Chapter 39: Bounded by fate
As Petra and Kishida were getting closer and closer to Rem's door, Kishida stops Petra from moving forward when he can tell that something is wrong. He waits for a moment before he quickly manages to deflect off an attack aimed for Petra. As he blocked off the attack, he looked and could tell by the shape of the dark silhouette that it's Elsa, the Bowel Hunter.
"You! What the hell are you doing here?!"
"My My, you must be one of the knights. It is an honor."
"Don't give me that! Why the hell are you here?!"
"Sorry but I can't answer that, not like it matters since you are a witness and my job requires no witnesses."
"Of course, you were sent here to kill the residents of this mansion. Who hired you? That's an order."
"Sorry again knight but I don't answer to you. Sorry for being such a bad girl."
Kishida knew that he has to fight off against Elsa to protect Petra, causing him to quickly say to the little maid,
"Little one, go and get to safety."
"What? B-But what about-"
"Don't worry about me, I will be fine. I can take care of this one."
"My My, those are some bold words."
"Trust me Bowel Hunter, I may have lost my arm but that doesn't mean I will go down easily."
"I hope you can live up to those expectations, knight."
"The name is Kishida Hisafumi, one of the knights of Lugnica."
"Elsa Granhiert, the one who will send you to the angels."
Elsa and Kishida look at each other for a moment before rushing each other, both clashing weapons. As Kishida and Elsa begin their fight, Petra starts running downstairs to leave the mansion and to get to safety while worried for Kishida's safety. As she was running down the stairs with tears in her eyes, she could hear Yabuto yelling out to Frederica,
"Get Beatrice-sama and Rem to safety! Waraki and I can handle the Mabeast!"
"Just don't get yourselves killed!"
Petra continued to run and run down the stairs until she reached the entrance only to be blocked by someone in an organization outfit. She looked up and can only see a silhouette of a person with medium long hair yet she can't tell who it is. She steps back and prepares to run yet a couple of nobodies appeared and surrounded her. This caused Meow Wow dream eater to appear in order to protect Petra.
"Hmm. That dream eater won't be enough to defend you. I suggest you come with me without resisting if you wish to not"
"..." Petra is scared of Replica Riku as she doesn't know what he wants with her, causing her to start praying for both Sora and Subaru's help. As she goes to the ground crying, Replica Riku prepares to do something until all of a sudden he is hit from his back, sending him flying towards a room. She notices that all of a sudden the lights of the mansion return to reveal that all the nobodies were easily taken care of by the combined forces of Subaru, Sora, and Kenichi. Petra looked up and was extremely happy to see Sora, causing her to go hug her hero. Sora noticed this and quickly hugged Petra back, happy to see the little maid alive.
"I'm so glad you are here! Everyone is in danger! They need your help!"
"Don't worry Petra, I will take care of them. Me and Subaru."
Sora and Subaru both looked at each other and nodded before Sora told Petra to stay with Otto, trusting the merchant that he can protect the little maid before himself, Kenichi, and Subaru go to assist Frederica and the others in taking on the assassins. Before they could go, Replica Riku got out of the room and looked at Sora with anger.
"You dare attack me like that!"
"You were going to kidnap a girl, I wasn't going to let you do that."
"Not like you can stop me." Replica Riku says this while having his weapon ready for battle. Sora noticed this and quickly was prepared to face off Replica Riku yet Kenichi chose to stay behind to face off the organization member in Sora's place.
"Allow me to put this kid in his place."
"Are you sure dad?"
"Don't worry son, your amazing father will not be defeated here."
"Haha alright dad."
"Otto, Petra, follow me and Subaru."
"Way ahead of you, Sora-san."
Subaru, Sora, Otto, and Petra all four started to make their way towards Rem's room up the stairs, knowing that they needed to get some distance from Replica Riku. As the group went upstairs, Kenichi pointed his sword directly at Replica Riku.
"The name is Natsuki Kenichi, an amazing father and the one who will kick your sorry ass."
"Hmph. Like I will lose to an old timer like you."
Replica Riku got into his fighting stance and started to charge at Kenichi, confident that he would finish the fight within a minute. Kenichi smiled and using one of the crystals given to him by Otto, he threw it up in the air and watched as the crystal blew up near Replica Riku's position. The organization member was taken off guard by this and quickly backed away, not knowing that he was playing into Kenichi's plan. Kenichi smiled and without any hesitation he started to go on an aggressive offense, surprising Replica Riku on just how strong the man was.
"Just cause I'm older than you, doesn't mean I ain't got what it takes to beat you."
While Kenichi was holding his own against Replica Riku for a bit, Frederica was going around the mansion to check on Rem, knowing that she is defenseless compared to the rest. As she arrived on the right hallway, she noticed Kishida barely holding his own against Elsa. Frederice tried to help the knight yet she was interrupted when someone attacked her from behind. She was sent flying across the hallway near the battle between Kishida and Elsa. As she was getting up to recover from the fight, the voice from the person that attacked her from behind started to speak.
"It's ugly to disrupt my daughter's fight, big maid."
"Urgh! Who are you supposed to be?"
"I am the Sin Archbishop of Lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica. All the love and respect in this world exists to be monopolized by myself alone. If someone loves me, no matter how abnormal their desire is, I'll respond. In short, I am the ultimate embodiment of all kinds of virtue and beauty in the world."
"You are disgusting!"
"Why thank you." Capella says before transforming herself into Petra, making Frederica extremely angry at this.
"How dare you take the form of an innocent girl like Petra-chan?!"
"What? You care deeply for this girl like if she was your sister or daughter, whichever of the two but I assume you would be happy to see her."
"Grrr!" Frederica's arms started to switch from normal arms to arms of her demi-human form, catching Capella's attention. As Frederica is about to hit Capella in Petra's form, she manages to dodge the large and deadly paw before using her skills to easily land a kick on the large maid. Frederica gets her balance from the attack for a moment before attempting to try another attack on Capella only for the sin archbishop to block the attack before landing another perfect kick.
"Is this all you got? I'm quite disappointed...actually could it be that you are not able to land a hit because I'm this innocent girl?"
"Shut up!"
Frederica continues to try to land a hit on Capella, attempting her best to ignore the fact that she is facing someone who looks exactly like Petra. After many attempts, Capella begins to get bored and quickly gives a powerful blow on Frederica, sending her flying across the hallway once again yet she was in extreme pain.
'I'm sorry Petra...I hope you made it out safely...' Frederica thought to herself as she accepted her death yet she noticed that a couple of people were running near her with someone shouting Firaga. This made her open her eyes to see Sora and Subaru standing in front of her with someone else facing off Capella. She wasn't sure who it was until she began to hear a familiar voice.
"Back'ff, imposter! Stop posin' as a little girl and show yer self already!"
Capella looked at Garfiel before returning to her usual form while Sora's attack was directed towards Elsa, stopping her from killing Kishida after managing to disarm his hook and his sword. As both Elsa and Capella stood side by side while Subaru went to get Kishida to safety, Frederica got up and noticed the blonde boy.
"Garf...is that you?"
"Yes big sis...Wh—yer serious!? That's my sis!? Ain't my sis meant't be smaller, skinner, with a softer lookin' face!? This ain't my sis, 's more like my bro.. Agahh!?"
"Do not be impolite."
Frederica jabs her knee into her rude brother's side. Garfiel tumbles to the ground before sluggishly getting back up while Otto, Subaru, and Sora all three laugh a little at the demi-human boy. Looking at his dizzied face, Frederica notices it; The scar on his forehead. This help confirm Frederica that it is his brother that is in front of her.
"It is you, Garf!"
"Nevermind that, 'm I really safe t'be callin' yer Frederica... can't frickin' believe it... gahk!"
"Do not neglect to appropriately refer to me as your elder sister."
Halfway though standing up again, an elbow to the back sends Garfiel back into agony. Looking at him in pain like this makes Frederica remember when they were young. As she thought back on her past, Sora interrupted the two.
"I don't mean to interrupt your reunion but we should focus on these two."
"Right. How can I help here?" Frederica responded to what Sora said, ready to help in the fight. Sora and Subaru looked at each other before nodding with Subaru being the one to answer Frederica's question.
"You will be joining me, Otto, and Petra in getting to Rem."
"Petra?" Frederica questioned before she turned towards her back side to see the merchant Otto Suwen alongside Petra. She was happy that Petra was alive yet she was not happy that she was still in the mansion. Frederica plead to help out on the fight against the sin archbishop and the Bowel hunter yet Sora stopped this.
"I know you want to fight but we need to get Rem to safety first. Also Garfiel and I can handle these two on our own."
"But-"
"Just trust 'n's sis. Master and I can handle'ths."
"...Okay Garf, just please be careful."
"Will do, sis. My amazin' self can take 'em!"
Frederica giggled a little as she can see that despite how grown up her little brother looks, deep down he is still a good hearted child. She nodded and quickly they passed Elsa and Capella to head towards Rem's room to get her. As they were passing by, the two assassins attempted to do something yet Sora stopped Elsa while Garfiel stopped Capella from trying to harm the group.
"Yer fight's with my amazin' self!"
Capella noticed what Garfiel said and stayed silent for a moment before smiling, being able to tell who she should shapeshift into in order to have the fight in her favor. She quickly read into what Garfiel likes before making herself into Ram, throwing Garfiel off.
"Seems like you have a preference for maids, how very fascinating."
"Yer a bitch. My amazin' self likes Ram 'cause she's amazin 'n badass! Just 'cause ya look like her won't mean I won't bite'ff yer fingers!"
"Now this is quite an unusual love, let us fight then!" Capella spoke with interest towards Garfiel, wanting to know the type of love he has for Ram. As the two engage in combat, both Sora and Elsa have a moment of silence. The two think about their previous encounter in the forest. After a moment of silence, Elsa starts the conversation with a question.
"Sora, my dear, what are you thinking about?"
"I guess you could say that I'm thinking about our first meeting."
"My My, what about it?"
"The fact of the matter is that you were the first person I talked to when arriving at this kingdom, the first person I wanted to call a friend which is why I want to ask, will you please back down?"
"Sorry Sora dear but a job is a job. I would be a lousy assassin if I just left this job uncompleted, not to mention I would be failing mother and that is never good."
Sora had a faint smile, hoping that he could get through to Elsa yet he had expected this. He pulled out Oblivion and quickly changed into the dark form, with his clothing being black and grey with the kanji for "Darkness" being visible on his pants and hood. Elsa was intrigued by this and quickly pulled out both her blades, prepared to have another amazing battle with the keyblade wielder.
"Please Sora, give me another amazing battle. Make it more enjoyable than the last."
Sora was a bit disturbed by the sadistic way Elsa looked yet he was able to ignore it as he began the battle between the two by charging at the Bowel hunter. As the two start clashing weapons, Sora starts to use some abilities from his dark form to push Elsa back, making the bowel hunter excited to see what else the Keyblade Wielder can do.
Subaru, Kishida, Otto, Frederica, and Petra continue to run with Petra worried for Sora's safety while Frederica was worried for her brother's safety. Kishida looked at the two maids and could tell that they were worried for the two warriors facing off the Sin archbishop of Lust and the bowel hunter. This prompted him to give the two some reassurance.
"Little one, Frederica, don't worry for those two. They are much stronger than those two evildoers."
Frederica and Petra both looked at Kishida, noticing what he said but before they could respond, Subaru also chimed in to help reassure the two maids.
"Master Sora is a tough one, he will beat the Bowel hunter once again and as for Garfiel, he is much stronger than he seems and well I taught him a trick or two before we made our way to the mansion so he will be fine."
Frederica and Petra looked at Subaru and felt some comfort by his words, entrusting that Sora and Garfiel will make it out of the fight. As they arrive at Rem's room, Frederica breaks down the door for the group to find Saix there, waiting for them.
"W-What are you doing here?!" Otto spoke with some fear in his voice. Saix looked at the merchant for a moment before getting up from the chair to answer the question.
"I was expecting Sora himself to appear here, not his wasteful apprentice and his annoying friends."
"Now hey! Master Sora is busy with someone more important than you! Besides, I'm here to get Rem to safety."
"Is that so? Unfortunate because I don't trust you weaklings to protect-"
"A possible candidate for a guardian of light?" Subaru interrupted Saix and continued his sentence which caught the attention of the Organization member. Saix approached Subaru which only made the others hostile towards him, causing him to close his eyes and sigh before speaking.
"How much do you know about this?"
"The seven guardians of light and thirteen darknesses? I know somewhat but it's enough."
"Hmph. Well then considering that you have knowledge and you are his apprentice, you will be deciding on Rem's fate. Do you wish to wake her up or not?"
Otto, Kishida, Frederica, and Petra all looked at Subaru, knowing that he is the deciding factor on whether they should awaken Rem or not. Subaru thought about it carefully for a moment, having a feeling that if they don't wake Rem up, Saix might just take her anyway. With this at stake, he knew what was the safer choice. 'Please don't get mad at me Master Sora.'
"I know the risks, I know that Rem may not get her memories when she wakes up but I rather have her be awake than be stuck in a sleeping void. So I choose to wake her up."
Saix looked at Subaru and smiled, having been impressed by the fact that Xehanort was right that they would want to choose to wake up the sleeping guardian. He turned towards Rem and was about to do something until Subaru had asked him what exactly will it take to wake Rem up. Saix gives a blank expression to Subaru before looking at Rem.
"Point your keyblade out to her heart, I will handle the rest exactly as Master Xehanort instructed."
"Okay. Otto, I entrust that you can get everyone out of here."
"Wait Subaru-san, what about-"
"I will continue according to plan, just make sure you get to Yabuto and Waraki first before escaping. I fear that they might be at their limit."
"Don't worry Subaru, Yabuto and Waraki can hold their own against the Mabeast!"
"That is true Kishida but the one controlling them won't give the two a break. Just get to them before it's too late."
Kishida looked at Subaru and just gave a simple nod, understanding that there is something more sinister than what it looks. Kishida quickly led the group towards the direction he last heard where Yabuto and Waraki were located. As the group leaves, Saix quickly summons a pink sphere with pyramids surrounding it.
"This is where you will point your keyblade, once you enter the dark abyss, find the keyhole and unlock it to truly awaken the sleeping girl."
"Okay." Subaru spoke with some confusion on his face yet before he could do anything, they heard a loud sound. This distracted him for a moment, making Saix annoyed since he knows that this distraction won't be useful to him. He starts making his way towards the door only for Garfiel to be thrown into the door with enough strength to break it.
"Garfiel?!"
"Oy Cap'n, th's bitch's tough but my amazin' self'll beat her."
Garfiel gets up and quickly prepares himself for Capella's attacks, surprising Subaru that Capella has returned back to her original form. She tried to knock Garfiel down with her tail yet he was able to dodge it. As Garfiel returned to the fight, Subaru quickly put his keyblade away and picked up the sleeping Rem to take her away from the mansion. Saix hadn't noticed this until Subaru left the room with Rem, causing him to get angry and to teleport away in order to stop Subaru from taking Rem.
'Shit! Shit! Shit! I might have jumped the gun by doing this but it's too dangerous for Rem to be here!'
As Subaru was taking the sleeping rem to safety, Sora and Elsa continued their duel with Sora managing to still be on the offensive while Elsa was doing her best to keep up on the defense, surprised by just how different in strength the two have.
"My Sora, you are quite a treat."
"I want you to stand down Elsa."
"This again? You really are killing the fun for me, My dear Sora."
"I get that you want to keep fighting but I don't want to beat you again. I know there is good inside of you, I know it."
"Is that so? Let us see." Elsa said with some intrigue in her voice, surprised that Sora would be holding hope that she could be turned "good" despite having been an assassin for so long. As the two continue on their duel, Sora looks around and notices Subaru carrying Rem out of the room and to safety. This made him realize that he needs to hurry and beat Elsa if he wants to assist Subaru yet he knew that he can't leave Garfiel fighting Capella for long. 'I think I have some idea in dealing with this.'
"Garfiel!"
"Yes Master?"
"Allow me to take on these two by myself, get the others to safety."
"Oy, isn't that against Cap'n's plan?"
"It is but he is going to need help, besides I can take them both on my own."
"My My, do you hear that mama? Seems like Sora Dear wants to fight the two of us."
"Isn't that quite the love. Is he the keyblade wielder you mentioned?"
"Yes mama, he is the one."
"Goodie!" Capella said as her attention shifted from her fight with Garfiel towards Sora, giving Garfiel the opening to go and help Subaru. He was tempted to stay and fight Capella yet Sora gave him a look of 'Please, go help Subaru' which forced him to go after his captain. As Garfiel leaves, Sora debates himself on whether to use the double form yet seeing that he needs to fight without having to rely on his forms caused him to go out of his dark form and back to his original state with Kingdom Key in his hand.
"Back to the classics I see."
"Yeah, it wouldn't be much of a challenge if I went all out. I also am doing this to prove my own strength to myself."
"My My, you are quite a good boy."
Elsa spoke while Capella was observing Sora to see what kind of girl he values in order to transform into them. Before she could get the chance, Sora charged at her first and started the two on one fight. Capella tried to use her tail to smack Sora away yet he deflected off the attack with ease and quickly landed a hit on her.
"Wow, you are pretty tough. I wonder what kind of love you give!"
"..." Sora stood silent and quickly deflected Elsa's attack before continuing his offensive on the sin archbishop.
While Sora held his own, Subaru continued to run down the stairs with Rem in his arms yet he noticed his father barely holding his own against Replica Riku. He continued to make his way down yet he was stopped when Saix teleported in front of him with his weapon ready to attack him.
"Well, I should have expected this."
As Subaru was prepared to take a hit for Rem, Garfiel managed to catch up fast enough to get in between the two and block off Saix's attack with his two shields he was wearing. As he blocked the attack, the force was strong enough to almost break the floor they were all standing on. Garfiel looked at Saix with a smile on his face, happy to get his rematch with the man that humiliated him in The Sanctuary earlier.
"Gonna get back at ya fer earlier. Cap'n, getta safety!"
"Just try not getting yourself killed Garfiel."
"Don't ya worry, my amazin' self'll kick his ass!"
"Haha alright."
Subaru quickly takes Rem down the stairs while Garfiel blocks Saix's path, annoying the Organization member. Saix begins the fight by swinging his claymore directly at Garfiel with the demi-human using his shields to deflect off the attack. Seeing that Garfiel is much tougher than the last time, Saix started to take it seriously.
"That's right! I ain't gonna lose easily'th's time!"
"Hmph. Annoying." Saix spoke and continued to swing his Claymore much swiftly more and more as time went on yet Garfiel having improved his defense is managing to keep up with Saix. As this was going on, Subaru reached the first floor to see that his father was sent flying towards the entrance door. As he hit the door and fell to the ground, he was shown that he could still fight yet he was still injured. Subaru set Rem down gently for a moment before casting Cure on his father, returning his strength.
"Thanks my son, your amazing father was starting to run low on strength."
"Just try not to get killed, father."
"Don't you worry, I won't be going down easily."
"Ha!" Replica Riku smiled and pointed his sword directly at Kenichi before continuing, "You are a warrior but not one who can actually beat me."
"Don't get cocky, that was just the first round." Kenichi said with a confident smile before charging at Replica Riku. As the fight between the two continued, Subaru picked up Rem and continued to run to safety. As he continued to run and run, he noticed one of the doors was Beatrice's door into the forbidden library.
'Beatrice!' Subaru quickly entered the door which led him into the library with Beatrice sitting right in front of the door, waiting for him.
"Beako!"
"You are pathetic looking, in fact."
"It is nice to see you, can I ask if you know how everyone else is doing?"
"Hmph! And why should I help? We are all doomed anyway, I suppose."
"Please...Beako...I need your help."
Subaru got on his knees and was begging Beatrice to help him which got her attention. She looked at him for a moment before she spoke.
"The two knights known as Yabuto and Waraki are still alive, I suppose. They are getting assistance from that merchant, the weak knight, and the two maids. As for the keyblade wielder, he is still holding his own from the power he is giving off."
"That's great to hear...think you can protect Rem while I go help the others?"
"Why should I, in fact?"
"Please Beako...I can't afford to lose any of you."
"..." Beatrice didn't give a facial expression and just simply moved her hand towards the door, causing Subaru to be confused by what was going on. As Beatrice stood like that for a moment, she closed her eyes and started to say to him,
"There, I suppose. Go and help them."
"Thank you Beako...I promise I will owe you for this."
"Then answer this question, are you that person?"
Subaru had a moment of pause, he knows that if he answers this wrong it will push Beatrice to kill herself. He took a moment and even took a breath to keep himself calm before answering, "I can't answer that question right now but I want you to know that the person you've been waiting for is here to save you, I promise you that Beatrice-sama."
Beatrice was shocked by this as this is the only time Subaru has addressed her in such a high regard. Subaru gave her a smile before making his way out of the library, seeing to his left side that Yabuto and Waraki were there fighting off Mabeast alongside Kishida while Frederica and Otto were protecting Petra.
'Good! Nobody is dead at this point, I just got to get them to safety before taking Master Sora's place in facing Capella the lusty bitch and Elsa.'
Subaru charged towards the group to assist them in pushing back the Mabeast, seeing that they are having trouble with the big one. As he is charging directly towards the group, he quickly casts Fira in an attempt to do some damage to the Mabeast. The others noticed this and quickly moved out of the way, allowing the fireball to head towards the large Mabeast. As the fireball hit the Mabeast with excessive force, the three knights took this opportunity to strike it down, barely able to kill it.
"Damn newbie, you really saved our asses."
"Yes, thanks for the assist."
"No problem guys."
"Subaru-san, where is Rem-chan?"
"She is safe in the forbidden library. For now, let us focus on getting you all to safety."
Frederica and the others nodded and just as they were going to leave the area, they noticed Meili standing in the hallway with lots of Mabeast behind her. She smiles at the group before speaking to them in a similar manner to Elsa's mannerisms,
"My, you all are quite the fighters. My pets are having a hard time picking you off, maybe we underestimated your strength. I blame Elsa for this."
"Meili, the Mabeast user." Subaru spoke in a serious manner which caught Meili's attention.
"That's not a very nice thing to say!"
"Sorry but it is true-"
Before Subaru could finish his sentence, the group looked behind to see Garfiel and Kenichi both thrown to them with injuries. Subaru quickly casted Cure on the two before seeing that he only has one more magic ability he can cast. Knowing this, he begins to look around to see the situation he is in. On one side there is Meili and the Mabeast while the other is Saix and Replica Riku walking side by side with their weapons ready.
'Okay, the only thing I can do is have Garfiel and Frederica take on Saix and Replica Riku while the rest of us deal with the Mabeast...damn I wish Master Sora was here...' Subaru thought for a moment about how cornered they are all in yet he started to think about Emilia, about Rem, about Beatrice, about his parents, and of everyone who is counting on him. This caused him to be confident in their strength.
"Garfiel, Frederica, think you two can take care of those two bastards right there?"
"Don't ya worry Cap'n, I still gotta score't settle with 'em!"
"I can handle him, Subaru."
"Okay, just be careful you two."
"Will do." Garfiel said while giving his Captain a thumbs up before taking out one of his shields and handing it to his sister. Frederica noticed this and could tell that Garfiel wants her to have something to protect herself. She smiled and accepted this, happy to be fighting side by side with her brother. As the two prepared to face off against Replica Riku and Saix, Subaru turned towards the others and began to say to them, "We are going to have to break through the Mabeast together!"
"Alright newbie, anything you got in mind?"
"We will break through with our combined force."
"Then let us begin!" Waraki spoke as he got himself prepared for the fight against the large amount of Mabeast. Kishida, Yabuto, and Kenichi all three also got themselves ready for a battle while Otto understood that he needed to stay back to protect Petra with Meow wow assisting him. Otto and Subaru fist bump to show that they understand each other before Subaru had his keyblade holding high before he led the charge.
"Alright everyone, let's show these Mabeast that they messed with the wrong people!"
Author's note:
1. Regarding Emilia's trial. It's pretty interesting (how the episode showed it) but I won't be covering it since I want the anime to do that and also it would more or less be the same thing with nothing being different so I don't see it necessary to write it.
2. Garfiel with the advice of Ram is much stronger and a formidable fighter, which is why he is holding his own better against Saix this time.
3. After Arc 4 interlude, I will be taking a month break to deal with the new semester in school, so I will have a chance to write down Arc 5 calmly while also working on homeworks and projects without feeling like I'm rushed.
I enjoy your reviews, keep sending them.