion. I suppose I still have much to learn."
"While you are correct about the result if my camp could, in fact, kill the White Whale, it seems a bit out of nowhere for you to offer that first," Crusch said. "It also is hardly enough to-"
"That's not all we're offering," Ian said. "There's a magic stone mine in the Mathers Domain. On Emilia and Lord Roswaal's behalf, I'm offering you mining rights, with fair limitations."
"What makes you think the White Whale is enticing to me at all?" Crusch asked.
"Several things," Ian said. "Firstly, the traffic to and from your house has been a bit excessive, even for being a candidate for the Royal Selection. Or, maybe, because you're a candidate. Secondly, I've also learned you've been buying a seemingly excessive amount of weapons and armor. At first, I assumed you were preparing for war with the other candidates. However, it's the whale you're planning to wage war against. And finally, Russell Fellow mentioned to Wilhelm that if Crusch's goal were achieved, it would suit Wilhelm's own desires. Something big was obviously being planned, but I didn't realize what until I learned that the White Whale killed the previous Sword Master, Theresia van Astrea, your wife." He looked to Wilhelm. "Your greatest desire, besides having her be alive again, would be to kill the White Whale for revenge. Once I pieced it all together, I decided that the most logical explanation was that you mean to try and kill the White Whale."
"I see," Crusch said. "I have another question, then. On what grounds do you know when and where the White Whale will be appearing next?"
Ian smiled, setting Subaru's cell phone on the table. "This is how."
"And what is this contraption?" Crusch asked, picking it up and looking it over, opening and closing it several times.
"It's a very special kind of Metia," Ian said. "It's thanks to this that we know exactly when and where the White Whale will be."
"I find all of this a bit hard to believe," Crusch said, setting it back down. "However, I can tell that you're not lying."
"Really?" Ian asked. "How can you be sure?"
"Miss Crusch has the Divine Protection of Wind Reading," Felix said.
"What's that?" Ian asked.
"Whenever someone attempts to tell a lie, there is a telling wind that blows around them," Crusch said. "I'm able to see that wind. There's no evidence of it now."
"Well, in that case, will you agree to my terms?" Ian asked.
"Whether I agree to your terms for the alliance, and whether or not I believe you are entirely separate matters," Crusch said. "This important decision will determine not only the course of the election, but also the future of the entire kingdom."
"Hey, would you mind if I listen in on this little chat, too?" Anastasia's voice asked through the door before she and Russell Fellow walked in.
"Pardon the intrusion," Russell said.
"Anastasia Hoshin and Russell Fellow?" Crusch asked.
"We do mind, actually," Ian said. "It's a private discussion."
"Now this isn't fair if you ask me," Anastasia said. "You asked us to come, and now here you are starting things without us. Let us in on this, too!"
"I wasn't aware of this invitation," Crusch said. "Was it Ian who asked you to come here?"
"Well, to be exact, it was this blue-haired girl he keeps with him," Anastasia said, Ian shooting Subaru an unimpressed look. "I only heard the gist of what you're talking about, but if you're really planning on putting down the White Whale, I'm all about it. For us business folk, whether that thing is around or not is pretty much a life or death matter, so our mercenary team will help with whatever you need!"
"In addition to all matters concerning the White Whale, I'm interested in the concession Mr. Ian proposed about the mining rights to the Magic Stones," Russell Fellow said. "If the afore mentioned alliance is formed, Magic Stones mined from previously untouched veins will be distributed to the Capitol through Miss Crusch. As the Merchant Guild's representative, I cannot let this offer go unheard."
"Natsuki called you, as well?" Crusch asked.
"Without consulting me," Ian said.
"Allow us to say it once more," Subaru said. "What we offer in exchange for this alliance is a share in the Magic Stone mining rights and information on when and where the White Whale will next appear. You'd have everything you need to locate and attack that terrorizing Mabeast, and then bring it down."
"If what we're offered doesn't have any appeal to you, then that's fine," Ian said. "More glory and Magic Stones Anastasia, I guess. On the other hand, if I'm right and your goal does happen to align with our intentions, it would benefit us both to work together and defeat the White Whale. And we would stand a better chance to defeat the whale together."
Crusche stared at him for a long moment. "I still have questions concerning this arrangement, but it was brilliant of the two of you to uncover my plans."
"As I said at the beginning, the final terms for the alliance will need to be made with Emilia present," Ian said. "We're only doing preliminary negotiations."
"I still have questions, as well as doubts," Crusche said, standing. "Some things you said are unclear to me, so I'm having difficulty agreeing immediately. However, I will choose to trust your eyes and the spirit that led you to create this situation."
Ian smiled, extending his hand, Crusch shaking it while Anastasia shook Subaru's.
"I would say that the deal is made, then," Russell said.
"Let me be clear about one thing," Ian said seriously. "The White Whale's death is a goal, but only as an obstacle to our true necessity for creating this alliance."
"And what is that?" Crusch said.
"That, for specific reasons, I cannot say now," Ian said. "However, I can say that it is rather time-pressing. In order to deal with our situation, we will require your aid in a further matter after the White Whale has been eliminated, and the whale will need to be dealt with as quickly as possible."
"If there is another foe that we will need to face, we need to know about it now," Crusch said.
Ian considered for a moment. "Rem has a sort of connection to her sister, Ram, who is at Lord Roswaal's Manor. Ram sent Rem a sort of message. It wasn't clear, but it was a warning, and Rem said she recognized a presence in it, one that she last felt when her home village was destroyed. We have reason to believe that there will be an attack by the Witch's Cult soon."
Everyone stared at him in shock.
"I understand that it falls to the Lord of a domain to defend their own people, but when faced with a threat to great for any one Lord to deal with, they have no choice but to turn to others for help," Ian continued. "The Witch's Cult has a long history of completing successful and devastating attacks, with no previous Lord able to deal with them alone. We also believe that this particular group may be led by a Sin Archbishop, one of the heads of the Witch's Cult. As such, even if that information is false, it's a threat that we cannot take lightly, and as such, we have been forced to take drastic measures. This alliance is to take down the White Whale, a grave threat to the country, but also to gain aid in stopping a potential attack by the Witch's cult and possibly killing one of its leaders."
Anastasia and Crusch both considered silently for a long while. Finally, Anastasia spoke.
"We've agreed to an alliance, so it's the responsibility of the parts of an alliance to defend other parts. After the White Whale is dead, my mercenaries will assist in defending against the attack and evacuating."
"I will also lend my support in that endeavor," Crusch said. "The Witch's Cult is a threat that it is long past time to deal with."
Ian nodded. "You have my thanks."
"I trust our agreement still stands?" Russell was saying to Subaru.
"Yes," Subaru nodded. "Once the whale is taken care of, I'll hand the metia over to you."
"It seems you laid some groundwork of your own before the meeting, Subaru," Crusch said. "Were you waiting outside the door for your chance to interrupt?"
"Yes, but it was entirely up to us when to enter," Anastasia said. "As far as negotiations go, I guess that barely gets a passing mark."
"You're not one to talk," Ian said. "You didn't even take part, you just volunteered your unpaid help."
Anastasia glared at him.
"What were you doing out there?" Subaru asked. "I thought you were never going to come in."
"When negotiating, there's always a perfect time to make your move," Anastasia said, winking, then turned and headed for the door. "Right, well, as you're getting ready for the subjugation and such, don't forget to patronize the Hoshin Company!"
"You paved the way for everything before negotiations began, huh?" Crusch asked. "You're surprisingly shrewd in your tactics. I commend you."
"My review and preparations payed off, that's all," Subaru said. "To be honest, I couldn't be more relieved."
"You can say that again," Felix said. "You look completely worn out." He laughed, as did Rem, and Crusch sighed.
"Well, we somehow managed to save face for staying in the Capitol, right?" Subaru asked.
"Indeed," Rem smiled. "You two did wonderfully."
"Mr. Subaru, Mr. Ian," Wilhelm said, bowing. "I must thank you. You have my deepest respect and humble gratitude, equal to that that I offered my dutchess Lady Karsten."
"We appreciate it," Ian said.
"As perceptive as you are, I'm sure you're aware," Wilhelm continued, "but if I may introduce myself, my family name is Astrea. I took the previous Master Swordsman, Theresia van Astrea as my wife, as Ian said before, which in turn gave me the honor of the lowest seat in the bloodline. That is who I, Wilhelm van Astrea, proudly am. Thank you for so kindly granting this lowly man the opportunity to slay the loathsome Mabeast that took my wife." He bowed again.
"It will be an honor to be able to fight alongside you," Ian smiled, then grinned, "and a pleasure to not be beaten black and blue by you."
Rem and Felix laughed while Crusch smiled, Subaru grimaced knowingly, and Wilhelm chuckled. Then, they all scattered to prepare whatever they'd need to have ready for the upcoming fights. Ian and Rem helped distribute supplies where they could, but after a while, they headed to their room.
"Is there any way you can let Ram know what we're about to do?" Ian asked.
Rem shook her head. "I could only send a general feeling, and right now, I'm too nervous and worried to send anything she could understand or that wouldn't cause problems."
Ian nodded. "She must be just about running on empty by now. Roswaal's been away for days, so she's had no one to give her mana. It's no wonder the cult was able to take the mansion so easily."
"It's not just that," Rem said. "You remember fighting them, right? Did they seem as weak as the Wolgarm we fought?"
"I'd take an army of Wolgarm over an ambush by the Witch's Cult any day," Ian said. "When we meet the Sin Archbishop, leave him to me. He uses an ability called Unseen Hands, which are hands of darkness. You won't be able to see them, though, but thanks to the Witch Miasma, Subaru and I can see them. I'll be the only one able to fight him, at least as long as Reinhard doesn't show up."
Rem nodded. "I'll leave him to you, so long as you promise to come back to me alive."
"You have my word," Ian said, taking her hand. "I'm not going anywhere without you, and you're not allowed to go anywhere without me."
Rem smiled and nodded. "We should sleep."
Ian nodded and they climbed into the bed together, lacing their fingers together as always before drifting off.
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