Chapter 27: Chained up to reality
Subaru and Petra together went upstairs with Frederica, Ram, and Saix by their side meanwhile on the first floor, the three knights together took on the Mabeast that were entering through another entrance to the mansion. As the knights took on the Mabeast with Waraki taking the lead, Subaru turned towards Petra and noticed the Meow Wow dream eater appearing next to the girl, staying close to its owner to protect her. Subaru smiled as he knows that Petra has something protecting her in the case he isn't able to before they arrived on the floor of the meeting. Ram looked at Subaru and told him,
"Try not to die, useless Barusu."
"I should be telling you that but honestly do be careful, you and Frederica."
"We shall, just get Rem and Beatrice out of the mansion."
"I will."
Frederica, Ram, and Saix all separated from the group while Subaru and Petra along with Petra's dream eater continued their way up the stairs until they reached the correct floor. As they were running towards Rem's room, a swarm of heartless appear to block their path. Subaru smiled as he started to take each heartless out without hesitation or trouble, proving that he has gotten stronger since he first started his training with Sora. Petra looked and smiled as she saw someone she respected showing their skills before sending her dream eater to help Subaru out. As the two were taking down the heartless with ease, they noticed a large Mabeast appearing at the end of the long hallway.
"Well this isn't good."
"What do we do, Subaru-sama?"
"Don't worry Petra, your dream eater and I will protect you."
Petra nodded as the dream eater got in front of her along with Subaru, both prepared to defend the little girl with everything they had. As the two waited, the Mabeast noticed them and quickly started to charge at the two, ready for a fight. Subaru quickly charged at the Mabeast and with all of his strength he attacked first, barely managing to do a fatal hit.
As Subaru turned around, he quickly dodged one of the Mabeast's attack before summoning Blizzard at the beast, managing to freeze it in place. Once freezing the Mabeast, Petra's dream eater took the opportunity to attack which caused the Mabeast's frozen body to break, killing it in the process. Subaru smiled at this before telling Meow Wow and Petra to follow him into Rem's room.
As they are getting closer to the room, they can feel the fighting increasing just by how the power surging around the mansion is increasing, making Petra feel scared until Subaru decides to carry her in order to assure that nothing bad happens to the little maid. As they enter Rem's room, they notice Replica Riku is already there, waiting for someone. When he notices Subaru enter the door, he looks away while in a disgusted tone of voice he says,
"Oh, it's you. Wasn't expecting a phoney to be here."
"Shut it, jackass! What are you even doing here anyway?"
"Was waiting on Sora but of course he sends his pathetic apprentice."
"What do you want with Master Sora?"
"None of your business. Anyway leave the girl here. Go fight that monster out there."
Subaru looked at Replica Riku and deep down he knew that he shouldn't be trusted, making him pull out his keyblade and point it at the organization member.
"Then tell me what are you doing here in Rem's room? I won't ask again."
"Fine, if it'll get you to shut up. I'm here to protect this maid, apparently she has the potential of being one of the seven lights Master Xehanort is looking for. You, the half-elf, Sora, and even the Sword Saint are considered to be guardians of light with the half-elf also being a candidate for a princess of light."
"Guardian of light...princess of light...what does this all matter to your little crew?"
"Hmm, that's as far as we will go regarding this discussion. If you want to know more, then ask that so-called master of yours. Now go and-"
Before Replica Riku could finish his sentence, a large explosion happens near them with the mansion also beginning to shake. This causes both Replica Riku and Subaru to get their weapons ready for a fight. Subaru tells Petra to stay with Rem while he along with Replica Riku go check what is going on.
As the two check, they see a large balck dragon facing off against Saix, which makes Subaru realize that he needs to go get Beatrice before the mansion is completely destroyed. He turns to Replica Riku and tells him, "Get Rem and Petra out of here, if you have to wake Rem up then fine but get them out of here."
"That's not your call, Sora has to make that call on waking Rem up."
"Fine whatever but get them out of here."
"That was the plan after all, get the sleeping girl out of harm's way but you will owe us for protecting the other one."
"Don't care, just go!" Subaru runs deeper into the mansion, in search of the door that'll lead him to Beatrice's forbidden library. Replica Riku watched Subaru run before smirking at himself, knowing that the boy stands no chance in surviving the fight and quickly was tempted to do something yet he senses a burning light coming from Petra, making him think if she is a princess of light.
As Subaru was running down the hallway, he could hear loud explosions and could feel the amount of energy Saix and the dragon were giving each other, making him think that without Saix they might have been in trouble. As Subaru runs and runs for a bit, he notices Yabuto holding an injured Kishida while Waraki is bleeding from his entire right side.
Subaru went to check on the three only for a couple of Mabeast to attack the Keyblade wielder. He took down a few but one managed to push him back, forcing him to run the other way since he doesn't want to end this loop without trying to save everyone. He looks at his knight friends to see how they are holding up and notices Waraki managing to hold his own with everything he got while Yabuto runs to get Kishida to safety.
'Damn, I hope they get out of this alright...I better work hard to get Beatrice out of here.'
Subaru looked at every door yet he had trouble finding Beatrice until he arrived towards it at the floor above the one Rem was. As he was about to open it, he heard the exact same movements he heard in his previous loop prior to dying. Similar to his previous loop, he casted Reflect in order to block Elsa's attack. As Elsa grabbed her knife and escaped the light explosions that usually happen once the barrier goes down, she looks at Subaru with a rather pleased look.
"I have to say, you arrived here earlier than what my employer said. Not only that but your ally there is really making Mother very excited. I haven't seen her be this happy to face someone strong in ages."
"Wait, that dragon is Capella?"
"Of course though do try to not mention her name, she doesn't like that unless she tells you to. Anyway, it seems you are looking for the spirit just as I am."
"Wait what happened to Frederica and Ram?"
"Ah the two maids, the demi human and the red haired one really did put up quite a fight yet they didn't seem to actually be the true challenge Sora gave me."
"Wait...are they..." Subaru begins to puke as he thinks of the fact that Ram and Frederica are dead. Elsa takes this opportunity to attack Subaru only for Waraki's sword to deflect off her attack. Subaru looks up and notices that Waraki, Yabuto, and Kishida made it to the floor he is in just in time. As the three were with him, they all noticed that the fighting outside had stopped. Elsa looked up and began to speak in an innocent like tone,
"Mother, as your fight ended already?"
"Seems like he wanted to waste my time. Though he was pretty handsome, I have to say. Wish he didn't just disappear in some portal."
"Of course he left, the bastard."
"Damn, seems like we got to pick up the slack."
Subaru and his three friends gathered together with Kishida looking to be in an even worse state than he was originally. As the four are trapped with one side being the Bowel Hunter and the other side being the Sin Archbishop of Lust, they all knew that this was a dead end. Subaru realized that there were more problems in the mansion, considering that Saix left them to die while Replica Riku took Rem and Petra with him. As they are surrounded, Subaru turns towards the door and sees that it is still the one that'll lead him to Beatrice. The other knights glanced at the door for a moment before looking back at their opponent, knowing that this is their chance to save Subaru.
"Newbie, I want you to make us knights a promise. Always fight to stay alive. We have reached a dead end and can buy you enough time to get the great spirit out of here but do you best not to waste it."
"Wait, what are you-"
Subaru was cut off as Kishida opened the door with Waraki shoving Subaru in before closing it, having sent their friend into Beatrice's forbidden library. Subaru attempted to get up and joined them yet they closed the door quick enough with Subaru hitting himself with the door. He attempted to open the door yet Beatrice was preventing him by making sure her door stays looked from the inside to stop Subaru from trying to face off Capella and Elsa.
"Your motivation to leave is now gone, I suppose. The door has moved and it is only a matter of time before those three perish."
"Why would they do that?! I could've helped...damn it!"
Subaru bangs his hand on the wall, not wishing his friends to die but seeing that he already made a number of mistakes in this world, he knows he has to end his life. Before he considers doing that, he turns to Beatrice to ask her why she didn't help them out.
"There isn't any reason for Betty to leave the library, I suppose."
"Oh really, then why did you allow them to save me?! Why did you move your door somewhere else then?! If everything gets set in stone then we lose...we lose good people...I can't allow this, damn it you should've had me be killed!"
"I don't get it...I don't understand this."
'I can't have this world be like this!' Subaru thought to himself as he kicked the table and attempted to kill himself only for Beatrice to stop him by attempting to take away the broken glass of her tea cup from his hands. As the two were fighting over it, Subaru questions Beatrice's actions only for her to say,
"I won't let you die, I have no intention of letting you."
"But you have to Beatrice!"
"I said no!" Beatrice using her mana draining ability drained some of Subaru's mana just like she did when they first met in order to weaken him enough to take away the broken glass from his hand. As Subaru laid there weakened, he noticed a book and realized that it was similar to Petelgeuse's gospel.
"What the hell...is that doing here?!"
Beatrice grabbed the book and held it closely to her with a smile while Subaru's attention was now on Beatrice. Subaru slowly got up to cast Cure in order to regain his energy once again before speaking to Beatrice properly.
"Tell me, why are you holding that book as if it is that important? Just answer me please. That's not the same the witch's cult has, is it Beako? Say something!"
"You can ask as much as you like but I haven't been commanded to answer those questions."
"What sort of things are written in that book? What's it telling you to do?"
"That question isn't in the book either, I suppose."
"Then what the hell is the purpose of that damn book then?! Why did you provide me cover and allowed my friends to die?!"
"That question is not in the gospel...the gospel is the only thing I had that gave me purpose to my very existence."
"Bullshit!" Subaru approached Beatrice in an attempt to take her book which she noticed, causing her to summon magic in an attempt to stop Subaru yet he was able to cast Reflect three times to get close enough to swipe the book away from her. She got mad and tried to stop him from reading the contents of the book only for Subaru to realize that all the pages were empty. Since Subaru realized the truth, she had to give an explanation.
"It was some time ago, when the book stopped showing what the future held for me many long years now."
"What...?"
"To maintain and curate this library's knowledge is what my contract demands, I suppose."
"A library of knowledge?"
"She enjoyed storing up knowledge more than anything else." Beatrice smiled as Subaru started to realize that he won't be able to convince Beatrice since she is trapped in her own prison due to a contract. Before he could learn more, the two turn towards the door to see Elsa stepping into the library with blood covering her entire left arm.
Subaru didn't hesitate to attack her, wishing to protect Beatrice yet much like his previous death, he suffered the same way as he pushed the Bowel hunter back for a bit before landing a decisive blow yet receiving his bowels getting cut open and immediately after both his arms getting chopped off. As he was dying once again by the same way, all he could muster was to say,
"Beatrice...please run...live...!"
"My my, the boy cares very fond of you. Let us see for how long!"
Elsa wishing Subaru to stay quiet stabs him in the chest, rapidly increasing his chances in dying quickly. The last thing he could see was a frightened Beatrice.
Subaru awoke back in the graveyard alongside Sora, Subaru trying to piece together on how they can help Beatrice yet he first had to deal with the fact that he needs to make Garfiel not distrust him this time. He quickly went to wake Emilia up just like in the previous loop yet instead of telling Garfiel that Sora and him took the trial, he stayed silent about it.
As everything played the same with Emilia joining them and all of them having a discussion of the trial, the same thing occurred with Subaru's mother and father both appearing and being reunited with him for a third time. As he went to take Emilia to bed, they had a conversation this time around as in the first loop he was too busy with his parents to tell them about his journey while in the second loop he had gone to talk to Garfiel. In this loop though, he wanted to speak to Emilia before she went to rest while Sora and Otto talked with Kenichi and Naoko.
"Are you sure you are alright, Emilia?"
"Yes...thanks to you...how about you? How do you feel with your parents being here with you now?"
"Honestly, it feels comforting actually. I don't know how they got here from another world but seeing them here makes me happy."
"That's good, I'm glad you are happy."
"You know, you are the first girl I had introduced to them...they might start asking a lot of things like our relationship and how much we like each other, parent stuff."
"O-Oh...really...?" Emilia's face burned red as she started to imagine something that Subaru said, making her a bit afraid of answering some of the questions regarding the feelings she has for Subaru as she is unsure of them yet. Subaru smiled at her and quickly told her that if she needs someone, she can count on Subaru.
She smiled and nodded at him before he left outside to start thinking of a plan in dealing with the mansion, seeing that it takes high priority. The moment he left, Emilia held her green stone and began to shake with fear. As he was thinking outside of the building Emilia was in, Otto had approached him with a rather concerned facial expression.
"Natsuki-san, how are you holding up? How is Emilia-sama?"
"I'm fine and I think Emilia will be fine as well. I was able to help her go to sleep well so that is an improvement."
"That's good to hear, Natsuki-san but I want to ask if you really are alright, you don't seem like your usual self."
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't realized but you are not the same. You usually are calm and collected because of Sora's teachings but you are not as worried for Emilia as you would be."
"I mean I don't think I'm that different, I guess I've just had a lot on my mind."
"Oy, mind comin with me?"
Subaru and Otto turned towards Garfiel as he was standing there with Ryuzu only this time she had white clothing instead of black ones. Subaru was weary yet he followed Garfiel but first he turned towards Otto to ask him if he could watch over his parents for him. Otto nodded before watching his friend go with the blonde boy and his assistant.
As Subaru, Garfiel, and Ryuzu were all walking together in a forest path, Subaru attempted small talk to understand more of Garfiel and Frederica's broken relationship yet Garfiel brushed off all his questions, not wishing to speak about it with Subaru or with anybody for that matter.
As they arrived at the place Garfiel wanted to take Subaru, the two chatted with Subaru asking Ryuzu on the reason why Frederica left the Sanctuary, knowing that'll be a key help in assisting in the Sanctuary portion of problems. Ryuzu answered this question by first asking Subaru what he would do with such information.
"I'll use it to get everyone out of the Sanctuary. Then no one will have to undergo the trial, right?"
"Logically speaking, yes, you are right. But why are you so obstinate about avoiding the trial?"
"Because I don't want to force Emilia to go through it. It's my own purely selfish reason."
"That may work for the trial, but it does not do to constantly run away from hardship-"
"I'm not talking about running away. It may not be now, but Emilia will eventually have to face her past."
"You want to give her an escape, but not from the things that will hurt her the most?"
"She'll beat it without running away. I have complete faith that the girl I fell for can pull that off."
"Tsk. Tell 'im, old hag! Tell 'im it's just like a gadgy gwadzeadd tryin' to hide in the mountains!"
"I appreciate it, but I have no idea what you just said."
"What Young Gar is trying to say is that there is no convenient path by which to escape. Frederica's exit was something of an exception. She does not meet the conditions for being held within the barrier."
Subaru begins to learn from both Garfiel and Ryuzu that Frederica is not half blood, which is the condition needed to be trapped in the barrier. As Ryuzu mentioned that since she is a quarter mixed blood she could enter and leave the Sanctuary at will, Garfiel is angered by this and mentions that she hasn't been back in over ten years. Knowing from the previous loop that his suggestion won't work, he decides to take a different approach.
"Garfiel, Ryuzu-san, there is something I learned in the Sanctuary and I wish for you two to keep it a secret."
"Secret, eh?"
"What is it?"
"During some point I managed to get tipped that the mansion will be attacked and all of the residents would be killed there."
"Why should my amazin' self care about-"
"Because Frederica is one of those residents in the mansion along with a little girl and the twin sister of Ram."
"Ram doesn't have a twin sister."
"She does but thanks to the effects of Gluttony, everyone has forgotten her."
Garfiel looked at Subaru straight in the eyes to check to see if Subaru was telling the truth. Ryuzu also looked at Subaru's eyes and can tell that he isn't lying which bothered Garfiel a lot since now he knows his sister is in danger yet...
"Tsk. Why should I help her? She can fight her own battles."
"The assassin is also being assisted by a Sin Archbishop, a powerful one at that."
"What?"
"Young Su, if what you say is true, then what do you plan to do about it?"
"I know I need Master Sora to help me with this but seeing that you, Garfiel, don't trust him, then I want to suggest going to do the trial in Emilia's place. My master and I have already completed the trial, one out of three that is."
"What?! You two passed the trial?!"
"Things have gotten complicated."
"The truth being that I don't wish to have anybody know the information I have given you both, because if they did knew of the dangers that are going on in the mansion, my master will act rash to do something about it, Emilia would definitely have too much stress and pressure to beat the trial which could hurt her."
Ryuzu and Garfiel stay silent for a moment, both of them processing the information that has been given to them. After a moment of silence, Ryuzu begins to speak.
"Young Su, there is something important I must tell you, too."
"What?"
"Right now, I need you to keep quiet and behave yourself."
"Huh?" As Subaru was confused by this, Garfiel attempted to grab Subaru by the neck yet Subaru's keyblade had appeared in his hand, alerting the boy of the danger that was about to happen. He jumped back and looked at the two, seeing that Garfiel was about to attack him.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"Make noise and everybody dies!"
"As if, Master Sora could beat you if he was fighting with his full might."
"Oh really? That may be so but the villagers are all easy to kill, you wouldn't like that now would you? So get over here dammit!"
As Garfiel finishes speaking, heartless begin to appear around the three, forcing Garfiel to turn his attention to the new threat along with Subaru as they know the heartless cannot leave the area or they would harm the villagers. As both Garfiel and Subaru easily took on the soldier type heartless, a few guardian type heartless appear.
"Damn, look I know we were about to fight a moment ago but right now, we need to work together. These heartless are much tougher than the ones before."
"Ha! As if my amazin' self will have trouble gainst this!"
Garfiel jumped up and quickly was able to destroy one of the six guardian heartless shield before using everything he got into one attack to destroy the heartless. Subaru summoned three Thunder attacks in order to defeat one of them before the other two on his side started to fire a few fireballs in his direction. Subaru dodged the attacks before going after one of the guardians.
Garfiel continued doing the same, tanking the attacks they would do towards him before he destroyed the other two heartless the same way he did with the first one. As he defeated the two guardian heartless, he turned towards Subaru, seeing that he was barely able to defeat the second guardian. Not wanting to waste any more time, Garfiel charged at the remaining Guardian heartless while it wasn't paying attention to him and easily took it down in one blow.
As this happens, the two of them sense something, causing them to look towards Subaru's left side only for the two to see a darkside heartless appear. Garfiel was ready to take it down with one hit like before yet Subaru grabbed his arm and told him that he should use the keyblade. He gave Garfiel the keyblade and at first the blonde demi human boy didn't want to but remembering his talk with Sora, he knew that it would be a permanent end to the heartless.
He grabs the keyblade with a firm grip before jumping towards it, destroying the heartless in one hit. He looks up and sees that a heart showed up to confirm that he finally took the heartless down before it disappeared. As Garfiel felt pleased about it, he felt an odd power coming from the keyblade, making him understand the raw power the weapon had before it disappeared from his hand and returned back to Subaru's hand.
"This damn things are annoying but at least my amazin' self took care of it."
"I mean at least it wasn't one of-" Before Subaru could finish his sentence, he felt something hard hit him in the back of the head hard enough to knock him out. He fell to the ground and the last thing that he was able to hear before he went unconscious was,
"Sorry Young Su but to assure the safety of the Sanctuary, this must be done. I will not ask for your forgiveness but as promised, we will not speak of the things you told us here. I swear it on the name of Ryuzu Shima."
Subaru woke up and noticed that his entire vision was dark, that he couldn't speak, and that he was all tied up. Seeing this realization made him recall that he was knocked out by Ryuzu yet he noticed that she used Shima instead of Bilma, making him curious on whether there are other Ryuzus yet his thought shifted away from that when he begins to fear that his inability to do anything will lead to Yabuto, Waraki, Kishida, Petra, Frederica, and Rem to be killed.
"You awake now?" Garfiel spoke in a calm manner. "I'll untie ya. And just so ya know, it ain't no use cryin' for help."
As Garfiel unties Subaru so he can speak freely, he begins screaming for help which only annoys Garfiel.
"I just said it won't work! This is a part of the Sanctuary no one knows about!"
Garfiel slams Subaru into a wall after allowing him to see, he then shows off his claws to him in a threatening manner.
"Ain't no need to save someone who wants to die, right?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You guys are pretty famous for being a bunch of weirdos."
"Hold on...what are you talking about? I'm a keyblade wielder! I fight for-"
"Don't play dumb! There's miasma oozin' out of every pore in your body! You're a witch cultist! The smell's been stronger since you came outta the graveyard."
Subaru paused himself and recalled something like this with Rem back in the forest when they allowed Sora to face off Elsa. During the one month in the mansion, he had learned from Beatrice that he had the stench of the witch of envy, making him somewhat aware that he needed to be wary when speaking as he doesn't want people to think of him as a witch cultist. Sadly it seems that he had screwed up in this loop since Garfiel is even more distrusting towards him.
"It wasn't much miasma at first but after comin out of the trial with more miasma, that is suspicious. I was distrusting of your master for wanting to go do the trial but when you said you wanted to do it as well with the miasma that had increased, there was no way I can trust you."
"The witch's scent..."
"Ha! That's a funny way of callin' it." Garfiel pokes a bit of Subaru's neck, causing two small holes that are harmless before throwing him to the ground.
"What is it you wanna do in that graveyard?! What're you planning? Can't be anything good if the witch's tomb is part of it. I'm surprised as well since your parents don't have the miasma, meaning that you're the rotten one."
"I swear if you hurt my parents-"
"Why would I? They're innocent people."
"Okay then, why don't you kill me?"
"Hah! 'Cause you have a way of winnin' people over like your master! I don't wanna kill you and have it blow up in my face like the fall of the Tesla Fortress!"
"Then what are you going to do with me?"
"For now, I'll just say it's all up to Emilia-sama."
Subaru realizes that he is trapped at this point and before he could do anything, he gets knocked out by Garfiel. As he was knocked out, Garfiel ties him back up and leaves him there to catch up with the others. Everyone was searching for Subaru with Naoko and Kenichi even more worried since they just reunited with their child.
Sora summons some of the dream eaters that he still has with him and quickly sends them off to find Subaru, trusting in his companions that they can find his friend. Emilia knew that Subaru's parents were in pain, causing her to go and comfort them as she would want them to not fall into despair like she almost has during the trial.
As Garfiel explains to the group that wandering the forest alone can get a person lost, Otto makes a small comment that reminds Garfiel that he was the last person that saw him with Subaru. Garfiel asks Otto if he could talk with him in private while Sora approaches Naoko and Kenichi to talk to them in private as well once he noticed the way Garfiel was talking with Otto before the two left the group.
"You are Subaru's Master, Sora, right?"
"Yes, it is quite interesting to meet his parents but I came here with you two because I think Garfiel is holding Subaru captive."
"What?! That Bastard!"
"Hold on! Acting rash would only put Subaru's life in danger."
"Okay, what would you plan us to do?"
"Well..." Sora looked as he knew that he needed the help of Otto since he probably knows what could've happened to Subaru. Causing him to tell both parents that the plan is for them to talk with Otto to assure that they can find where Subaru is being kept. The two parents agreed and quickly regained their composure in hopes of fooling Garfiel into thinking that they don't suspect him at all.
During the next few days, Sora would find a chance to speak with Otto after he turned down the offer Garfiel gave him in order to keep quiet while Kenichi keeps Garfiel distracted and Naoko continues to assist Emilia with the trial by being a parental figure for her.
For the next three days, Sora had been looking for Otto while Naoko and Kenichi assist Emilia with the trial, wanting to learn more of the girl that has stolen their son's heart and also wishing to get their minds off of Garfiel having kidnapped their son for a moment.
Otto continues to hide yet Ram eventually notices this when she sees that Garfiel is looking for the merchant, causing her to talk to the merchant and to formulate a plan with the Keyblade wielder. The three meet up in the building of Roswaal to discuss things with Sora starting it off by saying,
"Otto, good to see you are alright. What happened to you?"
"Sorry about that, Garfiel has been looking for me ever since I turned down his offer."
"Let me guess, you know what happened to Barusu."
"Not fully, all I know is that Garfiel had taken him into the forest, which was the last thing I saw."
"Then it is obvious that Barusu has been captured and held prisoner by Garfiel."
"What do we do?"
"I can probably talk to Roswaal, he might give me some insight in dealing with Garfiel."
"That would be the wisest choice, Sora."
"Okay, well allow me to go to Roswaal right now. Ram, protect Otto."
"Don't worry, I'll protect this weakling."
"Hey!"
As Sora leaves both Otto and Ram, he goes into Roswaal's room to speak with him, knowing in his gut that this is probably the best chance he has in saving Subaru despite how he distrust Roswaal. He enters the room to see that Roswaal was expecting him, making him even more wary of the magician.
"Weeeeelcome to my room, Sora-kun. It haaaaas been a little while since you and I spoke privately."
"It has, we rarely talk one on one but I came here to ask for something."
"Whaaaat may that be?"
"It's about Subaru, I have high suspicion that it is Garfiel who took my apprentice, my friend, to some unknown place and is holding him hostage."
"Hmm. Why do yoooooou suspect that?"
"Otto saw him last on the same night he disappeared, I wouldn't be surprised if it's because he distrust me."
"Weeeeell, if you truly believe that it is Garfiel, then I guess I couuuuuld help but before we start, answer me this. As Subaru-kun acted strange?"
"Strange? As in how?"
"I proooooobably should rephrase my question, did Subaru-kun seemed like he knew what he was doing?"
"Hmm come to think of it, it did seem odd that he knew what he was doing the moment he got up but I guess that's the only thing that seemed a bit odd."
"I see. Alright then, I gueeeeess I can help but a favor I would like to ask. Have Subaru-kun come here first, I would assume he would have some questions for me."
"Okay then."
Sora agreed to this and quickly got the information he needed in order to get Subaru to safety, allowing him to think of a plan to get Subaru and stop Garfiel. He quickly went to Emilia, knowing that both Kenichi and Naoko would be there, talking about Subaru's past or about how life in Japan is to the half elf. As he entered the room, he first checked on Emilia to see how she was doing.
"How are you holding up, Emilia?"
"I've been doing better thanks to Naoka-sama and Kenichi-sama."
"Oh it's alright to call me mother and Kenichi father, dear."
"U-um, are you sure...?" Emilia was hesitant about this since she was embarrassed to call Subaru's mother well mother since that would imply that she is close to Subaru, making her face turn red the more she thought about it. Kenichi patted Emilia in the back before turning to Sora.
"Aside from Emilia, is there any word on my son's whereabouts?"
"Yes...but for now we should focus on-"
"Tell me, where is Subaru at?" Emilia got up with determination, wanting to know where Subaru is at. Sora realized that he isn't going to be able to keep this from Emilia so he tells the three of what they know with Kenichi making a tight fist as he wishes to punch Garfiel in the face for kidnapping his son. All Emilia can do is stay silent as she doesn't know how to react to this yet she knows now that everything depends on her.
"Sora, what is the plan exactly?"
"I will have Otto and Kenichi get Subaru while Naoko, you, and me keep Garfiel distracted. It is the best chance we got and since he can't leave the barrier, we will need to get Subaru out of here to keep him safe."
"Makes sense but are you sure we can't talk to Garfiel? Maybe if we beg him to free Subaru, then he will do it."
"You have a kind heart Emilia and I wish to go that route too but I think if we do that, he might get hostile and do something reckless. The best chance we have is this, with you taking the trial and succeeding while the others make sure he is safe."
Emilia looked down and knew that she had to pass the trial and since Subaru's life is on the line, she was more determined than ever to pass the trial. She looked at Sora and nodded, understanding that they have to do this for Subaru's sake. With that in mind, the four of them prepared to get themselves ready for the plan to begin. Sora went to Ram and Otto after finding the two and informed them of the plan he made with Emilia and Subaru's parents, impressing Ram yet she made sure to warn Sora,
"Be careful, although Garf isn't the smartest, he is no fool. One thing off and he will surely harm Barusu."
"Agreed, which is why timing is important. I'm counting on you two to get Subaru out of here before he figures out what is going out. If push comes to shove, I will face Garfiel and defeat him."
"Hmm let's just hope we can save Natsuki-san before that occurs. We wouldn't want to create chaos in the Sanctuary."
"Yes, so let's hope we can do this peacefully."
Otto and Ram nodded before the three split up with Ram taking cover in one area to make sure Garfiel doesn't head into the forest with Otto using his divine protection of Soul language to locate Subaru while Sora goes to the trial grounds to catch up with Emilia, Naoka, Kenichi, and Garfiel. As the keyblade wielder caught up, he quickly whispered to Kenichi the exact location Ram is so he can go assist her and Otto in finding Subaru. He nods and quickly turns to Garfiel,
"Yo, sharp teeth boy, I entrust that you can protect my wife while I go take care of something."
"The name is Garfiel, jackass. Fine, go do whatever ya need to do."
Kenichi nodded and quickly left to go find Ram and Otto while Sora kept a close eye on Garfiel, making sure he doesn't try to leave while Emilia heads to do the trial once again with Naoko wishing her good luck. As the trial goes on with Sora keeping a close eye on Garfiel, Subaru had three long days to reflect on himself, on how he hasn't taken the time to really speak with his parents and how he really is selfish.
He then starts to think how he needs to return by death every time he makes a mistake, knowing now that it is necessary for him to die if he wants his friends and family to make it to the desired future. As he begins to hate himself more and more with each passing second for being reminded of the people he had lost and the failed loops he had done, he eventually hears a familiar voice,
"I suspected you would be in a miserable state, but this is even worse than I thought."
Subaru moves towards the voice yet he hears another voice telling him,
"You need to keep quiet, my son. Otherwise we might trigger something that'll alert that bastard."
As Subaru was untied and freed, he looks up with tired eyes and sees Otto and his dad, standing side by side. Otto smiles and says that he is relieved to see that he is alive while his father goes to give his son a hug. Subaru was unsure on how to process all of this since he had been trapped for three days to his own inner hatred. Otto gave Subaru water in order for him to drink, which he finished it all before asking his question,
"How long has it been?"
"Three days. It's nighttime...and time for the trial."
"Three days?! And the trial is still going on?"
"Sora-san has a plan in mind to help Emilia-sama pass the trial and to save you."
"What has happened while I've been away?"
"Well son, word caught fast of your disappearance, causing everyone to be looking for you. Emilia actually was struggling with this but your mother and I have been helping her get her composure while she helped us keep ours. Your master had been keeping an eye on the bastard that captured you and making sure he doesn't try anything else."
"Master Sora..."
"We should probably be leaving now, Subaru-san. After all, we don't want Garfiel to be alert."
"Alright but I do want to ask, why are you helping me? I know why my dad is helping me and why Master Sora is but I'm still unsure on why you are."
"Is it really such a strange thing to try to help a friend?"
Subaru paused himself when he heard this, never thinking of himself that valuable to others outside of the people like Emilia, Sora, his parents, and Ram to an extent. Otto noticed the shocked facial expression, causing him to say,
"Why are you standing there like a statue with such a shocked face?"
"Hehe my son hasn't had a lot of friends, this is just new to him Suwen-kun."
Subaru continued to stay stubborn by this, showing how dense he is when he asked,
"Friend...? Who is whose friend?"
"You are my friend! I mean, it's true that I came here with you because it served my interests, too! First there was the oil, then you sending your allies to attack the Witch's cult which saved my life, and then there was promise of getting me an audience with the margrave...But...when you take all those favors out of the picture, I just think of you as a friend, Subaru-san. Though I'm not very fond of the way you treat me...But I figure that's just how close we are as friends."
There was a moment of silence before Subaru and Kenichi both began to laugh, leaving Otto confused at first before realizing that they were laughing at what he said. Otto screamed of embarrassment with his face turning completely red.
"What are you two doing?! Okay, fine! I was stupid to even say it! I knew it would end up with me getting laughed at!"
"Well, I mean...how could I not laugh? You're not the one who's crazy. I'm just floored by my own stupidity. I'm so exasperated with myself, I have to laugh!"
Subaru continued to laugh while Kenichi watched his son enjoying himself, making him glad that he had people to help take away the depression he had back in japan. After finishing laughing, Subaru finally was able to speak normally.
"Sorry. You really are my friend, Otto. Thanks for coming to save me."
"Hey! Don't forget about your old man."
"I haven't father, thank you for coming to save me too."
The three smiled before leaving, with Otto using his divine protection to realize that Garfiel is still in the graveyard with Sora keeping him there. This gave the three a chance to meet up with Ram, who was waiting for them.
Sora and Garfiel both look at the trial with the two having different mindsets yet before anything else can be done, Sora noticed Ryuzu with a different clothing approaching Garfiel to tell him something. This caused Sora to approach the two to ask,
"What is going on? Also why is Ryuzu in different clothing?"
"None of yer damn business on both counts!"
"Hey! I have the right to know, after all if it is about Subaru, I have to know."
"It has nothing to do with him."
"Okay then, is it about the Sanctuary?"
"Well look at ya, already figured it out. Of course it is! Now stay here while-"
"You are the one overlooking the trial, you should stay here and watch."
"Are ya tryin to piss me off? I have to check on something."
"If you go, I'll just take the trial on Emilia's stead should she fail."
"What?!" Sora knew that saying this would only piss off Garfiel but he needed to find some way to get him to stay. Normally he would have taken Emilia's place should she ask so he had no real desire to take the trial again yet he needed something to keep Garfiel to stay. Garfiel looked at Sora as if he wanted to punch him only for the Keyblade wielder to pull out Kingdom Key, showing that he will fight him if he tries to attack him.
"Tsk! I'll just have to leave it to ya but if ya are serious and take the trial in Emilia's place, I will harm every villager of yours."
"Try it and I will defeat you. I won't let anybody else get hurt."
Sora pointed his keyblade directly at Garfiel, preparing to fight the blonde boy should he attempt to do something reckless. Garfiel kicked the ground with anger and just left, wanting to check if Subaru was truly gone from his cell like Ryuzu near him told. Sora realized this and quickly turned towards Naoka, who noticed that Garfiel was going to go after Subaru.
"Don't worry Sora, I can take care of Emilia here. Go and save my baby boy."
"I will. I'll make sure to get Subaru out of here safely."
Naoko nodded and quickly gave Sora a prayer to also keep the keyblade wielder safe from any danger. Sora quickly having Kingdom Key in hand went in search of Subaru and the others, now knowing that Garfiel will attack them on sight.
'I'll make it in time, I will not let anything happen to you all!'