Chapter 17: Things going south
Subaru repeated the same loop of events up until the suggestion of getting the other knights, since he feels like they need a larger army to deal with the threat that is Petelgeuse. Waraki understanding how Subaru feels, vouches that they get Reinhard since he would possibly be the one to take down the Witch cult without a problem yet Yabuto intercepted this idea by stating that the sword saint is off on some other duties.
"Darn, I guess we could convince the other camps to assist us."
"Doubt the Priscilla camp would help and Anastasia camp would be tough to recruit since they are known for being scummy."
"Hmm, then why don't we try this. Waraki can have some knights join us in this while Yabuto and Kishida can inform Miss Crusch that Rem and I had gone to deal with something for the knights."
"Hmm that might work, newbie, but are you sure you want to go right now? You won't have all your stuff with you."
"Positive." Subaru spoke with confidence, knowing that they can't afford to waste any seconds. Waraki, Yabuto, and Kishida noticed this and nodded at the boy, trusting his judgement before they all started to go with the plan. Waraki took Subaru and Rem to the Guard station to get some knights while Yabuto and Kishida headed towards Crusch's place to inform her of Subaru's mission. While Subaru, Rem, and Waraki all three headed towards the Guard Station, Subaru began small talk,
"How do you know so much of the witch cult?"
"Those bastards destroyed my village many years ago and left nobody alive. I was returning back from picking out fruits for my family only to find my home in ruins. Nobody survived...I sworn I would never allow anything like this to happen to anybody else ever again."
"That's very tough. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Subaru. If I can avenge my family, then it is fine by me."
Subaru looked at Waraki's eyes and saw that the two had the same eyes of determination against the witch cult. The three entered the Guard Station where Waraki gathered knights who were not going to fight the White Whale. Surprising Subaru, Waraki on his own gathered the same knights from the previous loop. This made him more determined to get this loop right since he doesn't want any of them to die. Without a moment of rest, Subaru and his group began to make their way towards the Mathers territory, confident that they would reach the area hours before the previous loop. During the road, Subaru was approached by Waraki who wanted to ask him how he knew the witch cult, something that never happened in his previous loops.
"I know them because they attacked a village I knew. They burned everybody and left no survivors...they even killed the children..."
Waraki looked at Subaru and could see the pain in his eyes when he was speaking about the Witch Cult, knowing that same feeling himself.
"Don't worry Subaru, we will make them pay."
"Of course we will!" Subaru nodded with confidence, gaining the trust of Waraki as he wanted to avenge his village from the massacre created of the witch cult. They all continued on as normal with the exception that Yabuto and Kishida were not present with them, making Subaru slightly worried that they are in a bit of a disadvantage but still confident enough that they can beat the witch cult and Petelgeuse.
As night time hits on the land, Subaru looks around and notices that his previous loops he never got a chance to admire the area. This prompted Rem and Waraki to join him in viewing the large tree that is called the Flugel tree.
"Flugel tree?"
"A huge tree that stands so tall in the Lifaus Highway, it seems to pierce the clouds. Legend has it that, centuries ago, a wise man named Flugel planted it."
"I see...I can't call that anything but amazing."
Subaru thought about what he heard for a moment, impressed by the view and what Rem said regarding the tree. As they were continuing on their journey, they managed to notice someone who resembles Otto waving his hand at the knights. This surprised Subaru since previously he had never encountered the boy on the road last time they all went out to go fight the Witch cult.
"Subaru?"
"We should talk to that guy."
"May I ask why?"
"Think about it Rem, Waraki, we could use them to get the villagers to safety while we face off against the witch cult bastards."
"You make a fair point."
Subaru approaches Otto and the other merchants to speak with them, all of them showing their respect for the boy since he is wearing the knight's attire. This slightly made him unease since he is not used to this kind of respect at all.
"W-What brings you knights all the way out here? It is a bit late and dangerous."
"I know but us knights are in a duty to save a village from getting attacked, we could use some help."
"H-How do you propose we should help, we are all just simple merchants!"
"I mean, Otto, you can sell them all that oil you bought out of season." All the merchants began to laugh at Otto, causing the white haired merchant to get flustered by this. Subaru stood silent for a moment before turning to Otto and asking for his help, offering to buy off all of the oil if he can help them in getting the village to safety. Rem showed off a bag filled with lots of gold to show the merchants that they will be paid well should they help, getting every merchant to join the knights in making their way towards Arlem village.
During this journey, Subaru and Waraki both made small talk with a merchant that looked to be the oldest wearing a bandana for a bit, explaining the plan before turning to Otto, checking if he listened to which he nodded that he was listening. Subaru turned back towards his right side only to see the merchant disappear.
"What the hell? What happened to the merchant?"
"What are you talking about, Subaru? We've only been talking about Otto."
"Huh?"
Waraki and Subaru both noticed an odd fog near them and a large silhouette near them, causing Subaru to pull out his phone to check what exactly is near them. As the two saw a large eye look at them, Waraki immediately realized what was going on, causing him to pull out his sword and without hesitation stab the large creature in the eye, hearing a large cry of pain which ended up causing a large fog to cover everybody.
"Shit! Everybody scatter now!"
"What's going on, Waraki?!"
"It's the White Whale!"
W-What?! Th-The White Whale?! What is it doing here?!" Otto speaking in fear as he is aware that being near the white whale would mean certain death for everybody. Waraki turned towards the knights nearby their position and told them to protect the merchants, not wanting any innocent people being killed. Rem got her flail out and prepared to fight alongside Subaru and Waraki yet the three were interrupted when a voice from Otto's wagon spoke to them.
"Hmm you three seem like you are looking to die, considering that this is a failing battle."
"Who is...it is you!" Subaru looked at Vanitas, recalling the beatdown he received by the organization member and the fact that he was the reason he lost his keyblade. Thoughts of anger clouded his mind, causing him to point his sword towards Vanitas while saying, "Allow me to defeat you, asshole!"
"Now is that anyway of talking. I thought you would mature without that weapon but it seems I was wrong. You are another pathetic boy just like my brothers...though they at least could accomplish something."
Something broke inside Subaru, the anger having been building up inside of him finally revealing itself. Subaru looked at both Waraki and Rem before telling them to deal with the White Whale while he takes care of Vanitas. Waraki nodded while Rem advised him to be careful, worried for him yet knowing that she should deal with the white whale.
"Trust me asshole, I've been waiting to settle the score with you."
"I see, you are very prideful despite not having the keyblade by your side."
"Trust me, I will earn my weapon back and save everybody!"
Subaru, with his resolve strengthened, charged at Vanitas with everything he got, having recalled how his last fight with him ended in losing his weapon, he feels that he can defeat his opponent while reclaiming the keyblade he had lost. As the young boy is about to hit his opponent, Vanitas deflected the attack without any problem. Subaru was anticipating this and quickly attempted to kick his opponent on his right side yet Vanitas grabbed his leg with ease as well. Subaru was shocked by this but he didn't give up, he used his free hand to punch the helmet on his opponent yet his hand was hurting when he attempted that attack.
"Did you seriously attempt to punch my face? That's honestly a new one."
Vanitas threw Subaru across the wagon, causing Subaru's anger to increase yet his confidence is still strong. While Subaru attempts to land a proper hit on his opponent, Waraki stands near Otto to protect him from the white whale while Rem fires water attacks at the white whale, doing damage to the beast. The beast takes damage from this and starts to scream in pain, causing a loud sound wave to hit their wagon. The wagon shakes a lot which caused Subaru's attack to mess up. Vanitas looked at the young boy with disappointment in his eyes, annoyed that he is the one Sora trained. He continued to dodge every attack until finally with one swing of his keyblade he shattered Subaru's sword.
"You are truly a pathetic weakling! You don't deserve the keyblade!"
Subaru looked up and all he could think of himself was a weakling. Ever since he came to this world he needed other people to help him. Emilia saved him when he was being beaten up by three thugs. Reinhard and Sora both during the loot house. Sora had to take on Elsa due to the fact that they both didn't stand a chance against her in the very first loop. Julius and the other knights during the capitol. All Subaru could do is accept his fate and hope that he can continue to loop since he has only died two times at each checkpoint. Just as Vanitas was going to swing his keyblade at Subaru, he felt something hard hit him in the chest, damaging him and sending him flying off the wagon. Subaru was surprised by this and quickly looked behind him to see Rem standing there.
"You leave Subaru...no, my friend...leave me friend alone!"
"Rem…"
Subaru was surprised by this yet he recalled this familiar scenario. He took a moment to think before recalling this back when Rem and him were originally facing off Elsa while Sora went off to save the little blue haired girl. He smiled and tried to get up but Rem ended up casting a bit of water magic to put the young boy to sleep similar to how she did in the original timeline of events in the hotel.
"No Rem...I can...I can…"
"I don't want you to get hurt. When you see Sora-kun...make sure he knows that I love him…"
"What are you…"
All Subaru can remember is Rem smiling at him before jumping out to attack the White Whale that was still chasing them. He tried to reach his hand towards Rem yet all he recalled from that was blank.
'Rem...why?'
"Damn it, Otto can you hurry up and get us out of here?!"
"I-I'm trying!"
"Damn it Rem, why did you have to do that?!"
Subaru started to move a little, feeling a bit nauseous since the ride was very bumpy yet he started to recall what had happened. This caused him to start screaming for Rem's name in panic due to the fear he has that something bad will happen to her. As he attempts to jump off the wagon, Waraki grabs his arm in an attempt to stop his friend from doing something foolish.
"Don't Subaru! You are not going to be able to help Rem, she jumped back to face the White Whale on her own to allow us to escape. Damn it, I wish we could've done something for her!"
"That's why we have to go back! Otherwise she will be killed!"
"N-No Natsuki-san! We can't let the girl's sacrifice be in vain!"
"Shut it Otto! I can't just let her go out there all alone!"
Subaru looked at Otto for a moment before attempting to jump off the wagon once again to save Rem, not wanting to lose someone yet Waraki continued to hold him back. Subaru tried all that he could to jump yet Waraki was much stronger than him. Eventually he stopped as he knew that no matter what he does he will not be able to jump off.
"Waraki, we can't let Rem stay out there to fight that damn thing!"
"What are you talking about, Subaru? Who is this Rem?"
"Yeah Natsuki-san, who is this Rem? We just barely got lucky."
Subaru was completely silent by this for a moment, unsure on what exactly to think on before attempting to punch Waraki. The knight noticed this and quickly blocked off the attack, surprised that his friend is acting weird before asking him what he is trying to do. Subaru started to have tears streaming in his eyes before speaking his mind.
"How could you all forget Rem?! The blue haired maid who was by my side! Who fought alongside us against the White Whale!"
"Subaru, what is going on? There was no maid with us. You managed to push that organization member with your own sheer power and I've been taking care of the white whale on my own. We just got lucky we escaped its sight."
Subaru looked at Waraki's eyes and could see that he isn't lying, causing Subaru to think about what could be causing this. This prompted him to ask Waraki if people who fought the White Whale are never remembered. The knight stood silent for a moment to think on the question, causing him to be at a pause.
"People who fight the damn beast never return back but there are rumors of people being forgotten. If that is the case, then that begs the question on why you are able to remember the forgotten."
"S-Sorry to interrupt you two but the White Whale is still behind us!"
"What?!" Both Subaru and Waraki were speaking in unison, causing them to see the White Whale pursuing them without hesitation. This got Waraki to pull out his sword while Subaru attempted to figure out a way to assist without a weapon. Waraki looked at Subaru for a moment before giving a knife to the boy, wanting to allow his friend to defend himself. As the two knights were preparing for combat, Otto started to ask why was the white whale after them considering that they were lots of other wagons it could follow.
"Subaru, Waraki, you two think there is a way to escape this damn White Whale?!"
"Subaru and I are trying but we will just need to keep going in hopes that we can escape the beast's wrath!"
Otto nodded at this and began to guide the ground dragon of his to move faster in hopes of escaping with their lives. Subaru and Waraki both paid attention to the way the White Whale was trying to bite them, assisting Otto in moving to areas where they will be able to survive yet at some point they realize that something has to be done if they want to live. Subaru smiled as he knew the only way to save Otto and his friend was for him to be left behind, having put the pieces together. He has the witch's scent on him and it is something that is drawing the White Whale towards the group. He smiled at Waraki before telling both him and Otto,
"Save the villagers for me, I will do my best to draw it away from you all."
"N-Now hold on Natsuki-san! You can't survive on your own!"
"I know Otto but I want you to get to those children first, I'm counting on you. Both of you."
"Wait Subaru-!"
Before Waraki was able to stop him, Subaru jumped off the wagon and managed to only break his right arm after having hit the ground hard. He rolled for a bit before finally coming to a stop, feeling his entire right arm broken and covered with blood. Damn it that was reckless but I have to give them a chance to survive.
Subaru got up and started to run as fast as he possibly could towards the Mathers territory in an attempt to catch up with Otto and Waraki. He ran and ran all night until finally it hit dawn with Otto's ground dragon alongside the wagon returned without Waraki or Otto. This gave him a cold chill in his spine yet he knew that he can't do anything about it in his state, prompting him to return back to the wagon and to head towards the village. As the ground dragon was heading towards the village with Subaru in the wagon, he looked up and had a sad look.
'Damn it...Otto...Waraki...I'm sorry you all are now gone because...of...me...'
Subaru's mind began to fill with despair as he started to recall the words Vanitas said to him, how he is a weakling and he believes it now more than ever since he let the white whale take Rem away, harm many innocent lives, and now Waraki and Otto are likely dead. This caused the boy to fall into a depression before he lost consciousness due to the amount of blood he lost.
Subaru woke up and saw that he was looking at the same ceiling he was when he first awoke in the mansion, making him realize that he had returned to the mansion somehow. He looked around slowly to see Rem for a brief second only for it to have been Ram with Sora by her side.
"Subaru, you are finally awake!"
"What happened to you, Barusu?"
Subaru looked at Ram and all he felt was guilt filling his heart, having failed to protect Rem and all those who were with him. Sora and Ram both noticed this which caused Sora to ask Subaru what had happened on his journey to the mansion, worried for the boy. Subaru looked at Sora and began to answer with a weak voice,
"I'm sorry...master...I couldn't save them...We were attacked by the White Whale and Rem...she ended up..."
"Subaru, what happened to Rem?"
"She...she says that she loves you before she fought the White Whale on her own..."
Sora's blood grew cold when he heard this, having a feeling that Rem could have died during the journey which caused the Keyblade wielder to feel despair in his heart. Before anything else can be said, Ram looked at the two boys puzzled before asking them who was Rem. Subaru had caught on to this first, having recalled that Waraki and Otto both had said this and what Waraki mentioned about the white whale proved to be right while Sora was puzzled by this question.
"Ram, this is no time for jokes."
"I can assure you, Sora, that I'm not joking."
"Why...do you not know who is Rem…You're own sister...?"
"I never had a sister, Sora. If anything you two could be the ones joking around."
"Why would Subaru or I joke around about this?!"
Subaru looked at his master and was a bit confused on how Sora and himself were able to remember Rem while Ram and the others aren't able to remember her at all. At first he thought that it could be the fact that they are keyblade wielders but he then recalled that he doesn't have a keyblade anymore. Before things got heated up more than they were, Subaru started to explain that the white whale erased the memory of Rem yet somehow his master and himself were able to remember the blue haired maid. This troubled Ram since if what Barusu said was true then something is not right. This led Ram to go to ask Roswaal about this, wishing to know how they can remember a sister she supposedly had while she doesn't remember at all.
As Ram left the room, both Sora and Subaru were unsure on how to respond to the other's presence with Sora confused and angry while Subaru attempted to puzzle the pieces together. After a moment of silence, Subaru broke the silence by asking a simple question, "Master Sora...what happens when you go into your anger form?"
"My...anger form?"
"When you are all angry that you look heartless, what happens to you?"
Sora was left silent by this statement for a bit, surprised that Subaru even knew about his rage form which was leaning him towards asking his apprentice on how he came across this information yet he knew that he probably wouldn't like the answer. Sora took a moment back before explaining his rage form, how it is pure darkness power and how it is dangerous to use since you lose the sense of self.
"So...if you were to find the one who possibly caused Rem harm...would you go into this form?"
"...I wouldn't like to rely on that form. It isn't as useful as one would think since you would be lost in darkness and lose all of your strength and stamina within a couple of minutes at least."
Subaru stood silent on this, seeing that Sora of this timeline hadn't witnessed Rem die in front of him, allowing himself to stay in his good state before resorting to going into his rage form. Before anything else can be said, Emilia entered the room to check on Subaru's well being after having seen him extremely injured when he was brought to them by the villagers.
"Subaru! You dunderhead! What were you thinking?!"
"Emilia...I'm sorry."
"Don't be too harsh on him, Emilia. He is recovering from his wounds, we should help comfort him."
"I know but...Subaru, you are such an idiot."
"I know I am, Emilia..."
Emilia hugged Subaru as she is happy that not only he returned but that he is still alive. Subaru and Sora both looked at each other, both wanting to confirm if Ram was messing with them or not. Subaru asked Emilia if she knew who Rem is which both Subaru and Sora paid close attention to Emilia's facial expression. She was puzzled for a moment before responding that she doesn't know, causing Sora to be confused on what is going on while Subaru confirmed that the White Whale did something.
"Why? Is this Rem someone I should know?"
"Rem is Ram's twin sister, Emilia-tan. She was with me during my recovery and she saved me from the White Whale but I think the White Whale did something to everyone's memories except Master Sora and mine."
Sora and Subaru were both puzzled by this while Emilia was unsure on what to do. Sora and Subaru both stood silent for a bit before Sora began to explain to Emilia more on who Rem is while Subaru started to think about how much of a hellish loop he is in. This doesn't make any sense, why am I able to remember her? Why is Sora also the other person who can remember Rem?...I need to do something.
Subaru grabbed his chest and quickly looked up at both Emilia and Sora, wanting to tell them both of the upcoming threat. He clenched his fist before saying to the two of them, "Master Sora...Emilia...there is something I must tell you both."
"Yes."
"What is it, Subaru?"
"I...I can Return by Dea-" There was a black mist that stopped everybody in their tracks except Sora, as he noticed that something was wrong. He was moving around for a moment before seeing a dark hand approaching Subaru's heart, causing Sora to pull out his keyblade and try to attack the dark hand from reaching Subaru's heart. As he does this, a bright light consumed the room for Sora until he ended up in what he can tell as Subaru's heart.
While there he looked around to see a dark figure approaching Sora as if it wanted to kill him. This caused him to summon his keyblade and to charge directly at it to fight the shadow. As Sora was going to hit the opponent, the opponent of his started to summon lots of dark hands. Sora deflected each of the attacks before attempting to hit his opponent without hesitation. As he does this, another bright light shines at Sora, returning back to the outside world with time reset along with Subaru finishing his sentence. "-th...wait, what's going on?"
"Subaru, what was that hand?"
"Unsure actually, wait did you hear what I said?"
"Not really, I wasn't able to but I'm sure Emilia heard-"
Subaru and Sora both looked at Emilia and saw her in a paused state before falling to the ground, causing both of the boys to check on her out of concern yet they realize that she died. This caused both Sora and Subaru to be broken by this as they don't know what exactly happened with the two making the assumption that the dark hand was the reason that killed Emilia. Sora fell to the ground in guilt while Subaru started to cry for Emilia, broken hearted by this. Before anything else can be done, Sora looked at Subaru and asked him what exactly did he said. Subaru looked at his master and was afraid to answer until he pulled out his keyblade, telling him that he would take care of the thing stopping him from speaking. Subaru trusted his master and tried again in revealing his Return by Death with only this time having managed to let it out once he spoke, not having realized that Sora was able to prevent the dark hand from grabbing each of their hearts. Subaru paused for a moment before looking at Sora, a bit puzzled at him before saying,
"So...you can Return by Death? Does that mean...you've been dying and returning back from that death?"
"Master..." Subaru fell to the ground as tears started to flow down his cheeks, unsure on how to take this since he knows that he can't continue on this world since they lost Emilia, Rem, Waraki, Otto, and all the other innocent people. He took a moment before telling him of the Mabeast invasion and the fight with Elsa, how it originally went before going into further detail about it, feeling like his burden is lifted up from him.
"Subaru...you have the ability to go back in time which is the reason why I lost my power of waking. Because I went back in time to save my friends. If we can find a way to have you go back in time without you dying, then let's do it."
"But Master Sora, if I do go back then you won't remember anything. Nobody will remember what happened."
"It's okay that I won't remember, Subaru. That's why I'm putting my trust all on you, my apprentice. I believe that you will save us all."
"Master Sora..."
Subaru was surprised by this and before anything else can be said, Sora left the room in hopes of finding answers for having Subaru go back in time without having to die. Subaru got up on his feet and wanted to follow his master yet he knew that the only way to save everyone was to die and restart everything from the beginning.
Master Sora, I'm sorry but I have to die...I don't want to die but I have to. I'm unsure if dying again will be my last but this is a world I can't allow to exist. A world without Rem...without Emilia...I have to save everybody and I won't let you all down…
Subaru started to sprint out of the room and made his way towards the cliff he once saw, having a resolve to save everybody. As he started to sprint all the way towards the cliff, he realized that he was surrounded by the witch cultist.
"What do we have here? Could you be the one known as Pride?"
"Damn you...Damn you Petelgeuse!"
"How...How do you know my name? My brain trembles!"
"I have to accomplish something now let me pass!"
"No...unless you show me your gospel to prove you are pride, then you may pass!"
Subaru looked at the witch cultist with fear in his eyes yet he knew that this could be his chance to be killed should he try to fight the sin archbishop of sloth. He held a tight fist before charging at Petelgeuse without any hesitation. The sin archbishop noticed this and quickly attempted to summon the dark hands to stop Subaru yet he was not expecting the boy to have been able to dodge his attacks, making him realize that he is able to see his attack.
"You can see my authority...my unseen hands...No No No NO! Nobody can see my unseen hands!"
Subaru dodged the attacks yet he was not able to dodge them all and was caught by one of the unseen hands. As it seemed like he was going to die, a bunch of icicles appeared to protect the boy. The witch cultists all looked up and saw that Puck standing in front of them with anger in his eyes. Before anybody could act, Puck completely killed them all with Petelgeuse being the last one standing.
"You witch cult bastards…!"
"I...I won't lose to a spirit! Augh! My brain trembles!"
Subaru took this opportunity to pull out the knife Waraki gave him and without hesitation he stabbed the sin archbishop in the throat. He didn't want Petelgeuse to do anything to Puck so he was able to stab him yet this didn't work. Petelgeuse laughed at him before using an unseen hand to throw him away without hesitation.
"Hahaha as if a mere knife could do such a thing."
"Damn it...I won't let you hurt Puck!"
Subaru tried to get up but Puck without hesitation killed Petelgeuse with a massive amount of icicles. As Petelgeuse's body was destroyed by Puck, the great spirit approached Subaru with anger in his eyes.
"I know you want to kill me..."
"Trust me Subaru, I want to kill you all but I heard what you told Sora, you can return by death."
"But...why did Emilia die?"
"The witch of envy, she must've somehow managed to kill my Lia but before you die, I want to help you out."
"How?"
"You need to think, what has been the problem you have been dealing with that leads to My Lia dying."
Subaru started to explain everything he had encountered as best he could before the witch stopped him from speaking. Puck noticed this and quickly started to grow into his giant form, knowing that the rage in him is starting to overwhelm him.
"Puck, I want to ask, why didn't you kill me now?"
"I would until I found out you could go back in time to save my Lia. Might as well give you some information in order to properly save her. Now if you want my advice, deal with Gluttony or as you all call it, the White Whale. Then come straight to the mansion to deal with the witch cult."
"Thanks Pu-" Subaru paused himself as he started to feel something inside him taking control. He felt his mind filled with the laughter of a mad man he is aware of, causing him to start to laugh like that maniac. Puck noticed this and realized what happened, causing him to tell Subaru that he should get it right the next go before destroying the boy's body in one attack, giving him as much mercy as possible.
'Damn it...I'm dead again...but this time I will be able to save everybody...thank you Puck for the advice, I won't fail you, or Emilia, or Master Sora, or Rem...I won't fail you all again. You all...my friends...are my strength… you give me my power!'
As his mind thought of this, he opened his eyes to find himself standing in an odd large pillar of sorts with a picture of a sleeping Emilia. This confused him as he was trying to figure out where he is. As he looked around, he noticed three stone pedestals appeared with a sword, a staff like wand, and a shield on top of each stone pedestal.
'Choose.'
Subaru heard the voice and quickly went to inspect each and every one to see what they feel as he can tell that they are powerful within their own right. He first approached the sword.
'The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction.'
Subaru moved onto the staff like wand.
'The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin.'
He finally went towards the shield last.
'The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all.'
Subaru looked at the three weapons and started to think about everybody he cares about. The first person was Emilia, the girl who saved his life in the beginning of his new life in another world. He then thought about Sora, how his master worked very hard to not only protect them all but he gave him a purpose. He then started to think about his other friends such as Rem, Ram, Roswaal, Old Man Rom, Felt, Reinhard, Yabuto, Kishida, Waraki, and others he had met along the way.
This prompted Subaru to make the choice of getting the shield rather than the sword, desiring to get the strength to shield everybody from dying rather than gaining a weapon of strength that'll blind him.
'Your path is set. Now, what will you give up in exchange?'
Subaru gave up the power of the mystic before seeing the staff disappear the same way the shield disappeared when he chose the power of the guardian.
'Is this the form you choose?'
Subaru without hesitation nodded before the pillar underneath him started to break before engulfing the young boy into a pit of darkness. As the darkness was beginning to brighten up, Subaru realized that he returned back to the checkpoint.
This time I will save you all, I will not let anybody else die but first thing is first, we get all the strength we can by stopping the White Whale.
Note:
1. Yes, Puck did heard the RBD because Sora took care of the unseen hand and stopped it from reaching any of them.
2. Sora time traveled before and even managed to still move even when Xehanort used Stopza in Kingdom Hearts 3, there would be no reason that he couldn't be able to move around when Satella stops time.
3. Sora and Subaru aren't from the world so that is why Sora can also remember Rem.
4. I know many would say that he would choose the sword. I did struggled with that but remember, by this time he is much different than his canon counterpart or even in the beginning of this series.
I hope you are all enjoying the story so far, keep on writing your reviews as I do enjoy reading your reviews.