Chapter 9: The truth inside one's heart

'So that's why Reinhard took Felt' Subaru thought to himself, surprised that Felt is one of the candidates for the throne. The room stood in silence due to this revelation, unsure on how to handle it. Felt approached Reinhard and although he tried to be comforting, she attempted to kick him yet he managed to block the attack with ease. He asked what was wrong only for her to complain about the lack of information he had given her. As she complained, she noticed Sora and Subaru to which she immediately went from hostile to overjoy, happy to see her two favorite keyblade wielders.

"It has been such a long time, how goes Subaru's training?"

"He is improving very rapidly, I think he might be able to do second level magic now."

"That is so cool!"

Felt smiled happily at the two before Marcos asked if she was done rekindling her old friends and asked if she can stand alongside the other candidates. She approached the others, complaining for a bit until she noticed Emilia, making her happy to see a familiar face as well. The nobles were disturbed by this and quickly asked Reinhard how he found the next candidate. Reinhard explained that he found Felt in the slums which did not sit well with them. They questioned Reinhard to which the knights disliked this, causing tension to be in the room.

"Man, there is a lot of tension in this room."

"Doesn't bother me." Al says in a calm manner, not caring for what beef the knights and nobles had with each other. Felix chims in that he also doesn't care since his attention and loyalty is to Crusch. Julius expressed his loyalty to Anastasia before Subaru thought about how he will always be loyal to Emilia above everyone. Priscilla looks at Felt and makes a comment about how she is nothing more than lowlevel trash to which Felt took it as a challenge. Just as it seemed like a fight was going to break loose, Reinhard stepped in and apologized before showing everyone that Felt is one of the five candidates. He placed the insignia on her hand and it began to glow, showing that she is seen as one of the five who can become the queen of Lugnica.

Tensions grew with Priscilla insulting Emilia for being a silver half elf to which Subaru, Sora, and Felt all three did not take that kind of mistreatment lightly. Felt threatened to kill Priscilla if she didn't apologize to Emilia to which Reinhard had to step in again since tension was growing higher.

"It's not my fault she was born like the witch. And as for you, I think I should kill you for even thinking that you have the slightest chance of killing me."

"That's enough, I will not allow things to go on like this. I, Reinhard van Astrea, will protect Felt-sama so I suggest we just drop it entirely."

The tension managed to drop once the royal selection continued with each candidate being introduced with their attendant. The first was Priscilla Barielle with Al as her attendant, to which she began to speak in an overconfident manner,

"This selection is pointless. I am the one suited to rule this nation! All you need to do is serve me and grovel at my feet."

Sora felt a bit displeased when he heard this, reminding him of Larxene again for a brief moment before he started to picture Priscilla sharing the same traits as Jafar, both wanting power. This made him uneased for a bit, meanwhile the next candidate to be announced was Crusch Karsten with Felix standing by her side.

"Should I become the new ruler, I will make the dragon forget the covenant it demanded. The Dragon's Empire of Lugnica belongs not to the dragon, but to us."

Sora paid close attention to the way Crusch was saying to which he did not find too much of a problem yet he can feel that she has some selfish motives for wanting to cut ties with the dragon. The next candidate to step up was Anastasia Hoshin of the Hoshin Company with Julius standing beside her.

"I'm a greedy gal, so I want everything. No amount of commercial success can satisfy me. I want my own nation!"

This behavior bothered Sora since he can see that not only is Anastasia greedy but very naive, wanting everything to herself. The only person that comes to that kind of attitude would be Maleficent, both wanting everything to themselves without a care. The next of the candidates to be announced was Emilia with Roswaal standing by her side.

"I have only one wish. For all to be equal. I desire to create a nation where all citizens are equal!"

Emilia bowed to show respect to everyone, making Sora feel like he is looking at Jasmine since both of them had the same kind of confidence. As he thought this, he could hear Roswaal in a slightly embarrassed tone say,

"Still, after the introduction of all those knightly attendants, I feel terribly out of plaaaaaace!"

Sora and Subaru chuckled a little since they did notice that Roswaal was out of place due to how the other candidates had knights as their attendants. The next one to be called up was Felt with Reinhard by her side. She expresses to the council that she wishes to not participate, not wanting anything to do with the kingdom. This leads one of the council members to not only insult Felt by stating that she is a gutter rat but insults Emilia for being a half elf, even calling her a half devil. This amount was about to cause Subaru to go and give them a piece of his mind yet Sora grabbed him by his arm in a calm manner,

"Don't worry Subaru, I got this."

"Master Sora, what are you doing?"

Subaru looked at Sora, as he walked towards the sage council which got everybody's attention, including the council. Emilia noticed this and quickly pleaded to Sora that it was alright yet he didn't listen to her, which surprised her since she was sure that Subaru would be the one to lose it.

"Who are you supposed to be, boy?"

Sora did not speak at all, he was filled with anger inside of him due to having to watch people constantly disrespect Emilia only because she was a half elf. Reinhard quickly noticed the determination in the young boy's eyes and quickly asked him to not do anything foolish. Sora nodded at Reinhard before pulling out his keyblade to the sage council, surprising everyone in the room.

"My name is Sora, I'm the Keyblade's chosen one and one of seven guardians of light. I'm also friends with Emilia and Felt, so apologize to both of them."

"Why should we? One is literally a spitting image of the witch of envy while the other is a gutter rat-!"

"I don't care. Those two are much better than all of you. And compared to the candidates here, they would serve much better than any of them. Priscilla is selfish and will only look out for herself. Anastasia has revealed to everyone that she is a greedy person, which would only lead to things going down her path. Crusch is the only one who honestly strives to make things better yet she is also hiding the fact that she has a personal grudge with the dragon. I can tell by how she feels when the dragon is mentioned, she is filled with rage which would cause problems for the kingdom if ruled by anger. You are all phoney and fake, at least Felt is honest about who she is and isn't trying to be something she is not. And at least Emilia wants everyone to be treated equally instead of those of her kind. You are all horrible people."

Subaru has never seen his master be calm and collected while at the same time filled with anger inside of him, knowing that they both share the same anger on the way Emilia is being treated. The royal candidates all looked at Sora with disgust towards him, not liking the way he was speaking about them while the knights were all now against Sora except for Reinhard.

"Reinhard van Astrea, show this boy where his place is." One of the council members spoke, wanting to put Sora in his place. Reinhard pleaded but the council member ordered him to do it. Reinhard asked all the knights and nobles to make a large space since he knows that he might end up fighting Sora in his Ultima form. As the two got the space they needed to dual, Reinhard looked at Sora and spoke in a calm yet saddened voice,

"I wished to not fight you, Sora. You are my friend but I cannot ignore an order, I hope you can understand that."

"I do Reinhard, I hold no grudge against you but I won't be going easy myself."

Sora pulled out Kingdom Key and got himself into his fighting pose with Reinhard's Dragon Sword Reid pulling out from its sheath once again, catching everyone's attention. Before their duel began, Reinhard had asked Sora why he isn't using the Ultima weapon, knowing that it is Sora's best weapon. Sora looked at Kingdom Key and responded to Reinhard by saying,

"It's because I trust this keyblade, it has been there from the very beginning and I will continue to trust its power along with that power that all my friends, including you, give to me."

Reinhard smiled at this, knowing that deep down Sora will always have a kind spirit, which also makes it sad since he needs to beat his friend as ordered. The two stood silent for a bit before charging one another light speed, creating lots of air to push everyone back, surprising all the knights and the sage council.

Come on Master Sora, I know you can do it! I believe in you! Subaru thought to himself, believing that if anybody can beat Reinhard, it would be him. Everyone looked amazed as they saw Reinhard and Sora on equal footing, making Felt start making comments about the fight.

"Come on Sora, kick his ass!"

"Now Miss Felt, that hurts to see you are routing for my opponent."

"Hehehe" Felt laughed a little, knowing that Reinhard is a little hurt by her comment while also making Sora feel much stronger that he has Felt cheering for him. The two continued with Sora beginning to add magic into the mix. He sent Firaga towards Reinhard, causing him to block the attack with ease before he quickly blocked Sora's attack from behind, having used his divine protection to allow him to block any attack. He quickly jumped back and summoned Thunderaga at Reinhard, seeing how he would react to a lightning attack yet the sword saint dodged it. Sora quickly charged at him and managed to barely deflect off one of his attacks, feeling a strong impact. The two gained some distance from each other with Reinhard impressed that even though Sora is in his normal status, he was still very powerful in his own right while Sora viewed Reinhard as the best opponent he has ever faced next to Riku.

He took a moment before he realized that he would actually need to try beyond his very best to at the very least land one hit on Reinhard. He was tempted to use either of his drive forms or his form change yet he knew how risky it was and the amount of people close by would put people in danger should he use the same power he used against Elsa in their first encounter. This gave Sora something to think about, realizing that he really needed to have faith in the power bestowed towards him, knowing that all those friends he has made will be there to help him when he needs it.

Donald, Goofy, Riku, Kairi, Subaru, Rem, Emilia, Felt, Old Man Rom, Roswaal, even you Reinhard, give me my strength to win this fight.

Sora thought to himself long and hard, thinking about those closest to him which allowed his keyblade to glow all around, showing that the power inside of him had listened to Sora and is now giving him enough power to stand up to Reinhard. As both the Keyblade Wielder and the Sword Saint clashed weapons, its power was enough to blow the whole room with a strong wind wave, blowing some of the nobles towards a wall. This amount of power has never been seen before and as the battle continued to get much more tense, the council realized that Sora is not just some kid who thinks himself as much better than everyone. They see Sora as a true warrior especially when Sora somehow managed to break one of Reinhard's divine protections, managing to land a blow on his stomach which sent him straight towards the ground due to their fight being in the air for a bit. Reinhard in his mind has never been hit while he had his divine protections on, which left him stunned at first but then feeling some joy that he is facing someone who could actually equal if not surpass him in actual strength and power.

"Stop this fighting at once!"

One of the councilmen spoke out with the others backing him up, all afraid that Sora would end up defeating the Sword Saint since nobody in the history of Lugnica has ever even managed to land a hit on the sword saint with all the divine protections activated. As the two stopped, Julius and Subaru were the most in shock by this. Subaru was more shocked yet happy that somehow Sora had gained enough power to even handle someone like Reinhard, who he heard is extremely overpowered while Julius's shock is that a boy is able to land a hit at his best friend when he is fighting at his very best.

"Young man, you said your name is Sora, right? Where exactly does this power you hold is?"

Sora looked at the council member with a very serious facial expression since he was the one who not only forced Reinhard to face him but the one who was being the most rude to Felt and Emilia. As he took note of what he heard, he looked at the sage council member and was about to answer yet he recalled his discussion with Roswaal. He paused and thought carefully before he made up his mind.

"Yes, My name is Sora who wields the power of the Keyblade. What gives me the strength to not only be stronger but helps me push forward is my friends. My friends are my power!"

The council members all stood silent for a moment from what he heard from the Keyblade wielder. The other candidates all looked at Sora and felt some interest in the boy and the power he displayed to everyone.

That boy is stupid with his ideologies of friendship...god I hate that type of thinking but if he were to be my little pet for me to use, he could prove quite useful. Especially if he really is stronger than the sword saint himself.

Priscilla thought to herself, having been fascinated by the fight and impressed by how Sora is much more powerful than what he perceives to be.

He would make a great addition to the things I want, after all I have to have everything. I'm meant to have everything and imagine, me, having the strongest warrior that could surpass the sword saint himself. That would make me happy!

Anastatia thought to herself when thinking about having the power of the keyblade to herself, wanting everything for herself.

This boy, he was able to tell that I have something against the dragon...but his power is quite amazing. Could he be the key we need to defeat that monster that has taken away so many people?"

Crusch thought to herself about the power she just witnessed, a bit surprised by Sora's strength and even wondering if he truly is stronger than Reinhard.

Sora, I was expecting Subaru to burst out for what they were saying to me yet you are still showing kindness to those who said mean things. You stood up for not only me but for Felt. You really are Subaru's master, kindhearted and slightly careless.

Emilia smiled at Sora as she felt grateful for having an actual friend who cares about her and doesn't give her special treatment. She quickly turned towards Subaru and could see how amazed he was by what Sora did. She smiled at him as well, feeling happy that he kept his promise to her.

The council all looked at Sora before questioning him on what candidate he supported, curious to know whether he would choose Felt or Emilia. Sora looked at all the candidates and could tell that Emilia was slightly mad at him for having stood up for her yet deep down she felt glad he wasn't too rash. Sora took a moment before finally answering the council's question,

"I will not make a choice, Felt and Emilia are my friends and I will stand by them until the very end."

The sage council looked at Sora with some annoyance since they wanted him to give them an actual answer. Emilia and Felt both looked at Sora with some happiness in their heart that he would not choose either one but choose both of them. Because she was happy that Sora stayed true to who he is and praised her for who she was, she approached the council and started to say to them,

"Okay then, I'll join this stupid royal selection but before warned, I will be taking down all it! I hate nobility! I hate knights! I hate this kingdom! So I will be taking it all down but I will want the keyblade wielders to take over for both knights and nobilities because I trust that Sora will train wielders to help the ones that have suffered the most."

Felt looked at Sora and smiled at him, giving the boy something to look forward to considering that he is now being placed as the one to train new keyblade wielders should Felt win. Reinhard noticed this and smiled, happy to see that Felt had a change of heart with Sora. Felt turned towards Reinhard and asked him if he will stay loyal to her despite the fact that he will take down his status as a knight. Reinhard smiled and told Felt in a confident manner that he will support her no matter what. She smiled and was content with what she heard, warning him that she will be overworking him.

As this is happening, Sora called Subaru to his position, to which the boy was hesitant at first but he then caved in. As he approached his master, Sora looked at the council and quickly started to tell them,

"This here is my apprentice, Natsuki Subaru. He is not just my apprentice but also my friend, and he is the knight of Emilia."

The moment he said that he was the knight for Emilia, all the knights including Emilia turned towards Sora. This was something they were all uncertain with but seeing that Sora is not acting any hostile or unnoble like, the knights trusted his word while Emilia gave a look of uncertainty. Before anything else could be done, a knight entered the room in a panic which caught everyone's attention. Marcos approached the knight to ask him what happened, worried for the knight as he can see that he was injured. The knight looked at Marcos and started to speak in a panicked tone of voice,

"There were these creatures...dark creatures...they are attacking the capital!"

Everyone stood silent at this for a few seconds, processing what was going on before heartless starting appearing in front of everyone, taking away many knights and nobles in the process. Sora noticed this and quickly got his keyblade and started taking down heartless left and right with ease. Subaru also joined in on the fight, having his keyblade in hand and slaying down the shadow type and soldier type heartless.

"We need to get everyone in the capital safe! Let's move out, Imperial knights!" Julius said to all of the knights, getting their spirits up to fight. As Julius leads the knights out of the castle to get the civilians to safety, he turns towards both Subaru and Sora to ask them if the two can join the knights in pushing back the heartless. Subaru was hesitant since he wanted to stay and protect Emilia yet seeing that Reinhard is staying back to protect the candidates, he agreed to assist them along with Sora.

Reinhard looked at the council and the candidates to tell them to stay where they are, knowing that the heartless are dangerous. Al turns to Priscilla to see what she wants to do and to his surprise, she starts to walk towards the exit. Reinhard attempts to stop her yet she looks at the sword saint only to tell him,

"You are not in charge of what I do, sword saint! Besides, this world is designed to operate in the way that works best for me, so I am never at a disadvantage."

"But-"

"Sorry Sword Saint but you aren't going to convince her but if it makes you feel any better, I'll stick by her side and protect her."

"Thank you." Reinhard turned towards the other candidates to tell them to stay put yet the next one to leave is Crusch with Felix walking with her. Reinhard asked Felix to stop Crusch from leaving yet Crusch looked at the Sword Saint and quickly told him in a respectful yet very serious manner,

"I'm sorry Sword Saint but I cannot just sit here and let everyone else take care of the kingdom I wish to protect. And if my safety is your concern, I have Felix to protect me."

"Wait but Felix-"

"Trust me, Reinhard. I may not be strong but I will not fail to protect Crusch."

With that Felix and Crusch both left together; This left Reinhard to try to convince Emilia, Felt, and Anastasia to stay put. The next person to have chosen to leave was Anastasia, with her reasoning being that she knows Julius will protect her and trusting that her crew will be protecting her as well. Reinhard felt bad that he hasn't been able to get any of the candidates to listen to him until Felt approached him and started to say,

"Come on, don't be down in the ground. I know you were tasked to protect us, so come with me and Emilia to help Sora and Subaru."

Reinhard looked at Felt and smiled, knowing that it is his duty to protect her. Knowing that Felt won't listen to what he says, he agreed to accompany her in helping Subaru and Sora while asking Emilia to join them in protecting the capital. Emilia looked at Felt and Reinhard, seeing that they wanted her to join them. She smiled for a moment before giving a determined look, knowing that Subaru and Sora are going to need help. She turned towards Roswaal to ask him if he could protect the sage council to which he agreed before she summoned Puck.

"Hello Lia, is something going on?"

"Yes, the dark creatures Sora warned us about are attacking the capital."

"I understand Lia." Puck began to fly near Emilia, ready to fight alongside her. Emilia told Reinhard she is ready before they all make their way towards the outside, ready to join the others in facing off the heartless. As Reinhard, Emilia, Puck, and Felt all leave together, Roswaal looks at them before closing his eyes. So, another test to see if you two have what it takes. Although this isn't what the path was supposed to be, I do wonder if your resolve will push you all through.